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My Humble Nation
by Pastor George Van Alstine

The Winter Olympics are over, and the Canadian hosts have a right to be proud. That’s why a few words in the closing speech by John Furlong, the CEO of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, really impressed me:

“And finally, to those who have watched us all over the globe, we hope you enjoyed these Games and the telling of our humble Canadian story.”

What a striking comment! Certainly all Canadians feel pride, after taking a record number of gold medals and winning the final event in a dramatic overtime victory over the Americans in men’s hockey. But the last word was about national humility.

I thought to myself, “That’s the trouble with the USA; we have no national humility.” I tried to imagine an American leader standing up and talking about “our humble American story.” It just doesn’t seem to flow easily off of our lips. We’re so used to thinking of our nation as number one in everything. Red-white-and-blue pride seems as American as apple pie and baseball.

The truth is we have a lot to be proud about. Economically, we have risen to the top since the Industrial Revolution. We have been able to maintain a representative democracy that protects individuals’ rights better than most other governments do. Our military might is unmatched by any other nation. And the standard of living enjoyed by the average American is the envy of the world.

But there are some things we haven’t been very good at. Health care is getting a lot of attention right now, as a reform bill is being debated in Congress. Currently, the US is spending 15% of its Gross National Product on health care, considerably higher than any other major nation. And yet, we rank 14th in preventable deaths; France is at the top with only 65 per 100,000 population, while our figure is 110. Meanwhile, the percentage of our people who are in prison is the highest in the world by far, at 738 per 100,000 population, compared to the second highest, Russia, at 611, Cuba at 487, Brazil at 191 and India at 30. We are number one in another dubious statistic – arms sales. Over the past eight years the American percentage of the world’s arms sales has risen from 45% to 56%. These shortcomings probably contribute to the results of a recent study on the level of satisfaction and hope among young people in various nations, which showed the US to be only number 11 in optimism among its youth, with the top six being India, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Finland and China.*

Our past history as a nation also gives reason for both pride and humility. In 1776, a creative new form of government, which affirms personal freedoms and open opportunity, came to a world that knew mostly inherited monarchies, class systems of privilege, military coups, and dictatorships, and it has been maintained successfully for over two centuries since. The rapid emergence from a loosely-bound alliance of thirteen ragtag colonies into the greatest economic and military power in the world is an awesome accomplishment. But along the way, we ruthlessly rolled over the native populations, taking their land and leaving them crumbs. And for the first century of its existence, America built its economy on the backs of slaves, whose descendants are still struggling to become full partners in the nation’s success and affluence.

Unfortunately, American pride seems to be the only allowable patriotic expression. Exuberant self-confidence is the American way, and self-doubt isn’t tolerated by “true Americans.”

That’s why it was so refreshing to me to hear Mr. Furlong talk about “our humble Canadian story.” I thought, “That’s what my country needs.” It occurred to me that some people insist on calling America a “Christian Nation,” yet there’s nothing Jesus emphasized more than humility. It seems that the Christian citizens of our nation should be the first to call for national humility. The Book of Proverbs contains the familiar warning:

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
It is better to be of lowly spirit among the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.” (Proverbs 16:17-18)

I believe the brashness of the USA is due to the fact that we are only a little over two hundred years old, which makes us a political adolescent. We’re just acting our age. I hope that some time before I leave this earth my nation will grow up enough so that a candidate for President can make a speech in which he refers to “our humble American story,” and his poll numbers actually go up.

* This is from a study done by the Kairos Future Institute, based on interviews of 22,000 people, 1300 from each of 17 nations.

Your Name Is a Challenge
by Pastor George Van Alstine

It’s fun to look up the meanings of our first names and see if the name fits the person who answers to it. In my immediate family, I live among people whose names mean things like “Praise,” “God Is Gracious,” “Crown,” and “Princess.” My name, “George,” means “Farmer,” so you can see what my place is in the family pecking-order.

Most of us were given positive, hopeful names by our loving parents. Maybe we should take stock at this point in our lives to see if we’re living up to their expectations. If not, let’s accept the challenge to be more like the person our name promises.

Unfortunately, some of us have given a more limiting meaning to the name we bear. Instead of living up to the name, we’ve been bringing the name down from it’s original lofty meaning by living an uninspired life.

