Christmas Concert Meditation(11Dec2011)

Christmas Concert Meditation December 10-11, 2011
Thank you for joining us.
My name is Ken Shigematsu. I'm one of the pastors here.
The theme of our concert is journeys. We have been singing about the wise men following the star.
Have you ever wondered why the wise men set out to bring their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to this new born baby in the first place?
Sure, they saw the star and Ancient Near East court astronomers believe that stars announce the births of great kings.
But why did they set out such a long journey from modern-day Iran to Bethlehem, a distance about the same as Vancouver to Winnipeg – but without the benefit of the TransCanada Highway, a journey which on foot and camel may have take between 6 months and a year?
These were educated, successful, wealthy men—they had it all—probably not kings, but senior advisors to the kings.
Why did they set out on such a long trek?
Longing…
They had all that they could have possibly wanted and still there was an inexpressible, inconsolable longing deep within them. As deep as the stars in the sky… a longing for meaning…a longing for fulfillment…a longing for a blessed life and so they follow the star.
The Wise men, the wise men, as we read in Scripture bring the baby Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh, but the truth is they were looking for a treasure in him. They were looking for the one in the words of the famous Christmas carol in whom: “The hopes and fears of all the years are met.”
We all have longing for a treasure and we seek to follow some kind of star.
When I was a young boy living in London, England, I remember standing in the backyard of our home. I was standing on the patio beside a rusting red wagon fantasizing about finding an old treasure map left by pirates with a big X in the middle (Use prop.) that would lead me to a treasure chest filled with diamonds, rubies, pearls, and lots of gold coins—or maybe I just wanted to live in a world where adventure on the high seas was possible.
We go through life looking for some kind of treasure, seeking some “star to follow.”
For me as a young boy it was a Pirate’s treasure.
For our three-year-old son Joey – he recently unwrapped a Toys "R" Us flyer and began to flip through it in search of some treasure – a fire engine and an adventure of his own.
We may call it by a different name. We may call it happiness, meaning, or significance. Aristotle said, “All people seek happiness. There are no exceptions.” (The word that he used in the Greek was which is often translated “happiness,” but can also be rendered “human flourishing” or translated literally “to be cared for by a benevolent deity.”) So, in Aristotle’s view we all seek happiness; we all seek to live a life of good fortune or blessedness.
Whether we believe in God or not, we seek happiness or significance--perhaps in sport, a special relationship,
As a young boy for me it the hope of finding a treasure left by pirates. As a somewhat older boy in high school treasure was accomplishing something in sport. As a teenager I was a big football fan and my hero was the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, Joe Montana. When our son was born, we named him Joe mostly after Joseph in the Bible, but also partly after Joe Montana.
When I had the unexpected opportunity to become starting quarterback on our high school football team – though it was just high school, at the time it was significant.
When I was in my twenties, I wanted to meet someone special and fall in love.
I felt really hard for someone. And here's a follow-up, I couldn't stop thinking about her. So you can iwise menne my happiness when we reconnected 10 years later. She asked, “Oh, Jeffrey right? From Berkeley.” “No, I’m Ken. From Canada.”
We didn't get off on the right foot, but ended up getting married.
We seek happiness or significance perhaps in sport or art, or in a special relationship, success at school and work, maybe a trip to an exotic, tropical place in the middle of the winter, maybe your dream car or even dream house. Perhaps that something brought you happiness initially, but then you got used to it, and you started looking for something else on the horizon to bring you happiness, or meaning, or real fulfillment.
The truth is that there is a part of the human soul that is so deep, so very deep, that nothing on this earth can fully satisfy us. We find ourselves searching.
Research conducted by Harvard psychologist professor Daniel Gilbert demonstrates time and time again we overestimate the amount of happiness we expect to receive from any given situation. We quickly get used to the new thing we thought would bring us happiness and it no longer gives us the same satisfaction.

