When Cheryl and I lived in Africa in 2003 and then China in 2004 we had a first time experience almost every day. I wrote about these experiences in a series of letters. I recall one response from a Westerner who had spent a good part of their life in the 2/3 & developing world. He enjoyed my letters because I was helping him see and hear life with fresh eyes.

One of the things Brook and I want to accomplish through this series on justice is to help us see and hear justice through fresh eyes: to poke, to prod and of course to encourage. The first two weeks on justice have challenged how we understand justice. Today we want challenge our hearts, what we experience of justice. We are using Nicholas Wolterstorff’s work on justice to help us  and today we’ll introduce you to a poet named Joel Mckerrow.

We understand that God didn’t just create humankind in his image. He intentionally attaches his love to each being, to each of us. Christ attaches his love to each person, whether we know it or not, or accept it or not and we are reminded that Christ reverses the order of society. He reveals to us that the disadvantaged are worthy.

Christ is tells us that he has made the last first. The disadvantaged have the same rights and entitlement as the rest of us. If that is so and if we accept as scripture tells us, that we are merely stewards of His resources, then what’s ours is His…..making what’s ours theirs.

Justice influenced by Christ’s reversed social order compels us not only to love our neighbour as we love ourself, but to act on this love, why? Because our neighbour is entitled.  Because when we look in their eyes we see ourselves, when we look in their soul we see that Christ as attached his love to them.To assume that someone has less worth, to treat them as unworthy of your time, or money or patience or grace. To consider them unworthy of you, is to wrong him or her and to offend Christ.

When we consider our actions in terms of the rights of others, we understand better how our actions have affected not just their rights but their very personhood. The disadvantaged and the wronged have a right to a claim against us, our response should not what can we give, rather what are they entitled to receive.

Wolterstorff reminds us that God’s intent for the world, is as Christ prayed “May thy Kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”This goes beyond justice. It is a vision of shalom, all humanity dwelling in peace in our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others, and with nature.

It is shalom when:

the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard and the goat will be at peace. Calves and yearlings will be safe among lions, and a little child will lead them all. The cattle will graze among bears. Cubs and calves will lie down together. And lions will eat grass as the livestock do. Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes and pull it out unharmed. Isaiah 11:6-8 NLT

Nicholas Wolterstorff: Until justice and peace embrace: the Kuyper lectures for 1981 delivered at the Free University of Amsterdam, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1983  pg 69

NT Wright says  that our mission as the church is to bring beauty, justice and evangelism if that is so, shalom the fulfillment of these  cannot exist without justice, and to do that we must see injustice for what it is:

  to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe him,and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Isaiah 58:6,7 NIV

Poet Joel McKerrow http://youtu.be/_vCtEqyYkfk

Shalom establishes right and harmonious relationships with others, it can see God’s joy and presence in all humanity. We  are the people of shalom when we can find joy in the company of others. And  there can only be justice when human beings no longer oppress one another.

 Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field.

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes in undisturbed places of rest. Isaiah 32:16-18 NIV

Nicholas Wolterstorff: Until justice and peace embrace: the Kuyper lectures for 1981 delivered at the Free University of Amsterdam, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1983  pg 69

For Shalom falls short when some make their own way in the world to the disadvantage of others.

Poet Joel McKerrow http://youtu.be/D7gD9U-iXg0

Shalom is God’s cause for the world and we the church are entrusted with bringing it to earth. It is God’s cause and our calling and though we won’t see this fulfilled until Christ returns we are not to stand around waiting. We participate in his cause and fulfill his peace on earth. But we the church are hindered when we fail to acknowledge our injustices

Nicholas Wolterstorff: Until justice and peace embrace: the Kuyper lectures for 1981 delivered at the Free University of Amsterdam, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1983  pg 72

Poet Joel McKerrow http://youtu.be/7d-Hg5h3rMo

The prophet Isaiah spoke of the one through whom shalom would be fulfilled.

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of power,

the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—Isaiah 11:1,2 NIV

Isaiah is referring to Christ, the one through whom justice and peace – shalom will be fulfilled. As imperfect as we may be, He has us entrusted to carry out shalom. We who believe in him serve him by creating a just world. We are his peace workers. Nicholas Wolterstorff: Until justice and peace embrace: the Kuyper lectures for 1981 delivered at the Free University of Amsterdam, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1983  pg 72

Give me eyes to see, ears to hear and courage to act.

Christ reverses the order of society. He reveals to us that the disadvantaged are worthy. Christ is tells us that he has made the last first. The disadvantaged have the same rights and entitlement as the rest of us. If that is so and if we accept as scripture tells us, that we are merely stewards of His resources, then what’s ours is His…..making what’s ours theirs.

Last week we used the parable of the Good Samaritan to frame an understanding of Justice. Christ told a parable in response to a religion scholar who asked this question “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?”

