Fourth Week of Advent: Love

     The final week of Advent focuses on the theme of love, at least in the tradition I'm following. To be honest, I approach this reflection with some trepidation. I feel ill-qualified to speak on the subject. Perhaps this is in large part because when people hear the word "love," they often think of romantic love, and I will be up front and admit that I have little experience in that area. There's also the fact that love is simply so big and important. After all, in the middle of a discussion of spiritual gifts in I Corinthians, Paul interrupts himself to say that no gifts are valuable without love behind them, and ends by saying that, "so now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." I think it's an understatement then to say that love is a big deal. It's also multi-faceted and as I pondered what to write this week, I immediately realized that perhaps it'd be best to choose just one aspect to focus on. After all, books and books have been written on the subject of love and there always seems to be more to say. So, rather than try to provide some overarching reflection of love, today I'll focus on an aspect of love that is perhaps not as popular as the butterflies and fine feelings, but is of great importance for Christmas: the patience and persistence of love, even when the beloved fails repeatedly. 

     It is probably not without reason that when Paul lists off some attributes of love in I Corinthians 13, he begins by saying that "love is patient." He then ends his list by saying that "love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." All these descriptions bear witness to the fact that love can be messy and painful. The Classic Crime has a song about love entitled "Broken Mess," and I think it speaks well to this side of love. In the song, the singer (Matt McDonald), speaks of his friend whose wife openly cheats on him. This leads the singer to remark that "love is a terrible art; it's a hook in the heart that can drag you on broken glass" and can ultimately turn one into a "broken mess." The singer initially cannot understand why, or truly how, his friend can continue to love his wife and fight for her. Eventually the singer implies that the source of his friend's love is God Himself, who is "close to the broken." The song then ends by extolling the beauty of love, even in the hard times, as well as the ability of love to help one leave behind the brokenness. 

      I cannot listen to "Broken Mess" without being reminded of the book of Hosea. God used His prophet Hosea to once again confront Israel about their rebellion and to warn that turning away from Him would ultimately lead to pain and punishment. This had happened before, but this time God chose a new method to communicate His message. He had Hosea become the living embodiment of God's relationship with Israel by telling Hosea to marry Gomer, a prostitute. For a while the marriage seemed fine, and the couple even had a son together. Eventually though, Gomer left Hosea and returned to prostitution. Even when Hosea went and purchased her back, showing exceeding mercy and patience, the text is ambiguous about whether Gomer remained faithful, or whether the children Gomer bore later were actually Hosea's. Here in the lives of real people God demonstrated how He loved His people, but how they repeatedly turned from Him and returned to their old ways. You would think God would be ticked. I would be. It's now surprising then that the actions of Israel do lead to their punishment. The surprising thing is that ultimately God does not wash His hands of them nor does He beat them into submission; rather God woos His people as a lover. Hosea 2:14, 19-20 and describes this beautifully when God says, "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her...I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD." 

     It's easy to look at the history of Israel and say, "what fools! Why was it so hard to just obey?" After all, if God is not only all-powerful and all-knowing, but also all-loving, then it only makes sense that doing what He tells us to do would lead to our greatest good and joy. When you think of it that way, can seem easy to say we should obey. Yet so often we don't. We might not admit it, but at times we think we know better. We take the path we want because we think it will make us happy. It seems right at the time, but it mostly just leads to pain and heartbreak. Yet despite our own foolishness, God doesn't give up on people. In Christmas we celebrate God becoming man, which ultimately led to the supreme expression of love at the cross. Nothing about this journey was clean or easy. Having seen live births before, I can testify that Christ's beginning was a messy ordeal. The crucifixion was much worse. It was messy and filled with indescribable anguish and pain. The carol "What Child is This" describes Christ's birth, but then also looks forward to the crucifixion by saying, "Nails, spears shall pierce him through,/ the cross he bore for me, for you./ Hail, hail the Word made flesh,/ the Babe, the Son of Mary." This is love. This is God God coming to us where we were, right into the mess and the muck, and saying, "I'm willing to give up all and suffer all in order to redeem and reconcile you." The road to the cross began in the cradle, and throughout the entire journey we see God demonstrating the kind of love that is not only patient, but wildly persistent, willing to endure even the worst in order to benefit the beloved. As we look forward to Christmas Day, may we remember the reason why Christ and may we respond with overwhelming love, joy, and gratitude. 

