Greetings!
What an awesome day at the tampa underground [church]...
[check us out at www.tampaunderground.com]
It is a beautiful thing to see the Good News shared with the poor -- especially the hungry, the homeless, the addicted, the transients, the working girls, the thrown away of our society [and other recovering sinners like me] -- those of us who are poor enough in their spirit that they truly realize their need for God...
We are seeing the poor welcomed in -- included in the community -- plugging into our micro churches -- experiencing the lavish love of the Father [and the affection of the other children in the underground family]...
The initial advent of Jesus was precisely for this purpose -- sharing the Good News with the poor...
On the second Sunday of Advent [and most every Sunday] -- we see Jesus coming afresh in the life of our community -- making sure the message gets through to everyone...
To be real -- aren't we all "poor" -- but some of us [unfortunately] have enough material resources that we don't always realize it -- we hide our poverty behind the facade of our prosperity...
Advent reminds me of my poverty -- of my need -- and of God's radical grace...
Advent reminds me that my identity is established by God's love -- I AM HIS BELOVED CHILD -- not by my own performance...
Advent reminds me [as Brian said so passionately this morning] -- Jesus always comes when we cry out -- he shows up in our puddle of tears -- he is always present in the crucible of human suffering and pain...
Do we care enough to weep over the pain of our world?
If we do -- from our heart -- we will see Jesus come afresh...
As for Nouwen: "A waiting person is a patient person. The word 'patience' implies the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us. Patient living means to live actively in the present and wait there. Impatient people expect the real thing to happen somewhere else, and therefore they want to get away from the present situation and go elsewhere. For them, the moment is empty. But patient people dare to stay right where they are -- WAITING!"
Let's be fully present right where we are and WAIT aggressively...
Blessings!
Guy
Josh and I almost got a dog tonight -- we looked at a Boxer, but the situation did not "feel" right...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment