Blessing...

What can I say?
It's been a long time since I've visited this blog site... been too busy having fun, I guess!
I can say that I feel blessed. No, I KNOW that I am blessed.
I feel blessed for many reasons: being saved by the blood of Jesus, living another day, having a wonderful wife, and being able to live in the Caribbean for 20 months to start!
I feel blessed knowing you guys, my church family in Dominica. Lauren and I only have 44 days left to hang out, laugh, serve, bless and be blessed by you guys. It's been a wild ride, short, but SO sweet! This community has not only given me hope, but it's given me a good grip on REAL church! Now that I have tasted the sweetness of really doing life with a body of believers, I know what I want out of life.
We started as a small group that met at our house over a year ago... only 5 of the original crew is still living in Dominica. When we began, we started talking a lot about "church," and going through our "dreams," solidifying our beliefs and just figuring out some of the basic questions which emerge out of nothing... We all knew this would be a transitional church body, always growing, ever changing, and moving to become more like Christ with every semester.
Currently, we are a family with many children, new faces, various denominational backgrounds, crazy stories and a passion to truly be LIKE JESUS!
I have been blessed to partner with you guys. I have been honored being your pastor, teacher and leader, but most importantly, I have enjoyed your friendship.
I am blessed to know that our elders will keep leading, and our body will keep growing with more and more servants reaching out to this community with the LIGHT of LOVE!
I am blessed that Lauren and I had to "lose our life" to truly find it here in Dominica. YOU have been a part of our shaping. We will miss you, indeed. And, we know that the work which started here will only stretch out throughout the globe as the future Christian doctors and spouses move in love while BEING the CHURCH of Jesus!
I am blessed. You are blessed.
Now, let's keep blessing our heavenly Father.
shalom
Ryan

Shema: from www.followtherabbi.com

The Shema

One day a student came to Jesus and asked, ?Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?"

You might recall that Jesus included ?Love God? and ?Love your neighbor? in his response. Do you remember, however, that Jesus answered by quoting a portion of the ?Shema? ("Shema" means "Listen" or "Hear"). Shema is found in the Torah of the Hebrew Bible (Deut. 6:4-9). Jesus? answer to the student's question begins, ?Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! The Lord alone!"(Deut. 6:4 (NIV footnote;)

In Jesus' day, reciting Shema meant renewing your relationship with God. This was done regularly, perhaps several times a day. Whenever a person recited the Shema, she celebrated God's covenant or promise of grace. Shema firmly acknowledges allegiance to God alone. To recite Shema is to whole-heartedly accept the Kingdom or Reign of God in life. Again and again and again.

When the student asked Jesus his question, he asked Jesus in the language of their culture, ?Rabbi, what is your yoke?? or ?Rabbi, what is your interpretation of Torah?? The student wanted to know Jesus' "bottom line," his summary of Torah.

And so the greatest commandment is the answer to questions like, ?What is the Bible all about? What is God all about? Who is the Christian, and what is she doing here??

The greatest commandment also underlines that a loving relationship with God is absolutely essential for God's people! Loving others is meaningless if that love is not in response to a loving, covenantal relationship with Almighty God. A loving relationship with God must be set and nurtured first; only then will love for others flow out in response.

Life itself is all about loving God with all of every part of you in response to God's covenant of grace. And love for God is best expressed in loving others.

The Shema expresses the foundation of Christian living. Jesus obeyed and loved God, and he loved others, perfectly. If we are to be like Jesus, the desperate desire of our hearts is to do the same. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the community of faith expresses unconditional love of God through obedience and through loving others.

Finally, at a minimum, the Shema included Deuteronomy 6:4-9:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them to your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

God desires believers to live his commandments. The intense and constant meditation on God's Word is the legacy and obvious witness of those who love God and love others. Loving God and loving others springs out of a deep passion for and commitment to the Text.

