THE "JOY" OF BEING ENGAGED

Like any other friend, I feel elated with the news that my good friend and pianist, Joy (who'd been a subject of a lot of my blog entries in the past) is now engaged! And like any "good friend" she never mentioned she got engaged last night. It wasn't until I logged into Facebook tonight that I learned about it!

After a couple of years of being her breathing room whenever she felt down or emo about her forever-like heartbreak; after many, many occurances of us being seen together almost everywhere together and mistaken as a dating couple, after lots of dinners, lunches and coffee; after dozens of out of town trips with our other friend, Lennie; after the many close-to-midnight, after-midnight, early morning phones calls I got from her whenever she went emo; after buckets of tears and lots of praying together-- and oh, did I mention the hundreds of times we were mistaken as a couple? Yeah, I did-- she's finally engaged to (snap...brainfart, what's his name?...oooh, sorry...I hate times like this one...oh yeah) Mark, the man she loves, and who loves her even more, I guess.

Mid last year, Lennie, Joy and I saw a chick flick-- they'd been good at twisting my arm to convince to me watch a number of such-- MAID OF HONOR that starred Patrick Dempsey where he played the role of a good male friend to a female friend he met in college who eventually asked him to be his MADE OF HONOR. I remember jokingly telling both Lennie and Joy that given our circumstance being the only male in our three-member inner circle, I should be MADE OF HONOR to them in their weddings! In turn, they could both be my BEST (WO)MEN!

Guess what, I called her prior to writing this blog entry-- I woke her up to congratulate her and to make sure she won't renege on that agreement! Haha!

At the height of her rather prolonged ordeal with heartbreak I'd told her to take small steps-- baby steps. Small incremental steps that would nevertheless point her in the right direction, point her "home," point her toward trusting God’s love. It took all three of us-- Lennie, Joy and me, taking those steps together.

While it is true that I had become quite busy to hang out with them nowadays, I still am taking those steps with them. The better thing now is that someone new has decided to walk along with Joy in a way I never can. Hopefully, soon, Lennie will be joined by someone as well, just as I will be walking alongside someone else...(maybe in Canada?!)

Congratulations, Joy and Mark!

LOSING TO WIN

Just a quick note before I go to "work" (I just have to let this out)!

This morning, following my quiet time in the book of Romans chapter 10- for which I see three different facets to one reality it poses- I went and took a brief visit to a rather unique part of World War 2 history-- actually, post World War 2.

Twenty-year-old Hiroo was called up to join the army. At the time, he was far from home working at a branch of a trading company in Wuhan, China. After passing his physical, Hiroo quit his job and returned to his home in Wakayama, Japan to join the Japanese army.

In the Japanese army, Hiroo was trained as an officer and was then chosen to be trained at an Imperial Army intelligence school. Hiroo was taught how to gather intelligence and how to conduct guerrilla warfare.

In 1944, Lt. Hiroo Onoda was sent by the Japanese army to the remote Philippine island of Lubang, Mindoro. His mission was to conduct guerrilla warfare during World War II. Unfortunately, he was never officially told the war had ended two years after he was sent; so for 29 years, Onoda continued to live in the jungle, ready for when his country would again need his services and information. Eating coconuts and bananas and deftly evading searching parties he believed were enemy scouts, Onoda hid in the jungle until he finally emerged from the dark recesses of the island on March 19, 1972.

The first facet-- Like Hiroo Onoda, a lot of people go through life believing the war goes on. He was never officially told that the war has ended. There are millions who have not heard of Christ's victory at the cross and so they live daily in fear and in the deep recesses of sin simply because they haven't been officially told that the war is over.

The second facet-- there are people who are supposed to officially tell about the story of victory but fail to do so. That's why Paul posed a challenge in verses 14 & 15- "How can they believe in someone they have not heard of, how can they hear unless someone tells them, how can they tell unless they are sent? It is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things." The idea behind the person with beautiful feet who brings the good news of good things is an ancient war "hero" who runs back into the city to proclaim among his fellow countrymen that the war is won. That is our role as Christians. We tell others that the war is over and we have won!

The last facet which isn't so explicit in the passage-- there are those who have learned that the war is over, and yet, they go to some Japanese straggler like Hiroo Onoda and surrender to a loser.

March 19 marks the final "surrender" of Hiroo Onoda. His surrender is an acceptance that Japan had lost the fight. And yet, his surrender gained him greater freedom.

In losing our lives in God, we don’t lose at all. We gain our true selves. Individually we become the person God sees and formed, no longer enslaved as the person we publicly project. Losing our lives in God frees us to shed pretense, to cast-off falsehood, to abandon bigotry rooted in our insecurity, and to break cycles of being and relating that no longer make sense. To the degree we succeed, losing our lesser selves enlarges our humanity. Do you see? Losing our lives in God is really gaining what God wanted for us in the first place – an authentic self.

The real challenge in all of this is learning to live authentically. It doesn’t seem to come easily. Since we’ve been so busy living another life instead of the one we were given to live, we have to learn anew how to make our way in the world, in our relationships, in our work, and in our faith.

LOVING EVIL?

Who was Fred Winters and why does he deserve getting a full blog entry from me?

This morning (Sunday) during the 8:15 worship service at his 1200-member church, First Baptist Church of Maryville, IL, Fred Winters, the well-loved pastor stood to preach when a 27-year-old gunman armed with a .45 calibre pistol burst into the church sanctuary and shot five times, three of which the pastor was able to deflect with his Bible shattering into the air like confetti, but his leather-bound Bible didn't work well as a shield, he stumbled and fell. The gunman's pistol jammed so he took a knife from his pocket and ran towards the platform but two members of the church tackled. Illinois Police is still trying to investigate the motive for the shooting.

Pastor Fred Winters died leaving behind a wife and two young daughters.

Some weeks ago, a gunman came and open fired in a Unitarian Church in Tennessee. While just last month I think, a man shot himself in front of the cross inside the world-renown Crystal Cathedral.

Evil seems to have made a bit of a comeback; into the common parlance of pundits discussing events like 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombing and the Columbine school massacre.

Through much of the 20th century, western culture tended towards a scientific hypothesis of human behavior, relying on biological, sociological and medical models to describe the human moral situation. But a few things have seemed to defy sterile scientific categories, like the holocaust, for instance. Evil could still be used in reference to that horror, but most other sorts of human fallenness were assigned to social or medical categories.

Do you believe in evil? is a question directed to me from time to time. My answer goes something like this: “Well, if by ‘believing in’ you mean, ‘believe it exists, that it is a something’, my answer is, yes.” It was C. S. Lewis, writing at the time of the Second World War, who said the first agenda of Satan is to convince us he does not exist. We demur about the personification of some sort of demonic essence, but the larger issue, that of the reality of evil, which was Lewis’ fundamental point, is actually not up for debate from the normative Christian perspective.

When Jesus began his public ministry he’s challenged by this noisy man who says, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” Its an initiation of sorts; Jesus is set to contend with the world’s corrupting powers and principalities. Jesus will stand over and against all that opposes God’s graceful intentions. Love will be his counterintuitive means of engagement.

Friends, here’s what I’ve been thinking about this week. I want to be part of a church in which the family members are on a journey of discovering the real stakes in living moral, grace-filled lives. People who have made a sincere claim to work against the evil powers of this world, humbly starting with the content of their own lives. Loving the evil powers within and around with the strength of the Lord, and until it loses it power and control over myself and yours and change it by His grace.

We live in serious times that require a serious response from people who are yearning to grow up regardless of their age. I want to continue to evolve spiritually and personally, gaining in my capacity to stand firm with Christ confronting the powers and principalities aligned against life and love, powers that coercively work on my soul and blind my eyes from seeing the actual truth of my situation.

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Readings:

- Yahoonews

- CNN News

- Stephen Bauman, Deliver us from Evil, CCUMC-NYC

- M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil, Simon and Schuster, 1983, p. 11.

THINGS CHANGE, SOME SHOULDN'T

A couple of years ago, D. James Kennedy, Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale died.

After a long and tedious search for a new Senior Pastor, a couple of weeks ago the church voted to call the Rev. Tullian Tchividjian (cha-vid-yan), the thirty-six-year-old grandson of famed evangelist, the Rev Billy Graham. Tchividjian initially did not want to leave his thriving 5-year-old 700-strong, New City Church and become pastor of 50-year-old Coral Ridge's 3000 members- which on its 80's heyday reached more than 10,000 members. But Coral Ridge wanted him so badly that it suggested the Gen-X pastor to look into a possible merger.

Tchividjian, preaching.

the Coral Ridge sanctuary which was dedicated in 1974 by the Rev. Billy Graham

Tchividjian's leadership now brings the two churches of different "worlds" to a time of confluence. Traditional/Contemporary, Ancient/Modern, old and new.

