Tears, Eastertide and the Hope of a New Creation

Dear Grace Van Family,

I wanted to pass on an Eastertide reflection. On Monday I came down to Seattle to see my dad for the first time in over two months. Dad has been stable, but also on hospice care for the last three months. It was so good to see him Monday night. Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) as I spent time with dad, he began doing what I would call a "sewing motion" with his hands, something I had never seen him do before. Dad has battled the ravages of Lewy Body Dementia for over six years now and while he recognizes me, he also is not always particularly coherent and also hallucinates often. Yet as I sat with him in a quiet moment, he began doing what looked to me to be an extremely well-skilled and technical "sewing motion." I imagine Tony Lee playing in a beautiful full orchestra (pre-Covid of course) and the conductor moving his hands skillfully like art in motion. Well, the only thing that was missing with dad's motions in the air was the beautiful music! I thought for a moment, mostly fascinated by the world dad was in, . . . but then it dawned on me that dad was once upon a time an extremely skilled surgeon! I thought dad is probably moving his hands with the utmost skill, in a way that most of us who are not trained in this fashion and who had not been in surgical practice for over forty years would not know how to do! And then I thought about the New Heavens and New Earth where the music and clarity of mind and strength of body will be brought into the New World Christ has brought in His resurrection, of which dad as a child of God in Christ will be a part of! and I ached for that New World and its King to come quickly.

I left dad's care home and then decided to take a visit to mom's graveside. I knew the headstone was being constructed, but wasn't sure it had been installed. . . . It had. And I sat down on the grass and wept. I thought of last year purchasing the plot with mom's approval, taking a video of the pathway how visitors can get to it, . . . its proximity to her parents graves . . . bringing the video home and showing her. Later I would take mom to visit the purchased plot, and she would joke with me as I went on and on about how beautiful the view was from her spot, that she would only be able to appreciate the view if she sat up from her grave. I then helped her along to see her parents' gravesites, though very weakened at that point by her cancer, mom insisted on standing in honour of her Beloved parents' memory. She stood there, oxygen tank and all, and wept and wept, knowing that she would soon be joining her Beloved parents in death. I hurt so deeply and was so thankful for her memory, . . . at the same time. And I wept thinking of all those sacred moments I had with mom and one I was having without her. And then I wept some more.

Today, with some of you, I sat in Davi Rabelo's final Regent College presentation who shared parts of his paper looking at the woodcut art of J. Borges and showing us (over 100 people present on Zoom!) his own artwork, a series of linocuts, entitled "Under the Sun" and while it was such a beautiful presentation for all present, for me, it was an encounter with the Living God, . . . taking in themes of light and darkness and the hope of a New Creation through the restorative work of the Cross and Resurrection of Our Lord. I found myself for most of the presentation needing to turn off my camera, because I could barely fight back the tears knowing the hope of the resurrected Christ through Davi's visually-stunning art. My tears of deep sorrow were co-mingled with hopefulness, joy and wonder. I thought by Davi's gift, I was able to take up some of N.T. Wright's challenge in his book Surprised by Hope:

"But we should be taking steps to celebrate Easter (during the Eastertide season) in creative new ways: in art, literature, children’s games, poetry, music, dance, festivals, bells, special concerts, anything that comes to mind. This is our greatest festival. . . . Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity; as Paul says, you are still in your sins. . . . if you are to flourish as a Christian and as a truly human being, then Easter should mean planting, watering and training up things in your life (personal and corporate) that ought to be blossoming, filling the garden with color and perfume, and in due course bearing fruit. The Easter season ought to be a time to take up something new, some new task or venture, something wholesome and fruitful and outgoing and self-giving. . . . if you really make a start on it, it might give you a sniff of new possibilities, new hopes, new ventures you never dreamed of. It might help you wake up in a whole new way. And that’s what Easter is all about." 

