The Cross of Humility

"There is, then, a difference between sinners and sinners.  There are some sinners who confess that they have sinned but do not long to be justified; instead, they give up hope and go on sinning, so that, when they die, they despair and, while they live, they are enslaved to the world.  There are other sinners who confess that they sin and have sinned, but they are sorry for this, hate themselves for it, long to be justified, and under groaning constantly pray to God for righteousness.  This is the people of God: it constantly brings the judgment of the cross to bear upon itself." 

This statement of Martin Luther's has got me to thinking about my struggles and my desire for God's righteousness to crush the sin in my life and the bondage to self; to obliterate my ego and self-centrism.  He also says that, to be justified by faith is to give up pride in ourselves."  So hard to do and a definite struggle for me.  These statements of Luther shed light upon Jesus' words to deny oneself and pick up one's cross daily.  Humility is the key...picking up the cross of humility to strike down the prideful self and bring about the righteousness of God.  Only then can we truly love God and others.

Through the grace of God, we, the broken, are justified by faith.  Through the grace of God, he does something for us that we cannot do for ourselves.  Luther likens the church to an infirmary where the sick, damaged, and broken gather.  It is in this infirmary that healing, restoration, and reconciliation to God happens.  It is in this restorative process that we see grace at work.  Where we were once powerless to do anything about our brokenness, the power of God breaks the power of sin and death and creates in us a new person on a path in relationship with God; a reciprocal relationship in which God expects things from us (like loving our neighbors and our enemies) and we can also expect something from God (his grace, mercy, love, and hope).  God never fails at providing these but we fail at loving others.  We put down the cross of humility and pick up the sword of self; and when we do we again must pick up the cross of humility.

Thank God for the grace, mercy, love, and hope that he extends to all.  If only we were able to extend the same to those we encounter each day.

Update! Finally!

It’s been a looooong while since our last update.  A whirlwind of transition happened and we wanted to wait with sharing until we were a little more certain about what would come out of it.  As we speak, I, Hanne, have a whole, beautiful day off before my last two days at my current job.  As of this coming Monday I will be working as a nurse at the hospital in Fredrikstad, which is a really sweet city in the Southeast of Norway.  Just a few days after I started working here at Nes, Ryan got offered a coaching position in Fredrikstad, and after giving it a couple of weeks of thought we decided to go for it.  It was a pretty surprising move-I don’t think either of us had expected there to be a job opening for Ryan this soon, not in coaching, nor in Fredrikstad-a city that I have only barely visited in the past.  It was a hard decision, but I told my boss I’d be leaving only little over a week ago, and Thursday will be my last day there.

Now I’m sitting in the garden at Ildjarntunet, thinking about how incredibly fast things change.  The trick is to roll with the changes, ya know… This time last year I was venting big time to our house church after having spent a year pretty much unemployed and living on people’s couches, going to job interview after job interview, feeling desperate for some stability and security, while at the same time feeling like I was in the exact spot where God was wanting me.  I’m a much bigger fan of our current changes.  But I couldn’t have had nor appreciated the one without the other.

So, while I’m sad to be leaving Hedalen, I am convinced we are doing the right thing, and I am really excited about starting a life together in Fredrikstad.  We’ve met some good people there already, and I’m looking forward to a Norwegian summer by the sea.  We’ve got a cool apartment that I can’t wait to invite people to, with a garden where we can have barbecues.  I’m excited about my job, about Ryan’s job, about making friends, about catching up with my pre-USA friends, and about Norwegian summer night after Norwegian summer night after Norwegian summer night...

So if anybody wants to come visit-there’s always a plane headed for Rygge airport and we’ll be there to pick u up, in our awesome new old Volkswagen that can fit all your luggage just like that!

