A Church Afraid...

This week I ran into an interesting text. 1 Kings 12:25-33 tells the record of Jeroboam's sin. His story is interesting. He was a "mighty man of valor and industrious" [1 Kings 11:28], which grants him a leading position in Solomon's kingdom. One day he encounters prophet Ahijah of Shiloh, and the story states that Ahijah tore the new garment he had and gave 10 pieces to Jeroboam, assuring him that he was now God's man for leading the house of Israel, due to Solomon's apostasy.  There was something in him that God saw of value to actually make him the solution to the problem that Solomon had submerged Israel into.Thus, Jeroboam has the promise of God (1 Kings 11:37-38), to establish his house over Israel as long as he kept the command of the Lord. Irony, Jeroboam is now to Solomon what David (Solomon's father) was to Saul.   Solomon sees that the divine warning becomes a reality (1 Kings 11:11 - 13) and in an satiric twist of fate, he pulls a "Saul" seeking the live of the man that was to "replace" him and his household. Things came to pass according to Yahweh's will. Rehoboam is a fool and follows the idiot counsel of the young advisers (as Yahweh designed it; 1 Kings 12:15), as a result, Jeroboam leads the people in a secession move and is crowned by the seceding 10 tribes. The Promise of Yahweh is a reality in Jeroboam's life, the 10 pieces of new cloth are not a pictograph, but rather palpable fulfillment.   

However, instead of relying on the Word of God and being aware of the gift and responsibility bestowed upon him; Jeroboam forgets the promise and turns to fear, and doubt. "If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah." (1Ki 12:27 NKJ).  Fascinating! He is afraid. His spiritual amnesia of the promise, the gift given, and the power of the Giver of the gift; allow for personal panic and insecurity.

So in his fear he devices a brilliant "fear stopping" plan. "Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, 'It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!'" (1Ki 12:28 NKJ). Fear and convenience are terrible elements to base worship upon.  Notice the echo from Exodus 32:4 "These are the gods that brought you out of the land of Egypt"(similar reason behind it: "Moses has been gone"... Fear).  He places both idols in strategic places: one in Beth-el (place of significance: Gen 28:16-19, Jacob encountered God there) and also southern point of the new kingdom; and in Dan, northern point of Israel.  Add to this: sacrifices in high places, an open cast call for priesthood (1 Kings 13:33 anyone wanting priest positions was ordained-no GPA or "calling" for THIS Seminary), and the king offering sacrifices to the golden calf in Beth-el; and you got yourself a brand new worship, convenient, easy, and born out of the insecurities and fears of Jeroboam's heart (1 Kings 12:33).

It sounds to me that sometimes, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has a tendency of following Jeroboam's example.  We are a church afraid. You name it, chances are we are scared of it.  Music, drums, jazz, rock, blues, Catholics, Protestants, Democrats, Republicans, Atheists, Muslims, New Agers, the Pope, the European Union and its Sunday Laws.  Meat, coffee, sugar, milk, emotions, rhythm, Spiritual Formation (our most recent fear); Pentecostals, EGW, revival, why, dare I say we are even afraid of the Holy Spirit itself?  So out of fear and insecurity we conjure these warped notions of what worship is and especially what its not.  We black list certain musical instruments, we label certain genres of music as satanic, and we turn pews into barricades, dig up trenches, and  convert churches into "holy" battle grounds. Let the fireworks begin... one side spews spiritual quips, the other launches pseudo EGW grenades, followed by a barrage of biblical gunfire... in the middle some of us sit upon barbwired fences, and when we ask where the positions come from, the inevitable answer we get is: "HERETIC" or "LEGALIST"   