God didn’t just cast humankind in his image. He intentionally attaches his love to each being, to each of us. Christ attaches his love to each person, whether we know it or not, or accept it or not. Justice compels us to love our neighbour as ourself, creating a right order as you and I see the love Christ has for us,…. in the other, loving the other as Christ loves you. And the crucial part… acting on that love.

We are referencing Nicholas Wolterstorff – Justice Rights and Wrongs and Brook Biggin’s – Masters dissertation: An Analysis of the American Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis through the Lens of Wolterstorff’s Theory of Justice as Inherent Rights.

Justice – “What’s mine is yours”

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. Then the King will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ And the King will tell them, ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons! For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ And he will answer, ‘I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Matthew 25: 31-46 NLT

Strictly speaking the hungry, thirsty and poor Christ refers to in the passage are followers of Christ and Christ is sharing the responsibility we have to take care of those who suffer for the Christ’s sake, but that is a topic for another day. The theme of the Bible is clear; we are to take care of all the disadvantaged.The truths in this passage apply to us regardless of who is in need.

In this passage Christ reverses the order of society. He reveals to us that the disadvantaged are worthy. Christ is tells us that he has made the last first. The disadvantaged have the same rights and entitlement as the rest of us. If that is so and if we accept as scripture tells us, that we are merely stewards of His resources, then what’s ours is His…..making what’s ours theirs.

Justice influenced by Christ’s reversed social order compels us not only to love our neighbour as we love ourself, but to act on this love, why? Because our neighbour is entitled.  Because when we look in their eyes we see ourselves, when we look in their soul we see that Christ as attached his love to them.

To assume that someone has less worth, to treat them as unworthy of your life,your time, or money or patience or grace is to wrong him or her and to offend Christ. Still, our motivation to meet needs, to be merciful or compassionate can be patronizing, as though we were patting the disadvantaged on the head, or feeling sorry for them, or even guilty.

Mother Teresa  said “Love is not patronizing and charity isn’t about pity, it is about love. Charity and love are the same — with charity you give love, so don’t just give money but reach out your hand instead.” ? Mother Teresa, A Simple Path: Mother Teresa

When we accept that the disadvantaged and wronged are entitled to what God has given us we understand that justice revolves around the recipient not the giver, we need to be careful to avoid a couple of errors.

If our approach to social action/justice revolves around us, we are motivated by a desire to change ourselves, to feel better ourselves. As a consequence the needs of the wronged  may or may not be met.

This happens a lot in short term missions to 2/3 world countries.  Full time global workers often cringe when they learn we are coming to “help.”

When we focus on our actions or our own moral condition: we conclude that we are either upright or guilty.But when we consider our actions in terms of the rights of others, we understand better how how our actions have affected the other person: their rights are honoured or they have been is wronged . The disadvantaged and the wronged have a right to a claim against us, our response should not what can we give, rather what are they entitled to receive.

In the Matthew 5 passage the same question is asked by the righteous and the unrighteous. “Lord when did we see you? Same question but radically different world views. The righteous have woven justice into their very being, they make no distinction between themselves and the poor, they see them as they see themselves and the rights of the disadvantaged are honoured. They are the ones Christ was referring to when he said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5: 3

The poor in spirit have a posture of humility and repentance. On the other side, the disadvantaged are invisible to the unrighteous, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ How is it that they have been so self absorbed? What worries, joys and distractions, what selfishness caused them to lack the awareness of Christ’s heart for the disadvantaged and wronged? Ignorance is no excuse because the claims of the wronged remains outstanding.

Remorse and confession is inadequate because though we may feel better, the rights of the disadvantaged remain outstanding. What is required is that we become poor in spirit: Forgiveness and humility followed by repentance. Evidence of repentance is changing our attitude and behaviour to address the rights of the wronged. In our identification with the disadvantaged we too are blessed, declared righteous.

“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”  A Simple Path: Mother Teresa

“What’s mine is Yours”

Join us for a Lenten Adventure in Developing the Spiritual Life

A seven week study for individuals and small groups including a weekly facilitated on-line discussion forum for learning and growing together

When : Lent 2012
February 26 – April 8

Study Content : Developing the Spiritual Life by Len Thompson and Dayna Mazzuca

From the forward to Developing the Spiritual Life:

As Christ followers, we recognize the spiritual life we live, but do we really know what it is, or even how to see it develop in our lives? In our desire to be successful, do we just try harder or broach different methods in hopes of bringing about spiritual growth? Unfortunately, instead of spiritual transformation, we discover that we retreat behind legalism or experience stunted development only then succumbing to disillusionment, faking it or simply giving up…

In preparation to go on a trip to a major city, I always pick up a travel book. At the most basic level it provides me with maps. To further enhance my stay, I use it to gain suggestions for hotels and restaurants. But to make the most of my journey I look to this guide to give me information on the museums, parks, and area attractions that are perhaps less well known, and yet represent the majestic beauty and hidden treasures of that city.

