The UnAdorned Altar

The Discipline of Surrender by Douglas Webster: Chapter 2

We are altar people. Each week we arise from the pews and approach the 
blessed bread and wine at the altar. In that sense, each week we have 
an altar call - a time to surrender - to willfully humble ourselves 
again at the memory of Christ's death and resurrection and take him 
into our hearts afresh. 

In this reading I was struck with the simplicity of "the altar". A 
pile of rocks. Uncut. No bling-bling. Just raw, virgin soil - the 
stuff that incarnation is made of. What is it with us that we want to 
take the simple things of the Lord and adorn them with such 
magnificent externals that its simplistic beauty vanishes and gets 
stealthy under the bigger and better garnishes of our own pride and 
selfishness? Webster, by illustration, reminds us of the Tower of 
Babel and the Golden Calf, reminding us that when we take the tools of 
the Mason into our own hands - when we add to the things of heaven in 
our hearts - the outcome can only be idolatry. 
You may have heard the old saying, "God made us in his image, and we 
have returned the favor?" Exactly. 

So what do we do? "Repentance is a sacrifice laid on an altar of 
unadorned stones". (p.25) We get before God JUST AS WE ARE - no 
pretense, no justifications, no putting lipstick on the pig (after 
all, a pig wearing lipstick is still, after all, a pig) - and become 
willfully passive to the Mason's touch in our hearts. 

Ok, enough with the theo-babel. Here are the things that strike me in 
the reading - things I humbly drop into the Community for your 
comments: 

Most of us have gone far beyond the natural altars in our hearts and 
have adorned them with all sorts of religious relishes. I know I have. 
So my prayer is for the Lord to take the tools of Mason and be  hewned 
BACK to the simple altar he built in me some time ago. My rocks have 
become idolized. I think there's even some mold on a few of them. He 
needs to scrape some of that excess off. In my case, he doesn't need 
to build up the altar. The altar is already there - half-submerged 
under old vines and other stuff I've tossed on it. In my case I think 
he needs to build it DOWN. You know, sort of like a "Get back to where 
you once belonged" sort of deal. Thanks John and Paul. 

Secondly, I throw out a question that Webster asks there on page 25. 
"Are we willing for our hearts of stone to be cut by the only one who 
has the power to make us and shape us into his image?"  What are the 
things that keep us shying away from the Mason? And, if we are indeed 
willing to allow his workmanship in our hearts, what would you think 
the TOOLS OF HIS HANDIWORK would be? 

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. (Gen. 22:6)

As "Isaac's" we have been redeemed with the fire and the knife of God's mercy. So why are we still on the Altar?

Some stay because it's familiar. We've grown accustomed to it's hard, stony surface. Others are afraid to get off the thing. Still others aren't quite convinced they have really been set free by the knife and purified in the fire. And God waits.

Here's what came to me in church yesterday:

"I have cut your cords with my knife. I have cleansed you with my fire. You are free to rise from the altar. But you do not. Why have you not risen in the Grace where in you can stand? You sin is behind you. Your shame is consumed in my Provision, the scapegoat of the Sacrificial Lamb, crowned in a thorny thicket. Arise, my child, get off the altar of your past and I will lift you into your future. There is nothing holding you back from my end of things. My plans will formulate as you begin your journey. Arise from the shame of your youth. It is over. Finished. Dance on its ashes in the power of my Provision."

An old video of a wonderful trip to Uganda. Enjoy!

Pushing Through Hay

Advent is a time of striking contrasts: a King who becomes a Servant, a Virgin who births her God, a Creation that births its Creator, Christ conceived in a Cave and Resurrected from a Cave.

There are theological contrasts as well. For example, the Ethiopian Coptic church directly links Mose’s Burning Bush with the Virgin Mary. Why? Because both contained the Word of God, yet were not consumed.

“Wood” is a theme I often reflect on this time of year. Wood is a symbol of hardened “humanity”. Jesus was laid upon the hard wood of the manger at his birth, and upon the hard wood of the cross at his death. 

Though fully Incarnate, the Son of God was rarely  recognized because we was just like us.

When the Shepherds showed up to worship him at the cave it took real “intent” for them to recognize the Newborn God buried somewhere there under the hay, alive in the wood. He was there alright - just as the angels said. They just needed to get through hubbub of the census, find the dimly-lit cave, and refocus their eyes upon the Heart of the Matter. 

Fast forward two thousand years. Santa appears on Coke cans, people stream in and out of malls, rushing and bustling through the halls to get that package wrapped and under the tree, those cards out in time for Christmas rush, or that last string of lights blinking and synchronized with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's A Mad Russianʼs Christmas. 