We seem to drive most of our conversations from FEAR and INSECURITY.   We fear that if we mingle with Pentecostals, we'll end up like "the incidents in Indiana before the close of probation" (Famous EGW quote used to "warn" about worship). We fear that if we talk to Catholics and befriend them, they will make us worship the Pope. We fear that if we don't entertain and dazzle our youth they'll go away (they are already gone inside our walls). We are scared of Protestants because they'll blot out "our identity" if we sing "their" songs. We fear that if we dont "let our hair down" then we wont be relevant to the world, we'll be too weird (I guess standards are not important, huh). We are scared of mentioning that we read EGW (we'll be seen as cult, even weirder, right?). We fear our prophetic interpretation of Daniel and Revelation because its too "beastly". We fear that if we bring drums into the Chruch, then worship will turn automatically into a rock concert, and yet we seem to forget similar discussions happened a hundred plus years ago regarding the Piano (an instrument played only in saloons and bars). However today after due canonization and beatification of the aforementioned instrument, we deem it capable of no evil, and actually preferred by God himself... it says so in one of the Testimonies... just cant remember which one [insert sarcasm here]. 

Its fear, convenience, and insecurity that spurs our "conversations".  Its convenient to pull out a list, be it long or short, that conveniently states what goes and what does not. "Both sides are legalistic; the only difference is the length of their lists" (Dr. Ben Maxon).  A list is easy, it takes away thinking and work.  It takes away the wrestling with the texts, it takes away the effort and prayer that must be put into our conclusions.  It just simple to be spoon fed opinions that are guised in either the defense of "truth" or the defense of "spirit", but at the end nothing more than opinion of the party that states them. 

It is just so convenient to say who we should not have dealings with (can you say Catholic with me?) what we should not play at church (old boring hymns) what instruments are Satanic (drums and saxophone anyone?) and what genres of music are not for church (Jazz, Blues and Rock, Satan's unholy musical trinity). Once the list is checked, then we are good.  Be it long (conservative) or be it short (liberal) the list is what dictates our behavior and conversation, and meanwhile the WORD of GOD plays a distant holy second fiddle in the discussion; making our worship either dry and stale with no Spirit (the "corpse" of Christ) or it is so full of clutter, noise and showmanship that Christ has truly left the building.  And so the fight rages on. We spread videos on Facebook, ignore conservatives, continue to dress our cultural preference and chauvinism with "truth", call for "reformation of the music"; which 8 out of 10 times is, a mindless sweeping of whatever is evangelical or has a hint of "worldly" music; (ever notice how bluegrass and country are never attacked? I guess God has a Garth Brooks on his iPod) but never an honest call to actually put aside our insecurities and fears, presuppositions and pick up the Bible, and for once have a living experience with the Book, that actually might bring us together in our worship and theology. 

Our problem seems to be this insecurity of "who we are" as individuals, and as a church.  We dont know who we are because dare I say we don't know WHO HE IS? Hence we conjure these lopsided, uni-dimensional images of God out of our shallow experiences with HIS WORD and we shove them down peoples throats and never really get to an honest Spirit guided, prayer drenched exegetical reading of whatever text you use to defend whatever position you defend out of whatever preference you have, thus our worship is warped... like Jeroboam's.  “Proper worship in any age is critically predicated upon adequate and accurate knowledge of the God worshiped… NO matter how ceremonially elaborate, emotionally rousing, or sermonically eloquent, worship that is not offered from a proper understanding of who God is falls short” … “the nature of proper worship must take precedence over discussion of secondary paraphernalia or liturgical trappings of worship.” [Andreas Kostemberger, John BECNT, 156.] Imagine that, a non-Adventist actually saying something worth listening to.

Adventists are a Church Afraid and I am getting tired of our church not remembering the gifts and trusting the Giver.  It is cumbersome, when the church forgets that "you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." (Rom 8:15 NKJ)... and again "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2Ti 1:7 NKJ) also... "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2Co 3:17 NKJ).
  
Fear impedes us to move.  Fear impedes us to search, it stagnates us.  Fear does not allow for "Spirit and Truth" to merge and marry in our worship, hence our worships and our worship discussions are a hobbled mess, of either too much law and no spirit (the case Jesus condemns in John 3) or too much "spirit" with no knowledge (Case addressed by Jesus in John 4).  

