Nunc Dimittis 2008

Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace;

Because my eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:

A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

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So, here we are at the end of another year. We stand at the edge of a new year that promises to be exciting, challenging and dangerous in many ways. I am always amazed at some of the unexpected places that I find myself to have been when I look back over the last 364 days. There could not have possibly been as many unexpected places as there was this year. How could you even begin to know what adventure and mystery God will reveal in the coming year? He does that for a reason, you know. Because, many times, if we knew what was in store, we surely would do something to mess it up. I cannot possibly begin to explain anything about this year and how amazing and unpredictable it was. But I do know one thing about this year and it is this: Jesus meets us in unexpected places, in unexpected ways and is plainly calling us to act in unimaginable ways to love as He did. However many times we are busy doing stuff having convinced ourselves that is what we are supposed to be doing. And so Jesus calls us sometimes with some really big challenges and stretches us out in ways we could never imagine. We sometimes doubt our ability to measure up to the task and wonder why we have been chosen. As I have said many times, the ability of ordinary people to do extraordinary things when empowered by God is truly mind boggling. All through the entirety of the Bible, God repeatedly issued calls to ordinary and sometimes reluctant people to become leaders. Why? Simply, this is what really glorifies God and is a powerful witness to redemption and transformation of lives only half lived. As we contemplate the possibilities of the coming year and review the last, certain truths reveal themselves. We serve a good and loving King and are living in a kingdom and that places us in a unique position to live in ways we cannot plan looking at a calendar. Our obedience to the call that God has placed on our lives will take us in many unexpected directions this coming year. Yes, God calls us to seemingly challenging and terrifying tasks and sometimes to unexpected and unanticipated physical places but He is ALWAYS there. Sometimes our desire for safe, mundane and normal can rob us and others of some amazing and powerful blessings. We are called to live outside what is normal and safe. We are called to be disciples and agents of the kingdom of God and that simply means we carry and spread the message everywhere we go and in everything we do. We are called to engage the world in new and unexpected ways whether on bicycles or on our jobs. We are called as citizens of a kingdom to go beyond simple thoughts and prayers. We are called to go out rather than reach out. The challenge for this coming year is to hear how God is calling us to act within our communities both individual and global. How will this be done? A simple act of compassion is a place to begin or activist campaigns like BLOOD:WATER MISSION who is bringing hope to villages in sub Saharan Africa. Wherever we find ourselves on our journeys this coming year look in the unexpected places for unexpected opportunities to change lives and there you will find the unexpected Jesus calling…