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It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Martha Agnes Easter (nee Worthy) on January 9, 2017. Martha was born in Shaunavon, SK on November 4, 1935 and was the youngest of 4 children. She is survived by her husband (John) and 3 children (Martha Jean, Ian, and Elizabeth). Martha and John ministered in Nigeria and later were posted as CBM missionaries to India where they lived for 19 years. She was involved in the international school as dorm parent, teacher, nurse, bible study leader, and musician. She also used her gifts to help transform the lives of women in local villages. They worked at First Baptist Church in Victoria before retiring and making Laurier Heights Baptist Church (Edmonton) their home.

An introduction to an introduction to Easter

Dear friends,

As many of you are aware from common conversation and recent studies a large number of people in this country claim they are Christian and affiliated with a particular church.  You may also be aware that very few attend or are part of a Christian community on a regular basis.  When the over 22 million Canadians do attend church, in Roman Catholic, Orthodox, United, Lutheran, and a variety of other denominations, they follow a regular set of Bible readings and what is referred to as “liturgical church year”.  This begins 4 Sundays before Christmas in Advent preparing for the birth of Jesus.  While it includes many other highlights the 1 celebration or season of the church year that is critically important is the preparation for Easter known as Lent.

Why is this important?

It is important for evangelicals who don’t celebrate Lent to get around to preparing for Easter. Because many of us are not conscious of either the lectionary or the church year our hymnody, worship, and teaching tend to alight on the Resurrection without fully embracing the whole Easter narrative found in the gospels and especially in the gospel of John.  To phrase it another way, from a conversation Jill Schuler and I had, we find ourselves rushing after Good Friday to put up the Easter decorations without ever truly embracing the fuller experience of Christ, his Passion, or indeed the historic and present Christian church.

The other advantage is that it is essentially the message of Easter that is the most appropriate and wonderful expression of the faith and opportunity to talk to others.  This is especially true for that very large group of people who profess a nominal or disengaged faith but may be open at Easter.  Christmas has become too sentimental for many; never mind too materialistic.  Easter has some of the common narratives of the culture: new birth, renewal, resurrection; all of which are the most powerful gift the Christian faith can offer.  So for many in our family of churches this is an outstanding opportunity to share and talk with others.  Those opportunities present themselves as gifts from the Holy Spirit when we ask the Lord 2 questions:

1. Lord, would you make yourself known to me?

2. If it be your will would you make yourself known to others through me?

Next week we will reflect together on who those people might be so that this Lent and this Easter might truly bring new birth and new faith not only to those we know but maybe to the perfect stranger that is known only to God but not yet to us.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy

Quote of the Week: To paraphrase Chesterton: When people start believing everything there comes a point when they no longer believe in anything.

News from the Family: I know of a pastor with young children who for 10 minutes immediately after the service the whole family gathers in this pastor’s office to celebrate the joys of the day together as a family before the pastor goes out to those who have attended the service.  I’m deeply moved by this pastor.

Do not go gently into this night because night never overcomes the light of Jesus (John 1:5)

Dear friends,

The picture that you see is from Trinity Baptist Church at 49^thAve and Granville in Vancouver.  They have been placing a phrase, an inspirational thought, on their sign for what seems like decades now.  

I have rarely been more proud of the visible presence of one of our churches than I was 2 days ago when I came across this one.  The intersection where Trinity is located is one of the most travelled routes on the way to the airport.  Hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, see this sign every year.  That is true not only of visible signs from our churches but it is also true of many of you who are reading this letter.  You see the signs of Christ in lives prayerfully lived out to God’s glory.  To be blunt there is something more important in this message.  It isn’t just a popular, culturally-relevant platitude.  That second phrase “our Muslim friends” bears truth in the life of Layne Daggett who is on staff at Trinity who is a former Vancouver Airport chaplain.  He welcomes people of all backgrounds in Christ’s name and actually has Muslim friends.  Would that that be true of more of us.

