Notes from Tim Keller's talk "The Parable of the Two Sons"

Here are my notes, best as I can interpret from Tim Keller's talk at Christ Presbyterian:

The Parable of the Two Sons

Quick overview of the book, followed by emphasis on the question; "If we get this message what kind of fellowship-community does that create?"

Crucial insight: There are two ways to live, two paths according to the Sermon on the mount. Two groups of people giving to others, praying, obeying. The first group is judgmental, self-righteous, living in such a way that contradicts the gospel.  Trying to obey and be righteous so that God will be in their debt.  "If I do this, God will have to do _____"

The other group acts in response to the gospel.

Moving to the Parable, the younger brother seems to say to the Father, " I want your things, I don't want you."  The older brother seems to obey his Father, live a good life.

We tend to view them as pictures of an unbeliever and a believer.

But the truth is they both want the Fathers things, the just use different strategies.  Both boys are lost and alienated from the Father.  At the end the 'bad' boy is saved because he will come into the feast.  The 'good' boy is lost because of  'his goodness'.  He is so proud of his good works he feels the Father owes him.  He is a moralist trying to control the Father by his good works.

Jesus is always speaking to the Pharisee and the publican, or the Pharisee and prostitute, etc.

There are two ways to be your own savior:

- Act badly, do whatever you want.

- Follow the rules, attend church, but doing it all in such a way that you feel that God owes you.

You can tell you are an "older brother"  and not a believer in the gospel when  a situation arises where bad happens to you and you are enraged, bitter, maintain a grudge, feel like you are good, why should bad happen to you.

In Luke 15 there are 3 parables containing lost things; a sheep, a coin, a son.  In the first two the owners go out and search.  In the parable of the lost son, a true older brother would have gone out and searched for his little brother.

What kind of older brother do we need?  We need Jesus.  The Father says "Son you have always been with me, everything I have is yours..."  Jesus has done this, left all that is his and gone searching for us.

We ask why "younger brothers" the "lost" aren't here in the church.  It is because they see the church as "elder brothers".

If  a whole church grasps this message, the truth of the Gospel it will:

1)  Be a community of healing growth.  

Quote from "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  The Gospel creates transparency - when that occurs we can begin to open up about our sins.  In Genesis 2 Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed.  In Genesis 3 sin led them to hide and be ashamed.  They tried to cover themselves with fig leaves, which is what we do when we know we aren't what we should be.  When we see our sin and understand we cannot cover it up, it has been dealt with by Jesus, we are able to hears others confessions, because we know we aren't any better, we all are sinners.  We need to exhort one another daily.  Hebrews 3:13

We need to confess our faults, religiosity permits no one to be a sinner.  The grace of the gospel is hard for the religious to understand.  No one is more alone, than he who is alone with his sin.  A community must be humbled enough to be good listeners.  Each member affirmed enough to repent.

2)  Be a community of peace making.

Matthew 5 and Matthew 18.  It is always my move to make peace, whether I am the one who is wronged or the one who has wronged another.

3)  Be a community of family closeness.

The younger brother had left the family, cut himself off from the family.  The father "adopts" him, brings him back into the family, celebrates his place there.

You don't choose your siblings.  It is not a consumer choice.  You must not choose your brothers and sisters within your church.  They are ALL your brothers and sisters, the tie is there, you have responsibilities to them.

We live in a consumer culture based on cost benefit analysis.  Asking what is the means to the end, will this meet my individual needs.    But we are called to covenant relationship in our families and our church,  we often sacrifice individual benefit for the relationship.  We need this kind of relationship in order to thrive.  But the logic of the market place has spilled out in to our marriages, families, church, etc.    We want to get more out of it than we put in.  But we are covenant families called to do everything together, eat, live, vacation, it is a multidimensional relationship.  Community is what shapes us, living with each other, sharing our possessions in common.

4) Be a community of countercultural- reversal of worldly values.

Poor, needy and  marginalized people are embraced and loved.  In The Four Loves CS Lewis says that he saw more completely who is friend Ronald was when they were in a group and he could observe different parts of Ronald in response to his other friends.  Likewise it take a community to see all the facets of Jesus.

