Waiting for Christmas instead of Making it Happen

I was given a book with readings for Advent recently for my birthday (thanks Ashley!) and the reading for Nov. 28 was by Henri Nouwen and is about waiting. He discusses how Mary and Elizabeth went through their pregnancies expectantly (pardon the pun) waiting and supporting each other in that waiting period. He also points out how this was not passive and was hopeful for a promise to be fulfilled, but in our age we view waiting as passive and as the very opposite of hope. Hope has to do with making a plan, doing it, and hoping it works, not with waiting. As he says in the reading, 'We want the future to go in a very specific direction, and if this does not happen we are disappointed..we want to do the things that will make the desired event take place.' We want to take charge, make it happen!

Clearly there are times when we should take action. As C.S. Lewis has noted, some things only happen by our work. Our hands will not come clean by praying for them to come clean: we must go wash them. The dinner will not get prepared by praying for dinner: we must get up to cook it. But Lewis also points out that while some things only get done by our work some things only get done by prayer. Some only get done by marriage and family. Some only get done by humility and waiting.

It  struck me in reading this that some areas of our lives have clear boundaries and others do not. In my work in R&D we are limited by the laws of physics and chemistry. No matter how often Marketing says, 'just go invent something: here is some money, go invent' that does not change the boundaries. Once we find an area of technology that looks to have promise for our applications, we are still bounded by what it can do within it's boundaries. We can only go where the technology is able to go. That may not be where the business wanted to go.  In that sense we often 'wait' for the next thing, the breakthrough. Waiting is forced on us by our boundaries. This seems foreign to some other functions, though, where they decide to 'make it happen' and put on an ad campaign, run coupons, offer incentives, and so on. Money seems to be the only limit or boundary. But in science, more money will not necessarily get you where you want to go. You may need to wait, or you may need to realize it can't be done.

Many of us bring our 'make it happen' approach to Christmas. We will not take time to seek the Lord, to contemplate His coming, to make room in our hearts for that Coming to be refreshed in us. We just make it happen:  we decorate, buy gifts, cook, send cards, go to events, and so on. But I, for one, need to wait, to set aside some time to just wait. Expectantly.

The Promise and Thanksgiving

We are studying Hebrews in our Sunday morning Bible Study (aka, 'Sunday School') and this week in chapter 6 God's promise to Abraham is recalled, and the word 'promise' is used over and over again. This emphasis on the promise of God to Abraham is not just here, but is also talked about by Paul in Romans. In the Old Testament, the first inkling of this promise occurs as Adam and Eve are evicted from the Garden, and recurs over and over in both the Torah and tbe Prophets. We are often told that the Old Testament is about Law and the New Testament about Grace, but Dr. Walter Kaiser has proposed that a better understanding would be that the Old Testament is about the Promise and the New about fulfiling that Promise. I like that. Law is a sub-plot of the Promise.

Does this matter? Kaiser insists that it does, and I agree. Too many folks have understood the Law versus Grace dichotomy to mean a fundamental difference in how God deals with mankind between the Old and New Testaments.  It almost looks as if the basic relationship of man with God is different, being accomplished by Law in the O.T. and grace through faith in the New. Not so says Kaiser. It has always been a matter of faith in God's ability to keep His Promise. During the O.T. the fulfillment of that Promise stood at a different place, but the issue was the same: will God keep His Promise, or not?

Thanksgiving marks the start of Advent. In the U.S. it stands as a day of thanks for our blessings, but as the start of Advent is ushers in the season of remembering the greatest blessing: the anniversary of God taking on flesh to make Himself known in the keeping of His Promise. He has kept His Promise. Let us give thanks!

White Space

In the recent online version of Christianity Today magazine there is an article about viewing productivity in a Christian manner. One comment in the article is that to be truly productive we need some 'white space' in our schedules, unscheduled time that allows us time to think, ponder, and create as well as downtime to rest and recharge. I have always found that to be true, and I think it is more true for us introverts who need time alone to recharge than for extroverts who often can recharge with other people. I find the need for white space increasingly evident as I grow older.

The reason for this is that as I grow older, stress shows up more visibly. I was reminded of this again this past week.  When I get overly tired or stressed, a condition called 'Iritis' in my eyes flares up, causing red and inflamed eyes. This is an autoimmune problem and it isn't really known what causes it,  which makes it somewhat like psoriasis. As my eyes turned red this past week, I realized that I was more tired and stressed than I had thought. This sort of thing never happened to me until after about age 45, though I no doubt had as much or more stress in those earlier days.  However, nowadays my phyical frame doesn't deal with that stress as well as it once did so I get stronger signals when I need to get some additional 'white space'. I am certainly less productive when I am forced to take time out to let my eyes recover!

