Who knows what a "Christian" is any more? The word's too loaded with associations, so for years now, I tend not to use it.

I'm a Christ-follower. I am touched by the God who creates, initiates, communicates, wants to know me and be in a spiritual relationship with ME, a finite, tarnished, living, dynamic, complex creature that God has made.

God touches, and we attempt to respond appropriately. There's ambiguity in the relationship. This is party why we call it faith...

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For quite a while now I have been getting the growing impression that CNN and cnn.com have turned into a pop culture magazine rather than a serious news organization. There is room for both things in the world I guess, and ready audiences for each.

But no organization should be one, while pretending to also be the other.

Our family recently suspended our satellite TV subscription for various reasons, and one of the things I thought I would miss (but as it turns out I do not) is CNN.

Today I checked cnn.com for the top news stories, and unfortunately I think it may be time to write the obituary of the news organization that once was. If it once was, CNN no longer appears to be a serious journalistic effort.

CNN has become an 800 pound tabloid in the room.

In the "Latest News" section (the top-center prime real estate of the home page) there are links to 18 stories. Here are 7 of them:

Athlete says steroids forced sex change
'Detective' asks store for free porn
TV golf in a tailspin without Tiger
Pole dancing helps strip off the pounds
Miley spills on Jonas brother romance
Bush hugs bikini-clad U.S. Olympians
Pelican stops Golden Gate traffic

Like an afterthought, the very last of the list of 18 is "Russia hits U.N. cease-fire draft". Today's important events (such as Russian troops and tanks actually invading Georgia; news about Zimbabwe's Mugabe; Jordan's king visiting Iraq for the first time; the Olympics; the U.S. presidential candidates; updates in Darfur; and MUCH more) have true significance in our world -- but on cnn.com these are buried below Miley Cyrus, which is ridiculous.

So tonight, almost HALF of the so-called Latest News top stories on the CNN home page are about juicy tabloid headlines, specific to the U.S., titillating stories which don't warrant this attention, especially to push aside all other significant news today. (Besides the ones I listed, others in the "top 18" are fringe as well.)

An incredible news organization, CNN is able to put a crew on location almost anywhere in the world within a few hours to beam live news coverage and snag interviews with top diplomats, experts, and world leaders. They've got localized CNN broadcast in many parts of the world. The international version runs in most airports around the world.

What does CNN do with all this muscle? They post (on their website but also broadcast on their 24hr cable news station) sensational sidebar stories about pole dancing and pelicans and sex and celebrities. How do you define malpractice in journalism, and does CNN belong in the same sentence?

Even Larry King, for decades a brilliant interviewer, has either lost his own way or is following orders from people who seem to have lost their journalistic compass. While important news happens elsewhere in the world, you can often find Larry interviewing someone who knows something about Anna Nicole or the like.

I do try to keep an open mind, but for now, aside from periodic health-checks of cnn.com, I'll be finding real news elsewhere. That has been the case already for many months, because I wasn't finding it at CNN, but today's CNN check was a little more blatant than usual.

"Do not let anyone lead you astray."
("Don't let anyone divert you from the truth."  / The MSG)
I John 3:7

 

"How does the news change the way we view the world?"

That's the question briefly addressed in this 5 minute video from the TED conference - Alisa Miller from Wired Magazine talking about news reporting in various parts of the world.

"Here's how 'news' shapes what Americans see:"

By any measure, this is not a good thing.

Whether or not you are a Christian, ask yourself:

• What news sources do I primarily depend on, and what is their bias?
• How much diversity of news sources do I take in?
• Is my concept of "international news" limited to events in other countries that directly involve the United States? (For example, that's how www.cnn.com sometimes treats their "world" news... Angelina is in Africa, Obama is in Afghanistan, etc.)

For those who primarily depend on a single source of news, the chances are very high you are not getting a balanced diet of information.

For those who primarily depend on a single, partisan source of news (as an example, let's pick on one of the most biased and least objective television news organizations - Fox News, aka Faux News), the likelihood is almost 100% that you will convincingly perceive the world through the bias of that organization, which is often not aligned with reality.

