Dirt and Spittle

John 9:6-7

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”

Mark Twain

Terry and I have become fascinated with a new craze; building homes out of shipping containers.  There are shows popping up on cable channels like HGTV and DIY showing how people can build livable spaces, very inexpensively, out of old shipping containers. It’s very creative, and we are beginning to imagine the day when we have a home made from old shipping containers.

Most come from China, where we import everything from iPhones to the cheap toys found in your happy meals. Once they arrive, China doesn’t want them back, so we’ve begun to assemble shipping container graveyards. There is one here in Bradley. Ten years ago, no one would have thought about using a shipping container to build a home. Until one day, someone sat in an office looking at the growing stack of shipping containers, and began to wonder what in the world are we are going to do with all these square, metal tubes. Shazaam – container homes. 

Why mention this? Because this creativity is implanted in us by the God who is creative. The God who makes something out of nothing. The God who looks around, and as N.T. Wright describes; “uses the raw materials of earth to create something brand new that will restore and redeem the chaos we find ourselves in.” Using what is around us to make something brand new.  

Ken Wytsma in his book Create vs. Copy says: “If creativity is part of the image of God in us, imagination is the divine spark that unleashes it.” I’ve seen examples of this all over the last couple of weeks in our country, and at home.  The faculty from colleges, universities, and teachers in elementary to high school have had to prepare to go fully online, and students all over the country have begun to experience online instruction for the first time. Videos are popping up all over social media platforms, including the one at the end of this post.  Don't you wish you would have invested in Zoom last month.  This site is being used in ways no one imagined last month, from virtual classrooms to meet-ups with friends, families, counseling sessions, and churches.  March Madness brackets have been created with no basketball, distilleries are making hand sanitizer and automobile plants are manufacturing ventilators. There are new things being created every day. These are being birthed out of the chaos we find ourselves in. But the ingenuity and creativity that is coming to live is creating things in brand new ways for our communities. Things that we didn’t need two months ago, and things we wouldn’t have imagined.

It’s the way we work because it’s the way God works. God isn’t afraid of the situation we find ourselves in. He isn’t surprised by the things that are happening around us. As a matter of fact, God enables us to look around and see what we can use to create something new out of the raw materials that are already here.  

It’s what Jesus did when healing the man born blind. He looked around, saw dirt, spat in it creating mud, rubbed it on the man’s eyes, and then instructed him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.  Jesus was creating something brand new out of what was already there. But the man wasn’t healed yet, was he? Because Jesus included the blind man in the healing process. He instructed him to go wash in the pool. It wasn’t until after the blind man washed his own eyes that he could see.  

Why didn’t Jesus just heal him? Because I think he wanted to include him in the healing process, just like he wants to include us in the process of restoring our community and world from the moment we find ourselves in.    

What will this look like on the other side? I’m repeating myself: I have no idea. I can tell you that God is looking at the raw materials that are already here, creating something brand new. And the best part of this is God includes us in the process. God can work alone, but like he included the servants at a wedding and the disciples at the feeding of the four and five thousand; he includes us too. If we can imagine shipping containers turned into homes, imagine what God can do with a little dirt and spittle.

So, look around today. Maybe the answer is in the dirt.

Grace and peace friends.

https://youtu.be/nDIJz6zzHNU

Promise

Words Matter

I watched the press conference this morning with Governor Cuomo, the governor of New York.  They are experiencing very difficult days.  There is a lot of finger pointing going on this morning between Mayor DeBlasio's office, the NBA, and the White House.  Apparently all the NBA players were able to get tested for COVID-19, when many others in the city of New York sit and wait.  Who's to blame?  Depends on who you ask.

And the beat goes on . . .

It was in the midst of this banter that Governor Cuomo spoke with calm, clarity, and decisiveness related to the decisions being made, and why.  It was refreshing to hear someone speak as honestly as possible, with clarity and calm in the midst of a difficult situation.  One of the last things he said in his press conference is we need to be careful with the words and phrases we are using, that we are understood because words matter.

Words matter. 

While trying to answer questions, we find out who we are.  There were two college students interviewed on South Beach in Miami, obviously not complying with the request for social distancing.  When asked why they were doing this, one replied; "It's my spring break!  If I get the Coronavirus, I get the Coronavirus, but it won't stop me from partying."  Another said; "We aren't going to sit around and let Coronavirus ruin our spring break."  Okay?!  I say we put them all on a cruise ship, taking them to their own private island and letting them figure it out on their own; maybe they'll hear what the rest of us are saying.  But I digress.  Words matter.  They put on display what is in our hearts.  Oops.