In the mayhem and chaos of world politics… yes, everywhere… in the lack of public truth telling and in the tragedy of misplaced words and facts (I do mean at home and abroad)… in the place where the levelling of Aleppo was a political football and not the tragedy of dying children… and where looming famine in particular parts of the world are found in places too familiar (as we so well know, familiarity breeds contempt).  In that kind of world I get buoyed up and sing for joy when I drive past signs at Trinity Baptist Church knowing that they believe what they say and speak in the strength of Christ.  I shout out names of good and righteous folk, many of whom are my friends and yours… those who don’t need a microphone placed in front of them to speak God’s truth:

The folks at the Emerson Church who are navigating how to stand up for those who are fleeing their country of origin and the United States at the border in their town.

Catherine Morris from Emmanuel in Victoria who sees the necessity to address human rights in far away places but has the profound integrity to see the need to press those issues in Canada.  Note also she has helped to facilitate discussions on the Doctrine of Discovery.

To the church who will remain nameless for the confidentiality of the child involved, who remade a Sunday School context for an autistic child even to the point of bringing in the child’s community caregiver so that it was done well so the one child who Christ loves could be treated with respect and dignity and be part of a community that received them.

This is not to mention the countless acts of hospitality and welcome practiced by individuals and churches in our midst.  Thank you Lord.  I call out the wonderful multi-cultural ethnicity of our family of churches.  I see Christ’s “choir” as it were singing and sharing, celebrating and coming to faith in the Lord Jesus rather like in Gerard Manley Hopkins poem “Christ shines in ten thousand Places”.  And He does shine.  For if we claim the darkness to be our reality we deny the truth and eternal light of our Lord.  In the words of the Keats Camp house band referring to Jesus, “He told the night it was not the day.”  May we believe that.  May we trust that.  May we celebrate that and look for Jesus shining in ten thousand places.

Here is the full line of the Gerard Manley Hopkins poem from “Kingfishers Catch Fire”:

for Christ plays in ten thousand places,

 Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his

To the Father through the features of men’s faces.

Mother Theresa claimed that she could see the face of Christ in those she served.  Might we not see her clarity as the whimsy of an Albanian/Indian nun or as an exception but indeed between Hopkins and Theresa find evidence of that in our own lives and all around us.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy

Quote of the Week: Under the topic of “alternative facts” and to paraphrase Bill Bryson:

Scientist #1 says, I need to tell God these facts.

Scientist #2 says, Don’t you think he already knows them?

Scientist #1 responds, He knows the facts he just doesn’t know this set of the facts.

News from the Family: Some of our camps have already filled up some sections for their summer program.  Please pray that we don’t just fill up the numbers but we also are praying for the preparation of those who are working towards facilitating the summer camping season and in their selection of counsellors.

Dear friends,

It is with great pleasure that our VP of Personnel and Programme, Kayely Rich, “guest writes” the newsletter today with her announcement of the appointment of our new Executive Minster, Rob Ogilvie, a dear friend and colleague.  More than enough said on my part.  I will let Kayely’s announcement speak for itself.  Next week we will catch up on the Board happenings.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy

NEW EXECUTIVE MINISTER

On behalf of the CBWC Board, it is my great pleasure to announce the hiring of our next Executive Minister, Rev. Rob Ogilvie. Rob currently serves as the BC/Yukon Regional Minister for the CBWC. Rob brings a strong, consistent faith and a passion for seeing the CBWC and its partners working together to see greater things happen for the Kingdom. Rob is described by many as being a collaborative leader who really cares deeply for others. Rob knows the CBWC well, having pastored in BC and SK prior to joining the CBWC staff. You will have the opportunity to welcome Rob to this new position and get to know him a bit better at our upcoming CBWC Gathering  May 25-27 (see cbwc.ca/assembly for details of this event).

Dear friends,

There are so many encouraging and exciting things unfolding in our family of churches that there is no room in 1 letter to touch them all. Next week there will be an awful lot of stories… Stories from Haupi Tombing as a chaplain with the Navy on a frigate over Christmas and from Jodi Spargur (Grandview Calvary Baptist) and Catherine Morris in their work with indigenous concerns to name a few.  There are also some very heartening initiatives so that we might broaden our nominations for the myriad of Boards that we appoint to as the CBWC… These things and much more.

