The WITH-ness of Christmas

 For The Citizen “From the Minister’s Study” – Jan. 3 2025 Issue

At a workplace Christmas party recently, our host put on in the background the movie Home Alone (1990), now a Christmas classic, in which 8-year-old Kevin McAllister (played by Macaulay Culkin) discovers he has accidentally been left as the sole occupant of the home when his family rushes off on a holiday vacation. At first he has fun entertaining himself with all sorts of activities he couldn’t normally get away with; but it becomes a challenge when two burglars appear and the young lad ingeniously defends himself.

However, it’s not so much fun to be home alone and without support, especially when there’s a threat. Our society suffers from a sort of “epidemic of loneliness” that is especially keenly felt around Christmastime when we see various other families reconnecting. Perhaps there’s been a tiff and some relatives aren’t on speaking terms. Perhaps illness and death have snatched away a beloved spouse. A snowstorm makes impossible a planned family reunion. Or, we simply find other people have moved away so we’ve gradually lost contact.

In the 2023 report of the U.S. Surgeon General, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation”, it’s observed that the mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day! “Loneliness and social isolation increase the risk for premature death by 26% and 29% respectively…. In addition, poor or insufficient social connection is associated with increased risk of disease, including a 29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.” Clearly, loneliness can have detrimental effects upon an individual’s health and longevity!

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada notes that loneliness can be a significant factor (47%) in people choosing Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) even when they have a disease or disability but are not dying. “The latest MAID statistics tell us that almost half of those who had their lives ended by MAiD but who weren't dying identified loneliness and feeling like a burden as sources of their suffering.”

In the context of this “epidemic” of loneliness, the title associated with the coming of a Saviour / Messiah at Christmas is especially significant: that is “Emmanuel” which means “God-with-us”. Isaiah prophesied several centuries before the birth at Bethlehem, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) When the angel explains to Joseph the origin of Mary’s unexpected yet miraculous pregnancy, this very promise is quoted as receiving its fulfilment. (Matthew 1:23)

The Gospel according to John lacks a nativity story (unlike Matthew and Luke), yet John’s prologue nonetheless highlights the significance of Jesus’ life on earth in terms of God’s making Himself known to us. John states, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us… No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.” (John 1:14,18) The phrase “made his dwelling” in the original language is akin to “tabernacled among us”, reminiscent of the sanctuary in Israel’s wanderings housing the Ark of the Covenant which was associated with God’s presence and where people gathered to worship and present their offerings.

When Jesus chooses those who would be most closely associated with Him in His earthly ministry, it is described this way: “He appointed twelve -- designating them apostles -- that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.” (Mark 3:14, emphasis added) Clearly to be “with” Jesus, enjoying intimate fellowship with Him 24/7, would be a significant aspect of their formation as Jesus-followers.

The transformative impact of this is hinted at when, following Jesus’ death and ascension, a crippled beggar is healed through Peter’s intervention. They are called to account before the Jewish rulers. Peter boldly asserts it is by Jesus’ name that the healing occurred. Luke points out, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13, emphasis added)

Not many days before, Peter and John had heard from their Resurrected Lord at the time of His ascension one of Scripture’s most precious promises. He commissioned His followers to make disciples – baptizing and teaching people from all nations – and ended with these words: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

It’s as if the Lord knows one of our deepest needs as humans is companionship with Him… As if He has designed us for fellowship and relationship with Himself, and our hearts ache or yearn for that when we’re missing it.

Broadly viewed, it is hard to imagine an infinite, eternal, perfectly good and holy God having fellowship with us imperfect, flawed, temptation-prone mortals. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Paul observes; yet He goes on to add, “and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood.” (Romans 3:23f)

This is the heart of what Christmas is really all about: atonement, “at-one-ment” – Jesus coming in the flesh so we who were alienated from God by sin could be put right through Jesus’ sinless offering of Himself on our behalf. So we could well and truly be “with” God and experience Him as our Heavenly Father.

Jesus knew He would one day be taken from physically accompanying the disciples and tried to prepare them for that, promising that instead of His being there, they would receive another Counselor, the Holy Spirit. “He lives with you and will be in you… If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:17,23)

This Christmas season and throughout the New Year, may you know this divine Presence as you receive Jesus into the ‘manger’ of your heart – and never be utterly “Home Alone” again!