Words can take us any number of places.  We can choose to build each other up, showing care and concern during a crisis; or we can choose to tear each other down, with the only concern being for ourselves, what we want to say and do.  We can choose to create distance because of our differences, or close the gap choosing to focus on what we have in common.  I had a friend say to me yesterday this has leveled the playing field.  For all that might have divided us in the past, or the way we talk about our differences, this is reminding us all how human, fragile, and similar we are.  The words we use are powerful.

James says the tongue, though small, is as powerful as the rudder of a ship or a horses bit.  We can either put out fires (Governor Cuomo), or emblazon them (Millennial's on South Beach).  Paul’s words in Philippians 4 remind the church that tends to bicker over their differences instead of celebrate what unifies them, that we are to think different than the world does.  To think about what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy; and to keep on thinking about these things because they shape what we do and say.  There is power in a word.

So today I’ve confessed for the ways my thoughts haven’t lined up with Paul’s instruction on how I should think.  I really don't want to send them to their own private island.  My heart is broken by the insensitivity coming from various corners of our world.  I really do care more than that, and want the words I use to reflect kindness, unity, what is true, good, right and beautiful.  The Spirit, through a press conference and the Word, encouraged me today, helped me to realize again the goodness in the midst of madness.  The power of our words, and the Word.  

Kindness is Never Risky

I've decided to breath new life into my blog, posting my thoughts from time to time.  This will be connected to my twitter account, expressing my feelings, not expressing the views or feelings of Olivet or anyone connected with Olivet.  This is not an official statement for our university, rather some of my thoughts as we navigate this difficult time together.  I will continue to write weekly Evos to our Olivet community, and participate in videos through the Life at Olivet Instagram account when appropriate, but what is here are my thoughts.  Thanks for reading, following along with me as we continue to redefine what normal is like for us moving forward.  Grace and peace.

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he save us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  The saying is sure.  i desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone."

Titus 3:4-8

There is a phrase that is shaping our community, nation, and world right now; social distancing.  It can feel more like isolation than distancing.  I'm sitting alone in my office, in a building usually noisy and full of students, empty and silent.  Distance and isolation are counter intuitive to what it means to live in the way of Jesus.  It is the opposite of the incarnation, I get it.  It doesn't feel right or even good, though in the time we find ourselves in, necessary.  So I've been processing what is right, good, and appropriate.

For the sake of our neighbor and the most vulnerable, we need to participate in social distancing.  Take care of yourself and those you love.  Stay home if you can.  When you do work, appropriately separate yourself from others.  Wash your hands.  Stay away from large gatherings.  Do what you can, what is appropriate.

Yesterday I was walking around our campus and ran into an old friend who was picking up his daughter to take her home.  His family had gathered Regan's things, and they were heading home for the summer.  It was eery, odd, weird.  I looked at Regan who was emotional asking her if I could give you a hug?  And we did.  I know it was risky, but I felt in that moment she needed a hug, that it was appropriate.  So we did.  Then her dad prayed for me, for us all, and they left.

I'm not hugging everyone I see.  It was what I felt appropriate in the moment.  But there are other ways to close the distance we practice that aren't as risky, yet just as appropriate.

I went to Meijer to get some essentials later in the day and I thanked the employee helping me check out.  I thanked her for coming to work during a time when risk is tremendously heightened for her.  As I thanked her, she started crying, thanking me for being kind to her.  She said it was rare these days.  I was reminded that kindness is never risky and always appropriate.

I told her I was sorry, and really grateful for the work she is doing for our community.  She said thank you, and I walked away.  Our encounter didn't last 30 seconds, but I can't shake the look in her eyes.  After that brief encounter, I was reminded of the power of a word, and how kindness matters.  As risky as the hug may have been, kindness is never risky.  It's always the right thing to do.

I'm wondering if in the midst of a very difficult time what could happen if we all practiced kindness.  In a time when hugs are risky and maybe not appropriate, kindness carries no risk, and is always appropriate.  It is the right way to live, shaped in the heart of Jesus passed on to us.  We can be kind because God through Jesus has been kind to us and it is the way Jesus is inviting us to live.

So absolutely, be smart.  Be wise.  Do what the authorities are telling us.  But along the way, don't forget to be kind.