For today we will look at some realignment of staff time. A very gifted and encouraging staff they are.

Bob Webber will assume a greater involvement with the Communications and Stewardship group, along with the new and developing ministry of Legacy, Wills, and Bequests.  (It will be of interest to several of you that Jack and Catherine Farr’s estate passed on a very generous gift in these last few months).

Louanne Haugan, who at present is our Office Manager, and supervises Pensions and Benefits, will be delegating some of those responsibilities and over the next few months, redirecting 40% of her time to development.  Development simply means the encouragement and support of donors who seek to engage particular ministries in our family of churches.  Many of our partner organizations have people in these positions: our sister denominations, CBM, many of our camps, and Carey Centre.

Faye Reynolds will be broadening her portfolio to include some of the tasks Bob Webber has been engaged in and will become Director of Ministries.  The Director of Ministries has 2 primary roles.  The first is to ensure, along with the Executive Minister, all the resourcing needed in our churches and our programs to collaborate in meeting the needs of local congregations.  The second major role is to nurture effective communication between ministries, partners, local areas and regions so as to ensure that the best work is done at an appropriate cost. There are over 3 dozen ministries and areas of service to keep track of and Faye, like Bob before her, has considerable experience and trust in the constituency.  It was a position mandated by the 2010 Board review of Executive Staff.

Zoe Ducklow, who is finishing her Masters in Journalism, will be our new Senior Writer, replacing Ceal McLean, who having served us ably, is retiring.  The role of writing in our denomination has been shared for some time now with Cailey Morgan, who will continue to contribute in this area and will also continue her work in social media.  Ceal has chaired our Communications & Stewardship group, been our Senior Writer, and conducted our communications audit.  She is a remarkable writer, prompter of excellence, and a person who is equally comfortable with the overview as she is with details.  She came to us from the private sector and has been a profound encouragement to this work and this family of churches.  She was a member of Kits Community Church.  She has returned to Victoria with her husband Ged where they used to live.  She is a good friend and a cherished colleague.  She will be deeply missed. Many thanks, Ceal.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy

Quote of the Week: T. S. Eliot’s Father Confessor once commented about Eliot: “He was a thoroughly converted man.”  Am I a thoroughly converted Christian?

News from the Family: Please pray for those churches in transition and in need of settlement. Please pray for Dennis Stone as he works with the Regional Ministers in this very important area.

Dear friends,

A lot of emotional energy and relational capital has been expended in the Canadian and American elections and in the perpetual political machinations of Europe.  We often find ourselves too tired, fed up, or simply apathetic to invest ourselves in the political process post election.  Just to talk about the Canadian election alone… (Just to stir the pot up a bit.  Don’t worry I’m quoting others here in the main)  but what do you do with a political process that continues to promise one thing and practice another?  1 federal party campaigns from the left and governs from the centre.  Another political party campaigns from the right and governs from the centre.  Yet a 3rd party campaigns from the left and will probably never govern at all.  Then there is the perpetual Anglican seminary student, Elizabeth May, that lonely Green voice… enough said.  As Christians we have some important things to be and to do in the following of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  These things to do, as it were, are a series of voices.

A respectful voice: We are called to honour those in authority (Romans 13:1-7).  It is profoundly irrelevant whether you like someone or not.  I will never forget when I was in seminary at Fuller in Pasadena when my Afro-American neighbour was being harassed by 4 white police officers.  She started screaming out my name and when I ran down the stairs of our duplex to see what was wrong, the police officers disappeared.  I followed them to write down their license plate and had Romans 13 quoted at me.  I need to say to you I have police officers in my family and I respect the calling.  My Afro-American neighbour’s partner was a dangerous fellow even if they should have left her out of it.  Authority while it should be respected should also be open to challenge.

