Fake

Fake I have a bit of an obsession, and it involves my car.  As anyone who lives in Hampton Roads can tell you, there is never any guarantee of a smooth commute, and it is impossible to go anywhere in a straight line.  That’s one of the things, even ten years later, I still miss about Memphis.  Most of the major thoroughfares run on a simple North/South and East/West grid.  So it’s easy to figure out where you’re headed. Here the water rules everything.  It forces us to choose bridges and tunnels.  It bends our streets or cuts them off.  It creates choke points that snarl traffic.  (By the way, have you ever noticed that the word “snarl” as a verb meaning “to tangle” is almost exclusively used in reference to traffic?) Which leads to my obsession.  I am pathologically fixated on figuring out the fastest way to “get there.”  It drives me crazy to be stuck in traffic.  So every commute becomes an exercise in getting the most up-to-date information on traffic conditions.  (610 am is my favorite radio station.) And I’m consumed with figuring out the streets that have the least traffic. For instance, I’m convinced that 35th Street is the best way to get from Hampton Boulevard to Granby Street.  20th Street is better than 21st for going between Colley Ave. and Monticello.  And I believe that, in the afternoons, Church St. is better than Monticello/St. Paul’s for getting to the Downtown Tunnel…unless there’s a train at 21st.  And don’t even get me started on moving around Western Branch.  I-664 versus Dock Landing and Taylor Rd?  The jury’s still out. Now, I’m aware that all of my scheming probably doesn’t make much of a difference.  I’m not regaining meaningful portions of my day.  And I’m certainly wrong in thinking I know which routes are fastest.  But what I like is the sense of control that I get, even if it is imagined.  Anything’s better than just sitting in traffic.  If I sit still, I might have to pray or think about my life.  I’d much rather keep moving. This week we’re going to hear a warning from Paul about being in too much of a hurry.  He tells the Colossians that it provides a short cut to the “appearance of wisdom,” but in the end it is of “little value.”  My prayer is that we can learn to embrace the slower, more authentic way of Christ.                                                         -Robert   22These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. (Colossians 2)

Fake I have a bit of an obsession, and it involves my car.  As anyone who lives in Hampton Roads can tell you, there is never any guarantee of a smooth commute, and it is impossible to go anywhere in a straight line.  That’s one of the things, even ten years later, I still miss about Memphis.  Most of the major thoroughfares run on a simple North/South and East/West grid.  So it’s easy to figure out where you’re headed. Here the water rules everything.  It forces us to choose bridges and tunnels.  It bends our streets or cuts them off.  It creates choke points that snarl traffic.  (By the way, have you ever noticed that the word “snarl” as a verb meaning “to tangle” is almost exclusively used in reference to traffic?) Which leads to my obsession.  I am pathologically fixated on figuring out the fastest way to “get there.”  It drives me crazy to be stuck in traffic.  So every commute becomes an exercise in getting the most up-to-date information on traffic conditions.  (610 am is my favorite radio station.) And I’m consumed with figuring out the streets that have the least traffic. For instance, I’m convinced that 35th Street is the best way to get from Hampton Boulevard to Granby Street.  20th Street is better than 21st for going between Colley Ave. and Monticello.  And I believe that, in the afternoons, Church St. is better than Monticello/St. Paul’s for getting to the Downtown Tunnel…unless there’s a train at 21st.  And don’t even get me started on moving around Western Branch.  I-664 versus Dock Landing and Taylor Rd?  The jury’s still out. Now, I’m aware that all of my scheming probably doesn’t make much of a difference.  I’m not regaining meaningful portions of my day.  And I’m certainly wrong in thinking I know which routes are fastest.  But what I like is the sense of control that I get, even if it is imagined.  Anything’s better than just sitting in traffic.  If I sit still, I might have to pray or think about my life.  I’d much rather keep moving. This week we’re going to hear a warning from Paul about being in too much of a hurry.  He tells the Colossians that it provides a short cut to the “appearance of wisdom,” but in the end it is of “little value.”  My prayer is that we can learn to embrace the slower, more authentic way of Christ.                                                         -Robert    22These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.  23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. (Colossians 2)

