What if I'm Wrong?

A situation that I believe should be a cause of great concern for the church came to my attention a few weeks ago. The precise nature of the situation is not nearly as relevant as my state of mind when I became aware. Though I would assess this particular situation as one that should never have taken place, I’ve been forced by the words of the Gospel to take a step back and reassess this situation and my reaction to it. This reassessment is not unlike what I have been forced to do in the past, for instance, with my stand on the death penalty.

Although I cannot say that I’ve ever been a strong proponent of the death penalty, I have generally remained silent because of the nature of the crimes for which the death penalty is prescribed and ordered. And if I allow my emotions to rule, I can easily expand the death penalty for a few other crimes as well. That the Mosaic Law is quite specific about the penalty for premeditated murder is not in question. My greater concern is our collective state of mind when we demand that this penalty be imposed, especially before the accused is even brought to trial. To wit, are we hungry for justice or are we thirsty for blood? The Scripture which speaks to this emotional state of mind is equally clear: “VENGEANCE IS MINE, says the Lord.”

This is not, however, about crime and punishment nor is the parable of the prodigal son which Jesus shares (Luke 15:11-32) with Pharisees, scribes, and His disciples. It is an insight and perspective of the Lord’s mind and how He sees and, ultimately, receives us. Perhaps more than this, the parable is a challenge for us to strive to look at the world, our fellow man, and our place in it through His eyes and not our own.

If we were to encounter “the prodigal son” in the present day - and I’m sure we all have in one form or fashion - we would see a hard-drinking, skirt-chasing, party-hardy kind of guy whose sole purpose in life is to have fun, feed his own carnal desires, and give no thought to anyone other than himself. And in the deep recesses of our minds, we would be pretty sure that this man is on the fast-track straight to Hades. For the most part, we would write him off as hopeless and not worthy of our time or attention.

Now how would we see and receive this same person if we had seen him through his father’s eyes? Broken in spirit and in flesh, with seeming remorse only because he ran out of money and was going hungry, we would be inclined to suggest that he was getting his just desserts. We would be pretty sure in our minds that, eventually, he might be able to pull himself up by his own boot straps, but he would have to do it on his own or with the help of his family or others who might care.

Ah, but this is not at all what his father is seeing. In the parable, we encounter a father who likely has not forgotten his beloved son, perhaps a father who has been or may still be in mourning. We encounter a father who was probably well aware of everything his son had been up to. After all, when the “good” son objected to all the attention being paid to the prodigal son, the father seemed unfazed at the points the “good” son was bringing forth. The father knew. Without a doubt, he knew. Somehow none of it mattered. To the father, what had happened in the past had nothing to do with the here-and-now. Even more to the point, it did not seem to matter what it was that brought the son to his doorstep. What was important was that the son had come home. He was ALIVE again!

It would be reasonable to believe that if the prodigal son had not run out of money, he would not have come back to his father. Why would he? He was living high on the hog, and the world was his oyster. It was not until he was out of money, the country he was living in was enduring a famine, and he was reduced to slopping hogs that seemed to be eating better than he when he finally “came to himself”.

Of course a father’s love is going to be far more enduring, patient, and long-suffering for his own child than that of a stranger who knows nothing, but I think there is a point to Jesus telling this parable that is even more profound than that of teaching us about the Father’s EAGERNESS to forgive. It seems to even go much further than simply our Holy Father’s desired relationship with His creation. It is also about our being able and willing, perhaps, to understand that those who are at their worst seemingly by their own choice are now or once were someone’s child.

King David suffered through something similar with his son Absalom though Absalom’s life ended before any reconciliation could take place. This is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful stories throughout Scripture that speaks volumes about a father’s love for his own and was perhaps somehow deliberate in its telling or recording or happenstance so that we could better appreciate how the Lord feels about humanity and provides to us as well a bit of a perspective about how He feels when we meet our untimely end without ever being reconciled to Him.

In 2 Samuel 18 is the story in which Absalom rises up in rebellion against his father, King David. And even as King David was forced to flee for his safety, he still ordered his commanders that no harm should come to Absalom. In the end, however, Absalom was killed in battle by the king’s men. Rather than celebrate a victory, the king went into mourning: “if only I had died in your place, O my son Absalom.”

Of course King David was mourning for his son as a father would, but I’ve always wondered if this is not an expression of how our Holy Father feels whenever we are in a state of rebellion against Him and meet our end without ever having reconciled ourselves to Him. How many have we written off as hopeless, failing to realize that there is our Father in Heaven who is in mourning for the very person we dismiss? And in chapter 19 when the people could see King David mourning for his son, they were not pleased! How could he feel anything but loathing for someone who sought to destroy him? Though there certainly was a connection, was it any of their business how King David felt about his own son, his own flesh?

Once the prodigal son took his share of the estate and left, the father knew that no good would come of it but he must have also surely known that there was really nothing he could do to stop the destruction. He gave the boy his share of the inheritance and set him free to do with it what he pleased. It was the BOY who nearly met his own destruction by his own hand until he came to his senses and returned home.

As we continue in our Lenten journey, let us be mindful of the knowledge that we had also been given our share of the inheritance and set free. Humanity was also on the road to spiritual ruin until a Father’s Love intervened and made it possible for us to find our way Home. A door had been opened so that once we come to our senses, we can be assured that we will be greeted with open arms, clothed with the finest robe, and a feast set before us – with no questions asked. And if us, then surely others.

Amen.

