Author Archive: Craig

#BlackShirtDay

January 15, 2021 1 Comment

Last week I went on a walk with my youngest. She is thirteen years old. We chatted for a bit as we walked and then both settled into the pace and the quiet.

However, after a time, she asked me, “What are you thinking about?” It’s a favourite question. I answered and then asked her. “What are you thinking about?”

13yr old: I’m wondering if the people who made that show, Raising Dion, are going to make another season.

Me: I really enjoyed that show. I think they will. What do you like about it?

13yr old: I like his super powers.

Me: Don’t you think Dion’s mother was so stressed out? Raising kids with super powers must be something parents have to worry about.

13yr old: I have super powers.

Me: Yes?

13yrd old: I can write stories.

Me: Yes you can!

I’m asking you and I ask myself, “Should I be worried?”

I do worry. But not because of her super powers, but because her skin is black and she is growing up on a continent where white racial preferences and powers so often resist full kinship and economic inclusion with people who are black. She lives in a place where engagements with white people can become authority encounters vacated of generosity and acceptance if the expected respect and deference is not forthcoming. She lives where things turn ugly if the cultural rules of whiteness are not accepted. These kinds of encounters can happen on the street, in a school, on the playground, online, in a restaurant, in a classroom, on a protest line, in a church, at a friend’s house, in the park, at work, in a board room, on the sidewalk, in a store, at a gas station, in an auditorium, in the legislature, on the bus, in the courtroom, on the beach, over coffee…

Will she be ready? Will she be fortified in heart with the courage required to exercise her super powers and not be overcome by evil? Will she know she is beloved?

I know super powers do not protect us from the violence of hate. But I hope if my 13yr old gives voice to her stories and that she will play a part in realizing Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. It’s his birth day, 15 January; he was born in 1929 and died in the year of my birth, 1968, assassinated while I was still in my mother’s womb. I didn’t know him, but I have been shaped by the spirit and content of his powers in speech and in leadership and in his dream.

But still, I worry.

(Here’s a shout out to Harambee Cultural Society who have encouraged us to get beyond worry and do something together. Thank you!)

Change, Society

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Two Houses. One Longing.

January 15, 2021 0 Comments

“After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but there were unaware of it.” Luke 2:43

After his parents spent three maybe five days apart from the 12 year old Jesus, and at least four of those days absolutely frantic about him, he tells his parents, “Why were you searching for me?

Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house.”

Now that is not what most of us would want to hear from a kid on the way to becoming an adult, even a young adult. But Jesus seems to have been tuned into his longings and doing something about them.

Some of us are quite tuned into our longings and grant them high value in our decision making. However, our vision of Christian maturity as a follower of Jesus, doesn’t just unleash every one of our longings as the finished and ultimate truth about us. We recognize that our own longings though they may be good are also susceptible to the kingdom of darkness.

Where there once was innocence now there is guilt.
Where there once was honour now there is shame.
Where there once was trust now there is fear.

In the Kingdom of Darkness guilt longs to be right, shame longs to be respected, and fear longs for security and strength. The answers provided by the Kingdom of Darkness bend us away from Jesus and His ways. We all grow up with some kind of vision even a warped vision of what it means to be a strong, secure, respectable, and righteous human. Warped visions will move toward control, greed, violence, and hateful contempt of Creation, people, including self, and of Jesus.

In the Kingdom of Jesus though guilt is forgiven, shame is covered, and fear is replaced with love. This is what the grace of Jesus accomplishes for us through His incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. When we are living fully in this grace the power of longings and will  are gathered up in a conviction, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house.” “I had to be.” This phrase get’s its urgency from a little greek word, “dei.” Sometimes translated “must,”so in some translations this passage reads, “Didn’t you know I must be in my Father’s house” or “I must be about my Father’s business.”

After Jesus’ baptism He would use the word “dei” to describe with urgency and necessity of the movement of his life toward the Cross. “The Son of Man must (dei) suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must (dei) be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Luke 9:22)

Jesus knew that His longing to be in the things of His Heavenly Father required the Cross. He was compelled to move according to the heart and will of His Heavenly Father.

But Jesus also used the word to describe His movement into another house, the house of Zaccheaus. This wealthy tax collector had profited from his relationship with government officials, probably on both sides of the Roman / Jewish conflict in order to take advantage of many people. But on this day, he wanted to see “who Jesus was,

but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately.

I must stay at your house today.’

So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’

Wow! There it is again. Jesus links His longing to be in the affairs of His Heavenly Father with his actions. This time going to the house of Zaccheaus. 

“I must (dei) stay at your house today.”

Jesus invited Himself to home of a notorious and wealthy man who may have been considered by some to be a traitor, a cheat, a thief, a short man who made their lives mightily difficult. 

Jesus was not all about the religious house or Temple of God. Jesus is all about the interests of His Heavenly Father for people in any house, so that each person may be transformed as the temple of God.

The fruitfulness of actions are not always so obvious. But on this occasion the wisdom of Jesus’ actions are on display for us.