So I have no choice at times but to leave some white space in my life. Good thing. I obviously need it.

Boston, the American Revolution, and the Current Election

I recently visited Boston for a training conference and took an hour to visit the Old State House building downtown, which was the colonial capital building for the colony of Massachusetts and the seat of the first legislature after independence. When we had been here on vacation to walk the Liberty Trail we got to the statehouse just as it was closing, so this let me complete that part of the Trail. I have often pondered the American Revolution and wondered whether I could have supported that war. Going to war over taxation (Taxation with Representation!) always struck me as not a very good reason to go to war; war is a very extreme remedy for high and unfair taxes. However, in  going through the Old Statehouse museum there were some quotes from colonists about how 'it isn't the taxes so much as the taxability' that angered the colonists. As I have pondered my own anger at the current direction of our government I think I have gained at least some insight into how the colonists felt.

The museum had displays about things like the Writs of Assistance (which allowed search and siezure of personal property at any time for any reason), forced housing of troops in homes, the Stamp Act to tax all pieces of paper, and other things that generally made the colonists angry. It was clear that the throne did not trust them, and they did not trust the throne to act for their common good. They felt abused and without recourse. A poll that was released this week on election day indicated that 75% of Americans were either angry or very dissatisfied with the government (about 25% angry, about 50% dissatisfied). Another 20% or so were neutral, and only 3 percent were satisfied. It seems that Americans neither trust the government to do what is right for the country nor feel that the leadership either trusts or represents them. Many just feel the government is not listening and does not 'get it'. The government treats the people as if they aren't smart enough to know how wonderful their direction really is. After all, we are 'hard wired not to think clearly when we are scared' and are 'clinging to guns and religion' according to the President. All of this results in anger, which I think must be how many of the colonists felt.

I for one am not scared, but I am angry. The election results were intended by the people to send a message to Washington. Listening to the news today, I am not at all sure that they will get the right message. I think many voters are angry for reasons similar to the colonists: a government that is out of control and limited ability to set them straight. That anger in the colonies grew over time due to a number of things, not just the taxes. I think that is the case now as well.  It is not just the economy. It is an accumulation of things. If the next 2 years does not show an improved ability to 'listen' in both Congress and the White House, even stronger messages will get sent.

The Wall Street Journal today included an editorial by Daniel Henninger that discusses how this election has repudiated the direction the Democratic administration was forcing the country to go. It is not yet clear whether the GOP will do any better. The article ended this way: 'If the GOP blows this, one would just as soon not go where a volatile and angry electorate will take the United States.' I agree. It is time for both parties to get in touch with reality.

Arguing with Ourselves

I recently read the book Radical by David Platt. It is a call to change for American Christians and has the subtitle 'Taking back your faith from the American Dream'. He makes a good case that the church in America resembles the 'American Dream' more than it resembles Christ and the early church. He has a lot to say about his ambivalence toward the megachurch situation in the U.S., and I share his ambivalence. Many of the very large evangelical churches have such opulent buildings, such entertainment-driven programming, and such rampant materialism in their membership that they are difficult to differentiate from some vacation resorts.  The materialism espoused by Creflow Dollar, Joel Osteen, and others of their ilk are not the only megachurches with this problem (though they are the worst); it does seem to come with the 'success' mentality that drives the American dream and most of American culture. Growth, numbers, and prosperity are the measure of success both inside and outside the church. He contrasts that with much of what Jesus said which at times seemed to be intended to drive away those who were not ready to follow Him to crucifixion. Numbers were clearly not His goal.

There is much to agree with and to be challenged by in the book. I certainly agree with his proposal that we set a cap, an upper limit, on our lifestyle that we will not go beyond regardless of income we may earn. This has been espoused in the past by Larry Burkett and others but does not get enough play in the church in my opinion. He also espouses something C.S. Lewis recommended back about 50 years ago: when it comes to giving, if it doesn't cramp your style, if it doesn't hurt a bit, if it doesn't cause you to give up something, then it isn't enough. God prospers us so we may help others, not so we can over-indulge on ourselves.

What the author doesn't do enough of, however, is argue with himself. For instance, while the megachurch has its flaws, so do small churches. I  have observed in past blogs that my parents generation was less interested in megachurches because they had more interest in pastoral care from the pastor while my generation has placed a premium on good preaching, and there aren't all that many good preachers. Will the next generation still support megachurches? Or is it just a generational thing? I don't know, but I would have appreciated a bit more discussion, more argument, on the pros/cons of megachurches.

