Christmas and the End of the World

by Dr. Mark Brewer :: Advent looks back as well as forward. We celebrate not only the birth of Christ, but the Blessed Hope of Christ’s return. No one expected God to enter the world the way He did the first time. Who could have imagined the Creator entering His creation as that humble Child in the manger? Just like the world missed how he would come the first time, Jesus said the world would be “asleep at the wheel” when He returns. The big difference is that no one will miss this return appearance. “As lightning flashes through the sky from the east to the west so will be the coming of the Son of man” (Matthew 24). The “blessed hope” as the Apostle Paul calls Christ’s return will answer not only all of our questions, but every injustice will be reversed, every lonely heart fulfilled, and every dream fulfilled beyond comprehension.
 
There is so much in the Scriptures about the Second Coming of Christ. God must have wanted us to reflect on it and rest in it. The “end of the world” is never a term found in the New Testament. There is the “end of the age” but the promise of a new “earth and a new heaven.” God is going to do the ultimate recreation event when He renews the cosmos and redeems His people. One thing we know is that the world will keep getting “better and worse” at the same time. The wheat and the weeds will grow next to each other until the harvest. When we are tempted to doubt the future, all we have to do is look to what stunning detail God fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets in the first coming of Christ. We have a reason to rejoice this season. Christ has been born!  Our pasts are forgiven, our futures are secure, and our present lives are in His loving hands! What good news, indeed!

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Make it happen or wait for it?

by Dr. Mark Brewer :: Advent is a marvelous time of the year. For the church it marks the beginning of the year. The word advent comes from the Latin adventus which means ‘that which is coming towards you.’ I like that so much. Our English word ‘future’ means to predict what is going to happen. Advent is kind of the opposite. Its not about our predicting, or making our futures. Its more about receiving the future that God has already created and is rolling towards us. So do I try and make it happen, or do I wait for it to happen on its own? The answer is once again ‘yes.’ The biblical understanding of ‘waiting’ is not passive lack of movement. It is the trust and faith that we are merely cooperating with what God is already doing. What a relief and life changing assurance when we grasp the truth of God’s sovereign hand at work in our lives and history itself. This is not some ‘ prerigged’ determinism where we are mere pawns in some cosmic chess game. We are indeed very involved and working with God in His plan to redeem the world. The good news is we don’t need to sweat the outcome. Just like watching a recorded game we already know the final score, we get to watch and play in the ultimate contest. The good news is we know God wins and that means his children with Him. As Paul said ”we are heirs and co heirs with Christ.” Wow!

We won… Let’s eat!

by Dr. Mark Brewer :: A Rabbi friend of mine summarized all the Jewish holidays as basically “We won… Let’s eat!” There is a great degree of truth to that when you consider Passover, Rosh Hashana (new year), Tabernacles, and Purim (Feast of Esther) all deal with the remembrance of God’s deliverance. As we approach the great American holiday of Thanksgiving it is fascinating to see how important eating is in life. Once again it was a group of people who were celebrating God’s deliverance over the banquet table. Meals are important to life. I don’t mean in eating healthy (yes… I’ll try harder) but in the fact that God has always used “breaking bread together” in deep symbolic ways. The idea of partaking of physical nourishment to replenish our bodies, while at the same time partaking of relational nourishment is powerful. Of course the ultimate salvation feast is the Lord’s Supper. When we partake of Communion with the Lord Jesus present by the Spirit it is life changing. How great is that in Revelation the final victory of God is not a parade but the “”Marriage Feast of the Lamb?” So as we gather with family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ these coming holidays, let’s celebrate and enjoy the marvelous gifts of God. Bon Appetit for the body and soul!

Visual or Auditory

by Dr. Mark Brewer :: I’ve been sharing about how Calvin this last year (on his 500th birthday) helped change Geneva, Switzerland, into what he thought would be a great city for Christ. One of the things Calvin actually embraced was the arts for Christ. It is true some misguided zealots of these new Protestants destroyed beautiful works of art in the Cathedrals because they thought they were idolatrous. But Calvin actually appreciated good art for God’s glory. He seems to have spent more time addressing music over the visual arts. A simple room with heart felt songs and preaching were his goals.

