Descent by Malcolm Guite

They sought to soar into the skies
Those classic gods of high renown
For lofty pride aspires to rise
​But you came down.



You dropped down from the mountains sheer
Forsook the eagle for the dove
The other Gods demanded fear
But you gave love



Where chiselled marble seemed to freeze
Their abstract and perfected form
Compassion brought you to your knees
Your blood was warm


They called for blood in sacrifice
Their victims on an altar bled
When no one else could pay the price
You died instead


They towered above our mortal plain,
Dismissed this restless flesh with scorn,
Aloof from birth and death and pain,
​But you were born.


Born to these burdens, borne by all
Born with us all ‘astride the grave’
Weak, to be with us when we fall,


​And strong to save.

An Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

By Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost ... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place
but, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.


III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... it's a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.


IV

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.


V

I walk down another street.



Copyright (c) 1993, by Portia Nelson from the book There's A Hole in My Sidewalk. 

The Presence of the Lord Dwells Among Us

This is a short homily I created for my Biblical Theology of Worship class based of a paper I wrote entitled "Immanuel: God With Us. A Look into God's Presence "Tabernacling" Among Humanity."

Humanity was created for relationship. After creating Adam, God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so he created woman; a partner and companion, “a helper fit for him” (Gen. 2:18). Since the beginning of time, humankind has had a desire to be in relationship with others. Now this is not necessarily any sort of romantic/marriage relationship (although that is undoubtedly one facet of relationship). It is the simple act of communion with one another is what humanity really desires. It requires vulnerability and can often be quite scary, but in the end, relationship and community is truly a desire for all.

When God created humanity, he created them with the intention that he would be able to commune with them. The creation account of Genesis states that God walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve, and there was no sin, so they were able to achieve perfect communion together. One can only imagine the bliss of walking together with God in a Garden which created by him, for humanity. But humanity was not satisfied with what God gave to them, for he only put one tree in the Garden that they may not eat (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), and although this was God’s command for them, they did not obey, and ate of the fruit anyways. This seemingly harmless action of eating a fruit was disobedience from God and cut humanity off from the blissful dwelling they had previously experienced with God.

Years passed, and the Israelites were not able to dwell with God as Adam and Eve had in the garden. Yet, God decided that he had not finished dwelling among humanity. He had another plan in mind; a plan that would require the work and offerings of humanity. In Exodus 25, we read that God requests his people to build him a sanctuary, in which he would dwell among his people and his people could commune with him. This building, which would come to be known as the Tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting, was where God’s presence would dwell among nomadic Israel.

This tent was no ordinary tent, for God’s presence demanded only the finest of dwelling spaces. The tent was made out of elements such as “gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; ram skins dyed red and manatee skins; acacia wood; oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx along with other gemstones” (Ex. 35:5-9). In other words, it was expensive. God could have chosen to dwell in a tent like all the other Israelites, but he chose to make a tent that would reflect his glory; a place that when people entered, they knew they were entering the House of the Lord.

The most important point to notice in the Tabernacle narrative is not the fact that the Israelites built God a sanctuary which reflected his glory. Yes, that was an incredible act that took great amounts of both time and labour, but there is something else here that heralds exceeding importance. This is the fact that it was not the Israelites called out to God for a sanctuary where he would dwell among them, but rather, it was God who decided that he would dwell among his people, bringing that which should be limited to the heavens down to earth.

God, in his nature, is holy. This is very important for us to remember. He is not a sinful finite being like we are, but rather, he is perfect and set apart from us. This means that according to all common sense, God should not be seeking dwelling among humanity. We are sinful and disobedient, slaves to sin when we live without God. But this is why God sought us out. He is loving, full of hesed. He does not want us to live a life of sin and disobedience, wasting away for all of eternity. Rather, he wants to give us life, and life to the fullest! He wants to establish relationship and pour out into our lives, making us new in him and saving us from the pains of death. Although God is holy by nature, he is also Love; perfect love which knows no bounds.

It was as a result of this love that the Tabernacle was not to be an eternal dwelling for the Lord. Rather, the Tabernacle was setting the stage for a new dwelling of the Lord on earth: the Incarnation. A more literal translation of John 3:16 would read “For in this way God loved the world, that he sent his only begotten Son...” It was not the fact that God loved the world so much, like we are taught in Sunday school. The Incarnation was, as a matter of fact, the way that God showed his love to the world. Up until this point, there was arguably no greater sign of love (although it would be fair to argue other points, seeing that the entirety of the Biblical narrative is filled with stories of God’s love in situations where humans really do not deserve it). 

