It's been a long wet winter, but suddenly Spring has sprung in Dublin over the last couple of weeks. In my free time I've been walking around the city (and beyond), soaking up the sun. I don't think its an accident that Easter/Passover happens each year as winter dies and summer draws ever-so-nearer. The in-between time is simply gorgeous; full of hope, life, and dreams about the future. About ten days ago I was due in Dundrum for a Bible study at 7:30, so I decided to walk from Raheny, rather than take the car or public transport. I walked most of the way back too, nearly 20 miles total, and I would have walked 500 more if I had had the light and a slightly stronger right knee (my old school injuries sometimes come back to haunt me). We have less than 75 days left in Dublin, but I plan to make the most of them in the meantime. Here are some reflections from my walk the other day.
This Glorious Spring Day
With the sun moving briskly towards its apex in the sky, I saunter down, the Howth road into town,
taking a long-cut through the park to the Clontarf coast;
Near St. Anne's and the sea.
With glorious solar beams shining radiant rays - radiating smiles on faces, walking to and from
places.
A fair view through Fairview, a cut through Connally to the docks;
Descending on the city centre and then over to the canal.
Two Polish lads sipping Tyskie by the calm running water.
The leaves on the trees trying to bud - striving, yearning to bloom, churning towards eruption;
Not long to come.
Spring is bursting with life, oozing fertility.
The sun burning down on the well-worn path,
My feet treking to the cadence, to the beat of the music in my ears;
The wandering of my mind,
Not knowing what I'm searching for, not sure of what I'll find.
Round the bend to Ranelagh, then down to Dundrum.
The Dublin Mountains inching ever closer with each foot, with each step taken.
I'm soaking up the sun - addicted to its rays like so much coffee, so much caffeine coursing through
my veins.
I don't want to stop - don't want to reign in my emotions;
Don't want to put a full stop or a comma or a semi-colon on this glorious Spring day -
Don't let it fade, don't let it go away...
- Shay
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
The Poetry of Faith
I don't see life in black and white, that would be too dull. I prefer to see life and all its complexities in a hundred shades of various colors; in different hues and tints. It's far richer and warmer that way - brimming with hope and possibility. But some of the colors are angry and some are depressing. Some are so frustratingly difficult we may struggle to even identify them. Due to the Scandinavian blood pulsing through my veins, in many areas of life I would prefer things to be neat and tidy. But similar to the pictures Ashlyn brings home from school, life's colors run over the lines and the marks are rough and jagged - like so much modern art. Faith doesn't remove one from all of life's chaos and contradictions, it engages life in the midst of all the mess. Faith is much more like poetry than prose. I began sketching the ideas for the following while sitting in a hospital in Germany back in November.
The Poetry of Faith
The poetry of faith...
Asking the inconvenient questions.
Not settling for the all-too-obvious answers,
Because not everything happens for a reason.
If it all made perfect sense, where would the sense of wonder be?
Is to lose that which you never knew still a loss?
For some things in life there should never be a season.
There's a place where free-will, love, and evil collide -
...it's messy.
- Shay
The Poetry of Faith
The poetry of faith...
Asking the inconvenient questions.
Not settling for the all-too-obvious answers,
Because not everything happens for a reason.
If it all made perfect sense, where would the sense of wonder be?
Is to lose that which you never knew still a loss?
For some things in life there should never be a season.
There's a place where free-will, love, and evil collide -
...it's messy.
- Shay
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Baptism: A Believer's Response to the Gospel
Some friends and I gathered at O'Neill's in Dublin last night for our weekly chat about faith and life and how those things intersect (and sometimes collide). Last night's discussion centered on the topic of Christian baptism. There are a variety of positions, theories, theologies, etc. regarding all things Christian and baptism is no exception. Because we're living on the backside of 2,000 years of church history, there's a lot of confusion about this topic. The easiest way to cut through the confusion is to go back to the earliest sources of information, namely the New Testament itself. The scriptural witness of baptism, its mode and its meaning is quite extensive. Here are a few examples of baptismal teaching:
Matt 3:13-17 & 28:16-20; John 3:1-18;
Acts 2:29-47 & 22:6-21; Rom 6:1-14; 1 Cor 12:12-13; Gal 3:23-4:7; Eph 2:1-10,
4:1-5:27; Col 2:8-3:17; Titus 3:3-8; 1 Pet 3:13-22.
