Closing the Loop

This loop begins in Genesis 3:15 NIV: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel." So it begins, the search for the one who would crush the head of the serpent, Satan. Who is searching? Everyone, especially the Woman, was looking for that off-spring who would be the deliverer. There were shadows of that deliverer. We saw can see it now in the stories of Isaac, Moses, Samson, Samuel, and so many others. They were men who born to deliver their people from oppression, to crush the head of their oppressors. Yet, none could crush the head of Satan; none could satisfy our need to regain the immortality we lost.

None accept Jesus.

I found it odd when he addresses his mother as "woman" in John 2. Now, I think he speaks for every "son" whose parents have looked to him to be their savior from shame, futility, and the grave. She calls him to save a marrying man and his family from shame in saying, "They have no more wine." Luke 2:3 NIV. He responds "Woman why do you involve me?" "My hour is not yet come." (Luke 2:4). Yet he responds, he saves the bridegroom and his family from shame in the ensuing verses, 5 - 11.

He speaks for every son and daughter who could not save their parents from death, futility, and shame. Perhaps, they could not save because it was not time for THE Savior. Perhaps they could not save because they were not THE Savior. Perhaps both were true.

In addressing her as "woman." I think he is identifying her with the first person to referred as "woman" because it was her first name: Eve. I think he is beginning to close the loop.

On the cross, he does close the loop. The search for the "offspring" of Genesis 2:15 is over. Parents no longer have to look at their children, searching for and sometimes seeing a deliverer. The only deliver a man or woman needs was on that cross delivering them. He delivered them as he closed the loop. He says to his mother, ""Woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother."" (John 19: 26-27).

Now each son and daughter is just that, a son or a daughter, none them have to be a deliverer. Each mother and father are just that, a mother and a father not victims and slaves needing to be rescued. They already have been rescued, by and through their union with Christ.

The search is over. The loop is closed.

John 20:15, the risen Jesus says, "Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" He then makes the same shift Adam did in the garden. (He went from calling his wife "woman," to naming her, Eve (Genesis 3:20).) He calls her "Mary." She turns to him, recognizing him, and cries out "Rabboni!" She has found him: her teacher, her lord, her friend, and now her Savior.

Our search is over. We have a Savior and no longer need to search for another. His name is Jesus and that is wonderful.

About Ferguson Missouri

Wrote this September 1 2014...

“I love you. I promise I always will.”

I have not thought it all the way through and I struggle with the social implications of the gospel. The gospel always has and always will have social implications. It will always have an impact wherever questions of ethics and justice are central. It will because, “Justice is what love looks like in public.” ~ C. West. The gospel at its heart declares what God, in his love, has already done for us.  He promises us freedom. “Your seed will crush his head.” (Genesis 3:15) We heard when Jesus proclaims that God’s kingdom has broken in to the one of this world (Mark 1:15). We look forward to experiencing it when God’s hour of judgment of separating good from evil, of setting things right, has come (Revelation 14:6).

The last one is especially poignant in the face of Darren Wilson’s impending trial. If the love of Jesus has saved us from sin and if God promises to one day judge all and perfectly, knowing that God’s love has made these things certain, what should we then do? What should we then pursue? Do we pursue justice in our courts as part of the way we live out being dearly beloved children? Do we pursue a shift in policing as a way of showing the love of Christ to the African-American community in Ferguson and throughout the US of A?

Of course.

I cannot believe that that is all we are to do. As believers in this gospel, I believe that we more than pursue justice according to the law. I believe that we are called to shape the law and its enforcement to prefigure God’s own effective, loving, merciful, and terrible justice. On that day, God will judge all the people. Will we do any less? Can we as Christians listen to only the stories we want to hear and judge from there? Or will we listen to officers who are called to work longer hours, with less pay and benefits, with less support as well as the many men and women who are abused by their anger, brutality, disrespect of law and policy? This process of discernment in the context of law enforcement is deeply needed and will not be quickly done. I believe the church should settle in for the long haul of overhauling the police force. I believe the church should be the place where society is called to hold to the full-story truth.