“But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look Lord! Here and now I give half my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’

Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’”

A Prayer:

O Spirit of God, 
I would tune my heart 
to the longings of Jesus,
but my ear lacks perfect pitch.
I open my heart so 
the Father’s heart 
might define 
my reputation.
Your grace must spark 
holy moments 
of redemptive fire 
so what really matters
remains.

Discipleship, Relationships

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Prayer of the People, 8 January 2021

January 11, 2021 0 Comments

Thank you Heavenly Father for bringing us through and into another year. We thank you for the congregations of your church that shine like Jesus’ city on a hill for the lost, discouraged, or perplexed person. Though we are gathering online we thank you that your grace and truth have drawn us to you and to each other. Thank you for loving us.

Thank you for saving us from the crushing weight of our sin. Thank you for Jesus who has  entered into our human condition, bearing the cross for us. You have become for us The Way, The Truth, and The Life. There is no one else for us to go to. You have the words of Life. You are the Word of Life for from you all life and love originates.

As we enter this new term, we commit our lives to you. You know when we sit, when we lie down, and when we rise up. You know the meditations of our hearts. And you know the words of our mouth before we utter them. You know our aspirations and our fears. We surrender these to you and seek to live first for your Kingdom and your righteousness.

Our longing is for you. Help us Lord to number our days aright. Grant us wisdom and the fullness of your Holy Spirit that our hearts may be filled with new songs of your grace.

We lift up our congregation and ask that you would help us grow in love. We pray that you would meet us during the week of prayer coming up and that you would bless all on the Alpha Course.

We lift up churches in our Association for this New Year and pray that their pastors and leaders would be encouraged and fortified for ministry this year. Bless our friends in uVillage Church here at UBC and in The Point Church at SFU.

Heavenly Father we know you love the many peoples of the world and desire to bring them into the family and Kingdom of your Son, so we unite with your heart for people and lift up 

the United States — grant clarity for truth, hope in Jesus, and love for neighbours.
we lift up Iran — may your church continue to boldly make the Gospel of Jesus known.
and we lift up Hong Kong — may your church continue to boldly love the poor and express kinship with the oppressed.

We need you Lord and so we pray…

(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

This prayer was part of the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast on 8 January 2021.

Prayer

Prayer of the People, 2 January 2021

January 4, 2021 0 Comments

Heavenly Father, 

You have carried us into a new year. You gave us the stars and planets in order to mark the passing of our days. And indeed they do pass. But may our life in you continue. Thank you for this grace: by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, you have brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We rejoice in you more than we rejoice in the New Year.
You are the one who makes all things new.
You are the author and perfecter of our faith.
You are the Shepherd of our souls.

In all our relationships we pray that you would be glorified. We confess that we are so unlike you; your thoughts are not our thoughts and your ways are not our ways. Except for your Spirit and your Word and your Church we would be left to our own devices. So we seek you and ask that in this New Year we would not be conformed to the patters of this world, but rather we would be conformed to Christ Jesus our Lord.

We lift up to you the dear people of Croatia. For those languishing in the cold of refugee camps — may you move hearts and embolden authorities to act decently and aggressively for their daily bread and housing. For those struggling because of the recent earthquake — may you grant them peace for anxieties awakened by this shaking and housing for those whose homes have been destroyed. Oh Lord may your church in Croatia thrive as messengers of hope and as neighbours who care.

We lift up to you your church across Canada. As we have gathered online now for months we pray that you would encourage us. Send your Spirit Lord and stir our hearts with love for our brothers and sisters. May the overflow of our fellowship with you and with each other be a blessing to all the peoples.

(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

This prayer was part of the Origin Church Weekend Broadcast on 2 January 2021.

Prayer

Prayer of the People, 27 December 2020

December 28, 2020 0 Comments

Heavenly Father, 

You have brought us into your communion — the communion of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through faith in your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for this grace to believe, taking you at your Word, and adjusting our lives accordingly. 

We believe you, if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come. Come Lord Jesus and cause your joy to spring up in us. We would like to behold again the wonder of your birth and the wisdom of your ways.

During this remembrance of Jesus’ birth we pray that you would be present among us:

comfort those who mourn;
rescue those who despair;
deliver those who wander;

Make known to us the pathway of life and activate the ways of peace by your Spirit.

We praise you, for the forgiveness of sin has cast away the ledger that stood against us! 

Thank you.

We lift up to you our campus communities. We pray that scholars would know you. We pray that students would experience Your refreshing Presence during this break. We pray that those anxious for provisions would be enriched through your abundance abiding in community. Come Lord Jesus, Come.

We lift up to you regions, countries, and people groups yearning for peace in Syria, Yemen, Tigray, Mexico, and Xinjiang. Come Lord Jesus, Come.

(Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer.)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one;
for yours is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, 
forever. 
Amen.

This prayer was part of our Weekend Broadcast released on 26 December 2020.

Prayer

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