How does one balance their news diet? By taking in news from the left and the right and the center. The three food groups of news. Regardless of one's own personal leanings - regularly taking in a few diverse perspectives and sources of information is a healthy way to know what's going on in God's world. This is the world which we are called to love, engage, and live the gospel to.

If we have a skewed view of the world we won't be very good witnesses.

If our spectacles are missing one lens we won't see very clearly.

If we have sight in only one eye we lose depth perception.

If we're unaware, we won't be in prayer.

If we only know about our next-door neighbors (or which celebrities gained weight or had twins), we will not be capable elsewhere in the world of imitating the good Samaritan whom Jesus exemplified, not to mention holding our governments and leaders accountable to do the right thing in the global community.

We'll allow and enable situations like the slow genocide in Darfur, for years on end, like we now are doing.

We'll get into wars we shouldn't have. We'll kill innocent people.

We'll miss opportunities. We'll miss ways that the rest of the church (most of whom live in the world's East and South) could help us see new things about God that are outside our peripheral vision.

Get this quote from the video:
Aside from one-person ABC mini-bureaus in Nairobi, New Delhi, and Mumbai, there are no network news bureaus in all of Africa, India or South America, places that are home to more than 2 billion people.

This does not put television news networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) even remotely on any list of good international news sources. Fortunately there are some fairly good, diverse sources of news and information in print and on the internet.

More to come on this in the next few weeks.

We Americans who are Jesus-followers have to figure out ways to be informed if we want to be useful and relevant to God's kingdom.

The Bible has several references to Milk and Honey.  Some reference to heaven, or the so-called promised land, or some future god-given prosperity.

I've not thought of this before today, but our humble household (which is shockingly among the top 10% wealthiest by global standards) has always had a full supply of milk and honey.

We do run out; but we simply buy more. We have the means. We drink milk every day and eat the honey occasionally.

Many people do not have the means.

What do you think about milk and honey flowing freely? A nice literary ring to it, or something more? Essential calcium and non-essential luxurious sweet stuff? What do the Biblical references mean?

I don't know about you but I'll take milk and honey when they come my way. But I also realize several people in the world have no honey, and milk only rarely. Where's their heaven? Why do I fare better than them? Is the disparity OK with God? If not, what can I do about this?

 

The Sabbath is biblical, but what about a Sabbatical?

I do try to observe the former every seven days, but after 25 years of hard work I've never taken a sabbatical.

Every seven years? A cool drink in one hand and a remote control in the other with 500 channels? Or some analog equivalent. Maybe a remote location... a mountaintop or desert encounter with God on friendly terms would do... away from the usual daily grind.

I've wanted one of those sabbatical thingies, and admittedly I've coveted a few that were taken by others, but my sabbatical has thus far eluded me.

I did take a sabbatical from Whirled View Blog, more by default than anything planned. I hope and expect to have now returned, although this was no sabbatical as those are meant to be. I've just been consumed by other things, though I've thought about Whirled View every week.

So I hope to be correct in thinking that I'm back now.

And I do hope to some day take a real Sabbatical.

Grace and Peace... and hopefully a God-like whirled view... we all need at least these three things.

Barry

There's an article on urbana.org this week called Understanding Authority, written by a pastor. I agreed with some things he wrote and disagreed with some things. After you take a few minutes to read it, here are some thoughts in response.

There are many other passages in scripture about human and divine authority, but since it was mentioned, here's the Romans 13:1-4 passage: (NIV)

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

So we have these words which Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome a couple thousand years ago. Like much of scripture (including much of Romans) if these words are taken completely on their own, outside the context of the rest of Romans and all of scripture, they could lead to some understanding, but perhaps also some misunderstanding.

For example, verse 3 of this Romans passage states something which at face value is proven many times in history to be plainly false: "For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you."

If we assume that every ruler were upright before God in their leadership, this could at least be possible; but there are many cases then and now where rulers most certainly can and do exercise injustice, whether or not the people on the receiving end are "doing what is right."