Sin makes us alone.   The gospel should be bringing us back into community.  We need to reach the culture around us, connecting to the questions and issues of the people in our neighborhoods, connect with their baseline cultural narratives.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My notes are incomplete but I come away with several things to meditate on:

In the Parable, who am I?

More importantly, what does it say about Jesus?

Having been adopted by the Father what will my life in community look like?

I don't say "should look like"  because I think if our hearts have been awakened to the Gospel we are moving to that life of community.

We have been blessed to be saved into a family.  We are a covenant community.  My life of faith is not just about Jesus and me.

"It is true, of course, that what is an unspeakable gift of God for the lonely individual is easily disregarded and trodden under foot by those who have the gift every day.  It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of peace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed.  Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God's grace from the bottom of his heart.  Let him thank God on his knees and declare:  It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brothers."

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Drink In Beauty

"We need to drink in beauty wherever we can get it - in music, in nature, in art, in a great meal shared.  These are all gifts to us from God's generous heart.  Friends, those things are not decorations to a life; they are what brings us life." From Waking the Dead

Wine that gladdens the heart of man, 

Oil to make his face shine,

And bread that sustains his heart.  Psalm 104:15

I need beauty.  We all do.  The unconscious desire for it moves me to take care in the decoration and arrangement of my home, create wholesome and delicious meals for my family, give thought to the clothes on my body.  Thankfully I am just as concerned about the less tangible beauty around me.  I desire that my heart and my children's hearts are full of love and compassion, peace and joy.  I hope that we all act with grace, and tenderness, and mercy.  I practice and model an awareness of the created beauty around us.  Most rides in the car involve a dialogue on the color of the sky, or the value of the sunlight, or the brilliance of the hayfield.  The most amazing thing about beauty is that it reveals to us a little more of who our Creator is, it moves our heart to awestruck praise and worship.

All creatures of our God and King,

Lift up your voice and with us sing,

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam,

O praise Him, O praise Him,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Alleluia!

All Creatures of Our God and King  St Francis of Assisi

During Advent this year I was pondering Christmas's past.  One of my favorite memories was of our last Christmas in New York.  We had loaded up the family into the car to go out and get a Christmas tree.  It was late in the day, the sky was already dark, and too late to easily find a tree.  My memories are fuzzy about the practical details, I believe we had to go to a couple of places to find somewhere that was still open, there was frustration and probably a little anger.  But in the process of driving those dark country roads on that brisk winter night God blessed us with a brilliant show.  Aurora borealis, Northern lights.  As we slowed our pace down to witness the colorful sky, our attention was caught by a family of deer ever so slowing crossing the road and wandering off into the farm field next to us.  After the initial "Wow, did you see that!" We were all speechless.  My heart was filled with silent praise and gratitude for the gifts God had given us.  What beauty there was in the rich colors in that cold night sky.  How graceful and elegant were the dear as they moved in a carefully orchestrated group through the snowy field.  How full of wonder and peace were my children's  faces as we watched the glorious show.  Beauty reminds us of how rich a life we have.

Quite a few years later I was able to witness beauty of a very different kind.  In a land full of sunlight and heat, and to some extent dirt and human waste, I saw the beauty of joy in suffering, abundance in poverty, all in the faces of children.  As I met them, photographed them, was greeted by them, I was overwhelmed by the question in my heart "Why don't I cry?"  Why am I not overcome by the apparent hopelessness of their lives.  I still an praying for answers to that question, but I think part of it is that God gave me eyes to see their beauty.  The beauty of a human child created in His image.  The beauty of a heart filled with hope.  The beauty of a blossoming flower thriving in a coffee can planter, hung on the wall of a dirt home, in a sea of dirt "streets".  We all desire beauty, whether rich or poor, cold or hot, dark or light.

Father please give us eyes to see your beauty.  Hearts to drink it in.  Gifts to create beauty.  Thank you that beauty gives us life.

I was kissed by Hugh Jackman

I was kissed by Hugh Jackman!   I can't believe it was almost a month ago and I am just now writing about it.  I was working on a local show and my main responsibility was to set up the dressing rooms and supply what the artists needed.  This involved preparing a private tour bus for Mr. Jackman, getting his dinner from a local restaurant, and arranging everything for his arrival.  I happened to still be in the bus when he arrived, he greeted me, initiated conversation, and gave me a very sweet kiss on the cheek.  I've had the opportunity to meet many celebrities, and none has been more gracious.  The very wonderful thing was that in those hours of preparation that day, for all the artists, my desire was to bless them, and provide what they needed to do the job they were there to do.

