Speaking of Life 3009 | Jonah—Prophet or Cautionary Tale
Greg Williams

If you ask anyone about Jonah, what will they say the story is about?

The whale. Every kids’ book and cartoon adaptation of Jonah features some hybrid of Moby Dick and Jaws creeping up out of the seaweed to swallow the hapless prophet.

But the real story is much bigger. Jonah is asked by God to avert the destruction of Israel’s sworn enemy, Nineveh. Jonah, out of an ethnic hatred of these people and anger about God showing them mercy, ran in the other direction as fast and far as he could.

At one point, he even chose to kill himself by jumping into angry seas rather than obeying God’s call. In his own rage and bitterness, he would rather die than soften his will to God’s.

God turns the tables on him by sending, as we all know, a giant fish.
God turns the tables again by hearing the Ninevites repenting and holding back his judgment.

But Jonah remains unmoved. He ends the whole book arguing with God over whether God is allowed to show mercy to these people.

In a sense, Jonah gets his theology right, but he misses who God is. Sure the Israelites are the people of God, sure the Assyrians were bloodthirsty and godless, but in the book of Jonah we read, God is:

 “…a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” Jonah 4:2 (ESV)

Isn’t that who we want God to be? Sure! But Jonah was blinded by his own self-preservation and his own thoughts on how God should be acting. Instead of a prophet, his story became a cautionary tale.

Has that ever happened to us? Have we ever so figured out how God should be acting that we miss what he’s doing? Does an obsession with theological details sometimes cause us to lose the big picture—that God loves the world and wants to draw everyone to himself?

Let’s not forget that God’s main business is love—and that love is messy, fuzzy, spontaneous, and generous. He’s not going to follow whatever expectations we have for him, and he’s not consulting us on how far to extend his grace. Halleljujah! Let’s be grateful! Embrace his lavish love for you and for your perceived enemies. That’s how GOOD God is.

I am Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking of Life 3008 | Lukewarm Coffee
Cara Garrity

I have a friend who likes her coffee lukewarm. Her husband on the other hand will only drink it piping hot. Early in their marriage this created a moment of tension. One morning her husband prepared some fresh hot coffee just the way he would like it. Then he surprised her with a cup to enjoy for her morning reading. She seemed touched by the gesture, but he noticed that she didn’t drink it. In fact, she let it sit so long that he knew it would no longer be any good. From his perspective she had wasted his efforts of kindness.

But, instead of showing frustration, he took her coffee and went to heat it up in the microwave. Now it was her turn to be frustrated. From her perspective he was about to undo her patient waiting for the perfect cup of coffee. Thankfully, with some sharing of coffee preferences, marital disaster was averted. The problem wasn’t that her husband didn’t know how to brew coffee. It was that he didn’t know his wife.

I think we could all agree that the best gifts come from those who know us best.

With that in mind, listen to this Psalm that speaks of the Lord’s knowing of us.

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.” Psalm 139:1-4 (NRSV)

We could read more of this passage to discover that the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. As the one who created us, we can know that he is the only one who knows us perfectly. And that means he knows the perfect gift to give us. The Christmas season we just celebrated was all about that perfect gift—Jesus Christ his one and only Son. In this gift, God the Father has given us himself to be known. This is what we were created for, to know the Father like the Son knows the Father.

When we receive the gift of Jesus, we will also have an epiphany about ourselves. As we come to know Jesus, we will come to know ourselves the way our Creator knows us. It’s only after receiving the gift of Jesus that we come to see that knowing the Father and being known by him is the life we are made for.

And since he knows us perfectly, we can trust he knows how to brew the perfect cup of coffee—even if it’s lukewarm coffee.

I’m Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking of Life 3007 | God’s Graffiti
Greg Williams

During World War II, American soldiers developed a graffiti image that became an emblem of survival. Especially if you are from a military family, you’ve seen the image before: a person with a comically long nose peering over an edge with the phrase, “Kilroy was here.”