Prayers for today

Good morning! It's the end of yet another semester at Ross U. Some will be leaving Dominica soon, and others have already left the island. Some families have only begun the journey, and many will follow down this narrow road in the months to come... It's been a blessing to begin this ministry, Lighthouse - ekklesia/church, with you guys. It has been an honor, privilege and joy to serve alongside each and every one of you. We've learned from one another, eaten good meals, laughed a bunch and dreamed big dreams. We've even killed a rat prior to taking Communion (really adding to the whole blood sacrifice). What church can say they've done that?
This will be the last Sunday for Kelsie, Maddie, Grace, Justin and Greta. Stef will be gone in another week, and Robb is already back in the states. We've seen Sherrie, Terry and Billy come and go, and, yes, it's inevitable that everyone will be on their way "back home" in the blink of an eye. This time in Dominica is short, but very sweet, difficult, yet very simple and wonderful.
Lauren and I wouldn't trade this season for the world. We wouldn't trade our living conditions over the past year for anything either as we've been blessed in so many ways through living in this house (even in the midst of break ins, rat problems, leaks, ants, mosquitoes, water issues, generator problems, fans busting, and so much more...). I've absolutely loved my life in Dominica, and I'm proud to say that "losing my life" was the best way for me to find it!
I'd like to spend some time simply blessing you guys through words (I'm a "word" guy ... as if you didn't know already). But I'm less concerned with my own words at the moment as I'm yearning to receive the words from the Lord that He has for our family. What are his prayers for us? What are his blessings? What are his convictions? Where is the Spirit of the Lord leading us?
Lately, I've been praying (along w/ Wes and Mary Lou's family) the Prayer of Jabez, which is a simple yet profound prayer that goes something like this... "Lord, bless me... enlarge my territory... may your hand be upon me... and, may you keep me from harm/evil...!" Praying this prayer alongside of the Shema has opened my eyes a bit, and helped me to see a bit more of what G-d might want for each one of us, followers of Jesus. G-d desires to bless us with more than our eyes can see, and much more than our minds can comprehend. He longs for us to receive His good gifts so that we might use them for His glory, His kingdom and for His perfect will on this earth as it is in heaven. G-d is not in the business of watching us suffer for His satisfaction. He truly desires what is best for us, which is why his kindness is what leads us to repentance, and His faithfulness in the midst of our unfaithfulness is what leads us to our knees, in humble adoration of a good, abundant Father who intimately cares for everyone: Sherrie, Billy and Kelsie, Robb and Stef, John and Briana, Jonathan, Scott and Whitney, Jake and Crystal, Dana and Nicole, Becky, Doug, Emma, Laura and Ben, Fern's family, Joseph, Jaimie, Kenny and Nina, Greta and Terry, Maddie and Summer, Melissa, Aubrey, Wes, Mary Lou, Karissa and Jillian, Brian and Anna, Joe, Grace and Justin, Neil and Jen, Andrew, Cari and Ben, Jason, Jennifer, Sarah and Joshua, Grace, Brian, Monique, Eddie, Stephanie, Lauren and myself...
