"And the Heavens Were Silent"

At the crucifixion of Christ, we see the heart of Man...
We see hatred and fear.
We see rejection and grasping.
We see anger and mockery.
We see bitterness and rage.

At the crucifixion of Christ, we see the heart of God.
We see One who loves without limit.
We see One who embraces suffering.
We see One who invites humiliation upon Himself.
We see One who is –without reservation– concerned with His beloved.
We see One who is utterly and perfectly self-giving.

At the crucifixion of Christ...
The eternal Father did not turn His back upon His eternally-begotten Son;
Rather, He turned His face in horrific anguish and incomparable pain.

At the crucifixion of Christ...
God embraced the suffering of Man.
God was spat upon.
God was mocked.
God was rejected.
God felt the paralyzing fear and cold bitterness of death.

At the crucifixion of Christ...
Matter was embraced.
Humanity was redeemed.
God and Man were reconciled in the Person of the crucified Creator.
The One who is the very source and ground of life was put to death.

And the heavens were silent...

Thoughts concerning John 13-17...

I am astonished, considering the context of these chapters in the life of Xp, by the content therein. This, the last night of Jesus with His disciples, and what does He do?

He washes feet.
He institutes the Supper.

Judas, who has already received his pay of 30 pieces, has already begun his betrayal and is yet at table – being washed and being served.

“This is My body...”
“This is My blood...”

Remember...

And what else? He teaches.

Oh, does He teach... concerning – among other topics and themes – the nature of God, the glory of God, the presence of God, the Spirit of God, and the will of God.

Having prayed, He is arrested – betrayed by a kiss.

Behold, the Bird...

Imogene: "Wow! What's that?"
Me: "That's our bird, babe."
Imogene: "We're eating a bird for Christmas?!"

Okay, so I admit it... I'm crazy for a smoked turkey. One of my most fond yearly memories of Christmas growing up is that of my Pappy smoking a large bird on Christmas morning. Every year, while his health remained intact, we'd have smoked turkey for Christmas lunch. He always kept it simple, but the flavor was -without fail- outstanding.

About four years ago, Lindsey got me a smoker for Christmas. We were still living in Ackerman, Mississippi, while I pastored Salem IMC and attended WBS. She made sure that I had the smoker in hand before Christmas Day because she knew what I'd want: to smoke a turkey for Christmas lunch. I did. And I have since.

Like Pappy, I try to keep things simple; however, I do have a couple of subtle twists to add a distinctive touch to the smokey flavor. First, the smoke must be wood produced, not just produced by charcoal, water, and poor ventilation. That being said, I burn a blend of hickory and oak. Second, I dress the turkey uniquely for her last date with destiny. She wears extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black peppercorns and is stuffed with a couple of stalks of celery and a granny smith apple cut into wedges. [Pictured above: I placed some apple wedges on the top of the turkey while smoking; hence, the leopard spots.]

So... yesterday evening around 6:30, I stepped outside and got the fire going. Once the bird was in position, I simply kept the smoker shut except to periodically add another log to the fire. I kept a close eye until a bit before 1:00 this morning, when I called it a night. Upon the kiddos' arousal from sleep, the bird was beautiful.

Just a few days ago, I heard Anthony Bourdain say that you should let your turkey rest for as many hours as you roast it. Granted, I didn't roast mine per se, so I let it rest for about 3 hours (rather than 12). When it was time to carve, wow! what a delight.

B-b-b-bird, bird, bird: Bird is the word!

questions I've been asking the youth

The following is a list of passages and questions our youth have been reading and answering on Thursday nights this Advent as we gather at the Daily Grind for coffee and study...


Luke 1:26-38
What are your favorite memories of the Christmas season?
What do you like most about Christmastime?
How important / meaningful is Christmas to you, and why?
In what ways are you willing to prepare for Christmas this year?

Luke 1:39-56
What does Advent have to do with the presence of Christ?
How does the presence of Christ effect sin?
How does the presence of Christ affect you?
Do others see the presence of Christ in your life; if so or not, why and how?

Matthew 1:18-25
How does the presence of Christ affect the way you treat others?
Are your relationships characterized by love? if so, how? if not, why?
What does Christmas tell us about the nature of God?
How would you rate (1-10) your preparation for this Christmas? Why?

The Advent of Christ

The Advent season is my favorite time of year.

I enjoy the weather as the temperatures begin to spiral downwards. I appreciate the signs, sounds, and smells of as folks ready themselves for Christmas. I love the giving of gifts and the closeness to others that seems to be ever-present each year around this time.

I, one might say, was made for Advent. But rather, in an even greater sense, Advent was made for me.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord.

To both the cultural anthropologist and likewise the casual observer, it should be quite evident that this time of year has become radically commercialized and increasingly secularized. In response to such, the almost natural reaction is to fight back. After all, why shouldn't we get in fight? While I'm no pacifist, it occurred to me the other day that my wife and I, rather than choosing to struggle against the move of our culture in regards to Christmas, have instead simply disarmed it. We live for this time of year and actually love it. We make the most of Christmas and actually don't leave it feeling exhausted and exasperated. Our kids get excited about seeing Santa and Rudolph just like they do about Mickey or Tweety, and yet they know that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, that Mommy and Daddy give them their gifts, and that there's something magical about singing hymns and reading scripture as a family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Morn.