A Beautiful Dying

For The Citizen column “From the Minister’s Study” Oct. 31, 2024

The fall colours have been riveting. People have been posting and raving about the trees’ flaming reds and burnished golds on social media and in everyday conversations. Whether it is something to do with the exceptionally dry conditions or other factors, our area woodlots have outdone themselves this year.

The colours are sensational even in normal daylight. But there is something special that happens depending on the angle of the sun. As I drive to work, and head up the hill going west of Auburn, the morning sun catches the leaves of the maple trees in such a way that they’re not just colourful, they absolutely glow, they radiate, they are ablaze with rich shades from the lower end of the spectrum. Like Moses’ attention being caught by a bush in the wilderness that was alight yet not consumed, these trees draw one’s attention in a way that is arresting. In front of the historic Gaol at Goderich I see a man with his camera taking a photo of the treed vista across the mouth of the Maitland River. Such views almost force us to stop and gaze in admiration.

Most of the year, tree leaves are green due to the presence of chlorophyll, which uses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water from the environment into oxygen and sugars through the marvelous process of photosynthesis. Chlorophyll absorbs more the red and blue ends of the spectrum, so the light reflected is mainly green. But cooler temperatures and decreased daylight in autumn lead to the breakdown of chlorophyll; the tree begins storing the nutrients in the twig, trunk, and roots, withdrawing reserves from the leaf, and compounds such as carotenoids (yellow, orange, brown) and anthocyanins (red) become prominent. This process is called leaf “senescence”; gradually, the leaf is dying, and eventually discarded from deciduous trees - hence, ‘fall’.

Often we think of death as a rather ugly thing – the decomposition of roadkill smeared on the highway comes to mind. We don’t like to contemplate the eventual breakdown of our own human bodies. But is it not significant that, in the case of the sensational fall colours, dying (of the leaves) can actually be something beautiful?

Probably the most cherished emblem of the Christian faith is the cross. Nicky Gumbel (founder of Alpha) once compared wearing a cross necklace to sporting a gallows around one’s neck! The very idea is garish, morbid. But in the case of Christianity, a symbol of the most painful possible death (by design) has been transformed into something beautiful because of the One who died there.

The beautiful autumn leaves draw our attention to the trees. The perfect innocent sinless Son of God draws our attention to the tree on which He hung – a tree which becomes a portal to eternal forgiven life with God.

Not long after Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, the apostles began proclaiming the events and healing many people in Jerusalem. The authorities promptly called them to account. In his defence, Peter uses an unexpected turn of phrase. “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 5:30f)

We might have expected Peter to say Jesus was hung ‘on a cross’ (the usual painful Roman weapon of torture and eventual execution - sometimes lasting days). But Peter specifically says “on a tree”. Perhaps he was reminding his Jewish inquisitors of a passage in their beloved Pentateuch, “...Anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” (Deuteronomy 21:22f) They had handed an innocent man over to the Roman officials on a trumped-up charge of sedition to be sentenced to death unjustly; they themselves, not Jesus, were the guilty ones. Unwittingly they had fulfilled what Isaiah had centuries before prophesied about the coming Messiah: “By oppression and judgment he was taken away…though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” Isaiah predicted this coming innocent Messiah figure would bear the curse that in fact others deserved: “...He poured out his life unto death…For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:8f,12)

A beautiful dying – to bring life to others.

This is not an insignificant point; it is the heart of the Good News. When the church at Galatia was being influenced by false teachers and tempted to fall back into legalism and works-righteousness, the Apostle Paul pointed to this very same passage and wording to highlight the substitutionary nature of Christ’s sufficient atoning work for us sinners: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” (Galatians 3:13) Paul is saying redemption - being ‘bought back’ - is accomplished by what Jesus did at the cross on our behalf, in the stead of us the truly guilty party – not by any works of righteousness we might try to boast about. Jesus’ redemption is “so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit” (Galatians 3:14) - a truly beautiful gift, to be reconnected with God Himself!