Some Simple Thoughts on a Complex Book

Over the past few days, I've been reading a book that has given me some interesting insights about my life and my relationship with God.  I find myself connecting with God in a variety of ways lately, such as through my relationships with other people, through reading, and through nature; but then today, I found myself connecting with God through a book that is all about proving that God does not exist.  This book is The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, which I've been reading along with a book by Brian McLaren called A Generous Orthodoxy (an awesome combo to read these two together and very interesting).  In The God Delusion, Dawkins refutes the existence of God on the basis of Darwinian evolution and natural selection and says that he is attempting to raise people's consciousness and that if one believes in the existence of God then they have not had their conscience raised.  He criticizes creationists and advocates of intelligent design for utilizing a 'God of the gaps' approach, which says that if science can't explain it then it must be the work of an intelligent creator, i.e. God.  He also criticizes creationists refusal to think about alternatives to the origin of life, and for utilizing irreducible complexity as an argument against evolution and as proof for the existence of God.  I am not a creationist in the sense that I believe in a literal six day creation of the earth nor am I a believer in a young earth, so Dawkins scientific approach to evolution and the origin of life interests me greatly.  While reading this book, I have been engaging deeply in thinking about my faith, and there are times where Dawkins is very convincing about the improbability of the existence of God.  However, when I really start to wrestle with what he says and with all of the experiences of my life, I find myself connecting with God.  My life does not make sense without God and I feel like through Dawkins' book, God is raising my consciousness.  Dawkins would definitely criticize me for implying that if science can't explain something, then God must exist, but maybe science is God's way of creating.  Maybe God creates through evolution and natural selection.  Dawkins would say that God is a messed up creator then because he creates things that don't work right, but maybe God's way is to let things work themselves out in this messy kind of biological process.

I think that Dawkins has a lot of good points in this book and challenges believers on a lot of levels; but as I think about what he says, I feel the small amount of faith that I do have strengthened.  It seems to me that to believe what Dawkins believes takes faith just the same as it takes faith to believe in the existence of God.  

Ryan

Norway - Week 3

This past week we took the bus down to Oslo to visit Hanne's father and look for a vehicle.

Shortly after we arrived, we went to have lunch with Hanne's father at the Parliament building, where he works.

As we went through security at the Parliament, Ryan had a beanie on and the security officer informed him that he could not wear it inside the building (after he asked us if we had come straight from the forest).   This is Ryan sporting the visitor's pass...

Hanne on the metro excited about looking for cars.  

Our new car...

National Theater

 Cooking dinner back home.

Hanne started work yesterday and Ryan began taking language classes.  Ryan also got to the gym for the first time since we've been here.  We're starting to get into a rhythm and are beginning to feel at home.    

Engaging Culture

In what is my first experience living in another county I've encountered difficulties relating to two cultural barriers thus far: Language and the everyday rhythm of life here. (I did spend some time in the Middle East in 2005 as a Marine but in a totally different role in which I was by no means trying to assimilate into the culture the way I am in Norway.) Experiencing these barriers is both difficult and interesting at the same time. I find myself frustrated at my inability to communicate, which has a direct bearing on my ability to learn and understand the Norwegian culture. Most Norwegians speak English quite well and they often converse with me in English, but in many conversations that I've had, there is relational disconnect, more so without the older generations than the younger. In fact, most young Norwegians probably speak more grammatically correct English than myself. However, I think expressing oneself in a language other than one's primary language is quite difficult. While I've only been in Norway for two and a half weeks, I am experiencing impatience to bridge the language and culture gaps and begin understanding the spiritual landscape of this new place that I now live. A quick tangent...yesterday I tried to order coffee in Norwegian and the girl taking my order spoke back to me in English. I laughed and asked her if it was that obvious I didn't know Norwegian and I told her I was trying to learn so she switched back to Norwegian. So, at this point, even when I try to speak the language, I don't speak the language.

Currently, we are living in a small town in an apartment at a hotel/Christian retreat center, that Hanne's aunt runs, next to a very traditional Lutheran state-church. And, of course, this church is filled with some families and mostly the older generation of the town. It's an amazing building with amazing history (see previous post) and an enjoyable place to be. When I am there, however, I find myself asking what this church's engagement with the other townspeople is (I have a lot of time to think there since the services are in Norwegian). In addition to the church, there is a Hindu temple and Norse temple, which we plan on visiting soon.

In contrast to Hedalen, where we live, I find a different spiritual landscape in Oslo, the capital of Norway. We've spent the last few days in Oslo and I have not observed any indications of spiritual communities here. This is definitely not to say that they are not here, I simply have not seen any during my short stay, however, I have plans to visit a faith community Saturday afternoon.