These sessions are really a travel guide for a journey into spiritual transformation that will take you beyond the surface, and perhaps trite explanations you may have received in the past. Developing the Spiritual Life will lead you through the process of coming to know God, yourself and others better through exercising a life of listening and obedience.

Becoming a disciple of Christ and experiencing the development of a deep and strong spiritual life will never be completed until we reach heaven. But while we are earth bound, becoming students of Scripture and biblically sound material, such as this book, will further us on this journey towards Christ-likeness.

Weekly Schedule

Week One: A Story of Disappointment

Week Two: Listening to God – here’s how

Week Three: Mucking about in the shallows

Week Four: Listening to others – here’s how

Week Five: Lost and far from home

Week Six: Returning our lives to God – here’s how

Cost $20.00
includes:
• weekly facilitated online forum
• hard copy (PDF copy on request) of Developing the Spiritual Life

Contact: smallergroups@urbanbridgechurch.com or Kelly Schmidt Ks.maier@hotmail.com

In cooperation with the Urban Sanctuary – urbansanctuary.ca

Our understanding of justice is influenced by many things: Religion, politics, philosophy, friends, injustices, sports, media. Some of my favourite movies are big on retribution: good person is wronged, but bad person gets his or her just reward by the end of the movie. In hockey when the skill player is hurt we demand justice.

Are these examples of justice?

When we, the church consider social action we often default to acts of mercy and compassion. What about justice?

Over the next weeks Brook and I want to bring clarity the meaning of justice, to offer another side to justice and we want to make the distinction between justice and compassion. We will be borrowing heavily from Nicholas Wolterstorff – Justice Rights and Wrongs and Brook Biggin’s – Masters dissertation: An Analysis of the American Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis through the Lens of Wolterstorff’s Theory of Justice as Inherent Rights.

Jesus told a now famous parable about justice:

A religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?”

He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbour as well as you do yourself.” “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbour’?”

Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side.Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.“A despised Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him.He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable.In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’

“What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbour to the man attacked by robbers?”

“The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”  Luke 10:25- 37 The Message.

To love my neighbour as myself.

Is loving my neighbour as myself an act of mercy: showing kindness to an enemy, to the powerless?

Maybe loving my neighbour as myself is compassion: feeling sympathy or sorrow for one who is hurting?

Or loving my neighbour as myself is benevolence: a desire to do good to others?

Could it be that  loving my neighbour as myself  is like the “pass it forward principle which if we think about it is self-centred.”(eudaimonism) believing that doing good is a measure of a life lived well.

These are good motives but is that what it means to love your neighbour as you love yourself?

Consider this: the Samaritan’s decision to love his ancestral enemy as he loved himself, was an act of justice.

Living a just life as understood by the religious leaders in Jesus’ time was far from the just living that God had intended—living a just life, a Holy life was supposed encourage justice, mercy, and faithfulness (cf. Matt 23:23). Instead, living a holy life, a just life, became the means of  reinforcing their social status, marginalizing the poor, and excluding “sinners”.

We experience the same today. When others fail us, or don’t meet our expectations, when they don’t measure up, we exclude them.To recapture the meaning of justice we need to understand what it means to love your neighbour as yourself.

Nicholas Wolterstorff Justice: Rights and Wrongs challenges a number of assumptions. It isn’t good enough to understand that we are created in God’s image because each of us in our heart knows that God’s image in us is marred…and we are responsible.

God didn’t just cast humankind in his image. He intentionally attaches his love to each being, to each of us.Christ attaches his love to  each person, whether or not we know it, or accept it. His active love remains regardless of how marred His image in us may be. Because of this attached love each of us is priceless. Every person you will meet today is priceless to Christ.

Wolterstorff says, “the vulnerable or “bottom’ members of society do not have to be included in the social order; they’re already there. Within Jesus’ principle of social inversion, those at the bottom of the social order must be lifted up. As a consequence, so too must those at the top be humbled.”

To love your neighbour as yourself is to create a right order to see the love Christ has for you in the other. So to assume that someone has less worth, to treat them as unworthy of your time, or money or patience or grace is to wrong him or her.

John Chrysostom a 4th century Bishop was exiled for his outspoken views on privilege and justice he believed that “The rich exist not for the sake of the poor but the poor exist the salvation of the rich.”

“Not to share our wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of their means of life; we do not possess our own life but theirs.” John Chrysostom [St. John Chrysostom (+407 A.D.) On Wealth and Poverty, p. 55, Crestwood, NY 1984]

The Merchant and the Mercenary

It was the season of storms, and as clouds bunched together and the wind gathered speed the port city prepared.Tying down their possessions the residents secured their homes and stoked their hearths to wait out the rage.

