G.K. Chesterson’s The House of Christmas
There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.
For men are homesick in their homes,
And strangers under the sun,
And they lay on their heads in a foreign land
Whenever the day is done.
Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the yule tale was begun.
A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost – how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky’s dome.
This world is wild as an old wives’ tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.
To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.
HT: Dan Kimball
- Author: Brad
- Filed under: Bible study, Christianity, Gospel, abandoned, art, church, community, culture, emerging church, emerging culture, evangelism, leadership, missiology, music, pastoring, photography, poetry, prayer, q & a, seminar, theology, video, worship
- Date: Sep 27,2007
I am excited to post another interview in preparation for the Abandoned: Worship as Life seminar this Saturday, September 29 on the campus of Missouri Baptist…
It is a distinct honor to have you listen on my conversation with one of my personal heroes and now good friend, Sally Morgenthaler. Many will know Sally from her best-selling book, Worship Evangelism and her appearance at many worship conferences over the last decade. Well as is the case with us all, Sally is evolving. But you’ll have to listen in to see how and why…
Note: Sorry for the quality. You’ll hear an echo with the audio. Just imagine we did this interview in a cave and you’ll forget about it after a while. Man, technology…
we are barabbas
pilate
barabbas
jesus
before the crowd
pilate
the ‘judge’
stumped
terrified
‘who do you want’
barabbas
murderer
insurrectionist
guilty
jesus
innocent
alone
once hailed as king
now reviled
vilified
the scourging
would not pacify
‘give us barabas’
jesus
the guiltless one
convicted
barabbas
the felonious one
set free
we are barabbas
see the Teacher
see the Teacher
tethering the towel to his waist
see the Teacher
stooping
eye-level with feet
with dusty, dirty stench
see the Teacher
embracing the menial
becoming the lowest of slaves
see the Teacher
dipping his hands in the basin
washing every crevice
of every foot
of every disciple
even the betrayer
see the Teacher
clasping the towel from his waist
drying every cranny
of every foot
of every disciple
even the betrayer
see the Teacher
crumpled down
restraining the dangerous passion for position
regaining the force for impetus
see the Teacher
teaching without words
greatness in the kingdom comes from the lowly
from washing feet
and these feet would stay in the world
once their Teacher’s feet were pierced
bringing the good news
publishing peace
to the uttermost
see the Teacher
see the humility
see the Teacher
chasing, cleaning, restoring
jesus
the day before
peace-embodier
today
sin-chaser
table-turner
men
doves
coins
scattered
startling
swift
from their caves of iniquity
to the dens of worship
exploiting the soul’s required sacrifice
making the house of prayer
a house of gain
pockets were robbed
but deeper, worship
justice
plundered
here
jesus
restoring the temple
the dwelling place of God
cleansing
purifying
a prophecy fulfilled
a new covenant to come
we become the ‘living’ temples
but these new temples
aren’t immune
oh God
have your way
turn over our tables in our ‘temples’
create in us clean hearts
renew steadfast spirits
chase after your beloved
Brad Andrews
04.02.07
his kindgom still comes
news spreading
jesus raising the once-dead
jerusalem in his sights
passover on his mind
crowds growing
palms waving
hosanna!
could he be
the messiah-king
a chariot, no
a donkey
a peace-sign
this would be no ordinary king
hoping for an earthly ruler
little did they know
they would get a heart-ruler
a heart-healer
still, blindness
jealousy
religious leaders incensed
‘the whole world is going after him’
and the world is still going after him
his kingdom still comes
Brad Andrews
04.01.07
