Two Pints Later: Advent 4

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Advent 4

Advent is a four week season that provides is with the opportunity to celebrate the excitement, anticipation and sense of expectation that comes with Christmas.

Not excitement and anticipation because of all the trappings of Christmas that most of us are largely familiar with – Santa sacks, presents, sweet treats, family fun, festivities, fine food, indulgence, holidays, summer, BBQ’s and all those things we associate with a Kiwi Christmas. As good as what they all might be (and obviously this things can all be distorted to actually take away from Christmas rather than add to it), this isn’t what we get excited about during Advent and at Christmas.

The excitement, celebration and anticipations centres on the coming of Jesus...

· Jesus’ coming 2000 years ago

· Jesus’ desire to come and work in our lives today

· Jesus’ coming to restore and to put all things right

Often in our 21^st Century context we wait until the New Year to turn over a new leaf, to enter a new chapter in life. Today isn’t they day for that, no way. LOL. But somehow the transition from the 31/12 to 01/01 is the time! Now we’ll lose weight, get fit, take up a hobby, give up a vice, read the bible every day, make church attendance a weekly habit, quit smoking or whatever it might be. Now is the moment to summon our will power, our mental reserves, to get committed, to find an accountability partner, to psyche oneself up, to turn a new page, starts a new chapter and begin a new life!

It’s a bit crazy that we wait to the 31^st December to do this, but it kind of makes sense.

The Christian New Year isn’t January 1 though. The Christian New Year, the Christian Liturgical Calendar, kick starts the New Year at the end of November, the fourth Sunday before Christmas. That’s when we say happy New Year.

Here though we don’t hope that the New Year will bring a new chapter and a different story into reality in our life; we celebrate with excitement and anticipation that a new chapter has begun and will continue to be!

External to our efforts, to our striving, to our will power, to our best intentions, and New Year’s resolutions we celebrate that a new chapter has begin in Jesus Christ. All we have to do is get lost and found in the story of Jesus.

ADVENT – A new chapter is coming, let’s get ready, let’s celebrate.
CHRISTMAS – A new chapter has begun.

That’s the excitement and anticipation of Advent and of Christmas, there is a new chapter in the story, a new chapter in the story of humanity and there can be a new chapter in the story of my life as well. And that new chapter is here today!

Lost – found
Brokenness and strife – something beautiful
Despair, anxiety, hopelessness – peace, confidence and hope
Pain and heartache – healing and restoration

We sing about this in some of our Christmas carols...

O Holy Night

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

In all our trials born to be our friends
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger.

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Joy to the World

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

ADVENT – A new chapter is coming, let’s get ready, let’s celebrate.
CHRISTMAS – A new chapter has begun.

BAPTISM – we’ve entered into a new story.

We’ve put our faith and trust in Jesus, we’ve turned from living life our own way and we’ve chosen to live in the light of God’s big story, to get lost and found in God’s big story. We die with Christ and we are raised to new life with Christ!

That’s what a Christian is, that’s what a Christ follower is someone who’s whole life is caught up and shaped by God’s big story and the life changing work of Jesus Christ in coming and making a new chapter possible for all humanity.

Look forward to the possibility of a new chapter in your life this Advent.
Celebrate the dawning of a new day, of a new chapter, because of Jesus this Christmas.
Put your faith and trust in Jesus, turn to follow him as King, enter a new chapter in Baptism.

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Whether it’s over a pint of beer, an espresso coffee, or an icy cold bottle of New Zealand’s own Lemon & Paeroa, there is something invigorating about a meaningful conversation. Finding someone with whom your ideas and musings resonate is encouraging and reassuring, it inspires you to walk on. Finding someone with a different perspective causes you to pause, to reconsider, to take stock, to refine your thinking. Both can be healthy. Both can get you into trouble. Two Pints Later is the online continuation of a variety of conversations between some strangers who have become friends. It is a collaborative attempt to continue discussions that started in living rooms, or at BBQ’s, or after church, or at the pub, or in cafes, or in classrooms around New Zealand and Australia. We share a common and unwavering commitment to Jesus and mostly our conversations are to do with what it might mean to follow Jesus in our 21st Century, postmodern, postChristian context. Sometimes they’re not. As much as our stories are similar they are different. We each write from our own perspective and the opinions and ideas we present are our own and not necessarily those of our fellow collaborators or organisations we might work for. Individual bios can be found below. Enjoy the conversation and feel free to join in.

