Even days

I've Moved

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 12:58:00 +0000

This blog has been moved to evendays.org. Please click on the link to read the latest post.

You'll want to bookmark the new site, and for those of you who have generously put a link to this blog on yours, you'll want to update that address to www.evendays.org.

See you on the other side!

Brady

First impressions

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 16:16:00 +0000

The last time I tread on USA soil was in May, 2005, so the changes are not as remarkable as other years where 34 months would separate visits. Even though born and raised here, you have to get used to stuff. Example: Sales tax is not included.

Don't stare at people who are speaking English in the store. They are not visiting. They live here. And they don't need your help.

Example: When someone asks you, "How you doing today?," they don't necessarily know you. They are being nice. Don't try to figure out where you've met them before.

Example: Some people eat tacos for breakfast. No, not just tacos... Tacos with chicken and guacamole and cheese and...

Example: It's okay to talk out loud in the metro. You can even look at people. Sometimes even make eye-contact.

Example: The Tour de France is finished just after you get up in the morning.

Thanks for stopping by.

Someone waiting

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 12:24:00 +0000

We got to the airport, went through the customs line, got checked out and okayed by those friendly folks protecting our borders, went to the mystery carousel that spit out our luggage after the mandatory waiting period, met two people from Abilene before we even got out the doors...

I am one of the world's worst travellers. My mind tends to turn to mush about 48 hours before take-off. I have been known to forget passports in a drawer, airline tickets on the dining room table and, the worst sin of all, to actually believe the man at the airline counter who assured me that my visa would be waiting when I arrived in a certain, un-named, Latin-american country.

I tend to get more and more irritable as the packing process grows longer. 38% of the stuff I bring I never use, for my pre-voyage mind is filled with thoughts like: This pocket widget will really come in handy if ever...

The night before the trip is nearly always a losing battle to fall asleep.

But then you go through those doors out into the arrival area, you search those faces for just one you can recognize... And there it is.

That makes the trip worth it.

LST's last week

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:00:00 +0000

Our LST project is winding down. Bryn and Blake have met some wonderful people and we should be able to continue some sort of a relationship with 5 or 6 of their new friends. It’s always an exciting time when you get to work with people from all different levels of faith. Some are from other religions and just want to go a bit deeper while using their English. Others are experiencing a thirst of things spiritual, centered on Jesus, that grows in intensity and can also invigorate the “teacher’s” faith. Thank God for those people.

Several of the new Christians at the Lausanne church are from past LST efforts. So please keep our new friends in your prayers.

And thanks to all of you who have supported different LST projects. Hugs to all of you who financed this team!

Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 18:34:00 +0000

It’s Saturday evening and we are back. Here are the three days, two nights in Ardèche (in numbers):

57 pies.

28 cakes.

160 brownies.

17 trout caught and released.

0 kept.

Switzerland 2, South Korea 0.

2 kids, found safe at home.

1 house, still intact.

Happy campers, all of us.

May God bless your Sunday around his Son’s table.

Gone fishing

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 03:52:00 +0000

I’m checking out for a few days, heading to the Ardèche region of France. Wife is going to bake and freeze desserts for the summer kid’s camp. She figures she can save the camp some money this way and also be a big help, even if we’re not there to take on our regular responsibilities later on in the summer (when we’ll be eating other people’s food).

Me? I’m taking some light tackle and spending some time on some of the small rivers, seeing if I can scare up a few trout. Then I might take a nap in the afternoon. And if it rains, I can always wash dishes.

See you on Sunday.

Crossing paths

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 11:29:00 +0000

Today is my 150th post. Wife suggested I break the rules and post the following TRUE story. I wrote it up a couple of years ago. Some of our ministry partners have seen it. I think it’s worth a read. Thanks.
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Often times we do things expecting immediate results. And if the results aren't immediately visible, we may feel discouragement, or even think that our efforts were worthless.
It's always best just to do the right thing because it's the right thing. I was speaking to the church about their commitment to worship the Lord and their desire to build strong relationships with their brothers and sisters. I reminded them that these relationships are not only important for them today, but also for 10, 20 or 30 years from now. These relationships will allow them to grow in joy and God will use their "now" commitment to bless them in the future.