Perhaps its time we let the Spirit act, and guide our worships and our conversations, leading us to truth (Isn't that its job?), and finally merge the two elements that are the makeup of God's TRUE worshipers, "SPIRIT AND TRUTH" (John 4:34).  As we allow the Spirit to guide us into all truth, we'll stop rowing with one oar. Both sides have the missing oar, or parts of it. Only by getting together, can we row in a forward direction and not just in frustrating circles.  Rowing a row boat down the stream is not a merrily experience when its done with your hands, or one oar... hence Spirit and Truth. Quit the fear and fear mongering will ya? 

Still here...

*Blowing dust off my keyboard and off the virtual wall of my blog* [cough, cough]

Last night my friend Kessia Reyne Benett made a post on her Facebook page: 

"Seems like so many people are insisting that heaven isn't coming on May 21st but we haven't stopped to ask why we're so glad that it's not."

In true Kessia manner, she spurred a series of thoughts on her wall and in my mind.  Harold Camping has predicted the end of the world for May 21st 2011, at 6p.m.  At the time of this post (it is 16:29 MST) the world seems the same, other than a volcanic eruption in Iceland that has triggered 50 small earthquakes (3.7) the largest, according to msnbc.com; yup! world is still the same. 

There is still war in Afghanistan, Libya is still being bombarded, the US has reached its debt ceiling, gas prices are still high, weather is still crummy in Wyoming, and there are two Mormon Missionaries still walking around my apartment complex.  The world is still here, as we know it.  But back to Kessia's post...

It makes me think about the name we bear, our denomination is called seventh-day ADVENTISTS. So, all jokes aside, I wonder how they’ll feel. Those that had faith in the message of Camping? How do they feel right now? Will they wait 'till midnight? (the bridegroom delays...) Adventists.  That is our name. The End has been the proclamation of our pioneers and of preacher after preacher.  Adventists. It was this type of hype that got us started. Someone calculated a date, preached it out; one hundred and sixty seven years later here we are.  Adventist is our name due to our belief that the return of Christ is imminent, or immediate, or soon, or at some point, sometime in the future, I wonder if he will come at all? ... get it? 

Why am I happy it’s not today? I don’t know, I really didn't even think about it.  Now I am.  But it seems to me that I am happy it’s not today because deep in my heart I know this preacher just ain't ready for Jesus to come.  I still have not surrendered areas of my life to His extirpating powers.  That is the honest truth, or at least part of the complexity that makes me answer that way. 

I am also happy because I don’t think the Church is ready.  We are still divided into parties and fighting over music, earrings, rings, meat, and other "important" stuff.  I don’t think the world is ready, or has heard; not the miscalculated ramblings of the Radio Preacher, but the beauty of God's Character, and his plan to rescue what was ransomed.  I don’t think many of my loved ones are ready.  Some I can see being ready.  This begs the question what does it look like to be ready? How do I know I am ready? ... In my heart? You just "know" like "when you are in love"? Is that how it works? Or is it the mental assertion that I am not sinning? I've asked for forgiveness of all the sins I have committed, so I can go now?  Honestly I have no answer to those questions... But I really wonder. 

I always hear a lot of my brethren speak these passionate statements of "Come! Lord Jesus!" and they are heartfelt... most of them, I think.  But when I inquire deeper about their thoughts, I always am faced with answers that I am not to sure about... motivations of the world to end that I find interesting, even compelling but... not satisfying.  