A supportive voice: Supportive is not he same as agreement.  Most reasonable observers know that.  However, it does mean at the very least that we personally, and in our corporate worship, pray for those who are willing to engage in public service.  I was somewhat amused but, more than a little grumpy when, at a Prayer Breakfast in Western Canada the politicians in the room were introduced by name, riding, and party with the exception of the 1 MLA that was not of a Conservative persuasion.  Amusing, sort of, but also sad.  When Christ’s people get together to pray it needs not be a partisan event.  

An accountable voice: It stands to reason that while we “give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s”, we need to accountably remind the Caesar’s of this world what is God’s and they will not tread thereon.  We need to be careful when we make those observations that they are not simply a projection of our cultural biases but are indeed a commitment to holding elected officials accountable.

A prophetic voice: The prophets are full of holding us accountable for the treatment of widows and orphans (for example Isaiah 1:17).  Jesus is particularly clear in Matthew 25.  Furthermore, I will never forget Christ’s comment as he entered Jerusalem that the very stones would cry out if we did not.  May we be the first to cry out for the vulnerable and the suffering, in light of injustice and the caricature of our faith.  Might we not have to wait for the stones to be articulate when we are not. 

We may not like those in power or those in opposition.  We may well also be distressed at what unfolds around us in an uncertain, precarious, volatile, and predatory world.  We might long for leaders that don’t seem to be obsessed with selfies and Twitter.  However, for now, we need to take up our responsibility as people of faith.  It is not how we feel about these things (and believe me I feel passionately about them); it is how we are wiling to act in the months and years ahead.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

Dear friends,

This last week was Epiphany.  That is important for a lot of reasons.  Let me name some.

• Epiphany is celebrated on January 6^th and marks the visit of the Wise Men (Magi) to the Christ child.
• Epiphany was generally understood to be the end of Christmas for Western Christianity.  Because it is so widely celebrated it is a good opportunity to talk with friends, neighbours, co-workers and family about the Christ of Christmas.  Conversations that can set the table for future conversations, prayer, and hospitality… You get the drift.
• Epiphany can popularly mean an inspiration, a sudden awareness, or a revelation of some kind.  Historically, it actually means the presentation of Jesus to the “Gentiles” (meaning the Magi) or the manifestation of God… Mouthfuls of words but a very simple meaning actually… How did Christ manifest himself to you this past year, at Christmas, and into the New Year?… How indeed does Jesus make himself known to me each and every day?

Epiphany then identifies with a celebration that many “committed” and “marginal” Christians are aware of.  Epiphany prompts us to look for the “manifestation”, presence, engagement and prompting of Christ by his Spirit each day.

In addition, thank you for those of you who responded to reading the Neil Postman quote last week.  The source of that quote was my son-in-law Stephen Morris who I am grateful to. 

Finally, I am also puzzled that more folk have not taken me up on the invitation to share your own personal devotional patterns.  Mine seem quite narrow, almost impoverished, and I would gain enormously from sharing different ways of entering into personal devotional life.  Could you please share with the larger constituency those things?

In conclusion, there are many things to pray for.  In the interests of brevity 2 in particular come to mind.  Please pray for Dennis Stone and the whole area of settlement.  Please also pray for the Search Committee for the new Executive Minister’s position and the candidates that have applied, giving thanks for Kayely Rich and her leadership of the group.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

Quote of the Week: Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV): For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

Notes from the Family: There is a temptation for some churches to not partner with the denomination in the dialogues around LGBTQ issues.  This would be important to do.  On 2 occasions we have asked to participate in a church board dialogue and have been declined.  The sad piece was that 1 of the boards was simply misinformed about process and resources available.

Dear friends,

A miscellany today.

