Marked

We went to my daughter’s school on Tuesday night for a Fat Tuesday celebration and, of course, when you gather lots and lots of kids in a gymnasium with pizza, sweets, and a D.J., it’s a jolt to your senses (at least to my 42-year-old senses). One of the highlights for our kids–as it often is at an event like this–was getting their faces painted. I was grumbling a bit because the line was long and the artists seemed to be taking their sweet time about it, but I must say that these were some pretty cool designs. Caroline had a kind-of Mardi Gras design and Ethan had a dragon on his face. There was no way they wanted to wash these marks off when we got home so they slept on towels over their pillows that night. Ethan was a particularly careful sleeper, I think, and may have slept on his back the whole night.

Yesterday hundreds of people were walking around downtown with a different design on their faces, or, specifically, their foreheads. Ash Wednesday. Many people heard the sobering yet important words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” I was marked with my ash cross over the noon hour and received a few double takes, including a woman on the L who asked about it.

The kids on Tuesday night and the many yesterday were all marked for different reasons and the passage I was reading this morning really jumped out at me as a great text to relate to these marks. Romans 12:9-21 is often entitled “Marks of the True Christian” and it’s a powerful list of entreaties written by a man named Paul. Depending on how you break them up, there are 25 or so ways to measure whether we have these marks. Let love be genuine. Do not lag in zeal. Be patient in suffering. Persevere in prayer. I think I may use this as a key text during these next 40-plus days of Lent as I wonder about the marks in/on my heart and whether people can see them as easily as a dragon or an ash cross.

Saying yes again and again

The first time I went into their home, I immediately noticed the pictures on the wall next to the staircase. I had been invited over to have some coffee with some new acquaintances and there on the wall leading upstairs were a series of pictures. They were all of the couple, but you could tell that in each picture they were each changing ever so slightly. I asked them about it and they told me that every year on their anniversary, they renew their wedding vows and they take a picture to commemorate it. I kind of liked that sense not just of commitment, but also of recommitment.

It’s a big decision to commit to someone or something, but it’s an even bigger decision to make that conscious commitment day after day after day, whether you give yourself to another person or a job or a personal goal. Or God.

There are lots of stories in the Bible where God asks for a commitment from a person or a group of people and there are just as many stories in the Bible of these same people who either flee from this commitment or who simply say, no thanks. It’s not always an easy thing to say yes to God because usually that means our lives change. I believe they change for the better, but, still, they do change.

I also believe that God asks all of us for some kind of commitment. Sometimes we name that a “call,” either to a vocation (everything from a teacher to a small-business owner) or an action (maybe raising money for Haiti or working to reform our country’s immigration policies). But I do believe that the request is made and it’s always a request that’s based in God’s deep and abiding love for each of us.

It can be a scary thing to say yes to God’s call. But once we do, it helps to say yes each day, even on the days when our heart’s not in it. God’s heart can make up for the rest.

Grabbing the baby Jesus

I went to my son’s preschool Christmas program this morning at Old St. Mary Church on south Michigan avenue.  He was very excited to have us see him in his elf costume, but the real excitement came from a little boy who was probably about 3 years old.  My wife and I were chatting with another parent waiting for the program to start when this boy came sprinting down the aisle of the sanctuary.  He had his eyes and feet focused on the little barn that was constructed in the front of the church.  More specifically, he was dying to get to the baby Jesus.  He grabbed the doll and started looking at him and about ten seconds later the boy’s mom grabbed him and whisked him away.

We’re told to wait during the Advent season.  Children are told to wait as they count down the days until Christmas.  Adults are told to wait and use this period of waiting as a time for spiritual growth and reflection.  But we don’t often hear how we are supposed to wait.  I don’t think it’s a passive waiting, but an eager one, like a boy who simply cannot control himself because of his desire to see the baby Jesus.

Faith in God through the living Christ enables us to engage in active waiting and anticipation.  Something sacred and abundant is always in our midst because God is faithful and has surprises and adventures in store for us every day.  Let us then throw off the covers in the morning and, like this little boy, run into the day actively waiting and watching to see where Jesus might be.

Peace, Chris

No Boundaries

Chicago is a city of neighborhoods and I’m learning quickly that there are often differing opinions about where the boundaries of these neighborhoods lie. I’ve heard different thoughts, for example, about the exact location of the northern border of the South Loop. Jackson? Congress? Roosevelt?

Sometimes these boundaries are imagined, but other boundaries are quite real. I’m still amazed that you don’t have to travel very far in the city to be transported to different worlds. I experienced this a couple days ago. Trey and I went to Ward School at 2701 S. Shields on Wednesday morning and we met with the principal and vice-principal to begin discussions about how Urban Village Church could serve this school. It’s a diverse community and the good majority of its student body are eligible for free lunches. It’s a family-oriented school and the students do well on the various standardized tests.

After our visit, we went to a Rotary lunch at the Illinois Institute of Technology, which is only a few blocks away from Ward. We met a lot of successful professionals who live in this part of the city.

That night, I went to a networking event in Old Town where most of the hundreds of people there were young adults. It was packed, noisy, and full of energy (albeit a little difficult to move around!).

All of these people need God. Those who are part of the Ward community, the Rotarians, the young adults. As we try to proclaim this message in a variety of ways, we must also remember to let them know that God needs them, as well. That’s an awesome thing to reflect on. We need God and God needs us, all of us because as much as we like to categorize and label things and people, God’s love and strength know no boundaries.

Peace,
Chris

Are you looking?

Trey and I went out for breakfast with a friend on Wednesday.  I have a soft spot in my heart for breakfast diners so I’m always trying to find out-of-the-way places and I read about the Pittsfield Cafe on the Yelp web site.  It got good reviews so I suggested we eat there.  The only problem was that, at first, it didn’t seem to exist.  It was supposed to be on the corner of Washington and Wabash, but I looked and looked and couldn’t find a sign for it anywhere.  I soon discovered, though, that it’s inside the Pittsfield Building.  Once we found it, the atmosphere (and blueberry pancakes) were worth the search.

That search reminded me of a passage I read earlier this week.  John 1:35-42 has so many great phrases to meditate on, including the one that struck me, “What are you looking for?”  Jesus asks this of two potential disciples who have started to follow him.  What are you looking for?  That question is always a good one to ponder, but I found myself asking an even more basic question:  Am I even looking? (more…)

The Little Things

I’m a big believer in the power of small gestures and I was reminded of this a couple of times recently.

The first instance was when I was reading a passage in the Bible about Jesus and his disciples feeding a group of 5,000 people. If you don’t know the story, Jesus and his 12 closest followers (aka disciples) try to get away for a little retreat, but they’ve become so popular, it’s pretty tough to go undetected. Jesus sees all the people who want to be a part of his movement, feels for them, and then teaches them for a while. Later that particular day, the disciples tell Jesus that he should probably send everyone home for dinner as the local Chipotle probably can’t feed everyone. (OK, OK, there wasn’t a Chipotle there. It was a Potbelly’s). Jesus instead tells his disciples that they should feed all the people. The disciples respond, “Uh…us? We don’t have anything!” Jesus disagrees. “What have you got?” he asks. “Just a few pieces of crusty bread and a couple smelly old fish,” they respond. So Jesus takes what they have and is able to feed the crowd. I often hear people say they have nothing to offer, but, the thing is, Jesus doesn’t ask for much. He only asks for what we have on us and then does some pretty amazing things with whatever it we offer. (more…)