New Year of the Snake!

Happy Chinese New Year (also known by some as Vietnamese New Year! :) )

Did you know the early Christian church was known for the coming together of cultures, and its JOY?! At Lutheran Theological Seminary we get that! 

Playing "rock, paper, scissors" - did you know this game
was invented by the Chinese?  

At one point during our International Student's Chinese New Year Party, I laughed so hard I thought, oh oh, I've had too much to drink... only to remember there was absolutely nothing alcoholic at the party.

My other joy this week is that I finally went in person to the Hong Kong Immigration Dept. to help plead the cause for one of our Mekong students applying for a renewal -- and we made it through the system!!! His approval should be arriving in the mail in a couple of weeks, which is great since the student in question is exactly the kind of good-hearted, smart, and culturally observant pastor who can benefit the most from the LTS education... and go back to benefit his community and the Christian witness in his home culture (of Cambodia).

So, as of Sunday, it's officially the Year of the Snake!! Despite the bad press snakes get from that early story of the serpent in Genesis, there are actually several positive pictures of snakes in the Bible, including Jesus' own teaching to his disciples, as he sent them out:

   

“…be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”  (Matthew 10:16b)

May we grow in wisdom, innocence, and joy in the Lord this year.

Happy New Year of the Snake!