Yesterday. The dreams of a nation died. We hoped, Oh, how we hoped, that this time… Well, we were wrong.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob PROMISED! He promised Abraham that one day one of his descendants would come. That person would be raised up by GOD alone! That person would lead God’s own people, Israel in God’s own Glory! And, Israel would be a blessing to the whole world!
We listened to him. We followed him.
“He is the One that was Promised!” some said. One of us even said that He was the Messiah, our hoped for deliverer. The Person that would lead Israel to freedom! This One would end our domination by foreigners and their gods. You should have seen all of the people just a few days ago! Lining the road into the Holy City! Proclaiming Him as the One.
But, now?
He lays in a tomb of cold stone. Dead. As are all of our hopes.
Yet, the story says that God, after finishing all of the work of creation Rested on the seventh day. The Sabbath.
That’s today. Grim irony. Our would be Messiah rests on this day. Was His work finished?
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”
So goes that old saying. Today is supposed to be different. At least, so I’ve been told. I officially enter the ranks of the Retired.
I don’t know. I feel kind of ambivalent about the whole thing. Maybe cuz of everything else that’s going on. Cancer; surgeries; coronavirus; stay at home orders. This is certainly not how I imagined this day would be.
But, time moves on in spite of what may be happening around us. And, here we are. We made it.
I’m sure that eventually I’ll settle in to a new way of living without a time clock. Maybe I’ll even celebrate! When the restaurants open and we’re once again allowed to gather together.
I don’t know.
Maybe.
Until then, I appreciate the well-wishes from all of you. I hope that we can remain in touch as time moves on.
The past month has been, well, unique for me. I began the month looking forward to my retirement looming just at the horizon. I could see the glint and glitter of my own Emerald City as the rays of the sun caressed it. The reflections dancing on the wisps of clouds that soared so high above.
Then, I have what?!?
And, the roller coaster plunged down that first hill. Cedar Point got nothing on this one!
The weeks that followed my diagnosis have been, well, a tad turbulent. I’ve had what appeared to be one setback after another. From suspicious spots on my liver to a failed cardiac test. All of these things adding to the stress and anxiety that was already present.
Oh, and still trying to get all of the details nailed down for that retirement thing.
It’s been, well, interesting.
Yet, even as I sit here, still uncertain about what’s next, I am filled with gratitude.
I am extremely grateful that on that November Monday morning in 2011 that Dr. Dean Nukta was on call at Fairview Hospital. He was the person who put two stents in the main artery of my heart that was 100% blocked. He saved my life that day. I am grateful that he is still my doctor and, when an abnormality showed up in a stress test, immediately scheduled a cardiac cath so he could determine what was happening. He cared enough about my upcoming cancer surgery to shoe-horn me in. He also oversaw this procedure. In all of the years that I’ve been his patient, yesterday was the first time that I saw him smile as he told me that everything looked great. So, thank you Dr. Nukta.
Staying with that theme, I want to sincerely thank the entire cath team for their work. They were professional, yet personable. They were a comfort both in their presence and their expertise. The team in Pre/Post, especially Jackie, deserve cudos. Again, their care, compassion, and professionalism were greatly appreciated.
I want to thank all of you who have been following this continuing saga. Your concern and well-wishes are appreciated more than you can ever know. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Of course, my wife and daughter have been pillars for me. Even though they are both battling illness, they have risen to the task of supporting me physically and emotionally. There are not enough thanks that can be offered for them.
God, too, is deserving of my gratitude. Perhaps not for the reasons that some of you may expect. I am grateful to Yahweh for Presence. I am not some kind of holy person. I don’t walk around with my religious head up my sanctified butt. But, I do recognize God’s Presence. If I seem comfortable and peaceful it’s not because I have some ability to rise above circumstance. I don’t. In truth, I am a real pain in the ass. However, if I can testify to anything at all it’s that God has been fully Present throughout this time. Please don’t think that I’m saying that God is somehow orchestrating the process. I don’t believe that for a second. God is Present in the process. God Empathizes wholly with what I am experiencing and has chosen to walk beside me as I go through all of this. So, yes, I am grateful to God for Presence.