But, the Christmas story is not a story primarily about the Wise men’s journey for meaning, or even about our search for happiness. The Christmas story is about God’s journey for what he considers to be a treasure of priceless worth.
Jesus of Nazareth told a parable about a person who discovered a priceless pearl and then sold everything that he had to buy the pearl. The living God considers us a priceless pearl. On that very first Christmas he, in effect, sold everything that he had…
The Scriptures tells us that God left the glorious splendor of heaven—shrank himself down, way down to the size of a single fertilized egg, an ovum, entered into the womb of a peasant teenager. God was born into poverty—under the gaze and the steamy breath of the sheep and cattle in that stable and was placed in a pile of hay that had been placed in the cattle feeding trough. When God, who had become a human being, was 33 years old, he voluntarily died on a Roman cross for our sins so that we could be forgiven…so that we could have a new beginning…so that we could enjoy a life with God and become an instrument of God’s peace and justice in the world.
We are on a journey in search of happiness, significance, meaning, treasure, but God’s story—the Christmas story—is a story about his journey to find a treasure…and that treasure is us.
If we find in our heart a restless yearning for something more, we can find rest in the Christmas story because the Christmas story tells us that the only one who can satisfy the deepest part of our soul, the God who became a human being to know us, has come for us in Bethlehem, and he comes to us tonight and if we would like, we can receive this gift.
You are searching for the treasure, but the treasure has come to you.
If would like, you can pray these lines from one of our famous Christmas carols:
O Holy Child of Bethlehem descend on us we pray,
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.

Simply Christmas(2011Dec04)

Series: Advent M2 11 12 04
Title: Simply Christmas
Speaker: Ken Shigematsu with Randy Hamm
Text: Luke 2:1-16, 24
BIG IDEA: In contrast to our consumer culture, the Christmas story leads us to a simple life.
When I was a boy, one of my favourite TV programs was The Six Million Dollar Man. (Show image.) Steve Austin was an astronaut who experienced a malfunction in his rocket as it was launching…. He says “I've got a blowout, paper three, I can’t hold it, she's breaking up, she's breaking up…” He nearly died as a result of this accident.
In the opening narration we hear:
“Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.”



And back in that day they spent $6 million dollars rebuilding Steve’s legs, his right arm and one of his eyes so that he functioned in part like a robot. He could run up to 60 miles an hour. He could throw a football 150 yards with the flick of a wrist. His right eye was like a telescope.
As a boy, not only did I love that show, but from time to time I fantasized about having a bionic arm so that I could throw the football further and with more accuracy, or bionic legs so that as a receiver I could outrun the coverage. If I had the opportunity to design my own arm strength and speed, I would choose to be The Six Million Dollar Man, the bionic man.
If you had the opportunity to design your life, your strength, your appearance, your socio-economic status before you were born, how would you use that power? If you chose to come to earth as a guy, would you want to look like Brad Pitt (Show photo.)

Or as woman perhaps like Halle Berry (Show photo.)


Would you want to have the net worth of someone like Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey?
The one person in history who had the opportunity to design exactly what he would look like before he was born, and exactly what his net worth would be before he came into the world, was God, when he decided to become a human being in Jesus Christ.
The Scripture tells us in Isaiah 53 that Jesus Christ would have no beauty and nothing in his outward appearance that would make us want to be with him. We are also told that he had no majesty, no trappings of royalty…. no procession or carriage, like Prince William and Kate:



