ADVENT

By James Wilson       

        Advent – the four weeks prior to Christmas – is celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Methodists, a large majority of the Body of Christ.  Orthodoxy – another fifth of the Body – celebrates it as The Fast of Christmas.  The season originated somewhere between the middle of the second century and the middle of the sixth.  It focuses on two realities – active anticipation of celebrating the birth of Messiah or Christ, the Son of God, and active anticipation of Messiah’s return as King.  The name means “coming” or “anticipation” and it operates through the scriptural lens of the life and ministry of John the Baptist.  Jesus said of John that no greater prophet had ever arisen.  Why is this important? 

            John’s ministry has three features that mark him as a kind of second coming of Elijah, and again it is Jesus Himself who so identifies him.  First he recognizes Jesus as the incarnation of God Himself when the latter comes to him seeking baptism.  He speaks as God speaks, identifying acts of compassion and mercy as the fruit of repentance and thus the road to authentic worship.   Second, he treats Jesus as family; they are cousins after all, and when God comes among us this way He expects to be treated as He treats us.  This is what Richard Foster describes as real worship.  And finally he says that he must decrease as Messiah increases – in other words, he both humbles and empties himself before God, which is genuine worship.  All this makes John a forerunner of Messiah – then and now.

            Jesus Christ says mercy trumps sacrifice in one Bible passage while obedience does the trumping in another.  But He speaks of trumping the kinds of sacrifice that passes through ceremonial motions simply because it is that time of year.  When we actually recognize Him in the services of Lessons and Carols, the lighting of special candles, and the absence of certain frills in our worship we are led back to appreciate the spirit of John the Baptist.  When we take it a step further and begin sharing our food with the hungry, carrying the packs of the needy, and visiting the sick and the lonely before going home to a warm place of rest we begin to actively re-focus on God – the essence of repentance – and pragmatically anticipate the return of the King.

            The world is based on an economy of sacrifice, not survival of the fittest, and this should be as visible to people of no faith as to the most faithful Christians.  The vestiges have survived the epochs since the accelerating Fall of Mankind.  Astronomers know our planet is the fruit of the sacrifice of multitudes of stars that went nova over the billions of years since our universe has lived and kicked just the right amount of heavy and light elements into this sector of our galaxy so that a rocky and watery planet is born to enable the human race to walk and talk with God.  In the animal world zoologists know parents routinely sacrifice their lives for the sake of their children – as do most human parents.  Every human body is born of the sacrifice of individual and living egg and sperm, and your white blood cells sacrifice themselves in a kamikaze attack on anything that breaks into your body.  We reserve maximum admiration for the person who risks or gives his life for another.  Jesus Himself came into the world to ignite restoration of this world as it was intended by its Creator.

            Our generation of the Church, however we define ourselves, is clearly a John the Baptist generation.   The dark signs Jesus identified as signaling His near return are wars and rumors of wars, men calling evil good and good evil, and hatred focused on those who name His name worldwide.  Although no one can predict when or how soon He returns, we are clearly and factually in the last act of world history from that standpoint.  As the numbers of miracles and decisions for Jesus escalate we have to recall His apocalyptic prediction (John 14:12-14 and other places) that His return would be foretold in this way as well. Likewise, the prophetic witness is overwhelming that we need to become ready with every hour left to us – whether a week or centuries.  And, as in John’s day, so the Church practices Jesus’ commands selectively and coldly.

            Candles and carols are important if they light the season.  But the spirit on John is crucial – now more than ever.  The fruit of repentance is actively awaiting the Awakening in a season and lifestyle called Advent.  

James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at

praynorthstate@charter.net

              

           

THANKSGIVING IS THE BEGINNING

By James Wilson

                                                    

            Bart was a priest I knew thirty years ago, when I was still in seminary and needing a mentor.  Shortly after he agreed to be in this mentoring relationship with me he revealed that he was being tested for a disease that robbed him of muscle control at the same time it seemed to be scrambling his brain and messing with various other bodily functions.  One of the possible diagnoses was Alzheimer’s Disease.  I asked him how he was praying for himself and – by extension – how I could pray for him.  He said his prayer was, “God grant me a eucharistic heart.  The word is Greek for great thanksgiving.  It is the name we Anglicans give the Lord’s Supper – the Holy Communion.

