CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS - Magi

Lets take a look at these wise men who are mentioned in Matthew's edition of the life of Jesus. Only Matthew and Luke give us historical details about the birth of Christ. Matthew chooses to tell us about these strange visitors from the east, Luke chooses to leave that out but instead tell us about shepherds in fields nearby watching their sheep. One of the hints, by the way, that Jesus was not born on December 25th.

We know these men were astrologers of some kind and that Matthew refers to them as Magi. Now, hundreds of years before, there was a nation which grew into a short lived, but large, empire called the Medes. This empire stretched from the Indus River valley in the east (Pakistan today), to Anatolia in the west (Turkey today). This empire was made of of six tribes, one of which was called the tribe of Magi.

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This tribe was a priestly tribe in the same way that the tribe of Levi was to the Jews or that Druids would were to the Celts. They were very educated having spent a lot of time learning about the natural world, including medicines, herbs and the movements of the cosmos, and how they might foretell impending events on earth. These men were soothsayers, interpreters of dreams, philosophers, naturalists and would have been highly regarded members of society.

Astrology, one of their specialties, was a widely known and used approach to telling ones future. Reading the cosmos was a science to these men. We do not know what brilliant star the Magi saw but whatever it was the message interpreted was compelling.

And of course, as everyone in the ancient world knows, the best astrologers came from the east. If you were going to have some one read the stars for you, you wanted an astrologer from the east, because those westerners don't know what they are talking about.

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This message impelled them to journey hundreds of miles across varied terrain for what what likely several months into the territory of a neighboring empire (which was hardly ever neighborly). They carried supplies for the journey, they carried money so they could resupply along the way, they had animals to carry the supplies and money, they had extra men to help them keep track of all the supplies and the animals carrying the supplies. And of course with all the animals and supplies and men to help with everything they would have drawn some attention to themselves so they would likely have had some armed security to help to protect them on their journey as well as money and supplies for those men too. Not to mention the expensive gifts that were being brought to honor this new born king.

We don't know exactly were they left from but if we were to place them in the center of the region where the Median empire was, that would put them in the middle of modern day Iran just south of the southern tip of the Caspian Sea. IF they left from there (modern day Tehran) and followed the trade routes, their journey was likely around 2,000 miles. That is a long distance to travel to honor someone who is not one of your own people and will not be your king. If you estimate the amount of time it would take to make that journey you could say that the Magi likely saw the star in the east around the same time that the angel appeared to Jesus' parents.

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Keeping all this in mind, I wonder... Why? 

Why the long journey? 

Why Magi? 

Why not wise men from the country Jesus was born in? 

Why not wise men from the Jews?

What is God telling the world by making this announcement to men who don't believe in the Jewish God?

Why not someone that others would believe?

This says something about the way God does things. We can ask why God did not announce to the the Jewish people the arrival of their Messiah; except, he had been speaking to them through the prophets for hundreds of years in the Hebrew Scriptures. In fact when the Eastern wise men arrived and asked where to find this king, the Jewish wise men knew exactly where to look, Bethlehem. 

The Magi traveled upwards of 2,000 miles to meet this newborn King, the Jewish scholars would not travel the six miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to even see if it was true. 

Herod was so concerned that this newborn King might take over his rulership and his Kingdom that he ordered all baby boys in and around Bethlehem slaughtered. He did not understand the kind of King that Jesus would be or the kind of Kingdom that he would establish.

I guess what I am saying is that according to Matthew's edition of the the birth of Christ, the wrong kinds of people are hearing about Jesus. What is worse they are taking action. The ones who have the Bible memorized and can quote all kinds of verses to you, they end up being the ones who miss the whole point. Matthew is telling us that God chooses the most unlikely people, the people that most others would overlook. God chooses the J.V. kinds of people, the second stringers, the ones who get ruled out, the ones who sit by themselves at lunch, even those who like country music. God did not announce his arrival to the Roman leaders or the Jewish leaders, but to astrologers who did not even believe in the Jewish God.

What does that say about who should be in your church?

What does that say about how God speaks to us?

What do you think that says about what God things about you?

The God of this story invites people no one else invites... He wants the people most of us don't even consider... this God says that even you are invited into His story... You don't have to have it all figured out to have a spot at His table...

This God invites you with all your questions, and your doubts, and your bad theology, and your bad taste in music (if you like country)...

Just a Meandering Thought...

CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS - Joseph

As Christmas approaches I am drawn to reflect on the characters in the birth narrative of Jesus. I wonder what must the events of the Christmas story have been like for the ones who lived it. What would the shepherds have felt seeing the sky fully illuminated by an angelic choir. The wise men from the east, whose reading of the stars told them a king was born, would have had a fascinating story. Mary gets a lot of attention this time of year, for obvious reasons - she carried God in her womb. But, I start by wondering about Joseph, Jesus' step-father.

There is one verse in Matthew's edition of the events that stands out: chapter 1 verse 19. 

Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Joseph was a righteous man but can you imagine committing to marry a woman who had become pregnant with a child that was not yours?! He was a man who was conscientious about his faith and about God but can you imagine marrying a woman who was known to be unfaithful? If Joseph had married her he would have been tacitly admitting his own guilt, because if you marry a pregnant woman it is not because she is carrying someone else's child, it is because she is carrying yours. 

Mary brought shame and dishonor to Joseph and ruin to his reputation. In the middle eastern world of the first century, adultery was grounds for the woman to be stoned to death; a husband could have his wife executed for this. We are not immune to being talked bad about, or shamed in front of friends. Think about the headlines we have seen in the past year about someone who sought out revenge for one reason or another. We are not so far removed from the feelings that Joseph would have felt, betrayed by the one he loves. We've been stabbed in the back, we've been blindsided by harsh news that came from someone we were supposed to be able to trust. We have probably thought about giving that person or group of people a taste of there own medicine. "They hurt me this way, let's see how they like it when..." fill in the rest. The full weight of the law could have led to the stoning death of Jesus’ mother Mary, at the very least a public divorce would have shamed Mary and her family and she likely would have never married. We could not fault Joseph for taking that route if he chose to do so.  

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But Joseph was unwilling to expose her to the disgrace of public divorce, so he chose a quiet yet lawful way. I believe it is one of the reason's God chose Joseph to be a step-father to God the Son. Joseph finds a way to remain faithful to the rigidity of the law while expressing compassion towards Mary. I may have chosen to find some way to get back at the person who wronged me, who embarrassed me, who ruined my reputation - Joseph chooses to quietly divorce Mary and salvage her reputation. Ultimately he chooses to marry her, accepting the embarrassment and shame of a premarital pregnancy. He accepted the shame as his own even though he had nothing to do with it.

Can you imagine being a son, and hearing this story as you grow up? I seem to remember a story of a woman caught in the act of adultery, recorded in John's edition of the gospel. Jesus, just as his father, shows compassion and does not seek to embarrass her publicly. He stands with her in her shame and disgrace. Jesus looked beyond the circumstance to show a person is more than the sum of their choices, as did his father Joseph. 

Just a short time later Jesus would do it again... from a cross. The cross is where he remained faithful to the rigidity of the law while expressing compassion towards all humanity. He chose to accept the shame of death as a common criminal on charges that were not true to not just stand with us in our shame but to take our place. Jesus' journey to and sacrifice on the cross began with the courageous choice of a man named Joseph. A man who defied convention, who chose the harder road, and modeled compassion to a young wife and son who would go on to change world in the same way.

Just a meandering thought... 

RAMP

Have you ever heard the saying, life is not fair? Sure, we all have. "The Vagabond Road" is a video of some thoughts and reflections on the idea that life does not always offer us an exit ramp when we need one. What do we do when we find ourselves in places we never expected to end up? What do we do when the road we are on leads us some place we never intended on going.

I will let the video speak for itself but after watching it share your thoughts with me as I would like to do this sort of thing more but would like to do it in such a way that you will want to watch them.

BHAGWANPUR

I went to another school in a town called Bhagwanpur. This is a very overcrowded school now and it has a short but impressive history. It started as just a three room school not too far from its current location with just twenty three students. Two rooms were classrooms and one was an office for the teachers. After just three years the school became packed with just over 60 students crammed into their two small rooms. With an increasing demand to take more students they needed to find a new facility.

Their current building became available to rent and so they took the opportunity to move into the new location which had ten or twelve rooms that could be used as class rooms as well as a few offices. The school currently is running around 500 students form K through 8th grade. Their current class size is about forty to fifty students per class.

The Indian people value education so much so that if there is a chance their student can attend classes in a non-government school they do anything they can to get their kids in. It just so happens that the schools that are run by Christian organizations have the best reputation for education so they are the most sought after schools. This one is so full that they are in need of moving again and they have only been in existence for six years.

They have purchased a plot of land that is about two acres in total. The plan is to build something similar to what was built in Pathrie. A large three story complex with classrooms and some offices. And then build some housing for teachers and administrators as well.