So, Lord... grant me your prayers for us, please. Have mercy upon us, and share your heart with the hearts that long to beat with yours above all others! Father, I am in need of your grace, your mercy and your kindness. Will you please become more real right now than ever before, and will you show us the goodness behind waiting for your presence to manifest in our midst? Will you help us to become patient with you as you are so patient with us? Will you help us to pace with one another and grant us hearts that are expectant, but ones that throw away expectations?
My heart beats for yours, dear Lord. My body aches for your affectionate embrace, your comfort, your strength, your words of promise, blessing and love, and your abiding presence throughout the course of the day.
Today is just one more day, and today is the only day we know... Today, many are studying, and today many are resting. Today, your people will come before your throne in a nuber of settings all across the globe to receive and to give, to grow and to become pruned. Today, is an intentional day among followers of Jesus to take the body and the blood, remembering your death and your resurrection among the family of G-d. Today, we come to praise your holy Name as a crew, and today we come to pray, intercede and bless one another in the name of Jesus. Today is yours, and we ask that you do as you please as we prepare our hearts for worship of the One True G-d.
If we are leaning upon another false rock, I pray that we will tear them down. If we are obsessing over anything above you, I ask that we learn to release our earthly desires for the sake of your glory and your kingdom. If we are not in a good place, I pray that we will seek counsel, prayers and loving kindness from the body of Christ that you have given us. If we have strayed in any way, with your rod and staff, bring us back to the sheep fold, dear Jesus.
If we have not loved our enemies well, show us the loving heart of Abba Father. If we have not shared with the poor, break open our wallets to share with the faces of Jesus in every day settings. If we have not been cultivating disciplines that shape our heart, mind and body toward your face, cutt off every branch that bears no fruit so that we may only be a fruitful tree, abiding in your goodness.
Teach us the spirit of Jubilee. Teach us how to allow the Spirit's power to be unleashed with care and much power during our daily battles. May we liberate with you. May you give us a heart of justice and loving mercy. May we walk in your economic system (G-d' s Manna economy) of embracing all creation and helping out all people in need so that the world may know you are a good G-d whose land, blessings and riches have been bestowed upon us in order to reshape a system gone awry. May we become less dependent upon the government and more dependent upon the body of Christ as Jesus paves the way for true Jubilee!
May we use your authority with passionate force and with great enthusiasm, yet make sure we know how to use your power with the utmost respect and love in a world aching for true power to break the strongholds of the enemy.
And, finally... about the enemy, the evil one, the accuser... by the power of the living Jesus Christ who is the Alpha and Omega, the firstborn over all creation, and the One who has saved the world through the power of the cross, may we know that we can crush Satan under our feet.
This is authority!
This is jubilee...
We have won in His name, and we are called to live in a different posture b/c of our authority we have found in the living Lord.
You have given us the keys to bind and to losen, to be agents of change and transformation in a world which needs true liberation. Lord, may we use your keys with care.