I received this unexpected blessing on Wednesday night, November 17, 1999. I'd jumped on the first train that was going to Geneva. My final destination was Marseilles and I'd left the house early, which would give me over an hour in Geneva to change trains. So I stored back-pack on the luggage rack and sat down. Two college-age girls were speaking English in the seats next to me and talking about their churches. So I interrupted and asked them if they were Christians. They said yes, so I asked them what they were doing in Europe. "We're students at Harding University and we go to the extension campus in Florence, Italy. We're on our way to Nice, France."

Well, we've had lots of students visit us from Harding—students who've come to distribute Bible course information in mailboxes—so I told them I was a minister for the church of Christ in Lausanne. What a coincidence to meet on the train, in the same wagon, going to the same place!

One of the girls was from San Francisco, one from Nashville. 6 other heads popped up from elsewhere in the same compartment. There were actually 8 girls traveling together. As we introduced ourselves, one of the girls said, "Hey, my brother's name is Brady too." (There aren't too many Bradys in this world, for a given name, anyway.) We talked about Europe and about the churches, where the girls could worship when they got to Barcelona on Sunday, etc.
While talking, I found out that the Harding student with the brother named Brady knew one of the girls in the Christian internship in Marseilles, where I was going to teach. She wrote a message for me to give to the intern, signing her name "Erin R____."

Halfway to Geneva, I asked Erin where here brother had got his name. She said her parents had known someone a long time ago and had liked the name and the person. That's how they'd found it.

Now my own name came from a wonderful man my parents love very much. I was hoping that Erin's parents knew the same person. "So you don't remember who this person was?"

"No. It was a long time ago. Just someone they knew before I was born."

"How old are your parents?" "52."

"And your brother?" "22."

It was evident that we weren't named after the same person. I learned that they'd lived around Sacramento for nearly 20 years and her dad was a preacher in a small town called Rescue. Her parents had gone to Fresno State University, but they'd never mentioned anything to Erin about the church there.

"And what's your dad's name?" "Phil."

"And your mom?" "Cathy."

Somewhere inside my brain, a bell, or at least a very dull thud, had gone off. When I asked if she had a picture, she said no. But then her friends reminded her of the ones in her Bible. They could tell that something really neat was happening.

Erin came back with the pictures… from 1971. (Can you believe she was carrying a 30 year old picture of her parents in her Bible? She let me know they didn't look anything like that anymore…) When I looked at the picture, I was staring into the face of my sixth grade Wednesday night Bible school teacher from the College church of Christ.

"Erin, I know how your parents got your brother's name. Before leaving Fresno, your dad told me that if they ever had a boy, they'd name him Brady. Their first child was a girl, and then they moved away. And that was the last I heard from them."

Erin kept repeating, "This cannot be true! This is incredible. This is NOT happening." (Well, she IS from California…)

So, at a Geneva pay phone, I called Phil R_____. "Phil, this is Brady S____. I'm calling from Switzerland."

No answer.

"Phil, this is Brady S_____. Do you remember me?"

"Brady, I've got the other Brady on the line. Can you hold just a minute?"

I held.

"Brady, how are you?" (It was the first time since the birth of his son that he'd ever called anyone else "Brady".)

"How did you get the name Brady for you son?," I asked.

"Well, we liked the name, and you've got to name the child after someone you admire. And he's a good kid…"

We talked for a couple minutes—he in California. I in Geneva. Then I told him there was someone he needed to talk to. I handed the phone to his daughter, Erin.

"Dad! Can you believe…?"

The right train.
The right car.
The right train compartment.
The right conversation.
The right question.
The right picture.

Boy! Was it hard to get to sleep that night.

Victory

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 15:58:00 +0000

Switzerland got lucky during a very sloppy first half, took the lead after 15 minutes, then came back on the field fired up and actually out-played the Togolese.

The Nati won 2-0. (Horns are honking all over town.) Just a tie against South Korea on Friday evening sends us into the next round.

I know you don’t care, but thanks for pretending.

I wish I could help

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 18:47:00 +0000

I walked home today one of the older ladies from the neighborhood who comes to church whenever her health permits. Her husband’s in a nice rest home nearby and she’s been part of this neighborhood forever. Both of these lovely people pray for us daily and mention many by name when they worship God.

