She unpacked the box storing the family nativity and asked, “What have you done with Jesus?” Her big-eyed children shook their heads and shrugged shoulders, showing they had no idea. As we prepare for Christmas, we can allow her question past the door of our hearts.
Let’s move through the wrappings of this season and focus on Jesus for a few minutes. Several years ago, I had an experience that awakened me to a reality I had missed. While visiting the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, my eyes wandered from one depiction of Mary and baby Jesus to another. Each grew out of an artist’s imagination as he tried to create holy portrayals for people in his native land. Skin tones, cheekbones, hairstyles, and clothing reflected the peoples of the world. So, I walked away, wondering how my heritage had shaped Jesus in my mind.
What Have We Done with Jesus?
Michael Metzger’s recent article “The Flesh Was Made Word” resurrected the images I saw in Nazareth. His thoughts grew out of John 1:14, “The Word became flesh…” Theorizing the Enlightenment has influenced the boundary between the mind and world, flesh and spirit, self and others, Metzger wrote:
The result is a disenchanted world where ‘the cardinal tenet of Christianity—the Word is made Flesh—becomes reversed, and the Flesh is made Word.’
Quoting Iain McGilchrist, The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World (Yale University Press, 2010)
God created human beings in his image, and we have returned the favor by recreating him in ours.
I once sat with a friend in the Crystal Cathedral production of the birth narrative of Jesus Christ. Hollywood came to church. The splendor of the story erased the grit of Palestine. Producers replaced grime with the grandeur of the film industry. Baby Jesus never had life so good because the flesh made the Word. And the flesh recasts the story to fit what we want to imagine.
But standing in dusty Bethlehem or on the hillside outside of the city, one sees reality. Life did not come easy. When God walked down the stairway of the stars to Bethlehem, he slept in a straw-filled manger. Flickering light revealed his first sight. Animals gave off their barnyard fragrance. And his mother’s hands felt of hard work rather than pampered life.
How Will You Find Jesus This Christmas?
My faith journey informs the way I see Jesus. Likewise, your spiritual sojourn forms your understanding. The Bible gives us no physical description of Jesus. Although we can make assumptions based on where and when he was born, the biblical story failed to reveal his physical attributes Why? Because just as we are more than how we look, Jesus is so much more than our limited understanding of him.
Yet, one unforgettable night, the hopes and dreams of all the years submitted to the restraints of swaddling cloths. Together we long for the Word that became flesh to be more than anything our flesh can conceptualize. After all, we see through a glass darkly. Since the resurrected Jesus understands everything taking place in and beyond us, he stands ready to reconcile the irreconcilable. He will unite with us as he finds room in our hearts.
Make a Plan and Follow It
The wrappings of this Christmas season differ from previous seasons. Once again, frightening possibilities beyond our ability to control confront us. However, endless invitations to distraction are within our grasp. They entice us to celebrate Jesus’ birth without opening our lives to him. But if we want to find Jesus, we must make time to get quiet and still. Read the story of his birth in Luke 2:1-20. Then, we need to get quiet so we can look deep within our souls. Let each of us pause to meditate on the words:
Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luke 2:10-11
As we face this year’s fears, we want to focus the eyes of our hearts on the good news the angels proclaim. Great joy awaits our willingness to allow to humbly submit all of life to Jesus.
What have you done with Jesus?
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Posted: February 1, 2022 by Harry Lucenay
Blessing the One Who Blesses Us
“Wait until everyone is here.” “We don’t eat before we say our ‘blessing.’” From days as a bare-legged boy through the graying of the few locks crowning my head, a blessing has always preceded my meals. Memorized prayers occasionally punctuated free-style expressions of thanksgiving for God’s provision. Sometimes a childish voice took time to announce thanks for everyone and everything in the room. At other times, an aging voice uttered solemn words akin to Bible verses.
The end of the meal required a clear “thank you and excuse me” conveyed to the cook. Only after saying those words could any of us leave the table. Though sometimes we declared appreciation for a divine hand in the provisions, we never ended the meal with a blessing.
A New Discovery
Recently, my reading on blessings uncovered an after-blessing used by Jews. Of course, anyone studying the prayers of the Jews knows they have many blessings. But the after-blessing caught my attention. This prayer is called “boreh nefashot.”
The words “who creates numerous souls and their deficiencies” swirled in my mind. Yes, I believe we are all fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator. And, yes, we all have deficiencies. Who escapes hunger and thirst? God created us with a need for refills. No matter how many times we say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing,” we crave food and water every day. God created us with needs this prayer calls “deficiencies.” And God restores our souls as he addresses our emptiness.