Judgment done with discernment and love is hard to deny. Discernment made Stephen’s defense undeniable in Acts 7. His love made his death unforgettable in Acts 8. While, the contrasting lack of the same two things condemns that council for as long as the chapters of Acts are read. Let us bear the strain of learning to discern good from evil in America’s police force. All the while remembering, justice on earth is not our end goal.

God himself is our end goal. We were created by, through, and for him alone. Our end goal in pursuing justice in Ferguson is to obey his word, to dwell in his love, to be like him in our love, to point others to him in all that we do. We don’t cry out for justice so that this world might be just, it will always have some injustice somewhere. We cry out for justice in the hopes that another might glimpse his justice. We listen to both sides and the heart of every story so that others might see the character of Jesus. We march with protesters and converse with aldermen so that others might see the hands and feet of Jesus. We write blogs, video blogs, twitter, facebook, google+, vimeo, link-in, and stumble upon that others might read the words, see with the eyes, and hear the voice of Jesus. He is the only life we have to give. In him is the only life we want to live. He is the only sure hope for perfect justice and comfort that we can offer. 

Post Script:

This post starts with the beautifully sung words of Steffany Gretzinger. I was listening to track eight of her album, “The Undoing” on Relevant Magazine’s “The Drop” as I wrote this. The track is about God’s covenant love and is titled “Promise I Always Will.”

Who Do You Want?

“Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 

Pilate shouts to the gathered crowd in Matthew 27:17.

For a moment the crowd looks up and sees three men.

They are offered to make a decision as to who lives and who dies. They can pick by calling a name. Whichever name they choose, walks off the stage and into their midst. Their sentence revoked, their crimes forgiven, presumably their fellowship is restored to their people. The other must receive their sentence, pay for their crimes, and be forever cut-off from their people. For this moment, all three men stand there waiting.

I look at this picture for what it says to us as men. Pilate, Barrabbas, and Jesus were once mortal men, but I believe that they represent three options in our desire to live as men in this world.

Lets start with Pilate. There is little known about Pontius Pilate. Within this story, he was a soldier who became the Roman governor over Judea. 

He had the wishes of every man. Pilate was successful. He became a soldier. He worked hard, got lucky, and rose through the ranks. At this moment Pilate had power and security. He was backed the most powerful army in the known world. He could pretty much do as he liked as long as it did not annoy, shame, or threaten Tiberius Caesar. To his left stood man clearly on the other side of fortune, Barrabas.

He was a prisoner accused of rebellion and murder. He was a zealot who believed in the coming Messiah and tried to bring about the freedom of Judea from Roman oppression. He joined the rebellion, worked hard, and was caught. He became imprisoned, poor, regularly disrespected and maltreated. He was sentenced to be crucified. If Pilate is every man's dream, Barrabas is every man's nightmare. Standing all the way to his right...

Jesus was accused by the priests and scribes. He has no resources, no comforts, no freedom, and is danger of being crucified. He was a carpenter who gave up the business to because he was called to be an itinerant rabbi. He refused to escape or deny those who would arrest him, because he was called to be arrested. Here he could have free himself in a few words regained all of his comforts, his resources, and secured his life by speaking a few words to Pilate or to God. He did not because he was called. 

If Pilate's life is a dream that every man wants to live and Barrabbas', a nightmare that every man wants to avoid, then the life of Jesus is a mystery. He willingly rushes towards the joblessness, insecurity, ignominy, and death that every man in every age would want to avoid. 

Why? 

What on earth could be more important than fruitful work and a good life?

Which man do we want? Which one do we want to be like? The crowd chose Barabbas and Pilate. They chose Barabbas to be in their company and Pilate to be their ruler. They cried out for Jesus to die.

We know why Pilate chose to do as he did. We know what drove Barabbas to become the man he became. It is not until we understand why Jesus did what he did, that we can choose him. Jesus valued his relationship with God over all else. It is hard to remember to do that everyday. Each day there are new and pressing needs to believe that hard work, power, prestige, resources, and comforts are worthy aims. 

Yet, the Holy Spirit and Scripture continually points us to the Man and invite us to become like the mystery.

Musing on Christian art and Christian story

I love to experience Christian art. Perelandra by CS Lewis, Rehab by Lecrae Moore, or the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt are all beautiful pieces of art that render the invisible things of God and His world true. I enjoy and am encouraged by these pieces of art. Not just as its audience, also as a fellow work of art. These pieces of art remind me that my very life and being point to an invisible truth. Yet, there is some Christian art I struggle to resonate with.