This odd image became a rallying cry for American troops to draw wherever they went. Every time they took an enemy stronghold or made it through a battle, Kilroy would show up on the wall. It was an image of hope and determination, as well as some much-needed humor.

There’s an oddly similar practice in the authorship of the gospels. A word will show up in one story and appear in another, tying the two narrative locations together to help us read what’s going on. It’s the Holy Spirit’s equivalent of “Kilroy Was Here” in the pages of scripture.

Let me give you an example of this practice, which the academics call a “verbal thread.” In Mark 1, Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan and comes up out of the water to see the heavens “torn” open. We see Mark use this same word in another poignant place:

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Mark 15:37-38 (ESV)

This verbal thread, this “Kilroy Was Here,” helps us tie together the story of Jesus’ baptism and the tearing of the curtain. Just as God tore the heavens to tell us that he was pleased with Jesus, so he tore open the curtain to tell us he is well-pleased with us.

Another important place is Peter’s denial of Jesus in John. In Chapter 18, Peter is in the temple courtyard and denies he knows Jesus as he warms himself by the “charcoal fire”. When Jesus lovingly restores Peter in Chapter 21, he’s waiting on the beach cooking fish over a “charcoal fire”. These instances are important verbal play that make us pay attention. How do these stories inform each other? We want to ask what do we learn about God when we put these anecdotes side-by-side?

In a sense, God does this in our lives too. Every once in a while, when we look with the right kind of eyes, we can see his graffiti on the wall: “God was here.” God was present, God brought this blessing or this change, seemingly out of nowhere and his fingerprints are all over it. I encourage you to keep a watchful eye for the threads of God’s presence in your life.

I am Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking of Life 3006 | Fitting In and Belonging
Cara Garrity

One of my favorite movies growing up was inspired by Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night. The lead character is a high school female soccer player named Viola. When the school cuts the girls’ soccer program, the coach for the boys’ soccer team refuses to let Viola play, saying that girls can’t compete with boys athletically. Viola spends the rest of the movie trying to prove she’s good enough. She goes undercover as her twin brother and plays on a boys’ soccer team for a competing school, hoping to beat the team that refused to let her play as a girl.

Though we likely haven’t gone to the extremes that Viola did in the movie, we’ve all probably experienced something like this—the feeling like we don’t fit in, being excluded based on difference, feeling pressured to change ourselves, or needing to prove ourselves to belong. Maybe we’ve been the reason another person felt like they didn’t fit in. Maybe we’ve excluded others based on difference, pressured them to change, or required them to prove themselves to belong. Wanting to be included is natural – we all want to belong. But sometimes we think that we, or others, can’t fit in and still be ourselves. The Bible has good news for all of us who thought we didn’t fit in.

The book of Ephesians was written to a group of people who were very diverse, and it tells us this diversity was intended by God who determined that being unique was a blessing. Notice what Paul writes:

With all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Ephesians 1:8b-10 (NRSV)

It says that God’s will is for Christ to bring everything together, to unite diverse peoples and things in heaven and earth. This is who he is—the great unifier. After all, he created us differently; he loves our differences, and he wants us to love and appreciate diversity.

On our own, we struggle with diversity. When someone is different from us, we sometimes have a hard time celebrating those differences and embracing them. But that is what Christ in us enables us to do. Regardless of our feelings of being excluded, or our practice of excluding others, we can be confident that God’s perfect plan is for everyone’s complete inclusion. Christ is the way we first accept our own uniqueness and then accept the unique personhood of others.

What does this look like? When we know we’re loved and accepted and valued by God for who we are, that loving acceptance cannot help but overflow to others. How the mystery is carried out might be difficult to explain, but we can witness its effects. Christ in us is at work, “gather[ing] up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

As you move through the world, you might feel pressured to change to belong to a group, like Viola did in my favorite high school movie, or you might feel tempted to exclude someone like the boys’ soccer coach did in the movie, but Christ’s way is to help us lovingly celebrate, appreciate, and embrace the differences we encounter in the world.