"I'm tired of this life" "too much suffering" "there is too much pain in the world" "life is rough" “World’s a mess” ... yes, it’s all true. However I cannot complain about my life.  Not that I am all of a sudden indifferent with the sufferings of others; even here in my own Rock Springs. But I honestly, in spite of the tragedies I see on the news, in spite of the drama that sometimes comes to my life, and the pain that arises from time to time... I cannot complain; God has been and is good to me, so why out?  Life here in the desert is good, good tent, manna every morning, why, I can see Canaan from my backyard. So the argument of "Let's get off this Rock" in its core seems to be an indication of "I'm tired of playing this game, I want out, cause I'm losing".  Its valid, and at times I have uttered it, but for me not a solid reason to  "be sad the end is not today".  As much as I might suffer, it seems to be mutually selfish that I want out because I am not having fun; whereas you don't want out because you are having fun. Dilemma. So then, what gives? I find the argument of "this life is not good" falling short of an appeal to get me sad that I am not here writing waiting in raptured expectation. 

But the pitfall of my thoughts seems to be "Happy Tent Living." Its good to be happy, no matter our circumstances (easier said than done), however, have I gotten too happy and comfortable in this Bedouin lifestyle that I have forgotten that my home is not the tent, but the Paradise ad portas? Could it be that the blessings bestowed have stalemated my desire to look for that country that lies ahead? This would put God in a pickle; He blesses me, I don’t want to go; He sends pain my way, I want out... but not necessarily to see Him. 

The more I think about it, the more it seems to be a balancing act; as much of the Christian walk is, a balancing act between the peace I am to have while on this earth and the desire to cross into the Promised Land.

Its not today and I know that God has more for me to do here; more of my time for his Kingdom, more of my talents for his Kingdom, more of myself for Him.  If you are ready, really ready and you know you are ready, Praise the Lord! (no sarcasm here, for those of you who know me personally).  However I would invite you to really think about your motivations to "go home".  

Is it because you just don’t want to hear and see suffering anymore? Or is it because you can't wait to hear and see Him.  You can’t wait to gaze into his eyes, to actually touch the scars, to hear his voice... live, and not imagine it or ponder how it sounds.  Cant wait to sing with Him, to walk with Him, to have a personal one on one time with Him, face to face, like Moses did... even if the appointment waiting list is a million years long. Is it to see Jesus? Is it to see the one who died for you and me?

Another FB post some time ago caught my attention: "Is Jesus the centerpiece of your picture of heaven or is He just the means to get you there? Like the friend who meets you in the parking lot to get you into Disneyland."  


So yeah, here we are, still here... but I believe that not for too long. 

The Last Laugh and the Open Exit

On Jan 29th 2011 my old High School Biology teacher became unconscious due to a massive stroke; "Tia Susy" never regained consciousness and passed a week ago. She happens to be the mom of my friends too. We all grew up together back in our Ñaña neighborhood in Lima, Peru. We all graduated from the same school. She taught most of our large group of "Cole Union" friends Biology, was a class counselor, unofficial varsity volleyball coach, Girls Dean, and an ever-present figure in the life journey we all took as teenagers back "home" she smiled a lot; was fiery when needed be.

Rolando (her youngest son) and I underwent all three levels of education and graduated together from all three of them, we are both preachers. Ever since I recall his birthdays would always have some sort of meal or delicacy that she would happily prepare in order to feed the entire gang of boisterous kids on every September 24th. Good memories. Damaris and Sonia are her daughters, we are all good friends.  Her husband, Pr Francisco was also my teacher in college, a lot of memories indeed.

Last Thursday (Feb 3rd 2011) thanks to technology, I was able to watch the funeral, live. As part of the obsequies, people come up to give their condolences to the grieving family. I noticed something while this occurred.

As I observed them, I came to the conclusion that Adventists are “weird”, they are a strange group of people.  You see normally, in funerals, it’s all sadness and tears. People seldom show a lot of smiles (at least in Peruvian ones).  Death is the end of the road, no outlet from that street, death… is the final stage of the trip, hence people show a level of unbridled desperation (you'd think?).  

Not Adventists thou.  Their beliefs make them act often differently and funerals are no exception. You see sadness, you see tears, you see pain, but through the tears, and the comforting embraces a strange phenomenon seems to occur, like a sort of “which of these does not belong”? The answer: smiles.