I am still awaiting the outcome of that MRI I had yesterday. That will be the final determinate as to whether I have surgery on Monday or, um, something else less encouraging.
I do appreciate you all for your support. And, I hope that I don’t need to return this particular favor. I don’t wish what I am experiencing on anyone. But, if the time should come, I will do my best to walk with you.
Last week I wrote that this year, 2020, is not going to be like most other years. There are new things sitting on the horizon. If you squint just a little and tilt your head to the left a tad, you should be able to see them.
In just under three months I am going to enter the ranks of “Those Who You Used to Work.” Aka: Retired.
I began working in the printing industry 49 years ago. For those keeping score, that’s a loonngg time ago. Little did I know then, as I cleaned spray powder off the ceiling and pipes, that I would spend my entire adult life helping to push paper through machines. But, I have come from those first days of cleaning the overhead to sweeping floors and working in the warehouse, through helping on presses and nearly 45 years in prepress, to here today getting ready to say goodbye.
I have a lot of different feelings right now. So much has happened during the last nearly half century. Most of it good. Some time spent in the valley. But, that’s the way life is, right?
There is so much that I would like to write about. But, I am still processing some of this. Yeah, I’ve been planning for this for quite a while. That doesn’t change the feelings of anxiety and fear that lurk around the periphery of my heart and mind. It’s not until you etch the decision in stone that the reality of change begins to truly come into focus. As long as you’re talking about what’s coming it still has a fairy tale feel. But, when you actually bite into the apple and feel the truth coursing through your veins, well, let’s just say that it’s different. It’s real. This is actually happening.
First, I wish that you all will have a happy and prosperous New Year in 2020. The ball dropped. The old is past. Hope looks ahead.
Many of us look to this date as a resetting of the clock. We are full of optimism and hope for fresh changes in the twelve months that lie ahead. Resolutions for personal improvement and growth are made once the effects of last night wear off. (Hint: Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!) Then, by February the resolutions are largely forgotten and we get on with life as usual. In my entire life I only made one resolution that I successfully implemented. That was to never make a New Year’s resolution. I have kept that one.
I am not going to have the luxury of allowing life to simply carry on as usual this year. There are changes coming that will upend the routines that I’ve spent nearly 50 years building and reinforcing. They say that time waits for no one. This year is proof of that.
And, I have to admit to no small amount of fear and uncertainty. Any changes that come our way cause anxiety. Major life events, no matter how well prepared for, bring that anxiety on steroids. I remember how my wife and I walked into marriage 43 years ago. Yeah, there was great joy and celebration. But, our lives were changed that day. We looked forward to our life together with optimism and fear. A strange emotional cocktail. We drank it, however, and for better or worse we have muddled our way through.
We looked forward with happy expectation as our children entered the world and joined us on this journey. Again, though, worries and anxiety came to the party. How would we be as parents? Concerns about finances, health, housing, education, etc., etc., etc. clouded our minds every day. Life as we knew it had changed forever.
We watched as our own parents aged and walked on from this life. Our friends and siblings grew up and apart over the years. People change. That’s part of the journey, isn’t it?
And, still we trek on. Putting one foot in front of the other. In the midst of, or perhaps, in spite of the anxiety.
The alternative is to stop walking. The result of that is to wake up on the wrong side of the grass.
All of that to say, 2020 will be a year of profound change for us. And, yes, I am afraid of what lies ahead. It is an unknown. If thar be beasties out there, then we’ll meet them together.
Perhaps, though, there is a new world awaiting us with new joys and gifts and promises.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice.
Joy reigns during the modern Christmas season. And, it seems as though this season gets longer and longer with each passing year. Christmas decorations seem to sprout from thin air in stores the day after Halloween!
