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28
Jul '25
MILLS’ MUSINGS – YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER CAKE
28
Jul '25
This year the Nicene Creed celebrates its 1,700th birthday. Accommodating that many candles would require a birthday cake far larger than any I’ve ever seen. And if you’re wondering about this article’s title, you may want to rewatch Jaws, which turns 50 this year. (Anybody else feeling old?)
The Nicene Creed seems less well known to Presbyterians and other Reformed Christians than either the Apostles’ Creed or the Westminster Confession of Faith. For reasons I won’t explore here, I don’t find that surprising. But I do believe that as the Church enters its third millennium, all Christians would be well served by learning more about the background and importance of this creed as it reaches the ripe old age of 1,700.
In the year 325, the Church was still adjusting to its new status in the Roman Empire. Barely a decade earlier, the new Roman Emperor, Constantine, had converted to Christianity and issued his Edict of Toleration, which legalized the faith in the empire. The Edict would prove a mixed blessing. Official persecution of Christians ended and Church membership grew rapidly. Unfortunately, with growth came controversy.
As early as 318, a pastor named Arius began teaching that Jesus was not fully God; that Jesus was not eternal, but instead was the first creature made by God. This new doctrine contradicted Scripture and three centuries of Church teaching. To resolve the conflict in the Church, and not coincidentally to help keep peace in his empire, Constantine called for a council of church leaders to meet in city of Nicaea in 325.
There, Arius was given the opportunity to explain his beliefs to the bishops. He and his supporters were sure his views would prevail. However, his novel teaching, summarized by the slogan “There was when the Son was not,” was opposed by one of the most able and influential theologians of the Early Church, Athanasius. Athanasius insisted that if Jesus wasn’t fully God, he couldn’t fully accomplish human salvation. “That which has not been assumed has not been healed,” was his succinct response.
Rejecting as heretical Arius’ insistence that Jesus was not God, the Council of Nicaea produced the Nicene Creed, which declared that Jesus is “of one substance” (homoousia) with the Father. Homoousia combines homo, meaning same, with ousia, meaning substance, or essence. The Greek word isn’t found in the Bible, which troubled some members of the council. But as the Church worked to articulate the Bible’s unchanging revelation in the language of its day, homoousia seemed the best word to express the eternal relationship between God the Father and God the Son.
The importance of the Nicene Creed in Christian history is summarized by the late Presbyterian theologian John Leith who writes, “The first Christian doctrine that the church settled in an ecumenical council and that has subsequently received approval in the life of the church through the centuries had to do with the deity of Jesus Christ. The church made clear at Nicaea what it was convinced had always been the faith of Christian people. In Jesus Christ human beings are confronted by God.”
For nearly two millennia, the Nicene Creed has remained the most widely quoted creed in Christendom. It’s accepted by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and most Protestant denominations. Each time we recite this historic affirmation of our faith, we remind ourselves of a fundamental Christian truth: God’s nature is Triune. We also remind ourselves of our unbreakable connection to Christians around the world and throughout time.
So, on the 1,700th birthday of the Nicene Creed, a cake may be in order. Especially if we fudge the candles.
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28
Jul '25
August 2025 Pastor’s Corner — Echoes of Eden
28
Jul '25
I’m not lost
I’m just looking for what I haven’t found
there’s an ache inside of me that’s reaching out
for something deeper than anything I’m seeing
like a traveler I’m following
the echo of Eden.
— Green River Ordinance, “Echo of Eden” (video below)
Many years ago my grandfather and I boarded a plane to a place I’d never before been. When I stepped off the walkway into Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, the very first thought that crossed my mind was, “I’m home,” which was strange because airports aren’t the homeliest of places and, again, I’d never been there before. It would be another decade before I was actually able to call Anchorage “home,” and that only lasted for two years.
For most of my life, “home” for me meant Rockville, Maryland. It’s where I grew up and where my parents lived for 40 years. I left Rockville in 1997 and my parents moved to North Carolina a few years ago. But even before my parents moved away, Rockville stopped being home. I would go back to visit, but it wasn’t a place I referred to as “home” any longer. Even though I call places in Orlando, Anchorage, St. Louis, Hendersonville and now Madison Heights “home,” the longing for home points to something deeper.