A Question of Propriety

Yesterday a wedding took place. Before thinking that weddings take place all the time and that this is routine, I might point out that the bride is now a bride for the third time, a product of two divorces. The groom hooked up with his new bride while he was still married to another woman, and they established a residence together before he was divorced. During this time their children were presented to this new life together as “normal”.

The groom moved from the church his family attended and began attending another church not far away in the same town of the same denomination, the church his new girlfriend also attends. He has since become a member of that new church, and the pastor performed the wedding ceremony. Exactly how much this pastor knew of how their relationship came to be is not known to me, but I have a difficult time believing that if he had conducted premarital counseling sessions with these people he could not have discovered that by any description, this was and is an adulterous relationship.

While some may argue that he was merely performing the duties of his ministerial office and that the judgment to withhold his services is his alone, I would suggest that his greater responsibility would have been to refuse to perform the ceremony and tell them precisely why he would refuse. The greater duty of his office would be to administer the Word of the Lord to the entire congregation; instead, he offered to this couple and to his congregation the word of the world and our society which has grown more and more accepting of divorce and adultery.

This bothers me on a profound level because while I serve a small congregation as a part-time local pastor, my family is very much involved in the ministries of this church as is the couple who just got married. The congregation seems to have accepted this couple as legitimate while my perspective maintains that they are still in an adulterous relationship and that their marriage should be null and void in the eyes of the church and that their relationship is a means of "leaven" by which the entire congregation or those who are weak in the faith can be caused to stumble.

I recognize that there are many divorced and remarried Christians, including many of the clergy, but where is the line by which we determine that we will defend the integrity of the Scriptures no matter the cost? Or am I missing something that by the presence of the pastor, that which was once adulterous is now sanctified and holy?

It is my contention that this pastor has committed a grave disservice to this congregation by showing very publicly that if one is not satisfied with one’s spouse, one can “test the waters” while married, get another spouse if it works out, and then come and be blessed. This, to me, is a very bastardized and perverted concept that should be very foreign to the church especially since is it a direct reflection of worldly values, of the same world we should strive to reject.

Divorce is a reality, and I firmly believe that there are some divorces which are justified such as when abuse is present or when one partner continually violates the sanctity of the marriage bed by sleeping with others. Whether they are free to remarry according to Scripture may be the point of contention even though St. Paul suggests to the Corinthians that if the non-believer walks away, the believer is free to remarry. This is the premise of the Catholic practice of annulment, to make a determination of whether a holy union ever existed.

I am not suggesting that those who choose to end their marriages are forever condemned. I recognize that there are details of broken relationships that I am not qualified to address on any level. This particular relationship, however, is blatant because these persons are personally known to me, and this separation has been extremely contentious (I will refrain from other details to avoid naming the persons involved).

I do ask for a little perspective. There must be a dividing line by which we and those to whom we minister can tell the difference between that sanctified life which Christ calls us to and the life of this world we are challenged to reject.

Festival of Purim: It's the little things

Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13:31-35

According to the Jewish calendar, today is the festival of Purim which began at sundown yesterday and will end, I believe, at sundown today. Unlike so many other festivals, Purim is more of an occasion to celebrate. Christie Storm of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette writes that “this isn’t a solemn, ashes-on-the-forehead holy day – it’s more like a Jewish Mardi Gras that celebrates God’s deliverance.”

The festival of Purim comes from the book of Esther even though there is no divine mandate to observe any such festival. Mordecai established and ordained the festival: “Mordecai instructed them to observe these as days of feasting and gladness, and sending delicacies to one another, and gifts to the poor.” Esther 9:22

The compulsion to celebrate Purim comes from grateful hearts cognizant of the Lord’s deliverance. The Jews are about to be obliterated by King Ahasuerus at the word of royal adviser Haman because Mordecai refused to bow down to him; he would worship only the Lord God and no other. Without getting into the whole story – which is a very good one, by the way – Esther saves the day, the Jews are spared, and Haman himself is put to death by the king.

What is significant about the festival is that the Lord Himself is not mentioned in the book of Esther. In fact, it is said to be the only book in the entire Bible in which the Lord God is not mentioned. So why, then, is Purim so significant especially in celebrating the Lord’s deliverance? There is no widespread call to the people to offer a sacrifice to the Lord as a prayer for deliverance, though Esther advises all the Jews to fast in her behalf while she and her maids will do likewise. She is about the enter into the presence of the king without being summoned, the penalty for which is death. Yet the people are spared seemingly because of Esther’s unwavering courage. Esther can certainly be upheld as a positive role model in the story, but there is a much more profound acknowledgement in the festival.

The Jewish tradition celebrates Purim in the subtle day-to-day presence of the Lord God in our lives without our awareness or even our acknowledgement. All too often we can move along in our lives being completely unaware of the Lord’s presence because we do not take the time to acknowledge His majesty in the simplest of things, things we often take for granted. Maybe it is that Purim is yet another spiritual discipline designed not only to give glory where glory is due but to also teach us to be more mindful and intentional about where the Lord fits into our lives such as in the miracle of drawing a breath without effort or thought.

Lent is typically referred to as a time of sorrow, a time to be more serious about acknowledging the sin that so permeates our lives, the sin which separates us from the Lord, and I believe this all to be part and parcel of the spiritual discipline necessary to fully appreciate the Sacrifice made in our behalf. Yet even in the midst of such sorrow we must also be mindful that even as we may feel a separation from the Lord, He is still there whether we acknowledge Him or not.

Consider the reading from Luke 13:34: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!”