The tempest was at it’s angriest when the lighthouse sounded the alarm. A ship was sinking. Rescuers led by the city’s leading merchant fought their way to the spot where the vessel floundered on the rocks.

Peering through rain and waves it was clear to the rescuers that the ship belonged to a mercenary captain commissioned by a foreign port city to destroy it’s competition. The mercenary had been pillaging the business man’s ships.

The rescuers shaking their fists at the desperate figures on board, shouted, “You are getting your just rewards”.Turning to leave they were stopped by the merchant. “We will not leave he said, “until they are all saved.”

The grateful mercenary offered to repay with interest what he had taken from the merchant. No, the man replied. Why, asked the surprised mercenary?” The merchant said, “Justice compelled me to save you and my reward is that justice was served.”

“Distrust any man in whom the impulse to punish is powerful” – Nietzsche

When we love our neighbour as ourselves the one in need has a just claim even if we disagree with their values, or beliefs. Even if they have robbed us or alienated us or hated us or cut us off, or gossiped about us ….you get the picture. Christ motivated justice corrects to restore right relationship..

Reflect when you wanted to get back at or get even with some one

Mercy: showing kindness to an enemy or the powerless.

Compassion: feelings of sympathy and sorrow for another.

And benevolence: a desire to do good to others.

All of these are excellent qualities, but justice acts regardless of their presence and is motivated by the realization that God has attached the same love to your neighbour as you.

In the 1990’s the US government put in place a comprehensive program to combat HIV/AIDS. It was applauded even though it excluded many because of lifestyle, race, occupation sexual orientation or citizenship.If we measure it against the kind of justice which recognizes inherent human worth based on God’s intentional love for each of us, the program loses some of its shine.

Justice which recognizes the command to love  your neighbour as yourself is not dependent on citizenship, race, sexual orientation,or lifestyle. It is dependent on seeing God’s love for you attached to the other.

When we began forming this community called Urban Bridge Church we decided to support those suffering with HIV AIDS. We continue to do so, working alongside HIV Edmonton, and Catholic Social Services.We are three quite different organizations, differing in many of our lifestyle choices, religious beliefs and values.

Why do we continue? A religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?” He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbour as well as you do yourself.” “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.”

To be a follower of Christ is to choose to love im with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and to learn love your neighbour as much as you love yourself.”

One strength of Urban Bridge church is in challenging assumptions, We accept little at face value but lets begin 2012 by putting our doubts and skepticism in perspective.

Soul Cravings

The soul craves experiences that offer it the rich depths of God. Silence, solitude, holy leisure, simplicity, prayer, journaling, the Eucharist, rituals that touch the space of Mystery, symbols and images, the Bible, laughter, delight in the divine Presence, deep encounters with creation, and the merciful coming together of human hearts. All these feed the soul, producing energy for living the transformed life.

Sue Monk Kidd

Acts chapter 10

In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment He was a devout man who feared the God of Israel, as did his entire household. He gave generously to charity and was a man who regularly prayed to God.

One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said. Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have not gone unnoticed by God! Now send some men down to Joppa to find a man named Simon Peter.  He is staying with Simon, a leatherworker who lives near the shore. Ask him to come and visit you.” As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.

The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the city, Peter went up to the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, and he was hungry. But while lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.” “Never, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never in all my life eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish laws.” The voice spoke again, “If God says something is acceptable, don’t say it isn’t.” The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was pulled up again to heaven. Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found the house and stood outside at the gate. They asked if this was the place where Simon Peter was staying.

Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. Go down and go with them without hesitation. All is well, for I have sent them.” So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout man who fears the God of Israel and is well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to send for you so you can go to his house and give him a message.” They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for him and had called together his relatives and close friends to meet Peter. Peter told them, “You know it is against the Jewish laws for me to come into a Gentile home like this. But God has shown me that I should never think of anyone as impure. So I came as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.” Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house at three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayers have been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God!  Now send some men to Joppa and summon Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a leatherworker who lives near the shore.’ So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now here we are, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.”

Peter then explained Christ’s coming to earth, his death, resurrection and the resulting hope and new creation for those who believed.

Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who had heard the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles, too. And there could be no doubt about it, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter asked, “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days. Acts 10:1-48 New Living Translation

This narrative is simple, straight up. It is difficult to miss the message. Right? This story would be less straightforward if we were living it. If you or I were Peter and our core assumptions of faith and practice were being challenged,…it would not be so simple. We are not so different. We critique and measure this passage against our favourite philosopher, theologian or ideology. We are wondering about its relevance for now, for us, for those in our world.

That is the beauty of this community called Urban Bridge Church and the culture we are intentional in bridging. Our strength is in challenging assumptions, We accept little at face value but lets begin 2012 by putting our doubts and skepticism in perspective. We need hope and there are many others who need the same hope and faith that comes through belief in Christ.