Through history, millions of people who were "doing what was right" (or just minding their own business) have been killed rather than "commended" by political rulers.

So what is Paul saying, how can we understand this? When we have a disconnect like this in scripture, we should welcome it as a challenge and opportunity to better understand God. What is NOT recommended is for us to walk around mindlessly repeating the words (such as "rulers hold no terror for those who do right") that don't measure up to reality and which we may not even understand yet in their full context.

Instead, an apparent disconnect in scripture is an opportunity to seek God's face and prayerfully study what light can be shed on the matter from ALL of scripture, from God's Spirit speaking to us, from the teaching and example of Christ, and from the wisdom and collaboration of other Christ-followers who are seeking the truth along with us.

Large volumes could be and perhaps have been written about a scriptural basis for understanding and honoring authority as a follower of Jesus. I agree with Pastor Flaherty (and lucky for me, with the Apostle Paul) that in some sense God "establishes" all authority, although the fuller implications and meaning of that are a huge mystery which this article does not unravel for us.

Quite often, truth is not very simple.

Along with the pastor I agree that probably most American Christians, myself included, "don't understand how God feels about positional authority."

I'll suggest a couple assumptions that might be reasonable to make, as a Christian.

First, every type of human authority is subject to God's ultimate authority.

Second, while God somehow does have authority over all human authorities, this does not necessarily mean God endorses every individual who has this human authority, nor sanctions the decisions, actions, and leadership that each of them might carry out.

This article stated, "There is no freedom of speech in the kingom." I disagree. There seems to be a huge amount of freedom of speech in the kingdom of God. However, it comes with some qualifications and a lot of responsibility. It's how we use our freedom of speech that matters to God.

Galatians 5:13 says, "You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

I Peter 2:16-17 says (MSG), "Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government." (Note, the last sentence was not "endorse everything your government does.")

James talks about the importance of taming the tongue, likened to a rudder steering a ship. He concludes, "No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."

Freedom of speech in the kingdom? Yes, I do think so. But freedom of speech is not license to say anything. It's responsibility to speak the truth in love.

There were many times when Jesus used his freedom of speech to challenge authority.

It's the implied statement in this pastor's article that gives me the greatest concern, that there is "no freedom of speech in the kingdom" and therefore (here's the implied part) if any Christian disagrees with or observes wrongdoing by a person in positional authority over them, they should keep quiet (e.g. not exercise freedom of speech) in order to honor the positional authority.

The article states that "All authority has been instituted by God (Romans 13:1-4), and therefore should be unconditionally honored."

I disagree with the second part of this statement, and I do not see in the text from Romans any mandate for "unconditionally honoring" the words or actions of any authority which might happen to do wrong or evil.

For example, in what way should I as a Christian "honor" a political leader (might even claim to be a Christian too) who has many clear opportunities to denounce and reject torture (as defined over many decades by a global community and also from everything Jesus said about how to treat our enemies), but instead this leader shuns those opportunities and intentionally leaves lots of room for torture to be used when and if deemed "necessary" by military insiders who have little or no accountability?

I'd like to hear Jesus' answer to a question like that.

How should I honor the positional authority of the political administration "established" by God, without honoring the huge moral pothole that my "ruler" just drove through in his humvee?

Honoring positional authority is quite different from irresponsible silence, or breaking the silence to speak truth.

So yes, the challenge for Christians is how to submit to positional authority when a leader in such a position of authority might do things that are clearly wrong.

There's a difference between submitting to positional, political authority (such as Jesus' clever answer to give to Caesar that which is Caesar's and to God that which is God's) versus condoning or silently looking the other way when a ruler does wrong.

Jesus challenged the positional authority of the Pharisees, and made it clear he had little respect for them. ("You brood of vipers.") Was it wrong for him to do this? I don't think so. On the other hand, did he actively try to overthrow their authority? No. For that matter, did he actively work against the Roman occupation like many Jews were expecting the Messiah to do? No, he went about his more important work.