A few months ago I was with a group of friends and family, and we had the most heartwarming and delightful time together. It was an evening of silliness and joy, one of those moments in time that you wish would last forever, but of course never do. Those moments touch a longing in our soul to be in the company of others, a longing that is at times met in our relationship with our spouse, our children, life-long close friends, maybe extended family. But as good as those relationships are, they aren’t perfect and often bring as much pain as they do joy. We weren’t meant to be alone, God says in Genesis 2, but relationships are hard. Sometimes too hard. We long for deep, meaningful relationships with others, but because it’s often so hard and painful, we settle for something much less, like the shallow façade of social media.
It seems as if our lives are becoming ever more frenetic and chaotic; we feel stretched in a dozen different directions at once. We frantically try to keep all of the plates spinning, while they begin to slow and wobble precariously. The more we stretch, the harder we press, the more the cracks begin to show. 2 Corinthians 4:7 describes us as cracked “jars of clay,” through which the grace of God shines… but if there are more cracks than clay, can it still be called a jar? As Chuck DeGroat writes, “We all think we know the solution — more downtime, more relaxation, more rest. And we’re all wrong.” What we truly long for is wholeheartedness.
All of this points to a persistent gnawing discontent in our souls, a longing that we try to satisfy in a thousand different ways but is always unsatisfied. We know there’s something missing, but we often aren’t sure what. Augustine once said, “our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.” The most foundational longing of the human heart is for God. If earth has no sorrows heaven can’t heal, then neither does earth have any means of satisfying a longing that yearns for something beyond this world.
CS Lewis once wrote, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Our longing for home, for relationship, for wholeheartedness, for God can never be satisfied by anything in this world, because they are longings that have existed long before this world. They are longings for “the way things used to be” in the truest, oldest sense of that phrase. They are echoes of Eden, longing for the way things were before The Fall. Eugene Peterson says, “This place, this garden, is not utopia, is not an ideal no-place. It is simply place, locale, geography, geology. But it is also a good place, Eden, because it provides the form by which we can live to the glory of God”
These longings have echoed for millennia, and they are only satisfied in Jesus Christ. Through our salvation in Christ, we are able to experience a partial satisfaction of those longings, but their ultimate satisfaction comes in the consummation of the Kingdom of God when Christ returns. Our August sermon series looks at the “echoes of Eden,” these deep longings of the human heart. We’ll see how they are born out of the goodness of God’s creation, how Christ has redeemed them, and how they will ultimately be satisfied in the New Heavens and New Earth when Jesus consummates His kingdom at the end of time. Be sure to join us for worship in person or online during August.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. — Romans 8:23-25
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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27
Jun '25
July 2025 Pastor’s Corner — Joy in the Mess
27
Jun '25
Happiness is a firecracker sitting on my headboard
Happiness was never mine to hold
Careful child, light the fuse and get away
‘Cause happiness throws a shower of sparks
— The Fray, “Happiness”
The preamble to the Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” If there’s any part of that statement we’ve taken more seriously than any other is the pursuit of happiness. We are a people who strive for happiness any where and any way we can get it. The problem, though, as hints the song from which the quote above is taken, is that that happiness is inherently and intrinsically fleeting. It comes and goes, sometimes with a change in our circumstances, sometimes completely randomly. The more we chase happiness, the more elusive it seems to become. We are all pursuing happiness, but few seem to find it.
I think this is because we’ve confused and conflated happiness and joy. Happiness is a fleeting emotional experience. Joy is a deeper state of being. We pursue happiness because it’s an easier objective, something that seems like it’s more within our control. But what we are actually yearning for is joy. Joy is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). While it certainly has an emotional component, joy is something that persists no matter our circumstances. No matter how messy life gets, joy persists in our hearts and our souls. It doesn’t ignore the sad, the bad, the hurtful, the wrongs of life but recognizes that there’s more to this life and to our faith than what is happening in this moment or season.
This summer we’re working our way through the book of Philippians. It’s a letter written to encourage a group of Christians to find joy in the midst of the messiness of their lives and their circumstances. It was written by a guy who was in a pretty messy place in his life at the time himself. And yet, the resounding theme is rejoice, rejoice, rejoice.
Not a “pretend the messiness doesn’t exist” naïve joy, but a joy that is grounded in something deeper than our life circumstances. A joy grounded in our salvation in Jesus Christ. A joy that knows there is nothing we will go through or endure that our Savior did not endure Himself. A joy that knows that there is no greater joy than to know and be known by Christ as deeply and thoroughly as possible.
Happiness says that it will come when the mess gets cleaned up. Joy comes in the midst of the mess. As we said above, joy is a fruit of the Spirit. As we pursue Jesus Christ, the seeds of joy are planted in our soul. As we grow in grace and truth, faith grows those seeds so that even in the messiness, when life goes sideways, through the hurt and pain, a joy invincible is nurtured and developed. This kind of joy doesn’t appear magically overnight, but rather through a lifetime of faithful trust in Jesus Christ.
There’s nothing wrong with being happy, as long as we recognize that happiness isn’t an end unto itself. Happiness understood rightly should be an expression of the joy we have in our salvation. May God nurture a joy in your soul that surpasses understanding, a joy born of gratitude for our salvation in Jesus Christ and the fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and souls.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Phil. 4:4-7
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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29
May '25
June 2025 Mills’ Musings — Rivers Of Living Waters
29
May '25
Quick, what’s the first image that comes to mind when you read the words “Holy Spirit?”
A dove? Tongues of fire? A mighty wind?
Did anyone choose “rivers of living water?” Me either.
Although the connections between the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit and rivers of living waters probably aren’t top of mind for any of us, they are linked in three easily overlooked verses from the seventh chapter of John’s Gospel:
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39, ESV)
The feast, as we learn at the outset of John 7, is the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles (in Hebrew, Sukkot). The seven-day feast, celebrated in the Fall, was a time both to remember God’s past provision for Israel in the wilderness and to praise God for the harvest that had just been gathered. Since late autumn usually brought a drought, this festival also was a time of corporate prayer that God would refresh the land and refill the cisterns by sending once again his life giving rain.
This context helps us understand why a water bearing ceremony was central to Sukkot. Each day of the feast, priests would use a golden pitcher to draw water from Jerusalem’s Pool of Siloam. They would then bring the water to the Temple where it would be mixed with wine and poured out on the altar as a drink offering. This ceremony was accompanied by joyful music, dancing, and huge public celebrations, a fulfillment of Isaiah 12:3, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”.
Earlier in John’s gospel, Jesus had told the Samaritan woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this [well] water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). Now, at the Feast of Booths, he plainly tells his disciples that the living water he had promised was the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In these few words, spoken on the last day of the feast, Jesus laid a foundation that later would help his disciples understand the Holy Spirit’s connection to his own person and work. In the moment, Jesus’ first disciples couldn’t fully grasp the meaning of his words. But once he was “glorified,” John’s term for Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, the Spirit would be poured out in all his fullness. That outpouring wouldn’t end with the disciples in Jerusalem on the first Christian Pentecost. Those disciples would themselves become conduits through whom rivers of living water would continue to flow.
Today, you and I are Jesus’ disciples. One of our responsibilities is to continue to let the presence and the power, the goodness and the blessings, of God’s Holy Spirit flow through us and thereby nurture and nourish a dry and weary land.
Quick, what’s the first image that comes to you mind when you read the words “Holy Spirit?”
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30
Apr '25
May 2025 Pastor’s Corner — All It Takes Is An Invitation
30
Apr '25
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” — Romans 10:14-15
Last Wednesday we held an “Inquirer’s Class.” This is the class we offer to new visitors and regular attenders who would like to learn more about Northminster, our denomination (the Evangelical Presbyterian Church), and where we believe God is leading us in the future. While the class is open to anyone who would like to attend, we extended specific invitations to 11 folks who have been visiting and worshipping with us regularly since last fall. Of those 11, 6 were able to attend (those missing were family members who had conflicts). It was a fun evening with a lot of great conversation.
We began the evening by asking for folks to share what brought them to Northminster. Four of the six had variations of the same answer: someone invited them. Here’s the thing: whittle every evangelism and church growth strategy down and ultimately they all are about the same thing: inviting someone to church. The best tool we have, and really the only one that matters, is relationships. Every story I’ve ever heard about how someone came to faith in Jesus Christ boils down to someone in their life caring enough to tell them about Jesus.
This is exactly how God intended it to be. The Gospel spreads primarily and almost exclusively through word-of-mouth. At the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the reason Nathanael ended up as a disciple was because Philip invited him to “come and see” for himself. (John 1:46) Jesus repeatedly told His disciples and those He healed to tell others about Him (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; John 20:21; Mark 5:19; Matthew 10:7). After Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven, the apostles were so amazed and transformed by all they had seen and experienced but when told to stop talking about it, they responded, “we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20).
That’s also exactly the way God intended it to be. As we grow as disciples and are transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, that change should be something of which we cannot but speak. That’s what a “testimony” is — telling others about what you have seen and heard, about how Jesus has changed and blessed your life. What have you seen and heard from Jesus lately? How has He transformed you and changed you? Maybe you’ve experienced a miraculous physical healing, or He has healed your heart or soul. Maybe you’ve learned something new about the depths of His grace or the wonders of His creation. Whatever it is, tell someone about it, and invite them to experience the same transformation you’ve seen. You don’t need to give a sermon or a thorough theological discourse, all you need to do is “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19).
Maybe you don’t know what to say to someone about Jesus, or the thought of it makes you too nervous. Then let your actions tell the story of how Jesus is changing you. Jesus says in Matthew 5:16, “...let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” and in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” When we live lives consistent with the Gospel and the Kingdom of God, people around us won’t be able to help but notice, and when they ask you why you’re so weird, follow Philip’s example and invite them to come to church and see for themselves. If we’re doing things right, the Gospel is proclaimed at some point in every worship service. You might not be comfortable telling someone about Jesus, so let us do it for you.
The Holy Spirit will bring to salvation all those whom God has chosen, it might just be that the means by which he does that is the invitation you extend to someone. Take a few minutes to think of two or three people in your life who don’t already know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Add them to your daily prayer list, that the Lord would begin softening their heart to hear the Gospel and that He would provide an opportunity for you to invite them to come with you to meet Jesus, whether that’s through a conversation you have with them or by bringing them to church with you. All it takes is an invitation.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” — Matthew 28:19-20
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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26
Mar '25
April 2025 Mills’ Musings — Waking Up on Mars
26
Mar '25
“The odds of that happening are 0. It’s just not possible. It would violate the laws of nature.”
That was the answer given by a person in a space travel video I watched recently. He had been asked to estimate the odds that he would wake up the next morning on Mars. Since, at least as I write this, no human being has yet set foot on Mars, let alone slept there, and since no known human technology can transport someone between planets overnight, his response seems perfectly reasonable.
But is it accurate? Most of us, I suspect, would say it is. But some would disagree.
Chief among the naysayers would be those who embrace and promote a field of study known as quantum mechanics. A fundamental dogma of quantum theory is that no one can ever say with absolute certainty that something can or can’t happen. That’s because, in their worldview, uncertainty is built into the subatomic fabric of the universe.
In practical terms, that means we can never say never. We can only speak in terms of likelihood and probabilities. Confined within the canon of quantum physics, the most emphatic statement we could make is that waking up on Mars tomorrow morning would be a low-probability event.
Of course, if that were true the same could and indeed must be said about Jesus’ resurrection.
For the better part of the last 2,000 years, standard arguments used to deny the reality of Jesus’ resurrection have included claims that no one has seen someone come back to life after he has died and been buried; that the resurrection of the body would violate that laws of nature; and that, therefore, Jesus’ resurrection never could have happened.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong – at least according to the best thinking cutting edge of today’s science has on offer. While I would find it fun to watch atheistic physicists become enmeshed in the web they have spun, that possibility raises a red flag for Christians: We should never succumb to the temptation of using any science – past, present, or future – to validate any article of our Christian faith. Galileo helps us remember why.
Galileo’s story actually began around 150 A.D., when Ptolemy taught that the earth was an immovable mass located at the center of the universe and that all celestial bodies, including the planets of our solar system, revolved around it. In the following millennium, Ptolemy’s scientific theory became Roman Catholic Church doctrine.
In 1530, Copernicus published On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, which proposed replacing Ptolemy’s geocentric model with one in which the planets orbited a central sun. A century later, Galileo wrote Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems of the World – Ptolemaic and Copernican, in which he sided with Copernicus and, for his troubles, was convicted of heresy. Three hundred years after that, Pope John Paul II announced that the Inquisition’s decision concerning Galileo was mistaken.
Science is a wonderful gift from God to his human creation. I’m grateful for things like electricity and antibiotics. I’m intrigued by the possibility of traveling to Mars. But God’s people need to keep in mind that truth isn’t true because science says it’s so. Scientific “truth” is constantly changing. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings” (Heb. 13:8-9).
I doubt I’ll get to see the first human footprint on Mars. But I do not doubt the day will come when I will be seated at a banquet table in heaven. My certainty about heaven doesn’t rest on what science says. Rather my assurance is rooted in the reality that the Lord is risen. He is risen indeed.
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29
Jan '25
February 2025 Mills’ Musings — Happy Birthday, Nicene Creed!
29
Jan '25
If someone does make a cake for the occasion, I’d like to be there when the candles are lit. The occasion is the 1700th birthday of the Nicene Creed. While I doubt anyone will make a cake, at least not one with 1,700 candles, I believe the event is certainly worth celebrating. Here is a short look at why.
Early Creeds
Our English word “creed” comes from the Latin credo, which means, “I believe.” A creed, broadly defined, is a statement of what it is that I believe. More technically, in the Christian tradition a creed is a concise, formal, and authorized statement of essential Christian doctrine.
The earliest Christian creed was spoken by Peter and recorded in Mark 8:29. At Caesarea Philippi, in response to Jesus’ question, “But who do you say that I am,” Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, replied, “You are the Christ.” Writing to the Philippians some three decades later, Paul concluded his marvelous Hymn to Christ with what remains the foundational creed of Christianity, “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:11).
But after the last apostle had died, after the canon of Scripture had been closed, Christians began to sense a need for clear and succinct summaries of the basic doctrines of their faith. So they drew on the language of Scripture to formulate brief statements of their core beliefs. The most prominent of these – the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds, are still accepted (with some variations) by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestant denominations.
Creeds Today
Today, many congregations still make use of these creeds along with their longer, younger cousins, confessions. For example, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, to which Northminster belongs, uses the Westminster Confession of Faith and its catechisms as our doctrinal standards. In Sunday morning worship, we often recite in unison sections of this Confession. Other Sundays we say the Nicene or Apostles’ Creed. These public affirmations of our faith remind us of what we believe about the nature and work of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and the Church.
Creeds also have uses outside Christian worship. In his book This You Can Believe, John Brokhoff describes three purposes these historic creeds and confessions continue to serve in the Church today. The three purposes are: definition, defense and declaration.
Definition, The first purpose of creeds, Brokhoff writes, “is to define the Christian faith. What does a Christian believe? Are your beliefs in harmony with the Scriptures and the Church’s teachings?” Once we have learned Nicene Creed, we will always have an answer to fundamental questions about our faith.
Defense is the second purpose of creeds. Even before the last apostle had died, some in the Church were attempting to redefine the Christian faith. By 325, a young pastor named Arius was causing divisions in the Church by denying the Church’s historic teaching that Jesus was both fully God and fully human. Crafting language we still use today, the authors of the Nicene Creed decisively refuted that false teaching.
The third purpose of creeds is Declaration. Knowing the Nicene Creed helps us fulfill Jesus’ command to be his witnesses. The Creed is a positive, fearless declaration of the essentials of our faith. It is not just for church on Sunday mornings. We can use it to declare our faith in our everyday lives.
Happy Birthday, Nicene Creed. And someone please let me know about the cake. It would give a lot of light.
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08
Jan '25
January 2025 Mills’ Musings – Do You See What I See?
08
Jan '25
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
I’ve been interested in astronomy ever since I was a child. That may in part be an accident of timing: I had just turned six when President Kennedy said America would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. I was a rising 8th-grader when I watched Neil Armstrong make one giant leap for mankind.
Through the years, the intensity of my interest in things beyond our planet has varied. But it never disappeared. In 1986, I saw Halley’s Comet make its only swing by earth in my lifetime. Earlier this year I went to Indiana to observe a total solar eclipse. (As I wrote in the May newsletter, it was spectacular.) And in 2020, I looked through my son Tim’s telescope to see Jupiter and Saturn appear closer together than they had at any time in the last 800 years. Indeed, they came so close that the naked eye might have mistaken them for a single, new object.
The astronomical term for such unusual proximity is “conjunction.” Conjunctions are not rare. But they are sufficiently uncommon that those who study the night sky tend to take note of them. That’s why some today believe it was a conjunction of planets that the wise men saw and followed to Bethlehem, looking to worship the newborn king of the Jews.
Their theory does have some scientific support There was a rare triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 B.C. This “new star” could have been interpreted as a sign of a royal birth, with Jupiter symbolizing kingship. Less likely astronomical theories sometimes used to explain the celestial phenomenon that led the wise men to Bethlehem include the appearance of a comet and the explosion of a star.
As Scripture regularly reminds us, God is quite capable of using natural phenomena – storms, floods, earthquakes, fire – to reveal his will to his human creation. But the appearance of a previously unknown celestial entity, what many now call the Star of Bethlehem, does not require a naturalistic explanation. The Maker of heaven and earth is certainly capable of putting a new star in the sky, allowing only those he chooses to see it, and then having them let us know what they saw.
For example, think about the army of angels that was initially invisible to Elisha’s servant (II Kings 6:15-17). The servant, constrained by the physics of human vision, thought he and Elisha were hopelessly outnumbered by the army of the King of Aram,. But Elisha had been given the gift of seeing what God saw. And when God answered Elisha’s prayer, the servant saw not only the chariots of fire but also the truth of Elisha’s words, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Perhaps more so than in years past, it is understandably easy for you and me to look out our windows as this new year begins and see only the forces arrayed against God and those who do his will. Each time we look, their numbers seem to have grown. In such moments, may we be strengthened by the example of the wise men, who saw for a sign then followed it to Jesus. And may we be comforted by the knowledge that, today and always, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Blessings,
Rev. Bob Mills
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24
Nov '24
December 2024 Pastor’s Corner — Through Time and Space
24
Nov '24
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. — Revelation 12:3-6
There is something in us that loves fantastic stories about the supernatural, “fantasy” in its truest, literary sense. We love epic tales of good versus evil, of supernatural beings and superhuman people. Stories that stir our imagination, encouraging us to see the larger, cosmic story unfolding when we look past the merely physical world we live in and interact with on a daily basis. Whether we call those stories fantasies, myths, science fiction, or something else, we find them speaking to something intrinsic in our experience that knows there is more to this life than the physical world we see and touch.
I am willing to bet that when you go to read the Christmas story with your family, the verses above are not the ones that first come to mind. When we think of the Christmas story, we usually turn to the opening chapters of Matthew or Luke. If you’re wanting a more existential version, then John is the gospel for you. The last thing we think about when we it comes to the Christmas stories are dragons and cosmic battles. The incarnation of God the Son in the form of Jesus Christ is the first miracle of Christmas, a truly fantastic moment when the heavens came to earth, the spiritual took on the physical. It is the heart of what we celebrate at Christmas. But even in the midst of this epically mythical occasion, our focus centers on the stuff of earth — a pregnant teenager, a messy barnyard, a baby taking its first breath. The birth of Jesus Christ is so exceptionally visceral, it’s easy to forget how the incarnation transcends time and space.
In Revelation 12-14, John recounts human history from heaven’s perspective. It’s a truly cosmic and fantastic story that involves dragons and beasts, angels and people. It’s so different from the rest of Scripture, its hard to understand, let alone know who is who. Here’s your cast of characters: The dragon is Satan. The woman is Mary (at least in these verses – the woman changes throughout the chapter from Eve, to Israel, to Mary, to the Church… it’s complicated). The baby is the easiest one to figure out – he’s Jesus, clearly identified by the reference to Psalm 2:8-9 (“the one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron”). In the verses above, we have not only the story of Christmas, but Jesus’ entire life and ministry consolidated into one short sentence. Chapter 12 captures all of human history in 17 verses. What’s been eons for us is but the blink of an eye in heaven (2 Peter 3:8). Quite a different version of the story we all know so well.
We know the incarnation is a wondrous and miraculous event. Even with that, it’s so easy to miss just how truly wondrous and miraculous it was. It’s so much more than nativity sets and advent wreaths. It’s a true story that is so much more and better than anything we’ve ever dreamed or imagined. The incarnation is a miracle of cosmic degree and impact, breaking through heaven and earth, shattering the boundaries that separate the spiritual from the physical, bringing together the divine and the human in a way that had never happened before, and will never happen again. Through Jesus Christ, Satan (the dragon) has been barred from heaven (Rev. 12:8) and thwarted at every turn (Rev. 12:13-17) until his ultimate defeat when Christ returns (Rev. 14:1-6).
