Defeated

It was 25 years ago today that John Lennon was murdered. With where his mind was taking him, it would have been amazing to see what he was doing at age 65. Last night I watched No Direction Home, the new Bob Dylan documentary, in which he spoke about how the artist is "always becoming." That was Lennon. In a lot of ways Lennon was dreaming for God's Kingdom to come, and come soon, and it is sad that a man like that was taken away too soon. The same could be said for King, Medgar Evers, Oscar Romero, etc. It's frustrating sometimes

Right now at work I am helping to prepare an "advent room." It is a sort of gallery where people will experience waiting; waiting for things that they wish would come in this life, experiencing the waiting that the ancient Jews felt before Christ came, and seeking to understand what we are waiting for when we say we want God's Kingdom to come. My specific task is the second advent...to make a gallery of the future (why do I get stuck with the hardest task?). The images I came up with had to do with streams in the desert, polluted lands experiencing deuglification (a CS Lewis word), the hungry finding food, the downtrodden experiencing God, etc. I was very proud of all of these. One image I had was of an AK-47 that was transformed into farming equipment, based on Isaiah 2:4 and the dream that one day there will be no more violence. Call me crazy but I don't really think God loves war. Apparently I am, because I was shot down, as one of my fellow staff members found the very idea offensive. I tried not to preach my politics, and maybe I failed, but it seems idiotic (no matter which side of the current war debate you are on) to think that God loves war and wants there to be more of it in His Kingdom. Even if you think the current war is necessary (which it is not), how could you possibly think God likes it? Who are we gonna kill in Heaven? Am I taking crazy pills here?

Compounded onto all of this is the fact that my dad goes into the hospital today to see if he is still cancer free (it has been one year now since he ended treatment). It's so scary. I come to the world today feeling discouraged and defeated. But maybe that is what advent is about. Today is the day to see hope when everything seems preposterously out-of-whack and you can only look at the world and say "this is not the way it's supposed to be" (the title of Platinga's book on sin).

I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the LORD's anger. He has brought me into deep darkness, shuting out all light. He has turned against me. Day and night his hand is heavy upon me. He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. He has attacked me and surrounded me with anguish and distress. He has buried me in a dark place, like a person long dead. He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains. And though I cry and shout, he shuts out my prayers. He has blocked my path with a high stone wall. He has twisted the road before me with many detours. He hid like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me. He dragged me off the path and tore me with his claws, leaving me helpless and desolate. He bent his bow and aimed it squarely at me...
Yet still I dare to hope when I remember this: the unfailing love of the LORD never ends! Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.
-From Lamentations 3 (NLT)

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: God in Search of Man : A Philosophy of Judaism by Abraham Joshua Heschel.

Currently Listening To: Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks.