Back, back, way back

For the month of December, I am going to preach a series on the incarnation of the Son of God.

We all love Christmas. Many of us remember that Christmas is about the incarnation of Christ. Some of us even have a nativity scene set up in our home to help us remember the reason for this season. But even in Christian circles I think few of us ever grasp the magnitude of what we are celebrating.

A correct understanding of the doctrine of the incarnation is really important. It matters that Jesus was fully human and not just filling a human shell. It matters that the divine nature of Jesus was not created, but was sent forth from the Father - that the second person of the Trinity is fully God. Theologically, these things matter... a lot. These are biggies. And as confusing as it is to reconcile the divine and human nature of Christ - I think we need to be confused... and amazed... and awestruck if we are going to celebrate Christmas well. That's my goal with this series.

It's quite a daunting challenge, and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.

So, I've been doing a lot of reading lately on the topic and I've found renewed encouragement and council from companions that I too often forget about - really old books.

If we define the church as all those "in Christ" from Pentecost to Rapture, then we are to see all believers (living or dead) as part of "The Body" - with something to contribute. Sadly, we often fall into a rut (I know I have at times) of leaning solely on contemporaries - of assuming that newer is better. We miss a whole lot when we do that. I read the old guys in seminary, but sadly, I don't blow the dust off those old books too much any more.

The truth is, however, there have been some major theological battles fought at different times in the history of the church. In fact, most of the major theological battles have already been fought. What's the old saying? - Those who forget their past are doomed to repeat it. That happens all the time in the church. When that Jehovah's Witness comes to our door, we can realize that their arguments are just a re-packaging of Arianism which was condemned at Council of Nicaea nearly 1700 years ago. It gives you a great sense of comfort to know that you have 1700 years of orthodoxy on your side.

Which brings me back to my series on the incarnation. The deity and humanity of Christ was the big topic at the council of Nicaea in 325a.d. The results of Nicaea were later re-affirmed at the Council of Constantinople in 381a.d. These were really smart guys, led by the Spirit and seeking God's mind on important theological matters.

Well, the big gun at Nicaea who also led the fight against Arianism during the 60 years between Nicaea and Constantinople was a man by the name of Athanasius. His work, On the Incarnation has remained perhaps the most authoritative work on the incarnation for 16 centuries (and counting).

So, I am going back - reading some of the old guys. To be quite honest, it's making me feel dumb. With all our technological advances, I think humanity is getting stupider, not smarter. Man, these guys were smart.

I had higher hopes of doing the doctrine of the incarnation justice before I began to re-read Athanasius. I am feeling a bit small at the moment.

We'll see how it goes.

By the way - if you want to read On the Incarnation, there are multiple places online where you can read it or download it for free. It's public domain. Here's a link to a good translation with an introduction by C.S. Lewis. http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm

bella

A few weeks ago I heard about a new movie coming out called "bella". Within the email network of the Christian sub-culture, "bella" was creating quite a buzz. As an independent film it won the "People's Choice Award" at the Toronto Film festival - along with several other awards. I went to the web site and saw the promotional videos and interviews with the filmmakers. I was quite impressed and eager to see the movie. (Go to http://www.bellamoviesite.com/site/# and watch the videos to learn more.)

The problem is - it's an independent film with limited release, and we live in the middle of Kansas. It would be a four-hour trip to Kansas City to see it. We just assumed we would have to wait till it came out on DVD.

Well, last week I got an email from a colleague that a theater in Wichita was going to show the movie for two days (and perhaps longer if there was a good showing). I am sure there has been quite a lot of emailing and word-of-mouth publicity because without any promotion in the Wichita area, Kelly and I saw it yesterday - in the middle of the day - at a nearly packed house.

What a great movie.

I don't want to give away any of the story, so I'll be slight on details.

The movie deals with a complex and heart wrenching topic, but it does so with sensitivity, artfulness, and simplicity. It is a fairly slow and quiet film - so keep that in mind if you go and see it (we could hear the "booms" and feel the rumble of "Beowulf" showing in the theater next door). But, even without action sequences or "star power" of a major release, I found "bella" to be gripping and profound. After the movie, Kelly went to the restroom and cried. I left the theater saying, "Wow. That was really good."

At its heart it is a story of redemption with very real characters in a very real city.

I also love the non-stereotypical portrayal of many of the Mexican-American main characters. I can't imagine anyone not admiring Jose's family and secretly wishing that all families were more like his. The characters are complex and heroic and all together likable.

Like still waters that run deep, the themes of this quiet film touch at the heart of human issues. In all of our lives, themes like law, grace, love, forgiveness, the sanctity of life, the value of family, guilt, and redemption all have their day. They have their day in this film as well.