Fake I have a bit of an obsession, and it involves my car.  As anyone who lives in Hampton Roads can tell you, there is never any guarantee of a smooth commute, and it is impossible to go anywhere in a straight line.  That’s one of the things, even ten years later, I still miss about Memphis.  Most of the major thoroughfares run on a simple North/South and East/West grid.  So it’s easy to figure out where you’re headed. Here the water rules everything.  It forces us to choose bridges and tunnels.  It bends our streets or cuts them off.  It creates choke points that snarl traffic.  (By the way, have you ever noticed that the word “snarl” as a verb meaning “to tangle” is almost exclusively used in reference to traffic?) Which leads to my obsession.  I am pathologically fixated on figuring out the fastest way to “get there.”  It drives me crazy to be stuck in traffic.  So every commute becomes an exercise in getting the most up-to-date information on traffic conditions.  (610 am is my favorite radio station.) And I’m consumed with figuring out the streets that have the least traffic. For instance, I’m convinced that 35th Street is the best way to get from Hampton Boulevard to Granby Street.  20th Street is better than 21st for going between Colley Ave. and Monticello.  And I believe that, in the afternoons, Church St. is better than Monticello/St. Paul’s for getting to the Downtown Tunnel…unless there’s a train at 21st.  And don’t even get me started on moving around Western Branch.  I-664 versus Dock Landing and Taylor Rd?  The jury’s still out. Now, I’m aware that all of my scheming probably doesn’t make much of a difference.  I’m not regaining meaningful portions of my day.  And I’m certainly wrong in thinking I know which routes are fastest.  But what I like is the sense of control that I get, even if it is imagined.  Anything’s better than just sitting in traffic.  If I sit still, I might have to pray or think about my life.  I’d much rather keep moving. This week we’re going to hear a warning from Paul about being in too much of a hurry.  He tells the Colossians that it provides a short cut to the “appearance of wisdom,” but in the end it is of “little value.”  My prayer is that we can learn to embrace the slower, more authentic way of Christ.                                                         -Robert    22These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.  23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. (Colossians 2)

REAL

Real

Back in 2006, young Dave Davila graduated from college and was fortunate enough to find a good job.  For his family, the only problem was that it was in Chicago, a 3 hour drive away from his boyhood home of East Moline, Illinois.  Davila was the only one of the four Davila children to leave his small hometown and very close knit family.  In an effort to make light of her son’s absence, Dave’s mother started looking for ways to compensate.

And so, Flat Dave was born.  Dave’s mother, Alice, took a picture of her son standing casually with his hands in his pocket and a smile on his face and had it blown up to match his 5 ft. 8 in. frame.  Then she affixed the photo to a piece of cardboard that could easily stand anywhere.

Soon Flat Dave was making appearances all over town--at his mother’s work, at a relative’s graduation party.  He’s so natural in public, people have been known to mistake him for the real Dave (who is now known as “Thick Dave”).  And this was only the beginning of Flat Dave’s fame. Soon he was being invited to public appearances.  His picture was appearing in the local paper.  He even did a very silent interview on a local radio station with Alice.

Of course everyone knows that Flat Dave is a poor substitute for the real thing.  And you can tell that Dave and his family have a good sense of humor about the whole thing, so it’s funny.  You can imagine how it would be slightly creepy if everyone wasn’t so tongue-in-cheek about it.  Or if they really seemed to be under the impression that Flat Dave is exactly the same as Thick Dave.

Dave did note that it does occasionally get surreal.  He told the Chicago Tribune, "I'm in Chicago talking to my mom on the phone and she says, `Hold on, I've got to load you into the van.' It's a little weird."

This Sunday, we’re going to start a two part sermon on true and fake religion.  There’s a passage in Paul’s letter to the Colossians where he first talks about real faith and then about fake faith.  I think you’ll see that the difference between real faith and fake faith is as obvious as the difference between a real person and a cardboard cutout.

I hope that you’ll take the opportunity to make your faith a little more real.

THANKS A BUNCH

Thanks a Bunch

 I have two quotes to share with you.  The first is one you’ve heard before, because I keep cramming it down your throat.  And I’m unapologetic about it, because every time I read it, I find that I have forgotten it and that I’m in desperate need of a reminder. It comes from Brennan Manning:

I believe that the real difference in the American church is not between conservatives and liberals, fundamentalists and charismatics, nor between Republicans and Democrats. The real difference is between the aware and the unaware.

When somebody is aware of that love—the same love that the Father has for Jesus—that person is just spontaneously grateful. Cries of thankfulness become the dominant characteristic of the interior life, and the byproduct of gratitude is joy. We're not joyful and then become grateful—we're grateful, and that makes us joyful.

The second one is from columnist Peggy Noonan:

Here is something I began to feel after I had faith: the unexpected joy of living things. At some point, living things began to seem precious to me, and I wanted to pet them, hug them—babies and dogs and lizards, whatever. For me, the great fruit of belief is joy. There is a God, there is a purpose, there is a meaning to things, there are realities we cannot guess at, there is a big peace, you are part of it.

