Clarity

Have you ever had a moment of clarity?  When something you have either read before or heard before finally connects with you in a way that may not make sense to anyone else?

My first “moment” happened on day two of our trip to Israel.  

After a delay or two in Toronto and a long flight we arrived in the Holy Land. No sooner had we settled in our bus when our adventure had begun.

On our way to our hotel from the airport in Tel Aviv we stopped to take in Mount Carmel, which we read about in 1 Kings.  Honestly, I was probably too tired and too overwhelmed to fully appreciate what I was seeing. But it was still awesome.

After dinner and a good night sleep we began our first full day at the Sea of Galilee - yes THE Sea of Galilee, the one in the Bible.  The same Sea of Galilee where Jesus calmed the waters, walked on water, and taught a friend to fish!  While in the area we visited a place called Magdala the place where Mary Magdelene came from.  Mary was a Jewish woman who, according to the four gospels traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Interestingly, Mary is mentioned by name twelve times in the gospels, more than most of apostles!  So this gal was important.

I digress. 

In the town on Magdala is an archeological site where researchers have uncovered ancient houses but more impressive was the discovery of an ancient synagogue.  

Luke 4:14 says, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

WE were at the site of one of those synagogues! Our group gathered around the site listening to our insightful guide and taking in the possibilities.  What it might have looked like in Jesus time.  Where would he have sat? 

After the others moved on to the next site I lingered back and placed my hand on a stone bench just over the barrier. Could Jesus have sat on that very stone?  The thought was enough to give me goosebumps.  

As powerful as that was that was not my moment of clarity.  That moment came when we gathered in a basement room - with a 2000 year old stone floor. In that room hung a mural that literally took my breath away.  It was a large mural of feet walking on a stones similar to the one I myself was standing on.  In the picture is a hand reaching out to touch the fringes, or tassels of the tallit (prayer shawl) worn by Jewish men.

Check out Mark 5:22-43

I have always loved this story. I love the power of it and the power of this woman’s faith. But in that moment there was a new clarity to this old story. This woman was ill.  We are told that she had been bleeding for years and nothing had healed her and she knew if she could just get close enough to Jesus, he would have the power to heal her. The problem was, she was a woman and if that wasn’t bad enough because of her illness she would have been considered unclean and anyone who touched her would become ceremonially unclean. No one would allow her to get close to Jesus much less allow her to touch him.  But that didn’t stop her. So she determinedly and discretely comes up from behind, crouches low down, making herself small and invisible to the others — not unlike the way she had been made to feel — and she touches the garment of Jesus. Imagine the courage. Imagine her faith. Faith enough to heal her sick body. Faith to free her from her insignificance. Faith to save her from her suffering.

My moment of clarity:  we are all in some ways like this women. May we all have the courage and faith to reach out to the One that heals, saves and redeems.

Crazy Kind of Love

This past weekend I had the privilege and honour of being the keynote speaker at the Blizzard Youth Conference at Muskoka Woods.  

 It was EXTRAORDINARY!  

 I was responsible for four keynote addresses (to 400+ youth) and two smaller sessions. It was an intense 40 hours that was both exhilarating and exhausting ;)  

 Our big session times included games, music, message, team challenges, and all sorts of surprises. The energy was palpable and just built over the weekend!  We gathered together for meals and snacks, and had great conversations. There was even time for snow tubing, cross-country skiing, volleyball, or basketball!  I opted for the nap ;)

 It was a powerful time for our youth as well. Thank you to our leaders, Tyler, Emma and Laura for guiding them, loving them, praying with them, entering into deep conversations with them, and just being the hands and feet of Jesus. It was a beautiful thing to witness!  

 In our second session together I spoke about the crazy, radical love of God.  I based the talk on the parable of the prodigal son, but we focused on the older brother. Check out the story.

 The older brother was angry that the father celebrated the prodigal son’s return.  He was thinking, understandably, that “I have been here all this time, and that son of yours takes off and squanders all the money, drags our name in the mud and instead of punishing him, you celebrate? You throw him a party? What about me? I am the good one! You don’t throw me a party.”

 Somehow I get that!

 What the older brother forgot and what I forget so often is that the Father’s love has nothing to do with WHAT we’ve done and everything to do with God — our Heavenly Father wanting to be WITH us. 

 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:31-32)

 Here’s the thing. God’s desire to have intimacy with you has nothing to do with WHAT you have done or WHAT you will do. Nothing.God just wants to be with you no matter what and that is a crazy, radical kind of love!

Letting go!

You may have heard the story of the man who complained to his friend about his wife.  He said, “every time we have an argument, my wife gets historical!”  

The friend responded, “you mean HYSTERICAL don’t you?”  

The man replied, “No, I mean HISTORICAL. Every argument we have she always brings up the past.”

Forgiving is one thing and forgetting is quite another. Perhaps we may not be able to forget but I think there are things we can to do to forgive and liberate ourselves from anger and bitterness.

So here are 5 ways to forgive and let it go:

1. Pray. Pray not only for yourself but pray more importantly for the person who offended you. Check out Matthew 5:44

2. Let go of Resentment. I love the fabulous Carrie Fisher quote: "Resentment is the poison you swallow hoping the other person will die." Recognize that when you choose not to forgive someone, you are not only hurting yourself, you're also giving this person control of your emotions, and who wants to do that??  Check out Matthew 18:21-35.  The commandment is clear:  you must forgive! 

3. Make a choice.  When you respond with hate to hate, anger to anger, bitterness to bitterness, you are ironically becoming part of the problem. Choose to resist becoming like them and instead put in the conscious effort to remain a loving, soulful, happy person.  Check out Matthew 5: 43-48.

4. Let go and Let God.  Contemplating revenge? The best kind of revenge is living a successful, happy life. If you train yourself to consistently be more loving in thoughts and actions, you will attract more positive people and positive results.  I say let it go and let God avenge you!  Check out Romans 12:19.

   And finally,

5. Count your Blessings.  When you are tempted to focus on all the ways the world has done you wrong, count your blessings instead.  An attitude of gratitude goes a long way in forgiving those around you and keeps you focused on the ways God has, and continues to bless you.  Check out Psalm 31:14-18.