            Thanksgiving is not everything; it can be saccharine and sentimental if we just blandly and uncritically say thanks for everything, as though there were nothing we might beg a loving God to change in our circumstances.  But if we understand – as I do – that communion with our Lord Jesus is the core and context of our acts of worship – the name begins to make sense.  As I understand worship this context begins with praising God – and thanking Him for the opportunity.  It continues with hearing and commenting on His Word in Scripture – and thanking Him for the enlightenment and the marching orders He brings.  We acknowledge the shape of our faith in the words of the ancient creedal summary – and thank Him for giving a dependable shape to our belief.  We pray for those in need of healing, shelter, peace, and deliverance from evil – and thank Him for loving them more than we can.  And we thankfully celebrate the reality of His death and resurrection for the sake of our larger life; all this as we thankfully hail his sovereignty and protection over us while standing invisibly in our midst.  From inside the whole process of worship, this eucharistic heart broadens our awareness and expands our vision of opportunities in the context of this lifestyle of thanksgiving.  It is not a different viewpoint so much as it is a larger, more wholistic, and eagle-eyed perspective.

            I would love to say Bart was miraculously healed of his medical condition, but that did not happen.  He was eventually diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and he gave thanks it was not Alzheimer’s.  That was miracle enough for him and the peace of God was quite visible all over him the last time I saw him.

            When the Pilgrims celebrated their first Thanksgiving in the New World they were starving and riddled with disease.  The Native Americans who befriended them and joined their celebration were doing only marginally better. But these Pilgrims and their indigenous friends chose to believe the message of Romans 8:28 that God works all things together – ultimately – for good in those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.  They asked for and received a Eucharistic heart.  Such a heart enabled them to be more conscious of what gifts they were given than of what needs had not yet been answered.  It gave them both joy and a reason for that joy.

            A story is told of a country parson in the UK who ran out of petrol while out calling on members of his flock.  He knocked on the door of a church member’s home just up the road and the family offered him as much petrol as he could carry from the tank in their garden.  They added – regretfully – that the only container they had was a chamber pot.  The parson answered that he was thankful for whatever he got – being assured this was God’s gift and God’s gift is always precisely what he needs.  As he lugged the pot back to his car and began pouring the contents into the petrol tank a motorist drove by on the other side of the road and exclaimed, “Oh, if I only had faith like that!”  That faith was indeed what he needed, but not what he thought.

            The faith displayed by the parson was not an unshakable conviction that God can transform human waste into motor fuel; of course He can and of course He wasn’t.  The faith was as the parson said – that whatever we receive from God is precisely what we need for God’s good purposes to unfold in our lives, when we receive it.  Developing a eucharistic heart is the work of a lifetime.  It is the work that – from our end – enables a life to be lived well.  May readers enjoy a Thanksgiving as memorable as it is blessed.

James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at

praynorthstate@charter.net

OFFENSE OR DEFENSE: WHICH ONE WINS GAMES?

By James Wilson

             I was thrilled by the Veteran’s March on Washington story that broke in mid October.  It was both peaceful and effective.  It was populated by veterans and their supporters – people who have earned the right to be heard and to participate in the governing of our land.  Confronted by DC Park Police – under orders from the White House to close public monuments – they stood their ground and kept their cool.  (Yes, one man was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon – out of the thousands who marched and stood.)  And when it became clear to police that they would neither disperse nor attack the police withdrew.  The veterans even stacked the barricades they removed from around capitol monuments in neat piles, underscoring their position as icons of the power of sowing in the opposite spirit. 

            A few days later hundreds of patriotic Americans demonstrated for freedom by cutting the grass and cleaning up the grounds of the Capitol Mall.  Confronted by repression, they too sowed in the opposite spirit.  And by “opposite spirit” we simply declare the displacement of cursing with blessing, falsehood with truth, and domination with submission – to God alone.  For His strength is always perfected in our weakness if we believe and submit to His Word in 2 Corinthians 12:9.

            But let’s be clear about the spirit we oppose.  Of course we speak of the spirit of this world – in biblical parlance – the spirit amply manifested in the behavior and attitude of the Obama Administration.  The nation watched in horror as the president shut down public monuments requiring no on-site personnel – a presidential temper tantrum – during the shutdown.  We watched in grief as he effectively cursed Americans who gave their lives for their country when he cut off funding for families and funerals.  The Fisher Foundation restored this funding from their resources, replacing cursing with blessing.

The Los Angeles Times reports intelligence community insiders confirming the White House and State Department endorsed NSA spying targeting law abiding American citizens – and even the heads of friendly foreign states – while the president claims he knew nothing about it.  CBS News reports five million-plus Americans have already lost their medical insurance while the president still says all Americans will be covered by the insurance of their choice – if insurance companies approve.  Our government maintains it cannot find the terrorists who murdered the American ambassador to Libya; CNN locates and interviews these people in Libya.  It has been known for over a year that the administration consistently lied about the circumstances of the attack and has stonewalled about its own inactivity while Americans were dying.  The same must be said for the IRS scandals unfolding during the same period.  But courageous media people and members of Congress have consistently sought and revealed the truth as it has come to light.  They have replaced falsehood with truth.