  
     This week I chose four songs to highlight, one of which is not a Christmas carol. I included "What Child is This" not only because I quoted it above, but also because it's one of my favorite Christmas carols. The other two carols I include because I think they both describe the proper response to Christmas in light of God's love. Both wrestle with the question of what we could possibly give to repay God for His gift, and both decide that they have nothing that would be adequate. Thus they give what they can. The singer of "In the Bleak Midwinter" gives their heart, and the Little Drummer Boy uses the talents he's been given and simply plays his best, giving it his all. Lastly, I included a hymn that also describes the proper response to Christmas, though it isn't described as much. The hymn simply describes how our love for God leads is expressed naturally through obedience, and this is a message we can take with us through the rest of the year. 

It seems only fair that, after last week's shout out, I should recognize this week's hand models, Gab and Will, as well as Kaitlyn, who was my hand model for the first week of Advent. I love these people. 

Third Week of Advent: Joy

     This third week of Advent focuses on the theme of joy. In some churches, this is known as "Gaudete Sunday," "gaudete" being the plural command "rejoice!" in Latin. In many liturgical denominations, such as the Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican churches, this Sunday is different from the rest of Advent in that the priests/pastors wear different colored vestments (typically rose or blue), and this week a rose-colored, rather than violet, candle is lit on the Advent wreath. Gaudete Sunday represents the fact that Christians have passed the midway point of Advent, and, while there is still time of waiting, penitence, and preparation before Christmas actually arrives, we are to be reminded of the joy that is coming. 
     Sometimes I think people confuse joy with happiness. When I was younger I was taught that happiness is dependent on circumstances, but joy persists no matter what happens. It's an overly simplified understanding of the difference, but I think it's effective. Happiness is more of a mood that comes and goes, but joy is something you learn and practice. It is not always an easy character trait to maintain, but it's well worth it. I think one of the keys to fostering joy is having gratitude. Thankfulness is a great antidote to grumbling and misery. There is always something to be grateful for too. 
     I can never think of joy and thankfulness that endures despite trials without thinking of the life of Corrie Ten Boom. If you've never read her autobiography, "The Hiding Place," I highly recommend it. Corrie and her family lived in the Netherlands during WWII and were sent to a concentration camp for harboring Jews. Their story of faith, suffering, and courage is worth reading for multiple reasons, but it is the example of Corrie's sister, Betsie, that I want to highlight here. When the sisters were finally moved to a permanent barracks in Ravensbruck, a move they thought might bring some improvement to their situation, they found instead rooms that smelled of sewage, rotting sheets, and "beds" that were nothing more than tiered plank platforms for as many women as could fit. The final insult was that the beds were crawling with fleas. As Corrie looked around and felt despair, Betsie reminded her of  I Thessalonians 5:16-18, which says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Betsie then began praying and thanking God for everything in the room... including the fleas. That was too much for Corrie who thought that there was no possible good that could come of them. I feel like her attitude is understandable. If I'd been in her situation, I probably would have felt the same. Betsie was persistent though, and, as they later learned, the fleas kept the guards from entering the room, which meant the women were able to hold forbidden Bible studies without any trouble. It was these Bible studies that allowed the women to find the light in the darkness and joy even in the worst of situations.

     This Sunday, as we look forward to the joy of Christmas, I hope that you all are able to practice and grow in joy. No matter whether life is going smoothly or everything is falling apart, I pray that you can find something to be thankful for and a reason to rejoice. For Christians, Christmas reminds us that Christ's birth led to our reconciled relationship with God, and thus we always have a reason to be joyful. May you remember this and feel the delight of the season today, and every day to come.