"God is good." Near him is where you want to be. There is something called everlasting happiness, and Saint Paul—a fiercely imperfect man who was a great man—was granted visions of it, and that great user of words was floored by it and said that no one can imagine how wonderful it is. The human imagination cannot encompass it.

This Sunday we’re going to read a passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossians that reminds us of something similar: Continuing to live our lives in Christ involves “overflowing with thankfulness.” I think this is largely a lost art among us Christians.  And it’s sorely missing.  My prayer is that we can be reminded of just how blessed we are that we can overflow with thankfulness.

                                                            -Robert

kind of a big deal

Kind of a Big Deal

I wanted to share this with you.  It’s from the 6-10-09 blog entry of Kevin Deyoung, entitled “Who do you say that I am?”  Deyoung notes that we all have a tendency to remake Jesus in our own image, then he gives us several examples.  Here are a few…

• ·        There's the Republican Jesus—who is against tax increases and activist judges, for family values and owning firearms.
• ·        There's Democrat Jesus—who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart, for reducing our carbon footprint and printing money.
• ·        There's Open-minded Jesus—who loves everyone all the time no matter what (except for people who are not as open-minded as you).
• ·        There's Martyr Jesus—a good man who died a cruel death so we can feel sorry for him.
• ·        There's Hippie Jesus—who teaches everyone to give peace a chance, imagines a world without religion, and helps us remember that "all you need is love."
• ·        There's Yuppie Jesus—who encourages us to reach our full potential, reach for the stars, and buy a boat.
• ·        There's Touchdown Jesus—who helps athletes fun faster and jump higher than non-Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls.

There are more, but you get the point.  Everybody has an aspect of Jesus’ personality that they tend to prefer over the others.  The real challenge is to take Jesus as he is rather than try to make him into the Jesus that we want him to be.

This Sunday, we’re going to read a passage that defies our tendency to put Jesus in a box of our own making.  Paul is unapologetic in reminding us that Jesus alone represents the zenith of humanity.  Just look at Colossians 1:15-20.  This is not a small Jesus who stands by silently, waiting like a butler to do our bidding.  He doesn’t exist to serve our needs or champion our politics.

But the good news is this: he’s so much greater than anything we can imagine.  And his greatness is the means by which we are saved. 

CHALLENGE SUNDAY

How about a little word trivia to get your day started?  (Cause I’m sure you woke up this morning worrying that you might not be getting your Recommended Daily Allowance.)

Have you ever heard someone say that they are going to “throw down the gauntlet?”  It’s an expression meaning “to issue a challenge.”  Do you know where it comes from?  According to my friends at Wikipedia, gauntlets are gloves that extend past the wrist and cover some or all of the forearm.  These days they are decorational rather functional.  But they were created to protect a person’s hand and arms during hand to hand combat.  They were constructed of various materials—leather, chain mail, or even armor.

A knight who wished to challenge someone to a duel would take one of his gauntlets and throw it to the ground before his opponent.  If his rival wished to accept the challenge, he would pick it up.

This is not to be confused with “running the gantlet/gauntlet.”  (The spellings are so prominently interchangeable now, either is acceptable.)  Running the gantlet refers to a form of execution practiced by various cultures throughout history, including the Roman legions and Iroquois Indians.  People armed with sticks and clubs form two lines facing each other.  The convicted person is then forced to walk the “alley” between the lines, receiving blows from those on either side.

Finally, there’s the expression “kid gloves.” Here it is in a sentence: “Due to his fragile state, we’re treating him with kid gloves.”  Kid gloves are ultra soft gloves made from lamb skin or the skin of a baby goat, or kid.  To treat someone with kid gloves is to go out of your way to be gentle with them.

So what does all of this have to do with today’s activities?  Today is Challenge Sunday, the day where we introduce our theme for the year in some detail.  One of our elders, Mike Dossett, and I will be sharing our hopes for this year as it pertains to our theme.

So here’s my promise to you: Today, Mike and I are going to throw down the gauntlet.  We are going to be challenging you in 2012 to allow your lives to be changed for the better by Jesus Christ.  This challenge is not to be taking lightly.  We will not be treating you with kid gloves.  At the same time, we have confidence in you.  What we’re asking is not impossible.  We are not asking you to run the gauntlet.  I hope you are as excited as I am about being transformed more into the type of person God is calling you to be.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a nap.  All of those verbal gymnastics wore me out.

                                               -Robert