The IRS scandal is a classic case of suppressing dissent by targeting dissenters for reprisal.  It is now well known that hundreds of conservative organizations – and some too liberal for administration tastes – have had their lawful applications for tax exemptions delayed or denied.  Private information on these agencies, and on individual persons who oppose the administration, has been given to Obama officials for use against them.  The president himself has used his office to fan flames lit by race baiters such as Al Sharpton.  The roll-out of Obamacare has been fraught with intimidation tactics like the firing of a government employee for answering questions posed by radio host Sean Hannity – questions that were procedural in nature and her responsibility to answer if she was to do her job.  Federal employees with knowledge of the Benghazi disaster have been forbidden to testify before Congress.  Yet the response of citizens to this bullying has been to do what the vets did in Washington and businesses like Hobby Lobby are doing in asserting their rights in a non-violent and courteous manner.  They displace domination with submission – to God alone.  By asserting their freedom in this way they move from defense – the path of rage and negativity – to offense – the path of peace and positivity.

Christians during this time are called to fight fire with water – the living water of baptized life – walked out in public as well as in private. This sowing in the opposite spirit brought about the conquest of the Roman Empire in the first three centuries, the liberation of Eastern Europe in the 20^th Century, and the first three American Great Awakenings.  It achieved the Civil Rights Revolution and a worldwide Gospel outreach of unprecedented proportions.  Operating on offense wins the game in the ultimate sense.

James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at

praynorthstate@charter.net

GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP

By James Wilson

            When I played Little League ball I was good at everything – fielding, throwing, stealing bases – except hitting.  When I finally made upper division I didn’t get a hit the entire season.  The humiliation was hellish; I would have done anything to avoid it, but it made me strong. And I can promise it would have been doubly humiliating had a rule been laid down that pitchers had to lob the ball to players like me for our self-esteem.  Yet the powers that be in youth sports have discovered the supposed immorality of permitting one team to dominate another – whether in football, baseball or soccer – without sparing a thought for the emasculation of players given a forced pass when the score reaches a certain point. 

            Men – and boys – need to compete to be who they are created to be.  They do not need to be cruel; they do not need to bully, but they do need to seek and contest a prize.  Each quest carries the risk of loss.  Each one carries the potential for learning to cooperate, growing from the experience of victory or defeat, and the value of going after victory again with the benefit of lessons learned and skills honed.  What is not needed – or helpful – is a bunch of adults grimly determined that defeat will not be tolerated even if victory must be artificially limited.  A growing body of research is beginning to show that a principal way in which irresponsible boys become responsible men is for parents and other authorities to back off when they make risk-embracing decisions that can result in skinned knees or severe defeat.

            The rationale advanced for forbidding lopsided scoring is that such winning teams bully the lesser skilled.  I am not supporting absentee parenting, much less school authorities who look the other way when the kids in their charge are being bullied.  I have no use for bullies of any kind and I have fought them as a boy, as a man, and as a parent.  But my father taught me to stand up for myself and I taught my son to stand for himself.  When my son did stand up I backed him all the way to the superintendent and got justice for him.  In another school when there was no administrative relief for an unfair punishment I sat in detention with my son before telling the headmaster I was pulling him out of the school – with my son’s concurrence.  He learned the world is not fair at the same time he learned he was not alone in it.  Yet in this season coaches are threatened with suspension and fines if they allow a game score to pass a certain point.

            Do I hate it when children are on the wrong end of a lopsided score?  I hate it as I hated that hitless season when I was twelve.  But that is when a parent or other authority figure comes alongside the child and bears his burden with him.  It is not the time to artificially shield children – through rules rather than relationships – from burdens they must carry with or without preparation as adults.

            Jesus knew this when he sent His twelve principal disciples out with neither bread nor money nor extra clothing (Luke 9:1-6) to do what they had seen Him do, like healing the sick, casting out demons, and proclaiming the Gospel no secular authorities wanted to hear about.  When that first foray worked out well he sent seventy-two – armed with his authority and His message.  On Pentecost Sunday His Spirit sent out the whole Body and here we are two billion plus later.

            Efforts to shield children from pain and embarrassment are commendable on their face.  But in this case the shielders weaken one group while bullying another.  What the kids need a whole lot more than shielding – when we are not talking about serious injury – is relationship with adults who love them enough to stand with them, to help them pick up the pieces, to demonstrate their real value that transcends a bad day at the ballpark.  I had no one to stand with me when I was twelve, and I still came out stronger for the experience.  I learned how important it is to stand for and with others, and that the things that hurt my pride are not the things that kill my person.  I received the most important redemption for this time when I met a God who will always stand for me and with me a decade later.  Rules – however well meant – teach none of these things.  Only relationship can do that.

James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at

praynorthstate@charter.net