     Years ago when my sister interned at Elevation Church's creative team, they created the above video as part of a way to spread the news about their Christmas sermon series. I feel like it fits with this post seeing as how it shows, in a beautiful way, the combination of anticipation, light, and joy. The song playing in the background is even the intro to a modern rendition of "Joy to the World." Plus, if you're looking closely, you'll even catch a glimpse of my lovely sister. :)

 

 Jenn, Emily, and Shannon, my lovely hand models for this post, clearly understand the joy of this Christmas season. They asked for a shout out, so here you go, ladies. :)

Laughing Even in PA School (13/30)

     PA school can be rough. When people were talking about how they felt about one of the most recent exams, at least one person was overheard to say something like, "well, I didn't cry during this one so it was at least better than cardiology." This was, sadly enough, a sentiment that more than one person could have expressed. However, it's not like PA school is all misery and hard work. There has to be a balance. There has to be times of laughter and relaxation, even if they're just stolen moments before you have to get back to the grind. Sometimes you even just have to laugh at yourself, like when you realize that you're getting excited because you can identify some of the conditions of the people you pass on the street (hint: this has not yet happened, thankfully, but I think everyone should be reminded that yelling, "look at the manifest tropia on that guy!" would be a bad idea). As finals week comes to a close, I would like to present a few assorted examples of the things PA students find funny. 

My friends and I found this cartoon entertaining while learning about causes of dwarfism, even if it's not 100% accurate. 

This provided so much inspiration while studying endocrine for clinical medicine. It also helped me correctly answer a question on the exam, so that's a bonus.

Nobody appreciates the cute little gallbladder.

Ebola has made its way in to almost every class "differential diagnoses" activity we've done this term.

I know this is supposed to be inspirational, but all I see is some peaking of the T wave. This girl might want to get checked for hyperkalemia. 

This is incredibly accurate.

This is also accurate.

     While  our class  Facebook page is  most  commonly  used for  answering  each  other's questions,  sharing  helpful  websites  and  study  guides, or  planning  the  occasional get together, sometimes  people will  post pictures or stories that we know  other classmates will appreciate. Here are a few of those.

One classmate put this on the page the day before the clinical medicine cardiology exam. It summed up our feelings nicely. 

 

Don't actually Google this term unless you want to be scarred.

     For PA week this year, the PA Class of 2016 at Texas Tech created this parody of Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off." It's a pretty great look at what PA school is like... though the song is also freakishly catchy, so be warned. 

     While this isn't specific to PA school, our neighbors at Harvard Medical School get points for doing a quality parody video about the spleen. It's even funnier now that I've noticed that not only does one of the med students try to auscultate the spleen, but he also tries to percuss it on the wrong side of the body. Kudos Harvard.

     This last video has nothing to do with medicine, but when my study group and I need a little break from cramming knowledge into our heads, this video never fails to make us laugh. It's also very quotable. As we face our last final of the term tomorrow, may you all enjoy the joy of "Kittens: Inspired by Kittens!"

Second Week of Advent: Peace

     The theme of this second week of Advent is peace. At first I thought I had very little to say on this subject. Some churches use the theme of faith instead of peace during the Advent season and I was tempted to go that route, or to put it off for another two weeks and talk about love this week like some other churches do. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized just how multifaceted the theme of peace is. Sure, initially my first association with peace was silence and stillness, which is why I started adding versions of "Silent Night" to this week's playlist. Then I was reminded that peace is not simply the absence of noise, or even the absence of conflict. The Hebrew word "shalom" (שלום) is most commonly translated merely as "peace," but included in this one tiny word are also the ideas of rest, wholeness, harmony, prosperity, etc. There's a reason why this word is such a large part of Jewish, and subsequently Christian, tradition. This one word could function as a summary of what we lost in the Fall. There was peace, not simply between God and mankind, but between person and person, between mankind and animals, and between mankind and the earth. We lost all of that, and the consequences touch every aspects of our lives. We are not complete or whole. There is discord and conflict rather than harmony and peace. Injustice is found everywhere. The world is broken. 
     I could end the post right here and it would be awful and depressing. The good news is that I don't have to. Like the psalms of David, I can cry out in anger or frustration or despair at the condition of the world, and yet ultimately end my prayer with joy and hope because I know the darkness is not the end. At Christmas we celebrate the light entering the world when Christ came as an infant. This act of supreme humility was the first step on the journey to the cross, which ultimately brought the hope of reconciliation. Peace can be restored. The poem, "The Work of Christmas," by Civil Rights leader and theologian Dr. Howard Thurman, summarizes just some of the results of the incarnation this way: 

"The work of Christmas begins: 

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among brother,

To make music from the heart."