In order for me to understand the spiritual landscape holistically, I must first learn the language and understand the culture. It will take time and I definitely feel God teaching me humility and patience in the process.

As a follower of Jesus, the spirituality that I seek to bring to the people that I encounter is one of love. I believe that everything extends from love (honesty, respect, generosity, etc.).   I want to engage the traditional form of Christianity (like the one I experience in Hedalen) in conversation about different expressions of the faith, expressions of love that may not look like the traditional church. I also want to express this love to people outside faith communities introducing them to the radical love that Jesus has for all of his creation and begin to explore how this might look like and be relevant to the younger generations in Norway...and I don't think this looks like 'church' in the traditional use of the word.

Norway - Week 2

We've been in Norway for two weeks now.  After spending some time with Hanne's family in Nes, we are now in Hedalen, where we will be living.

Our last week in Nes, we tried curling.  It was the first time for all of us.  Teams were the Lunds vs. the Roberts....and the Roberts came away with the victory and are undefeated in their curling careers.

One our way to Hedalen, we had to take a ferry from Brekstad to Rørvik. 

The mother-in-law and Ryan enjoying a nice cup of kaffe and svele while we crossed the Trondheim fjord.

This is the living room of our apartment in Hedalen.  We have an awesome wood burning oven that keeps us warm.

Hanne enjoying some food in our home.

Ryan getting pumped and ready for some cross country skiing.  

Hanne and her Aunt Oddny packing up to go ski.

Ryan and Hanne's brother Eirik.

Eirik trying to coach Ryan on how to stand up on skis.  Ryan had a difficult time after he fell as everytime he tried to get up he dug himself deeper into the snow.  It got to the point where Ryan was stuck and Hanne and Eirik were laughing and mocking at the American floundering around in the Norwegian snow.  

After skiing...ate a couple of sausages, had some dried moose meat and took another whirl on the skis.  

Tonight, we went to a Lutheran church service at a church that is 850 years old.  There is a legend about the church; during the Black Death in the middle of the 14th century Hedalen was depopulated, and the valley became a wilderness. A hunter one day shot an arrow after a bird, but instead of hitting his prey, it missed and struck the bell. Then, there he found the church, standing in the middle of the dense forest. As the hunter believed this must be a church for huldra or other supernatural beings, he took his flint and steel and threw it over the church. This was something believed to seize property from huldra, and so he wanted to prevent the church from disappearing. On the place where the steel fell, a farm was later built which still has the name Ildjarnstad (Firesteel).  In the church the hunter shot a bear which had made its lair by the altar. The skin from this bear still hangs on the wall of the sacristy. 

Anyway, Hanne had to translate most of the service for Ryan, but Ryan did sing in Norwegian.  We also met some nice people that we are going to begin doing a bible study with so that should be fun and give us an opportunity to meet people in this area.  

This upcoming week is when we are going to take care of a lot of logistical stuff and get ourselves situated.

We feel like some awesome things are on the horizon.

Ryan and Hanne

Norway - Week 1

So far, Norway has been amazing.  We've been here for one week already and it's been great.  And I'd like to think that I'm progressing in learning the language, although I do find myself frustrated at not being able to track conversations when everyone around me is speaking Norwegian.  Right now, we are staying with Hanne's mom in Nes, where she grew up.

Hanne's mom's house.

The Mountain

The Farm

The field.  The grey house is Hanne's brother and family's house.

Yesterday, we went for a hike and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows with Vidar, Elisabeth, Alida, and Noah.

Vidar (brother), Alida, and Noah (niece and nephew)

Alida

Elisabeth (sister) and Noah

Me and Alida

And here's a few more random pics...

Chevy

Hanne, our niece Rikke, and I

the church

the flag

the cold

There's so much more to say about this place.  The people are very friendly, the food is good, and the language is beautiful.  It's been great getting to know Hanne's family and spending time with my new nieces and nephews...they are extremely special and I can't wait to spend more time with them.  

I'm basically on sensory overload right now and trying to enjoy my new surroundings.  Toward the end of this week we will be traveling south to our new home in Hedalen, which is a community northwest of Oslo.  Hanne starts work next week and I start language classes.  We are currently in the process of applying for permission for me to work so hopefully there will be a quick turnaround on that so that I can work soon.  

More to come next week.