These pieces of art seek to portray spiritual realities directly. Every song that seeks to bind the devil, every sermon that skips the story of Scripture to declare its truths as a slogan, I still hear and celebrate the truths of a living God. I enjoy the medium a little less.

Sometimes, I straightforward approach is necessary.

I am in awe of God through His choice of medium. He has revealed himself in the words, stories, songs, poetry, laws, and structure of Scripture. I experience Him clearest when His people reunite His mediums and His truths. God uses stories that have the knowledge of Him as their moral and are filled with very human people, all their glory and ruins included. Whether it is terrible and fearful Edmund from, “The Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe” or a young, honest, wild and self-centered Lecrae in of APB, the truth of the depth of God’s redemption portrayed through Aslan’s relationship with Edmund and the transforming power of the gospel seen through Lecrae’s lyrical, before-and after snapshots of himself remind me anew of the stories of the Old and New Testaments. They remind me that I am living a story. That story is a continuation of the great story: story of how God saves the world.

I need the encouragement and reminders for as long as life gets me down. That happens more often than I care to remember. I look forward to more Ted Dekkers, Courtney Peebles, Janett..iks, and mosaic makers (see the cover of Befriending the Stranger by Jean Vanier). Most of all, I look forward to day when I will experience God in utter clarity, also known as, the beginning of forever.

Waiting for a Phone call

I fell asleep last night waiting for the phone to ring. I woke up this morning, early in the same state. I lay in bed wondering. I got up, washed, starched and iron my clothes, just in case for the call to come. I knew where their office was. It was 30 minutes away and I was prepared to drive there. I did not want to do anything else. I wanted this job.

I walked around with my phone and my being fully charged, waiting.

Finally, I left. I went to the library. I lost myself in books and webinars on Motivational Interviewing. I wrote two other blog posts. All the while, I watched my phone, waiting for that company to call.

I expected them to call by ten. They did not call.

I called and left a message making sure that they had the correct phone numbers at which to reach me. I waited and waited as I prepared. I studied their company. I got to know what they did. By twelve, I was in full swing writing, listening, reading…waiting. The last time they had called me was yesterday around three. Maybe there had been a gap in their schedule. Maybe there would be another gap today.

By four o’clock, I was crushed.

I went home. By five, I had lost hope and was bitterly angry with the world. Nothing was going right. No one was on my side. Earth was a cold dead place.

I texted two friends one simple word, “Nothing.” It was customary to my spare style of communicating when I am passionate. One of them texted back, “Galatians 6:9;” he was just as brief. I looked it up and found all that I needed.

“For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the on who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household o f the faith.” (Galatians 6:8-10 NASB)

My friend was encouraging to not give up hope and to keep working towards working. His encouragement, however, reached further than that. The verse calls me to invest in my life with the Spirit, even if it seems like I am not gaining all that much. Even if it seems like praying for what I need and for His will to be done doesn’t seem to yield what I need or much of His will being worked out in my own soul. Both he and Paul encouraged me to not lose heart and to keep hoping. Paul encourages the brethren of Galatia that hoping in life with the Spirit does not lead to utter selfishness and navel gazing. Rather that hoping will lead me to doing good to others as a way of investing in my life with the Spirit. (That’s good to know and hard to swallow.)

Most of all, that text was short. It took a little of his time, attention, thought, and effort. I was reminded that I am not alone. Therefore, for me, at the very least

Earth is not a cold dead place. 

Stewarding My Cultures

Stewarding My Culture across Cultural Boundaries.

I love my songs. It is the biggest part of Nigerian culture that I have. I love to sing them. When I am happy, there are songs for that. When I am sad, there are songs for that too. When I’m in love, I have got to write a few. I know enough about high-life rhythms to create one.

As I matriculated through Covenant Seminary there was always a temptation to show off. There are days when I wanted to make myself feel better than others by simply being different. Thankfully, I was often too shy about things I get very emotional about, like music, psychology, social ethics, and theology to do so casually.