I remember when Judy and I were considering names for our soon-to-be-adopted son. She suggested “Mark,” but that really turned me off. When we discussed our different perspectives, it became clear that to Judy “Mark” denoted a close friend and hunting buddy of her brothers, a big, strapping guy who had done military service as a paratrooper. By contrast, my “Mark” image was associated with a little mousy guy in high school who hardly ever spoke. So we backed off of “Mark,” and when Judy suggested “Steve,” I thought that had a nice ring to it, so I agreed. It was years later that it dawned on me that Judy’s first boyfriend had been a “Steve.” Some coincidence!

Well, however you got to be who you are, you don’t have to be stuck there. You can give new meaning to your tired old name. By living life victoriously, you can put so much positive content into that name that people begin to give your first name to their babies. (Although, if your name is “George,” don’t hold your breath.)

Or you can go even farther. You can choose a new first name that sets a course for the renewed life you, with God’s help, are determined to live. There are some significant name changes in the Bible, the most dramatic of which are “Jacob” to “Israel,” “Simon” to “Peter,” and “Saul” to “Paul.” In each case, the new name was associated with either personal conversion or a special divine calling, and in the Biblical accounts, the men involved took aggressive action to move in the direction God was pointing.

You don’t have to tell the world about your new name. Prayerfully consider what God is calling you to do to step out of your old limitations and into the new paths he has prepared for you. Review Biblical stories or names of people whose positive Christian lives you admire. Or you may even go through a list of the meanings of baby first names until you find one that expresses the call you are feeling.

Pin this new name tag on yourself, where only you and God can see it. Then look at it often, reminding yourself of the challenge it contains, until it becomes the symbol of the new you. As this new you begins to feel comfortable, you may want to share it with a couple of friends so they can remind you at crucial moments of the person you are becoming.

“A Pasadena Parable”
by Pastor George Van Alstine

I have been driving by the corner of Washington Boulevard and Altadena Drive at least four times every day for over thirty years, but it was only last week that I recognized the parable told by the commercial enterprises located there. On two corners there are franchises of companies that pander to the lower nature of people who drive by: the fast-food king McDonalds and the queen of quick-stops, 7-Eleven. Situated on the other two corners are businesses designed to deal with some of the physical problems that can be created by eating junk foods: Phoenix Wellness Center, a kind of homeopathic pharmacy, and Pasadena Dialysis Center. Just to make the picture complete, a Curves fitness center sits next to the 7-Eleven.

This array of commercial establishments tells the story of the struggle modern Americans have in an age of indulgence. More than ever before, we have the scientific know-how to eat a balanced diet and follow a healthy lifestyle. But at the same time, we have immediate access to all the things we crave, even though they are usually not good for us. So the pattern we seem to repeat is to create problems at McDonalds and 7-Eleven, then try to reverse the negative effects at Phoenix Wellness Center, Curves, or in extreme cases, at Pasadena Dialysis Center.

I used the word “parable” to describe this because I think it contains a message on an even deeper level. It speaks to me of the constant battle we face between the flesh and the spirit. As long as we live on this earth, we will be constantly tempted to cater to what the Bible calls the “desires of the flesh,” and we will often give in to these even though we know they will crowd out those things that are much better for us, the “desires of the spirit.”

In his long discourse on this struggle, recorded in Romans chapter 7 and 8, the Apostle Paul summarizes

“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate . . . . I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” (Romans 7:15, 18-19)

This leaves us always feeling guilty, constantly trying to undo at Curves or Phoenix Wellness what we have done at 7-Eleven and McDonalds. This leads Paul to exclaim, “O wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:24) Have you ever felt that way?

However, Paul doesn’t leave us there. He has some very encouraging words for us. First, he challenges us not to give up the struggle, but constantly to “set your minds on the things of the spirit” (Romans 8:5-11). We should be encouraged to do this by the promise that in the long run, “he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8*:11). Meanwhile, we should be reassured even during our struggles with the flesh that “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). He didn’t decide to love us and save us only when we got our act together, shaped up, and got over all our self-destructive behavior. He took us as we were, and he still accepts us as we are. We are quick to condemn ourselves for things he has already forgiven.

So, the next time you drive past the corner of Washington and Altadena, think of this parable, and “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen!” (Luke 14:35)

“What About a Rainbow!”
By Pastor George Van Alstine

Michael Jackson was given a “Lifetime Achievement Award” at last Sunday night’s Grammy Award Show. In tribute to him, a number of major pop music stars joined in a stunning production of his “Earth Song.” I had heard that song, but never listened very closely to the lyrics. It’s a call to better care for the earth we inhabit, as well as the people with whom we share it.

The simplicity of the first two lines struck me:

“What about sunrise?
What about rain?”