First, a personal note on my own devotional cycle in a day…  Not because it is necessarily exemplary nor necessarily yours but I would love to hear any patterns that are present in this particular newsletter loop.  Please indicate in your response if I am able to share your experience.  I have made a commitment to repeating the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles Creed, and Galatians 5:1-6 but most especially 16-26, and the living contrast between the fruits of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit.  I continue with a personal study of the gospel of John just a few verses at a time.  It is often augmented by prayers from the book “2000 Years of Prayer” by Michael Consell.  I am reading the prayers of Evangelicals from the 19^thcentury at present such as Wilberforce, Shaftsbury, Spurgeon, and David Livingstone.  Over the years I have found the “Celtic Book of Prayer” also very helpful, written as it is by Baptists and Roman Catholics (but that is for another day).  In addition, my wife Kerry and I have a time of prayer which includes prayer for a variety of people and communities that we are part of.  My own prayer life includes much of the work we do in the CBWC family.  There is more but that is it for now.

Many, many things to pray for this month which I will pick up next week but I am particularly excited about the search for the new Executive Minister.

Finally, let me bundle up for us if you will some of the anxieties, longings, and indeed in some places the encouragements, of the last year by quoting a section of Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death”.  Postman was the Laing Lecturer at Regent College about 10 years ago and had a dramatic presence on the University of British Columbia campus as he spoke.  It might be helpful to Google both Orwell (1984) and Huxley (Brave New World).  You might also be interested in the humour and timing of God when you recall that Huxley, C.S. Lewis, and John Kennedy all died within hours of each other on November 22, 1963.

Peace of the Lord be with.  Happy New Year!

“We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn’t, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.

But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell‘s dark vision, there was another – slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley ‘s Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley‘s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny “failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions. ” In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us.

This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.”

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

Quote of the Week: Someone showed me a quote from the author of Red Letter Christians, Tony Campolo.  Tony is complicated, so are we all but, God is full of grace.  Tony had a great line about whether you’re an injured child in Aleppo, someone sleeping on the street in Winnipeg in the winter, or a child who visited to 2 different homes to be with parents at Christmas… I was going to start a list but you don’t need me to. Tony Campolo tweeted on Dec 30: “2016 has been a rough year… which makes it ripe for beauty. And resurrection. Happy New Year from RLC.”

Notes from the Family: No names.  No bragging rights.  1 church in the Lower Mainland had 650 people on Christmas morning.  Another church had 300.  An exciting way to start a year.  I get the impression there were many more examples.

Dear friends,

Unlike 2016, I would like to begin this year with not only the day the Lord has made but that this will be the year that the Lord has made.

I attended a church service last Sunday where the preacher suggested that 2016 was just about the worst year he could remember: Aleppo, the Missing Women’s Task Force, scandals in politics north and south of the border, the surge of refugees in Europe, and for many, particularly in industry and natural resources, a very insecure economic present and future.  We often define ourselves by what we are not rather than what we are.  That can be true of individuals, organizations, or the whole year as I have just illustrated.  I would like us to remind each other that this was the year that 4 young men from 1 of our churches this very day are ministering in revival and renewal services in Iraq, Turkey, and Syria.  In doing so risking their lives so that people would know Christ.  This was the year when a minister’s kid from East Germany, Angela Merkel (who knows full well growing up under Communism what it is to be persecuted, marginalized, and discarded), welcomed 1 million refugees to her country… not a recompense, not an atonement, just mercy and justice.  This was a year when 11 young people at New Life in Duncan became Christians.  This was a year when ISIS went to behead the young Coptic Christians on the shores of the Mediterranean.  When they came to behead the young Muslim man with them he was asked to convert to a different form of Islam.  He said, “I want to die for the God these other men have died for.”  This was a year when the world saw such atrocities that have provoked us to call out “No!”.  Even more for those of us who are Christians to call out “No!” in the name of our Lord Jesus and to say “Yes” in this Christmas season not only to a life in Him but a new world because of Him.  I’m done with the prophets of doom yet I hear the pain of the world as the whole Creation groans.  I’m done with the pathologies that we teach our children and one another at times that cause us to have conversations with God that doom us.

Rather, I’m drawn over and over again in this Christmas season and the beginning of this new year to the Lord who would say, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  I am humbled and remade by a God who would say “ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  I stand amongst you… No, indeed, I do not stand alone.  We stand together in the midst of the verse which began this newsletter.  This is not only the day that the Lord has made… May it be the Lord in me and in each of us, a life that the Lord has made… Indeed, may this be the year that the Lord makes and remakes us all and the world He has made, died for, and loves yet again.