So dear Church, lift up your hearts! [response: we lift them up to the Lord!] Christ is Risen! [response: He is Risen Indeed!]. As Christians, we often think of "heaven" as a reunion with our loved ones, but what if that reunion is even greater, one of Heaven and Earth, when the work of our hands, the strength of our bodies, the restoration of our hearts, minds and communities will see genuine wholeness and shalom once again? This is indeed the promise of Our Risen Lord to us, that He is coming to make all things new again! (Rev. 21:5). 

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

-Psalm 139:11,12

I pray the Risen Lord would meet you in marvelous ways this Eastertide season, even in the midst of so many deep and difficult heartaches and struggles. I've loved hearing "Kingdom Stories" from Grace Van folks throughout this season, and I also want to invite you this Sunday to stick around after our Zoom service, for our Zoom Randomizer Social. There is rain in the forecast this Sunday, so as promised, instead of outdoor communion, we will have a chance to get to know one another a bit following the service, being randomly "partnered" up in break-out rooms of 3-4 people/families, discussing this question, "What is something you have always wanted to learn how to do?" This idea of the Zoom Randomizer Social as well as the actual question is the genius of Reuben Moes who wants to get to know Grace Van folks just a little better, so thank you Reuben!

Blessings in Christ dear friends,

Pastor Mike

Happy 50th Tanya!

When I think of my wife of over twenty-five years, this phrase comes to mind, Tanya is someone who is “full of life and love.” I still remember when we had made a decision to continue to see one another after the summer of ’89 the year of our high school graduation, despite the fact that we were going to separate universities, with a distance of one and a half hours between us, when I went to visit you for the first time in Goodnow dorm. We had decided to have an “open relationship” between us so we could go to Greek parties and explore dating options as we started college life on two separate campuses; we wanted to be “open-handed” with our relationship, not possessive. However, we were still so drawn to one another. I will never forget after driving to KSU, seeing you for the first time after having had a really fun summer together, being apart for a few weeks… the look in your eyes, the way you looked at me, so full of life and love. Of course, the “open relationship” thing wouldn’t last very long, because despite the initial thought we should keep one another “free,” we kept coming back to one another. I kept coming back to this warm, tender caring soul full of life and love. Through the years, we’ve had so many ups and downs, and yet, that moment at Goodnow, over thirty-two years ago now, has signified for me what marriage and family have been through the years, full of life and love. It’s the depth of Tanya’s compassion, ability to touch someone by her caring in small moments of life, meeting someone for the first time, taking care of someone’s kids, taking care of our kids, taking care of mom in her last days, being a friend to so many. Her laugh. Oh my goodness. Her laugh that makes her so Tanya. It’s a beautiful, festive and yes, even hilarious laugh that she not only enjoys while experiencing and expressing, but that everyone else who is with her is brought into like a beachfront vacation or mountaintop experience all right there in the simple moment of an ordinary day, which with her is rarely ordinary at all. It’s the color and beauty I’ve always been able to see through her eyes, a life enhanced by so many textures, layers and hues, by simply being with her. I will never forget the way she looked at me back in Goodnow dorm back in ’89, a look that grabbed the deepest part of my heart and began a friendship, life partnership and family, indeed a marriage, with which I have been immeasurably blessed for over thirty-two years now. Thank you my beautiful Tanya for being so full of life and love. You are my heart, my love, my Beloved. Here is a tribute to you through the years! God is so good.

The Significance of January 6th

"And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations." -Rev. 21:22-26 

January 6th, 2021

Dear Grace Van Family,

The news of the US Capitol being overtaken today by insurrectionists has filled our hearts with grief and sorrow; Tanya and I have certainly been crying out to God on behalf of our home country. I'm reminded of a piece of writing from Pastor John Piper from back in October called, "Policies, Persons and Paths to Ruin; Pondering the Implications of the 2020 Election." In that article Piper writes, "I find it bewildering that Christians can be so sure that greater damage will be done by bad judges, bad laws, and bad policies than is being done by the culture-infecting spread of the gangrene of sinful self-exaltation, and boasting, and strife-stirring. How do they know this? Seriously! Where do they get the sure knowledge that judges, laws, and policies are less destructive than boastful factiousness in high places?" 

