Friday, March 12, 2010

I Remember Jesus

One night I was very, very sick.
I had a fever and lay motionless, miserably studying the yellow light that spilled along the edges of my varnished bedroom door.
Comfort broke through my misery along with the light each time my mom came in to check on me. Her hand felt cool on my forehead and she encouraged me as mother's do. I can still sense what her presence was like beside me. If I were an artist, I could draw the scene in minute detail.
That took place almost 50 years ago. Half a century.
My Grandmother gave me a vivid account of the time she was weeding the family garden in Nebraska and her sister accidently struck her in the head with a hoe. The weather and events of that day played back to me through Grandma's recall like HD TV. That happened almost 100 years ago. A century.
The Apostle John wrote his personal account of Jesus' ministry within 40 - 60 years of the resurrection. The Apostle Paul's memoirs (epistles) earlier than that.
Last month we visited a special museum exhibit of the Dead Sea scrolls. These ancient fragments were discovered in the 1940's near Qumran, on the West Bank of the Jordan river. As it turns out, the Qumran scrolls date back 2,000 years and demonstrate that texts of the Hebrew bible from the middle ages match closely their predecessors of the previous millenium. In short, nothing's been lost in the translation...literally.
Accompanying the exhibit were also copies of early New Testament bible texts. I was surprised to learn that there are copies of Paul's letters in existence that are dated - with some debate - to the late 3rd century. That's the late 200's.
If my daughter lives another 75 years and gives her daughter the account of my grandmother's memorable day in the family garden, it will be as fresh as Paul's record of early Christianity.
My mother's soothing words. Grandma's vivid recollection of the warm blood spilling down her head.
John and Paul had even more stimulous and reason to capture detailed and accurate accounts of their historical record.
"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, be we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." 2Peter 1:16

What do you believe?



Sunday, March 07, 2010

Free Fitness Equipment

I was striding across the main floor of our three story atrium at work.
It's nice, simple architecture with lots of light, a couple of conversation couches and a tree or two.
As I exited to the corridor, a sheet of white paper on the wall caught my eye,
Free Exercise Equipment
This was not an employee bulletin board where you might expect to see personal items for sale or trade. It was the middle of a corporate space, with scotch tape holding the paper to an elegant strip of tastefully stained walnut.
Free Exercise Equipment
I read it again and tried to get the context. It was on a wall immediately adjacent to the open atrium stairway. It's 3 stories of granite steps held in place by an artfully positioned suspension system. For a moment, I considered climbing the stairs just to see what kind of exercise equipment must be on display two floors up.
Then it dawned on me and I smiled. The stairs were the free exercise equipment. You don't need an expensive healthclub membership to climb stairs at work or anywhere else. It's free. What a clever way to associate productive value with something already in our midst.
Free Life-Coach Manual
That got me to thinking - what other titles or printed tent cards might we place next to a Bible?
Free Relationship Restoration Guide
Sometimes people hear or see the word "Bible" and immediately recoil or get suspicious. What is it going to make me do ? What am I going to have to change?
But there is so much comfort and reassurance and affirmation in the Bible. God loves us where we are at - foot of the stairs or top of the stairs.
Free Map to Hope, Joy and Love
I usually take the stairs in that atrium anyway. I'm accustomed to it. It takes a little extra time and cardio, but its more refreshing than standing in an elevator. I actually feel better after taking the stairs. Not everybody thinks so. They might need a little coaxing. Or a maybe just a different way of thinking about it.
It's still the same set of stairs, but once you try it, you're surprised that someone had to talk you into it.

What do you believe?