One thing that set this school apart from Pathrie however is that this school also has an orphanage as part of the ministry to the community. They only have room for 30 kids. They actually call it a children's home. Each group of six to ten kids has an adult couple that cares for them. The idea is that each couple acts like parents to these kids and each kid is like a sibling to the other in their "family". They try to create some semblance of a family for these little ones.

I walked into one of the rooms while the kids were in class as part of a tour I was getting of the facilities and started crying. (No one else was around me). I don't know who the kids are who slept in that room, I don't know their stories, I could not point them out in a crowd, or if they were standing in front of me, but I cried for them. No child should ever be thrown away. What does it do to a child and later on as an adult to know that some one cared just enough to not abort them but not enough to care for them personally. I know that this is not the case for many of the students but it for some. I have personally heard enough stories to imagine what some of the stories in this room might be like.

This is the land that was purchased for the new facility. It is a field today, but hopefully in another year or two they will have the money to build at least the first floor of their dream.

I walked out of the building not wanting to leave. I really wanted to see the kids when they got out of school and give them a hug, and tell them that even if no one else loved them, that Jesus loved them. But I the reality is that two minutes with me is not going to change things for them. It might make me feel better, but it does nothing for them. The heroes here are the couples who have dedicated themselves to bringing up kids who are not theirs to understand the love of God.

This is one of the bedrooms at the Children's home. It is right next to the school. You notice their beds are neatly made and on one of the beds, (it is hard to tell) there is a Bible sitting there. These kids have very few if any personal possessions. To have your own book is a big deal especially if it is a Bible.

No one else in their society is concerned about showing them this kind of love. Not even their own family members. At least the Muslims will care for extended family when they are in need; even the Sikhs, a Hindu reform group which started about 600 years ago will care for extended family who have fallen on hard times. But if you are a Hindu and you fall on hard times it is because you deserve it. And children sometimes pay a high price for this. I am so thankful for the people in these schools and homes who are dedicated to the next generation of Indians.

I don't remember his name, even if I did, I would not be able to pronounce it or spell it, but this man is a teacher in the school and he is one of the house parents as well. He and his wife have two kids, plus the children in the home. I don't know his name but he is a hero to me.

CHAPEL

Monday morning, July 4th was my first shot at speaking to the whole college. I was given the opportunity to speak during the morning chapel service. Chapel services here are one hour but that is not a true sixty minutes. You see, everything is spoken in both English and Hindi. If it is spoken in Hindi, it is translated to English and vice versa. So my thirty minute time slot was really fifteen minutes. It has been a while since I spoke through an interpreter but it went pretty smoothly. It is all about knowing when to stop and when to continue your thought. These guys do it everyday. Sentence structure in Hindi is largely the reverse of English. So you have to finish a sentence for them to be able to adequately translate.

If you are a part of Common Church in Boston you will know what I spoke about. If not, here is an overview. I spoke from the Book of James in the New Testament, the first chapter, and the twelfth verse. Here is a little background for those who are unfamiliar. The writer of the book of James is, you guessed it, James. Most scholars believe this James was the brother of Jesus. (Can you imagine growing up with Jesus as your older brother? Hide and seek would definitely not have been fair.) Anyways, when Jesus began his time of ministry his family felt ashamed that he was going around claiming to be a Messiah; the third chapter of the book of Mark actually records a time when his mother and his brothers came to take him back home. They were actually telling people not to pay any attention to him because he was crazy! My family has said that about me, but I am not the Messiah and they were probably right anyways. All that to say, that at one point James was ashamed to be associated with Jesus; but something in his life changed.

To make a long story short, he is eventually asked to be the leader of the Church in Jerusalem. He accepts. The challenge he must face is the persecution of Christians and the fear that many were living with. Many were leaving Jerusalem to find safer cities to live in. It is to the church in Jerusalem and to the many that had fled he wrote his letter. Verse twelve, which was my main text, has three simple components which were the points of my talk. First James encourages the Christians to endure and persevere. When everyone else was fleeing for their lives James had committed to stay behind and care for and tend to the ones who decided to stay; so he was familiar with the idea of enduring. Second, James challenged the believers to stand when facing trials, like persecution. James was familiar with their hurt and difficulties, but he also knew the value of standing when it would be easier to cave under the pressure. In the last part of the twelfth verse James infuses his message with some hope. He wrote to some, perhaps fearful and nervous Christians, that when we endure and stand when facing difficult times, God acknowledges the effort and sacrifice, and gives us a crown.