… that we would be drawn to him. In fact, quite the contrary. When God becomes a human being in Jesus Christ and decides to enter the world, he leaves behind the unimaginable splendor of heaven, shrinks himself down to the size of a singular fertilized egg, an ovum, and lodges himself in the womb of a peasant teenage girl named Mary.
We know from this story when God becomes a human being in Jesus Christ, he voluntarily chooses to be born into poverty. He chooses not to be born in a clean, private hospital room at BC Children's in 2011, nor even into a proper home, but according to Luke 2 he is born into a kind of stable under the steamy breath of the cattle and sheep. After he was delivered and his umbilical cord was cut, he doesn't have a proper crib so he's placed on a pile of straw, in a cattle feeding trough.
We know from the sacrifice that Mary and Joseph made at the temple after Jesus was born, when they offered “the pair of doves,” that they were offering something that was permissible only for the poorest of families.
So when the King of kings, the president of presidents, the prime minister of prime ministers, the God of the universe decides to become a human being, he moves from unimaginable splendor and wealth to poverty. He becomes human in the most dramatic of ways, like no-one else ever before or after him--he voluntarily plunges downward.
This why the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8:9
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
First Christmas is about God voluntarily becoming poor.
In sharp contrast to that, ironically so much of today’s Christmas is about consuming, about buying… accumulating. Not all of that is wrong. There can be a beauty in giving a thoughtful gift or expressing our gratitude to someone.
But the trajectory of the Christmas story, and the arc of the way of Christ, however, is one where we are called to move toward simplicity—toward a simple life: though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
I know that the most famous and successful churches in North America like Lakewood Church in Houston pastored by Joel Osteen does many great things, but if you listen to him and some other mega church preachers who promote what is billed as “the health and wealth gospel,” you will hear that if you follow the way of Jesus, you are going to become more successful, more healthy, more wealthy. The health and wealth gospel is a very popular message if you are in North America, in Africa, and certain parts of the developing world, but it is not a biblical message. The Bible clearly shows us that God in becoming a human being chose the way of simplicity.
I have been powerfully impacted by the teaching of St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish follower of Christ who lived in the 16th century and founded the Jesuits. St. Ignatius talked about the three degrees of humility.

The first degree of humility: always obey the Word of God by living a life of integrity. As we saw last week when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus Christ, the mother of God, even though she knew that that decision as an unwed teenager would cause her to become mired in great scandal, as it would appear that she had been unfaithful to her fiancé Joseph, she simply replied, “Yes, may it be to me as you have said.”
In the first degree of humility we are called to say “yes” to God whenever he asks us of something, or asks us to do something, or to not do something.The first degree of humility means we would never do something that would cut us off from God.
The second degree of humility: be completely open to will of God. According to Ignatius, it is that when you are presented an option in life, you strive to be free in our spirit, completely open, in a sense indifferent or detached. We don’t want to lean heavily toward a particular option, but rather open to whatever life presents. So, we have a choice that would bring wealth or riches, honor or dishonor, long life or short life; we are just open to the will of God.
In the third degree of humility: choose the path of Christ, the most perfect way, according to Ignatius, where you consciously seek to follow in the footsteps of Christ. This is going to sound crazy and I certainly have not been able to embrace this in any significant kind of way, but Ignatius would say, “If you have the option between riches and poverty, between honor and dishonor, between a long life and a short life, lean toward the latter. Lean toward poverty; lean toward dishonor; lead toward a short life—because that was the way of Jesus.
Now, I know that sounds absolutely crazy and perhaps even sick to some, but for those who have chosen and have been open to this path, they have found a surprising freedom and joy. Even for me, and this may surprise you because I am a pastor, but as my wife and people who know me well are aware, I have always been an extremely competitive person in sport and in other areas of life. Ignatius’ three degrees of humility have freed me from my need to climb some kind of ladder of worldly success. I feel greater peace. I feel a real gift in that.
When we talk about moving toward a simple life in a way that is consistent with the true Christmas story--who though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich, and not the commercialized Christmas story, and the true trajectory of Jesus Christ, not the arc that is articulated by “health and wealth” preachers, it may sound crazy, but I believe that Jesus wants to show us a different way of life that is ultimately richer, more fulfilling, and deeply more satisfying.
When a monk enters a monastery, they take a vow of poverty and give away their worldly possessions to the order, to their family and friends outside the monastery. Some people think they have gone crazy. Others feel sorry for them. The monks themselves don’t see it that way at all.
James Martin, now a Jesuit priest, graduated from the prestigious Wharton School of Business and then worked in finance for General Electric. He describes his experience of entering into the Jesuit community as a novice and giving away his possessions:
My money and car went to my parents. My suits would sit in my parents’ house in case the novitiate didn’t work out. (I wasn’t taking any chances.) The rest of my clothes went to Goodwill Industries, which would distribute them to the poor. My books went to friends who dropped by one sultry afternoon to scour my bookshelves. "I wish more of my friends joined religious orders," said one friend….
[Writing more than 20 years later] I can still remember the initial burst of happiness I felt. How liberating it was! No more worrying about whether my suits were the proper shade of gray, my shoes the right brand, my ties the appropriate hue, no more worrying about whether I should rent an apartment or buy one. No more worrying about whether I needed a new this or a new that.
While most of us will not take formal vows of poverty like James Martin, we can also feel the joy that comes from simplifying our lives: by giving away what we don’t need (if I haven’t worn something in a year—as long as it’s still in good shape, I give it away to the Salvation Army. I love it.)
My older sister lives in the Silicon Valley near Stanford University. She and her husband are executives in a high tech firm. Since my sister was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago, she took chemo and radiation, and as far as we know she is in the clear, she has wanted to de-clutter her life. She recently sent me an e-mail and said that she had just got rid of bunch of stuff including a pile of CDs—and felt so good.
Part of the reason it can feel so right to de-clutter and simply our lives is because we will find that some of our material possessions not only do not bring us true lasting fulfillment, but in some cases can actually come between us and God. We may find ourselves joy uncluttering our lives so that we are spending less time and energy cleaning, maintaining, protecting, and worrying about our stuff so that more of us is available to God and others.
Randy Hamm, who for several years served as our pastor of small groups and for the last year or so has served as our pastor of family ministries, is a wonderful brother in Christ. We have so appreciated his loving spirit. His official pastoral ministry will come to an end at the end of this year. On December 18 we will take more time to honor him at all the public services.
Today I am going to invite him to come and talk a little bit about how he and his family have simplified their lives for Christmas.