How is such a lamentation possible? I don’t think Jesus could have been talking about His own life and ministry because there does not seem to be a shortage of people coming to Him begging for mercy, asking to be healed. With the exception of the chief priests, the Pharisees, and the scribes, there are hundreds of people coming to Jesus; they like what they are hearing and seeing! The Divine Presence is glaring and obvious. So how can it be that Jesus is talking about the “here and now” when He laments about how so many were unwilling when He tried to gather them to Himself?

He must surely be speaking of the prophets of the past who were sent to the people of Israel, a stubborn people who were consistently turning away from the Lord and falling in love with the world, thus rejecting the Law and the Lord even as they may have not been aware of active and deliberate rejection. It is the same trap many of us fall into so easily. Even when Jesus was confronted in the wilderness with the evil one, the temptation of the bread after a 40-day fast was so subtle and not even inherently sinful in itself. After all, food is a gift given to us to nourish and strengthen our physical bodies.

The act of eating the bread itself may not have posed a spiritual problem. The source of the bread, however, and the context of time in which it was offered was indeed a spiritual problem. This time for Jesus had been designated as a time of preparation, a time devoted solely to the Lord God Himself. It was the sacrifice Jesus was willing to make and devote to the Holy Father. To have accepted the bread would have been to profane the sanctity of the moment and the sacrifice.

Even as we are in the season of Lent, a time when we acknowledge the impending Passion of the Christ and our part in it, we must also be aware that whether we fast and pray or not, the Lord is still present in our lives, more often than not in the most subtle ways, so subtle that perhaps it is that if we do not take time to have quiet in our busy lives, we may never notice.

It is in the simplest and yet the most profound of gifts we enjoy; the gift of life. Science can explain it, but we cannot fully comprehend the miracle of birth, the miracle of breath, the miracle of waking up each day as a gift. It is a gift that is all too often taken for granted and sometimes even a gift that is cursed by we who fail to acknowledge the Divine miracle it truly is. How subtle the majesty of the Lord God of Life.

To Begin Anew

One of the most challenging assignments I’ve ever had involved a paper to be written for an OT survey class. The paper itself was easy enough, I suppose, but there was one cardinal rule that was absolute: there could be NO NT reference whatsoever. The instructor promised us that she would read each paper very carefully and if she THOUGHT that there was even an oblique NT reference, we would lose points.

The purpose of the exercise was to teach us to engage the Scripture as if we were reading it for the very first time, much like those of the day who did not have the benefit of NT perspective. It was probably at this time when I stopped referring to OT as OT, preferring instead “Hebrew Scripture” or “Hebrew Text” because as far as I could tell there was – is – nothing “old” about it especially if we faithfully consider that the Lord’s Word is eternal, with no beginning and certainly no ending.

Lent should be approached with the same perspective. Before we can fully appreciate the intrinsic value of Easter, we must first experience the nature of the journey as if for the very first time. We cannot simply move from the manger of Christmas to the empty tomb of Easter because the journey of the Christ did not start and finish so simply.

It is especially fitting that we begin this journey with Ash Wednesday. We are to be reminded of the limited extent of our physical existence just as when Adam was formed from the dust of the earth until Divine Life was breathed into him: “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the Breath of Life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 NIV

In our contemporary society we lament the sins of others whom we believe to be violating all that we know to be good and right; we blame them for the failures of our culture. During the season of Lent, however, our focus must be on our own carnal nature and the constant struggle which I believe exists within each of us to live spiritually and seek to overcome our carnal nature. We know the difference between right and wrong, but sometimes we justify our failures of faithfulness according to what we believe to be most expedient and that perhaps does no “real” harm without understanding that our failure to our faith is a failure in the eyes of our Creator. Making such carnal choices, choices most pleasing to our flesh, to our physical existence, to our worldly nature, render us “dust” and therefore lacking in the substance of Life.

Whether we have experienced Lent every year since childhood or are experiencing it now for the first time, let us be mindful of our need to have Life “breathed into our nostrils” so that we may become beings living faithfully in the knowledge that we, in the absence of Divine Life, “are dust, and to dust we shall return”. Genesis 3:19 NIV

Martyrdom of Self

Jeremiah 17:5-10
Luke 6:17-26

There is a great day dawning. I don’t know exactly when it will be; I only have the faith to hope that it will be. Soon perhaps. Or maybe not in my lifetime. But one day there will be no more sorrow, no more tears as it is written in The Revelation. Even with this knowledge, however; even with this hope, there is much to be done before the dawning of that Great Day. It is time for a serious evaluation.

I read a short story in the paper this past week called “The Martyrdom of Andy”. It was a short story published by a gentleman named Ben who, at the tender age of 77, remembers his childhood in south Arkansas and a particular kid named Andy with more than a little regret.

Andy was the “poor” kid who never quite fit in but not from lack of effort. Andy’s father was in prison and his mom took in laundry and did other odd jobs just to keep food on the table. Andy wore tattered clothing and seemed always a little dirtier than he should have been. He had an old, rusted hand-me-down girl’s model bicycle that even had sections of garden hose where tires should have been. And even though Andy took a good bit of ribbing from Ben and the boys, they were never so cruel as to hurt him deep. He always seemed to go along with the ribbing with a gentle nature so uncommon for boys; he never fought back, and he never got angry. He never even seemed to be hurt by any of it. Except for one particular day that Ben can remember as if it were yesterday and would give anything to take it all back.

Ben and his buddies were going to camp out in the woods behind Ben’s house, and all the boys were invited. Ben’s mom even made up a special pack for Andy so that he could join in the fun. Somehow, though, the boys decided that they just didn’t want Andy to spend the night with them and because they were in Ben’s yard, it was decided that Ben would have to be the one to send Andy away.