So, the next time you find yourself arrested by the beauty of an autumnal maple in full blast of glorious shades – remember the glorious Innocent One who hung on a tree in order that you might believe in Him and, through repentance and forgiveness as a free gift, come to experience the wonder of new undying life in company forever with your Creator / Redeemer!

From CONFUSION to a NEW CREATION

 (for The North Huron Citizen clergy column)

It was a real delight for me this past week (as I sat in the Audio-Visual booth at the back of the sanctuary) to watch a hundred children enthusiastically jump up and down and pump their arms as they sang along to the songs that were part of the assembly at Vacation Bible Camp hosted jointly by Huron Chapel and Blyth Christian Reformed Church. Their voices echoed loudly off the ceiling while their faces radiated youthful energy. But what was the main message that could have been prompting such “joie de vivre”?

Such enthusiasm is in stark contrast to the mental health issues, self-harm, and depression that plague many young people today. Post-modernism has eroded acceptance of traditional worldviews that formed the basis for meaning and purpose in life. “Truth” for many has become relative, subjective – whatever you make it. There is widespread suspicion of, if not outright mistrust of, authority. Multiple media sources and social media influencers vie for our attention, each promoting their own slant on what’s supposedly real. It seems even education systems and government can become captive to particular ideologies. How is a young person supposed to know who can be trusted, or what’s “really real”? The moral failure of once-trusted spiritual leaders, and abuse such as that which occurred in the residential school system, compound the issue. Absent a trustworthy system of values, is there nothing more about life than to “live for the moment”, immerse oneself in the latest virtual reality video game, or experiment with psychedelics that alter our conscious to create vivid realities in our own mind?

This year’s Vacation Bible Camp attempted to present children with the narrative that has historically undergirded the cultural, scientific, and economic development of our society, namely the Bible. Each of the five days featured stages in the narrative that encapsulates Judeo-Christian values, and gives meaning and purpose to life as our country understood it through our initial century. The basic story of Scripture was summed up in 7 C’s: Creation; Corruption and Catastrophe; Confusion; Christ and Cross; and Consummation. Together these 7 C’s address the four basic questions any significant worldview must answer with some degree of satisfaction: Origin - Where did we come from? Destiny - Where are we going? Morality - What’s right and wrong? And, Meaning - Why are we here?

The first day focused on Creation. We examined how it all began, how God created the universe, and so many different forms of animal and insect life. Each day featured a different creature, such as a frog, or butterfly, or gorilla, or parrot, or dolphin - each designed by its Creator with very different form and abilities. The memory verse was Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

The second day focused on Corruption and Catastrophe. We learned about Adam and Eve’s yielding to temptation and eating forbidden fruit; Cain’s murder of Abel; and increasing wickedness among people, which culminated in God’s flooding the earth and saving just a few people in Noah’s Ark, along with pairs of animals, to make a fresh start. As Psalm 14(3) sums it up, “They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”

The third day looked at Confusion. After the Flood, people joined together at Babel in an attempt to build a tower that would reach to the heavens. Just as the serpent in the garden hinted that “You will be like God” – that we don’t need to obey God’s directions, instead we can make up our own ‘truth’ as we go along – the tower became a symbol of human arrogance and pride, that we ourselves are almighty and can dispense with divine guidance and accountability. In a way, each person becomes their own god – but as soon as we dispense with God’s law, ‘might makes right’ and individuals begin to exploit and take advantage of those they view as weaker or vulnerable. Conflict, mistrust, and hatred ensue. At Babel, God confused people’s languages so they scattered out over the earth into different people-groups and nations.