Traditionally, though, the Christmas season begins at Christmas and is celebrated until the day of Epiphany. Prior to Christmas, as I’ve written before, is the season of Advent. This is a time of waiting, expecting, anticipating, and preparing for the arrival of the Messiah. It is traditional a solemn time of reflection and penitence. That is why liturgical churches use violet for vestments and coverings. Violet is a color of repentance.
The early Church, however, recognized that one of the defining characteristics of our life after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ is Joy. The verse at the beginning of this post is from Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi. He reminded the young church to stand firm in the faith, to work together in their struggle in the Gospel, and to Rejoice at all times.
The Church, therefore, chose to remember this during the season of Advent. In the midst of solemn preparation to receive the King of kings among them, as they sought to cleanse their hearts and make a place for the Blessed Child, they added a time for rejoicing.
The third Sunday in Advent is named Gaudete Sunday. (pron. Gow-deh-tay). The word is taken from the first word of the Latin mass for this Sunday. It is translated “Rejoice!”
So, on this Sunday instead of the violet of penitence, we celebrate by lighting a Rose colored candle.
Let our joy be made full as we join with the entire Communion of Saints to prepare ourselves to celebrate the Coming Messiah!
I didn’t intend that these Advent musings would become a multi-part project. But, you know what they say about best laid plans. In the first part I looked at the expectations of ancient Israel. They looked forward to the arrival of a Warrior King molded after King David. He would deliver Israel from her enemies and reign over the Earth with righteousness and justice.
Yesterday we saw who really arrived. Not a Warrior King. But, a Servant King. In Jesus, God completely disarmed the powers of that day by subverting the very idea of violence with embodied Love.
Ok. So what?
What does the Advent of Jesus 2,000 years ago have to do with celebrating Advent today?
The Church has believed since its beginning that Jesus would return one day. As Jesus stood on a hill with his disciples he gave them some final instructions. Then, the writer of the book of Act recorded,
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
The early believers thought that Jesus would return soon. That He would descend from the clouds and God’s reign would be realized on earth as it is in heaven.
The anticipated return of Jesus is what we celebrate now at Advent. And, we wait expectantly for His arrival.
But, what do we expect to see?
There are many who look to the Bible and see the same descriptions of Messiah that the ancient Israelites saw. They recognize that the first Advent of Jesus did not look anything like the Warrior King of Scripture. So, that must mean that at the second Advent Jesus will come as the Warrior King and subdue all of His enemies. He will then establish a New Earth and a New Heaven in which He reigns with an iron scepter.
The Bible is chock full of such imagery. The Revelation of St. John describes this kind of Return of the King. Tolkien has nothing on John!
These same people believe that when Jesus returns everyone who has not chosen to follow Jesus will be gathered together and cast into an everlasting lake of fire where they will be eternally tormented and punished for their unbelief.
Is this really what we should expect?
I’m not so sure.
Throughout the Bible God is revealed as Just and Righteous, to be sure. God is also the friend of the humble, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. God is patient and gentle. The image of a mother hen protecting her young is given to describe God.
Jesus came, not as a warrior to seek vengeance on God’s enemies and win vindication for Israel. No. He came as a servant to deliver the Cosmos from the sting of Death. He came to give life abundantly to The. Whole. Cosmos.
Do we really think that at Jesus’ second Advent his character will have changed?
No. I don’t think so.
I think that the expectations of those waiting for a Warrior King will be as far off as they were at Jesus’ first Advent. I think that if Love reigned as the Kingdom of God approached then. If Love has reigned ever since Jesus disappeared into the clouds all of those years ago. Then, Love will continue to reign when Jesus returns.
Let’s put aside any image of God that does not welcome sinner and saint together in the Great Loving Heart of God.
Yesterday I shared a little about what people at the time of Jesus’ birth expected from Messiah. This person was supposed to show up and lead the people of Israel just as the warrior king David had a millennia earlier. Messiah would defeat Israel’s enemies and ultimately set up an Empire. This Messiah King, according to the Scriptures, would reign in righteousness, justice, and power. The entire world would come to Jerusalem to worship the Messiah and to receive justice from him.