RANDY:
When I think of Christmas one image that comes to mind is the Bright Lights at Stanley Park – great event to raise money for the Firefighters Burn Fund – go support them. One year in the midst of bright lights, hot chocolate and crowds of people, we found a nativity. Most of the characters were there, but in random order – but there was no Jesus – not even a manger.
Perhaps you’ve felt like that – I know I have – when you get to the end of Christmas – lots happened but we’ve missed what is most important. As a family we make some intentional choices to focus in the gift of Christ with us at Christmas.
We are intentional about where and how we shop. Instead of going to the mall, with its relentless consumerist message and usually very cheesy Christmas music, we opt for the all homemade craft fair with a social justice bent to it. Or we go to fundraisers like the Living Waters auction where we get great gifts and the money goes to a cause we believe in. We’ll shop on Main Street, places we can walk or bike to. We challenge ourselves to get creative and make something – a painting, craft or woodwork. And sometimes we give the gift of time, with a coupon book of experiences or tickets for an event we can share with the person.
We love to consider who we are shopping for and give them something that to is meaningful to them. One year I had my dad and instead of just getting him another tie, or sweater or dvd to sit on the shelf, I found something in the world vision catalogue that caught my attention. A gift to someone who really needs it on behalf of your gift recipient. Have you seen these? Used them? My dad was a teacher – so I gave kids in Africa school books and all he got was a certificate thanking him. At first he was confused, then his eyes lit up. He loved it. (and probably loved not getting another sweater). You can even create your own wishlist online – go on and buy me goat! When I talked to my parents this week they mentioned how they donated a bamboo house for someone in Thailand as their gift to each other!
We also teach our kids about Christmas – including St. Nick – the real one and how he gave gifts to the poor – those who really needed it. That’s the spirit behind Santa. BTW Dec 6th is the day the church traditionally celebrates St Nick– so this is a great time to consider who you could give to so that you love all.
Easing up on the craziness of the Christmas schedule is another way we simplify. We do it so we can focus on relationships. Its not about how good the party is or how well we’ve decorated, its about the depth of relationship that happens.
A couple years ago I found out about Advent Conspiracy – a group of people that are fighting for the real message of Christmas. They teach us to spend less, give more and love all – as I’ve talked about, but they also encourage us to Worship Fully at Christmas. In Matther 6 Jesus said For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Yes – we love the parties, the gift giving, the music – we’ll watch the Grinch and Charlie Brown, we’ll go shopping. But that’s not where we want our hearts. That’s why we simplify – to keep our focus. Last week we pulled out our advent tree and began reading through the story of Scripture to remind us of why Jesus came. Daily we turn our thoughts to the gift of Christ and how we can help others. As a friend, husband and father – that’s what I want to remember this Christmas. When we come to Boxing Day – I want know that Jesus was front and center. That we’ve grown in relationship with Him and others.
So this Christmas – may you Spend Less, Give More, Love all and above all – Worship Fully.