Advent was made for me in that the Son was made incarnate for the sake of humanity. It was made for me... It was made for my wife... It was made for my kids... It was made for you. May the blessings of His Advent be yours this season of Holy Days...

...unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given...

Here's me at the sea...

This week is spring break for the school where I teach, so the family and I are taking full advantage of my time off and are, therefore, vacationing.



After our Resurrection Sunday (i.e., Easter) morning service of worship, we hit the road to Mississippi. We stayed with Mimaw and Papaw (i.e., my mom and dad) for a couple of days - actually, until Wednesday morning. During our stay in Mississippi, we went spent an afternoon at the Museum of Natural Science and another afternoon at the Jackson Zoological Park. We also ate at several places we have been craving now for several months. Lindsey got to enjoy her Bella Basil Chicken Salad Sandwich from Broadstreet Bakery as well as her Newk's Favorite Salad from Newk's Express Cafe. I finally got to eat pizza at Sal and Mookie's in the Fondren district of Jackson - something for which I have been waiting since even before we moved to Georgia. I must confess that the pizza was incredible, while the desserts were a bit of a disappointment - at least, my Italian creme cake was [Lindsey said that the fudge cake was great.]. During this trip, we also got to visit with my Pappy and my Mammaw, as well as with Chris, Jamie, Chylen, and Grayson. Overall, our time was well spent.



On Wednesday, we hit the road around 8:00 a.m. CST and finally arrived on Tybee Island, Georgia, around 8:00 p.m. EST. I was fully certain that I would soon crash, never to awaken until well into the morning or early afternoon on Thursday. However and much to my surprise, I didn't get to bed until about 2:00 a.m. and was out of bed by 9:00 a.m. - interesting... I don't know how that happened.



Aidan and I took a mid-morning walk through the sand, and I must say that the beach here is gorgeous. Our condo is great, the food has been good, and the R and R has been wonderful. The best part of it all has been that there has been nothing that we have HAD to do. Sure, we have done stuff, but it has all been done in leisure. To be sure, I do hate the the prevailing mentality of our culture, particularly of my generation; namely, the mentality of compete freedom from responsibility, discipline, or commitment. Nevertheless, for a couple of days here and there, it sure is lovely to relax. I have had a blast this week just spending time with my family. I haven't had to work a single hour, which has been an enormous change of pace for us. Though we return to the reality of labor tomorrow evening, for now at least, we are taking it easy. Ahhh, how sweet it is.

Memorial Day

(above: Arlington National Cemetery)


Happy Memorial Day!

In the past few days, I have found a couple of particular things to be of some interest:

1. The first thing that has held my interest is that many - possibly, most - people really seem to have no idea why we celebrate Memorial Day. They know it's related to patriotism, freedom, and the military, but they aren't quite sure how it's distinct from Independence Day or Veteran's Day. However, on Memorial Day we particularly remember those brave heroes who have given given their lives in combat for their country.

* NOTE: My sermon yesterday was about the three things we do - and I believe are biblically called to do - on Memorial Day. We remember. We give thanks. And we celebrate.

2. The second thing that has held my interest is that too many people - often Christians, regrettably - simply can't let holidays be what they are. Now, on this issue, I want to be cautious, for I do honestly want to think as Christianly as I can.

Before I begin to say what I have in mind, let me illustrate what I mean. A few years ago during Advent, I saw a Church marque that read something to the effect of [I'm paraphrasing here.]: sure, we all like the little Baby lying in the manger, but most don't like the Savior hanging on the cross. Now, though my wording is not precisely accurate, I am not stretching what the sign said [Please trust me.]. Now, why would a Christian feel the need to make such an insensitive jab - or "drive-by" remark - at folks?

Okay, what does this have to do with Memorial Day? Well, a couple of days ago while surfing the web, I was invited by an add to read an essay written by a Christian concerning "the two kingdoms". This invitation was unabashedly made as a challenge to our typical thoughts at Memorial Day, and the essay was essentially making the point that we can either be true to America - a kingdom of the world - or to Christ - the King of THE Kingdom. And so, I entered into a bit of dialogue (which I hope to continue, if I find some time) with the writer.

The problem I have with such challenges is not about the fact that they are challenges or even that they are a bit controversial. In fact, I enjoy challenges and sometimes even find myself to being somewhat controversial. About some things, I know I am controversial; about others, I have been known to deliberately inspire controversy. The problem I have, though, is that we - particularly, again, as Christians - too often feel the need to make our snide remarks about everything. We can't simply let things be what they are and celebrate them in their undeniable truth and goodness.

Please note, I am not saying that we are never to be critical. We are certainly called to have critical minds, even judging all things. However, the writer of the said essay was painting a picture of two kingdoms that are diametrically opposed to one another - as if the Church and America share nothing in common and are always at odds. He even went so far as to imply that military service would be inordinate obedience to another "king", though I couldn't get him to plainly say so.

If I might be frank - not the person, but the adjective - as best I can tell, the Gospel is only hindered by such assumptions. Though America is not without its flaws - some quite big and ugly -, it is truly a virtuous nation that stands for life, liberty, and "the pursuit". Thank God for these! And thank God that there have been many thousands throughout our history who have fallen that these might continue to be America's principles!

God bless our nation! And God bless our troops!