The Incarnation can be summed up in John 1:14 “the Word became flesh.” There is no simpler Incarnational statement than that. The Incarnation was God taking upon himself the form of his creation, and dwelling among them. Again, as in the instance of the Tabernacle, God did not have to send his Son down to earth to dwell among his people. I am sure that it was a lot comfier up in heaven. And seeing that Christ fully took on the human form, and was tempted in every way, it would be a stretch (and probably a lie) to say his time on earth was easy. But despite all these variables that would make a selfish god reside in his comfy abode, Yahweh is not a selfish god, but rather a selfless God, and therefore he sent the Word, who was God, down to earth.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). It did not become flesh and dwell in heaven. Nor did the Word come down to earth in a form that was not the same as that of humanity. But rather the Word sought out humanity, ready to dwell among them. It is through the Christ that God’s glory was brought down to earth. It is through the faith of[1] Christ that humanity can receive eternal life, which comes as a result of God seeking out humanity.

Just as the Tabernacle was not the end, Christ’s time on earth 2000 years ago was not the end either. God has given us an eschatological hope centered in his Word. For as we read in Revelation 21:3-4, “the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Praise God for he has brought us into a living hope! This is the hope of glory, the reason that we worship God. This is what keeps us going when the times get tough, because we know that there will be a day where God and humankind will dwell together in Paradise, just as we did in the Garden before the Fall. It will be a glorious relationship, more perfect than anything we have ever experienced on earth. There will be no pain, no hurting, no broken relationships, no backstabbing: there will only be perfect harmony in eternal Paradise.

There cannot be any doubt that God has a desire to dwell among his creation. This is how it was in the beginning, and is how it will continue to be in the end. God has desired relationship with us. He is like a little child who stands outside the neighbour’s door knocking, waiting to see if their friend will come out and play. Just as he sought out humanity through the Tabernacle and in his Son, God’s Spirit is constantly seeking out creation today. He wants to meet people today. Let us not stand stagnant, satisfied with where we are, but let’s run to God! Run to him, for he is waiting!

Why I Don't Think Rob Bell is a Heretic

Ladies and gentlemen, today, I want to address an issue that makes some Christians very uptight, and some downright angry. No I am not writing about abortion. Nor am I writing about homosexuality or the much conversed about Bill 18. Rather, I come today to address the issue of but one person. A person who has been labelled a heretic by many Christians today, condemned and damned to hell by others, but yet one who is not afraid to talk about the touchy subjects and ask some of the hard question. That person is Rob Bell.

I always knew there was opposition to Rob Bell, especially as a result of his book Love Wins. Although I knew this, I did not know the complete hatred many Christians have against Bell. It was only in watching the trailer for Bell’s newest book What We Talk About When We Talk About God did I realize how back this hatred was. People were openly accusing Bell of being a liar and a heretic, and even going so far as to say that he is one of the false prophets that Jesus warns about in Matthew 7:15.

I want to say this right off the bat that I do not believe Rob Bell is a heretic. There, you have it. Feel free to agree or disagree, but I do not believe that he deserves the amount of criticism that he has received in the recent years, most of which has come over his ever-controversial book Love Wins. I just finished reading Love Wins, but before I address that, I want people to think back to a time before Bell came out with Love Wins.

Arguably one of Rob Bell’s most popular works was his “Nooma” videos (Nooma comes from the Greek word “pneuma” which means spirit/Spirit, wind, breath, etc.). These videos were widely popular during my teenage years, and I remember watching many during my years growing up in youth group. I remember Rob Bell was a big deal, and people loved him. He was the next big thing. But then he did it; he wrote a book that would cause him to be condemned as a heretic, likely by many people who had never even read the book.

I feel confident in stating that last fact because I too was one of those people. I remember sitting in my room as a freshman at Briercrest when I heard about this book. I watched the trailer, and then watched a bunch of responses and did not give Bell a chance; I instantly labelled him as a heretic. But I was wrong.

I was wrong because I never gave Bell a chance. My pastor just gave a wonderful sermon this last week, in which he addressed a hot topic in our community, which reminds me a lot of the Rob Bell issue. This issue has turned Christians on each other, and pastors who support this issue have actually been told by other Christians that they are going to burn in hell. Now maybe this is just me, but that does not sound like the loving kind of Christianity that Christ called us to (anybody remember the verse “love your enemies; pray for those who persecute you”?). One of the issues he addressed is that Christians were condemning each other, but had never actually read the primary source as to which this conflict came from. It is a sheer slap in the face to any sort of academia to begin criticizing one another without actually reading the primary document which is the cause of the controversy. So yes, I do not actually care if you do not agree with Bell, just do not be one of those people who condemns a person/group without actually reading their primary sources (and no, reading someone’s response to a primary document without reading the original document yourself does not count).

The reason that people think Rob Bell is a heretic is they think that he is a Universalist (which means, someone who believes all people will go to heaven no matter what they believe). In Love Wins, Bell challenges Christians to rethink how they view heaven and hell, and goes against the traditional fundamentalist thinking that many North American Christians have grown up believing.