Tchividjian is cautious about discussing any changes he might make at the helm of Coral Ridge. However, he said the Coral Ridge leaders had asked him to bring the “vision” he instilled at New City Church, a vision of “revival and renewal for all of South Florida.” New City is also known for blending traditional beliefs with modern methods, mixing hymns and contemporary Christian songs.

The minister said he also values a collegial church culture, “where the elders, the staff and the deacons are all friends, not just fellow workers. They should all be pulling on the same side of the rope.”

Tchividjian said he shares Coral Ridge's longtime values of “passionate preaching” and “robust theological commitment.” But he added that his selection as pastor shows the larger, older church remains flexible.

This news now brings to mind a transition that's about to begin to bud! My church's Senior Pastor has been mentioning in his preaching since about three years ago that "the Lord willing" he will retire from his post as Senior Pastor of GCF in mid-2010. Between now and then, the Lord is preparing the man that will lead GCF to greater heights. When that man comes, things will change, yet there will always be things- mostly principles that should remain. Those principles are what keep the church the church.

The vision that has been set before is grand but that’s what visions are – they are always bigger than what our eyes can see or we can achieve on our own. The church will be a very different place in the years beyond. Some of us will be gone on for one reason or another. Others will be added. Babies will be born. Converts will be baptized. Staff will change. Life will happen.

The church will do many wonderful things through Christ's Spirit. Lives will be transformed as we are being transformed. There may be times when we as a congregation may be shaken by doubt and fear; differences of opinion and sheer fatigue. But those will be the times we need to remember that we are building a house on Rock.

On Christ the solid Rock we stand – all other ground is sinking sand.

BORN LOSER

Sometimes he opens the door for people every Sunday at the 9&11AM worship services. Sometimes he greets people at the foot of the escalator handing worship folders. He is a Swiss gentleman named, Markus Loser! When I first met him seven years ago, I nearly laughed at the sound of his last name, Loser! He comes to church with his family and some of his usher friends would say, "The Losers are here!"

I used to dislike my last name, Las since it does not make any sense. My classmates have better-sounding Spanish names like delos Reyes (of the kings), delos Santos (of the saints), delas Armas (of the weapons), etc. In addition to that, I grew up among missionaries families like the Bakers, the Merritts, the Wellses, the Hooges, the Lyons, the Schotts, and a more funny last name, the Kilpatricks. My dad used to say, "I'll be late for dinner, I'm going to Kilpatrick" and the whole family will burst into laughter! But my last name, even in Spanish does not make sense. Las as we know is the definite feminine article the in Spanish. So my name can be literally translated as Jonathan The. The what?

Family history has it that when my great, great grandfather of Chinese descent was asked to "buy" a name that would make him a Filipino citizen he bought the name las Armas from a trader of gunpowder and ammunition. He was a poor speller, he didn't know to write Armas so he got stuck with Las.

I have since college appreciated my name for its uniqueness-- feeling that I am the only boy in this world named Jonathan Las; until I found a couple of men on Facebook both named Jonathan Las-- one caucasian, the other black! At any rate, Las is still a unique surname. I always say, "I will never be first because I will always be Las."

Anyway, going back, I figured, it's better to be born a Las than be born a Loser. Then of course, who would forget the name of the late Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin? Or one of the Philippines' great Senator whose legal name is Joker? My friend Heidi from Canada told me of a family in her home church, the Virgins. Sam, a friend from Pennsylvania knows a family named Hiney. And with that somewhat humorous play of words and names, I figured, in a more serious sense, the importance of one's name.

Over the weekend I watched the film, the Crucible.

John Proctor says: "...Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! ....How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!"

I'm actually reading through the Bible and now in the book of Numbers where some of the most difficult names to pronounce are found, and yet I couldn't help but think of how important these names are much less their amazing meanings. These are people, who in God's sovereignty, chosen for their names to appear in the Scriptures regardless of what they've done or who they were. This is something of astounding reality- the fact is, we will carry to eternity the name we have been given- upon which we have no choice. This means our lives are not the sum of all our choices, thank God. There are things in our lives that are beyond our choice or control.

Regardless of where you are in your life today, regardless of what decisions you face or what challenges or joys or questions or vulnerabilities or crises capture your heart and mind, be assured that whatever happens, God knows your name and you are held in His surpassing love. He continues to give us everything we need, grace and nourishment and strength to face every moment with love and without fear. The choice has been made on our behalf – God continues to prepare the feast and Jesus Christ is calling your name to join the celebration. The only decision left is whether you’ll really respond when He calls your name. And you'll officially remain a loser when you say "no."