2008, An Incredible Year
While 2008 has been a tumulteous year for the world: wars, perscution, bombings, economic crisis, an American presidential election, ect. For me it has been an incredible year. God’s faithfulness has astounded me. A friend of mine did this activity and challenged me to do the same: make a list of your answered prayers this year and the people who showed you Christ this year: your Marys.
Answered Prayers:
God provided funds for VDS.
God provided a place for VDS.
God provided students and teachers for VDS.
One of my best friends came to live with me in India.
VDS has equipped people to serve the people of Delhi (and of other regions in India). They are really doing the stuff!
I have a calling/vocation (at least for the time being).
I have a constant supply of Reeces peanut-butter cups and pretzels. And, I went to a Mexican resturant yesterday that was good. And I even bought real tortilla chips from them. Now, we are becoming friends with the chef! (Ok, maybe I didn’t exactly pray for those things but God knows those wishes were like prayers)
My Hindi is getting better…or at least I can fake it better now.
I went on some good dates with some top par men this year (ok, so that wasn’t exactly what I was praying for but it’s pretty good especially for living where I live and doing what I do).
People who have brought Christ to me this year: My Marys
Doroputti-my massage lady who lives in a Slum also gave me a sari for Dwalli!)
Karl Smith-the international fellowship pastor, who lives downstairs from Abby and I in South Ex. and is always eager to help us, bring us coffee and eat our cheese or cookies!
Abigail Visco-my friend who actually moved to Delhi for 9months. Especially the night that I was an emotional mess and she gave me a lecture about how I feel like a mess but actually I have it more together than most people she knows.
Francey-who started being readily available on skype all the way from Scotland and has cried with me on the phone.
Andrea and Dean- who have been great support and took me on a day vacation in Chicago and asked me really good questions about India.
Becca- who makes an effort to stay in touch.
Yuvraj and Sudah- who have served and helped me when I really needed them and been my friends.
Bobby and Anu- who always bring me encouragement despite our language barrier (that is closing each day).
Maken- who always gives me a good hug.
Julie and Tenu- who love me well and are doing Jesus stuff and taking risks they never thought they would take (such as traveling around town alone! And other things).
Sy- who was my steady younger brother who never complained, but ate my Mexican cooking like it was amazing, who asked me how I was doing, and shared ipod listening with me across the country of India.
Andi- who helped people come together, let me minister to her (though she is my elder), and even is excited about being my P.A.
My parents- who constantly love me so much and let me step out and do the things I am called to.
Bert and Evelyn- another set of parents or grandparents. Bert challenges me to read theology and learn to communicate better. Evelyn loves me well and even brought me Reeces in a beautiful box that I treasure.
Naresh and Pushpa- who are my friends. They are bridge people for me culturally. They have wisdom I desire, yet are teachable and eager to grow. They have welcomed me into their family as a sister. They even let me make tea and cook in thier house–which for Indians is a big deal.
Tim- he encouraged the students. He encouraged me. He is a great teacher.
Jeremy and Brendon- who were friends who blessed me and made me laugh when I needed it badly.
Allison- Who threw me a dinner party to support me and spent time with me in the U.S.
Alisha and Aaron- who took me out for a great Mexican meal and Margaritas and prayed for me.
Lane and Cy- who drove around for me and encouraged me and support me in thier prayers.
Sam- My bro.
Bobby Uncle and Anima Auntie- who look out for me and never let me eat alone.
Molly the Prophetess- who made me shake my head and smile.
Mark and Kathy- who put me in my place by being Mary in a slum.
Cherl and Anugra- who are just cool and the kind of people that give me hope for a whole nation.
Soniya- who is my hero. Who works hard, who is funny, who is coming out of poverty, who loves her family, who loves Jesus.
Christin- my dear friend who came to visit me in India and drove me down the east coast last summer.
I’m sure there are more but these are a few Marys in 2008.
The Other Wiseman
Narrator:
- You have heard the story of the Three Magi from the East who followed the great star to worship the baby king Jesus, but have you heard the story of the other Magi—the fourth Wise man—Arjan? Let me tell you his story.
- There lived in ancient Persia, in the city of Ecbatana, a certain man named Arjan. He was a member of the elite community of Zoroastrian scholars called Magi. Magi were astrologers as well as physicians who believed in the search for goodness and light.
One day a new star rose. According to the prophets this was the star that foretold of the birth of the King of the Jews. Arjan and three of his Magi colleges planed to go on a pilrimage together to search for the promised one to be born King of Israel. 