The fourth day, we learned about Christ and the Cross. The colours associated with this day were white and red. White because Jesus was born of a virgin, born as God in-the-flesh, totally sinless and innocent, able to perform supernatural miracles and teach God’s truth about the importance of loving God and loving others as we love ourselves. To become truly human is not to bow to subjective relativism and suppose we can “become our own god”, but instead choose to deny ourselves and receive Jesus as Lord, directing and informing our actions, so God’s Spirit can perform a “metamorphosis” (like caterpillar to butterfly) and cause us to genuinely love our neighbour, thus getting beyond ourself, transcending the confining walls of selfishness and prejudice. We need the Cross (with the colour red reminding us of Jesus’ blood) to forgive our past sins – not on the basis of good works we may have done, but on the basis the infinitely precious and pure life of God’s own Son offered up in our place. This day the children’s memory verse was, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

The final (fifth) day focused on Consummation. We looked at the picture the last book in the Bible (Revelation) paints of the future God has prepared for those who love Him. It’s not about playing harps or streets of gold (as some have comically caricatured it) but about being forever in the presence of Jesus, being privileged to admire and worship and get to know God in His infinite love and goodness and beauty – while having meaningful activities to pursue, free from the former sin-nature that plagues us in our current life. A place without sickness or pain or death. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

These 7 C’s become coathooks for a worldview that does not leave one sinking in a moral quagmire of relativism and subjectivity, but a worldview that instead provides helpful answers to life’s biggest questions, and prompts a very real sense of meaning and purpose and hope for the future… To realize God has made it possible through Jesus for us to become His own dear children forever causes us to want to jump and sing joyfully!

A Mother's Persistence Pays Off

 For The Citizen newspaper, column “From the Minister’s Study” -- May 10 2024 Issue

Three ladies were bragging about their grown sons. The first said, “You should have seen what my boy did for me on my birthday! He threw a big party at a fancy restaurant -- he even hired a big band to come and play.” The second lady said, “That's nice, but listen to what my son did. Last winter he gave me an all-expense-paid cruise to the Greek islands -- all first class.” The third lady said, “That's nothing! For the last three years my son has been paying a psychiatrist $150 an hour two times a week -- and the whole time he talks about nothing but me!”

Our parents leave us legacies. I don't mean monetary inheritances, but real lasting impact on our lives -- hopefully more positive than such effects that require counselling. But our mothers do matter, they can have a profound effect on us.

A London editor submitted to Winston Churchill for his approval a list of all those who had been Churchill's teachers. Churchill returned the list with this comment: “You have omitted the greatest of my teachers -- my mother.”

As Mother’s Day approaches, we can learn from the faithful, persistent example of a mother whom Jesus met when travelling far from home (see Matthew 15:21-28). Despite difficult circumstances and testing, her faith and feistiness prevailed.

Jesus had left Galilee and gone further north near the coast of the Mediterranean. A Canaanite woman came and cried out to Him, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” We're not told the exact manifestations; perhaps there were seizures, nightmares, overwhelming depression, multiple personalities, or self-destructiveness. Some young people today are tormented by negative habits such as cutting, eating disorders, crystal meth, or other addictions. If a parent does try to intervene, sometimes they're simply rebuffed and can only stand by and watch as their own child gets dragged down a destructive path.

But the woman in our story doesn't just appeal for help for her daughter. She appeals, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!...Lord, help me!" Her daughter's condition is affecting her greatly; it's probably taking a toll on the whole family. But parents may identify with and be affected severely by their children's problems. Perhaps the mother's not getting much sleep at night because she hears her daughter crying out in nightmares. Perhaps she's driven to her wits' end because the girl simply won't eat and is withering away to skin and bones. Maybe she herself is battling depression because she knows the personalities being expressed in her daughter's frame aren't the person the girl used to be. She too is tormented.

Being a mom or dad, our kids affect us. We're often 'tuned in' in a special way to their condition. Caring parents identify with their kids and are impacted by what they're going through.

The Canaanite woman doesn't just ask once and leave it at that. She's persistent. The disciples came to Jesus and urged Him to send her away “for she keeps crying out after us.” Mothering takes persistence. There's a special endurance moms must have to keep making meals, washing dishes, doing the laundry, tidying the house, day after day after day (in addition to whatever they may be involved with outside the home). It can become very wearing.