She asked me about our trip this upcoming weekend, about how we were feeling about a couple that’s not part of the church anymore. She wanted information concerning a young couple who have a small child and find it difficult to worship with us regularly, wanting to know how she could help. She loves them.

Then she said: “Both my husband and I are sad that we can’t be more supportive of the work you are doing. We love the church, and wish our health let us be more involved. For many Christians do not seem to love the church. I think they love Jesus but find it hard to commit to his body.”

She wasn’t complaining. She just wanted to make things better, to grab hold of something good and help it grow instead of seeing it weaken, to be there for her spiritual family.

Summer vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 10:02:00 +0000

After today, the kids have 3 more days of classes before summer vacation. As high school-ers without finals, they’ll get out earlier than the seniors or those not yet in “gymnase” (our canton’s name for high school).

Vacation time is nearly a constitutional right in many European countries. I know in France, there is an association called “Vacations for everyone” that gets kids out of the cities and into the mountains. Even the unemployed expect time off.

Everyone starts a new position with 4 week’s vacation per year plus the 10 holidays. After just a couple of years, they pop it up to 5 weeks. One of my buddies from Geneva works for the city. He started with 7 full weeks of vacation time!

Used to be that if you didn’t have the money to go away during the summer months, you borrowed it. And everyone has a story about families who were ashamed to be at home in the summer, so they closed the shutters and pretended they weren’t home.

But now, more and more people admit to staying home and seeing the sites around Lausanne: lake, mountains, coffee on a terrace… Which makes sense to me. I mean, they are in Switzerland.

Nati vs Zidane & Co.

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 07:19:00 +0000

The Tuesday night Bible study ended in a 0-0 draw between the Swiss and the French. That’s not all that bad, because half the church in Geneva is Swiss, half is French, and half is from South America.

I asked Wife about the match when I got home late last night. She said it was interesting, but she was reading TIME and watching the match simultaneously so she wasn’t really the one to ask. Unfortunately, she couldn’t really hear the Swiss sport commentators. Daughter had invited 3 friends over to watch the match and chatted through the whole thing. I think they did decide which player was the cutest, which doesn’t translate into any points but is nearly as important as goal differential.

Son 2 thought we should have won.

Got some great international comments on the last post. Check out Ocular Fusion for good commentary from Virginia (?) about Team USA’s diminishing chances for advancement.

Wife has been looking for souvenirs to take to nephews-nieces on an upcoming trip. She was surprised by the number of England t-shirts for sale. No USA stuff. And no USA flags either, Sandra. Sorry.

BTW, see the Haiku competition on Steve’s blog. A real hoot.

World Cup 2006

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 14:21:00 +0000

The FIFA World Cup 2006 (soccer) started last Friday night in Germany. We got to see part of the first match on TV, but then 9 people showed up for a Bible Study so we missed four of the goals. But it was fun.
Neighborhood windows are full of flags. Most of them are red and white, and Switzerland has it’s first match on Tuesday evening against our no-love-lost neighbor, France. (Son 2 saw a Swiss fan t-shirt that proclaimed loyalty to the Swiss National Team (Nati) and any other team that was playing against… FRANCE.) You guessed it, I’m teaching a Bible study during that match too. Oh well, “Love not the world…”

From about 1 of every 12 balconies hangs a Portuguese flag, by far the largest contingent of foreigners in Lausanne. For good measure, you also see Spanish and Italian flags, even some from Brazil (zough I hazn’t seen zeny French “drapeaux”… Not worth zee risque, I image-ine!)

Our family is pulling for 3 teams, in the following order: Switzerland, USA and Ukraine.

Oh, yes. And for any team playing against France.

Hop Suisse!

24/24, 7/7

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 07:29:00 +0000

I got corralled into doing something good. But I’m just not very good at it, which shows how much room there is to grow… How much my heart has got to change.

One of the ladies from the Geneva church set up a 24-hour prayer chain, just for a week, so we could pray around the clock with brothers and sisters. She’s a baker and patisserie maker, and took those early hours from 2 to 4. Bless her heart.

I took my hour at mid-morning.