Was it wrong for Bonhoeffer to conspire to assassinate Adolf Hitler? I haven't reached an opinion on that. Even if someone today were to argue that was wrong, it's perhaps easier to come to such a conclusion from the safety of a 21st century armchair than under the tyrannical rule of a mass murderer.

Was it wrong for Christians (or anyone) to join the nonviolent protests in the Indian subcontinent in the 1940's which led to the end of British colonial rule?

How should Christians in Sudan respond to their government which enables a slow motion genocide to continually take place in their own communities?

Is it wrong for Christians to thoughtfully and respectfully speak out against any form of unjust leadership, on behalf of those who are unjustly treated? Of course not.

How should Christians "submit" to positional authority while they do speak truth to power? That's the real question.

I don't think we should suggest there is no freedom or responsibility for Christians to speak truth to power in some appropriate way when the powers that be might act unjustly.

Was this something OK for Jesus to do that's not OK for us to do?

I think it's not only a freedom but an obligation for Christians to speak and sometimes even act against positional authority when it is clearly wrong. There are appropriate (and inappropriate) ways to do that, of course. In love, not anger. In humility, not arrogance or self-righteousness.

As a Christ follower and American citizen, under an administration that I believe has repeatedly contradicted several fundamental principles of truth and justice that are plainly laid out in the gospels, the notion that scripture somehow calls me to be a submissively silent citizen is a curious one.

What do you think? 

The apostle Paul writes in the first chapter of Romans,

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Sometimes when I read or hear this passage, I recognize some uneasiness in myself. Why am I uneasy? Am I ashamed of the gospel I have chosen to believe?

Or if not, am I ashamed of some other things surrounding that gospel? And as I think and pray about the matter, I am usually reminded that yes, there are some things regarding the "reputation" of Christianity in this country and other parts of the world of which I am indeed ashamed. There are things which are said and done in the name of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which conflict with the very essense of the things Jesus himself taught and demonstrated and died for. Of those, especially if and when they come from within the church, I am ashamed.

I'm ashamed of the Crusades. I'm ashamed of the church's complicity in some destructive parts of the history of colonialism which even today are still playing out all over the world. I'm ashamed of the church's abuse of power at many times in history. I'm ashamed of hate speech by Christians. I'm ashamed by mediocrity in the church. I'm ashamed when people aligned with Christianity bomb abortion clinics, or favor violence before the alternatives have been exhausted. I'm ashamed of angry street preachers. I'm ashamed of safe communities of church goers who disobey Jesus and don't apply their overabundance of resources to engage the needs of the poor in their midst, not to mention across the street or around the world. I'm ashamed of divisive bickering among Christians over theology or politics especially when accompanied by our own ignorance, and by the absense of the "fruit of the spirit" in our lives.

I'm ashamed of my own complacency, my own selfishness, my own sin, my own involvement in some of the above shameful things.

That doesn't mean I'm ashamed of the gospel; but the dividing lines can be blurry, putting me and many Christians in an awkward place, to be associated with things said and done in the name of the gospel which are NOT part of the gospel.

What do we do about this?

There are four answers I've found so far.

The first thing is to keep seeking, looking, asking, listening, and learning what the gospel is and trying to live it out. In humility and obedience, to keep acting on what I already know. The gospel is not a package, not an outline, it doesn't fit in a box, it's not something we can label and contain. It's something we can choose to believe and then move into a life long journey toward experiencing, gradually understanding more, deepening in faith, making mistakes and misunderstanding some things about Jesus along the way.

We need to act on the simple things first, like loving God with everything I am, and loving others sacrificially. We need to be in community with other believers, locally and also those who are far away, to have the best shot at better understanding the full implications of the gospel. This is not a private quest that can be fulfilled in a holy silo.

The second thing is to NOT be ashamed of the gospel itself, to have confidence as we explain in appropriate ways, in loving relationship with people created by God who are placed in our lives, the faith we choose in the good news of Jesus. The opposite of "not being ashamed" is not merely some pious inertia and private worship of God who has shown us such mercy and grace, but it should involve sharing, telling, explaining, risking, demonstrating all the things that we say are Good about this News. We can imitate Jesus and find no shame in anything that is really true to the Word become Flesh for us.