Thus as I observe my friends, amid their sorrow, I also see in them even faintly a smile.  Yes, their mother is in the casket, yes, there is sadness in their hearts, but there is this glimmer of hope in their eyes.  A glimmer that is beyond a mere “she is in heaven now with Jesus". There is a true expression of belief, unbridled-fire-tested belief, that the late person is not necessarily “dead” but concurring with Scripture: sleeps.  It is as if things are not what they appear to be which tends to be God’s MO.  Things are distinctly different, and in death, there is something behind the scenes that Adventists see.  

She is not in heaven with Jesus, nor did she become an angel; she sleeps in the blessed rest of the righteous, a nap in the arms of Jesus.  All her works and her memory are now passed, the spark of life has gone back to the source, and now in the casket lays a sleeping and waiting body. But that is not what makes the Adventist smile. 

The secret seems to be found in the very name… "Adventist".  We await "The Advent", the "Second Coming of Jesus".  And this Advent, will not just bring Jesus back to earth, but it will bring Jesus in order to finalize what was finished at the cross.  He comes to take the captives home, to rescue those held hostage by the fear of death, he comes to operate and materialize the emancipation furnished for us on Calvary's hill; those who are still alive, and those who are sleeping.  At the final moment of this earth, when He comes, when He embodies the ADVENT his voice will wake his children up, and at that moment, my friends will reunite with their momma, my college professor will reunite with his wife… they will be together again as a family. 

So, for Adventists their belief is that when death comes, it is not a final destination, but actually a state of unconscious expectancy, an exit ramp to God's Eternity Freeway, shut down temporarily. We line up at that exit ramp until God opens it.  Similar to a bad Wyoming snow storm that shuts down the freeway; life as we currently know it has the freeway of eternity closed and we are stuck in some exit waiting for it to clear, waiting to get home.

  

Therefore Adventists smile.  So my friends could smile.  Behind their sad eyes, behind their tears, their hearts have more than just a glimmer of hope; they have this enormous light that comes from the reality that comforts them.  Thus my friend Rolando can actually stand up and utter a prayer at his mother’s funeral and thank God for the time he had with her in his life, and knows that he will see her again, quite soon. That belief allows him to type the words of the old Spanish Hymn "Cuan gloriosa sera la mañana" (How glorious that Morning will be) on his Facebook status. So it is that my friend Sonia can fly back to TX from the funeral, and be thankful with her friends that supported her far and near believing that "the morning is near".  So my friend Damaris can state that "we are always safe under His wings”; it is this hope that gives my old college professor the strength to stand in front to the funeral attendants and say “thank you all for your support”.  

That faith allows them to stand tall and look at the face of death and know that death does not have the last laugh.  It is the friend of Jesus that laughs at the end.  That hope, allows us to look at death, even as it takes away joy and the life of one of our beloved; we stare right back at death, and give it a cheeky smile under our tears. Our weeping is actually a veiled and paused laugh waiting to happen at the right time, because we know, we believe that through Christ, through his power we will have the last laugh, when the Advent occurs. We will look back at the empty grave as we rise from it, as the earth and sea give up their dead, and the words of the Apostle will ring in our minds, and perhaps with laughter, with overwhelming joy, a joy that is greater than the sadness that took our loved ones to that dirt nap, we will exclaim “O death where is your sting?, hey Grave where is your victory? …Whatcha got?? You got nothing!!!

That day is coming, the day when the snow storm abates, the road gets clear, and the exit opens. We will rev our engines; take that open exit and hop on to Eternity’s freeway… we’ll take a drive, and laugh all the way home and that day cannot come soon enough.

What does it look like?