I have a long list of people and needs to pray for: A member who is in constant pain, a blogger whose daughter has seizures, a generous USA church that supports us, enemies that seem to grow in number every year (it’s not my fault), pregnant family members… You get the picture.

So on Thursday, I thought: “Enough of the intercession. I’ll just be thankful for an hour.” I took the same list and prayed through it, but just with thanksgiving.

I only made it to 25 minutes.

So, I started over.

Hope your heart grows in thankfulness for all you have received, from blessings to troubles, from sadness to joy.

And thank you for stopping by.

Concert

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 07:01:00 +0000

Happy Birthday, MEW!!!
--
The Harding University Chorus gave a wonderful concert last night in Geneva, just across the way from where the Geneva Church meets. Boy, can those guys/gals sing. Even though sore throats and coughs had sidelined about 15% of the group, the sound was good and the classics, the hymns and the spirituals very powerful. I even enjoyed “O Happy Day” though I’m getting Happy Day overload. (I know, I know. Need some time off.)

They also sang “My God is a Rock in a Weary Land”, “I Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray” and “My Soul’s been Anchored in the Lord”, which seems to prove, again, that deep faith grows out of deep suffering.

Although I’ve heard the song a thousand times, “The Lord Bless you and Keep you” is still moving, still beautiful, and a wonderful blessing with which to end an evening. Visitors and Christians went home with that song in their hearts.

“Good music penetrates the ear with facility and quits the memory with difficulty” (Thomas Beecham).

Pentecost update: The return

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 10:02:00 +0000

Happy 06-06-06!

Today’s post continues the thoughts from June 4.
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Inside that Most Holy Place stood… Nothing.

A second point is that it’s possible to have all the buildings and activities, traditions and trappings and be, at the very center of it all, empty.

Empty of love. Empty of service. Empty of God’s Spirit.

For many during Jesus’ time, “seven evil spirits” had filled the empty space and led unbelieving Israel to reject the Promised One. The darkness of their hearts and the godlessness of their religious actions did not permit them to recognize God in their cities, streets and homes.

Of course, churches can stand empty at their center, and many of us have had to lament that event at some time in our past. But the reality that shakes us most is knowing our own hearts can be filled with many things but God. So we pray to fill our temple with Spirit, to be grounded in love so that, in the end, we will be prepared for the complete presence of God in all.

And not stand before him empty.

Pentecost update

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 13:23:00 +0000

While preparing for the Pentecost sermon, I spent time in 1 Peter 2, where the Apostle calls Jesus the living stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God to be the cornerstone. He reminds his readers that they too are living stones, brought together to form a spiritual house… In order to make known to a lost world what God is up to in Christ.

I’m intrigued by the spiritual house image… A temple. The splendor of the Herodian Temple, Peter’s temple, astounds us. Josephus and the Mishna (Middoth) concur that the Temple was a wonder, wowing the Sion-bound worshipper. Golden gates and columned courts, altars and tables and candles and glory… All focused on a building 50 meters wide by 50 meters tall and nearly twice as long.

Inside stood a golden table and an incense altar and woven curtains protecting the worshipper from the Holy of Holies, walls covered in gold and curtains.

Yet, inside that Most Holy Place stood… Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No ark. No relic. No idol.

Two thoughts:
First, an empty temple, for the pagan, was absurd. He demanded idols. He needed idols. But God declared his identity, love and grandeur through his mighty deeds.

Second…

Pentecost

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 09:53:00 +0000

Sunday is Pentecost in the Western Christian World. The British call it Whitsun, short for White Sunday, describing the white robes that the newly baptized would wear on Pentecost.

For the rest of us, the word Pentecost has its origin in two words: PENTE, which means FIVE, and COST, which is the NASDAQ symbol for Costco.

I hope that is helpful.

The Jewish expression of faith in the only God YHWH was manifested through temple worship, the priesthood, and the three yearly festivals of Tabernacles, Passover and Pentecost.

Our Savior referred to his body as God among us and a temple that would be destroyed but resurrected. As chief priest, he intercedes for us. He is our Passover lamb.

Likewise, the church is the Temple of the Spirit, a People of Priests, a Harvest that “started” on Pentecost, the day Peter stood up before an amazed crowd who had heard the wonderful actions of God declared in their own language, only to hear the most wonderful deed yet: The resurrection and reign of Jesus, the promised Messiah.