In one story by Stuart McLean, Dave's wife Morley describes to him what her life as a mother is like: “My life is a train... I'm a train dragging everybody from one place to another, to school and to dance class, and to 'now it's time to get up' and 'now it's time to go to bed'. I'm a train full of people who complain when you try to get them into a bed and fight you when you try to get them out of one. That's my job. And I'm not only the train, I'm the porter and the conductor and the cook and the engineer and the maintenance man. And I print the tickets and I stack the luggage and I clean the dishes, and if they still had cabooses, I'd be the caboose... The train starts at a town called 'first day of school'...and it goes to a village called 'Halloween' and then through the township of 'class project' and down the spur line called, 'your sister is visiting'. And do you know what's at the end of the track? Do you know where my train is heading?... To the last stop on the line, Christmas dinner... And when we finally get through that week between Christmas and New Year, do you know what they do with the train? They back it up during the night when I'm asleep so they can run it through all the stations again!”

Mothering requires persistence -- keeping that locomotive moving. The Canaanite woman showed such persistence in appealing to the Lord.

Being a caregiver of any kind means you don't give up even when troubles and testing drive you to your knees. At first Jesus does not respond to this non-Israelite. Finally the woman comes and kneels right in front of Him, calling out, “Lord, help me!” Kneeling shows how desperate she is, but also that she's honouring Him while humbling herself. Sometimes parenting is just that hard, you are driven either to despair or to worship, one or the other.

Jesus responds, but doesn't grant the request right away. He says, “It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.” Conscious of being sent primarily to minister among the Jews, Jesus is testing her: first by not answering a word to her, now by this expression. Some people might have gotten offended, thrown up their hands and gone off in a huff upon hearing Jesus say this. But this mother's 'dogged' persistence won't be shaken off. She demonstrates her full range of intelligence and submission by using His own word-picture to nudge the limits of His immediate mission. She says, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Her faith in God's overflowing lovingkindness and deep mercy depicts a 'grace mentality': there's more than enough for every need; God's plentiful riches are available to everyone, He will bless all those who by faith in Jesus are willing to receive. She's trusting as Jesus did that “all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).

Hearing this, Jesus holds back no longer. Even though this woman isn't Jewish, she has a firm grasp of God's Kingdom plan; as promised to Abraham, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3) Jesus is satisfied she grasps God’s goodness through trusting. He answers, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was instantly healed.

From Grief to Greeting: Golly!

For column "From the Minister's Study", The Citizen, April 5, 2024

     It was a dumb idea, going to look at the tomb. The men disciples had probably told the women it was pointless. After all, Pilate had ordered the chief priests and Pharisees to take a guard and make the tomb as secure as possible. They’d even put a seal on the stone besides posting an armed guard. What point was there in going to look at the tomb? The deed had been done, the miracle-working Christ had been killed. It was a stupid idea. But something inside the women’s hearts tugged them toward the tomb. The heart has reasons the mind knows nothing about. Perhaps it was their faith pulling them there – He who had been right about so many things could not be wrong about this. And God has a way of taking what seems stupid to the wise and turning it into His crowning glory, exceeding the capacities of His creatures.

     Matthew’s account of the events which unfolded early that morning presents us with 5 “G’s” as hooks on which to hang the story. First, grief: “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” (Matthew 28:1) When someone dies, to those who have been most closely attached to them, the things associated with them become extra special. I recall one family that made their deceased teenage son’s room into a sort of “shrine”. People are drawn to cemeteries to place flowers at the grave of family members. We see crosses at the roadside where there’s been a fatal traffic accident. Grief draws us like a magnet to the place of burial, to the photos, the personal articles we associate with those we’ve loved.

     As the women were drawn to the tomb, are there things you’re grieving? Relationships or harsh realities that didn’t turn out the way you expected? Loss of health or wealth, some dashed hope? Maybe you can relate a bit to how disheartened the two Mary’s must have felt. But they didn’t see how this could be the conclusion of the plot for the miracle-working, truth-teaching, hypocrisy-confronting Rabbi from Galilee. And so maybe even in your present grief, God has another chapter coming.

     Besides grief, there are guards. V4 mentions the guards that had been posted by the religious leaders. They would be armed to prevent robbery or interference of any kind, and they had sealed the stone on the tomb to lock in the body.