Water and Fire

In the beginning there was water before there was light...
The ruach/spirit/breath of G-d hovered over the waters.
Have you ever pondered the significance of water?
Seriously, though, it doesn't really take a rocket scientist or Ross medical student to understand that you must have H20 to live. Water is essential to life. The majority of the world is covered in water. Living in Dominica, the land of 365 rivers, is truly a blessing knowing that this particular land has been blessed with life. Many of us read statistics and articles online regarding people living in other parts of the world who have no access to clean drinking water. While this might seem unfathomable to a Westerner, people who spend absurd amounts of cash on bottled water, the truth of the matter is that water is the most precious gift of life on the planet.
Thus, it comes as no surprise to me that so much of the biblical narrative revolves around water.
The rivers in the garden of Eden... Noah's Ark... Jacob's well... the dividing of the Red Sea... the crossing of the Jordan River... and Jesus, speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well while revealing that He is the source of Living Water...
In Leviticus, we read about the ritual purification by the priests when approaching the Lord's tabernacle. Later on, the ritual of cleansing oneself became a defining feature throughout the Jewish world. Washing cups, utensils and hands were done with deliberate and seemingly meticulous measures for appearing before a holy G-d.
Mikveh, a Hebrew word which describes a collection of a body of water(s), also known as the "womb of the world," was an important ritual during the 1st century. Mikveh's were special Jewish baths requiring living water which were all around the temple and local synagogues in Ancient Israel.
The mikveh was used for women after their menstruation cyle, men after nocturnal emissions, men and women after sex, those with any bodily discharges, people with skin infections, one whose body touched a corpse, somone who ate meat from an animal that died naturally, the priest who placed his hands upon the scapegoat during Yom Kippur, the chosen one who led out the goat, and for converts from the pagan world to Judaism. It is important to note that mikveh washings/immersions were not about following a health code, althouth that is obviously implied with many of these factors listed above. The main reason for mikveh was for spiritual and ritual purification, as if one was re-approaching the holy Lord, YHWH! However, the most important feature in mikveh was one of the most crucial and fantastic Jewish practices to exist throughout all of history.
T'SHUVAH...
This Hebrew word means "to turn" and it's the word we use for repent! In Greek, the word means to change one's mind.
I like the Hebrew word better as it speaks of a mind, body, heart and soul TURN back to the Lord. Turning from one's sins, becoming aware and owning up to wrongdoings, evil and injustice in the world, moving back to the Father was necessary for mikveh!
In Luke 3, we read that John the Baptist came preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgivness of sins. John, as seen through the context of the 1st century was probably an Essene (separatist group of pious individuals who fled pagan society for reform and holiness). Essenes were mikveh junkies, so to speak. What we, as modern day Christians, have failed to see through studying John's baptism as it applies to modern day baptisms in Christian churches, is that John was not doing anything new. John was practicing mikveh!
People were coming out of the cities to hear this message of one preaching in the wilderness, and many were cut to the core b/c they had fallen away from the teaching of G-d. Luke quotes Isaiah 40, describing the scene of the coming out of exile, the hope of Israel and the dawn of a new age which flows for many chapters culminating in a whole new world under the promised Messiah.
John was simply preparing the way, making the rough places smooth, as was normal when a king came to town.
So, what does water have to do with preparing the way?
EVERYTHING!
Water is central to life.
Water was there in the beginning, during the fall, the exodus, the temple cleansings and so on...
Water is about new beginnings.
But we must see this picture of water with John and the coming Messiah in terms of its proper context, and this specific context has always been about T'SHUVAH, turning back to G-d.
I dig John's passion, his boldness, and his ability to speak the truth, not necessarily "in love" either. He's all about the truth, and nothing but the truth, shouting, "You brood of vipers!" I can't imagine telling a bunch of people that they are going to get wacked by an ax, thrown into the fire, and that the wrath of G-d is upon them!
WOW! I don't know if I really want that job b/c it seems to me that I would probably be fired after my first message. Yet, John was more concerned about his role in preparing the way for his beloved nation, Israel.
No more bragging rights about being a child of Abraham... G-d means business!
And, of course, the people knew that the Lord was serious b/c they knew their story book very well. If the people continued to live in certain ways, specific things would begin to happen. It's written all throughout the prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures.