Christianity is a strong and agitating religion. To boil down its truth to bland and unchewable mush is a an offense at best and turns it into an entirely different religion at worst.  So Says Leonard Sweet Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God who is already There Leonard Sweet pg 193.

But, you say… Doubt is forming. Listen to Soren Kierkegaard on Answering doubt

Have you ever doubted? I wonder whether you have ever born the marks of imitation? I wonder whether you have forsaken all to follow Christ? I wonder, whether your life has been marked by persecution? Indeed, many have doubted. And there have been those who felt obliged to refute their doubt with reasons. But these reasons backfire and foster a doubt that gets stronger and stronger. Why? Because demonstrating the truth of Christianity does not lie in reasons but in imitation: what resembles the truth. Yet we Christians prefer to take this proof away.

The need for “reasons” is already a kind of doubt – doubt lives off reasons. We fail to notice that the more reasons, one advances, the more one nourishes doubt and the stronger doubt becomes. Offering doubt reasons, in order to kill it, is just like offering a hungry monster food it likes, in order to eliminate it. No, we must not offer reasons to doubt – at least not if our intention is to kill it. We must do as Luther did, order doubt to shut its mouth, and to that end we must keep quiet.

Provocations: Spiritual writings of Kierkegaard pg 77.

How different our world would be if Peter had paused, doubted and reasoned when God said, “Go down and go with them without hesitation.”

An often used Christian response to doubt is: “our questions will be answered in heaven” – we offer hope for life after death. Is that it? We have a chance, even a responsibility to bring Hope for life before death. In accepting that doubt cannot always be reconciled, may never be reconciled we are in effect telling it to shut its mouth. Doubt put in its place creates a healthy tension, giving hope its strength

How should we express this hope and faith that comes through belief in Christ? NT Wright believes the message of hope in Christ, the mission of the church, is expressed through Beauty, justice and evangelism. Part of the task of the church must be to take up that sense of injustice, to bring it to speech, to help people both articulate it and, when they are ready to do so, to turn in into prayer…. And the task then continues with the churches work, with the whole community…. Surpised by Hope: Rethinking  Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church NT Wright. Pgs 230-232.

We understand justice, 20% of our income goes to mercy. The next three weeks will be spent in conversation about Justice. We are constantly exploring new ways to be Bridge Christ and culture through justice.

Wright also says Beauty has been subverted in the shoulder-shrugging functionalism of postwar architecture, coupled by the passivity born of decades of Television, has meant, that,for many people the world appears to offer little but bleak urban landscapes on the one hand, and cheap entertainment on the other. When people cease to be surrounded by beauty, they cease to hope. They internalize the message that whispers that they are not worth very much, that they are in effect less than fully human. Surpised by Hope: Rethinking  Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church NT Wright. Pgs 230-232. 

We embrace the creative. The Bleeding Heart Sacred Space being created on Alberta Ave by some of you will help those lost in hopeless find their full humanity through relationship with Christ.

Then we have Evangelism, gathering baggage and negative connotations in a post Christian world and weighing us down with guilt even as those, like a present day Cornelius, search for more. Malcolm Muggeridge the 20th century thinker, writer, satirist, communist and agnostic commented on his journey to Christ.

I grasped that over it lay, as it were, a cable bridge, frail, swaying, but passable. And this bridge, this reconciliation between the black despair of lying bound and gagged in the tiny dungeon of ego, and soaring upwards into the white radiance of God’s universal love-this bridge was the Incarnation, whose truth expresses that of the desperate need it meets. Because of our physical hunger we know there is bread; because of our spiritual hunger we know there is Christ. Malcolm Muggeridge – “Jesus Rediscovered” as cited in “The Book of Jesus”, Simon & Schuster, edited by Calvin Miller, at page 236

Wright believes evangelism flourishes when the church gives itself to works of justice and works of beauty. When we the church are living and being as we should Evangelism happens, surprising us. There is a new world, and it has already begun, – the kingdom of heaven on Earth – and it works by healing, and forgiveness, and new starts and fresh energy. …and it comes about as people worship the God in whose image they are made, as they follow the Lord who bore their sins and rose from the dead, as they are in-dwelt by his Spirit and are thereby given new life, a new way of life….Surpised by Hope: Rethinking  Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church NT Wright Pg 230-232

Yes, pushing  back against arrogant certainty is valid, but to reason away our hope in Christ would be tragic. I believe that Christ can accommodate both our certainty and our doubt in our quest for hope in Him.

Already arrived

In one sense we are always traveling, and traveling as if we did not know where we were going.  In another sense we have already arrived. We cannot arrive at the perfect possession of God in this life, and that is why we are traveling and in darkness. But we already possess Him by grace, and therefore, in that sense, we have arrived and are dwelling in the light. But oh! How far have I to go to find You in Whom I have already arrived!

Thomas Merton

Lets make this year a year of hope for us and those whose lives we bridge.