But any discussion of Christian baptism obviously begins with
Christ himself. Without the Son of God
humbly incarnating himself in the man Jesus, living a complete and faithful
life in full obedience to God the Father, dying an undeserved, yet completely
effective (to deal with the sins of the world) death on the cross, and then
through the power of the Spirit defeating death by rising to new bodily life on
the third day, any talk about baptism is meaningless. But the man Jesus was and is the Son of God,
died and rose again, so a discussion of the meaning of Christian baptism is
worthwhile indeed.
The reason that Christian baptism is a worthwhile discussion
is because from the earliest days of the church, baptism was the normative way
in which individuals, and often, groups of people responded to the
proclamation of the gospel. It was never
perceived as a work to be done nor as something that merited anything on behalf
of the one submitting to it, but rather was seen as the means by which one
accepts God’s gracious gift of the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling of
his Holy Spirit. It was the moment when
one began the new life of Christian discipleship and it was the point in time
when that individual was added to Christ’s body, the church, the new Israel,
the people of God. One might say that we
are saved by grace through faith and that this process begins at baptism. It certainly doesn’t end there. It ends (or begins again in a radically new
way) in the new creation when God brings all things to completion and makes all
things new.
God is a gracious God.
He graciously forgives his children for their sins and so it is
reasonable to assume that he also forgives us for our doctrinal
misunderstandings as well. Due to 2,000 years of sometimes poor baptismal (as well as other doctrinal) teaching, many sincere believers are genuinely confused about the meaning of and the importance of believer's baptism. When Paul
reminds his readers about faith, hope, and love, he’s quick to remind them that
the greatest of these is love. This is
important for us to remember, because in the modern Christian world there are many
areas in which sincere believers have honest disagreements and in a variety of
ways we all have massive misunderstandings.
As we seek to better understand our faith, thank God for his grace along
the way. And as we come to a greater
awareness of God’s will, may he grant us all the humility to submit to his word
in our lives. - Shay
Thursday, January 22, 2015
The Hope of the World
My Christian community, North Dublin Christian Community has been working our way through Luke's gospel and the Acts of the Apostles for the past several months. Alas, we've come to the end, but if you've ever read the book of Acts, you know that the end is just the beginning. And so it is with the entire narrative of the Bible. When you get to the end you realize that everything's just beginning - all things are made new! Sometimes a single verse of scripture can pack quite a punch. Sometimes even a portion of one verse can say as much as a whole novel. So it is with Acts 28:20. Before the writer of Acts leaves us hanging with Paul's unresolved story, he tells us how the prisoner Paul explained to his fellow Jews in Rome that far from standing in opposition to Israel's story, he has been an ambassador and advocate for the story's climax and resolution. He does this succinctly stating, "...it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain." What Paul is saying is that the long and winding story of Israel has been brought to a head and it is this proclamation that has led him to stand trial in Rome. But to understand the full force of what he's saying, one would need to know what Paul meant by "the hope of Israel." What was the hope of Israel? Is it in any way related to the hope of the world?
To put it into one word, Israel's hope was for resolution - resolution of the grand narrative of the universe stretching back before recorded history and twisting and turning its way through to its climax and beyond; the moment where everything makes sense and God is all in all. The story began with the creation of the heavens and the earth and it will come to completion in new creation: new heavens and new earth. Along the way came humanity, God's crown of his creation. But since God desired a genuine relationship with humanity whom he made in his image, he granted us free-will. We embraced our free-will to the point where we rebelled against his loving and benevolent rule in our lives, trading him for various forms of idolatry. Our free-will, exercised poorly, led us into slavery. Our sin separated us from our loving Father, but he wouldn't let us go without a fight. He set in motion a rescue operation to free us from our slavery to sin and deliver the creation from its bondage to decay.