It seems that the document released by the General Conference Executive Committee on its October 11, 2010 meeting has spurred an animated conversation in Adventism about Revival and Reformation. The theme has been on my mind for weeks now. Also on my Facebook contact's posts, church magazines, tweets, etc. It is indeed the en vogue topic. The conversation also has an interesting mix of “this is it” feeling stemming perhaps from the current volatile situation of the globe; disasters, famines, earthquakes, shootings, population uprisings, bad economy, enormous amounts of snow in our country, topped with rain and flooding, make the perfect virgin cocktail of end-time sensation. Even the stars have realigned themselves to the point that I am no longer an Aries, but (Oh no!) a Pisces [Insert sarcasm in this last statement].

Now I am not against Revival and Reformation, in spite of the sarcastic vibe in the initial paragraph. You see, I do believe that there is something about the current global state of events that lends me to think that perhaps, just maybe, there is a closeness to The Event that we preach about, more so than say, 30 years ago. My problem is that it seems that the more we harp on the "R&R theme" this message becomes sort of an annoying drum beat, a droning monotone slogan and not a rhythmical musical melody that moves us.

I recently had a conversation with a good friend. He related to me that his ecclesiastical employer has purportedly voted to implement a written policy that bans, and makes it “unlawful” to attend movies and go to sporting events at sports arenas or stadiums. His reaction is one of innate rebellion to such policy. His frustration does not stem from a vicious addiction to movies, nor to him desiring to spend all his money attending every single game of his favorite sports team; but to the fact that all of a sudden, the employing organization decides to take the appeal of the GC a step further and begin to delineate what a “Revived and Reformed” SDA looks like, and remove the liberty that the Revival Source [GOD] has as the basis of His Kingdom. Hence he got me thinking, what does it look like?

Perhaps it is an "honest" attempt from the employing organization to “lend a hand” to the Revival efforts of the GC; or a sincere attempt to help SDAs understand that time and dime are too valuable to be squandering them at sporting events or at the theater (Hard to find a good movie now-a-days anyway). However this approach seems to ignore the root of the problem and just hack at the leafs. Because logic would indicate and action would state that it is acceptable to watch the same shunned sporting event at home on the 50+ inch LED; purchase the pirated movie on the streets or download the pirated version of the proscribed film from some dubious website, right? It sounds a lot like that indication made in the SDA book describing our beliefs (Adventists Believe) that we should “shun” Jazz, Rock or other related hybrid forms; thank goodness this indication does not include Country or Bluegrass (good SDA sounds). I’m sure that some might read this and begin to pull out the maroon books and dust them off, or better yet type the right words on the search engine of the EGW writings website and come up with all the quotes that she uses to condemn theater, frivolity, amusement, and football. And so we focus on the shrub rather than the forest, hence my thinking process against a policy aiding Reformation and Revival.

So what does it look like? All of a sudden it feels that the appeal made by the GC is an excuse for a lot of our 'good intended' brethren in low or in very high places to begin to carve out and paint their own ideal picture of what a reformed and revived SDA church member looks like. Revived and Reformed SDA’s look like this, they don’t eat that, don’t listen to this, don’t watch that, don’t say that, don’t read that, don’t go here, they don’t … see the picture? I kind of don’t want to be revived. Rather than taking the GC urge to Revival as a call to … well that, be REVIVED; instead of looking at the beauty of a closer walk with Christ and indwelling in His Word; it seems that brilliantly out of focus we begin to paint the picture of what “it” looks like, compare pictures, and then affirm that our own picture is the correct one imposing it on others instead of actually discovering what His picture really looks like because (gasp!), that would take time. We want to know what it looks like so that we can ‘arrive’ and once we arrive to "it" we can claim to be ready for Jesus' return...