There were times when I did do something Igbo/Nigerian. I wore some of the clothes to church. I made or brought back to the dorm a certain food (Mom’s meat-pie is presently calling me). I sang one of our songs or danced one of our dances inchurch. I made sure I had a good reason why.

Sometimes, I wore the clothes because it was hot and humid. These clothes were designed for that weather. Sometimes I wore the clothes because it was Independence Day. I knew that many Nigerian people were doing the same. Once, I sang an old song in Igbo to honor a young man from the Congo who was about to get married. When I ate Nigerian food, it was because… it was food…that tasted good (duh).

It is not until today, a full week after graduating that I get it. Culture serves its people. Certain songs, certain ways of gathering, certain clothes are part of traditions that guide us through grieving the dead, the end of relationships, the birth of a child, the commitment of marriage, the coming of age of boys to men and girls to women, and a myriad of other situations. The culture of my folks and the culture of this land, interestingly enough, have different traditions surrounding the same events. These traditions touch our need to be human better than others in certain places.  Some traditions are better geared towards including the community in individual grief. Other social traditions are more clear in nurturing individual achievement and self control. I love the variety.

However, I do hate whenever tradition becomes entertainment. When a sad song is sung just to demonstrate it, when a dance of grief becomes something to show-off at a party, I do not think that is right.

The children of Israel faced a question that was very much like the ones we, bi- and tri-cultural people face today. After they were taken captive by Babylon, they, in their torment and grief, were asked to sing songs of joy (Psalm 137:3). They wondered, “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” (137:4 NIV) It seems that they concluded that to sing their songs inappropriately is to forget where they came from (Psalm 137:5-6). Then they went on to sing a song appropriate to their situation. They sang grief, anger, and cries for vengeance (137:7-9). They stewarded their culture well.

I have not always stewarded my cultures well. I still got a ways to go. However, I am thankful that the Lord has already provided help, through the Scriptures, for that.

The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce by Judith Wallerstein

The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce by Judith Wallerstein, Julia Lewis, and Sandra Blakeslee

I have two close friends. I love them deeply and they are children of divorce. I knew some of what they went through. I just assumed that that was life and they were taking the curveballs of life just like everyone else. I was determined to be there for their sake. Just as often, they were determined to be there for mine. Wallerstien has shown me much of what they went through, how their hearts were shaped, the battles that they are fighting, things that I see but just don’t get. I am thankful to have read this book. I hope, now that I know better, that I will be better able to love them. Their battle to trust in others and to believe that their lives and marriages will be better than that of their parents astounds me. I stand in awe of their strength.

If you are or know someone who has been through a divorce, and chances are you do, this book is for you.

Wallerstien and her colleagues started to study the children of divorce in 1971. They interviewed and assessed the children that were a part of their study for a number of years afterward. “But as time progressed, I [Wallerstien] became increasingly worried that divorce is a long-term crisis that was affecting the psychological profile of an entire generation.” (xxvii) As she continued to interview children she found,“Whether the final outcome is good or bad, the whole trajectory of individual’s life is profoundly altered by the divorce experience.” (xxvii)

She wrote stories about children, who they were, what they looked like. These stories followed each child into their teenage years, early adulthood, and adulthood (30s). These stories are conglomerations of many other stories. The events are real but the names, dates and places were changed to protect privacy. The pain, loss, fear, rage, brokenness, sorrow, and triumph in each story was palpable. To her, it becomes “…clear that thousands of parents and children in divorced families, it’s clear that we’ve created a new kind of society never before seen in human culture. Silently and unconsciously, we have created a culture of divorce.” (295) It became clear that “The effects of divorce are cumulative on children. It affects the more they grow up, not less. “In adulthood it affects personality, the ability to trust, expectations about relationships, and ability to cope with change.” (298)

Some of my aforementioned friends are married. Some are not. I never knew what they were fighting to even trust another person. I am grateful for this book. The implications of her study are limited in scope, by the demographics of her participants and in power, (since most of her data is anecdotal); Dr. Wallerstein and her colleagues spoke up for children. They suggested practical ways to protect children from the ravages of divorce and help them to flourish as human beings. I think their aims and mode executing it glorifies God.

Appendix: Research sample 317

 This section gives a look at the study’s demographics, design, methodology, and data analysis.