As Ben stood out waiting for Andy’s arrival, the boys hunkered down in the tent with the flaps pulled to. Soon the clattering of Andy’s old rag-tag bike could be heard rounding the corner. Ben could see Andy peddling as quickly as he could, just as any EXCITED kid would. Andy jumped off the bike and waved excitedly at Ben as he began to approach, but he stopped suddenly. Ben was not waving back nor was he smiling.

“Andy, we don’t want you here.”

The countenance of Andy’s face changed so dramatically that there was no way he was misunderstanding what was being said. And Ben writes that a single tear in each eye developed and just sort of hung there, not quite running but definitely building. Andy stood there for only a moment but for what must have been an eternity for Ben, then turned to his bike, picked it up and began pushing it slowly home.

I think that most, if not all, of us can remember an Andy Drake in our lives at some point. It could well be that some of us have suffered in a similar way as Andy did on what must have been for him that AWFUL DAY. And there is no doubt in my mind that ALL OF US can recall moments in our past that we would gladly give our eyeteeth for in order for that moment to be obliterated from history’s mark.

Some of us have learned to move on. Some of us have been so blessed in our lives that it is difficult to remember the hurts of the past. Some of us may still be enduring a little Andy Drake treatment even today. And as I pointed out a week or two ago, there is not a lonelier feeling in this world than to feel completely and totally isolated or unwanted.

Getting past such hurt, such pain, such maltreatment, is part of what the Scripture passages from Jeremiah and Luke are written to contend with. The Lord has never said that He will prevent us from being hurt or being persecuted or mistreated in any way. In fact, Jesus promises His disciples that they will have a hard row to hoe. And St. Paul writes that such sufferings are very much a part of the building of our character that strengthens us to endure future hurts and challenges to our faith. In fact, it must be said that these experiences are very much a part of who we become. The key is in understanding that we fail ourselves and perhaps even make matters worse when we look for healing and comfort from worldly sources.

According to the wording in Jeremiah, the Lord sounds angry: “CURSED are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn AWAY from the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:5

Parents should be able to understand this passage. Many of us have endured a silent child, one who is suffering from something and seems to withdraw from family. It bothers us because our experiences tell us there is hurt and pain. A child seems to withdraw as part of the process of trying to sort out the problem, trying to understand what went wrong, and trying to work out a solution. They are attempting to do it all on their own and when they do, they shut the ones who care the most. Their silence is both deafening and maddening because we know something is amiss, but we can’t help because we are not being asked to help. We feel shut out, a little isolated, and it hurts.

Soon, however, it begins to appear as though our child does not trust us. Oh sure, if they need money they know where to come. When it really seems to matter, though, when the need is most acute, they don’t seem to have much need for us. They would rather both isolate themselves and depend on their own limited resources, or they might rather talk to friends, perhaps even the very same friends who “helped” them get into this particular predicament. Only they cannot see this because they have yet to develop that very adult level of cynicism which teaches us to keep certain persons and things at arm’s length; a safe distance so that we are not hurt again. Now WE’RE angry because the ones they should trust the most they seem to trust the least.

“They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.”
Jeremiah 17:6

It seems to me that passages like this one are mostly misunderstood and even cause some to shy away from the Lord because it seems to portray Him as mean, petty, and vindictive. He is “cursing” us to the wilderness; He is isolating us from Himself just to get back at us, so show us how it feels.

I don’t think, however, that this portrayal is fair. Instead, it seems to me that this passage and others like it are testifying to the “curse” we bring upon ourselves when we deliberately choose to isolate ourselves from those who care most about us. Whether we are merely trying to work out the problem or don’t want to seem negative or needy, we hurt those who love us when we shut them out. So rather than get the help we so desperately need, the help that those who love us want so desperately to provide, we isolate ourselves to our own private “wilderness”.

Jesus is reiterating something that people need to know. He is speaking to a people imprisoned and bound in spiritual chains. This is a people under the thumb of the Roman Empire and bad spiritual teachers. And He was crucified by the same people who failed to “see when relief comes”.

I would think that if it could be rewritten to be more accurate, it might read something like this:

Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of Heaven – IF YOU WANT IT TO BE.
Blessed are you who are hungry for you will be filled – IF YOU WANT TO BE

No, I’m not proposing that Scripture be rewritten. What I am proposing is that there are blessings and comfort we cannot begin to comprehend because we, in our quest for independence, are too proud to admit that there are some things that are just much too big for us to handle. We can sometimes be so wrapped up in our own self-pity that we cannot lift ourselves out of the hole we’ve dug for ourselves. We cannot see light at the end of the tunnel because we will not open the door.

Jesus says in the Revelation: “Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and him with Me.”
Revelation 3:20

The world can be an overwhelming place and for those who are weak in the faith, it can be downright terrifying. For those who have no faith at all, life and all its challenges can be disabling. We seem to insist, however, that we have resources available to us to help combat these problems and help us to overcome. What we fail to see, however, is that the Source of any help that will do us any good must first come from above.

Jesus promises that those who are hurting through no fault of their own will one day find comfort for the Lord watches over His faithful. The “bad”, as long as we remain in this world, is not going to go away. The sense of peace, however, that comes from Christ is that peace which gives us the strength to endure. It is the strength that will help us to “finish the race”. It is the peace which reminds us that no matter how overwhelming life can be, there is nothing to be put upon us that cannot be removed by Divine intervention.

But first we have to open the door and let Him in.

