Navigating the Holidays
Here we are again, wrapping-deep in Christmas week. Messages abound, even mine last week, with lessons and reminders to take the story of the birth of Jesus, rich with colorful characters, looking for lessons for how we might live better lives in our times. The backdrop for Joseph and Mary rivals anything folks face today: Living in an occupied land under a harsh regime, later being refugees fleeing to Egypt to escape a death plot aimed at their child, certainly economic uncertainty, and on it went for them. And they chose to follow God on their interesting journey.
And for us, life can also be interesting. Just when you think the road is clear and somewhat straight, a patch of ice can send a person spinning. What had just been another normal day can transform into something hard to face. Accidents happen. Health can turn south. People disappoint. What’s a person to do…
Proverbs has a wealth of insight and advice for the situations we face. Listen to this slice of verses that I personalized from the end of Proverbs 4.
May my eyes look straight ahead, and fix my gaze straight before me.
May I ponder the path of my feet so that all my ways will be established.
May I not turn to the right or to the left but keep my foot from evil.
You and I who desire to follow Jesus and live out a life worthy of our new name and nature, confront the same life challenges all others face. So, we look to scripture for guideposts by which we can navigate our next steps. More and more, I see the Bible as less a cold manual for living and rather like a rich and warm collection of faith-vignettes to take cues from that the Spirit can use to move me along the journey I’m on.
The gospels show God at street-level. Jesus teaches and explains and comforts and corrects, all in a context of a love that people had never seen before. The book of Acts and all the letters in the New Testament showcase Jesus followers navigating life with their faith in Jesus as their filter. These point-in-time snapshots have so much to teach folk of faith today. Overall, these early believers were forced more and more into the arms of a faithful God and hoping for the best, since they had little idea how it would practically work out, just like us.
If God intended us to be cookie-cutter believers, his instructions in the new covenant would be fully lined out with distinct rules complete with long lists of in-bounds and out-of-bounds thoughts and behaviors. Now, plenty of church folks down through the ages produced lists like this in order to be godly, but with Jesus’ new covenant, we are meant to be free to grow in faith like children of a loving father. It is much harder, in some ways, not to have a clear, one-size-fits-all code of conduct to follow and be seen as godly. Look over the proverb mentioned above. Instead of a list of stuff to do or avoid, this reads more like it is my responsibility to figure out how to live well in my life and let you do you.
It looks like the point of the proverb talks of intent, evaluation, and action.
When it says, "May my eyes look straight ahead…” that has to do with my intention, what things and thoughts I pursue that are worthy of my time.
The book of Hebrews calls for believers to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith." One summer in college I worked on a wheat ranch in eastern Washington. When plowing huge fields, the only way to keep straight lines was to find and focus on some distant, unmoving landmark, and drive straight on toward it. Every time I would take my eyes off that tree or barn the tractor and plow would wander. The same is true for our faith journey. I stay on course when Jesus is my focus.
Next, Proverbs says, "May I ponder the path of my feet so that all my ways will be established."
This calls for self-evaluation. When I ponder, I have to stop long enough to think a matter through and see it from several directions. This phrase tells me that if I want my ways to be established, if I desire to live a life worth living, I better spend time evaluating my path. Sure, this concerns good vs. evil, but all the more, good vs. best. If I want my ways to be established, whatever that looks like, I need to know what is "best" for me to pursue and stay with that, even if it means saying no to good options.
And third, the verse challenges readers with "May I not turn to the right or to the left but keep my foot from evil."
Here we move to action. I master in good intentions and some amount of deeper thought, but often encounter a disconnect when it comes to practical follow through. Often, I don't want to do what I know is best for me to do. Intention is essential and evaluation is key, but without action, all the rest is just mental gymnastics. A fine example is marriage. I can have the best intentions and really think through what is best, but if I don't step up and do stuff that is like what I intend and think, I'm a mess, and so is my marriage. Actions do speak louder than words, and actions boil down to a battle of the will. You and I know that battlefield well.
So, in this note for the week lies an opportunity to go into Christmas ready for anything it can throw our way.
Let's carry our intention to be present and be a present in all the celebrations. And give yourself time to ponder what it would look like to be the best version of yourself this week. Then go for it.
Feliz Navidad
alfredo
and some music for the week
...and a couple of groaning funnies
Woke up at 5:00 a.m.
Completed my 8k run followed up with living room calisthenics.
Showered and made a vegetable smoothie.
Sorry...I don't remember the rest of the dream.
__________
Steve 1: It is outrageous that gas stations are charging for air in tires!
Steve 2: I know why...
Steve 1: (after a long pause) Come on, why?
Steve 2: Inflation