We have all seen people like that. We have been people like that; mindlessly roaming through mobs like Seasonal Zombies, blinded by  the glitz of commercialism from the Real Presence of the Infant Savior, lying there somewhere, buried under the hay.

Pushing through hay and seeing the true meaning of the Season takes work. Itʼs like the Priests of old moving through one veil and through the next, until finally arriving at the Shekinah-lit Ark of the Covenant. But itʼs a good work. Without it everything gets hollow, not hallowed. 

May we all have the grace to see the Christ Child face to Face in this most magical season. Christ, be born in us today!

Agreeing with God

Zacharias was going about his duties as he ministered to the Lord in the Temple when Gabriel appeared and informed him that he and his wife, Elizabeth, were going to have a child. Zacharias set his mind and heart to disagree with the plans of God. He was instantly muted, crippled in life and expression.

Nine months later it was time for Elizabeth to birth the Plan. (You see, God's plans continue along whether we agree with them or not. It is us who suffer, not Him.) When the time came to name the child Zacharias had come to the point where he was able to align his mind and heart to the Plans of God. That's when everything changed for him.

"His name is John" (Luke 1:63). Immediately he was able to speak. Even in spite of the others who were questioning his agreement of the Plan he remained firm. In addition, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and received the gift of prophesy (Luke 1:67) - AND wrote a song of praise to the Lord! It was evident that, over the course of nine silent months, God had done a deep work in the heart of Zacharias.

Things go well with us when we humble our hearts and agree with God's Plan. We may not like what we hear. We may scoff at the absurdity of it all. But questioning saints do nothing more than snare themselves in their pride and refusal  give in. But as we agree with the Plan - regardless of how irrational it seems - and sway to the Greater Understanding we are immediately freed from our bondage and filled with the Holy Spirit to proclaim the mercy of God.

Has God brought you into a place that you have yet to agree with? Bless him. Agree with him. Sacrifice the logic of your mind and the hurt of your heart to the One who knows all, loves you, and has a Plan. The childlike embracing of the Plan will fill you with his Spirit and enable you to become an instrument of mercy in the world around you (Luke 1:72).

Prepare to Meet the Living God

Recently member of our church prepared an amazing meal - rice, pita, seasoned chicken, and tomato-cucumber salad. It was delicious. 

“How long did it take to prepare all this?” 

“About an hour,” she replied. 

“If I were a King and [pointing to another staff member], and she was a Queen, how long then would have you spent preparing it?” 

She laughed and without batting an eye said, “A week.”

A lot of life is about preparation. Spend a moment thinking of how you have prepared for dates, weddings, arrival of newborns, vacations, retirement, and special times with family and friends. 

God prepares, too. He prepares with you and I in mind. “I saw the Holy City,” writes John. “The new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven... prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Rev. 21.2). David writes, “You prepare a table for me in the midst of my enemies” (Ps. 23:5).

Preparation is important concept in the Kingdom of God. This is especially true with regard to Sunday mornings.  While “outsiders” may enter the Sanctuary with a sense of detached curiosity, we are different. We enter his courts knowing he will reveal his glory and power (Ps. 63:2). There is a direct correspondence between the expectations of any given event and our preparation of that same event. An imminent encounter with the Holy Spirit needs to be rightfully reflected in one’s preparation to enter the Holy of Holies   

Preparation takes many forms. When I was a child I polished my shoes every saturday night (took about a-half hour). But, as adults, we understand that preparation is primarily a discipline of the heart - creating a highway of holiness, lowering mountains and raising valleys (Luke 3.4-6) and getting humble before the Lord our God (Mic. 6.8). How is this done? Primarily by  consecrating a designated period of time for him beforehand. Some marinate in the Scriptures to be preached. Others get in a full night’s rest. Still others arrive at church early to sit, simply “being” before the Lord in intentional silence (Ps. 46.10).

A prepared congregation changes everything - songs become more sincere, prayers become more natural, expressions of worship (lifting of hands, kneeling, bowing, etc.) become less mechanical and more authentic, and fellowship becomes refreshingly transparent, laced with with God’s grace and healing. Preparation is the spice of our worship. Let’s take all week to get there!

I prepare my heart, I prepare my mind,

To receive the precious flesh and blood in bread and wine.

Poured out on the Cross, Nourishing my soul

Is my Lord and Saviour Christ who died, and makes me whole.

The Sweet Fragrance of Sacrifice

I've been reading the Old Testament from the Septuagint. It's nice. 

This morning I was reading the instructions for the building of the Altar of Sacrifice in Exodus 27 when I stumbled across the words "incense bowls" (v.3) What? There was incense at the first Altar? So I went to the NIV and saw that it translates those same words as "fire-pans." I like incense better - as the Sacrifice of Christ is a sweet savour to the God - and that Christ carries in his Body - the prayers of the saints.