Most of our New Year’ resolutions are missing the point. Oh I’m all for setting goals even substantial ones. One of my goals for 2012 is to hike the West Coast trail with my children. It’s a substantial goal but is it substantive? Is transformative life change even in my power to implement and will I recognize it if I achieve it?

The Louvre is facing accusations that it over cleaned a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci, leaving it with a brightness that the Renaissance master never intended.

Two of France’s top art experts have voiced their protest over the cleaning of The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne – a jewel of western art – by resigning from the Paris museum’s advisory committee responsible for its “restoration”,

The restoration has divided the committee between those who believe the painting is now too bright and those who regard the cleaning as moderate. There were also disputes over whether an area dismissed as removable repaint was in fact a glaze applied by Leonardo.

Seventeen years ago, the Louvre abandoned an earlier attempt to clean the painting amid fears over how the solvents were affecting the sfumato, Leonardo’s trademark painterly effect for blurring contours.

Since then, the British influence on restoration has helped to sway the Louvre.

The Louvre declined to comment on the two resignations, but defended its cleaning process. Vincent Pomarède, the Louvre’s head of paintings, said: “Rarely has a restoration been as well prepared, discussed and effected, and never will it have benefited from such effective techniques. The first assessment revealed the excellent state of conservation … comforting us in the choices made.”

The National Gallery declined to comment.© 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/dec/28/louvre-leonardo-overcleaned-art-experts/print

Do you wonder what  Davinci would say about how they are treating his work?

I have the self awareness to know that I need to change, most of us do. My struggle is with the process and desired outcome and it’s complicated by the multiple external pressures from family, friends, work etc. And…. change is supposed to be measurable.

Oh I’m disciplined, few are more disciplined than I am. My BMI, RRSP’s, hikes and other worthy goals I can manage but I still beat myself up over the transformative change that I have pursued most of my life and I don’t think I’m alone.

I’m frustrated and I’ve had a mini epiphany. I don’t believe I’m capable this kind of change. I don’t think any of us are.

The Apostle Paul was inspired when he recommended the following as the way for substantive/transformational change (by the way I’ve read this passage a lot over the past 5+ years. It was formative in shaping the values and vision of Urban Bridge Church):

So, dear brothers and sisters,I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.Romans 12: 1-2 NLT

This is my new personal “Best Practice for 2012”

Pursue Christ rather than change, allow outcomes to be dictated by the Holy Spirit.

Sunday January 1

The MacEwan Campus is closed.  We will be having a brunch together at the Ritz’s home at 11838-91 Street  at 11:00 AM. Contact Dorothy Ritz at (780) 474-8173 for details.

What role does money play in the quality of your Christmas season?

On Friday Nov 25 the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season, Matthew Lopez went to the Wal-Mart in Porter Ranch LA for the Black Friday sale but instead was caught in a pepper-spray attack by a woman who authorities said was “competitive shopping.” A customer shot pepper spray at other customers at a busy Northridge Wal-Mart store late Thursday night, causing minor injuries to at least 10 people who had been waiting hours for Black Friday savings, Lopez described a chaotic scene in the San Fernando Valley store among shoppers looking for video games soon after the sale began. Lopez said customers were already in the store when a whistle signaled the start of the Black Friday sale at 10 p.m., sending shoppers hurtling in search of deeply discounted items.

Lopez said that by the time he arrived at the video games, the display had been torn down. Employees attempted to hold back the scrum of shoppers and pick up merchandise even as customers trampled the video games and DVDs strewn on the floor.

“It was absolutely crazy,” he said.

“I heard screaming and I heard yelling,” said Lopez, 18. “Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up

Another customer said, “I guess what triggered it  (the pepper spray attack) was people started pulling the plastic off the pallets and then shoving and bombarding the display of games. It started with people pushing and screaming because they were getting shoved onto the boxes.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/at-wal-mart-pepper-spray-attack-triggered-chaos-screaming.html

We all recognize the excessiveness, the utter foolishness of that story; All of us who have ever lined up for deal know that we would never stoop so low. We know that money should not have that kind of influence on our Christmas nor our worldview as followers of Christ, yet we know that we are influenced even pressured.

A new Statistics Canada report shows Canadians keep taking on more debt, even as they get poorer. The average debt-to-income ratio now stands at a record 153 per cent, meaning for every $1,000 of after-tax income, households owe $1,530. In 1990, average household debt was $56,800, and the debt to income ratio was 93 per cent.

Two days after Black Friday and the start of the Christmas shopping season, the traditional Christmas season began with the first Sunday of Advent, reminding us of why we celebrate the birth of Christ. This is the story:

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

All returned to their own towns to register for this census.

And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.

He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was obviously pregnant by this time. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.

She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened,

but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!

And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God:

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on,

let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord

has told us about.”

They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the

manger.

Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given

him by the angel even before he was conceived.

Then it was time for the purification offering, as required by the Law of Moses after the

birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.” So they offered a sacrifice according to what was required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Luke 2: 1-24 NLT

We are going to look at this Christmas story through different lenses. There are a couple of spots where decisions of the Christ family are influenced by culture and particularly by money.

The reason Christ was born in Bethlehem was the requirement for Joseph and Mary to register for the Census, at the same time they also needed to pay a Poll tax, a head tax every Roman subject over the age of 12 had to pay, only Roman citizens were exempt. Considering that 80-90% of the population was not a citizen this was a big deal, the roads of the Roman empire would have been filled in this mass movement as subjects travelled to their ancestral home to register and pay. The head tax wasn’t a lot, only a day’s wage – but it was resented because they were forced to pay it. It was resented because they were compelled to participate in the Roman economy, and sometimes it was against their religion – literally.

The family also participated in the Jewish rite of purification for the infant Jesus; it meant bringing a sacrifice. The rich brought a lamb and the poor brought two pigeons, they brought two pigeons. The purification rite was important to them; they would have gladly brought a lamb if they had the means.

Jump about 30 years ahead. The religious establishment asks Christ, if it is a sin to pay this head tax to Caesar.

In response he asks them to show him a denarius, a roman coin. They show him and he famously responds, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

Mosaic law forbade the use of coins with an image of the emperor or a pagan god; so to keep peace, Jews were allowed to use coins without the emperor’s head when they were in Jerusalem. Irony of ironies, these teachers of the law who ranted and raved against the sins of culture, and who often created financial hardships for their people with impossible standards, were in Jerusalem, their pockets full with forbidden coins.

This season we will have opportunities to spend money on things that are good and right and align perfectly with our values and our relationship with Christ – if we had more money to spend on these things we would. There is also pressure to conform to a culture, economy and social system with some inherent weaknesses, sins. We agree that the crass commercialization of this season to remember Christ’s birth is one of those sins.

Yet we find our pockets full of the Emperor’s coins, and we can hardly wait to spend them.

Rather than being motivated by guilt, or worse being hypocritical, enjoy your financial means in other words,  If you have the means, spend it….and enjoy it.

But remember “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is Gods.

The freedom to spend within our means requires more than a financial guideline, it needs a spiritual measure. This measure is found in our identification with the Messiah, Christ. It is transporting Christ’s birth over time and space and reliving it now through our worshipful response both in community and in private. It is giving space for the baby’s cry to transform us.

Can you hear the baby crying?

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will guarantee this! Isaiah 9:6-7NLT

Take the time to nurture Christ’s spirit. For some of us it is to give time for His spirit to be refreshed in us. For others of us it is to allow Christ’s spirit to be birthed in us, for the first time. To be fully human, all Christ created us to be; is to hear the baby cry.

Can you hear the baby crying?

What are the things that we find most difficult to  find time for during the Christmas season?

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.

(This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

All returned to their own towns to register for this census.

And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.

He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was obviously pregnant by this time.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.

She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep.

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened,

but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!

The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!

And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God:

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.

Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.

All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,

but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often.

The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said. Luke 2:1-20 NLT

This was a divine and unique time in history. The unseen, inaccessible God, Jehovah becomes human, a baby, within reach. Joseph is the least talked person in Christ’s birth played an essential role. Joseph had time, 9 months to grasp the significance of what is happening in his wife’s womb. But he was in a difficult spot; a father who is not a father call do defend his wife’s virtue and raise the Messiah. I don’t’ think 9 months is enough time. Now Christ’s first cries mark the Messiah’s entry to earth, in the flesh.

Speaking of time. Nazareth to Bethlehem was a three to four day trip for Joseph and Mary. A pregnancy is about 270 days. What’s with Joseph travelling when Mary is near full term, Was Joseph a procrastinator? A poor planner? Maybe he was a little thick– putting his very pregnant teenage bride on the back of a donkey for a three day ride. You would think time would be a priority for Joseph, An Angel appeared, telling him that his wife was carrying the Son of God, Christ the Messiah, the one destined to save humanity, was in his wife’s womb? Would he not take all the time necessary to make sure the child was safe?

Wouldn’t you?

I was smug, until Joelle our oldest reminded me that Cheryl and I did same thing when she was born. We were living in Southern California, and the Doctor was concerned that Cheryl was way over due. Her last visit he said. I’m not going to deliver the baby. I’ll give you a letter to go home, if you will be on a plane in 24 hrs. Joelle was born a few days later.

To be fair, how could Joseph truly understand, there was no example to follow. The idea of this unseen child being God was at best a hope, still a concept not reality. Everything changes the moment Joseph and Mary look into his eyes and hear their new born cry. Christ is alive,

We have the same challenge from the other side. So much time has passed. So much history has cluttered that defining moment. Seeing the Christ child in most of our Christmas traditions is a faint hope, no more than a concept to some, a myth, and, a great money maker for many others. Even for those of us who call ourselves Christian, followers of Christ, this season, this time of remembering Christ born as the Son of God often loses its poignancy, its power.