I am not sure what else to say without giving away too much or sounding too much like a movie critic. If it is showing in your area go and see it. I think you will like it.

Family movie night

As part of their school work, my daughters just read a biography of Eric Liddell. (In case you have forgotten, Eric Liddell was the Scottish runner who refused to run in a qualifying 100 meter race in the 1924 Olympics because it was held on a Sunday. This was the pivotal event in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire. Eric later became a missionary to China.)

My girls enjoyed learning about Eric Liddell and were excited with the prospect of watching Chariots of Fire when they were done.

Now, Chariots of Fire is one of my all-time favorite movies (for reasons I will share in just a moment). But the first time I saw it (at age 10), I thought it was hopelessly boring. In my 10 year old mind, the whole movie was... talking in an English accent, running, talking in an English accent, running, talking in an English accent... the end.

I was afraid they might not like it.

Abby and Emma were good sports about the whole thing. They had heard me talk about how much I liked it. I think they were more excited before they saw the movie than afterwards. I think it is safe to say that Chariots of Fire is not their favorite movie in the world. Oh, well.

Here's why I like it:

I love the comparison between Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell. They are both world-class runners who both win gold. But Harold runs for himself and Eric runs for the glory of God.

Harold's identity is swallowed by his need to win. Eric's identity is in Christ.

Since Eric's worth as a person is not determined by whether he wins or loses, he can afford to greet his fellow runners, be kind to them and wish them the best of luck. Harold cannot afford such fraternization.

Before his gold-medal race Harold realizes his fear of winning gold. If he wins at the highest level, what then will he do for the rest of his life? Indeed - he wins but does not celebrate.

Eric does celebrate. He can see the proper place that running should have in his life.

What a great movie - great acting, great characters, great storyline, great music.

The best quote of the movie is when Eric is talking to his sister Jenny about her concerns that all this running would distract him from becoming a missionary to China. Eric tells her, "I believe God made me for a purpose... for China. But, he also made me fast. And when I run I can feel his pleasure. For me not to run would be to hold this gift in contempt."

What a wonderful quote for all of us with our own unique, quirky and individual gifts and talents granted to us by our loving Creator. To not do our best with what we have been given is to hold our gift (and the gift giver) in contempt.

So, Eric runs. He wins a gold medal. He uses his fame to further the Kingdom as best he can. And then he goes to China where he spends the rest of his days making disciples of Christ among unreached people.

That's a life well lived.

It's also a very good movie. At least I think so.

Homemade

In a Walmart culture and a global economy - you can buy just about anything you want. I am a big fan of really good coffee, and I have a lot of choices to choose from. How many gourmet coffees can I get by taking a short drive to the store or making a few clicks on my web browser? And yet, I insist on roasting my own. Why is that?

Here is my arsenal of coffee roasting popcorn poppers in my garage. It looks like something from "The Red Green Show".

I also build my own furniture. If I were to compare the price of furniture in the store to my cost of materials and then figure in my time, I would have to conclude that my time is... not worth very much. If I were to pay myself minimum wage to build furniture, there is no way I could build anything as inexpensive as they sell at "Oak Express" or "Target". I am just too slow. Yet I still do it.

Here is the headboard of the new bed I am building. I have been working on it since spring.

I could say that it is all about "quality", and certainly quality has something to do with it. But I don't think quality is the only issue. We tend to admire people who have enough money to eat out all the time - but we also think it strange if people don't know how to cook their own meals. We value competency and the ability to do things on our own - even in a consumer culture. We like to be able to do things ourselves.

All around me I see a driving desire for things homemade. My wife knits hats and scarfs and mittens for our family even though it takes her hours and even though she could buy hats and scarfs and mittens at Walmart for less money than she spends on yarn.

Kelly and my two oldest daughters just sewed their own pillow cases. My 9 year old daughter just made a sweater. My sister-in-law knits much of her own clothes. She even knits dolls and toys for her nieces.

My father-in-law makes his own computers. (I really do think he could make a computer with nothing more than chicken wire, a car battery, duct tape, a coke bottle, chewing gum, an old sock, and spit - just like MacGyver. He's amazing.)

My brother brews his own beer.

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I think that deep down we all love to create things. And I think the reason is because we were created in the image of our Creator. It's wired into us. We love to create a gourmet meal, a new article of clothing, a stylishly decorated home, a successful business, a piece of furniture, a song, a painting... something.

Even if we had enough money to buy whatever we wanted, I think we would still feel the need to do something ourselves - to make something. We want to contribute to our lives or the lives of others. Perhaps that is part of what it means to be human.