Embracing Peace at Advent

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While preparing this week’s newsletter I started singing Christmastime Is Here from A Charlie Brown Christmas. The first verse goes like this:

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

open handsAs I get older I seem to have become somewhat of a humbug. When I start thinking about the Christmas season a list of negative things immediately forms in my mind. I won’t bother you with the details, but suffice it to say, it’s a lot of mental and emotional work sorting through it all to get down to the good stuff. Sad to say, peace is one of the last things I think of when it comes to Christmas.

As I dig down deeper into the idea of peace, I realize that I’m dealing with a misconception of what peace really is. To quote J. Oswald Sanders, “Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God.” Sanders is getting at a misunderstanding that peace is primarily circumstantial and dependent upon the lack of conflict. His solution, though, is one of presence. Presence requires openness. In order to receive God’s presence, we need to let go of our need for control and open up to the reality that God’s presence brings companionship and resourcefulness. Saying yes to God means that we are not alone and that solutions to what is stressing us are made available.

Peace is the product of making space. We can make space in time, place, and relationships, and space provides avenues of potential. Making space in our schedule allows us to breathe and connect with God and people and to become agents of peace in the process. Making space in the place we live allows us to be open to relationship and provides a place to be that agent of peace. Making space is our hearts allows us to be open relationally, to be Jesus in our world, loving God by loving others.

So, back to the song “Christmastime Is Here,” peace comes when we make space to experience all the wonder and beauty that surrounds us as we celebrate the birth of Jesus with those who are close to us in proximity and in heart.

“Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” (Luke 2:14 CEB)

May you experience the favor of God’s peace as you open up to the presence of God and those who come close to you this Christmas season.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Embracing Peace from earlier this year.

Embracing Hope

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Every year I write an Advent devotional for each of the four weeks of Advent. I usually employ some sort of traditional pattern along with a theme to walk us toward Christmas. This year I will continue the theme of Embracing with the pattern of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.

photo credit – Josh Pinkston

photo credit – Josh Pinkston

When we look at the nativity story of Jesus in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, we see that Jesus was the fulfillment of Israel’s hope for a messiah. This messiah would be a king from the family of David who would establish justice and righteousness for Israel and all those who align themselves with this king. Jesus accomplished this, just not in the way they had expected. The Jews were looking for messiah to bring a national deliverance from the oppressive Roman regime. Instead, Jesus brought deliverance to individuals who collectively and over many years changed the world.

The church today continues to carry this hope into the world. It is a hope for resurrection that all things would be made new. It is a hope for justice that all things would be made right. It is a hope for deliverance that all would be made free, not just free from something, but free for something. Lastly it is a hope for love that through love all things would be restored and made whole again.

Recently at the conclusion of one of our community classes, a conversation begun with the students, the instructor, and others in the room. It was a vulnerable conversation about sad and painful things happening in their lives and in the lives of others they love. It became a moment in which the only appropriate thing to do was listen, acknowledge, and feel. Those that were there knew that the best way to share hope was to simply share their presence.

Hope is not just a dreamy-eyed notion that somehow, someday, everything will be alright. Hope is a substantive belief that we engage through faith. It is the knowing that in Christ resurrection, justice, freedom, and love are all a reality. We know this because we have seen it in Jesus, have experienced it through God’s presence in our lives, and through the love of God’s people.

“Hope is really hope when all seems hopeless.” John Caputo*

This is not to say that since I have Jesus in my life that everything is just peachy all the time. I am currently walking through a season in which I feel that I have lost hope for a number of things and in a number of circumstances. Some days all I can do is receive love from those who love me, trust that God is there, with and within me, and lay my hope down in hope that through all these things it will become hope again.

It is in these times when my hope is challenged that I realize that hope is not something I can muster or conjure up. It comes to me through the love and presence of God and people. Hope is a gift we hold up and hold out.

As we reconnect with the story of hope this Christmas, I pray that we become agents of hope for those around us, believing for them the realization of resurrection, justice, freedom, and love.

Grace and peace,
Brook

* From a Homebrewed Christianity interview with John Caputo. Minute 32:00-35:00

Embracing Trust

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There is a song I’ve been singing in my head a lot lately. It’s called Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United. If you’re like me, my mind will loop a portion of a song rather than the whole thing. With this song it was the bridge.

rock cairn with ocean backdropOceans (Where Feet May Fail)

(Bridge)
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

The first line, “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders,” has shaken and stirred my soul. It’s easy to trust when expectations are clear and the boundaries are visible. I’ve learned, though, that Jesus calls us beyond what is expected and into uncharted territory. The situations or issues will change, but it usually takes place in the realm of relationships. This is also an inside job. Jesus is stretching us to expand the borders of our heart. It’s never easy, but loving our neighbor as ourself rarely is.