"What must we do?" asked the people!
John's response... basically... act justly... don't cheat someone... share... be generous... don't do someone wrong... basic justice issues! If G-d's people were living lives of injustice, odds are, they were not connected to the source of life, the vine, G-d! His repentance message was clearly about bearing fruit. If you aren't filled with love, joy, peace, patience, etc., then you are not really repentant!
John reminded the people that he came to baptize with water, preparing people, getting hearts turned back. Yet, the big part of the story came next. John mentioned the Messiah, who will baptize with fire and with the Holy Spirit.
So, we have talked about water. But what about fire?
What about fire and the Holy Spirit?
Fire, a source of light, is also necessary for life. We must have light to see! This picture of fire and the Holy Spirit has really intrigued me lately. G-d is seen in scripture through the picture of fire.
the burning bush... the fire above Sinai... pillar of fire at night...
But fire is also seen as a picture of judgment, D-day! Fire is a picture of Gehenna/hell, the city dump, where children were once sacrificed to pagan gods. We often have a difficult time with speaking about the judgment of G-d. I think it is best to see the judgment of G-d s his love for the world b/c G-d only wants what's best for his creation. Judgment is really all about love and purification.
And, fire is also seen as something which refines and purifies elements.
John described the Messiah as the one will will separate the wheat from the chaff, the person responsible for judgment.
Jesus, the Rabbi from Nazareth is then seen coming into the scene being baptized through mikveh in the Jordan River. Heaven was ripped open and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove. A voice from the heavens said, "You are my son whom I love am am well pleased."
The ministry of Jesus is more than water. It's more than ritual cleansing. But before we can begin talking about the power through the Holy Spirit and the implications upon our current communities, we must get down to the business of water, indeed.
Mikveh/water ritual cleansing is all about repentance. If we want any action on the movement of the Holy Spirit, we need to get serious about what it means to "prepare the way." To "prepare the way" of the Lord's movement within our families, communities and nations, we need leaders of all kinds willing to not only talk about repentance, but ones willing to set the example and begin doing so in order for real fruit to bear on our current defiled soil.
If John the Baptist came to our homes and our church, what would he see?
Would he see a bunch of Christians saying, "We are cool. We have made a profession, said a prayer and are all good!" How similar are we, N. American Christians, to the Jews living in the 1st century who thought that all they needed was a Hebrew National Card when dealing with G-d?
If we belong to G-d, we must represent G-d. And, if we represent G-d, this means we need to look at every area of our life, and see what hasn't been turned over to Him.
Bottom line: What are your golden calves?
Have you turned the following over to G-d? Finances, future, sexuality, family, local community, global responsiblities, adversaries, disciplines, leisure time, work, studies, friendships, speech, material possessions, etc.? This isn't about guilty manipulation. This is about being clean!
Water is beautiful. Water is imperative to life. When we think through or possibly begin to practice mikveh, leading up to the preparation of G-d's movement through Jesus in our midst, let's be reminded of the pure, cleansing flood that has washed over us, making us whole again.
Jesus said that HE was the LIVING WATER!
Through him, we have been buried with him through baptism/mikveh, and raised to walk in a new kind of life through a brand new womb, becoming new children headed for greatness in the kingdom of heaven.
And after water, comes FIRE! But this kind of fire sets the world a blaze with a gospel message of liberation, grace, healing, loving kindness, justice, mercy, forgiveness and compassion for all creation. We, those connected to Jesus, the Messiah, are empowered to carry the torch, becoming the light of the world. And, this new light gives light to all humakind b/c light will always outshine the darkness.
Know this... fire can be frightening. Remember, kids, don't play with fire!!! But when handled with care, fire can be tremendously useful and powerful for goodness.
Fire and Water... part of life, integrated into life and always at work!
Remember your baptism daily. Remember your dying to self, the need to repent and turn on a daily basis, and fully coming back to G-d in every area of your life. Remember the fire that burns deep within your soul, the light of life, so that all may see and live in the shalom of YHWH. The desire of G-d's heart is that nobody should perish, but that everyone would have life to the fullest.
Let's be a part of that glorious vision of water and fire in a dark, hurting yet hope filled world in need of Jesus the Living Water and Light of the world!