That the attitude of my heart that day was to serve was a much bigger miracle than getting kissed by Hugh Jackman.  This fall has been a difficult season for me.  I have been struggling greatly with a number of things including the implications of Joes cancer diagnosis, and the practical impact it has had on our life, not the least of these being financial.  The week before the show had been one of those  weeks of "if it can go wrong it will".  In the midst of Joe traveling and my trying to work while caring for two kids at home, we had car trouble.  Our truck clearly needed brakes, we had put if off as long as possible and finally broke down and took it in.  Well over the course of two days a $300 brake job turned into $1200 worth of repairs that were needed.  The day I picked it up I had to head right up to Nashville to work, the beginning of several 12 hour days.  When I got to the dealership they couldn't get the truck started.  They finally gave it a boost and it turned over.  The mechanic wasn't sure the battery was bad (it could have just gotten drained if something was left on) so I didn't really want to spend another $150 bucks on a battery.  So I got in the truck and drove around to try and charge it on my way to work.  The further I drove the more frustrated and angry I felt.  I went to work, came out that evening, and thankfully the truck started.  The next couple of days were a series of small frustrations.  Joe was home long enough to replace the truck battery (after getting stuck at Publics because it wouldn't start).  He had to fly out of town again and took the truck to the airport, so I was driving my car back and forth to Nashville.  In the meantime the show I was working on was awesome, but it was long days of physically exhausting work.  Work that on other shows I would have hired someone else to do.  In the midst of fatigue, and frustration my heart became more resentful and angry.  And although I worked hard, wanting to do a good job, it ended up being for all the wrong reasons.  By Tuesday, the day before the show I was in the pits.  It was Sams 16th birthday and I would not be home at all that day.  I had not made him a cake and would not be there for dinner, it sucked.  On my way home that night I wanted to stop and at least get him a cupcake or something to say Happy Birthday.  I stopped in Cool Springs to go to the store.  I walked up to the door of the store and realized it was closed.  When I got back in my car it wouldn't start.  I sat there, cried, and called AAA.  Joe was in Vegas doing a show so I couldn't even call him for support.  The AAA guys came in about 45 minutes, started the car, and were very nice.  I think they knew they were dealing with a women on the edge : )  I couldn't go to another store to get Sam cake, because I couldn't turn the car off, so I drove through Dunkin Donuts and took him donuts for his birthday.  So finally at 10:30 that night I got home and he got his birthday donuts.  

I had to be back at work at 8 am the next day.  Amazingly when I went out to get in the car it started up, with a little hesitation, but it started.  During the 30 minute drive to work I cried out to God, first in anger, finally in surrender.  By the time I arrived at work the prayer I uttered ended with "Please just incline my heart to want to serve the people I am working with today."

So despite needing to rearrange very heavy furniture in  a number of dressing rooms because of last minute changes, and continuing to run all day long, getting stuff people needed.  It was a good day.  I was happy to be there.  I was even content in what no longer seemed like such menial tasks.  I had the opportunity to literally make dozens of people more comfortable that day.  And it felt good.  It felt good because I remembered I am loved by God, and that fact  determines who I am, not the work I do.  God mercifully reminded me of that and in so doing changed my heart.  

So the really significant kiss that day, was the kiss of God reminding me I am His beloved.

Sweetly followed by a kiss of greeting from a very gracious man.

Life is...

I was rereading an old post and came across the one about our bird feeders.  I had to laugh.  Those bird feeders are now sitting empty on their hooks on the deck.  They have been empty for almost a month.  Not because we can't afford bird feed, or forget to buy it, or got tired of the bullying black birds chasing everyone else away.  No, they sit empty cause we got tired of bird poop all over our deck.  Joe scrubbed it all down, and we haven't filled the bird feeders since.

At the moment I am in one of those cynical moods I rarely allow myself (too many other cynics in the household).  But the bird feeders seem a pretty accurate picture of the way life goes much of the time.  I intend something good, giving, compassionate, peaceful, and it all ends up poop.  I know that the truth is that all things work together for good, that there is a purpose, and an end which I rarely see.  But at the moment if feels like poop.