Just as Jesus called Peter out of the boat to walk on the waves with him, we can trust the Lord to meet us in the place of uncertainty. Even if we feel ourselves sinking, we will find that his hand is holding us up, and that hand is usually the person to whom we have extended trust.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Embracing Mercy, Part 2

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You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies. (Psalm 23:5)

“Bread and Wine,” Albert York, 1966

“Bread and Wine,” Albert York, 1966

The table in this passage is a table of extravagant blessing. I’ve always wondered why it is prepared in the presence of my enemies. After studying about blessing and persecution for a talk I gave a few weeks back, I realize now that the table is not for me alone. A few verses later in this Psalm it reads, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” People who are known for their goodness and love are those who less concerned about what’s in it for them and more about who they can bless with what they themselves have been blessed with. As I see it, this table always has an extra chair and setting. When we choose to love our enemies, as Jesus taught, then the blessings of this table are all the more sweet, because it is a table where we people are loved and relationships restored.

All this reminds me of a quote I read on Twitter this week.

“I’ve found God is wanting to be known more in the person that annoys us, and less in sunsets.” @Sarcasticluther

This is never easy, and I’m sure we will find ourselves going around the mountain again and again on this one, but hopefully our company of travelers will grow with each successive trip as we learn to love God by loving others.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Embracing Mercy

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I had a texting exchange with a good friend about coffee. He appreciates that I’m a coffee aficionado and has enjoyed the coffee I have roasted. Here is what he texted me.

coffeeConfession: When there are no means for good coffee while on a personal retreat, I turn into an amoral monster who will consume just about anything. Please forgive me.

Here is my reply.

coffee packetCounter confession: I keep one in my desk in preparation for the apocalypse!
Mercy granted for mercy received.

He replied with: Hahahaha!! Granted

It is easy for us to build bulwarks and facades around the things that we value. In this instance, good coffee. I often joke that I’m a coffee snob and wouldn’t touch anything less than specialty grade coffee. The reality is that I regularly drink Denny’s coffee when I go there to have breakfast with a friend.

The point is that we are finite carbon life forms. We have limitations. We are not perfect. When we grant mercy to others, we will most likely receive mercy in our time of need. Opening up to the mercies of our brothers and sisters opens us up to the restoring mercy of God. Loving our neighbor as ourself is as spiritual as it is practical.

Mercy granted for mercy received!

Grace and peace,
Brook

Presence Takes Practice

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This last Monday was Columbus Day, and I got the day off. My family and I decided to take a little drive and enjoy the day in Pacific Grove. The weather was perfect. The traffic was easy. It seemed like everything was poised to be a banner day of relaxing, reconnecting, and recreating. There was just one little problem, which had the potential of becoming something much bigger. I hadn’t prepared myself to be present with my family as we enjoyed one of our favorite places in the world.

Asilomar State Beach, Pacific Grove, CA

Asilomar State Beach, Pacific Grove, CA

I had believed that if I just get there, everything will be different, everything will change. I was looking for a magical fix.

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” (Joshua 3:5)

Joshua gave this direction to the people of Israel just before they crossed the Jordan river, leaving the wilderness and entering the promised land. The “amazing thing” was that the Jordan river would temporarily stop flowing so they could cross on dry ground like they did crossing the Red Sea. Joshua wanted the people to prepare themselves for this day, dedicating themselves to the Lord, so that their expectation would be in God and that they could full experience the wonder that was about to happen.

In my lack of preparation I ended up bringing all my distractions with my, both internal and external. I could have left them behind. I could have said that I will deal with this thing or that thing later. I could have said that Facebook can wait. I could have worn clothes that were less nice so as to not worry about getting wet or sandy or dirty. And the list goes on…

My saving grace is an understanding wife. I don’t remember what she said or how she said it, but in a moment we came together and realized that the only time to experience this moment is now. Everything else can wait.

The preparation only took a moment, and the rest of the day was fantastic. The most important part of the preparation was realizing that I had to practice at being present. It’s not automatic or magical, but a deliberate choosing to focus on who I was with and the beauty of the place I was at. In the end we did find relaxation, reconnection with one another, and recreation.

Disaster narrowly averted. Lessoned learned. Thanks for listening.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Embracing Simplicity

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One evening this last week I was listening to the radio on my way home. I caught the last few minutes of an interview. I don’t remember the program or the person being interviewed, but I remember what she said.

bowl of riceShe was talking about an exercise in simplicity with the purpose of becoming more present to the situation at hand. The exercise was to take a measure of rice or sesame seeds, let’s say one cup, and count the grains. After a few minutes, most people will become completely overwhelmed with the task because of our inability to focus on one thing at a time.