It is always interesting to me which impacts people more—what they see or what they hear. Would you rather have an ugly room with great sounding music, or bland music in a beautiful sanctuary? Of course it not an ‘either/or’ thing. But I do get feedback all the time on how the sanctuary looks as well as who picked that last song. I love that the Lord made us all different in what speaks to us. We’ll just keep trying to offer the best we can to glorify God. As long as we remember God’s warning through Isaiah, “these people worship Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me.” The crucial quality God loves is not found in our ears or eyes…but our hearts.

Being Relevant

by Dr. Mark Brewer :: I was recently speaking to a group of twenty-something church leaders. I am so pumped up about the future church with the women and men God is raising up. It also made me think of the old adage “whoever marries today’s fad is tomorrow’s widower.” One of life’s great ironies is that often the more we try to be relevant, the sooner we become irrelevant. Yet the more we are tied to the things eternal the more current we become. The reason is that the unchanging things of life are what everyone relates to on some level. Things like friends, love, beauty, and kindness. If there was ever a “postmodern” person it was Francis of  Assisi in the 12th century. As I talk with the students of today there are three big issues for them: the environment, not being socially isolated, and caring for the poor. Francis was someone who was totally in love with the Creator and His Creation. Long before “going green” was cool (or even necessary) Francis praised God in the wonder of the creation. He was someone who was definitely more relationally-driven than organizationally. He loved the church and was a deep sacramentalist who found Christ in the worship and elements of communion. But what really “turned his crank” was the love and caring of people and his “little band of brothers.” He particularly loved the poor and disenfranchised. It’s funny how every time I read or hear about the latest postmodern “emerging church” idea, it just drips with the life of Francis of Assisi. Some people are ahead of their times. Or maybe the times are just catching up with them. If I am going to relate with the city of Los Angeles in the fall of 2009, I had better make sure I’m connected to the deep and unchanging things of God.

September 31

by Dr. Mark Brewer :: I remember in grade school having a tough time trying to figure out which months had only thirty days. So I decided to try to convince my teacher it was okay that I missed the right date on my homework. Who decided to come up with these calendar rules anyway? Life is like that in many ways. Our calendars and God’s seems to be out of sync. Why is it in life you make the least money (in early adulthood) when you need it the most with new families, careers, and everything? Why is it, as the old saying goes, “too early we get old; too late we get smart?” Mark Twain said, “youth is wasted on the young.” I think it’s all about the whole faith thing. The mature and deep Christian is the one who continually relies more and more on Christ—not less. She knows that God will take care of things even when new seasons and times take hold. The Christian man who has navigated the rough waters of life can sleep well at night knowing he will never totally “connect the dots” on so much of life—except for the fact of God’s immeasurable love and trustworthiness. As we go into the month of October, it is good to know that God’s calender is perfect in all of our lives. “He knows the seasons and the times declared for us,” the prophet reminds us. So have a blessed October no matter what season we find ourselves passing through. The Risen Christ is with us!

The Devil’s Tools

by Dr. Mark Brewer :: During these tough economic times I’m reminded of the old story (from colonial days) of the Devil selling his tools to raise a little money. An old farmer went to see what he could buy. There was the “whip of fear” to frighten any opponents. Next to it was the “hammer of guilt” to break the strongest heart. Over in the corner were the arrows of hate, and the rope of lust to stop the strongest adversary. But in the back of the Devil’s storehouse was a dark, heavy blanket. “How much is that?” asked the old farmer. The devil said “that one’s not for sale. It’s my greatest weapon.” It was the blanket of discouragement. How true. Sometimes the toughest thing to overcome is discouragement. Evil doesn’t have to destroy us. All Satan has to do is get us to drop out of the fight all by ourselves and evil has won.

An 18th century Scot once summarized life by saying, “The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence; from bondage to spiritual faith—from spiritual faith to courage—from courage to liberty—from liberty to abundance— from abundance to selfishness—from selfishness to complacency—from complacency to apathy—from apathy to dependency—from dependency back to bondage.”

