Emmanuel

Our nation watched in disbelief as the details of the horrific tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut unfolded 10 days ago.  Our hearts and prayers go out for the 26 families for whom this will be a very difficult Christmas season, whose lives have been forever changed in the wake of this unspeakable crime.  We have listened as pundits have tried in vain to answer the inevitable human question ... Why?  Most of the "solutions" offered are ineffective at best, counterproductive at worst.  This event reminds me that we live in a broken world, a world forever scarred by sin.

It is into just this world that God sent his Son to become human flesh ... the incarnation.  Of course, this was necessary in order that Jesus could be our representative, the vicarious sacrifice for our sins.  In order to die for man, He had to BE man.  In the same way that the first Adam's sin placed all of mankind under the curse of sin, the death of the second Adam (Jesus) removes that curse.   (Romans 5:12-20)  Thank God that "the Word became flesh" ... Emmanuel!

But there is a second reality of the incarnation that gives comfort in times like this.  The Savior is not some remote, distant, uncaring deity.  In his humanity, Jesus has first-hand experience with the human condition.  As he walked this earth as a man, he experienced real human pain, real human emotion.  Hebrews 2:11 tells us that this experience allows him to call us "brothers" and goes on to say that since he was made "like his brothers in every way", he can be a faithful and merciful high priest.  The writers reiterates this in 4:15 when he tells us "we do not have an high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness", a fact that allows us to approach the Throne of Grace with confidence.

In the face of unspeakable tragedy, Jesus does not offer empty platitudes ... he offers Himself!  He is able on one hand to come alongside as a brother and say, "I understand your hurt, I understand your loss, I understand your emotion." And as the Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, he is able to offer Himself as the solution for the brokenness in the world.  My prayer is that the families in Newtown (and all families in this broken world) will experience the comfort of Emmanuel this Christmas season. 

O come, O Come, Emmanuel!

God's "Opus"

As a part of a project, HCA Junior Max Hammons came to my office recently and asked, "What is God doing at Heritage?"  I told him that is best answered by looking at the lives of our students and listed some of the ways in which our students have been serving the Lord even during this year.  Many of the posts on this blog are answering that question.

But as I reflected later on that question, I was reminded of one of my favorite movies, Mr. Holland's Opus.  In the movie, Richard Dreyfuss plays the part of Glenn Holland, a musician and composer who takes a teaching job to pay the rent while, in his 'spare time', he can strive to achieve his true goal - compose one memorable piece of music to leave his mark on the world.  "Life happens" and he never completes his opus.  However, in the final scene, band geek-turned-governor Gertrude Lang reminds Mr. Holland that his students are his 'opus', not a piece of music.  The last few minutes of this movie are found in this clip .... especially note minutes 3-5 where Gertrude is addressing Mr. Holland.



I am reminded of Paul's words in II Corinthian 3:2-3:  You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all.  And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

So what IS God doing at Heritage?  His 'opus' is found in the students who faithfully partner with Mission Southside.  It is found with the students who stepped up to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  It is found in the Kindergarteners who know that "God is in my heart."  It is found in orphanages in Haiti that were built because God honored the vision of an HCA student.  It is found in our Junior Class working to sell "Go Jammies" to help raise money for the Global Orphan Project.  It is found in the graduates of HCA who are serving God in their lives.  Last Saturday I sat at a ball game and talked with at 2003 graduate who is serving on the staff of a church here in Olathe.  He was part of the first senior class that I took on a missions trip for their Senior Trip.  Three of the members of that class are currently serving in the pastorate.  I spoke earlier this week with a pastor of a church in Fort Scott who is considering another of our graduates as a youth pastor.  We have graduates who are pastors, missionaries, attorneys, physicians, nurses, teachers, engineers and more ... many serving the Lord faithfully, raising a Godly 'heritage', actively serving in their local church.

THAT IS WHAT GOD IS DOING AT HERITAGE!

HCA Students in Honors Orchestra

Junior Anna Lipscomb and Senior Janelle Finley were recently selected to participate in the special honors orchestra at the annual Northeast Kansas Music Educators Association festival at Olathe South on Saturday, December 1st.  To earn this honor, Anna and Janelle had to go through a highly competitive audition process to be one of the select group of musicians in this group.  They spent the day Saturday rehearsing under the direction of guest clinician Troy Peters, director of the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio before presenting the concert Saturday afternoon.  Congratulations to Anna and Janelle (pictured above with HCA music teacher Kasey Johnson) on this great honor.  You represented HCA well!

A brief excerpt from this concert (Serenade in G Major from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart) is included below.

ENJOY!