Saturday, February 27, 2010

Rock Steady

Wayne Watson is a singer/songwriter who often captures my own feelings very well. Here are the lyrics to one of my favourite songs by Wayne Watson.
Rock Steady
Written by Wayne Watson © 1995 Material Music/Word ASCAP

Sometimes I feel I can walk on water
Sometimes I feel like I’d sink like a stone
Some days I feel like a king in a castle
Other days I feel like a man with no home

Sometimes I feel like a man on a mission
Sometimes I feel like I’m lost in space
Some days I hold to the law by the letter
Other days I lean on mercy and grace

Welcome to my rollercoaster
These ups and downs don’t bother me, you see

God is rock steady
Faithful ever ready
Through the good and the bad
Through the pleasure and pain
God is rock steady
Faithful ever ready
This world keeps changing
He is the same.

Sometimes I feel I’ve got faith to move mountains
The tough get going...well, you know the rest
Some days I feel like old doubtin’ Tommy
Crashing and burning with every single test

Welcome to my rollercoaster
These ups and downs don’t bother me now, you see

God is rock steady
Faithful ever ready
Through the good and the bad
Through the pleasure and pain
God is rock steady
Faithful ever ready
This world keeps changing
He is the same.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Confidence

I have been meditating upon Psalm 27 for a couple of days. Verse 3 says, "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident." I have difficulty relating to these words. Perhaps it is because I lack confidence. The writer says that he is confident even if a war breaks out against him. Wow, I find it hard to be confident when one person criticizes me. A negative comment about how we function as a faith community can make me defensive. Worse yet, a bad hair day can be enough to shake my confidence.

But King David is confident and the reason lies in verse eight: "Your face, Lord, I will seek." Seeking God’s face means to seek His favour and to seek His will. To seek what the Lord wants. "Seeking the Lord’s hand" is to ask for what we want. "Seeking the Lord’s face" is to ask for what He wants. Seeking God’s face will give us confidence. If we seek what He wants, how can we fail? And as we seek His face, we can trust that we will "see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (verse 13)." Perhaps I can have confidence.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

An Indwelling God and a Sojourning Community

In Colossians Remixed the authors tell the story of Nympha*, a prominent woman of the Roman Empire who gets introduced to the community of people known as Christians at Colossae. She comes to realize the revolutionary nature of this community. Their
hope was rooted in the memory of Jesus – a memory they kept alive with an astounding meal. At this meal none appeared to be superior to the other. All received equal portions of bread and wine, and none went without. I was amazed at the love they had for one another and for this Jesus they worshiped.
What also astonished me was how they saw their actions as a prophetic witness against the rule of Caesar. They knew that their actions, the way they embodied their faith together in their community, challenged all that Roman society held dear. They spoke of themselves as a new family, new humanity, those who had left darkness for light, who were now bringing, through their small house meetings, nothing less than reconciliation for the whole world. They saw themselves as a living embodiment of the forgiveness and healing Jesus had brought for the world.
I went away deeply disturbed and wrestling with what the worship of Jesus would mean for my life. These Christians had such a comprehensive vision, but following Jesus would come at a high cost for me. Living such a life would mean ceasing to be a benefactor for the emperor cult, giving up my position as provider of wheat and oxen for the imperial festivals, purging my house of all that bore the image of Caesar and his victories. It would mean ceasing to participate in the imperial festivals and games. It would mean refusing to participate in the give-and-take of benefactor and client, bestowing monetary and social favours on those who sang my praises and danced attendance on me. It would mean distancing myself from the communities and societies that had given my life meaning.#

I like to believe that people visiting our community of faith would have similar reactions. But would they? Would they see that we are a community with a hope rooted in Jesus? Would they be amazed at our love for one another and for Jesus? Would they see that our actions are a prophetic witness against all that our consumerist society holds dear? Would they see that we embody the forgiveness and healing brought by Jesus? Would they see us as a people wrestling with what worship of Jesus means for our lives? Would they see us as a people who have paid a high cost? I pray that they might.