Walk This Way

Before we were gifted the Bell West Campus, which includes the ROTC building and the land behind and beside it, Olivet ROTC cadets used to drill in the lawn just west of Ludwig. So, I had a front row seat to their drills. It began the first two weeks of every fall semester. There are some basics every cadet has to learn. How to stand; hear commands and respond appropriately; the proper way to salute; what to wear and how to wear it; and among other things, how to walk.

This may sound odd because as adult humans, they all knew how to walk, but also learned quickly they didn’t know how to walk properly – at least not the way the military requires. You don’t walk any way you choose, and there is only one way to learn; you practice and drill, over and over again until you get it right. You walk in straight lines, learn how to lift and place your step, learn pace, cadence, and how to turn. You don’t walk too fast, or to slow. And you do the same things over and over again not just until you get it right, but until it becomes second nature. In the military, there is a proper way to walk.

I love the imagery. They will spend hours learning how to walk and turn; lifting, spinning, keeping their balance by placing their feet just so. In the ROTC setting, cadets never learn how to walk alone either, there are always others in line learning with you. And there is always an instructor, someone who has learned the proper way to walk, teaching you. For those who are teaching the proper steps, they know them when they see them. If you aren’t walking properly, you keep walking, practicing, until you learn the right way. Once you learn, you still have to practice so you do it right. You can get sloppy in the way you walk, losing your balance, but the goal is that what you used to spend all your energy concentrating on, you have practiced so often it becomes second nature.  

If there is a proper way to walk in the military, there is also a proper way for people of faith to walk. And just like an ROTC officer recognizes it when they see it, so do we. They have a goal, and so do we. Jesus uses words like; “poor in spirit, mourners, meek, hungry and thirsty, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, even the persecuted because of God’s way.” 

Paul says we can recognize it in people of faith using words like:

“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  Saying, “There is no law against such things.”  

Galatians 5:22-23

He describes this like clothing, saying we wear: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience,forgiveness, and we are grateful, peace makers, and above all else,loving.”

Colossians 3:12-15

These are the fruit, as Jesus and Paul describe them. If this is what we look like, how do you get there? Well, you practice a specific way of walking, a specific way of life.

That is what we will talk about this semester in chapel. Once we have accepted the invitation to walk in the way of Jesus, we submit ourselves to the one who has already walked before us, and now walks with us. We don’t set the agenda, the cadence or step, if I may. So, where do we begin? How do we learn to walk? Here are a few suggestions to get us started.   

1. Read the Bible daily together, listening for the way this will shape us and our community.  Maybe you’ve never done this before, or this is already a daily practice. Wherever you fall, it is never too late to jump! If you have a way of reading, please, stick to what works for you. This isn’t meant to be legalistic, but formative. If you miss a day, skip it. Jump right back in with the next day. The passages will be listed at the end of each weekly Evo. 
2. Lean in when you come to chapel, listening for the way God is speaking. Pray before each chapel, asking what God wants to say to you today, maybe even using Samuel’s prayer; “Speak Lord, your servant is listening”.
3. Consider making Upper Room a part of your week as our student chaplains help us dive into ways we can practice this spiritual walk. Upper Room meets very Monday at 8:00 p.m. in the Warming House. This Monday night, we’ll be talking about celebration.
4. Oh, and find a church, because we can’t do this alone.   

Walk this way.

Week of January 20-26

Monday          Psalm 1; John 1:1-28

Tuesday          Psalm 5; John 1:29-51

Wednesday    Psalm 119:1-24; John 2:1-22

Thursday         Psalm 18:1-20; John 2:23-3:21

Friday              Psalm 16; John 3:22-4:15

Saturday         Psalm 20; John 4:16-42

Come and See

John 4:42; 1 John 1:1-4

When I was a sophomore in college, the men’s basketball team from the high school I attended made a run at the state championship. I listened to the quarter final game in my dorm room and made the decision to meet my parents for the semi-final game on Friday if they won. They did, so I got in my car that Friday morning and headed for Ann Arbor, MI. 

Listening to the game was cool, but I had to be there; to sit in the arena, smell the popcorn, hear the whistle and squeaking shoes and 1500 fans yelling, watching my friends play for our first state title since 1936. I heard the band, the coaches, the fans, the sights, sounds, even smells of the game because I was there. Sometimes you just have to see for yourself.

John writes about this in the opening lines to his first letter:

“From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, touched it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you clearly and plainly, with confidence that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself taking shape before us.