I'll ponder with ya

If an angel of the Lord appeared to me, would I be afraid? Would I doubt like Zachariah, or would I trust and believe like Mary? It is so interesting to me that every time an angel appears, his/her first line is always "Do not be afraid!" So what does it mean to fear the Lord but not be afraid? To trust and obey out of love and not out of fear?
These are my ponderings :)

Pondering ______ in one's heart

DIVINE... MAJESTIC... rang within the meaning of his glorious name! Everyone around the world knew that, "Caesar is Lord!" His rule had vastly extended from Rome to the Holy Land of Israel. The most honored ruler and "king" over the entire world in the 1st century was called "divi filius" (son of the deified Julius Caesar)... son of god. The Imperator of Rome, Caesar Octavian Augustus was the benefactor of Rome, using his gifts and charisma for the peace and healing of the known world ... "Pax Romana," the peace of Rome was the heartbeat of his reign. Augustus' rule (31 BC – AD 14) brought changes to every aspect of Roman life and lasting peace and prosperity to the Greco-Roman world according to scholars. He secured and maintained outlying imperial provinces, built magnificent roads and public works, encouraged the participation of the arts and rebuilt many temples to glorify numerous Greek gods. Rome's Octavian Augustus' power was based on his control of the army, his financial resources, and his enormous popularity. He was "called the author of the best possible government," and boasted that he had "found Rome built of brick and left it in marble." Unfortunately, for every great kingdom, there are always subjects who suffer as a result of its "greatness."
The Jewish people living in Judea, Samaria, Perea, Galilee and Idumea, working under heavy taxation, were subject to Rome under the governance of Herod the Great, known for his brutality, paranoia, killings, vast and extraordinary temple and palace rebuilding and his improper behavior toward the Law/Torah of YHWH.
The ancient words of the prophet Micah regarding a "shepherd" who will secure the land a new in His greatness and become the peace/shalom of Israel along with Isaiah's prophesy about the "Prince of Peace" who will have the "government upon his shoulders" seemed far off, lofty and irrelevant to so many poor Jews living in fear under this harsh system of oppression and brute force.
Still, the cry of desperation and misery must have been heard from the small town of Bethlehem, the city of David, the "House of Bread" (Hebrew wording), the city that overlooked the Herodian palace which reeked of injustice and greed.
And G-d was, is and always will be the Lord of the Hebrew slaves who intimately hears the cries of His beloved children!!!
"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world... (Luke 2:1)"
Census = more heavy taxes = more angry Jews = When will this reign end and when will the new kingdom begin?
I wonder if Mary, one who was known in Scripture for pondering things in her heart, pondered how on earth (literally) her baby boy could stand a chance against Caesar and Herod in light of what she knew about the ruling titans of Rome and Judea?
The birth narrative of Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph, residents of Nazareth, must be read in this context! Otherwise, all we have is some nice, fluffy pageant play filled with floating angels, strange shepherds and cows mooing near a gentle baby boy with a halo of some sort upon his little white brow. We might as well be watching a Disney movie!!!
The good news of Christmas day is absolutely bizarre and startling, somewhat laughable and out right crazy when read in its proper context... unless... there's something else going on in the story.
Mary ponders for a reason!
The unique night in Bethlehem is mysteriously purposeful in revealing the dawn of a new age that would be hopeful for all nations, but also, one hope very much foreign to the rule of Rome.
The Son of David, the firstborn over all creation, the real King of the Jews, the son of the Most High G-d, the Messiah/Liberator/Anointed One over Israel and the true Passover Lamb was not born in a royal palace. He was not ushered in with Roman messengers or what might be compared with CNN late breaking news reporters. Jesus, born upon the earth's soil through the help of Jewish peasants, was born in a smelly room with barn animals and placed in a feeding trough for a bed. No crown was placed upon his head. The Jewish Messiah entered this dark and hurting world in poverty and rags.
One would think the first visitors might be the Rabbi's, possibly the high priest, and other esteemed religious elite within Israel.
But shepherds???
Kids? (1st century shepherds were known to be small children)
Little 9 year old girls watching their flocks at night?
These young shepherds were absolutely terrified when an angel came down in their midst, but were put at ease with the following words, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news..." Wait a second... Good news? Haven't we heart that before? Wasn't the Roman world filled with all kinds of "good news?" The angel continued, "... good news of great joy for all people."
Again, the Roman gospel was known to be "for all people" as well. This is the same exact language messengers of Rome would have used back in the day. How is this gospel any different?
"Today, in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."
