Supreme Confidence

Dear friends,

I hope this message finds each of you in good health and good spirits. Maintaining our physical and spiritual well-being can be such a challenge, even though we live in such a beautiful and peaceful part of the world. Whether we get locked into arguments with the people immediately around us or we get caught up in all the terrible things happening all over the globe, it can be very easy to give up on even attempting to be joyful.

In Philippians 2:1-13 we catch a glimpse, through the early Christian hymn recorded there, of a way out of the traps we build for ourselves. Joy and consolation come, argues Paul, not from looking out for Number 1 but just the opposite; by looking to the interests of others, by taking on a default stance of humility.

Humility is not the same as depriving or hating ourselves, but rather comes from a place of confidence and self-respect. When we feel loved and love others, that feeling of security allows us to give up the fanatical need to control those around us. Jesus took equality with God not as an excuse to force everyone to do his bidding, but rather as a sign of supreme confidence that though his enemies could destroy his body they couldn’t destroy his spirit.

Let us, as we accept our roles as children of God, also be filled with that confidence. The Way of Christ walks in us, and no matter what difficulties and miseries we may encounter we, too, are part of the undefeatable power of truth and love.

Peace and joy be with you all,
Andrew

Abundance!

Dear friends,

First of all, three cheers for Jess and Cody for immediately jumping on the cookie outreach opportunity, for Mac and Charlie for their ongoing ministry of giving bread, and for Janie and Conrad for their willingness to participate as well! And I know there are many others who regularly work small miracles in other ways and at other times. What a community! I'm humbled and honored to serve alongside you all.

Such abundant generosity of spirit and of material resources reflects the true nature of our Creator. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I think God smiles when we imitate such goodness. This week's psalm, the 145th, is an expression of pure devotion to God's abundant nature. The whole song is a promise, that God's incredible strength and generosity will not be taken for granted but will be praised and pointed out, from one generation to the next.

Your good-natured acts and attitude are a part of God's good nature; they should never be taken for granted, but be praised and pointed out, from one generation to the next. Cookies and bread may seem like a small thing, but they are the building blocks of the new covenant in Christ. Food and friendship, laughter and conversation, these can be easy to overlook but they are the most fundamental ways in which we imitate God's goodness to friends and strangers alike. Don't let these things pass you by unremarked; notice them, and rejoice!

May your lives overflow with simple pleasures all this week.

Grace and peace,
Andrew

Holding Gifts, Not a Gavel

Dear friends,

It always amazes me, when I get to know someone, how very different our daily lives can be. Even people with similar careers, family situations, and personal backgrounds usually have some part of their lifestyle that makes it totally unlike my own. And since I have chosen my lifestyle for what I consider to be good reasons, it's only natural that I should have concerns about people who make different choices.

..which can be a huge problem, especially for those of us in Christian community. Given that we pay attention to the moral and spiritual implications of how we live our daily lives, we easily become judgmental. Even our children can pick up on it, and we run the risk of making them more harsh towards others, especially others they consider to be somehow living the "wrong way."

Paul saw this poison taking root in the early church of Rome. Not content to be united in Christ, the community continually squabbled over issues of lifestyle. In Romans 14:1-12 the issues at stake are doubtless very important -- on what day to worship together, whether to eat or abstain from meat. And knowing Paul, who always has a strong opinion on everything, we'd expect him to weigh in hard on one side or the other. But instead of seeing those he disagrees with as the problem, Paul sees the tendency to pass judgment itself as the problem.

This is not to say that every lifestyle decision is equally good and we should never try to steer one another towards better paths. But offering help and support is worlds different than passing judgment and treating someone harshly or excluding them. So Paul rightly reminds us that judgment belongs to the Lord, and that when we see a person in trouble our hands should be holding our gifts, not a gavel. What a relief, to be freed from the compulsion to measure and criticize every little thing in the lives of those around us! 

Grace and peace be with you all on this beautiful day and throughout this week.

Blessings and best regards,
Andrew

The Simple Walk

Dear friends,

Many of us spend our days swimming in a sea of information. We U.S. Americans look at screens over 10 hours a day on average, and most of us read and listen to music or news as well. Most of the media we take in doesn't come as cold, hard facts but rather as interpretations, opinions, and ways of looking at the world. We feel differently about life after listening to Johnny Cash as opposed to Lady Gaga, and over the course of our normal day we may be exposed to dozens of competing ways of thinking about the world and how we should live in it. We protect ourselves by ignoring most of what comes at us, but nonetheless it can be a dizzying experience!

So to me Romans 12:9-21 comes as a very welcome moment of clarity. When I get swamped and disoriented by everyone's competing perspectives, when I can't decide which global issue to be most worried about or which personal diet plan I should stick to, these wonderful words can help sort out my priorities.

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."
"If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Each of the 13 verses in this selection are absolute gems, pure and poetic. They give me more than helpful advice, they give me a way of thinking that helps make sense of the information blasting at my brain like a firehose aimed at a teacup. How do I react to my coworker's post about getting a promotion over me? What should the governments of the world do about North Korea? Why does my irritable uncle keep calling? Paul's words don't give us any direct answers, but they sure can help us find those answers for ourselves. They point us towards a simple walk with God that can ease much of our self-doubt and disorientation. May that simple walk come easily to each of us this week.

Blessings of peace and productivity be with you all,
Andrew

Already We Stress

Dear friends,

It seems astounding that the end of the summer is so close already. For many of us this next week will signal the start of the whirlwind with the start of classes at Virginia Tech; for others, the whirlwind has already been raging a while.

Stress builds up not only because of increased workloads or decreased sleep, but also because of the fear of failure. The miserable fact is that we don’t just stress when we have rough days; we stress in anticipation of rough days.

So as a preemptive antidote to our preemptive stress, I recommend Psalm 138. It’s a full-throated expression of confidence and joy, a reminder to us and a testimony before all the powers and peoples of the world. God is faithful in the tough times, “On the day I called, you answered me, you strengthened my life.”

When we call out to God, we have an opportunity to free ourselves from our narrow and contorted obsessions and look at things with broader perspective. We can put our troubles in context, and remind ourselves that God cares especially about those who suffer the most. “For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly; but the haughty he perceives from far away.”

So when the bad days come we know that we aren’t abandoned. If we can just raise our heads a little, if we can glimpse the sweep of the stars or hear a snippet of song, we can be reminded of the enduring love of the Creator reflected in all of our lives.

Blessings of serenity in your anticipation,
Andrew