"and he could no longer bear to see Israel suffer"

That's Judges 10:16b. And it cuts me right to the bone.

It is often remarked that using the phrase God the Father is too archaic in this, our postmodern era. There has been too much child abuse, too many absentee fathers, too much parental disappointment and inappropriate discipline and psychic scarring for the phrase to retain any positive connotation.

This verse does not alleviate all of the concerns, of course, in calling God Father. What it does do, however, in my estimation, is take fatherhood out of the ethereal, out of the numinous, and base it on God's character. How many times have I, as a father who loves my children, had to punish them? Many. How many times have I relented? a few. But how often, while they're crying and weeping (no, I don't beat them...they're just two very tender and emotional girls), have I looked at them and could no longer bear to see them suffer? Every time. Every time I hear their weeping, even if it's over something justifiably punished, my heart breaks. There's nothing so sweet as gathering them in my arms after discipline and hearing them say "I love you Daddy." It hurts me to have to punish and discipline, but I love that they keep running to me for comfort, because they know they're really loved.

It happens with parishoners too. So often College and Career will come to me with a problem, and I'll think to myself that I should just let them sweat the consequences so they can learn from their mistakes. And I do. For awhile. But I can't stand to see them suffer. I chase them to give comfort. I love them.

Isn't that what God is saying here? the Father chases, the Father comforts and loves and can not bear to see us suffer. It makes him ache!!

Am I skipping theological justification of wrath? Am I saying God's holiness is not offended? No. But I'm not trying to say that. I'm trying to say God loves us and chases us and can't bear to see us suffer. So there.

Mike

I know, I suck at blogging lately (well, maybe not just lately!). However, that's that!

I was reading Joshua this morning, and again it hit me. The Story. How often in the old testament (and the new...think steven...hebrews...peter) the Story is told? How important is the Story?

Which Story, you ask? THE STORY! The Story of God interacting with God's people, creating them, punishing them, freeing them, leading them, working with them and sometimes against them in an effort to add to them and bless them.

It also struck me that not telling the story has devastating consequences. How often does it say in the OT that the Israelites arose who didn't know God, or what God had done for the Israelites, and so they followed other gods? A lot. that's how often.

My children need to know the Story. Their children will need to know the Story. The Story of how God saved the Israelites, and how God continues saving, redeeming, recreating, and loving. My parishoners need to know the Story. Everyone I know needs to know the Story. I recently preached about the Story, and how God is able to redeem our histories by retelling our Stories in light of the kingdom. I don't want to sound puffed-up, but it's something we need to hear. God retelling our Story.

How about you? Any Stories to tell or have retold?

Paying a visit to the "Greens" today...18 holes worth. aaaaaah, the Pastoral Life. Further than that, my job is giving me great joy in the opportunity to be involved in peoples' lives and struggles. It's heartbreaking sometimes, hearing the things we hear, but at the same time it's such a blessing to know that God is working in people I know and love.
I told Tricia the other day that I often envied people who worked and then came home and promptly forgot work. But i wouldn't trade this job. It's such a gift.

shalom
mike.
ps - i'll let you know how i shoot. after tricia bought the big new driver (taylormade r7) i haven't really been out yet. travesty!!!

I've been away a long time. I know it. I'm sorry.

there, that's outta the way!

I've been reading through the bible. It's a good thing for a pastor to do, but something that's easy to neglect, even in sermon prep! In reading, I've tried to take about twenty chapters a day. Doesn't take nearly as long as it sounds, and I'm seeing things I just don't remember seeing before, even moving that fast. One of the reasons, I think, is that I'm not reading with agenda apart from just reading. I'm not looking for theological treatises, I'm not looking for doctrinal paradox...i'm just reading the Bible to hear what it's saying. And i'm loving it.

One of the things that struck me (i'm in leviticus, and it'll hit you hard) is the gore. I often have a poor perception of early Israelite culture. I think of things like sacrifice and imagine them as fairly sanitary, but I've forgotten that Israelite culture borrowed imagery and practice from its neighbours too. I'm reading Peter Enns right now on this very thing.

There's a lot of blood. I think of the high priest as pristine, but when you read the early literature, he's soaked in blood. He's pulling birds apart by the wings and cutting open bulls and dipping his fingers in blood and splashing it on the altar, smothering the horns of the altar in blood. There's just a mass of gore. The one thing that's missing, and present in so many other cultures of the time, is the human gore. Yes, they were to stone people or put them to death, but there doesn't seem to be the same gore associated with them. The priest isn't supposed to behead someone and then smear the head on the altar or something.

Why did this strike me, you ask? It struck me because I'm learning again and again how accommodating God is. God can use parts of the culture we don't even understand or agree with for God's purposes. They saw blood all around them. God redeemed the meaning of the blood, for purity. IT's a marvellous thought, but one i'm still working through.

Incidentally, if you're interested in this cultural stuff, Scot McKnight is blogging on Stackhouse's "Christian Realism" which tackles culture head-on (i don't typically like stackhouse's stuff, but I do like him as a prof - just as an aside!)

Hope to hear from you all soon...i know it's been a long time...thanks for sticking around.

Peace,
Mike

(not the tv show!). I've been reading a lot online lately about the church calendar. Coming from a tradition which does very little apart from Christmas and Easter, and wanting to be more in sync with the rhythms of the church year, does anyone have any suggestions about how to get more in tune with this stuff? I have the book of common prayer from the anglican tradition but haven't cracked it yet. thoughts?

I had planned this week to work on blogging a bit more of David Fitch's book, the Great Giveaway. However, I needed to lend the book to a fellow pastor, and so I'm going to put that series on a bit of hiatus...hope you're ok with that.

And so we move forward!

We have had some interesting times the last few months. As I've mentioned, our largely aged and caucasian church has merged with a largely young, mostly filipino church. We've recently decided on a new name (mine didn't get picked, but no sour grapes!), and as I mentioned to a pastor friend, I feel like we're sitting in the car together, road map out, and keys in the ignition. Our next step, as in any trip, is to step on the gas and get going! However, churches stepping on the gas look very different. I'm not even sure what ours will look like, but I think however it looks, it needs to be a process soaked in the prayers of the saints.

Coming back from holidays has been bittersweet, as it always is, but i think i'm ready to get going.

I'm preaching this week on culture and gospel, and i'm really looking forward to it. I'm hoping to take cues from Acts 15, showing how deciding which parts of our faith are culturally conditioned (yes, all of them) but which are necessary to the gospel and which are not, and then focusing in not on our differences but on our similarities. I'm hoping that it comes across loud and clear that we are unable to transcend our cultures, but that our communication interculturally can be possible when we find points of similarity. I know this seems like i'm moving from anthropology to theology, but i don't believe that to be the case. so there.

mike

Thanks to those of you who were praying for our safety as we went to Nevis in the Caribbean. We had the most lovely holiday. I'm hoping to post in the next few days about our trip and what I learned. Some of it will be spiritual, some cultural, and some just plain great history, but in the meantime, here's one of my favorite pics from our trip:

That's right friends. Tricia and I are leavin' on a jet plane. We're headed for our first real vacation since having children, to the island of Nevis in the Caribbean. I've never been. I can't wait.
Never heard of Nevis? Good! Leave me alone there then! :)

All the best to all of you. talk to you in a week and a half.
Here's something to engender jealousy:



Mike