Christmas Blessings 2016

Photo of a painting I purchased from a Christian artist during my trip to the
Democratic Republic of Congo entitled "Nativity" © May 2015

As I was reading Luke 1 during our family "7 Day Countdown to Christmas," I was just struck by the future tense verbs in the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary:

• And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come (ἐπελεύσεται) upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow (ἐπισκιάσει) you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God...  For no word from God will ever fail (οὐκ ἀδυνατήσει)."
• "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:35-38)

The same Spirit which by God's word that created the cosmos in Genesis 1 was about to overshadow the virgin Mary and by God's word, the Word would conceive and be born as the Son of the Most High. 
   All of world history hinged on Mary's obedience. The Holy Spirit will come, and the power of the Most High will overshadow, but the Lord wanted Mary to respond to this grand invitation to partake in His divine plan for humanity. God's word did not require, but the Lord nevertheless sought, Mary's faith so His word can do its work in her and through her. 
   She was at most a teenager from a politically insignificant village of Nazareth in Galilee, a blip to people like Caesar Augustus, or governor Quirinius, and the powers at Rome (2:1-2). Yet without her faith, would Christ have come? It's a mystery we need not ponder because she did obey. She did surrender herself to God's word and will. And God's word was fulfilled by the Word made flesh who dwelt among us, gave death's its death blow, and rose as the Son of God. 
    May we all be humbled by Mary's example and seek to have the same obedience of faith as Mary's (Rom 1:5). May the Lord bless you with His presence this Christmas and may His word to you be fulfilled to the fullest. Amen! 

Back to Blogging after a Summer Hiatus

The summer has blitzed by and I'm still catching my breath. Although I returned from the seminary trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in early June, and was planning on only taking a few weeks before going back to blogging, I ended up taking the entire summer off. I took a week to recover from the Congo trip and then one demand after another ensued. Now the Fall semester is about to begin at North Park. Ugh!
    This academic year, I'm on a sabbatical research leave (Thank you Louisville Institute and North Park for making this a reality!). Ironically, while I am free from teaching and administrative duties, I have a full plate of research and writing demands that will occupy my time fully (not to mention that I have my oldest son applying to colleges this year and all the parental duties that are tied to that enterprise!). However, I do plan to get back to a weekly posting on the Paul Redux blog now that I am gearing up for a year of instense reading, writing, text-editing, and everything else that needs to be done to finish two book projects. 
     I'll begin by posting some reflections on my Congo student trip, and then my visit to the Getty Villa early August. Stay tuned for the next post! It's good to be back and into a regular routine again. Blessings! 

The Protestant University of Ubangi (UPU)
where I taught a 5-day seminar series on Reconciliation
Photo by Max Lee © 2015

On Mission to Congo

Whew! After blazing through finals week, graduation, and submitting the grades for all my classes, I'm taking off on a two-week mission trip with North Park's missiology professor Paul DeNeui and a team of seminary students.

From Chicago to Congo:
North Park's 2015 Summer Mission Trip

The schedule is full... when I get back, I'll not only blog about my trip but I'll start making regular posts again after a short hiatus. Until then, blessings!