distinctly askew

guardianmusic:

A really lovely 30-minute mixtape of recent live performances, rehearsal sessions and field recordings by Buzzin’ Fly’s Spanish left-field guitarist/electronic artist Towards Green. It’s available to download for free too. CS

I’ve been thinking about the different stories about Jesus’ resurrection in the days since Easter.  One thing that has struck me again is how many times food is involved.  Jesus cooks fish, breaks bread and eats with his friends when he comes to see them.  What that all about?

I think one of the things that the foody bits in these stories are pointing too is ordinariness.  There is something very normal and fleshed out about cooking, sitting down and eating.  People need to do it, and often people really enjoy doing it.

The normality of eating is about the only ordinary thing about all these stories.  Isn’t that the whole thing about the resurrection?  It’s not normal, it’s the start of something totally new.  Its completely outrageous and “oh my goodness I can’t believe it” surprising. God is all of those things too; He’s spectacular, amazing, outrageous and terrifying. But the Christian story suggests that in some ways he also makes himself normal and ordinary.

At the end of one of these stories, in Luke 24, Jesus tells his followers to stay put in Jerusalem until he has sent them “what the Father has promised…power from on high”.  This connects the story with happens next, the story of Acts and all the great things the early church did with the power of the Holy Spirit.  

In many ways its the Holy Spirit who carries on Jesus work of mixing outrageous God-ness and ordinaryness today.  Its the Spirit who does remarkable miracles from time to time,  but also meets normal people in the every day, ordinary miracles of life.

As we finish up our chocolate eggs (we got a lot in our house) and think about all that’s going on in this new season,  I’m praying I would experience that same mix of extra-ordinary and ordinary in my life, and help those around me to experience it too.  I’m asking God to let his spectacular power come into the everyday, normal and straightforward things I do from day to day;  the tasks I have to do, the people I meet,  the things that occupy my life.  Maybe you’d like to ask God to do the same thing for you.

From time to time I hear or read things by older church leaders about how out of touch their college was and how little training about discipleship, leadership or mission they got.

As I bash out another essay for my college, and also think about a project I’ve got to get finished off,  I’m very grateful to be studying at a place that seems to take discipleship, leadership and mission so seriously.

I’m also encouraged by the stories from friends studying elsewhere that maybe maybe things are getting better elsewhere too.