Her contention is that technology is outpacing our brains’ ability to cope with its advancement. If we allow, we can be inundated with stimuli in the form of information, media, and competing goals and expectations. She was giving an exhortation toward presence, which is staying attentive to the person or task before us.

This has many implications, but the three that immediately came to my mind were family, community, and church. All three require us to be simply present. Presence, especially in the family and church, is expansive. It can be said that it is the presence of God being collectively expressed in the present. This is the basis of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23.

I’m not praying only for them but also for those who believe in me because of their word. I pray they will be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. I’ve given them the glory that you gave me so that they can be one just as we are one. I’m in them and you are in me so that they will be made perfectly one. Then the world will know that you sent me and that you have loved them just as you loved me.

May the grace of Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit empower us to become present to those who are near and dear to us.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Embracing Goodness

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Last Sunday at VLC we were honored to have Josh Pinkston share with us a message of a spirituality of presence. The key phrase in his talk was “The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21) Though I wholeheartedly embrace this concept, I admit it is difficult for me to envision it in my life. The main reason is that I have a hard time seeing the good in me, others, and the world around me.

I read a devotional from Richard Rohr a few days ago that addresses this difficulty.

We are not so at home with the resurrected form of things, despite a yearly springtime, healings in our bodies, the ten thousand forms of newness in every event and every life. The death side of things grabs our imagination and fascinates us as fear and negativity always do, I am sad to say. We have to be taught how to look for anything infinite, positive, or good, which for some reason is much more difficult.

We have spent centuries of philosophy trying to solve “the problem of evil,” yet I believe the much more confounding and astounding issue is “the problem of good.” How do we account for so much gratuitous and sheer goodness in this world? Tackling this problem would achieve much better results.

This is something I have been meditating on quite a bit lately, particularly on reducing blame, alienation, and separation.

Embracing goodness enables us to turn toward others instead of against or away from them, something Jesus seemed to be really good at. This will always be a work in progress, but I trust that if we take Jesus at his word and follow his example we can begin to see and connect with the kingdom of God in those around us.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Embracing God Along the Way

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I had the pleasure of spending three days and two nights at Old Oak Ranch in the hills above Sonora, CA, for a Foursquare District Pastors’ Conference. It was a refreshing time. It is amazing what a little change of scenery can do, not to mention spending time with friends you don’t get to see often.

As I was reflecting on my time there, I was reminded of a passage in the Psalms.hiking path

I lift up my eyes to the mountains-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
(Psalm 121:1-2)

So often we think that just doing this or that will change our life. In the first lines in the psalm above it is as if the psalmist is looking longingly to the distance for deliverance and protection. But then he remembers, “No, my help comes from God.” The rest of the psalm conveys how close God is and how lovingly God cares for us.

For me, going to the mountains was only a vehicle to remind me of God’s closeness and continual love, both in the quiet and alone moments as well as in community with others. We can experience the same thing down here in the valley. The same is true with our spiritual disciplines: prayer, reading scripture, meditating, gathering, etc. In and of themselves they only make us more disciplined people. But, if we treat them as vehicles to experience God, we will not be disappointed.

I pray that we find the expressions and disciplines that will be a pathway to experiencing God both as a community and in our personal lives.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Embracing Peace

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This last Wednesday, August 28, 2013, marked the the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his now iconic “I Have A Dream” speech. For me the most memorable part of the speech is his dream that young children of every color will hold hands and play together. It is a beautiful dream with implications far beyond the issues of racial equality, as important as those are. I would like to apply his dream to the gospel.

This week I read this Twitter post by Jonathan Martin.

“The gospel is so bent towards the outsiders, the very moment we get too secure being gospel insiders we start to resist the gospel itself.” (August 23, 2013)

Martin_Luther_King_-_March_on_WashingtonDr. Martin Luther King, Jr. saw that when the children of different races came together to play, they didn’t see one another as outsiders, but rather together as one. The gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, is a message that God is near. It is a message of relationship and inclusion into the people of God. The Apostle Paul refers to it in Ephesians 6:15 as the “gospel of peace” for which we must be ready to carry with us wherever we go.

We will always be tempted to accentuate our differences to the exclusion of others. May we not resist the gospel in this way, but as agents of the gospel of peace, let’s pursue peace to the inclusion of others, who will then no longer be other.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9

Grace and peace,
Brook