World leaders loudly argue about economy and politics, often threatening force. Various nations assert their strength and pride. Global corporations make mega-decisions to carve up the wealth of the world. The many voices try to outshout each other:

“What about the financial bottom line?”
“What about the nuclear weapons you have stockpiled?”
“What about the settlements on the West Bank?”
“What about terrorist attacks?”
“What about my 401K?”

And in his unrealistic childlike way, Michael Jackson says:

“What about sunrise?
What about rain?”

“Go away, kid, we’ve got important things to talk about!”

I had my own Michael Jackson moment a couple of weeks ago when Southern California was experiencing a series of violent rain and wind storms. One afternoon, I was driving east on Woodbury Road during an hour-long window between two storms. A pile of clouds were stacked above the mountains to the north, and another cloud-army was marching up from the south. But here in between, right over Pasadena, the sun had just broken through. And directly ahead I could see a bright and glorious rainbow. It was visible from end to end—I could almost make out the pots of gold.

I’m not sure what had previously been on my mind, but I know I had been mulling over some things I had to do at the office, as well as some people-problems I had to deal with. But in an instant all those thoughts disappeared. My entire attention was on the rainbow, and my response was as much emotional as rational. In fact, it was downright spiritual.

My worries and concerns tried to force themselves back into my consciousness:

“What about my telephone calls?”
“What about the writing I have to do?”
“What about the difficult conversation I need to have?”

But they were overwhelmed by my one dominating impression:

“What about that rainbow!”

(My rainbow thought ended with an exclamation point, not a question mark.)

I’ve had my own personal rainbow journey. When I was a child, every rainbow was a miracle. I could see why even in primitive religions, they were seen as a sign of God’s presence or God’s favor. I understood how in the Bible a rainbow would be a powerful message to Noah after 40 days of rain and a great flood. It was God’s promise that he would spare his human children from the full force of his anger and nature’s fury. Rainbows are magical.

Of course, I grew up and learned the truth about rainbows. There’s no mystery; scientists can fully explain them. A rainbow is an optical phenomenon that results when sunlight shines into tiny droplets in a rain shower. The drop of water acts as a prism. A ray of light enters on an angle, and is bent as it enters; it reflects off the back of the drop and is bent again. The white ray of light is really a combination of many colors, and each color bends at a different angle. So when the light comes back out from the front of the raindrop, it has been split into the familiar color bands we know—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Multiply this by millions of individual rain drops, and there you have your rainbow!

I have a scientific bent, and my mind demands explanations. So this perfectly logical account of how a rainbow is formed ought to be enough for me. But it’s not. It adequately explains the science, the how, but it says nothing about the why. It does not account for the artistic beauty I sense or the wonder I feel when I experience a rainbow.

Science does not begin to tell me why I am convinced that God has paid me a personal visit when I see a rainbow.

“The Servant Song”
by Pastor George Van Alstine

Our old friend Virgil Olson called my attention to this simple hymn that has been circulating quietly among thoughtful Christians worldwide. It was written by Richard Gillard of Auckland, New Zealand, in 1977, and it is sung to a simple folk melody. You can hear several versions of it on You Tube.

Will you let me be your servant,
let me be as Christ to you?
Pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant, too.

We are pilgrims on a journey,
we are travelers on the road;
We are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.

I will hold the Christ-light for you
in the nighttime of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.

I will weep when you are weeping;
when you laugh I’ll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow
till we’ve seen this journey through.

Will you let me be your servant,
let me be as Christ to you?
Pray that I may have the grace to
let you be my servant, too.

I think the author of this song must have had in mind Jesus’ words to his disciples after he had washed their feet:

“So, if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14)

Our impulse to help the suffering people of Haiti is an extension of this desire to be “as Christ” to others. So is our faithfulness in working at the Bad Weather Shelter and in other ministries to the poor and hurting around us.

But the song rightly points out that this servanthood is designed by the Lord to go both ways. Let’s not forget that he received foot-washing from them as well. He was willing to serve and to be served. Some of us think it is demeaning to receive help from others. This is just pride. We all need to be both servants and served.

As we are helping the Haitians, we should also be asking, What can they offer us? What do they have to share with us about values, about spirituality, about the dangers of materialism? And when we are ministering to the homeless folk on the streets of Pasadena, we should be wondering why God brought these particular individuals into our lives. What insights into the meaning of our life does God want us to learn through them? As we approach our helping ministries, we need always to be alert to how the ones we are helping are being “as Christ” to us, for we have many unmet needs that are satisfied as we serve.

So, as we approach a person to whom we are ministering in Christ’s name, we should ask, as the song does

“Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.”