Thirdly, I should do my best to not contribute to the problem - to not add shame to the name and cause of Christ. This involves repentance, forgiveness, renewal, and conforming to Christ. When (not if) I do repeatedly fail, the point is not necessarily to avoid failure, but to learn from it and move beyond it with God's grace and strength. This is the essense of the faith journey of following Christ - to keep turning and returning to Jesus, pointing ourselves and those around us to the Good News, of which there is nothing to be ashamed.

Lastly and somewhat unfortunately, when there is peripheral noise and misinformation about the gospel itself, "not being ashamed of the gospel" involves lovingly and graciously correcting false information or conduct, setting the record straight, helping to clarify the gospel's reputation and that of Jesus, so that people's faith decisions might be based on more accurate information than the public square might offer.

In a nation obsessed with everyone having and voicing their personal opinion, many of our opinions are ill-informed. It's the responsibility of Christ-followers to help correct the ill-informed, starting with ourselves.

There is plenty of negative advertising about the Gospel, not just in election years. Those of us who are not ashamed of the Gospel, and are still on the faith journey toward seeing and understanding a little more of it each day, are called to strip away the peripheral misinformation and instead emphasize the Good News that Jesus offers.

Peter, who was martyred for his faith, encouraged the church:

In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

- I Peter 3:15

How can you have Chinese New Year without electricity?

Based on the lunar calendar, Chinese New Year started last Thursday and the celebration spans 2 weeks. Firecrackers, parades, bright lights, red lanterns, special foods, gifts, and special hospitality.

But in parts of China, severe winter weather has caused major electricity outages, stranded holiday travellers, and left homes and businesses to be lit only by candles and lamps. People have had to improvise, to celebrate the most important cultural holiday of the year, and even to stay warm and safe.

If for no other reason, because one in five of the people in the world are Chinese, it's important to understand their culture and heritage, within China and in the many dispersed Chinese communities around the world. Here's a Chinese New Year primer at wikipedia.

The abundant use of light for decoration and celebration at Chinese New Year is not unlike Christmas lights or fireworks. It's easy to imagine how the holiday spirit would be dampened by electrical outages and heavy snow that hinders travel.

A couple scriptures for reflection:

Isaiah 60:1-3, 19

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn... The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

And from Revelation 21:23

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

Electricity or none, Pray for the church in China, for the light and love of Christ to shine through Chinese Christians to their neighbors throughout the country and throughout the Chinese diaspora. Befriend a Chinese student (there are around 60,000 in the U.S., and over 3.5 million Chinese immigrants here). Ask a Chinese friend to teach you about their Chinese New Year traditions, and discuss how these traditions relate to belief in God. See where the discussion goes.

Photos: Chinese New Year around the world

 

I came upon a significant (for me) realization recently when reading Matthew 3:13-17.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

I've always thought that "righteousness" meant holiness, purity, without blemish, sinless. The dictionary says it means "just or rightful, morally right, virtuous."

But in this context, Jesus uses the word "righteousness" very differently, I realized that it means something much more along the lines of these ideas:

• the way God has intended things to be
• what God wants
• what God plans for the long haul
• what God designed to be and to to come about
  

Jesus's baptism was not about morality or repentance from sin. He insisted that he be baptised by John in order "to fulfill all righteousness" -- to fulfill God's will with a long view of human history.

What does all this have to do with Kenya? Or any place in the world today, for that matter?

It reminds us that God has a certain intent, from the beginning, for ALL THINGS. Virtually all parts of God's creation have fallen short of God's original design and intent; all righteousness has NOT yet been fulfilled.

While the Biblical understanding is that this degradation of creation was and continues to be a result of sin, God is in the process of reconciling all things back to himself.

This includes Kenya and her ethnic, political, and economic struggles which erupted in January; and it includes every community, tribe and nation in the world. God, through Jesus, is reconciling all of us back to what was intended for us.