In Israel's own history, we saw this from having spent a lot of time in the prophetic book of Isaiah, but there were good kings and bad kings; the wickedness of the kings to the North meant a much faster demise of the Northern Kingdom of Israel than the Southern Kingdom; however, in the end even the Southern Kingdom of Israel would come under the judgement of God being unable to keep itself from the love of idolatry, of self-exaltation and the high places. Even the people of the South would be sent off to exile in Babylon as you know. In a word, ALL the kings of Israel taught us that the human condition was such that a True King from the line of David, a heavenly King called the Son of David would have to come to provide the people with an ultimate deliverance and salvation. 

And isn't the arrival of this Coming (Adventus) King the One Whom we just celebrated? How quickly we forget the larger story around our sin-sick world led by corrupt megalomaniac "kings" all around us as oppressed peoples suffer under their wicked and abhorrent thumbs. 

But January 6th has far more significance from a cosmic perspective than the date every four years when the US Congress comes together to count the electoral college votes according to the 12th Amendment of the US Constitution. January 6th is the 12th day of Christmas, one of "Epiphany" which celebrates the Gentile Magi bringing gifts to Christ the Child King, as a foretaste of the nations and their Kings coming to the Holy City of God to bow before Christ the King of kings. In other words, Epiphany signifies the reversal of this dark love of self and of sin and self-glorification; in their place the Good News of the Reign of God's Kingdom that has arrived in the world because of the gift of Christ, the One who is coming to make all things new (Revelation 21:5). January 6th has been honoured for far longer on the Church Calendar than in US Constitutional history.

Dear People of God, so let your hearts grieve, but do not let them be troubled, rather believe in God and in His Son (John 14:1). Limit your consumption of your social media feeds, step out of the dark rabbit holes of what I call the "I told you so's!" in chat rooms. We fight with a different set of weapons than the world (2 Cor. 10:4). Develop new weekly practices, rather than simply letting technology shape your story. Create spaces for holy rhythms, quiet, rest and mostly prayer in your lives. Why? So you can escape "the world"? NO! Rather so you can step most fully into the world that is eternal and that has come in Christ, the world that is currently overcoming the evil of this world (reflect on Revelation 11:15).... so that you can be most useful to this world rather than continue to conform to the vanity of how it pursues change through power, argumentativeness and coercion. Finally, make weekly worship on the Lord's Day with your church family the highest of all priorities. For this Sunday, we get to hear from our brother Rolland Li one last time before he moves to Singapore later in the month. Rolland will be talking about... you guessed it... the significance of Epiphany!!!

God's people must know that a new situation, a dramatically new state of affairs (from the one we see around us) has arrived in the gift of Christ,... not only so, but we must herald this Good News to the nations. We can only do that if we see it. I begin a series in the Gospel of Mark in a couple of weeks; Jesus said it there so plainly in Mark's opening chapter, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Grieve, but do not let your hearts be troubled. Rather, let your hearts be shaped by the story of Scripture; start a "read through the Bible program" this January; most are 1 or 2 year plans. Or begin with the practice of Daily Office, morning and evening prayers in your lives. Let me know if you would like some help getting started here. What is more, recognise that God moves mightily in the painful and dramatic moments of human history, whether Covid, cancer or (attempted) coups; do you not remember that spending two years in Isaiah or more recently in 1 Peter? As James Burns in his study of revivals through the history of the church has said, revivals and renewals come at low ebbs of church and culture. As Burns writes, "When the night is at its darkest, the dawn is on the way." Or as Mark Sayers says "crisis is the gateway to renewal."

Epiphany is our story dear Church and it is the story of the One who said that despite the fact that we would have trouble in the world, He has overcome it (John 16:33); that is the significance of January 6th.

In Christ,

Pastor Mike

"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever." -Psalm 125:1