Gods presence became hyper-real it invaded time and space, it broke the boundaries of dualism as Christ was entrusted to humanity. Gods presence is no less real in the world today the kingdom has come and pervades all we are and do, our mission is part of this kingdom we are not bringing God to a dark, but God has already been birthed in our community.
Advent reminds us of the risk God took by entrusting Jesus to a people group, a place and a time. A time of upheaveal, of mixed group of people some of whom believed and some of whom didn’t but trusting that by Christ they might touch God. Our mission is also one of similar risks and that as WE go to be with people that we may learn, even through the upheaveal in our souls that going can cause, we can learn and the possibility to experience what it is to touch God.
As the wise men saw the star, it was their preparations and awareness that enabled them to see. In the mix of the stars the one they followed was brightest. Mission is the brightest star that lights up and enable worship and service, following the path of mission leads US to the Christ child.
Previously on this site I have suggested that the doctrine of dualism is the core original sin. So what is dualism , a ‘googled’ definition calls it ‘the doctrine that reality consists of two basic opposing elements, often taken to be mind and matter (or mind and body, or good and evil.’
Dualism is one of the main reasons that prevents people from connecting to God, themselves, creation and each other. The doctrine of dualism seeks to separate and to divide, to split creating a them/us, in/out/ right/wrong, win/lose, secular/sacred way of thinking and behaving. Dualism creates polarities, opposition and ultimately competition with someone always having to be the loser. Psychologically this doctrine hinders growth and produces internal splits which cause lasting emotional damage. Physically, many people are out of touch and out of tune with their bodies and with matter and often with what ‘really matters.’
So here goes my simplistic armchair theology…
1st testament – God the parent –
I think much of the language and the stories written in the Old Testament are dualistic in nature… there is a God who you can’t see, you can’t touch, a vengeful God, a patriarchal distant fearful figure who lives on a mountain. There were clear ways of approaching God, clear structures of worshipping him and clear rules to know if you were in or out. In essence this was a story of a strict parent dealing with the naughty child. God needed to set clear boundaries and regulations; he took full responsibility for their behaviour.
2nd testament – human becomes the parent
In the 2nd chapter / testament things are different, the whole thing is turned upside down and all rules are off. Instead of God being the parent, humans become the parent. God had sex (somehow) with a human women and we are introduced to a God who is born within a women, who becomes part of the human race, a god who is small and who can be held, touched, fed and who needs us. God has become one of us, all divisions are broken, all disconnections off… no secular/ sacred divide, God is here, with us. God has now given us the responsibility look after ourselves, others and creation and even God. With this responsibility there is no easy in/out or black/white divide, with God dwelling and residing is us we must learn to cooperate, and allow God to find us in our body, in our mind, in our feelings, in our world, in our humanity.
What excites me about advent and the story of the incarnation is that Jesus contradicts this dualistic doctrine with his birth and with his body. The advent of a new way of being has begun !!
A few years ago the children decided to hang stars in advent as a constant reminder of the direction we were heading in. Missional consistency isn’t just about regular contact or maintaining the relationship, it is about a consistency of movement and reflection. Stillness in the being and Stillness in the doing, so we can consistently try to keep step with what our father in heaven is doing, being open to see the Christ child whereever they may be in the stable or in the skatepark.
The focus of advent is to orient ourselves towards Christ, yet in mission it is too easy to orient towards the people, or the task or the time available. The critical link is the need to orient ourselves to see Christ in the people, the task or the time.
This season of advent each day (although advent always seems to be way to busy so no promises) I want to take a word that links mission and advent and reflect briefly.
Awareness in advent is obvious but the concept is critical in mission. How aware are we of our motives, our position, our power, and God? Advent is a season of preparation but what missional awareness preparations do we make. Practicing the presence of God in our lives and basic awareness exercises help us prepare. Yet in the bustle of mission as in the bustle of Christmas it is too easy allow this busyiness to cloud our awareness, and shadow our missional consciousness.
If you are looking for the resources and slides I mentioned in the training session yesterday you can find the bits and pieces by clicking on the bit you want or looking on the right below
FLOW stories
Off the beaten track and The tacking church see links on the right
SLIDES
heretical imperative
please don’t forget to give a notice in your church about the widows mite appeal
Do something small to make a big change for young people! Text the word MITE to 82540 and help Frontier Youth Trust raise £100,000.
Please could everyone turn their mobile phones ON! An unusual request in church – but let me tell you why!
Imagine the young people you see most days, the young people that every one complains about hanging on the streets and in local parks, the young people who are avoided, now imagine those young people being in regular contact with a Christian youth worker with the skills and support to get alongside them and see lives transformed. StreetSpace is a new initiative from Frontier Youth Trust already working successfully with 100’s of young people just like those you have just imagined, young people that would not come near a traditional church. The work has been so successful that Frontier Youth Trust has been awarded £60,000 to start rolling StreetSpace projects out across the country. The plan now is to grow 36 new StreetSpace projects and we need your mobile phones to make this happen!
We recognise money is tight for most people at the moment so we are simply asking for lots of people (actually 100,000!) to contribute a small amount, their widow’s mite (see Mark 12: 41-44), via a text message. We are asking Christians everywhere to turn on their mobile phones and to text their individual mite to help us help young people and workers engage with what God is doing on the streets.
So please turn on your phone now and text the word MITE to 82540 – calls will cost £1.50 and over a pound will go directly to the StreetSpace initiative. Text with all your mite (excuse the pun!) If you don’t have your phone today write the number down and text when you get back and don’t forget to tell your friends to text as well.
we usually make our christmas cards around now but as the children get older they seem to get more complex. This year tuffy did a graphic to print, and I did an image for our news.
Can you guess whose is whose?
