arrival of absence November 28, 2006

It has been sometime since I posted, in the whirlwind of speaking engagements and a return to my old haunts in Chinatown has kept me muted. There is much that I want to write about…and some are latent with unrelenting passion and also depression of the state of our faith. Yet, in this “hand of an enemy” we have been pressed down to bring to a place of contemplation of both theology and practice of the gospel. Some questions that have fueled my thoughts are issues of outward doctrine, counterfeit piety, elusive joy, defrauding faith, unpermissive grace, and the very absence of radiating soul. And yet, I have some of the most profound moments or receiving incarnational counsel. Mentors, friends, and collegues who have not sunk back but rather approach with boldness, and knew where I must stand. The probed and examined my withered soul and told me–to be modest and to allow surrender. to bow down before God…to persevere towards this work of the heart. This space where God interrupts with abundance…that this sorrow that I have yet to touch the roots…will ripped from the ordinary and into the divine…for now, I enjoy the pause…and continue to come to a place of recovery and declare “The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”