Show Advent Conspiracy video

Simplifying our lives isn’t just something that makes our lives lighter and more joyful, but it really gives us an opportunity to bless others.
As Randy and the Advent Conspiracy put it, we can spend less, we can give more and worship fully.
Sarah, as some of you might remember, and her husband Ziggy were actively involved in Tenth while Ziggy was pursuing a master’s degree at Regent College. During that time, Sarah served on our office staff here at Tenth. One day we got talking and Sarah told me part of her life story.
She said that when she was 20 years old and a university student, she loved drinking wine at parties and boldly extolling the virtues of Nietzsche’s philosophy. And how secretly on the inside she was afraid of leading a meaningless, mediocre existence. So when she was invited to go on a mission trip to a very poor part of Nepal with a Christian mission called Operation Mobilization, she went.
Sarah said, “I was absolutely blown away by the generosity of the Nepalese people. They were destitute. They had no money, and yet they gave sacrificially to each other. But, when they had me over for dinner, they would always give their very best.”
At the end of the summer, Sarah met with the leaders of the mission. She had been so deeply moved and so profoundly touched by “the unbridled kindness and hospitality of the poor” in Nepal, she asked her leaders, “How can I express my gratitude for all that I have experienced this summer? I want this summer to be more than a fleeting experience, more than just another page in the photo album of a tourist.” One of the mission leaders said, “Why don’t you make a commitment to living simply, and to giving generously? Why don’t you assess what you will need to live on and then plan to give the rest away?” (This is a practice sometimes described as proportionate giving.)
Up to that point in her life, Sarah had been a student and had been giving 10% of her income away, but no more—a tithe—which for the Christian is the biblical starting point. ‘That felt painful,” Sarah said. Ziggy, who at the time had been a friend at university and is now her husband, said, “If our financial giving ever stops being painful, then we are not giving enough.” Though Sarah was just an undergraduate student at the time, she made a commitment to giving generously. She said, “Some years are more financially uncomfortable than others, but we find that we can always afford what we truly require. Every year regardless of our combined income, we’ve made an effort to increase our giving. To be sure that is always a little painful. Our goal is to give 80% of our income away. We’re not there yet, but last year we upped our giving by 5%.”
Knowing that Ziggy was a student and Sarah was working as receptionist at our church, and I knew how little she made, I asked, “How is that possible?” She said, “We dipped into our savings to give more to missions.”
Ziggy and Sarah would say, “Our commitment to simple living and to giving as generously as we can, sometimes in the moment feels a bit painful, but don’t feel sorry for us. We love this way of life.”
There is a purposefulness and a sense of joy in their lives that is apparent to all who know them. Again and again, Ziggy and Sarah have stepped out in faith. And they have testified how God has miraculously provided for them.
That, of course, is not just true for Ziggy and Sarah, and when people make a commitment to follow in the way of Jesus, to simplify their lives, to de-clutter, to give as generously as they can, there is a sense of adventure, a sense of gratitude and joy, and a sense that their life has is being used for a higher purpose.
For so many human beings we have a tendency to grasp and to hold on to what we have. But there is a beauty and a joy and an attractiveness in living simply and to giving generously.
Do you remember June 15 of last year? That morning I went bike riding with a friend here in Vancouver. His family has season’s tickets for our hockey team. We were riding on the morning when our Canucks would be playing in a historic game seven of the Stanley Cup Final. I asked him, “Are you going to the game tonight?” “No – I decided to give my tickets away [which people would have paid thousands of dollars for].”
Knowing he’s a hockey fan, I asked him, “Are you okay with that?” I thought he must have experienced a tinge of wistfulness, but he simply said, “I wanted to show kindness to this person… (The person isn’t a Christian. I want in some small way to demonstrate the way of the Gospel.) And so I was glad to get away the tickets…” and he beamed with joy.
There is joy in the way of Jesus: though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
There is joy in simplifying our lives so that we can make others rich.
When we live this way, we will not experience a nativity scene without the Christ as Randy did at Stanley Park.
As simply Christmas, spend less, give more, and worship fully, and we will experience Christ at Christmas.

Prayer:
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.


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