I believe we are living in an ever increasingly apathetic world. Sadly, much of the church has drifted down the river of “who cares.” When we are simply mirrors of a mean-spirited, decadent, materialistic, boastful, amusement obsessed culture, it is time to come back to our senses. The answer is to become dependent upon God and not ourselves or others. When life has knocked the wind out of us, and we don’t have the courage to take the next step, that is when the power of diligent and hopeful prayer takes over. Let’s commit ourselves this fall to throw the “blanket of discouragement” off our backs. Let’s all take the next step in finding the love, peace, and joy of the spirit. God knows how we get scared and discouraged. It’s why Christ said, “in the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer —I have overcome the world!” What an en-courager we serve!

Jet Lag

by Dr. Mark Brewer :: Anytime I have to fly somewhere I’m always amazed at the wonders of this era. Like jet lag. The clock on my watch during a meeting tells me its one time, but my body tells me just to go to sleep. (I guess lots of people every Sunday are jet lagged when I’m preaching.) Time is one of the things that fascinates us all. Cutting edge physics is so much about time and space. God loves his creation of time. The bothersome thing is that God doesn’t seem to understand our expectations of when things should get done.

Our Jewish friends are about to celebrate New Year or Rosh Hashanah (head of the year). To them it’s New Year 5770. To us its September 18, 2009. Both are right and God works in both calenders. When we take stock of our own lives this new academic year, I wonder how close our timing matches God’s in expectations and priorities.

When Jesus met Simon he told him, “So you are Simon. You will be Peter.” We all live in the “no longer but not yet” tension. You are Simon—with all the insecurities and self interests of any one. But Jesus said, “I am going to make you into a Rock”—Petros in the Greek—Cephas in the Aramaic. When Jesus Christ looks at me he says, “You are Mark, but I am transforming you into the person to share eternity with Me,” it’s not up to us to do the changing so much as it’s up to us to cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctifying each of us.That’s true for our families, our careers, our dreams, and certainly our church. It is also true of Los Angeles.

God loves the city. Not the crime, pollution, corruption, meanness, and loneliness. He loves the people and even the possibility of the city He would have to love Him and others. I want to quit trying so hard to control my calendar and let the Lord be the Lord of time in my life. It really is peaceful to know God has all things in His caring hands and we can rest in His peace, His provisions, and His promises. Happy new year!

Second Violin

by Dr. Mark Brewer :: Someone once asked Leonard Bernstein what was the hardest instrument to play in the orchestra. “Second Violin” was his immediate answer. Why? Because they have to be almost as good as the first violin and yet not get the glory. As we are looking at Calvin’s Geneva (on his 500th birthday) we run into someone who was a great “second violin.” Philip Melancthon was not only great at befriending both Martin Luther as well as John Calvin, he was in many ways the scholar for Luther’s works. Since they both worked together at the University, Phillip Melancthon was their to help behind the scenes. It was he who helped write the scriptures into German. It was he who helped in some of the more technical theological questions. And yet others get all the credit. If we are going to change Los Angeles, we have to be mature enough to not care which church, ministry, or person gets the credit. Easy to say, but tough to do when you know some people are “more talk than walk,” yet others adore them.

One day John the Baptist was being grilled by his followers because the new preacher in town (that would be Jesus) was getting all the attention. John’s great response in the third chapter of John was, “this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase as I decrease.” Learning to celebrate others’ success is so difficult. I know it is for me. Why? Because our old sinful nature is riddled with competition and insecurities. Yet the good news is we are not in competition for our Heavenly Father’s love. It really is hard to “accept our acceptance” as the German theologian Helmut Theilicke said. God loves us right where we are right now. He won’t leave us there, but He accepts us right this moment. One of the most liberating truths in life is to find joy in another’s blessings, even when we are not so blessed. When we all stand before the Lord He is the One who will give out the real recognition. In the mean time, I’m going to try and not be so concerned about people who I think are not so deserving being blessed. I want to be more “Melancthon-like.”