From the beginning, our God's been an incarnational God, choosing to work in and through his fallen creatures with all the limitations that entails, rather than simply sorting us out without our participation. So God called a man and a woman; Abraham and Sarah, through whom all of humanity would one day be blessed. From their offspring emerged the nation of Israel - God's chosen people. He called and blessed these people, not simply for their sake, but for the sake of the entire world. Unfortunately, they were often just as unfaithful to God as their pagan neighbors around them. Instead of being a light to the world, they often cast a shadow over the message that God wished to proclaim through them. After a 400 year sojourn in Egypt, this God of Israel, YWHW, put a beat-down on the false gods of Egypt and delivered his people out of slavery. He gave them torah (instruction for life) through Moses and eventually led them to the land of Canaan. But things didn't go smoothly from there. They were without solid leadership for years before finally settling on a king. But even a united kingdom didn't last long. It soon divided and both remnants eventually went into exile with some of their tribes never to return. It seemed all hope for them and for the world was lost.
But despite their brokenness, God continued to use them and work through them. He sent them prophets with messages of hope - hope that one day they would return to their land, return to their God, and that a good and faithful king would lead them to a time of prosperity never seen before. Pure worship of the one true God would emanate from the summit of Zion and its sound would echo around the world. The nations would see the glory of the God of Israel and stream to him, becoming a part of his people. The entirety of the created order would be renovated and a new age would dawn. The lion and the lamb would lie down together in peace and swords would be turned into plowshares. Every tear would be wiped away and mourning, pain, and suffering would be no more. Humanity, enslaved to sin, would be set free and even death itself would be defeated through the dramatic reversal of resurrection.
But as the first century of the common era dawned, the hope of Israel seemed to be nothing more than a pipe-dream. What was left of God's historic people, Israel, was now represented by a mere remnant known as the Jews scattered from Persia to Spain. A few actually lived in their historic land, but they, like the rest of the Mediterranean world, were subject to the rule of Rome. They were divided and disorganized. They needed a king. Their temple had been rebuilt and worship was regular, but most of the priests were corrupt and had compromised with their Roman overlords. Far from being a light to the nations, Jewish religion was often practiced in opposition to the people around them. Their hopes and dreams were dashed and their future and the world's future looked bleak.
Then, out of the blue, in a way no one could have predicted or expected, a deliverer was born in the little town of Bethlehem. From these basic beginnings this little Jewish boy was brought up in Nazareth, a backwater town in Galilee, the backwater region of Palestine, the backwater province of the Roman Empire. Though unspectacular by worldly standards, this man lived his life in complete submission to his Father. He was immersed in the scriptures of old and as he embraced the story of God and his people, it was revealed to him through God's Holy Spirit that his vocation in life was to recapitulate Israel's story. He was to be everything that Israel had been called to be, but failed to be. In fact, in his life, he not only became all that Israel was called to be, he became all that humanity was created to be. He was true Israel and true humanity; faithful and obedient all the way to death, even death on a Roman cross. Even more remarkably, this man Jesus of Nazareth was the full embodiment, the complete enfleshment of the God of the universe. God had come back to his people, to his creation, in a way that no one could have dreamed up. In his sacrificial death on the cross, the Son of God dealt a decisive death-blow to sin. Not only was sin dealt with in his crucifixion, but death itself was destroyed in his resurrection. On the third day after his execution, Jesus' body was raised from the dead and the new creation that God had promised so long ago had begun.
But the new creation hasn't yet been brought to completion. We're already living in the new age and yet the age to come is still to come. But the victory has already been won; Israel's and the world's hope is secure. The risen Jesus is exalted and reigning as King, not only of Israel, but of the entire world. He has sent his Spirit to dwell in all who will put their trust in him and one day he will return to judge the world and bring fulfillment and restoration to God's good creation. The story will reach its resolution. The wrongs of this world will be made right, the dead in Christ will be raised to eternal bodily life, and all things will be made new. Revelation 21:3-5 says it this way, "'See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.' And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new."'
In the meantime the story continues. The apostle Paul's story isn't fully summed up for us in Acts 28 because his is simply a small part of the story of God and his people. And this story isn't finished yet. The God of the universe invites us into the narrative - he invites us to play our part in Acts 29. Which part will you play? Will your story find resolution? - Shay
To put it into one word, Israel's hope was for resolution - resolution of the grand narrative of the universe stretching back before recorded history and twisting and turning its way through to its climax and beyond; the moment where everything makes sense and God is all in all. The story began with the creation of the heavens and the earth and it will come to completion in new creation: new heavens and new earth. Along the way came humanity, God's crown of his creation. But since God desired a genuine relationship with humanity whom he made in his image, he granted us free-will. We embraced our free-will to the point where we rebelled against his loving and benevolent rule in our lives, trading him for various forms of idolatry. Our free-will, exercised poorly, led us into slavery. Our sin separated us from our loving Father, but he wouldn't let us go without a fight. He set in motion a rescue operation to free us from our slavery to sin and deliver the creation from its bondage to decay.
From the beginning, our God's been an incarnational God, choosing to work in and through his fallen creatures with all the limitations that entails, rather than simply sorting us out without our participation. So God called a man and a woman; Abraham and Sarah, through whom all of humanity would one day be blessed. From their offspring emerged the nation of Israel - God's chosen people. He called and blessed these people, not simply for their sake, but for the sake of the entire world. Unfortunately, they were often just as unfaithful to God as their pagan neighbors around them. Instead of being a light to the world, they often cast a shadow over the message that God wished to proclaim through them. After a 400 year sojourn in Egypt, this God of Israel, YWHW, put a beat-down on the false gods of Egypt and delivered his people out of slavery. He gave them torah (instruction for life) through Moses and eventually led them to the land of Canaan. But things didn't go smoothly from there. They were without solid leadership for years before finally settling on a king. But even a united kingdom didn't last long. It soon divided and both remnants eventually went into exile with some of their tribes never to return. It seemed all hope for them and for the world was lost.
But despite their brokenness, God continued to use them and work through them. He sent them prophets with messages of hope - hope that one day they would return to their land, return to their God, and that a good and faithful king would lead them to a time of prosperity never seen before. Pure worship of the one true God would emanate from the summit of Zion and its sound would echo around the world. The nations would see the glory of the God of Israel and stream to him, becoming a part of his people. The entirety of the created order would be renovated and a new age would dawn. The lion and the lamb would lie down together in peace and swords would be turned into plowshares. Every tear would be wiped away and mourning, pain, and suffering would be no more. Humanity, enslaved to sin, would be set free and even death itself would be defeated through the dramatic reversal of resurrection.
But as the first century of the common era dawned, the hope of Israel seemed to be nothing more than a pipe-dream. What was left of God's historic people, Israel, was now represented by a mere remnant known as the Jews scattered from Persia to Spain. A few actually lived in their historic land, but they, like the rest of the Mediterranean world, were subject to the rule of Rome. They were divided and disorganized. They needed a king. Their temple had been rebuilt and worship was regular, but most of the priests were corrupt and had compromised with their Roman overlords. Far from being a light to the nations, Jewish religion was often practiced in opposition to the people around them. Their hopes and dreams were dashed and their future and the world's future looked bleak.
Then, out of the blue, in a way no one could have predicted or expected, a deliverer was born in the little town of Bethlehem. From these basic beginnings this little Jewish boy was brought up in Nazareth, a backwater town in Galilee, the backwater region of Palestine, the backwater province of the Roman Empire. Though unspectacular by worldly standards, this man lived his life in complete submission to his Father. He was immersed in the scriptures of old and as he embraced the story of God and his people, it was revealed to him through God's Holy Spirit that his vocation in life was to recapitulate Israel's story. He was to be everything that Israel had been called to be, but failed to be. In fact, in his life, he not only became all that Israel was called to be, he became all that humanity was created to be. He was true Israel and true humanity; faithful and obedient all the way to death, even death on a Roman cross. Even more remarkably, this man Jesus of Nazareth was the full embodiment, the complete enfleshment of the God of the universe. God had come back to his people, to his creation, in a way that no one could have dreamed up. In his sacrificial death on the cross, the Son of God dealt a decisive death-blow to sin. Not only was sin dealt with in his crucifixion, but death itself was destroyed in his resurrection. On the third day after his execution, Jesus' body was raised from the dead and the new creation that God had promised so long ago had begun.
