December 27, 2023

Wednesday Word:  Faith and Science

Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible, hid from our eyes – Hymn 423

God is light and in him there is no darkness at all – 1 John 1:5

I am the light of the world – John 8:12

I AM who I AM – Ex. 3:14

On a theological note, we proclaim God to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; that is, God is all powerful, all knowing, and exists everywhere in all time and at all times.  This is one of the reasons why, when Moses asks, “Who are you?” God answers, “I AM who I AM.”  No past.  No future.  God just IS.  When we say that God knows what will happen, we aren’t saying that God is looking into the future; because, for God, all time just IS.  Everything for God exists in the NOW.

Along with all of the omnipotent stuff above, we also describe God as being light.  God as light has a long history in the Church as you can see from some of the above quotes.  We talk about the light of God overcoming darkness.  John the Baptist testified to the light.  And on and on.  God is light, and the darkness does not overcome it.

The other day I saw a short video from Neil deGrasse Tyson, the astrophysicist who seems to be everywhere and knows a whole lot about everything.  He was answering the question, “Does anything travel at the speed of light?”  In that video he says:

            If time slows down as you approach the speed of light, then the equations tell us

            at the speed of light time stops.  That means, if you were a photon, time does not

            pass for you at all.  That means that at the moment a photon is generated anywhere

            in the universe, it gets absorbed at its destination.  We can watch the photon move

            across the universe, but for the photon, time does not elapse.

In other words, there is no past or future for photons, but everything just IS.

I don’t need science to prove whether or not God exists, that is a matter of faith; but I do find it interesting that faith and science intersect at this point where God is described as light and mathematical equations show us that light exist in the NOW for all time.

The gospel for Christmas Day is always John 1:1-14.  I find this to be one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture.  And now, thanks to an atheist or agnostic astrophysicist, I have a new understanding of God in the universe. 

The Bible is not a science textbook, but it does offer us a greater Truth.  And sometimes the Truth of the Bible manifests itself in unexpected ways – such as learning that light just IS.

Merry Christmas,

December 20, 2023

Christmas can be a hard time for a lot of people.  It’s filled with expectations of gift giving, card sending, and meaningful family gatherings.  But what happens when those expectations go unmet or unfulfilled? 

Some people have moved into a new area, so their connections – whether family or friends – are not in place, and/or they have not yet made new connections.  Some people ask if they need to keep sending Christmas cards to people with whom they only communicate once a year.  I know of at least three people who have recently lost a spouse, and this Christmas season will be painful for them.

For some people, especially those living in the northern latitudes, Christmas requires snow.  It’s hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it’s sunny and 50 degrees all week.

We often hear that Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of year.  We hear that it’s supposed to be magnificent and filled with joy.  We hear so much about what it’s “supposed to be” that we sometimes forget what it really is.

Christmas is the day (and the season, but that’s another story) when we celebrate the Incarnation, the moment when God became human.  It’s the day we celebrate a boy being born to an unwed mother in a backroom where the animals were kept because nobody would make room in their homes for a couple of strangers who were expecting the birth of their first baby. 

Despite all of that, despite all of our preconceived ideas about what Christmas should be, despite the pressure we put on ourselves to make the perfect Christmas, despite the parties, despite all of it and more, Christmas is really about the Incarnation, the moment when God the Son became a human being.

The Incarnation is all about God with us.  The Incarnation is all about that moment when God lived among us and as one of us, giving us an example of what a life dedicated to God could look like.  This is good news. 

It’s good news because in all of our conditions and states we know that God is with us.  God is with us for our first Christmas apart from family.  God is with us in our first Christmas without a spouse.  God is with us when we are gathered together with loved ones.  God is with us in our celebrations and in our tears. 

This Christmas, wherever you are, however you are feeling, may you know the joy of God with you.

December 13, 2023

Wednesday Word:  Of Magnets and Crosses

Somewhere along the line I began collecting crosses.  It wasn’t an intentional thing, and it certainly wasn’t due to some effort of showing off my “holiness.”  It just sort of happened.  A cross here and there that I found interesting or meaningful.  Parishioners took notice and began gifting me with crosses.  Hanging on my office wall they have sort of become part of my identity, and people love looking at them when they visit the office.  Some people enjoy gifting them to me.  No two are exactly alike, and I think that’s what makes my wall of crosses so fascinating.

At home we have a number of refrigerator magnets.  Some of them are sleeves that hold pictures of our foreign exchange daughters, our own daughter, parents, grandparents, and other friends.  Some of them are knick-knacks from places we’ve been.  Some are utilitarian in that they are strong and can hold a lot of stuff we stick to the fridge.

Both of these things, magnets and crosses, are more than knick-knacks or simple office decorations.  For me and Joelene they are symbols of home.  They are ties to family and friends who are distant from us, or who have died and their photo is, in essence, their living memory.  They are remembrances of places we’ve been, or people who have touched us.  And for as much as we have moved, they let us know that once the magnets and crosses are unpacked and placed on the refrigerator or office wall, we are home.

Last week the box of missing magnets was found and the bare refrigerator in the rental house came alive with family and friends.  The house isn’t getting any bigger, so we are still somewhat cramped, but it’s livable.  And we still have unpacked boxes and empties here and there reminding us that we are still in transition.  But the refrigerator has been decorated and the place now feels a bit more like home.

Last week Joelene came to the office and helped me hang crosses.  We figured out what wall to use, laid them on the floor to get a general plan, and then went to work putting them up.  My office isn’t getting any bigger, so I’m still somewhat cramped, but it’s workable.  I still have unpacked boxes and a few empties here and there reminding me I'm still in transition.  But the crosses are up and my office now feels a bit more like I belong.

Advent is a season of transition.  It’s a season of packed boxes sitting next to unpacked boxes.  It’s a season of stress.  But it’s also a season that, at some point, you can look around and say, “I’m home.”  Advent is a season that calls us home to be with the Messiah who has Already come, as well as a season that calls us to look forward to coming home to be with the Messiah who has Not Yet come.

However your Advent transition is going, I hope you get to the place where you can say, “I’m home.”

Todd+

December 6, 2023

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra.  As with most Saints, we don’t know much about him.  He was born in Asia Minor (Turkey), suffered imprisonment at the hands of Emperor Diocletian, is associated with saving three young girls from a life of prostitution by dropping gold coins through their windows at night so their father could pay their dowry (or maybe into their shoes), saving sailors from drowning, and was possibly at the Council of Nicaea (325) where he defended Orthodox Christianity against Arius and the Arian Heresy.

He's the patron saint of children, sailors, repentant thieves, brewers, pawnbrokers, and unmarried people.

Saint Nicholas was popular in Europe, and immigrants brought the history, legends, and traditions of Sinter Klaas to North America, where he eventually morphed into Santa Claus.

He continues to be celebrated as a major Saint in the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches.

Why am I bringing up Saint Nicholas, other than that today is his feast day?

We have officially entered the holiday season.  Besides the obvious celebration of Christmas, there are also celebrations of Hannukah, Kwanza, and a whole list of other feast days.  The world, and the Hallmark Channel in particular, would have you believe that these are the happiest days of the year, filled with celebrations and good cheer. 

Saint Nicholas reminds us that that is not always the case.  He reminds us that the holidays are filled with broken people, with people in danger, with people in precarious situations, with people who have experienced loss, and with people for whom this is not the hap, hap, happiest time of the year.

This Christmas may we be like Saint Nicholas.  May we be aware of those in need and offer the presence and hope of a God who is present in all aspects of our lives.

May you have a blessed Advent and Christmas Season,

Todd+