Dan Forrest put this poem to music, and I had the pleasure of listening to a performance of it last night at a Christmas Gala. Another Christmas carol that captures the promise of peace, as well as the frustration that the promise has not yet been completely fulfilled, is "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." It's not a carol that I sing often, but the more I read its lyrics, the more fitting it seemed for this post.      

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet the words repeat

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along the unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:

"There is no peace on earth," I said,

"For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing singing, on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime, 
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

     Longfellow wrote "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" just two years after the end of the American Civil War, so he knew the horrors of war and the terrible consequences of a nation torn apart. He freely expresses his despair that lasting peace will ever come. Yet, like the psalms I mentioned earlier, it is by dwelling on the character of God that Longfellow finds hope and can actually agree with his refrain. For many Americans right now though, I think it might feel easier to agree with his statement that "hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men." The deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in particular have forced Americans to face an ugliness that has been lurking in the shadows and no one likes what they see. I'm not here to give political commentary, and I feel inadequate to do so as I do not I know all the details of either case (given how cut off from the world I am during PA school it's almost a miracle that I've heard of these cases at all). However, I think we can all agree that these cases are tragedies (for any loss of life is a tragedy), and I would go further and say that it seems like clear injustice has occurred in at least one case, if not both. I can completely understand the anger that has been expressed across the country over these cases and their trials. It is beyond frustrating to feel that justice has not been served, especially when lives have been lost. Facing such darkness can easily hurt and dishearten, but rather than paralyzing us with fear or a sense of helplessness, it should drive us all, and Christians in particular, to action -action that strives for justice in order to bring peace.

     As I come to the close of this post, I am reminded of a prayer I found during Advent two years ago which reads as follows, "Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a hunger for peace: peace in the world, peace in my home, peace in myself." Christians are called to be peace-makers, as well as protectors of the oppressed and voices for the voiceless, so I am faced with questions I must ask myself of how I will work towards peace this Advent season and for the rest of my life. How do I use my position as a future healthcare provider to ensure that access to quality healthcare becomes a right for all, and not a privilege? How do I use my rights as a voter to support and demand justice in the government? How do I use my white privilege to seek equality for all, regardless of ethnicity or skin color? How can I use my history as a former victim of crime to speak up for other victims and to give them hope that they can heal? How do I use my power as a consumer to fight for fair wages and working conditions for all who labor? Or how do I use my power as a consumer to ensure that the animals involved in making the products I purchase are treated ethically and humanely? How can I use my position as a customer to encourage and reinforce the self-worth of those who serve me? How can I use the little I have to provide for those who have less?   How do I use the blessing of living in a peaceful area to help those surrounded by conflict? How do I use the love I learned from my own family to teach others how to love? Ultimately, and above all else, I must ask how I can become more like the true Prince of Peace that I may be His light in the world and spread "peace on earth, good will to men?" 

     This week I'm highlighting four carols, partly to reflect some of the different aspects of peace, and partly because I couldn't pick just one or two. I've already explained above my reasons for including "The Work of Christmas," "Silent Night," and "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," but I made no mention of the third song, "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence." Honestly, I'd picked it before I'd realized which direction this post would take, and perhaps it doesn't fit as well as I'd thought it would. I'm leaving it though, for a few reasons. Firstly, it's one of my favorite songs. It's simply beautiful. Like "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," hearing the right rendition of this song, especially in person, can make you stand still in awe. It's also another song in a minor key, which fits the fact that, while this week of Advent there's more light than last week when hope first appeared, the fulfillment of Christmas day is still weeks away and there is still much darkness left. Lastly, this song could be seen to reflect two aspects of peace: the silence of mankind when they finally come face to face with the Almighty, and the peace that will come when the "Light of light" vanquishes the powers of hell and the "darkness clears away."