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell

Quote of the Week: Leonard Cohen wrote, “There is a crack in everything; That is how the light gets in.” – quoted by Anna Robbins at our Banff Pastors and Spouses Conference, and quoted by Lee Best who is the envelope secretary at Kitsilano Christian Community. I couldn’t think of a better commentary on the world askew as it is nor a more wonderful perspective on our view of money.

Notes from the Family: Please pray for those who came to Christmas services seeking the person of Christ and relationship with Him, that they may have found Him and that the seed that is sown falls on good ground.

Finally, a note from Doug Johnson telling the full story that I relayed in a previous newsletter:

“Let me tell you the exact incident.  I was seated between Phil and your dad watching me on video give my brief message.  Half way through the message Roy got up, went to the portable door and rattled the door knob and called over to Phil—“Phil let me know when it’s over.”  At the conclusion I was asked 2 things: #1 Doug how many times did you put your finger up to your eyelid?  I said 8 times—your Dad looked at me and said 21 times.  He looked at Phil and said, “he can’t count.”  We all laughed.  The clincher came when your dad asked me “Doug what didn’t you like about your presentation?  I thought for a minute and I said, “I haven’t listened to myself on tape or video, and what troubled me was how strong my accent was.”  To which your dad replied, “Doug at this time in your preaching career it’s the only thing you have going for you—In the America that accent is worth $10,000 a year more, in Canada $ 5,000 a year or more”…  Your dad and Phil were the most encouraging gift to me when I was preparing for the ministry. They were always there for me and never once did they give me any cause to be discouraged.”

Dear friends,

If the Easter greeting is:

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

Then a Christmas greeting might well be:

Christ is Born.

Hallelujah, Amen!

We’ll each find our own way of starting out the joy of this day.  Each Christmas morning Kerry and I gather with our children (if they be home): Jessica with her husband Stephen and their son Bartholomew (16 months old), and our son Andrew with his wife Anna.  We’ll do a number of things together but will in the course of the day read the Christmas story and give thanks.  We will repeat that experience with extended family at my sister Gillian and Stephen’s home.  Christmas for me is marked in my memory in over a dozen different homes but still in the midst of family.  Thinking of love at Christmas can have many different memories attached but for some this year memories at Christmas will be touched by the loss of those we love who are no longer present.  Some close to many of us have passed; a relationship may be compromised or severed; distance may “make the heart grow fonder” in different situations… “Out of sight, out of mind.”  My childhood Christmas’ were marked by relative frugalities yet times of great happiness with family and church community.  Turning our hearts to a memory of what was is sometimes great but sometimes harsh.  It is not a platitude or easy cliché when we say to each other at Christmas that thinking of love places us intimately in the presence of the Christ child and ultimately in the presence of the Triune God throughout eternity.  The comforts, security, sadness, unfinished feelings, and reassurances that all get tumbled up at Christmas. C. S. Lewis in the “Problem of Pain” (incidentally written before the loss of his wife, Joy) wrote a prodding, gentle challenge to our sense of “love” in a paragraph entitled “Refreshments on the Journey”:

“The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, He has scattered broadcast.  We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy.  It is not hard to see why.  The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with our friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency.  Our Father refreshed us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”

There are lot of good and joyful thoughts to be had this Christmas Day… and in Christ every day.  Lots of ­­­primers in our lives for great good and pleasure.  All this good simply points to being even more at home in Christ this day and always.

May this week find you in your grief, comforted; in your joy, met; in your memories, reconciled, thankful and at peace in full measure.

In this Christmas Day as you rise alone, or in a crowded house, or are awakened by an excited child, may we all experience the simple joy of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph that first Christmas Day.  Amidst the uncertainty and joy of it all… Jesus is home.  Hallelujah, Amen!

Warmly,

In Christ,

Jeremy Bell