Might this be the ONE the prophets spoke of from days of old? Is this the true Liberator who will bring REAL peace to the land? Has the time actually arrived? The angel finished with the words, "This will be a sign to you: You will find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
MANGER?
Is this some joke?
A King in a trough???
And if these words were not enough in that moment to convince the intrigued children, the next bold proclamation would surely stick and pierce its way into the core of their soul as a heavenly host of celestial beings began singing the finest tune in the history of all the earth, "GLORY TO G-D IN THE HIGHEST HEAVEN, AND ON EARTH PEACE TO THOSE ON WHOM HIS FAVOR RESTS."
I'd like to stop and do what Mary does best... PONDER!
...
G-d's glory! Yes, I get it! It's all there and then some with some sugar and spice on top...
The highest heaven? INDEED! WORD!
What about this following line?
"And on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
I've been doing a lot of pondering upon this particular phrase this week.
First, this message, according to the historical context in which it was written, pertaining to the Messiah figure is clearly not about an after life/pie in the sky or some lofty feel good inner peace that many Christians have somehow made it over the years.
I believe the correct words are visibly seen as "ON EARTH," and it was upon this earth that angels came down and delivered this message to little children on a peculiar night unlike any other these kids have ever witnessed on earth...
According to the message, SHALOM is here, the hope of Israel seen all throughout the Hebrew scriptures, an extraordinary popular word filled with real abundant life, inner peace, outward balance, wholeness and welfare.
Where Caesar offers his Pax Romana, G-d ushers in the shalom through Jesus.
But there's more?
This peace comes to those "on whom his favor rests," which makes me ponder again upon the correlation between favor and this surreal event in history in the lives of young common children watching sheep at night.
And, I suppose this is probably what Mary pondered that night as well when preteen girls came knocking on her "door" in the middle of the night.
No, it wasn't a Torah teacher!
Poor, small, insignificant children were the 1st to the get the birth announcement of the Savior of the world!
Favor was bestowed upon these frightened shepherds whose fear was turned to joy!
Their dark night was filled with the brightest light in the history of the Roman world in which they've known.
This odd, favorable invite to poverty stricken and inexperienced peasants truly makes me wonder (as I'm sure Mary wondered too), what kind of kingdom this King truly ushered in...?
With Pax Romana in plain sight, how does one interpret this SHALOM from YHWH?
Well, it's a good thing we have the rest of the story. Otherwise, we'd be sitting in a dumbfound state of "uhhhhhhh" for years! You see, unlike the actual shepherds during that glorious night in Bethlehem, I'm a bit slow to "hurry" and run to the King. I guess, like the rest of the N. American suburban "church" I often get angry and cynical with at times, along with the religious elite of Jesus' day, the message of the kingdom, the good news for ALL creation falls on deaf ears.
Wait... did I hear myself say that?
ALL CREATION?
Yes, the good news of great joy IS for ALL CREATION! Unlike Rome, who only looked at its own self interests, bottom line, and worked from the top down with force and might, the kingdom of G-d ushered in through Jesus worked and still works from the bottom up!
Why?
After pondering, I've come to a place where I really do think that whether we are talking about shepherds in 1st century Bethlehem, modern day slaves across the globe, single moms, poor migrant workers, alcoholics, orphans, homeless men, starving children, depressed dudes and beaten wives, these folk living at the bottom of the totem pole will nearly always run to a Liberator!
Their healthy fear of the Lord will be real, and their healing will be fully accepted with naked vulnerability and open arms.
Jesus was all about freedom! G-d, his Father is in the business of freedom!
Jesus was a real man who entered our world as a real baby boy born to real poor parents who were able to live a really rich life!
Again, after pondering... What our world needs today more than anything else, is for the children of G-d, to be reawakened to the angels singing and ushering in their anthem to the nations. We need to open our ears again so we can hear and hear well! Christians need to understand that in our identity, the name in which we call ourselves, we are now carriers of the same SHALOM in the context of a world which might offer another message and means of peace/pax! We must be a light to everyone, and not just the people who have bigger toys, more credibility, financial resources and prestige. Christ must be the Messiah for the healing of the broken, diseased, poor, hungry, lame, shunned and for all the misfits of society who have been forgotten. Christians must learn to not rely on trickling down economics, but yearn to embrace and practice with much creativity and passion, bottom-up kingdom ethics.
Give to someone who can't pay you back!
Love with absolutely no strings attached!
Fight for injustice using creative, nonviolent measures of hope, even for the oppressors.
Plant hope in the lives of young children and watch them grow!
And, last but not least... treasure these things in your heart as you watch the kingdom slowly and beautifully sprout before your very eyes!
Now, this my friends IS the snapshot of "DIVINE" on earth. This is the picture of "MAJESTIC!"
shalom
Ryan

