Holidays. What are some of the words that immediately come to mind? Vacation? Family? Shopping? Food? How about holiness? Honestly, holiness would not have been the first word that came to my mind either. Yet, essentially, that is what the holidays are about.
The word holiday comes from the Old English halig daeg, or holy day. Holy Days have traditionally been days in which children of God, whatever their religious tradition might be, are asked to be particularly aware of God's universal call to be holy. Holiness is a journey toward the good, toward transformation, toward Heaven, and in both the Hebrew and Greek language, holiness has two aspects to it: separation and union.
First, we are called to be separate from the world of darkness, where one lives a selfish, confused, ultimately directionless life, apart from God. Then, we are called to an ever-deepening relationship with the God of Love, His will for our lives, and His hope for the world He loves beyond words.
Unfortunately, holiness has not appeared to be a very attractive calling. Holiness has mistakenly been associated with words like judgemental, condescending, and escapist. "Holy rollers" and "holier than thou" attitudes give many the sense that "holiness" is about rules, perfectionism, and a lack of concern for those who are "outsiders." No wonder so many have trouble with the word holy.
Holiness is so much easier to recognize than it is to describe.
While I was in seminary, Jenni and I lived next door to a Chinese-American family. Our first week as neighbors, the Yens invited us over for dinner and when "Grandma" found out that I was a seminarian she asked me privately, in her best English, if I might do her a favor. Would I read her favorite Bible verses into her tape recorder so that she could listen to them in her free time?
Why did this 80 year-old woman make such a request? Was she practicing her English? No. Was she trying to look more "Biblical" in the eyes of her family and friends? No. Did she appear unbalanced, rigid, compulsive? Hardly. Her mind was sharp, her manner was joyful, and her eyes were filled with charity. I told her I would gladly do this for her, but awkwardly asked her why. She explained that she didn't speak or read English well, and her church was Chinese-speaking. She wanted to listen to her favorite verses in English because it was not nearly as familiar to her as her native Mandarin. Thus, she would have to listen "very closely."
Oh how different this world would be if more people listened “very closely” to the gentle urging of God…to be loving, truthful, gentle, kind, generous, and self-sacrificing.
Grandma gave me a wonderful example of what holiness really is, and I remember her in a special way this holiday season; this season of holy days. She now hears God's voice most clearly, and sings with the choirs of Heaven. May we hear those choirs of saints and angels during this season of miracles, and recognize in a new way how close God is to us throughout the year.
Let’s remember what this season of holiness is really all about….new beginnings, transformation, and hope! Let’s take inspiration and put it into action, re-commit ourselves to personal growth and healing, and bring light to our hurting world.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Season of Hope
The Holiday Season is upon us, an “official” time of celebration of things foundational and eternal, but also a time of waiting! I think of this as the Season of Hope. Hope, the little sister of Faith and Love, is such a beautiful virtue, so essential to healing and wholeness...and of course at the very heart of our Stillpoint mission.
Symbols of this “thing with feathers” (as Emily Dickinson put it), Hope, are embedded throughout Sacred Scripture: the birth of Israel, manna in the wilderness, The Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire at night, the Promised Land of Canaan, a Baby in a manger, an empty tomb, Bread and Wine, the New Jerusalem, and the perseverance of the saints just to name a few. And what we know deep in our hearts is that Hope is like a torch, chasing away the darkness and enabling us to see what lies ahead: Providence….God’s care. Because He wants us to grow in faith and dependence on Him, though, God doesn’t usually show us the details of the future. Don’t you wish He did? But then we wouldn’t ever grow up, and we need to grow up in order to love and change the world. However, God does send consolations to help us hang in there and trust that good is coming, and often these consolations take human form.