This blessing refuses to stop with our palates. “… for all that You have created with which to maintain the life of every being. Blessed is He, the life of worlds.” His creation contains a cornucopia of provisions to meet our nutritional necessities. However, his sustenance extends beyond our food as surely as life is more than nourishment.
An After-Blessing Challenge
The many souls covering the landscape of our lives wrestle with deficiencies much as we do. We note the splinters in their eyes with greater precision than we spot the boulders in our eyes. As we thank God for nourishing our bodies, we are wise to dine with eyes that look for the best in one another. Perhaps God can make visible traces of his presence on our faces and in our words as we sit around our tables enjoying his peace with one another.
So how can a man, set in his ways and on the plus side of three-score and ten, learn from another tradition? Could an after-blessing with these words or others find a place at my table? How about yours?
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Posted: November 25, 2021 by Harry Lucenay
Thanksgiving Blessing
The server took our orders, tucked the menus under her arm, and headed to the kitchen. The girls’ father turned to the “birthday girl” as he spoke to everyone else at the table. “Who wants to go first?” A couple of quick “I do” responses gave him an option. Then everyone turned to the young lady chosen to speak first. She looked straight into the eyes of the “birthday girl.”
“What I like about you is you have a happy spirit. You are willing to do your part. And you celebrate with us when things go well for us.”
Another sister said, “You know how to play with others or entertain yourself. You have lots of energy. And we can see Jesus in your actions.”
One by one, everyone around the table spoke words of encouragement and blessing to the birthday girl. Sure, some repeated what someone else said. And, yes, the birthday girl felt a little sheepish with some compliments. But, per the family understanding, no one uttered a hurtful word.
Recent years have allowed me to sit in on several warm gatherings as different individuals sat in the “birthday seat.” And, yes, their kind expressions humbled me when my turn arrived. However, the bonding and family building I’ve seen makes the efforts worthwhile and especially meaningful to all concerned.
This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. Most times, the day marks a family highlight in the year. Children play. Adults prepare the food. People gather, and prayers express gratitude. Stories fly as yesterday lives again, and laughter celebrates relationships.
Well, that’s how we would like to think everyone enjoys the day. Unfortunately, however, not everyone can have the family together and, sometimes, that may be best. Conversations can become more curt than cute, as pain cuts the heart like a knife. When the pantry vies with the refrigerator for emptiness, meals taste bland at best. And when a seat long warmed by one who shared our love is empty, a dark cloud shadows our day.
On this Thanksgiving Day, whether we gather as one, two, or a house full, I invite you to join with me in thanking God for his kindness and love. Then may we choose to bless whoever is around us. We can speak loving-kindness and blessing to those with whom we share life. And let people hear what we say as positive, so they feel uplifted. As for those of us who are by ourselves, may our self-talk—what we tell ourselves that no one else hears—whisper life-lifting words.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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Posted: March 9, 2021 by Harry Lucenay
How Does Death Change Prayer?
Death changes our prayer life. What revisions occurred in Lazarus’ prayer life after he spent four days in his tomb? How would time on the other side of life’s great divide inform your conversations with God?
Perspectives of Life
Life alters our perspective as we change our position and location. In childhood, limitations restrict our sight as well as our understanding. Age and experience shape perception differently. Cultural prejudices reveal biases we may overlook. How can four days in the land beyond frame our communication with the Lord of life and death?
Realities of Prayer
Here, on my best days, irrelevant thoughts fly into my mind as I seek to focus. Recent yesterdays mingle with their remote cousins to disrupt my thinking before considering today’s challenges or tomorrow’s concerns. The desire to please God with my designated prayer habit fails to hide the urgency of my neediness. And why do I forget my foibles but dwell on the slights and sins of others?
Changes in Death
Indeed, Lazarus’ tomb time transformed his communication with the Father. But we do not know the details. We can only speculate. How different our decisions look when we lose someone we love. Had we known, we would have handled the fleeting hours differently. How did Lazarus’ death experience reframe impatience and frustration with his sisters? How did he discover God’s presence in the incidentals and interruptions filling our hours? Did his soul searching uncover heretofore unknown bridges connecting attitudes and actions with the Author of life? What did his venture on the other side teach him about the melody of praise?
The Bible gives many answers. And this Holy Word leaves us with unnumbered questions. Nevertheless, pondering the unanswerables can open new doors to rich discoveries in our time with God. Sit back. Get quiet. Take a long look at your prayer life from the perspective of the other side. There is more to our little visits with God than you might imagine.