A mentor once told me that “because of who God is, we don’t have to ‘fit-in’ to truly belong.” The mystery is this: when we appreciate God’s loving acceptance for ourselves, we can extend it graciously to others.

May you be a gracious participant in Christ’s gathering together of all people.

I’m Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life. 

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Speaking of Life 3005 | The Twist Ending
Greg Williams

There are almost 7000 movies on Netflix. And that’s only one of the dozen or so streaming services available. Right now, we are awash in stories, narratives, and characters. As human beings, we’ve always loved stories, and technology transforms our living rooms into home theaters.  

Personally, I enjoy movies that make me think, and allow me to be the ride along detective. The twist ending is a favorite device these days. That last act/scene where the bad guy turns out to be the good guy or the poor character turns out to be royalty. The move included an avalanche of scenes that gave clues you simply didn’t see.

The whole story, through all it’s twists and turns, comes together in a new light suddenly. You may not have seen it coming, but when the twist comes it makes sense of everything else.

Much of Paul’s writing explains the twist ending of the gospel—which is Jesus. Paul connects the story of Jesus with the story of Israel and the rest of the world, showing how the gospel ties everything else together.

Look at Galatians 4:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.
Galatians 4:4-5 (NRSV)

The fullness of time. The long story of Israel — God setting one nation apart, then one family line, then one family, then one person who represents all of humanity.

Jesus didn’t come because the law failed. He didn’t scrap all that had gone before to start a new story, he completed the story begun in Adam and Eve. In fact, the real beginning isn’t Genesis, it’s John 1, where we see that Jesus, the Father and Spirit have always existed in perfect relationship. John tells us that Jesus became flesh to enter the story at the appointed time. He is the twist ending that makes history—his story—make sense.

Do we recognize Jesus as the twist ending for us? Is that part of the story that was missing in your life and mine that makes everything come together? Think of those places where Jesus is described as the capstone or cornerstone—not the stone that everything stands on, but the piece that makes all the others come together, makes everything neatly fit into place.

He completes not only your story, and mine, but the grand narrative of all of humanity—all the wars and dynasties and joy and pain in all of history. Jesus is not the ghost in the machine who comes from nowhere, but the twist ending the story was building to all along. And it is good news.

I am Greg Williams, Speaking of the good news of Life.

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Speaking of Life 3004 | Favored by God
Heber Ticas

I remember teaching my son how to ride a bike without training wheels. He was scared, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to do it. I mean, there was some risk of falling, right? And if he didn’t use the brakes, he could run into something. But I knew he was ready, and I ran alongside that bike until he was steady. He knew I wouldn’t let go, and I knew that he could handle it.

This memory makes me think of how Mary, the mother of Jesus, must have felt when the angel Gabriel told her that she was going to become pregnant with God’s Son. Let’s take a look:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. Luke 1:26-31

Mary was just a teenager. She probably didn’t feel ready for this, especially when being pregnant before marriage meant being shamed or even worse, killed. But God was moving Mary from what she thought she was, a poor unmarried girl, to what she was capable of. This is what he does for each one of us.

Like us, Mary needed some reassurance. She asked how a pregnancy would be possible, but ultimately, she said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38, NRSV). Even though she wasn’t sure she could handle it, God, through Gabriel, said she could. She believed the angel’s word that “no word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:37, NIV), and she knew God would be with her.

In the same way my son trusted my judgment when I said he was ready to ride a bike without training wheels, Mary trusted that God knew her—all of the good and all of the bad—and believed in her. Because God believed she could handle it, Mary believed, too. When God asks us to participate in sharing his love through our unique gifting, he already knows we’re capable of handling it, and his presence is promised because “no word from God will ever fail.” As you move through the world and share God’s love, may you know that the infinite Divine presence believes you can handle it and will enable you to do it.