We will take time for many things this season, arguably good things. I love the traditions: the lights, trees, gifts, the parties, I enjoy the choirs and symphony’s, even the cheesy church plays, but in all this we risk taking time from what is most important. We risk the baby becoming the disembodied Christ, floating, out there, but no longer engaging our spirit.How do we recapture His first cry of life, that moment of birth? How does Christ become alive for us again?

Parker Palmer has something to say about this in his video interiew “The Risk of Incarnation” :It is a 5 minute video well worth viewing http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/index.php?ct=store.details&pid=V01023

Time, we must take the time to nurture Christ’s spirit. For some of us it is to give time for His spirit to be refreshed in us. For others of us it is to allow Christ’s spirit to be birthed in us, for the first time. To be fully human, all we were created to be is to hear the baby cry, to really hear the baby cry,

Read the song “Lullaby for an anxious Child”  and picture Joseph holding the fretting baby Christ beside a sleeping Mary.

 Hush child

Let your mommy sleep in to the night until we rise

Hush child

Let me soothe the shining tears that gather in your eyes

Hush child

I won’t leave I’ll stay with you to cross this Bridge of Sighs

Hush child

I can’t help the look of accusation in your eyes

In your eyes

The world is broken now

All in sorrow

Wise men hang their heads

Hush child

Let your mommy sleep in to the night until we rise

Hush child

All the strength I’ll need to fight, I’ll find inside your eyes

In your eyes Lyrics copy write EMI publishing, Sumner, Gordon/Miller Dominic

(Sting does a lovely rendition on his album “If on a Winters night”)

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the LORD New Almighty will guarantee this!

Isaiah 9: 6-7 New Living Translation

Can you hear the baby crying?

How will you take the time to make Christ real in your life this season?

What can you do to make  Him real to others?

What we did on Sunday was atypical for most churches. In support of World Aids Day December I we invited Rob Poole of HIV Edmonton for a Q&A. Rob was well informed, well spoken, and wise and I believe both HIV Edmonton and Urban Bridge benefited from this exchange. I am proud of you, Urban Bridge for your willingness to take chances in Bridging Christ and Culture. The following is what I recently shared with some in our denomination.

It is my desire for Christians and the P.A.O.C. in particular (of which Urban Bridge is part), to increasingly be a redemptive part of the fabric of Canadian society. To do so it is essential to go to a people group rather than asking them to come to us. To go with the intent of being Christ in their context and to go with the goal of assisting Christ’s Spirit, The Holy Spirit to permeate and redeem their culture and their lives into the image Christ has of them.

To reach a people outside the church I believe we need to reframe our understanding of  “do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 NLT). Rather than separating ourselves because we disagree, we, like Christ need to accept the lost as they are, weaving ourselves into the fabric of society even though we may have fundamental disagreement over values or lifestyles, thereby allowing the Holy Spirit to redeem from the inside out. Some say this is a slippery slope. It is true, but this is also where the lost have fallen.

When Christ was  about 30 he entered another phase of his experience on earth and one of his first public statements is a quote about him  from an old Testament prophet.

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled it and found the right place. There it is written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me.

He has anointed me to tell the good news to poor people.

He has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners.

He has sent me so that the blind will see again.

He wants me to free those who are beaten down.

And he has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free.”

Then Jesus rolled up the scroll. He gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were staring at him.

He began by saying to them, “Today this passage of Scripture is coming true as you listen.” Luke 4:17-21 New International Reader’s Version

The good news Christ speaks of touches every part of society It is good news for those who are literally blind and those who are spiritually blind. It is good news for those who are poor more than financially but also poor emotionally or physically. The good news is for all of who are beaten down regardless of social standing or acceptance. These words, Christ’s words, continue to inform and form the community of  Urban Bridge Church.

Jean Vanier founder of L’arche wrote:

I can imagine with what tenderness

Jesus touches the feet of his disciples,

looks into their eyes,

calls each one by name and says a special word to each one.

When he speaks at the meal, he speaks to them all;

he does not have a personal contact with each one individually.

But as he kneels humbly before each one and washes their feet,

he has a personal contact with each one.

He reveals to each one his love,

which is both comforting and challenging.

He sees in each one a presence of his Father,

whom he loves and serves.

The love of Jesus reveals that we are important,

that we are a presence of God

and are called to stand up and do the work of God:

to love others as God loves them,

to serve others and wash their feet.

Jean Vanier – Drawn into the Mystery of Jesus through the Gospel of John – Novalis – 2004 pages 232 – 233.

We who follow Christ, take Christ’s responsibility as our own.