Thankfully there is a hope inside me, that even I can't suppress.   I have bought a large bag of bird seed.  I've figured out an alternate location for the feeders. Somewhere where they can poop away and it will just end up in the grass. I may even get them up and filled in the next day or two and we'll be back to our endless amusement watching birds come and go.

As far as the other, more bothersome poop in my life.  I'm clueless.  The solutions don't seem nearly so accessible or easy.  So I pray.  Sometimes thats all I can do.

I am a Grandparent

Wow!  I had no idea.  I had no idea what it would be like for my child to have a child.  It is awesome.  It is heart enlarging.  It is so much like having another child of my own.  It is good.

Little Olive was born last Thursday at 3:30 am.

 A bit overdue, her birth was much anticipated.  From the benefit of hindsight I encouraged Megan to relax and enjoy the last moments before Olives arrival, her world would never be the same again.  Well that was a purely pragmatic perspective.  Thinking in terms of never being alone again, always having someone else to also  get ready when you leave the house,  having to put someone else first in a way you don't necessarily even do with your spouse.  But I had lost sight of the explosion of love that takes place in your heart when your baby emerges in this world.  Now I remember.

Olive and Megan were amazing during the birth.  Megan worked harder than she ever has (which is something as she is naturally industrious).  She persevered through long, continuous contractions, working with her body to birth Olive.  Olive endured it well.

I am so proud of Megan.  She started labor knowing it would be the most painful, exhausting event of her life, completely focused on how God designed her body to birth this child and preparing herself to work with it; researching what would be the safest, best birth experience for Olive and choosing that.  That is the definition of a Mother.

So now I have to figure out what it means to be a Grandmother.  This is uncharted territory.  I feel  a love for her that rivals what I feel for my own children.  But I realize she is not my daughter, she is Megan and Joshs, they are her parents, they will care for her in the way that I feel inclined to.  So my relationship with her will be something different.  I just don't know what that different is.  I guess I will follow my heart, listen well, and be mindful of how I can best love them as a family.  A unique family, within my own.  

Lars and the Real Girl

I finally watched the movie Lars and The Real Girl last night.  A friend has been asking me for months if I've seen it.  I thought it looked interesting, but much of my motivation in watching it was to say yes next time he asked.  I think it was an incredibly fine film.  Full of warm emotion, not sappy, but moving and inspiring, a beautiful picture of a family, a community loving a hurting individual very, very well.  Wonderful performances by everyone in it.

Love to say much more about what a fine example of living well as a community it is, or what a great illustration it is for Arlins sermons about the purpose of the church, but I've got a 10 year old demanding a bagel, and since its 10 am I think I should feed him.  See the movie for yourself, you'll see.

Life Gets in the Way

I had hoped when I started blogging that it would become a daily habit, that abundant words and wisdom would flow out of me, a wealth of good reading.  How is it that everyday life so frequently gets in the way of this?  I guess the solution may be to get up early before anyone else, before the list of to do's needs to be started, before my mind is racing making it difficult to sit and focus on the computer screen and words that aren't quite flowing.   But its summer time, and summer time for me is staying up late and watching movies and sleeping in, in the morning.  Used to be the most urgent thing was getting up to feed the kids breakfast and to get to the pool before it got too crowded.   We have yet to go swimming this summer.  Each day I say tomorrow will be the day, and life gets in the way.  This summer has been many, many days spent at the hospital with my dad, then home trying to catch up on a months worth of things undone.  All of this is not a complaint, just an acknowledgement that the best laid plans are usually interrupted.  I am not in control of my days, thankfully the One who is is faithful and good.

So today I hope to finish a few more things for Olives room, organize my piles of stuff someplace other than the dining room table, and maybe even clean my bedroom.   Good stuff, though not very exciting.  But as I've gotten older I've learned to appreciate these simple things, things that bring a bit of order to the chaos, things that communicate to those around me that I care for them, things that slow me down and give me room to pray and ponder as I work at them.  So off I go to finally get dressed, clean off the kitchen counter, and start, maybe even finish a project or two here at home.  But its more than likely that something will pop up to interrupt, life getting in the way, and thats okay.