Collaborators

Michael Frost - is an early 30’s ginger haired man, passionate about cricket, music, NRL, whiskey (as long as it’s single malt) and theology... and of course, most of all, passionate about the good Lord. Michael is also madly in love with his wife Hannah. He lectures a bit, studies a bit, and does a bit of thinking along the way. Michael believes faith should be genuine in all of its complexities... "The true reality of faith is explored in the midst of our fears, doubts, hopes, beliefs, experiences, sufferings and relationships. Hopefully in the midst of it all, we discover Christ - we discover death and resurrection – and that changes everything!"

Joseph McAuley - is a husband and a father, an M.Div student, an INTJ, and an urban gardener. He is the lead pastor of St Luke's in Mount Maunganui, NZ. He drives a 1967 HR Holden Wagon and is building Artesania Latina’s HMS Endeavour. Joseph is interested in spiritual disciplines, Genesis, sustainability and leadership. He loves the fact that... "Even in the midst of the greyscale reality of a sin ravaged world, in Jesus Christ life can still be lived in vibrant colour. Beauty, passion, laughter, love, grace and forgiveness can be discovered."

Anna Exelby - is married to Nathan - who she is grateful to for consistently widening her worldview (those people who say ‘opposites attract’ are correct). She teaches English at the high school down the road and her students also do their fair share of broadening her outlook. When not trying to enthuse the teenage brain about literature she enjoys coffee and conversation with friends, pottering in her vege garden, getting to the top of the Mount, reading and walking Kingi - their German Shepherd. She struggles to understand how to best be a part of fighting injustice and wants to learn more about sustainability. Anna is working towards a MACS, which she credits with reviving her faith – turns out she needed to turn her brain on and explore some questions – and realise that God was cool with that.

Shane Clifton - is married to Elly and has the privilege and challenge of raising three teenage boys. He is a raving feminist and hopes this blog will include more female contributors (yes, will soon have a couple on board). Shane teaches theology at Alphacrucis college and is the author of Pentecostal Churches in Transition and, in collaboration with new Neil Ormerod, Globalisation in the Mission of the Church. Following a serious accident on 7 October 2010 he is learning to live as a quadriplegic.

Heidi Nagels - is a big fan of good food, great friends and the kind of laughing that makes your sides hurt. She is self-employed accountant, a pastor at St Luke’s in Mount Maunganui and on the homeward straight of her MACS. She plays weekly in a volleyball team called ‘Puddingface’ (with her boyfriend Simon) and would love to master the speedy overhead serve this season. Heidi hopes to continue to learn to be a disciple and a follower of the way and takes courage knowing “’Course Aslan (Jesus) isn’t safe. But he’s good” (Mr Beaver, Narnia)

Braden Matson - is...

Shane Meyer - is the proud owner disproportionately long arms, which on occasion attract the jeers of small children. He lives with his wife Rachel (who he has really grown fond of over the years) in Melbourne, and works in speciality coffee where he has recently received the distinguished ‘Least Indie Barista’ award due to his lack of fringe and / or pirate themed tattoos. When not swimming in a sea of extremely good coffee he attempts to get as much reading done as possible before resuming study and having his life taken over again. He also works continually in an attempt to prevent the immanent psychological implosion of his indoor football team ‘The Pony Express’. He is occasionally serious and loves discussion around how to live every part of our lives as a community of redemption and hope.

Sean du Toit - Sean, along with his wife, Sue, [who he’s had a crush on since he was sixteen], is a follower of Jesus trying to make sense of this world. This quest to be faithful to Jesus has led him into the byways and alleys of theology, history, philosophy and now a community called, “Common Ground.” Part of this quest involves teaching the New Testament, pursuing his own post-grad research and trying to connect with his friends, as often as possible. Sean has unusual sleeping habits, a love for reading documents and inscriptions from the first century, a wise mother, a creative sister and two kick-butt nephews who create within him a desire to one day have his own children.

Sam Bloore - doubts whether many people will have made it this far down a list of bio’s. If you have, he predicts you are organized and efficient. Patient and conscientious. An i-dotter. A t-crosser. Sam is none of these…and so you have his admiration and respect. He is a wannabe thinker with a short attention span – which has obvious challenges. He works for the Compass Foundation, commenting on the tensions of faithfully living a gospel-centred life in 21st-century western culture. What he thinks that faithfulness should look like was profoundly shaped by the premature death of his father last year. Sam considers himself lucky to live near the rest of his family in Auckland and extremely lucky that he gets to do that with his wife Julia. He is slowly and painfully learning to cook (which impresses her) and kiteboard (which doesn’t.)