Be filled with wonder this Sunday, for forgiveness is offered, and God through Spirit has made his home in the church… In you.

LST begins

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Sun, 28 May 2006 13:50:00 +0000

Here are Blake and Bryn. They survived our time at the French retreat and started their English Conversation classes with different people today. We aren’t yet up to our limit on participants, so please keep these two in your prayers. We’d love for them to be meeting with about 30 people, giving time and energy to each participant and sharing the Good News of Jesus.

We sang and sang at the Ascension Retreat and had several good lessons from Ephesians 3.16-19, which is my prayer for you today.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

LST arrives

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Mon, 22 May 2006 09:12:00 +0000

Our Let’s Start Talking team arrives on Tuesday afternoon. Blake is from Fresno State and Bryn from Pepperdine. The poor guys are supposed to get off the plane at 17:45 (Blake will have been traveling for 26 hours already… 5.5 hour layover in Dallas and another 8 hours at Gatwick, London. Who is LST’s travel agent?). We’ll pack them on the train for the 50 minute ride to Lausanne where they will immediately meet 10 to 15 of the people who are going to do the English conversation courses with them. (Who is the guy organizing stuff on our end?) We’ve got to do this straightaway because Thursday is Ascension Day (you knew that…), a holiday in our canton. Most people from Lausanne make it a long weekend, so the team can rest after they meet everyone.

Ascension is the time for our European French churches’ retreat in the beautiful Ardèche area. The LST’ers will go too, and I’m sure they will be Frenched out and ready to give those English lessons next week.

Thank you for praying for these two workers.

Mrs. Dubose

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Sat, 20 May 2006 12:16:00 +0000

Somehow, To Kill a Mockingbird wasn’t in my High School English curriculum, so I’m reading it now.

Jem’s sister tells about a vicious, bitter, flea-bitten old woman named Mrs. Dubose who insults the two children as they pass by at the end of every day to meet their father. The sick lady literally spits out abuse (she drools) between her clacking dentures… Then one day, young Jem has had enough of it. He storms into her garden whacking off the tops of flowers, a whirlwind of destruction.

When Attica (father) comes home that evening, some explaining takes place and poor Jem is ordered to go and read every day for a month, for two long hours, to the hateful women.

Which he does. She continues her insults as Jem reads. A wind-up alarm clock goes off after a short period of time, the signal that Jem and his sister can now leave.

Insults. Reading. Alarm. This continues for a month, the sole variation being that the alarm goes off a bit later each day (until it’s not used again) and Mrs. Dubose seems more “aware” at the end of each session.

Jem nearly dies when Attica tells him he’s got to do an extra week. But he submits. And then he’s free.

A month later, the spiteful woman exits the story. Only then does Jem learn the significance of his reading and of the alarm clock. Only then does Mrs. Dubose give him his gift.

Jem never grasped what was going on while he obeyed his father. He never knew what role he played in his father’s plan. But because he submitted, even without understanding, he brought freedom into Mrs. Dubose’s life.

The Father asks for your love and trust. He desires your obedience, even if you don’t understand why. This is the way he has chosen to work out his plan in your life and to bless those around you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Rossini

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Thu, 18 May 2006 08:15:00 +0000

The dress rehearsal took place last night, without the dresses and only rehearsing the pieces the chorus was singing. The four soloists just did snippets of their arias and duets/trios and then sang the introductions to the choral sections where 120 of us joined in.

We’re singing Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. Some parts are incredibly beautiful (most of them a cappella) and other sections contain a few too many AMENs (21 pages for the last fugue), though even those sections can shine. When the tenor soloist sings the opera-like Domine Deus, the atmosphere lightens and you can’t help but smile. That said, the opening Kyrie makes me want to cry, but I can’t hit the La’s (A) and be teary at same time.

I have been reading the last few days about the formation of the creeds. It’s useful reading but complex, showing that difficulties brought believers to define their faith more clearly, to put into words the mystery of God’s plan brought to completion in his only Son. A plan ultimately visible in our lives.

All this leads me to think that Creeds are truly meaningful when they are sung. That the definite, confining words take on mystery when they echo in church sanctuaries.