But the new creation hasn't yet been brought to completion. We're already living in the new age and yet the age to come is still to come. But the victory has already been won; Israel's and the world's hope is secure. The risen Jesus is exalted and reigning as King, not only of Israel, but of the entire world. He has sent his Spirit to dwell in all who will put their trust in him and one day he will return to judge the world and bring fulfillment and restoration to God's good creation. The story will reach its resolution. The wrongs of this world will be made right, the dead in Christ will be raised to eternal bodily life, and all things will be made new. Revelation 21:3-5 says it this way, "'See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.' And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new."'
In the meantime the story continues. The apostle Paul's story isn't fully summed up for us in Acts 28 because his is simply a small part of the story of God and his people. And this story isn't finished yet. The God of the universe invites us into the narrative - he invites us to play our part in Acts 29. Which part will you play? Will your story find resolution? - Shay
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Faith Seeking Understanding
Every Monday evening I join several friends for a chat in one of our local Dublin pubs. Like the Inklings of Tolkien and Lewis fame (although none of us are remotely famous or as intellectually elite as those Oxford guys), we gather to discuss what we would describe as the biggest issue of life - God. We sometimes wrestle with questions like "Why do we even believe in a God?", or something similar, but most of the time, we focus our conversations on the ramifications of our beliefs. In the words of Anselm of Canterbury, we do theology - faith seeking understanding.
Last week we discussed the primeval narratives of Genesis. This week we'll be talking about cosmology, evolution, and creation from a Christian perspective. Can one believe in the Big Bang and evolutionary process while maintaining an orthodox Christian faith? On the flip side, can one who holds to a faith in the resurrected Jesus explore and embrace many of the mainstream scientific theories and descriptions of the origin of the universe?
I am not a scientist. I hold a degree in humanities (with an emphasis in history) and another in theology, but I have an amateur's interest in the scientific endeavor. In other words, I'm not opposed to what science can tell us about the functions and origins of the material world around us, but I wouldn't be an expert in that field. I do know however, that science is limited in what it can explain. By definition, the scientific method limits itself to what can be observed in nature and what is repeatable. History, by contrast deals with events that are essentially unrepeatable - they happen one time and then...it's history! Historiography is an art, not a science, though it certainly sheds much light on our understanding of how things got to be the way they are. Theology and philosophy engage with both history and science, but much of their primary focus deals with metaphysics - things that are not materially observable the way an organism might be studied under the lens of a microscope. All of these disciplines are important in coming to a fuller understanding of reality. In fact, music, poetry, other forms of literature, both factual and fictional all aid us in our quest for meaning and purpose. Not any one of these disciplines would be sufficient on its own, but together they create a beautiful mosaic.
Life is complicated and life is messy. Life is simple and life is beautiful. The world around us is amazing and the world around us is dangerous. The world around us is scary and the world around us is awe-inspiring. As I type this blog, the sun rises over the Irish Sea and Howth Summit as its rays cascade down the undulating coastline of North Dublin. At the same time, I just happen to notice that at this point of the earth's rotation the light of the sun has now become visible at 53.3478 N and 6.2597 W. Both of these statements are true and tell us something about reality, but in different ways.
I would encourage persons of faith to have a strong enough faith to be willing to explore all that is available to learn about God, life, and reality from the various arts and sciences. Likewise, I would encourage the skeptic to at least hold open the possibility that there may be more to this world and this life than is explainable simply through the discipline of science. As we begin a new year - a new beginning, one might consider exploring the book of beginnings, Genesis. But rather than looking at this account as if it were a modern science or history text book, I would suggest that you might approach these narratives with an open mind that is willing to explore all that poetry, story, and most importantly theology would have to say about God, humanity, and the way the world works. For a primer, have a look at this clip featuring John Polkinghorne, Alister McGrath, NT Wright and other scholars, theologians, and scientists. Happy explorations! - Shay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bKa92eLkQM
Last week we discussed the primeval narratives of Genesis. This week we'll be talking about cosmology, evolution, and creation from a Christian perspective. Can one believe in the Big Bang and evolutionary process while maintaining an orthodox Christian faith? On the flip side, can one who holds to a faith in the resurrected Jesus explore and embrace many of the mainstream scientific theories and descriptions of the origin of the universe?