I’m Heber Ticas, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking of Life 3003 | Mary’s Restoration
Greg Williams

The virgin Mary. There are thousands of paintings and sculptures depicting her image. Millions of prayers have been offered to her. Churches and cathedrals have been built in Mary’s name. Choirs have sung soaring choruses to her. At this time of year, people even put images of her on their front lawns. 

Yet, for all the adulation heaped upon her, Mary was once viewed by some as immoral with little hope for the future. She was found pregnant before she was officially married to her betrothed husband, Joseph. This was not socially accepted and Mary, no doubt, was the recipient of judgment and disapproval. Through no fault of her own, she was marginalized, and I can only imagine how often she felt hurt and lonely from the rejection and judgment.

While visiting her cousin Elizabeth, Mary was reminded that she was the recipient of the Lord’s favor. The child she carried was the Lord and Savior of all humanity. This good news filled Mary with joy, and in Luke 1:46-55, we read her song:

[LOOK DOWN]

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” Luke 1:46-55

[LOOK UP]

Before he was even born, Jesus was rewriting Mary’s story, turning a tale of reproach into a tale of rejoicing. The reality of the baby to be born caused his ostracized pregnant mother to say, “all generations will call me blessed.” No matter the circumstance, from the misperceptions during pregnancy, to apprehension during the flight to Egypt, to fear of loss when Jesus was 12 and stayed behind at the temple, to the horror and shock experienced at the foot of the cross, Jesus was restoring Mary. And when she went through that inexpressible glory of the empty tomb on Easter morning, she was filled with joy, another gift from a one-of-a-kind Son. Arguably, Mary was the first to experience the restoration Christ would bring to all humanity.

The next time you hear the name “Mary” or see an image of her, think about the restoration and renewal that Jesus brought her and brings you. He turned her despair into joy, and he can do the same for you.

The Advent season is an excellent time to remind ourselves that Jesus’ coming is good news for all, especially those who are poor, broken, and in despair.

Let us celebrate the God who can rewrite our story and turn our mourning into rejoicing.

I’m Greg Williams, living in his joy and speaking of life.

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Speaking of Life 3002 | Walking on Glass Floors
Cara Garrity

Tokyo Tower is not just an iconic landmark in Japan. Rising over 1000 feet in the air it is also one of the best places to view Tokyo’s expansive skyline.

But for one tourist it presented a rather unsettling experience. On the tower’s observation deck, there are several large glass windows built into the floor where one can walk while viewing the streets down below. These windows create the feeling of being suspended over Tokyo. Perhaps you can relate to this tourist’s experience. He knew the thick glass was designed to walk on, but he had little peace in doing so.

First, he put one foot on the glass and tapped it a few times. Then he mustered up enough courage to place his foot on the window while leaving the other foot on the metal floor. From here he slowly slid his other foot over the glass window. Even with both feet on the glass floor he still bent his knees and extended his arms to distribute his weight. It was in this position with knees shaking and head perspiring that he heard some giggling behind him. He slowly turned around to peer over his shoulder. What he saw was an entire class of local students pointing and giggling as they jumped up and down on another glass window adjacent to his.

The difference between the tourist and the students wasn’t the glass they were standing on but their trust that the glass would hold.

If you are like me there are days I feel like those giddy students, carefree and laughing in the face of perceived danger. But other days I’m like the tourist, barely able to move for fear of falling. Can you relate?

Isaiah could. Listen to this contrast of faithfulness:

“All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:6b-8

Like the giggling children, it may be embarrassing to hear Isaiah’s candid observation of our faithlessness. But as we celebrate during the season of Advent we can take comfort in Isaiah’s proclamation that God’s faithfulness has come in Jesus Christ and endures forever. So, even when our faith falters like the tourist, the foundation of God’s grace still holds. We remain securely suspended by grace like walking on glass floors.

I’m Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life.

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Speaking Of Life 3001 | To Photograph the Unseeable
Greg Williams

In April of 2019, a strange picture hit the newsfeed and went viral. After ten straight years of work by a team of 200 scientists, they were able to photograph the unseeable. Most of us remember this picture of Sagittarius A, the first black hole to ever be photographed.

