Dr. Harold McNabb
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Saturday, 04 February 2006 21:44 |
The little village of Rattenberg is the smallest town in Austria, and getting smaller each year. The town has lost 20 percent of its population in the past two decades, and as of 2005 had only 440 residents. The reason? Darkness. Rattenberg is nestled behind Rat Mountain?a 3,000-foot obstruction that blocks out the sun from November to February. But thanks to some clever new technology, the town?s situation is about to get a little brighter.
An Austrian company called Bartenbach Lichtlabor has come up with a plan to bring sunshine into the darkness by installing 30 heliostat mirrors onto the mountainside. The mirrors will grab light from reflectors on the sunny-side of the mountain and shine it back into the town.
The project will not be cheap?the European Union will cover half of the $2.4 million bill?but if successful, will bring hope to the 60 other communities scattered throughout the Alps that endure the winter darkness each year. Markus Peskoller, Lichtlabor?s director, has also committed to paying for the $600,000 cost of planning the project because of its potential for other markets. "I am sure we will soon help other mountain villages see the light," he said.1
John says God himself is light.
Is the Light.
And the way we live in fellowship with God is to . . .
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Like a Summer Thunderstorm |
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Sunday, 29 January 2006 11:11 |
Introducing someone is easy enough if the person is there with you.
Introducing someone who is not present requires you to describe the person in terms that accurately portray who that person is.
For example, in a small rural community where populations are stable and folks know each other for generations, you might describe someone who is returning from many years abroad by saying, "She is aunt Grace?s youngest daughter." The person might add, "oh yes, that would make her Florence and Stanley Ferguson?s granddaughter. I know who she is."
That is pretty much what Matthew does with Jesus. He brings out the family tree and starts his narrative by locating Jesus in the family tree. He begins with Abraham, through David right through to Jesus. Thus his pedigree and roots are described to people who would know and care.
John?s on the other hand is how a more philosophical and poetically minded person might describe someone. He might say something like, "Ok, imagine all the characteristics of the perfect person and friend and imagine all of that from God totally in one person. That is Jesus"
Luke the gentile physician who had never met Jesus was in Judea with his friend Paul. He says he took the opportunity of . . .
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Saturday, 21 January 2006 19:53 |
In the mid 1930?s an unlikely horse became a racing sensation. Its name was Sea biscuit and was the perfect hero for the depression era when so many people saw their dreams end up on the scrap pile. Sea biscuit was an undersized underachiever that no one thought could succeed. Just another casualty in a tough and cruel world.
But the horse was rescued from the reject bin and becomes a legend, and recently the subject of a movie.
One of the main characters in the movie Sea biscuit, is a broken-down, unemployed cowboy named Tom Smith. Millionaire Charles Howard, who is about to engage in a horse racing enterprise, has a campfire interview with Smith, and asks why he bothered rescuing an old, lame horse that was sentenced to death because of a broken leg.
Tom replies, "You don?t throw a whole life away just ?cause it?s banged up a bit." Every horse is good for something, Tom claims.
And God says that about every person: "You don?t just throw away a whole life because it?s banged up a bit."1
And so God calls on Jonah to go to Nineveh, a great city in which God says, the inhabitants " do not know their right hand from their left." He is saying, they are ignorant and their . . .
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Sunday, 15 January 2006 16:00 |
On Pentecost island in Vanuatu, there used to be a coming of age ritual similar to bungee jumping. In fact this is where bungee jumping originated. The elders built a tower from bamboo poles; and then using vines, they make ropes which they attach to the ankles of the young participant. The young man then makes a head-first leap from the tower and plunges about forty or fifty feet toward the ground. The vines break the fall at the last second and the young fellow is spared becoming an upside down fence post. Or they don?t.
You jump and survive, and you are considered a man.
I am really glad that we don?t do anything more daunting than passing a driver?s license test..
Other cultures have their own process for life?s transitions.
A question I am sometimes asked is, "how did you feel called into ministry?".
At times I have asked myself the same question, and all I can say is it was a building conviction inside which I acted upon and that in spite of my own questions, has been confirmed strongly enough that I continue.
Very few receive a dramatic lightning bolt of certainty, though it does happen.
The gospels tell us of the calling of several of Jesus followers, and for each of them, its a different experience.
I suppose we remember the calling of James and John best. Jesus sees . . .
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Saturday, 07 January 2006 20:59 |
I know that Lent is supposed to be the season of repentance and applying more discipline to our lifestyle, but New Years brings its spate of resolutions. Here are some that a friend of mine in Illinois sent by email:
~ Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
~ Watch more TV. I?ve been missing some good stuff.
~ Procrastinate more.... Starting tomorrow.
~ Get in a whole NEW rut!
~ Buy an ?83 Eldorado and invest in a really loud stereo system. Get the
windows tinted. Buy some fur for the dash.
~ Create more loose ends.
~ Focus on the faults of others.
~ Whine about your own faults.
~ Never make New Year?s resolutions again.
There is something about turning a page on the calendar, or entering a new year that reminds us that time is passing but also reminds us that here is the opportunity for a whole new beginning.
Those resolutions about diet and getting into shape also have a sense of a newly disciplined lifestyle, which is never a bad idea, but often needs to be connected with some other motivation to make it stick.
John the Baptist is the poster boy for the self disciplined life-style. In fact . . .
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