I am not a scientist. I hold a degree in humanities (with an emphasis in history) and another in theology, but I have an amateur's interest in the scientific endeavor. In other words, I'm not opposed to what science can tell us about the functions and origins of the material world around us, but I wouldn't be an expert in that field. I do know however, that science is limited in what it can explain. By definition, the scientific method limits itself to what can be observed in nature and what is repeatable. History, by contrast deals with events that are essentially unrepeatable - they happen one time and then...it's history! Historiography is an art, not a science, though it certainly sheds much light on our understanding of how things got to be the way they are. Theology and philosophy engage with both history and science, but much of their primary focus deals with metaphysics - things that are not materially observable the way an organism might be studied under the lens of a microscope. All of these disciplines are important in coming to a fuller understanding of reality. In fact, music, poetry, other forms of literature, both factual and fictional all aid us in our quest for meaning and purpose. Not any one of these disciplines would be sufficient on its own, but together they create a beautiful mosaic.
Life is complicated and life is messy. Life is simple and life is beautiful. The world around us is amazing and the world around us is dangerous. The world around us is scary and the world around us is awe-inspiring. As I type this blog, the sun rises over the Irish Sea and Howth Summit as its rays cascade down the undulating coastline of North Dublin. At the same time, I just happen to notice that at this point of the earth's rotation the light of the sun has now become visible at 53.3478 N and 6.2597 W. Both of these statements are true and tell us something about reality, but in different ways.
I would encourage persons of faith to have a strong enough faith to be willing to explore all that is available to learn about God, life, and reality from the various arts and sciences. Likewise, I would encourage the skeptic to at least hold open the possibility that there may be more to this world and this life than is explainable simply through the discipline of science. As we begin a new year - a new beginning, one might consider exploring the book of beginnings, Genesis. But rather than looking at this account as if it were a modern science or history text book, I would suggest that you might approach these narratives with an open mind that is willing to explore all that poetry, story, and most importantly theology would have to say about God, humanity, and the way the world works. For a primer, have a look at this clip featuring John Polkinghorne, Alister McGrath, NT Wright and other scholars, theologians, and scientists. Happy explorations! - Shay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bKa92eLkQM
Thursday, January 8, 2015
A New Year, A New Beginning
2014 has come and gone and we're over a week into 2015. Whether or not you buy into the whole New Year's resolution thing , a new year, just like a new day and even a new breath offers us all a chance at a new beginning. It's not really a resolution, but I hope and pray that I'll become a better husband and a better father in 2015. That's been an ongoing wish of mine since Juli and I wed 12 & 1/2 years ago and since Ashlyn took her first gasp of air a little over 5 years ago.
The past 4 and 1/2 years have been an amazing experience for our family. This little island nation of Ireland has become a 2nd home to us (a near first home to Ashlyn). They say that once you live overseas for several years, you lose your sense of belonging. I don't doubt that. But, I've come to realize that there is something to be said for living in the land of your birth. We always knew that our stay in Ireland would come to an end and so it is that 2015 will be the last calendar year of our Irish invasion. In fact, we're only 6 months away from returning home. We don't know where we'll live and we don't know exactly what we'll be doing, but we will continue to give of ourselves in the service of Christ, his people, and those around us.
So whatever your plans or your resolutions are for 2015, the Smith family wishes you all the best (as they say here in Ireland) and don't forget that every breath you take is an opportunity for a new beginning. - Shay
The past 4 and 1/2 years have been an amazing experience for our family. This little island nation of Ireland has become a 2nd home to us (a near first home to Ashlyn). They say that once you live overseas for several years, you lose your sense of belonging. I don't doubt that. But, I've come to realize that there is something to be said for living in the land of your birth. We always knew that our stay in Ireland would come to an end and so it is that 2015 will be the last calendar year of our Irish invasion. In fact, we're only 6 months away from returning home. We don't know where we'll live and we don't know exactly what we'll be doing, but we will continue to give of ourselves in the service of Christ, his people, and those around us.