     If grief is about loss, “guards” are about limitations. Something’s locked you out. You’re hitting a brick wall. What’s holding you back? Finances, perhaps – always too much “month” and not enough “money”? Is it limited physical ability – your age is slowly creeping up on you and affecting how much you can do? Is it lack of time – never enough hours in the day to accomplish what you’d like to do? Or limitations of a different sort – maybe someone in your past has fed some negative thoughts into your head that always rise up to jinx you, that become an invisible wall stopping you from taking that next step. Somebody’s said, “You’re not bright enough” or pretty enough or strong enough; “You’ll never amount to anything.” In our subconscious, those curses from the past have powerful force to hold us back, to block us from becoming who God designed us to be. What forces are “guarding” you negatively, blocking your way, intimidating you?

     But God’s ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). No matter what our griefs and guards, our losses and limitations, the Almighty God has some surprises in store for those who come to Him. Call this the golly factor! Now the word “golly” is not in Matthew’s text, but that would be our reaction if we witnessed verses 2-3: “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” GOLLY! “The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.” (28:4)

     An angel is a messenger of God, one sent at His command to enact His will. God’s power is linked to His promise, His stated purpose. When God shows up, when He steps into the middle of our most despairing circumstances, sparks will fly! Stand back! Jesus had pointedly predicted to His disciples on at least three occasions that He’d be crucified, dead, and then rise from the dead, but it didn’t seem to register with them. The angel Gabriel had reminded Jesus’ mother before His birth, “Nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) In Matthew 19(26) Jesus had looked at His disciples and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” At Gethsemane, wrestling with the agonizing decision about going to the cross with its ultimate pain and shame, Jesus prayed, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for You.” And the Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3(21) that our Lord Jesus “by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Never underestimate God’s power – faith allows for a “golly” factor! Don’t dismiss God out of the equation of your life circumstances. All things are possible with Him – resurrection morning is proof of that!

     Grief - guards - golly - the 4th G is greeting. The empty tomb is one thing – the apostle John seemed convinced even just by the way the graveclothes were laid out with the body seemingly vaporized from between them – but Christian faith is not based on the lack of something. “So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.” (28:8-9)

     Somewhere, back centuries ago, at the very first of all these Easter celebrations, historically / definitely / spatially and in-time, somebody met a risen Jesus bodily present. They could clasp His feet. They had come expecting a place – to look at a tomb – but instead they encountered a Person. He greeted them; and so He meets us today, one-on-one, challenging us as He did Martha outside her brother’s tomb – “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25f)

     For any other religious system, take away its founder and the system still stands more or less, as a body of teaching, a system of principles. But Christianity is different: without its founder, it just doesn’t work, it makes no sense. You can never reduce Christian faith to a mere bunch of rules to live by: at its core is the God-Man who seeks relationship with you, greeting you, inviting you to follow Him and know Him and take up His cross and live with Him eternally! Will you grasp that – Him – clasp His nail-pierced feet?

     The last “G” here is go. What did the angel tell the women in verses 6-7? “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’” And what did Jesus tell the women when He met them? “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (28:10)

     Go... The Good News about Jesus is not something stationary that we can polish like a silver trophy and keep on a shelf, to look at once in a while and feel good. “That’s what I believe; isn’t it exquisite?!” No, the Easter message is dynamic, portable, meant to be taken on the road wherever you go and to whomever you meet: “He has risen! He’s alive! You can meet Him, too! History will never be the same again.” And my story will never be the same again – because knowing Him transforms all my griefs and limitations. His power shakes and shapes me, His forgiveness and mercy receive and redeem me, His love heals and holds me. Because He lives, life for me will be from now on forever different, guided and guarded by His divine hand.

     So – what are you waiting for? You’ve got truly Good News to share! Let’s “go quickly” and tell others this amazing fact.

Donkey Smarts

 (column "From the Minister's Study" in The North Huron Citizen, January 26 2024 edition)

     Are you smarter than your average donkey?

     Recently my wife and I spent a week on the small island of Bonaire, part of the Netherlands Antilles, just off the northern shore of South America. (WestJet now offers flight direct from Toronto.) Bonaire is a former Dutch colony known for its excellent diving, flamingoes, windsurfing – and donkeys... Hundreds of wild donkeys that roam around and are quite used to tourists stopping and offering them something to eat. The Spaniards that infiltrated the Caribbean islands back in the 1500s started bringing them over as beasts of burden, but after about 1920 they were no longer needed for industry and were released to the wild, where they have persisted and propagated since. So we bought bags and bags of carrots, chopped them up, and took them with us wherever we traveled because often we had opportunity to stop and feed these amiable, light-gray, oversized-eared creatures. We also visited the Donkey Sanctuary where over 800 are cared for and protected by volunteers.