Selling everything he owned, Arjan bought three jewels—a sapphire, a ruby and a pearl. He would carry them as tribute to the King. - Thus begins Arajan’s journey. He had only 10 days to meet his three companions at the great mound of Mirod and the Temple of the Seven Spheres.
- But just before reaching the great mound of Mirod, Arajan came upon a dying man lying in the road. Should Arjan care for this man and restore his health or forget about him and meet his Magi friends for their important pilgrimage?
- Arjan stopped. Hour after hour he labored over the man. The man ate and regained some strength.
- Pressing on, now a day late, Artaban discovered that his collages had gone without him. Arjan could have returned home, but instead he sold the Sapphire to buy a caravan of camels and provisions for the journey. He would not give up his search for the great King that the stars foretold.
- He received a message from his fellow Magi that the child was to be born in Bethlehem.
But just as he arrived in Bethlehem, soldiers of King Herod were carrying out orders to kill all the baby boys of the town.
All the doors of the town were shut, but one room was open. A mother was singing a lullaby to her boy child. The woman told him that it was now three days after the other three magi had arrived in Bethlehem. They had found Joseph and Mary and the young child and had laid their gifts at his feet. Then they had disappeared the next day. - Then Artaban still seeking his King, went to Egypt to look for Mary and Joseph and Jesus.
Joseph had taken his wife and baby that same night and fled to Egypt—there was a rumor that he had been warned by an Angel to leave Bethlehem.
- Outside the room Arjan heard women and baby’s screams. Suddenly a soldier stood in the doorway of the room where Arjan stood. Arjan held up his Ruby and offered it for the protection of this mother and child, the mother thanked him .
- For 33 years Artaban continued looking for the King—but as news spread that he was a doctor—the sick and the helpless came to him every day and he would care for them. Then one day a man who had leprosy that Arajan had helped came running to him and said,
- Man who had Leprosy: “Arjan, Arjan, Look and my fingers.
Arjan: “Wow, What happened?
- Man: “I am whole. I am healed.
Arjan: “Who has done this?”
Man: “I have found the King you seek, Come”
Arjan jumped up and they ran to Jerusalem. It was Passover season. People where saying that Jesus, the man who had healed the Arjan’s friend of leprocy was going to be crucified. How could a great healer King be killed by the Romans? Arjan was confused.
It was crowded. Suddenly a slave girl being dragged by her master’s guard broke away and threw herself at Artaban’s feet. Taking the last of his treasures, he gave the pearl to the girl and ransomed her life. - There was an earthquake. Arjan fell to the ground. Artaban knew he was dying. He would not find the King. He had failed his quest. The randsomed slave girl took Arjan to a room to die in peace. For three days he was in and out of consciousness.
- There was a rumor that though Jesus, the King of the Jews had been killed
before the whole city he was alive and appearing to his followers. Suddenly there was a man kneeling by Arjan’s bed. Arjan recognized his King. - Artaban: “Ah, Master, I have longed sought you. Forgive me. Once I had precious gifts to give. Now I have nothing.”
- Jesus: “Artaban, you’ve already given your gifts to me.”
- Artaban: “ I don’t understand, my God.”
- Jesus: “When I was hungry, you gave me food to eat, when I was thirsty, you gave me drink. When I was naked you clothes me. When I was homeless, you took me in.”
- Artaban: “It is not so my saviour, when did I see you hungry, or thirsty, naked or homeless? And when did I do these things? Thirty-three years I have looked for you but I have never seen your face nor ministered to you, my King. I have never seen you until now.”
- Jesus: “When every you did these things for the least of my brothers or sisters—you did them for me.”
Artaban (calling to the former slave girl and the crowd)—“Did you hear Jesus say? We have found the King. We found him, and he has accepted all my gifts.”
Mary, The God-bearer.
I was asked to deliever a message the Sunday before Christmas in Delhi. Below is a copy of my manuscript.
Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34″How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
What if we were standing here, singing in this room and suddenly a huge a angel was here in the room with us–Gabriel, the most famous of angels. We would be scared right? And then what if Gabriel said that we were going to have a baby…
Then Julie spoke up and said, “How can this be, we are a small church, no?”
The angel said, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God—nothing is impossible with God.
Then Elisha said, “We are the Lord’s servants. May your words come true.”
It might sound pretty weird to think about the angel showing up in this room and telling us that we are going to have a baby and that baby would set up the Kingdom of God forever.