Violence that shocks us might (will) break out. We might (will) be surprised at the horrible things we, and others, are capable of doing to each other when things like mistrust, fear, and resentment, just below the surface, get stirred up a little too much.

While on a much smaller scale in Kenya, this is not unlike the surprise with which Rwanda found herself in the midst of a genocide, before the world realized the scope of what was happening, what life-long neighbors were doing to each other out of extreme fear and distrust.

Colossians 1 says:

He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Pray that this fullness and reconciliation with God will take place in tiny and huge ways, every minute, hour and day of the times that are ahead for Kenya. This is a prayer that God will accomplish, God's word clearly states this is what Jesus is all about.

Let us pray that God's image (Jesus) will be known in Kenya, through his Spirit and through the hands and feet and mouths of those who follow Jesus throughout Kenya as they love their neighbors in a time of fear and turmoil.

It's mid-January and I'm still hearing people talk about Christmas gifts. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive and as usual, he couldn't have been more right. As Christians, we get to do both.

Even though we're wired with some selfish tendencies, we're also wired (created in the image of God) with an impulse to give and find deep satisfaction in doing so.

And we also get to receive. God is an amazing gift giver.

What are some of God's best gifts as we enter into 2008? The best one, in my opinion, is abstract and intangible until and unless we receive it by faith and begin experiencing it: reconciliation with God through Jesus.

We who were "far off" have now been drawn near.

By God's mysterious and miraculous power, we get to be in restored relationship with our creator if we respond to God's initiatives. It's a relationship that's confined in one sense by the limits of our humanity, but it's also infinite in its possibility.

One of the best presents FROM God is the presence OF God in our world and our lives. It almost never appears the way we expect. Sometimes it's a quiet voice, not a big demonstration. Sometimes God takes a position of vulnerability rather than power.

There's not the absence of evil and suffering that we might expect with God present. This requires faith on our part, when the circumstantial evidence is less empirical than we 21st century scientists might prefer.

There is always surprise in the presence of God.

The presence of God comes to us in many forms, and one form is through other individuals and groups. Families, neighbors, friends, classmates, colleagues, and even larger communities like cities and nations, all can have a part in conveying God's presence to others. Some do this intentionally, trying to be obedient servants as they strive to follow and imitate Jesus. Some others do this instinctively out of impulses to share and give and sacrifice for others, impulses that they may not recognize or attribute as coming from the very God who created them.

Is God glorified and pleased when any human being (a follower of Jesus or not) does what we were designed for? I think so.

The presence and evidence of God in our world in 2008 -- in the Holy Spirit, in God's written and incarnated and living Word become flesh, in the amazing created world around us, in our spiritual living selves, in the lives of many others around us -- in all of this, the presence of God is ideally the lens with which we should view the things taking place in our days.

It can be easy to forget or wonder about God's presence when we experience pain and loss; when something angers us; when the day's bad news from Kenya or Palestine or Pakistan or Indonesia comes across our screen; when families and churches struggle or even split apart; when ethnic groups slaughter their neighbors, or even live quietly for years with the inner turmoil that would somehow enable them to do such violent things one day.

These experiences confound us. They don't look like Immanuel, "God with us," as we just commemorated Jesus' birth.

But these experiences can also be reminders to us of God's presence -- not as we always expect it and want it, but in a persistent, patient, purposeful carrying out of a long range plan God has in mind, which not only requires some suspension of our disbelief, but also invites our participation and response.

It's partly in the human participation and response to human need that we see the presence and evidence of the God who created us with inherited qualities. In part, it's in the churches and individuals who demonstrate extreme love and sacrifice that we can see a hint of the one who is reconciling all things back to their original intent and design.

It's also partly in the miraculous transformation that can take place with God's help in a person here and a community there, taking off the old self like soiled clothing, and daily putting on the new self that God gives as a gift - this becomes one of the most powerful ways that we see God's presents and presence among us.

May the best God has to offer be recognized and received by you throughout this new year, and may you find much joy in the collaboration.