This blurry image shows the silhouette of the black hole against the radioactive gas around its event horizon. The black hole can’t be seen because it swallows and destroys light itself.

Sagittarius A is 26,000 light-years away, 156 quadrillion miles. Looking at it is like trying to read a newspaper in LA while sitting in New York. The picture of it is the work of lasers, telescopes, satellites, and acres of equations we can’t even imagine. This image is an approximation of a reflection of an idea of what it might be like.

Prophecy in its biblical form is similar, a reflection of a refraction of a reality. It’s usually rendered in the language of the apocalyptic like Mark 13:

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.”
Mark 13:24-26 (ESV)

This genre of writing is wild, highly symbolic, and more interested in conveying feelings than events. Jesus is talking about the apocalyptic events of the destruction of the temple, which would happen in the next generation. This is also a brief glimmer of the great apocalypse at his second coming.

Again, the writing is meant to explain feelings, not catalog events, or map out timelines. As we enter the advent season, we reflect on the miraculous events of God entering our world in human form and the hope of a Messiah!

Whether we become mesmerized by the puzzle pieces of scripture coming together, a child from the line of David, born in Bethlehem. Or cosmic events, a new star appearing in the east and angels in the sky. The real event is Immanuel himself.

God with Mary and Joseph in the animal stall. God with us today in our place and space. And God with us in his pending return.

In spite of all of the trappings, attractions, and details of the season that can vie for our attention it is the presence and person of Jesus who is the star!

I’m Greg Williams, speaking of life.

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Speaking Of Life 2052 | No Room for Bullies
Jeff Broadnax

Let me set up a dilemma for you and then I’m going to ask you to solve it. Ready?

You are a farmer who raises cattle and you get up one morning to check on your herd in the pasture.

As you approach, you realize something is terribly wrong. Cows are running everywhere out of control. Each cow seems to be gripped in fear and running in a crazed panic. The pasture is getting destroyed, and the cows are injuring themselves by running into one another.

That’s when you see it.

In the middle of the chaos is one large bull with horns. For some reason, this bull is charging every cow in the pasture.

Now, what do you do?

You are probably throwing your hands up right now thinking, “really Jeff, you need help figuring this one out?” It’s obvious, right?

You get rid of the bull. Problem solved!

But wait, not so fast.

Before you get to the gate you hear one of your neighbors shout: “Hey, before you remove that bull. Can you really judge a bull for being a bully?”

Now, what do you do?

Well, that’s an easy one too. You give the bull into the “loving” care of your neighbor. Get it??

Thanks for playing along.

With all pastoral puns aside, you probably have heard Jesus referred to as our Good Shepherd. Ezekiel was a prophet in a time when the nation of Israel was longing for a good shepherd to lead them. The political leaders of the time were doing what some of our leaders still do today; taking good care of the rich and ignoring how the poor and marginal were being treated. They refused to judge and intervene when the powerful “bullied” and took advantage of those with less power.

In Ezekiel 34, the prophet points to a Savior, a Shepherd who would come from the line of David who would do the opposite of what the world does. He would make extra room for the weak, tenderly care for the disenfranchised. He’d ensure that his flock is not scattered, bringing unity.

Here’s a verse that proclaims the good news of Jesus as our Shepard:

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. Ezekiel 34:20-22

Thankfully, we have a Sovereign Lord who judges righteously. And notice that his judgment is for the good of the whole flock leaving no sheep behind. God’s judgment is in and the same as the Good Shepherd, aiming for the safety and provision for all the flock in his care.  

May the good news that God has judged you worthy of his grace, mercy, and love enable you to feel safe in his care. Let us not be like the neighbor allowing bulls to create chaos and injure those with less power. Empowered by the Spirit, let us join Jesus in bringing peace.

I’m Jeff Broadnax, Speaking of Life.

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