Thus, we come up with convenient lists of “Revived signs”. The problem is that the lists stifle the process of growth that has to occur when we are confronted by the Word regarding things that might be inhibiting our own spiritual development. And so, since it stymies the process they really make spiritual bigoted midgets that cannot use their brains to think, and consequently can only rely on the pastor, union president or the GC to tell them if it is ok or not, for instance, to go to the gym to work out, since the music played at the gym for aerobics class is worldly (Jazz and Rock hybrid forms should be shunned) and we should not attend those places (No, I did not make that question up). Consequently there is more emphasis placed on shunning cinemas, stadiums and aerobics class than on banishing say, a pervasive “Vegas style”(house never loses) business method that ends up garnishing the local pastor’s paycheck when he fails to sell all the literature that the Church Publishing House prints “on faith” and requires him to sell to the saints (Did not make this up either). Why not reform that in a Policy? The problem with lists and enforcing those external manifestations of reform; is that ultimately they are nothing more than shallow distinctives that actually do revival a disservice, and they have to enter a process of constant update and amendment. Hence, watching a wholesome movie in the theater with the wife is bad; unfair treatment of the worker is OK.

The GC can spur us to talk about it, and its good, but only us, through our letting the Spirit do His work in us can bring it about. And that takes time. It’s not a click away, its not a policy away. It takes daily time, daily surrender, daily spiritual surgery that many times is painful, but effective. I have a pretty mediocre spiritual life; that is why the document’s words’ resounded with me, I liked what I read because I acknowledge that, like those dried up bones that the prophet saw, I am dried up, and only He knows that I can live… so I run the race, sometimes I crawl, I stumble, I fall, and rise again by His grace and I’m tired of lists, unfocused attitudes, platitude sermons, and slogans when it comes to Revival and Reform.

So what does it look like? What does the urgent appeal translate to in practical application in our daily life? I would say that I don’t know, but it sure does not translate into me blindly adapting and adopting some list that conscribes places and not attitudes that run deeper. It translates to exactly what the document appeals for, more time in His Word, more time in Prayer, more time in Spirit guided self-discovery (Search me God and know me, Psalm 139:23), thus the picture will be less like me and more like Him, a reformed, refashioned reflection of His image (as much as that sounds like a cliché).

Missing Christmas

Buena Vista, CO

The drive was unusually picturesque, and long. Normally, the drive on US-24 from Leadville to Buena Vista, CO is a postcard waiting to happen. However this particular day of December as the snow fell in a winter wonderland fashion, it was enough to slow it down for caution and to appreciate the metaphoric magic of the atmospheric phenomenon. The drive was slow, and yet not drudged. The highway finally flows and cuts through the small town laid at the foot of Mt Princeton. The scene never gets old. We slowly arrived to the only stop light in town, to discover that Main Street was closed. It was the Christmas Celebration day in BV. Local merchants decorate store fronts with lights and wreaths; the city dusts off the city decorations, hangs them on the light posts; indeed City sidewalks, busy sidewalks dressed in holiday style were filled with the Children laughing, people passing meeting smile after smile; all you need is Bing Crosby singing in the background to complete the picture.

The festive atmosphere was contagious. We drove home and changed into something warmer, and took the short walk from our apartment to Main Street. The snowfall was now light; just perfect for a walk in it. There was enough snow on the ground that in the silence of the afternoon you could hear the snow crackle under your feet eventually interrupted by the bustling of the street. Buena Vista, CO has in its down town area, right on "the strip" an old theater: The Orpheum Theater. An old Wooden structure, with an antique aura to it, the massive construction has a belonging-to-another-era vibe. The wooden stairs creak under your feet as you ascend to its innards, its almost like entering a cave, or a giant beast. The insulation is non-existent, so its still cold inside. Inside the Orpheum the celebration took a new light. All organizations of town had a Christmas Tree decorated in their particular fashion and had it there on display. The Mechanic Shop had theirs with mechanic theme, People's National Bank also had a tree in banking mode, and so on. On the stage, local musicians were filling the air with carols, and a small theatrical play depicting some sort of cowboy variance to Christmas; quite amusing. The display was a vivid Christmas photograph, an evergreen lit forest inside an old theater buzzing with people and festive music. It doesn't get better than that for a small town in Colorado. Even the local Jewish believers had a Hanukkah display table. Holiday Spirit at its best.