The Prophet's Tongue

Jeremiah 1:4-10
Luke 4:21-30

“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-2

“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” Ephesians 4:14-15

Prophecy is probably one of the most misunderstood of divine gifts. Early in my ministry when I declared my intentions to seek ordination, I had to take a gifts assessment test to determine my strengths and my weaknesses. For the most part I was comfortable with the assessment results, but the one portion in which I scored highly was in my gift of prophecy; this I was not at all comfortable with because of my limited knowledge at the time of what such a gift entails. Even today I remain skeptical.

When we think of biblical prophets, we see persons who seem to have a direct link to the Divine through which the future is foretold: “prophecies”. We in the Christian faith speak often of the OT “prophesies” of the coming Messiah whose life and ministry had been “foretold”. Those who spoke and wrote of such prophecies were certainly preachers of their time, but this image of “rubbing a crystal ball” is somewhat other-worldly. It is a realm far removed from our own. In our contemporary time, any who make such claims as being a prophet is met with disbelief and even ridicule. In fact, I am one who is extremely cynical toward those who claim to possess prophetic authority.

John Calvin had his own idea of how prophecy is defined and how best this divine gift can benefit the church: “By the term prophesying I do not mean the gift of foretelling the future, but as in 1 Corinthians 14:3 the science of the interpretation of Scripture, so that a prophet is the interpreter of the divine will... Let us understand prophesying to mean the interpretation of Scripture applied to the present need.”

“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement, and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the Church.”
1 Corinthians 14:1-4

For the Lord’s purposes and for the sake of the Church, then, it seems make more sense that prophecy is best utilized for the moment and is not necessarily restricted only to teachers and preachers and is certainly not for “forecasting” purposes. I would surmise that this is a gift, as Paul says, that we should all desire regardless of where life finds us. Even if we possessed such a gift as being able to foretell the future, we would then stand to be in direct conflict with the Lord God Himself because Jesus reminded His disciples that the Day of the Lord, that Day of Judgment, is for NO ONE to know. Jesus Himself reminded the disciples that even HE didn’t know when that day would come. So how would such a gift serve any useful purpose for the contemporary Church? Even the prophecies which seem to have foretold of the coming Messiah never seemed to pinpoint a specific date or time, only that it was to be and that it would be a glad day for the faithful.

None of this is to say that all preachers are prophets or that all prophets must be preachers. One writer, Cecil Robeck, defines New Testament prophecy as “a spontaneous manifestation of God’s grace, received by REVELATION (sometimes as a vision, sometimes as impressions or thoughts) and spoken by the Spirit through a Christian who has been given the gift of prophecy, in the language of those who hear the prophetic word spoken.”

But even if the gift is “spontaneous” and given only by the grace of the Lord as a manifestation of that which can only come from him, can this mean that suddenly a non-believer can be transformed and convicted at once? Yes, I think so. Just as surely as one who wears the mask of piety and can be suddenly convicted of his pretense and deceit, surely one who has no basis of knowledge in the Lord can be fully and firmly convicted of His presence, in fact, His existence. That is, if we truly believe that “with God, nothing is impossible.”

Appreciating the gift of prophecy for the purpose it seems fit to serve may mean that everything must be in the context of how the Church as a whole will benefit from such a gift. It is not that one who has been granted such a gift is especially favored of the Lord because, as it is written, the Lord does not show partiality. It is a gift, however, that is granted not when the individual is ready to use it but, rather, how desperately the Church needs it. It would seem, then, that when the gift of prophecy is timed well and we are intently focused on the will not of ourselves but of our Holy Father and the written Word, the Church will be functioning as it was intended to.

The commission that Jeremiah receives is met with his futile resistance to the Lord that he is “only a boy”, his objection perhaps a reflection of his perceived lack of credibility with the people because of his relative youth and inexperience. Jesus is obviously unafraid to say what needs to be said, but His own lack of credibility with the people seems directly related to the fact that He grew up among these people and that they actually KNOW Him! They’ve known Him all along and it is perhaps for this very reason that they are angry at His words. Perhaps in their minds, Jesus should be more tuned in to what would please them rather than what might upset them.

We should know that deliberately seeking to upset and alienate people will do little to establish any sense of credibility with the people we seek to serve, but at the same time there is a certain truth which we must strive for and seek to serve while understanding that there will always be those who will not be receptive to what we should be offering.

Speaking the “truth in love” will no doubt be the prophet’s greatest challenge. We certainly have to have a love of and for the Lord God that we are willing to alienate ourselves from family and friends for the sake of the Truth, but we must also have enough love for humanity that we possess a genuine concern for the state of their souls, a genuine concern for their eternal well-being. Absent this, it might be best for all concerned if we would just maintain our silence lest we do more harm than good.

Foul Mood

There was a time when I thought of depression as just having a bad day. These bad days can be brought on by all sorts of maladies including a bad day at the office, getting feelings hurt in school, wishing for more than we have a right to expect. The list is endless. There is no end to the kinds of things which can confront us on a daily basis to make us wish for even the unthinkable.

I took an online quiz not long ago because I have been at a point of uselessness and listlessness that I cannot seem to shake and I began to wonder if somehow while I wasn’t looking, depression had set in (is this even possible?). I cannot recall the last time I had anything resembling a “good day” though there have surely been one or two here or there. The quiz asked some questions that threw me a little because I had somehow had a preconceived notion of what depression-related questions should look like. How this quiz evaluated my level of depression is still beyond me, but it suggested that if I have ever in the slightest way considered ending my life then I needed to consult a mental health professional “immediately”.