So whatever your plans or your resolutions are for 2015, the Smith family wishes you all the best (as they say here in Ireland) and don't forget that every breath you take is an opportunity for a new beginning. - Shay
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Never Too Old to Learn
It's been nearly 3 months since I last updated this blog. A lot has happened in the meantime. Some dear friends and family from the States have been over to see us. My cousin Brent popped over in September, Juli's mom, Donna, was over in early October, and just last weekend, our friends Steve and Margie McVey and Scott and Renae Click came over for a visit. I've always been amazed that having our friends and family with us in Ireland has felt so natural. I guess it means that this place really feels like home. Still, I'm aware that I'm a stranger and alien here, but I can't think of a better place to be strange or alien!
A group of 7 or 8 of us are consistently meeting on Thursday evenings to read and discuss John's apocalypse (Revelation). With all of the craziness that's happening in the Near East, this is a timely book to be studying. Thankfully, we're all coming to the conclusion that far from being a road map to the end of the world, Revelation is actually a powerful exhortation to Christians living in the eastern part of the Roman Empire in the late 1st century. As they struggled with living out their faith in a society that was increasingly putting pressure on them to compromise their beliefs, they had to decide who was the Lord of the world - Caesar or Christ. Although our immediate circumstances are very different, there are a lot of points of intersection in our lives of faith. In any and every generation, as the world around us puts pressure on us to compromise, we must live out the reality of Jesus' reign and rule.
I also continue to meet with some other good friends on Monday afternoons and evenings to study scripture, pray, reflect, and discuss the big issues in life. We may not have the academic pedigrees of the Inklings (CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, & other big figures of yesteryear), but I believe our discussions must be as relevant and engaging. Speaking of engaging, a few of us are joining a friend of mine for a course titled "Engaging Islam" this evening after our Bible study. This friend was forced to leave his Islamic country after he converted to Christianity and began to share the message of Jesus with others. As our world is becoming increasingly pluralized, it's important that we not only be aware of our own religious beliefs and convictions, but that we also learn to listen to others, see their perspective, and engage with them in genuine dialogue. Because I believe that Jesus is Lord and because I believe that ultimately God desires everyone to come to a knowledge of this truth, I hope to learn how to better love and understand my Muslim neighbors so that if invited, I might be able to share the saving message of Jesus with them.
Here in a few moments I'll be off to teach a conversational English class. I loved discussing literature in school, but I hated grammar. It's ironic that now I get to teach a little grammar, as well as basic conversational skills. Sometimes my students correct me! We're never to old to learn...- Shay
A group of 7 or 8 of us are consistently meeting on Thursday evenings to read and discuss John's apocalypse (Revelation). With all of the craziness that's happening in the Near East, this is a timely book to be studying. Thankfully, we're all coming to the conclusion that far from being a road map to the end of the world, Revelation is actually a powerful exhortation to Christians living in the eastern part of the Roman Empire in the late 1st century. As they struggled with living out their faith in a society that was increasingly putting pressure on them to compromise their beliefs, they had to decide who was the Lord of the world - Caesar or Christ. Although our immediate circumstances are very different, there are a lot of points of intersection in our lives of faith. In any and every generation, as the world around us puts pressure on us to compromise, we must live out the reality of Jesus' reign and rule.
I also continue to meet with some other good friends on Monday afternoons and evenings to study scripture, pray, reflect, and discuss the big issues in life. We may not have the academic pedigrees of the Inklings (CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, & other big figures of yesteryear), but I believe our discussions must be as relevant and engaging. Speaking of engaging, a few of us are joining a friend of mine for a course titled "Engaging Islam" this evening after our Bible study. This friend was forced to leave his Islamic country after he converted to Christianity and began to share the message of Jesus with others. As our world is becoming increasingly pluralized, it's important that we not only be aware of our own religious beliefs and convictions, but that we also learn to listen to others, see their perspective, and engage with them in genuine dialogue. Because I believe that Jesus is Lord and because I believe that ultimately God desires everyone to come to a knowledge of this truth, I hope to learn how to better love and understand my Muslim neighbors so that if invited, I might be able to share the saving message of Jesus with them.
Here in a few moments I'll be off to teach a conversational English class. I loved discussing literature in school, but I hated grammar. It's ironic that now I get to teach a little grammar, as well as basic conversational skills. Sometimes my students correct me! We're never to old to learn...- Shay
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)