*Colossians 4:15.

#Walsh, Brian J and Keesmaat, Sylvia C. Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004, p. 56.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Candy Man

I am once again reading Brian J. Walsh and Steven Bouma-Prediger.* They speak of this culture of empire which tries to sell us the dream that "economic growth and abundance is a never-ending dynamic of a capitalist society." But the resources of the planet do have a finite limit and never-ending economic growth is not a reality. As this fact slowly sinks into the minds of a post-modern world we may be slowly realizing, as Bruce Cockburn described it twenty-nine years ago, that the candy man is gone.

The Candy Man’s Gone

Sun climbs toward high noon,
Glints metallic off the bowl of the spoon
Sliding through the air toward parted lips
Watch the expression when the straight taste hits
Face crumples, tongue's quickly withdrawn
I hate to tell you but the candy man's gone

Oh sweet fantasia of the safe home
Where nobody has to scrape for honey at the bottom of the comb
Where every actor understands the scene
And nobody ever means to be mean
Catch it in a dream, catch it in a song
Seek it on the street, you find the candy man's gone
I hate to tell you but the candy man's gone

In the bar, in the senate, in the alley, in the study
Pimping dreams of riches for everybody
"Something for nothing, new lamps for old
And the streets will be platinum, never mind gold"
Well, hey, pass it on, pass it on,
Misplaced your faith and the candy man's gone
I hate to tell you but the candy man's gone

Bruce Cockburn, NYC, Boston 3/12/81


The remedy for this empire which refuses to see that the candy man’s gone lies in an "indwelling God and a sojourning community." But, we will speak more of this later.

*Bouma-Prediger, Steven and Walsh, Brian J. Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008, p 108.

Monday, February 15, 2010

At-One-Ment

We had a guest speaker at our church gathering last night. Adrian Archambault from the Grandview-Woodland Community Policing Centre on Commercial Drive in Vancouver). He spoke to us about “Barriers to Peace in Our Communities” and then we discussed ways to get past the barriers. We spoke a lot about isolation; its causes and its consequences. We have all met people who are isolated. Marginalized people of the streets of Vancouver are isolated. People who live in fear of criminals are isolated by their protective systems. Many, from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds, choose to be isolated and it can be difficult to bring people out of their isolation. Adrian spoke of “atonement” and said that it is about “at-one-ment.” For our communities to experience peace, we must experience “at-one-ment.” At-one-ment means a breaking down of the barriers and recognizing that we are all part of the same family. Adrian suggested that not everyone is ready to break free of their isolation and that we need to seek to be present in people’s lives for when they are ready to open up.

After the discussion we experienced at-one-ment and atonement as we celebrated the Lord’s Supper together as a community and focussed on how Jesus exemplified the ultimate at-one-ment by becoming one of us and then sacrificing his life to pay for our atonement and make us at-one with God. There was much to think about and much for which we could be grateful.

I have many people in my life whom I regularly invite into community. Some are happy to be in community; others are hesitant or are down-right resistant to being part of a community. Some choose isolation over at-one-ment. I can speak of the benefits and joys of community and I can invite people into the greatest community of all: the Kingdom of God. But not even God will force people to be part of the Kingdom. We are here as a light, a witness, and a model of those who have found at-one-ment in Christ. We model a new kind of community and wait for others to find the truth in Jesus.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Warrior is a Child

Somedays I feel like a warrior; somedays I feel like a child. Somedays I feel like a little of both.
Lately I've been winning battles left and right
But even winners can get wounded in the fight
People say that I'm amazing
Strong beyond my years
But they don't see inside of me
I'm hiding all the tears

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
The warrior is a child

Unafraid because His armor is the best
But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest
People say that I'm amazing
Never face retreat
But they don't see the enemies
That lay me at His feet

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
the warrior is a child

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and look up for a smile
'Cause deep inside this armor
Deep inside this armor
Deep inside this armor
The Warrior is a Child*
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21

*Words and music by Twila Paris.