Who are you?

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Tue, 16 May 2006 09:00:00 +0000

Are you Migros or COOP? (pronounced ME-GROW and COE – OPE). This is a real question that any Swiss resident can readily answer.

The question represents the two largest grocery store chains in Switzerland, accounting for about 80% of Swiss sales. That’s where the question comes from because, generally speaking, a family is either Migros or COOP.

Some people, like a daughter of a “friend of mine”, almost refuse to go into a COOP. Allegiances can go deep, breaking friendships, ending romances and splitting churches.

Yes, we are Migros, going to the MM just up the hill nearly every day (fridges are tiny here). M’s are small, with just the basics. MM’s are bigger (that’s why there are two M’s) with more stuff, fresh veggies, books and other necessary items. MMM’s are not Sam’s but they are huge, with electronics, sports stuff, clothing and all the rest.

Some families belong to even smaller sects, such as Migros budget. These are generic items that come in the same M-Budget wrappers, promising you lower quality at lower cost. There are now M-Budget cell phones, vacations, TP, noodles and even M-Budget parties.

Curtain's up

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Sun, 14 May 2006 14:38:00 +0000

My mom grew up going to the movies. I think they were cheap and it wasn’t a sin yet. She knows all the classics and one of my favorite youth memories is sitting together (with sis “Ducks on a pond”) in the living room watching the afternoon matinees on Summer TV. I don’t know how many times Rock Hudson faked Doris Day into loving him, got found out and dumped, then married just as Ms Day was going into delivery.

There were Bogart films and Hitchcock mysteries (which still get me), Westerns and Happy End love stories (which still don’t get me). Bing and Frank and Dean and, of course, Bob who was always on the road to somewhere. Did he ever get the girl?

Mom knows them all, which still amazes me. “I’ll take Cinema for $1000, please.”

Three things brought this to mind:

Dean Martin, Kim Novak and that guy who was My Favorite Martian were on Swiss TV just the other evening. In English, mind you. Mom, you’d have liked that one.

I saw this in yesterday’s paper, which proves it’s NOT a sin to go to the cinema.
It's by Burki,

And, obviously, it’s Mother’s Day.

Love you, Mom.

Witnessing

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Fri, 12 May 2006 06:59:00 +0000

The little girl is only 7, and she walked into B’s Sunday school class last week with a smile. One of the Geneva members has been bringing her for the last month or two. During the lesson, activity and singing, she let on that she knew Jesus was married and had had a child with his wife, Mary Magdalene.

Last Thursday afternoon, one of our Let’s Start Talking friends came by. Life's falling apart and she’s faced with difficult questions. Cancer, marriage on the rocks, no job, few friends… G. is hurting. In addition, her son is attacking her struggling faith. “Didn’t you read in that Brown book that the Bible is man’s idea and not God’s, that Jesus was no more God than you or me? How can you believe that stuff?”
--
The fictional character Teabing says: “What I mean is that almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false.”

Some people listen to him.

The church says: We know that this disciple's testimony is true (John 21.24).

What have you heard your friends say? How have you replied?

Body parts

noreply@blogger.com (Brady) — Wed, 10 May 2006 13:38:00 +0000

I’m not a big 1 Corinthians 12 fan. Sure, I liked the imagery the first 100 times I heard that the body wasn’t just EYE or EAR, and that one body part can’t tell another body part to get lost. I still haven’t figured out a way to tastefully weave “less honorable body parts” into a Sunday sermon.

But as one of our Spanish-speaking members and I were reading through that passage yesterday, I was struck by God’s truth when Paul wrote:

… Para que no haya desavenencia en el cuerpo, sino que los miembros todos se preocupen los unos por los otros… (12.25).

Okay, everyone close your eyes and count to three (and when you open your eyes, the text suddenly appears in English):

… That there should be no division in the body, but that its parts would have equal concern for each other… (NIV)

Just imagine a body, a church body, where each member is esteemed and each member has equal concern for every other member. This is the picture that the Apostle placed in my mind yesterday.

If we take the charge seriously, we will honor members that have received little honor and labor to convince every member to be concerned for every other member.

Que Dios nos ayude.