I cannot recall ever having suicidal thoughts, so I know I’m not there. The worst part of this whole ordeal is that I have absolutely nothing to feel sorry for myself about. There are a couple of elements in my life that I’ve allowed to slide out of control that have definitely affected my emotions and sense of guilt (feeling sorry for myself being one of them), but beyond that I have nothing that gives me the right to mope. Still I do, and I don’t know why.

My job leaves me with a severe sense of uselessness, but I am still employed and able to pay my bills. I have three healthy children who have never caused me any real grief though if I said that I never worry about them I would be lying. And today I discovered that one of my children committed a profound act of charity that, though I could easily see it coming from her, left me breathless. Though I would give her mother far more credit, I can still see that I must have done something right as her father.

I don’t take care of myself physically (and it surely shows!), but I have no major health issues. We have plenty to eat (again, consider the physical evidence!) and a solid roof over our heads. All things considered, I am blessed beyond measure and I know that the sins of my past do not allow me the right to be depressed because everything in my life is without question far more than I deserve. I sometimes think that my life is as good as it is because the Lord is looking out for my family, and I’m getting the residual effects from it.

“There but for the grace of God go I.” One would have to be completely blind to not be able (or willing) to look at the news, read a newspaper, or just take a walk downtown to see that there is misery everywhere. Somewhere someone is in extreme physical, emotional, or mental pain; these are the ones who have every right to feel bad, to feel somehow cheated, to feel as though life has dealt them a bad hand. I, on the other hand, can see all the goodness that is in my life, and I cannot seem to find a grateful thread in my hard heart. Why is it so difficult to see how blessed I truly am? Or be able to appreciate it?

I have never been much on prayer though I have no problem believing that prayer is effective. Yet there is something that keeps me from approaching the Most High because my faith tells me that He can easily see the dark spots of my soul. If this is the benevolent, wise, omnipresent, and omnipotent God who blesses anyone who would ask, why am I so afraid to approach Him?

As depression goes, I’ve always written it off because in my case there is nothing for me to feel sorry about. And because I’ve never really suffered in any real manifest way, it is virtually impossible for me to be able to appreciate what it must be like to suffer so. The few things in my life that are not quite the way I would like for them to be are just not enough to justify my lowly state, and yet I still cannot shake free from it.

My faith prevents me from seeking any kind of medical attention before I’ve even tried to pray, but one friend who is trying to help suggested that my prayer may be answered by medication. Still, a certain stigma prevents me from going in that direction. Though I have no real moral qualms about those who take medication for such (who am I to judge??), I cannot bring myself to consider it.

Hopeless? Hardly. As long as the sun keeps rising in the morning, there is always hope. As long as there is a God in heaven, there is always hope. As long as one has patient family and friends, there is always hope. I see all this and appreciate all this, and yet it is not enough.

I know that I am taking an extreme risk by posting for all to see, but in doing so I hope that maybe some kind soul will offer a perspective that might help me to see a way out of this pit I’ve managed to dig for myself. I say again: I AM NOT SUICIDAL; not even close, but I’ve been carrying this foul mood around for far too long. Why is there so much good that I can very clearly see but somehow refuse to embrace?

Christmas is Over: Now What?

The celebrations are over, the last package’s wrappings are landfill, the decorations are about to come down if there are any still left hanging, some toys didn’t quite make the cut and are either now forgotten or broken, and soon the bills will start rolling in for those whose entire Christmas celebration was more a tribute to MasterCard. For all its trappings, however, most of us still come away from our Christmas celebrations with few regrets. We’ve been able to spend time with loved ones, some whom we may not see again until next year and some we may never see again. Even with the “morning after” credit card regret, there is always going to be something special about watching a child’s face light up when an unexpected gift is opened on Christmas morning, that special moment which makes us forget what we went through to acquire that particular gift.

Even still, something is not quite right. The very first sermon I ever delivered was on a Sunday following Christmas and I still remember thinking that if ever there was a raw deal for a new preacher, that would be it! How can Christmas be followed? Christmas is the BIGGIE, isn’t it? After a long year, whether good or bad, Christmas is the climax, isn’t it? I’ve since learned that it is probably best not to even try to preach Christmas. The Gospel accounts pretty much cover the ground, and there is not much left to say that hasn’t already been said. But I think I have also finally figured out why it is so difficult to follow Christmas for preachers and laity alike.

Just prior to Christmas we have our Advent count-down. We begin to focus not only on the birth of Messiah but also on His Second Coming. We teach and we preach to stand prepared just as John the Baptist admonishes us to “make straight the path” for the Lord’s coming. Four weeks (and often more!), three weeks, two weeks; the excitement mounts, the plays and cantata’s are rehearsed, prepared, and presented, the charity collections are in full swing and …. BOOM! We’re there.

After that, what next? Even as Advent is a time of preparation, we have a definitive count-down with a finite ending. We light one of five candles for the weekly count-down, and we reach the climax. It’s over. We’re done. That is, of course, until we begin to approach Lent. Then we begin anew yet another season of “preparation”, but this time the kids are not really as involved. They can more easily and readily embrace the “birth” of the Savior but to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure when anyone is fully prepared to accept the “death”.

It occurred to me as my family and I were driving home from my in-laws that the Church loses some much-needed momentum after Christmas. We Christians are a pretty self-contained bunch when it comes to our holy days. On Christmas should we be holed up at our homes or huddled in our churches, or should we not rather be living according to the dictum of John Wesley who insisted that the WORLD was his parish and that the Good News of the Gospel should be shared out where the masses are instead of inviting the masses to come to us where we are?