The angel came and told Mary that she would give birth to the baby Jesus. But just like Mary was asked to carry Jesus into the world, we are asked to carry Jesus into our world. And, this is why Christmas is such a great celebration. We are not just celebrating the past, we are celebrating the present and the future too. We are celebrating that we have Jesus with us today and we are a part of this Kingdom that will never end.
But what do I mean that we are called to bring Jesus into our world? Didn’t Mary already do that 2000 years ago? Well yes. Did Mary give birth to Jesus is Delhi, India in 1977? No? Mary conceiving under the power of the Holy Spirit was a real historical event. She was a real girl. It was a real birth, Jesus, a real baby who cried and pooped, who grew up—was, and is, the Prince of peace.
Well where is Jesus now? We could use some peace now. Jesus is in heaven with his Father. So is that it? Have we been left to live out this mess on earth until we die and go to heaven or the Prince of Peace returns and sets things right, Someday? Yes…and No. Not exactly.
As Mary was asked to bear the Christ-child we are asked to bear Christ Jesus in our word. Jesus left us to continue his work—by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is a saying that says, “you’re the only Jesus some will ever see.”
See many people in Delhi will never read the bible and find out about Jesus. They might never read a tract or watch God-t.v. They might not come to a crusade or a worship service—but they will sell you subzee (vegetables). They will work at the desk next to you. They will recharge your phones. They will be your teachers, they will be your students. They will live next door to you. They will beg from you. They will be your auto-valla. They will be your passengers.
I know a man who shares the good news of Jesus with each auto-valla who drives him. He figures he has a captive audience throughout his journey. Sometimes these guys have never heard of Jesus. I’d love to hear about more stories like this.
But sharing the message of Jesus is more than speaking words, it is doing the stuff that Jesus did. Last year when Tenu started teaching she found out that the head-mistress at her school was suffering from asthma, so she asked her head-mistress if she could pray for her. So right there in the office she laid her hands on her and she prayed in Jesus name that she would be healed! Then a few weeks later the head-mistress came to her and said, ‘I just wanted to thank you for praying for me, I haven’t had any asthma attacks since you prayed.” Tenu responded, ‘don’t thank me, thank Jesus who healed you!”
I heard a story about a statue in Italy of Jesus. There are many statues of Jesus in the old Christian world. But this one was ruined during one of the world wars and the hands and feet of Jesus were blown off. Then someone wrote under the statue—now you are the hands and feet of Jesus.
Throughout the bible God is calling a people together who will be a ‘light to the nations’ to be God-bearers, to be ambassadors of Christ. Without us, the City of Delhi will never know Jesus. Your neighborhood might never hear the good news of Jesus without you. It is our job to love people the way Jesus did and to share the good news of the life that Jesus has to offer. It is our responsibility to respond like Mary to the call to bring Jesus into the world.
God gave Mary a big and important job that she didn’t know how to do, and we have been given an important job (sharing the good news with our neighbors). And we might not know how to do it. But the Holy Spirit will empower us to do the things Jesus did as the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary. It might not be easy.
Noel Isaacs, Lovey’s brother tells a good story about this He was leaving a train station with a foreign friend and they were approached by a man with leprosy. Noel’s friend hugged the man and gave him some change. Noel’s eyebrows went up, he couldn’t believe his friend had hugged that man. Noel felt in his pockets and didn’t have any money. A sense of panic came over him. This man was deformed and was missing fingers…. Noel felt like he heard God saying, ‘will you do it?’ Noel leaned over and hugged the man. As he did that Noel began to cry. The man followed him to the car and as he looked at Noel—Noel saw that he was crying too. But he looked different now—the ugliness of his face was gone. Jesus touched people with diseases.
We have a choice. We can say, I’m the Lord’s servant—let’s do the stuff Jesus did. Or we can go or own way. Our own way might be not to worship and to get caught up in trying to get wealthy or it might be to look religious and include lots of good things, but it doesn’t matter. If we are not doing what God is calling us to do, we are nothing.
Just think about it… Mary might not have looked like she was doing what God was calling her too—she was pregnant and unmarried. But she was doing exactly what God wanted her to do. I had a professor who used to say, I wonder how many teenage girls Gabriel had to visit before he found one who was willing to give birth to Jesus?