It is interesting to think of Jesus as growing up with brothers. To have a letter written by one of them makes for interesting reading. I received several compliments from students which was nice, the ones that I appreciated most were from the staff though, and I did get a few of those too.

The rest of the day was relatively quiet, I attended a couple of classes, I taught English in the afternoon. I did hear that one of the classes discussed my talk for a portion of their class time. I thought that was kind of cool.

Not sure when I will speak again in chapel, a few people have asked me. When I do I will likely continue my walk through James...

COMMISSION

Yesterday morning Gordon Conwell held a commissioning service for all the students who will be going overseas this summer. It was in some ways a typical chapel service but there were some elements that distinguished it from others. There was a guy on a guitar who led the songs and a girl on a piano, along with a back up singer to harmonize with the guy on the guitar. There was a podium where people stood to say important words; there were students and faculty in the pews, though with it being at the end of the semester there were not as many as there are at the beginning of the semester.

One member of each team headed overseas got up to briefly share about where they will be going and what they will be doing. Afterward a faculty member came to the platform and put a hand on the shoulder of the team members and prayed. This is the commissioning. It seemed like a symbolic event with little consequence until I began to think about why we even have a commissioning service. The answer lies in the word COMMISSION.

The "CO" in COmmission suggests that I am not alone. There is someone with me as I go. In the commissioning service a faculty member stood next to me, demonstrating symbolically that I am not alone. For all those who are supporting me whether in prayer or financially you are standing with me as I go. Matthew 28:19-20 is the passage of scripture that is usually called the great commission. The last sentence in that passage says, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." That sentence is why we call it the Great COmmission. Jesus said that he is with us.

The "MISSION" in comMISSION tells us that there is something that we need to do. There is a task to accomplish, a goal to work towards, a road to travel. My mission this summer is to teach and mentor students at New Theological College and their satellite schools, to serve in the orphanages in the nearby cities, and to perhaps speak at a local Indian church or two. I have been told that the best thing I can offer the people is myself. This is my mission.

So as I share myself with the people I meet; as I walk the road of mission I do not do it alone. I have been CO-MISSIONED. There are faculty, family and friends, who stand with me in prayer and who contribute to get me there. Most importantly Jesus is with me always. I do not accomplish a single task that He is not a part of or the driving force behind.

Incidentally, Jesus was commissioned too. John the Baptist performed a symbolic ceremony which inaugurated Jesus into his official ministry. Jesus was not alone; besides the twelve disciples he had regular conversation with his "sending institution" - God the Father. Stands to reason that if Jesus did that way it is probably not a bad way to do it. Seems like "CO" anything is a better way.

Just a meandering thought...

Word

Did you know that the second most published book in the history of published books is the boyscout handbook? The most published book in the history of published books is the Bible, but second to it... the Boyscout handbook. Interesting that both are considered by some to be a guidebook of sorts.

I recently read a quote about the Bible. It goes, and this is not a direct quote, we use the Bible as guide book that is supposed to show us the way through life. But the Bible is actually a mirror that reflects back to us who we really are. That sent me on a rabbit trail of thought. The idea that the Bible reflects back to us who we really are is unfortunately a somewhat novel way of understanding the scriptures. That we can better understand ourselves by better understanding God's Word speaks to the passage that God's word is "living and active". However to say that God's word IS one thing and NOT something else is potentially limiting the scope of impact for scripture.

At times in my life I have needed guidance or wisdom and the Proverbs were a guide book for me. There have been times in my life when I was broken and hurt, and the Psalms brought comfort and rest. There have been times when I was not really looking for anything and was just reading in the Bible and out of nowhere, something leaped off the page and like a jackhammer it shook me.

There have been times when I need to learn about leadership and life of David or Moses spoke to me. I think the point is that the Bible is at times a mirror to better understand ourselves, but the Bible is also a guidebook for those who are lost, it is a cast for those who are broken, it is a jackhammer for those who need to be shaken, it is a warm blanket for those who feel left out in the cold. Since God is the author, the Bible really can speak to people on their level. It will speak to you, where you are at, no matter where that place happens to be. God is big enough to handle all of our issues and baggage and struggles and His Word is powerful enough to pierce to our hearts and deal with the core issues that we carry.

How often have we tried to figure our life out on our own. How often have we tried to fix our problems, mend our brokenness, discover who we are, without using the tools that God gave us in the first place, His very words. His Word is usually a great place to start. It will lead you and guide you, it will show you who you really are.

Just a thought...