The momentum that builds during Advent provides this kind of spirit without fail every single year, and every single year with few exceptions we peter out about 12/27 and lose that precious momentum. I was never more acutely aware of this until a co-worker challenged the concept of “organized religion”. When questioned about her objections – and know that I have typically written off such persons as those who will reach for any excuse not to attend church – she pointed out that her perception and experience with “organized religion” has been more along the lines of forced beliefs and self-contained greed and exclusivity meaning that we are pretty good at ministering to ourselves and perhaps to one another, but we don’t really care to do much more than this. OUTSIDE the Christmas season, that is.

While I am almost certain that Luke’s very brief glimpse of Jesus’ childhood (Luke 2:41-52) has some more profound lessons for us than what I can glean from it, the one thing that stands out to me, especially as it relates to the birth of Messiah, is that the Birth itself is a culmination of nothing. The Salvation story does not end at the manger. Jesus was born, of course, but He did not remain a “babe wrapped in swaddling clothes”; He grew up and He moved on. His upbringing, His education, His faith were all fed and nurtured and developed over time. His special gift was easily recognized by the elders in the Temple, but Jesus was still a child who had some growing up to do.

Then we get to see Jesus as a young man coming to John to be baptized. After this, He enters into His ministry which would necessarily include His encounter with the evil one, perhaps AKA “the world”, which He was able to endure by His abiding faith. Once this moment is conquered, Jesus selects His apostles and continues His ministry.

Is the momentum apparent? All the way up to the moment of His death, the only time His apostles kept to themselves was after Jesus was crucified and they were afraid. For the very first time their faith was tested and with perhaps the exception of John and the women including Mary, the followers of Jesus failed. They fled. And for three days - in the absence of Christ - until the Resurrection, all momentum of what He had begun was lost. Everything stopped. Is the connection apparent?

As we reflect on the full measure and infinite value of the Christian celebration of Christmas, we must not neglect to remember that just at a time when humanity should have been coming to the Lord, the Lord instead chose to come to US. He did not wait until the world would suddenly come to its senses and realize how alone we really are and how desperately we need Him. He watched us suffer long enough and came to us WHERE WE WERE THEN and surely where we are now.

How much more momentum do we require before the sleeping Church will awaken and realize that those who oppose our “organized religion” can see us more clearly than we can see ourselves? How much more momentum do we require before we realize that just as the Lord came to us when we needed Him the most, we AS HIS BODY must go where we are needed most? And not just at Christmas time but throughout the year.

The boy Jesus still had a lot to learn as a child; so did His parents and so do we. May we continue to find ourselves always and regardless of biological age as inquisitive 12-year-olds in the Temple seeking and searching and growing.

Amen.

The Magic of Christmas

The best recollections I have of Christmas are from my childhood, and I must honestly say that the only way church time really fit into the excitement of Christmas for me was when we went to midnight Mass. For me, it was quiet and reflective. I have distinct recollections of a sense of awe and wonderment during the Mass, the church seemed always much quieter than during a typical Sunday Mass, and of course there was virtually no life outside during that time since most folks were home in bed. I must also admit, however, that the hour-long Mass was a great way to kill some time before Christmas morning!

On Christmas morning there were the presents, and my parents usually went all out for us even though I learned years later that they really could not afford it. I cannot remember a Christmas in which I was ever disappointed for not having gotten what I asked for. And I also distinctly remember opening packages that said, “From SANTA to Michael” and not really caring much about Santa Claus or where the gift came from; I just wanted what was in the box!

Over the years and for a variety of reasons, I’ve grown somewhat cynical about Christmas. I still get a thrill from buying – hopefully – the “perfect gift” for those whom I love, and I am especially gratified to watch their faces light up when I realize I did well with my selection. But something has to happen before I can get very excited about Christmas anymore. That “something” can be almost anything, but it is the “something” which serves as a catalyst that helps me to remember what Christmas is all about.

Many are fond of saying that Christmas is “all about the children”. Others remind us that Christmas is about “family and friends”. The Church, of course, is always there to remind us that Christmas is about the Messiah. For different persons, Christmas can mean different things and not all necessarily good things. I remember an episode of the popular TV show M*A*S*H in which a soldier was brought to the hospital having been severely wounded in battle – on Christmas Day. Even though the situation was hopeless, the doctors worked tirelessly to try and keep the soldier alive until the day AFTER Christmas so that his family would not always remember Christmas as the day when their loved one was killed, but we all know that there are many in real life who have experienced tragedy even on Christmas Day.

But whatever Christmas is all about to any one of us, there is an element of magic that gives Christmas its special place in our hearts. It does not matter whether we are talking about the “magic” of the birth of the Savior or the “magical” myth of Santa Claus. There is a mystical, almost surreal quality about Christmas that makes us want to be a little friendlier, a little more generous. It is a time of year when many of us realize that we have an inherent need to believe in something whether it is belief in a God who presented Himself to man as the Holy Son, a jolly old elf who gives presents to all the little children, or humanity that has the potential to be good.

What happens to us, though, if we reach a point in our lives when we do more worrying about the holiday season than rejoicing? What happens when we reach a point in which this holiday season is nothing more than a day off from work? What happens when there is no more magic, no special something to look forward to, to embrace and to cherish? What happens when we finally realize that we’ve crossed the line into adulthood and Christmas no longer has that magical, mystical quality it once held special just for us?