We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 

1 John 1:1-3

The emphasis is difficult to miss, isn’t it? Hearing, seeing, touching. It’s the same thing Peter says in his second letter:

“We didn’t follow clearly invented stories when we told you about the arrival of Jesus. We were there for the preview! We saw it with our own eyes: We were there on the holy mountain with him. . . We heard the voice out of heaven with our very own ears.

2 Peter 1:16 

There’s a story in John 4 about a Samaritan woman who comes to faith because she met Jesus by a well. This story is layered and rich with meaning. The disciples couldn’t get over the fact that Jesus was talking to a woman, and a Samaritan at that. It’s a story included this week in our daily reading plan. 

After a long conversation, Jesus sends her home where something familiar happens, she invites others to come and see. Her invitation is the same that Jesus gave Andrew, and Phillip gave Nathanael, to come and see for yourself. John tells us that many believed in Jesus because of her story and then went to find Jesus, not because they didn’t believe, but they wanted to meet him, to see him for themselves. When they met Jesus, this was their response: “We no longer believe just because of whatyou said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Come and see. It moved them from hearing to believing. Hearing someone talk about Jesus is one thing, coming to him is quite another. How do you get to know someone? You spend time with them. How did you become so close with your best friend here, someone you most likely didn’t know before you arrived? You accepted an invitation to friendship, to dinner or a movie.  You talked with them, listened to them, spent time with them and over time, became besties.  You heard and saw for yourself. The same invitation to friendship that you accepted is the one Jesus gave Andrew, and Phillip gave Nathanael, and this un-named Samaritan woman gave to her neighbors. Come and see. And it changed their lives forever. 

Week of January 27-February 1

Monday               Psalm 25; John 4:43-54

Tuesday               Psalm 26; John 5:1-18

Wednesday         Psalm 38; John 5:19-29

Thursday              Psalm 37:1-18; John 5:30-47

Friday                   Psalm 31; John 6:1-15

Saturday              Psalm 30; John 6:16-27

 Strange Noises

This past Christmas break, my wife and I were able to spend some time in Arizona.  We’re beginning to wonder why we came back, but I digress. 

Arizona is beautiful, especially this time of year.  We stayed in a friend’s home located in the low desert between Phoenix and Tucson.  They average eight inches of rain a year. So Terry and I were startled one evening, awakened by the sounds of a good old Midwest thunderstorm.  I didn’t know where I was at first, used to hearing this in the Midwest, but not realizing thunderstorms occur in the desert.  It forced me to reorient myself to a familiar sound in an unfamiliar place.  

Misplaced sounds.  Sounds that take place in locations we aren’t familiar with. These can confuse us, causing us to become disoriented, just like we were that night in the desert. 

Have you even had an experience like this?  Something you aren’t familiar with happens, causing you to consider whether it’s even real.  Like our asking if thunderstorms happen in the desert.  That’s what misplaced sounds can do. Familiar sounds you hear in an unfamiliar place.  It's even more unsettling when you hear unfamiliar sounds in a familiar place, like your pre-schooler yelling from the back bedroom.

When the noises we hear are strange, unusual, it may be they are just new.  They can seem foreign, even confusing.  The new and strange isn’t always easy to process. When you are awakened from deep sleep by a familiar sound heard in another place, different or new can be startling and often questioned. 

So Terry and I had to be educated to the fact that thunder and lightning aren’t foreign to the desert, although rare. We got to experience it. The sounds and noises you hear might seem new, even strange to you.  They may be difficult to listen to, to understand.  This  might be the reason Dick Staub in his book, The Culturally Savvy Christian says that “unless we love the truth, we will never recognize it.” 

Part of our journey may not be just about listening better. It may be more about being willing to hear something for the first time.  What might sound out of place won’t mean it isn’t true; it might just mean we’re hearing it for the first time. 

I had to accept the fact that even though thunder and lightning aren’t common in the desert and I had never experienced a thunderstorm there before, they do occur.  For those living in the desert, I’m showing you my lack of experience — even ignorance — to what is common for you. 

Here's the truth:  What is true isn’t limited by my experiences, because things happen beyond what I know all the time.  The sense that, for me, these were misplaced sounds didn’t change their reality.  It was a first for me, but I can tell you with confidence that thunder and lightning occur in the desert, because I heard them. 

I want to be willing to recognize that just because something is new and sounds strange, even foreign, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.  I may have never heard this before, or it may be beyond my experience, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need to pay attention. 

Strange noises, although disrupting, can be helpful — even necessary — in our seeking to walk more fully in the way of Jesus.  The question for us is: Are we willing to consider that what may be new and unfamiliar is also true?

Colossians 2:6–8