Similarly, while he decries the way Americans apply their 'we can make it happen' attitude to church while ignoring the Holy Spirit, he then seems to imply that we should apply this same ' we can make it happen' approach to missions.  That was a big disconnect for me, partly because I have commented before that it seems to me that missions have failed in some areas of the world, and I think much of that is due to misguided missions work where we have done exactly that.

Still, his challenges at the end to practice discipleship and giving to specific need areas around the world are compelling and the book is well worth reading.

Fall will get here, directly...

It was 2 years ago, in the Fall, that I began to post on this blog. Time flies. I think it goes faster with each year, although this year summer seems to be holding on longer than I would like. I am tired of the endless days above 90 degrees and I am definitely ready for fall to get here.

 For reasons I don't fully understand, Fall is my favorite season. Some of it may have to do with new beginnings. The start of the school year in the fall, though now the administrators have backed it up into mid-summer, was always a time of new beginnings and aspirations.  The cooler weather, when it finally arrives, re-energizes after the dog-days of late summer. Maybe that is why I began this blog in the Fall. Or maybe it had more to do with Jon and Ash going to Oxford and using this to have some conversation, but since that was tied to a school year it still has a connection to autumn. Many of our major moves in life have come in the fall as well. We moved to Memphis to start working with Kimberly-Clark in the fall; we moved from Memphis to Roswell in the fall; we moved from Roswell to Pittsfield in the fall. Of course, when I went to explore seminary, since that had to do with school, that move from Appleton to Chicago also happened in the fall. It has been a time not only of changes in the weather, but changes in life.

This year fall seems to be lagging, though. We were chatting the other day about the word 'directly'. I heard it a lot from my grandfather, and from my father. I recall times sitting on the front porch at my grandparents house when my grandmother or my mother would call to us that supper was just about ready. My grandfather would commonly say, 'We'll be there directly'.  It didn't mean we jumped right up and ran in: we just knew to 'mosey' that way shortly. And it was pronounced  'dreckly'. That way you didn't confuse it with something like the same word used for location, like 'he was directly in front of me' (pronounced 'DIE-rectly'). I expect good things from the fall season, so I am ready for it to get here. I guess it will get here directly.

You are what you were when...

Back in the late 1970's, a professor at the University of Colorado ( I think in psychology) did a film series entitled 'You Are What You Were When'. The gist of it was that the culture, the key world events, and your personal life experiences during your growing up years shape you in a way that stays with you the rest of your life, and to understand any particular generation you need to understand the key events that shaped their life while growing up. For those of us whose parents grew up during the Great Depression, we heard over and over about how tough life was in the 1930's, how a job is not to be taken lightly, how important it is to 'save for a rainy day', how we need to understand 'the value of money', and so forth. The severity of the Depression, the 25% national unemployment, the malnutrition they endured, all of those things had a profound impact on how they viewed the world, and they wanted to transmit those values to us who lived in much more prosperous times. Then the Depression ended in a global war, that brought yet another kind of hardship, often too difficult to even talk about. They sometimes lamented that the message did not fully get through to us the way they had hoped.

Recently Beloit College published their annual list about the mindset of this year's entering freshman class at colleges around the country. The list takes note of things such as this new class thinks email is too slow,  their phones never had cords to twist while you talk on the phone, Czechoslovakia never existed in their life, Russians and Americans always lived and worked together in space, and they never lived under the threat of nuclear missile attack. Even 9/11 is a distant memory to many of them now, half a lifetime ago. As with my parents, many of things that shaped my world view like the Cold War, nuclear attack drills at school, the Vietnam war, 'the pill', civil rights marches and riots, The Silent Spring, The Population Bomb, and double-digit inflation are all part of a distant history to my children, who are all older than this new class. Also like my parents,  I know of no way to really transmit how those things impacted my thinking in a way that comes close to living through them. Again like my parents, I also sometimes wonder if I have done a good enough job in transmitting values about faith, money, defense, the environment (and skepticism in the predictions made about it), family and any number of things.

In that regard the current recession will no doubt have considerable teaching power for things I could only talk about. Attitudes toward debt, jobs, the stock market are undergoing shifts now that will be part of lived reality for this generation. It will no doubt have an impact.

Now I am glad that I heard those Depression stories over and over again. I heard it enough that I at least could understand why my parents and grandparents viewed things the way they did. It does remind me, though, that we older folks need to pause to think about what has shaped the lives of our children and how different it was to the things we often assume as 'givens'. And we need to keep on telling the stories.