Are we willing to say, “we are the Lord’s servants,” may it be like you say? May your will be done, Lord. Will we bring Jesus into this world this Christmas? Will we share the message of Jesus, will we do the things that Jesus did? Will we love the unloveable? Will we say, “yes,” to the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit? Or will we try to do good things on our own power? I want to challenge you. At least one time this week I want you to say to someone, “can I pray for you right now?” and I want you to stop right away and pray for the Holy Spirit to come. Maybe it will be when your neighbor complains of a headache. Maybe it will be when your friend calls and is worried about something. Maybe it will be when a sick or injured person is asking money from you. If you can give some blanket or food or small money—give. But don’t stop there. Look at the person in the eye bring Jesus into their world. Offer to pray for them. You never know what God will do. This is the best way we can celebrate Christmas.
Now, if you are feeling timid and wondering how you could ever do something like this, come and let’s invite the Holy Spirit to empower us. If you want prayer for the H.S to empower you, come to the center. And, if you need Jesus in your life today, if you do not know Jesus and you want to please come over to this side and receive prayer.
A Good Day in Delhi.
This morning the sky was blue or at least bluish. It was cold inside, but sitting in the sun was warm. I had a producive morning–emails, acconting, blogs, ect. Then Abby came home and announced that the FRRO office which has given her fits gave her permission to leave and re-enter the country. Miracle # 1. Then I baked 5 batches of sugar cookies, because Abby made sugar cookie batter last week but never made the cookies. Then Abby came went and back again and exclaimed that she had bought a Christmas tree. Miracle # 2. A real one. Aparently she asked the tree wallah the name of the tree and he said, “Chrristmas thre.” “Sold.” She yelled. Then after snacking otherwise known as tea-time in this part of the world we went Christmas shopping. We asked an auto-rikshaw wallah how much to get to “Delli Hatt,” and usually these guys like to try to rip foreigners off and he gave us a more than fair price: Rs. 30! Miracle # 3. Then we had a fabulous time shooping and even saw Christmas people Christmas carroling. We are finishing the night wrapping Christmas presents, sipping wine, and chatting with friends on Skype.
Fools for Christ at the Traffic Signal
The following is written out of the struggle of how to live in a place where poverty is everywhere with the frustration of knowing many people who are so calused that they do not see the street people. Even being in my second year I find myself less apt to feed a random street kid. It is great to be with Abby who is in her first few month here, because she wants to feed and talk to almost every street kid we encounter. If we buy street food for ourselves within a few minutes we have given it away and we have to order more (luckily it is cheap enough that we can afford to buy more).
Jesus looked out at the crowd and he had compassion on them because they were helpless and harassed like sheep without a shepherd. If Jesus were here in Delhi today I think he would feel the same way. His insides would turn with love for the poor. If he were pushed by the crowd getting on and off the metro or if he were pick-pocketed in Sarojini Nagar Market—he would have compassion. But more often than not when we have to face the crowd, we are filled with anger and resentment. We shout abuses, we grumble under our breath, we see how foolish the people are.
And when we see beggars we have a whole system built up that protects us from having compassion for them. We know the facts: the government offers free education. Why aren’t these kids in school? If they would go to school at least they would have a hot meal each day. These people must be bent on a lowly life, they enjoy it. They are trying to con me. That little kid has a shirt. He is only hiding it so people will feel bad for him and give him money. He can have a shower and clean water anytime he wants, he just is making himself dirty so he can make more money off of begging. I am no fool. I know these people making a killing on their cons at the traffic signal. I won’t give a Rs.
I saw a whole movie based on this senareo, it’s called “Traffic Signal.” In the movie the people seemed happy to be living out their existence of the generosity or lack there of—of the people who stopped at their traffic signal. And, I know there is truth there in that film. I know people fake. I know people, those people make up sob stories. Homeless people in the U.S. do that too. But I also know that a few weeks back when I my frineds and I made some hot food and we went to the local traffic signal/flyover to feed the beggars, they ate like they were hungry—very hungry. Have you ever seen a hungry person eat?
If the choice is between being foolish and compassionate or being wise and compassionless—I want to be foolish and compassionate. It is ok for us to be foolish in the eyes of the world. God’s wisdom is different that the worlds. Jesus was born not as a rich King, but as a poor laborer’s son. And we can use that same knowledge that we are tempted to use to protect us from feeling obligated to help the poor, to help them. Perhaps parents of boy with the clown face and hat doing the dance does not know that going to school is free or that going to school will increase their son’s chance of going somewhere in life. Perhaps they need someone like you to help them, to do more than hand him a few coins. Perhaps you need to start with learning his name.
John Wimber once saw a street evangelist wearing a sign board that read, “I’m a fool for Christ, who’s fool are you?” He thought the guy was insane but once he gave his life to Jesus he got it. Let’s be fools for Christ in Delhi–even at the traffic signals.