But, what actually happened?
Well, Jesus showed up. Born among family and animals and placed in a feeding trough. Escaped as a refugee to Egypt when the existing empire got wind of His existence. Returned to Israel and grew up in a small backwater town. Worked with his hands and learned how to deal with people.
Not the kind of king that was really expected. In fact, as Jesus began to share what he believed was the truth about God and God’s reign, all of those folks who expected a Warrior Messiah turned on him. Why? Because he didn’t live up to their expectations.
If Jesus was truly the Messiah, then what exactly did that mean? If He was not here to defeat Israel’s enemies and set up a Messianic Empire, then what did he actually do?
In the beginning….
At the very beginning of the Bible there is the story about how God made the heavens and the earth. All things were created and the Cosmos set in motion. After a while, the humans there decided to think for themselves and deviate from the path that God had set before them. They hid from God. Then, the story tells us that in the cool of the afternoon, God came walking through the garden. God called out to the people, “Where are you?” This is told in such a way that we are supposed to think that this was something the God did regularly. God walked through the garden with a desire to spend time with them. This theme of God coming to people with a desire to spend time with them is found throughout the Bible.
That idea found its completion in the person: Jesus.
The writers of the Gospels tell us about Jesus who came and pitched His tent among us. They write about the Jesus who hangs out at weddings and really likes good wine. Jesus shows up at parties and hangs out with lepers and cripples and women. He held little children on his lap and told his grown disciples that God’s reign was going to be filled with people just like those children. Not warriors. Not politicians. Certainly not Emperors.
It seems that the expectations that Israel had were off just a tad. Instead of a Warrior King, they got a Servant King.
That Servant King desires to reign over a kingdom filled with people who are like those children that He held. Childlike faith. Childlike wonder. Childlike…you fill in the blank.
I look around us today and see people who still think that a Warrior King is God’s plan. They believe that Empire can save them.
But, is that what God has shown us? No. God desires to walk with us in the cool of the afternoon. God’s reign is built on Love and Relationships. Not power and Empire.
Advent is that time before Christmas that the Church set aside in order to Prepare for the Arrival of Messiah. In history, that Messiah is recognized as Jesus of Nazareth. In our time we prepare for the return of Messiah Jesus in Glory.
The people of ancient Israel had their own expectations about the Messiah. Their prophets told stories about the coming King of Israel. The Psalmists sang about how God would restore the fortunes of Israel through a King like David. David, a mighty warrior and leader who fought to deliver God’s people from the perils of their enemies. The “Idea” of Messiah grew into mythic proportions by the time that Jesus was born. Messiah would be a great military leader who would rally Israel against her tormentors and enemies from Rome. This would establish Israel as the leading military power in the known world. The Messiah would judge Israel in all righteousness and justice. The poor would be cared for and succor given to the widow and orphan. Foreigners would flock to Jerusalem to hear the Word of God and receive justice.
This Messiah would be, in fact, a King of Kings.
This concept of a Messiah King was ingrained in the cultural fabric of the people of Israel. Jesus’ own disciples held tightly to the hope of a military and political Messiah. Throughout the time that Jesus walked with them they questioned Jesus about such things as, “Who’s the greatest among us?” or, “Who will get to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus when he sits on his throne?” or again, “Shall we now call down fire on these unrepentant Samaritans?” They asked Jesus when his reign as Messiah King would begin. They queried Jesus about times and events that, to their minds, would easily be recognized as the beginning of Jesus’ reign of power on earth. I can just imagine the hope that arose in them as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we now celebrate as Palm Sunday. “Yes!” I can hear James and John saying. “It’s happening!!! Finally, the King has returned!”
Expectations of empire. Expectations of earthly power. Expectations of God vindicating God’s self on all those “Others” out there who stand against Israel.
You know, it doesn’t seem as though expectations have changed all that much in 2,000 years.