After reading Love Wins, I do not believe that Rob Bell is a Universalist. Nor do I agree with everything he has to say. But what I love about Rob Bell is that he is not afraid to ask the tough questions. He is not afraid to go against the popular viewpoint in pursuit of the truth. Now I am not saying that he should have the final say in all things theological, but his efforts to go beyond the stereotypical norm should definitely be applauded. Because truthfully, we need more Christians who ask the tough questions. We should not be ok with just accepting facts because God says so; that’s not a good enough reason for me to believe. Because at times, there will be tough questions to be answered, where one party thinks God says one thing while another party thinks he is saying another. This is why we need to dig into these issues, so we can find out the true meaning of Scripture. I truly believe this is what will push us into a greater relationship with God.

I have been working at Red Rock Bible Camp for the last 3 summers, and have attended countless chapels. One of the things that I remember from those chapels that sticks out above all other things I have heard came 4 years ago when I was a counsellor in training. The speaker, who is a great friend and mentor to me, made a point of saying that we do not need to be afraid of doubting, because it is doubts that lead to questions. Questions lead to answers and answers, when we are honestly pursuing the truth, lead to God. This is why we do not need to be afraid of asking questions, because when the Holy Spirit is helping us discern our options, it will lead us into greater relationship with God!

That is why I am thankful for authors like Rob Bell, who are not afraid to challenge the norm. These authors are the ones who will push us into deeper relationship with God. Because sometimes we don’t need affirmation of our beliefs, but rather, we need someone to turn us upside down, shake us around and make all our old ideas fall out of our pockets in order that we are able to experience God anew.

What I want to leave you with is the challenge that Bell leaves his readers with in Love Wins. In Love Wins, one of the quotes that really stood out to me was this: "Often the people most concerned about others going to hell when they die seem less concerned with the hells on earth right now." Are we as Christians going to be so concerned about the eternal destination of a person that we forget about their present needs, or will we be Christians so focused on the present needs of others and how, in a spirit of love, we can help better that persons situation so that they would see the Kingdom of God here on earth? For it is as Jesus taught us how to pray “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth on it is in heaven.” For some reason, I have a hard time believing that God’s will in bringing his Kingdom down to earth involved us being the ones who are in charge of eternal condemnation. Rather, I believe the apostle Paul had it correct when he said “the greatest of these is love.”

The Messianic Secret

I had a bit of a breakthrough the other day. I finally understand the Messianic Secret! Some of you are probably thinking "what the heck is he talking about," so for those of you who have never heard of the Messianic Secret, I will do my best to explain.

Throughout the Gospel of Mark, there is a strange theme that shows up over and over again. In Mark's Gospel, Jesus will be shown performing a miracle (usually curing someone), and then after performing this miraculous deed, he will inform the party that he doesn't want them to tell anybody about what the miracle that was just performed. This does not happen just once, but over and over again Jesus tells those people that they should not tell anyone what he has done for them. 

This seems like an outrageous idea.

I remember the first time I heard about the Messianic Secret, I was a freshman at Briercrest sitting in Gospels class with Dr. David Miller. When the topic came up, I was shocked to say the least. Being the good Evangelical Christian that I was, growing up in the Evangelical Mennonite Missions Conference, telling people about Jesus was one of the most pious acts I could think of. When I read these passages in Mark about Jesus healing people, then telling them not to tell anyone about himself, a part of my Christian worldview was shattered. If Jesus told people not to tell others about himself, did that mean I was supposed to do the same?

This idea has baffled me ever since. I have not wanted to ignore this idea, but at the same time, I did not know what to do with it.

The fact of the matter is, Jesus told others not to tell of his works because he did not want to be known solely as a miracle worker. Yes, it is indeed true that Jesus did many miracles, and that the Holy Spirit is still active today performing miracles. But this was not the sole reason for Christ coming down to earth. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and although miracles were a part of his ministry, the reality that we can have a personal relationship with our Lord and Creator is something much more meaningful that any earthly miracle that Jesus performed.

Christ wanted his followers to have a disinterested faith. Our decision to follow Christ and devote our lives to him should not be about the miracles that we are able to experience. For just as with eating food, we become satisfied for a short while, but in the end we get hungry again. So it is with miracles. We are satisfied with a miracle for a short while, but in the end, we will desire to see more miracles, thinking that the past miracles may not have been quite miraculous enough.

Christ wants us to dwell in him, and take part in his yoke. There is more to the Christ character than simply a magician or a miracle worker. He is God, who made himself manifest in order to establish relationship and covenant with his people. Our natural response to this act should be worship, solely because of who God is and the character he withholds, not because of any sort of miracle, not matter how big that sign is. 

Ps. For those of you keeping track at home, just as in most of my blogs, this breakthrough came in Dr. Randy Holm's New Testament Theology class. You could say that he has been thoroughly shaping my theology throughout my last two years at Providence.