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Posted: January 15, 2021 by Harry Lucenay
What Invitation to Change Do You Fear?
What invitation to change is staring you in the face? The last few months, my mailbox has overflowed with catalogs and political ads. The excess of catalogs makes me wonder how many trees paid with their lives for my junk mail. I guess my desire/disappointment relationship with the inviting pages started in my childhood with my introduction to the Sears and Roebuck Co. catalogs. But what has caught my eye lately has surprised me.
Unexpected Response to Reality
John Emery White shared a report from INC regarding a catalog decision by IKEA. The first IKEA catalog appeared in 1951. By 2016, the company had printed 200 million. And then,
Invitation to Change
This accelerating season of change confronts us with challenges unsettling to our emotions. Yet, the threshold of opportunities beckons us to open our eyes to our calling to reach today’s world with the gospel. Although we may feel we are following traditional practices, what if we discovered how little we do has “always” occurred the way we do it today?
Once Christians resisted translating the Bible from Latin into English. Then our forefathers and some of our brothers and sisters rejected any translation but the King James Version.
In the business world, IKEA can drop a highly successful sales catalog to address online sales growth. Do we need to find the eyes and ears of God so we can better understand how he wants us to address today’s world? As rapid reshaping requires adjustments in many areas of life, we remain who we are at the core. In the same way, the message of the church remains the same, even as changes invite adaptations in the methodology we use to convey the message.
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Posted: December 24, 2020 by Harry Lucenay
What Have You Done with Jesus?
She unpacked the box storing the family nativity and asked, “What have you done with Jesus?” Her big-eyed children shook their heads and shrugged shoulders, showing they had no idea. As we prepare for Christmas, we can allow her question past the door of our hearts.
Let’s move through the wrappings of this season and focus on Jesus for a few minutes. Several years ago, I had an experience that awakened me to a reality I had missed. While visiting the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, my eyes wandered from one depiction of Mary and baby Jesus to another. Each grew out of an artist’s imagination as he tried to create holy portrayals for people in his native land. Skin tones, cheekbones, hairstyles, and clothing reflected the peoples of the world. So, I walked away, wondering how my heritage had shaped Jesus in my mind.
What Have We Done with Jesus?
Michael Metzger’s recent article “The Flesh Was Made Word” resurrected the images I saw in Nazareth. His thoughts grew out of John 1:14, “The Word became flesh…” Theorizing the Enlightenment has influenced the boundary between the mind and world, flesh and spirit, self and others, Metzger wrote:
God created human beings in his image, and we have returned the favor by recreating him in ours.
I once sat with a friend in the Crystal Cathedral production of the birth narrative of Jesus Christ. Hollywood came to church. The splendor of the story erased the grit of Palestine. Producers replaced grime with the grandeur of the film industry. Baby Jesus never had life so good because the flesh made the Word. And the flesh recasts the story to fit what we want to imagine.
But standing in dusty Bethlehem or on the hillside outside of the city, one sees reality. Life did not come easy. When God walked down the stairway of the stars to Bethlehem, he slept in a straw-filled manger. Flickering light revealed his first sight. Animals gave off their barnyard fragrance. And his mother’s hands felt of hard work rather than pampered life.
How Will You Find Jesus This Christmas?
My faith journey informs the way I see Jesus. Likewise, your spiritual sojourn forms your understanding. The Bible gives us no physical description of Jesus. Although we can make assumptions based on where and when he was born, the biblical story failed to reveal his physical attributes Why? Because just as we are more than how we look, Jesus is so much more than our limited understanding of him.
Yet, one unforgettable night, the hopes and dreams of all the years submitted to the restraints of swaddling cloths. Together we long for the Word that became flesh to be more than anything our flesh can conceptualize. After all, we see through a glass darkly. Since the resurrected Jesus understands everything taking place in and beyond us, he stands ready to reconcile the irreconcilable. He will unite with us as he finds room in our hearts.
Make a Plan and Follow It
The wrappings of this Christmas season differ from previous seasons. Once again, frightening possibilities beyond our ability to control confront us. However, endless invitations to distraction are within our grasp. They entice us to celebrate Jesus’ birth without opening our lives to him. But if we want to find Jesus, we must make time to get quiet and still. Read the story of his birth in Luke 2:1-20. Then, we need to get quiet so we can look deep within our souls. Let each of us pause to meditate on the words:
As we face this year’s fears, we want to focus the eyes of our hearts on the good news the angels proclaim. Great joy awaits our willingness to allow to humbly submit all of life to Jesus.
What have you done with Jesus?