The Christmas season is one of the most tangible and tactile seasons we celebrate. It carries with it so many unique sights and sounds, textures, aromas and tastes. It is very much an imminent celebration. But Christmas is also a transcendent season extending through time and space. In the midst of your Christmas celebrations this year, allow time for your imagination to take hold of the cosmic dimensions that are very much a part of the Christmas story. Jesus has come. God is with us. And evil has lost. Joy to the world, indeed!
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:9-14
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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31
Oct '24
November 2024 Pastor’s Corner — The Father of Delights
31
Oct '24
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. — James 1:17
I had a wonderful time while away on study leave last month. I attended a conference called “Hutchmoot” just outside Nashville. Hutchmoot was started 15 years ago by Andrew and Pete Peterson. Andrew describes it this way: “Hutchmoot is a three-day feast where we gather to celebrate the way the Lord makes himself known through his creation. This includes stories, music, and art of all kinds, but it’s also broader than that. He also makes himself known through Scripture, of course, and through nature, and food, and even each other—through the flawed and glorious humans you’ll be rubbing elbows with all weekend.”
Something I’ve noticed about myself is that when life gets hard and stressful, when anxiety and worry threaten to take over, it often seems as if God has stopped moving and working. Prayers seem to be answered with silence. The “joy of my salvation” seems like a distant memory. The world, and my life, seem to be running on autopilot rather than guided by the hands of a loving God. He no longer seems interested in making Himself known in any fashion, so much so that sometimes during these seasons I find myself wondering if He’s there at all.
One of the sessions I attended was led by Andrew Peterson and called “The Father of Delights.” Riffing off James 1:17 above (“…the Father of {de}lights…”), Andrew emphasized that God is always moving and working in, through, and around us, whether we are aware of it or not. He is constantly working to make Himself known to us and others, and seeking to delight us and fill us with wonder. To delight in God, in His works and His creation, is to glorify God. C.S. Lewis writes, “The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end is ‘to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’ But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.” The question isn’t whether God is or isn’t making himself known and giving us reason to delight in Him, it’s whether we’re paying attention and looking for the delights God is throwing our way.
Every once in a while, God does something stunning that makes us take notice. Consider the awe we’ve all experienced the last couple of months with the displays of the Aurora Borealis here in central Virginia. That just doesn’t happen here. But it did, and it was wondrous and delightful. You couldn’t look at the sky and not delight in the God that made the colors dance across the heavens. But there are countless ways God is making Himself known to us every day. The question is, are we taking the time to look for it? Delight is something that we cultivate. If you are looking to be delighted by God, then you will find delight in God. Cultivating delight requires slowing down, being patient, and paying attention to what is going on around us. Think about all that is happening every time you take a simple breath. Muscles flex, lungs expand and contract, air moves in and out, blood flows, oxygen and carbon dioxide trade places, and much more. Something we do tens of thousands of times a day is a delightful and wonderful act. An act we take for granted with every breath. Delighting in God takes intentionality and needs to be cultivated.
As we cultivate our delight in God, we learn to see all the different ways we are invited to delight in God. Delight teaches us to see delight. Have you ever noticed how many yellow cars there are? Probably not, but now you’re going to start seeing yellow cars everywhere. We find that for which we are looking. As we cultivate an awareness of the myriad delightful ways God is moving and working, we will start seeing even more ways to delight in Him. When you find or discover something delightful, take the time to savor and delight in it, and tell God about your delight. When we express our delights, it delights the Giver of delight. Think about the times you’ve done something special for your children or your spouse, and they delighted in it. Their delight delights us, and it’s the same with our Father in Heaven.
In addition to giving thanks to the Father of Delights, share your delight with someone else. Delight shared is delight enhanced and magnified. So often, it’s easy for me to miss all the delightful things God is doing in my life. When you delight in God and share that with me, it helps me to cultivate delight myself and encourages me to look around for all the delightful ways God is at work. In a world that is so filled with anger and rage, stress and worry, fear and anxiety, cultivating delight in God and sharing those delights with others shines as bright as a candle unexpectedly lit in the deep darkness of night.
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” — Matthew 6:28-30
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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