December 1

John 1:4,5,11: “In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of the world. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it……..He came to His own, and those who were his own did not receive Him. ”

Dear Jesus, Please help us to embrace, to live out, and to share the Light which you have placed within each of us as your children. Let this Advent be about the True light, beyond decorations and Christmas trees and pageantry. Allow your Light to flow through us. Amen.

Most of us value our own opinions. We believe the things we do because we believe ourselves to be right, and we don’t take kindly to being told we are wrong. Many of us will do almost anything to avoid these types of conversations. We don’t like conflict, and we migrate toward conversations with people who either share our views, or are willing participants in our life long fantasy to convince others that we are the True Dispensers of wisdom and truth. We have convinced ourselves we have something very valuable to say, and that others should take note of our ideas. When they don’t, we write it off as people who just are not open to new ideas, closed minded, or just plain rude. The furthest thing from our mind is engaging in conversations with people who might take a passionate stance against our ideas, those who might actually challenge us to change the way we think about matters we have already settled in our own minds. We are a growing breed of non confrontational, superficial thinking, politically correct experts who go through life dispensing our truth to those who are willing to listen, while intentionally avoiding those who might passionately disagree. Nowhere is this more apparent and common than it is in the postmodern church culture. We are reluctant to see ourselves as people who walk in darkness, unable to find our way unless the Light of Life chooses to enlighten us.

This is a different world than the one in which my grandfather grew up. I remember my grandfather passionately debating politics with a neighbor. I remember watching him getting red in the face, no doubt from blood pressure elevation and the steam flowing from his ears, as he passionately and compassionately tried to introduce Jesus to an unbelieving friend. He had very definite views about why people would not argue with him about politics or religion. He believed they just did not care enough about the truth to challenge others with the truth, or be challenged themselves. “If one cannot be passionate about the Truth, what difference does the rest make?”, he used to say. “I’d rather go to my grave arguing for Jesus than rest in my bed arguing with my nurse about my high blood pressure.” The thing about my grandfather is that he believed life was about having our views challenged, for how could we or anyone else grow and change if someone did not come along with a better idea to challenge us with? And how could challenges ever be felt or experienced if we believe we know all we need to know from those we decide to listen to? In other words, only a willingness to confront darkness can open us to the Light.

My grandfather did not realize this, but he was a type of prophet for his time. He had already recognized the incredible impact modern thinking was having on our culture. The rise of the modern world view opened the floodgates toward the quieting of the Christian voice in our society. You see, as long as we can convince ourselves that our opinions and our understanding of truth counts just as much as anyone else’s, then we are free to embrace a truth that does not have to stand the test of time and can, at any moment, usurp the very fabric of orthodox and traditional understandings of Truth. Even Biblical Truth becomes suspect, which is exactly why Christians and non Christians alike have elevated personnel preference over Biblical Truth. If we don’t like a thing that the Bible appears to be teaching, then we suspend the Truth found there in favor of what we choose to believe with the universal creed - "Let me tell you what I believe." We do this with God speak, or with words that sound Christian and spiritual. We would not dare come across as Christians who do not heed the leadership and authority of God for our choices. It’s just that God now tends to speak through "my" experiences or "my" emotions or "my" intuitions, and not so much through the ancient Biblical text and theological reflection. Slowly but altogether Surely we are becoming a Post-Modern Church "feeling" our way through a Post Modern World. 

Aimless 

Wandering through the corridors of time

Lost in the depths of my own demise

Silence called for, and yet I speak

Love is needed, and yet I despise

Aimless nomad in a wilderness of desire

Grandest intention, yet void of fruition

Aspiring for greatness always “out there”…

Dreams only known in a sea of intuition

Endless the crime to be stuck in a dream

Enslaved to a life forever on the brink

Familiar with joy only known by another

Imagined day-spring from which I can’t drink

Resurrection of purpose, Map for new life

Discovering new dawn midst the long lonely night

Chaos quieted through the eye of His storm

Roll back the stone bringing newness of sight

Wanderer, Seeker, Aimless and lost…..

How can I surrender my protective will?

Tis but one answer for the tortured soul

Rest in your arms, and the torrent is still

(A Poem by Pastor Rick Farmer)

We no longer need to walk aimlessly through Advent. The Advent message in the gospel of John introduces us to a profound visitation of Truth - The Word. The Word becomes flesh, lives and teaches among us. Beyond this, we are given an anchor upon which our opinions can rest some 2,000 years later. Those who He came for chose not to listen. He continues to come for those who choose not to listen. Advent brings the gospel anew for those who have ears to hear, who are slow to speak and quick to listen, and who have a willingness for yet another visitation from The Word. My Grandfather would bid you, read on…………and allow the Light of Jesus to shine into the darkness of our lives this Advent Season.