My first year of graduate school I worked three different jobs, one of which was selling programs at Dodger Stadium. Nothing wrong with this job, except that it was the same one I had when I was sixteen. And now at twenty-four I wanted something more “professional.” But the money was surprisingly good, and the work fit with my schedule, so I suited up and showed up. My stand was directly facing the skyscrapers of downtown, and occasionally people I knew from high school or college would pass me on the way in to the game, dressed in business attire and looking very successful. The surprised expressions on their faces told me they weren’t exactly sure what I was doing with myself, and I usually didn’t have the opportunity to explain. I felt like I was a lifetime away from my dream. One night, as the crowds streamed in, and I was busily trying to look busy, I heard someone yell, “Hey, Doctor Porter.” Without thinking about the fact that I was still six years away from earning that title, I turned to see a teacher from my high school coming toward me with a big grin on his face. I was in the middle of Finals and was exhausted, so the emotions surfaced quickly. All I could get out was a quiet, “Thank you.” He gave me a hug and added, “I thought maybe you needed to hear that.” Blessed are the messengers of hope.
In this Season of Hope, I want to thank you on behalf of Stillpoint Family Resources for being a messenger of hope, by helping us extend hope to those in need: to the person fighting a drug addiction, a couple struggling to stay married, a suicidal teen, or the single mom who has just heard the news that she’s carrying a special needs child. Because of all the ways you give to Stillpoint, through prayer, through service, and through financial support, we are able to serve as messengers of hope to over 150 families in nine different locations throughout Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange Counties every week. We thank you for standing with us, and we humbly ask that you continue to help us in any way you can.
I wish you a blessed Season of Hope, and a New Year full of meaning and purpose!
Symbols of this “thing with feathers” (as Emily Dickinson put it), Hope, are embedded throughout Sacred Scripture: the birth of Israel, manna in the wilderness, The Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire at night, the Promised Land of Canaan, a Baby in a manger, an empty tomb, Bread and Wine, the New Jerusalem, and the perseverance of the saints just to name a few. And what we know deep in our hearts is that Hope is like a torch, chasing away the darkness and enabling us to see what lies ahead: Providence….God’s care. Because He wants us to grow in faith and dependence on Him, though, God doesn’t usually show us the details of the future. Don’t you wish He did? But then we wouldn’t ever grow up, and we need to grow up in order to love and change the world. However, God does send consolations to help us hang in there and trust that good is coming, and often these consolations take human form.
My first year of graduate school I worked three different jobs, one of which was selling programs at Dodger Stadium. Nothing wrong with this job, except that it was the same one I had when I was sixteen. And now at twenty-four I wanted something more “professional.” But the money was surprisingly good, and the work fit with my schedule, so I suited up and showed up. My stand was directly facing the skyscrapers of downtown, and occasionally people I knew from high school or college would pass me on the way in to the game, dressed in business attire and looking very successful. The surprised expressions on their faces told me they weren’t exactly sure what I was doing with myself, and I usually didn’t have the opportunity to explain. I felt like I was a lifetime away from my dream. One night, as the crowds streamed in, and I was busily trying to look busy, I heard someone yell, “Hey, Doctor Porter.” Without thinking about the fact that I was still six years away from earning that title, I turned to see a teacher from my high school coming toward me with a big grin on his face. I was in the middle of Finals and was exhausted, so the emotions surfaced quickly. All I could get out was a quiet, “Thank you.” He gave me a hug and added, “I thought maybe you needed to hear that.” Blessed are the messengers of hope.
In this Season of Hope, I want to thank you on behalf of Stillpoint Family Resources for being a messenger of hope, by helping us extend hope to those in need: to the person fighting a drug addiction, a couple struggling to stay married, a suicidal teen, or the single mom who has just heard the news that she’s carrying a special needs child. Because of all the ways you give to Stillpoint, through prayer, through service, and through financial support, we are able to serve as messengers of hope to over 150 families in nine different locations throughout Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange Counties every week. We thank you for standing with us, and we humbly ask that you continue to help us in any way you can.
I wish you a blessed Season of Hope, and a New Year full of meaning and purpose!
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