     Donkeys pop up sometimes in Bible stories, being the “tractors” and “automotives” of ancient times. One notable instance features the donkey belonging to Balaam, a diviner of international reputation. (One of his non-Biblical prophecies is preserved in an Aramaic text from Deir Alla in the Jordan Valley dating to about 700 B.C.) When Moses guided the Israelite ex-slaves from Egypt, they paused just east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho before entering the Promised Land. The king of Moab was very alarmed by this huge number of fugitive immigrants and summoned Balaam to come and put a curse on the Israelites, so they might be weakened and defeated.

     Yet God was very angry that Balaam was going to assist Balak, for God had told Balaam the people were blessed, and not to be cursed. (Numbers 22:12) So Balaam started encountering opposition when he saddled his donkey and headed towards Moab. The angel of the Lord stood in the road; the donkey saw the angel with his sword and turned aside into a field, which garnered a beating from Balaam. Again the angel stood at a narrow place in the path, with walls on each side; the donkey saw the angel and pressed to one side, crushing Balaam’s foot – so he beat her again. When it happened a third time, at a place where it was impossible to turn aside, the donkey gave up and simply lay down right there in the road. Balaam was angry and beat her with his staff.

     Something supernatural happens at this point in the story. God opened the donkey’s mouth and she spoke to Balaam, asking what she had done that deserved three beatings! An interchange followed in which the donkey made the point that she had been his faithful donkey and had not been in the habit of acting that way. Balaam had to concede this was so. Then God opened Balaam’s eyes so he could see the angel standing in the road with drawn sword. Balaam fell facedown; the angel rebuked him for his reckless path, and by contrast pointed out the donkey’s innocence in protecting her master on three separate occasions.

     The incident is recalled in the New Testament when the Apostle Peter cautions believers in Jesus against false teachers. Peter describes these infiltrators as following corrupt fleshly desires, despising authority, arrogant, slanderous, blaspheming, like “brute beasts”, carousing in pleasure, with eyes full of adultery, “experts” in greed. (2Peter 2)

     Peter observes, “They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey— a beast without speech— who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.”

     The donkey knew enough to stick to the road and protect her master: that was her purpose, from which she refused to deviate. Yet Balaam turned aside from God’s admonishment not to curse His people, whom He chose to bless. Greed probably factored into Balaam’s decision, because King Balak had promised, “I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say.” (Num.22:17)

     Likewise, the false teachers attempting to corrupt the early church were greedy, despising authority, pleasure-seeking, following the corrupt desire of the sinful nature. They had been drawn off-track by their short-term desires.

     Peter notes, “They promise [people] freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity – for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.”

     Donkeys are draft animals – the reason they were on Bonaire in the first place was to draw heavy loads, carry heavy burdens, like slaves. Now they roam free. But what cords pull us? Are we drawn by depravity, like the false teachers? Do we feel the pull of greed, of substances or habits that bring pleasure to the flesh in the short term but drag us down eventually? We may suppose we’re “free” – but as Peter emphasizes, we are slaves to whatever has mastered us.

     When we behave arrogantly, when we run others down (‘slander’), treat God’s name like dirt (‘blaspheme’), entertain adulterous thoughts, crave for ‘more’ (greed) – we are being pulled along by destructive desires as surely as donkeys once were made to labour in the pits of Bonaire. How can we be set free?

     The prophet Zechariah foretold a messianic figure, a King for Zion that would come “righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey...” (in contrast to war-horses) This King would “proclaim peace to the nations” (including non-Jews). And, “As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.” (Zechariah 9:11)

     Jesus is that King who entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Because of His blood, we can be freed from sin’s enslavement and find forgiveness for those desires that once had mastery over us. Then we will be able to stick to the path and have vision for the Lord’s leading, more like the faithful donkey than like fickle Balaam.