NT Wright's words (excerpts from his commentary on Romans 9-11)

Paul… narrates, in other words, the covenant history of Israel, in a way that, at least in outline, is parallel to many other great retellings of this story in Jewish literature.
The whole passage is about the covenant faithfulness of Israel’s god.
The divine covenant purposes, it appears, are those that have been put into operation throughout the story. Israel’s god has been narrowing it down to a point, choosing this son of Abraham and not that, choosing some of the wilderness generation and not others, making Israel, in fact, the vessel of his wrath even as Pharaoh himself had been (9:21-23).
Paul’s train of thought as running something like this:
(a) Israel’s vocation to be the covenant people of the creator always envisaged that it would be the means of rescuing the whole world.
(b) This vocation could be, and was, distorted into the idea of Israel’s privileged position over against the rest of the world, but in Christ this distortion has been shown up for what it is.
(c) The divine intention was, always, to deal with the evil of the world (“sin,” personified as in chap. 7) by heaping it up into one place and there passing and executing sentence of judgment upon it.
(d) This “place” was always intended to be the Messiah himself.
(e) The necessary precondition for this judging of sin in the person of the Messiah was that Israel, the people of the Messiah, should itself become the place where sin was gathered together, in order that this burden might then be passed on to the Messiah alone.
(f) Israel was thus, as part of its covenant vocation, called to be the “vessels of wrath,” the place where the wrath of the creator against the wickedness of the whole creation would be gathered together in order that it be dealt with.
(g) This was never intended to be a permanent condition. Israel was like a bomb disposal squad called to take the devastating device to a safe place to be detonated, and then to leave it there. If Israel clings to its status of privilege, refusing to give it up, it is like the members of a bomb squad who are so proud of their important mission that they become reluctant to leave the bomb behind.
(h) There can therefore be no covenant future for those Israelites who refuse to abandon their “own,” that is, their ethnic, status of covenant membership (10:3). Christ is the end of that road, the final goal of the covenant purpose which always intended to deal with sin and its effects (10:4, with all its deliberate ambiguities in play).
(i) But those who see, in Christ, the clue to what the creator/covenant god has righteously been doing in Israel’s history, and who grasp this in faith—these Israelites can always regain their full covenant status, and when this happens it is to be a cause of great rejoicing within the community as a whole (ll:llff).
Paul has not told this story “in a vacuum.” He has set out his material in such a way as to make the point that the Gentile mission grows precisely out of this strange covenant purpose.
The rhetorical force of the entire exposition of the failure of Israel is not to give Gentile Christians a sense of smugness or self-satisfaction at their contrasting success, but to highlight and emphasize the fact that they owe the Israelites a huge debt of gratitude. On the other hand, the very fact of this transfer of privileges from Israel according to the flesh, to the Messiah, to the Jew-plus Gentile church, means that Israel according to the flesh ought to be jealous.
He is stressing, to a potentially anti-Jewish Roman church, that there can be no lapsing back into an inverted system of national privilege. He desires above all that the Roman church should understand his mission (for which he wanted Rome as his new base) in terms of the Jew-plus-Gentile strategy he intended to adopt, through which alone there could spring up the Jew-plus-
Gentile church, through which alone the new, united humanity, about which Paul cared so passionately, could be evidenced.22
The Roman church must not allow the latent, and sometimes visible, anti-Jewish sentiment in the proud pagan capital to infect them as Christians.
Paul’s great hope, in writing Romans, is (negatively) to quash any potential Gentile-Christian arrogance against Israel, and (positively) to enlist the Roman church’s enthusiastic and comprehending support for the fully-absorbed missionary program which he intends to implement both in the capital itself and also around the western Mediterranean.
Gentile Christians, in Rome and elsewhere, cannot lapse into that anti-Judaism which refuses to see Jews as legitimate beneficiaries of the creator’s action in Christ: the only story within which their own standing as Christians makes sense is precisely the Jewish story. They do not support the root; it supports them.
For I say that the Messiah became a servant to the circumcised, on behalf of the truthfulness of god, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs, and that the Gentiles might glorify the true god for mercy…