The apex of the day however was the Buena Vista Christmas Parade; the reason why Main Street was closed to traffic. After our time at the Christmas tree display, we decided to go home and get some hot chocolate, warm up and wait for the Christmas parade. At the right time we started to walk towards the parade, we could see the participants line up a couple of blocks away from our apartment. Lots of pickup trucks were disguised into parade cars; I never knew that Santa's sleigh was pulled by a Ford F-150. My wife, being the eternal photographer decided to record this moment for posterity "our first Christmas Parade". Not owning a camera at the time was not going to stop her photographic heart from accomplishing that goal. She tends to do things that she sets her mind to do, and I can't stop her, thus a disposable camera from the local City Market was the solution to our predicament.

I cleaned the accumulated snow off our 89 Accord, and waited for it to warm up, took the long route to the grocery store due to Main Street closure. I drove as fast as the winter wonderland allowed, dashed out, bought the camera, dashed back in, drove back in what has to be a max. of 15 to 20 minutes. Parked the car to a street parallel to Main, got out and felt the cold bite at my face. We rushed to the Parade. It did seem odd however that we were the only ones going towards Main, and everybody else was going the opposite direction; and as we kept on walking the hints became a reality that sunk in: we missed the parade! I thought to myself: "What a Scam of a parade!!" You mean to tell me that you people have a parade that lasts 10 minutes!?! And so here we stood on the street, cold and with a disposable camera in our hands to record a Parade that was all but done. All that effort for nothing. We were so busy trying to record the moment, that we missed the moment. So worried for the details that the apex of the day was lost.

I find it interesting that during Christmas you find distinct groups of people with vested emotions sparking, and not necessarily in the soft tones of Christmas lights. There are those that decry, denounce and wish to eradicate Christmas from Christianity due to its "pagan origins" or because in the words of the Puritans of the 1600's Christmas is: "the trappings of Popery". There are those who celebrate it in perfection with all the elements of the holiday and literally deck-out the halls. Finally, there are those who want to eradicate and blot out any Christian significance to Christmas. The skirmishes get ugly, I have witnessed.

All that effort in fighting for what? We focus so much on fighting that we obliterate the notion that Christmas is about "Peace on earth". I really have a hard time seeing how is it that all the pamphlets, videos, Facebook links and speeches against Christmas in the Christian community render the good fruit of actually paying attention to Him that is the reason for the season. I cannot seem to find the logic how in fighting to eradicate from Christmas the "Christian element" actually fosters the generosity spirit that should exist during The Season espoused by Dickens in his masterful classic Carol. Perhaps we are so focused on trying to make the perfect season, that we completely miss the season's perfection. We focus on buying the perfect gift that we miss out on thanking God for, and pondering in amazement at His gift. We become blind and ignore those universal principles of inclusiveness, munificence and unselfishness that are taught and embodied by the baby lying in a manger. We are blind to the spirit of extravagant selflessness that is portrayed by the Creator giving himself for our sake. He literally gave all as a gift for those who could not, and can not repay Him. All they can do is in awed gratitude give back the simple and yet profound gift of the heart. By the time we are done arguing, debating, fighting, fretting, paying, wrapping, cooking, and stressing quite frankly sometimes unnecessarily... the Season is gone, the decorations are down, another year is over, and you and I are left out standing in the cold with a disposable camera and no memories... again.

So don't miss the chance to share the news that"Today in the city of David a Savior is born". Don't miss the chance to share The Gift or better yet to be a gift for someone. Don't miss the chance to simply fall on your knees, hear the angel voices and just utter in gratitude "O Night Divine when Christ was born." Missing the Parade was disappointing. the next year we moved to Berrien Springs, MI. We never got to see the Buena Vista Christmas Parade. Don't miss Christmas; we don't know if we'll be around next year. Merry Christmas to all!