All these questions may be answered very simply: we’ve grown up too much for our own good. As we grow physically, emotionally, and mentally we soon learn that there are few on this earth who will put their lives on hold for us, so we have to learn to take care of ourselves and depend on no one. We learn self-reliance, and soon the only “magic” we may care anything about is that of David Copperfield, my favorite illusionist. At this point Christmas is nothing more than a date on a calendar that falls between December 24 and December 26. For all intents and purposes, we have lost our sense of wonderment and awe, and we gain a level of cynicism which teaches us that no one really cares. We lose faith. And once faith is gone, it is difficult to regain.

There is profound wisdom in what Jesus offers to His disciples in Mark 10:15 that goes far beyond the moment: “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little children will never enter it.”

It may be that Jesus is acknowledging the difficulty some grown ups may have in grasping the concept of an “other worldly” kingdom, let alone such a place that may hold some level of attraction for us. It may be that Jesus is acknowledging that being a “grown up” is not that it’s cracked up to be. I know that I’ve tried to tell my children so many times, especially when my baby girls wanted to wear make up, not to be in such a big hurry to grow up for that reason alone. So much gets lost somewhere between adolescent and adulthood, and we are the poorer for it.

All is not lost, however, as we move through the Advent season and quickly approach Christmas itself. There is still hope even as Jesus talks about the seeming hopelessness of those who are unable to look at life and faith through the lens of a child’s eye. “Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to SUCH AS THESE.”

Jesus is not quoted as having said that the kingdom of Heaven belongs ONLY to the little children, the biological ones. “The kingdom of God belongs to SUCH as these…” could well be a statement of hope even for those who biologically mature but who are also spiritually child-like in a perfect willingness to believe the best that is to come. There is no room in this statement for cynics unless we are willing to surrender something.

It’s funny that some fundamentalist Christians would suggest that teaching our children to believe in Santa Claus can be spiritually harmful when it seems to me that maybe we are teaching our children that there is something worth believing in, something “magical” that gives the true Spirit of Christmas an opportunity to move into our souls and teach us that being all grown up is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Merry Christmas to all.

Divine Activity

There are essentially two schools of thought as it pertains to theology, that which defines the relationship between the Lord and man. One suggests that the Almighty is far removed from humanity and does not get actively involved in our day-to-day activity. The other holds that the Lord is this huge cosmic force who manipulates nature and even the hearts and minds of mankind to achieve a particular end. Both have merit to a degree but like anything pertaining to the Lord and to the study of theology, neither can be definitively proved one way or the other.

To suggest that the Lord does not get directly involved with humanity is to dismiss so much by which the Lord has revealed Himself to us. We have the covenant with Noah, we have the Exodus, we have David being chosen as king out of all his older brothers, and we have Christmas. And lest we forget, we have the promise of the Holy Spirit to be with us as we endeavor to live and work and worship. Each of these and so many more instances shows us a God who is hardly removed from our lives. Yet there is rarely a day that passes in which we do not directly or indirectly witness evil in our midst. We see children starving around the world or being emotionally or physically abused in other ways, we see refugees running to escape the horrors of war, we see people even right here in America living under bridges for lack of other shelter. Those who witness such things and who lack faith ask what to them is a legitimate question: how can this “good” God allow such things to happen?

We must also remember that if we are talking about a God who is actively manipulating these cosmic forces by which man and nature are set to act in conflict with perhaps how we are predisposed to act, we are dismissing the concept - if REALITY - of free will. But if free will is indeed a reality, how can we read such a text as Exodus 7:3 in which Moses is fulfilling his calling to confront the pharaoh and work to get Israel released from her bondage and pharaoh is resisting because the Lord “hardened his heart”. By what is written, Moses has had a direct encounter with the Almighty and is doing what he was sent to do. Yet it would also seem that the Lord is manipulating the minds and hearts of man by intentionally “hardening” pharaoh’s heart thus making Moses’ journey even more difficult than it already was.

So what? Did the writer have a direct encounter in which he had inside knowledge of the intent and mind of the Lord, or was he reporting something that would simply be incidental? If pharaoh released the Hebrews, Egypt would suffer because a lot of work was being done for cheap. All pharaoh had to do was keep the Hebrew slaves well fed as any good rancher would do with his live stock. So did the Lord become actively involved with the mind of the pharaoh, or was the pharaoh simply of his own greedy mind and had made a free will decision to resist Moses’ call to release Israel? After all, he had a lot to lose!

Advent is a relatively constricted period of time in which we are called to prepare ourselves, but what are we to prepare for during this time aside from what we should be preparing for during the other eleven months of the year? In Advent we are encouraged to pray – are we to pray less during any other time? In Advent we are encouraged to fast – should we fast more than during any other time? In Advent we are encouraged to be generous with everything we have – are people only hungry or naked or homeless during the month of December?

John the Baptist calls on the people now just as he did during his own time to “make straight the path of the Lord”, to prepare for His coming. Well, we know that John and Jesus were about the same age, so John could not have been talking about the impending birth of the Messiah. We can also see from various texts in which John seems genuinely surprised when Jesus shows up even as he has proclaimed that “there is one coming after me Who is greater than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy to loose…” We can’t say that John never saw it coming, yet he seemed somehow unprepared for the encounter, a DIRECT ENCOUNTER with the Divine which changed everything not only for himself but also for the entire human race.

The Lord is coming but not necessarily in early January which would necessitate that we prepare ourselves only in December. Let this be a time when we are mindful of the needs of those around us for the need is great. Let us be mindful that even if we cannot agree on the fundamental tenets of Advent, we can surely agree that preparation for that Day – whenever it may come – is a never-ending task that requires much but blesses in abundance and far beyond the day.

Working it Out

A thought occurred to me not long ago in class in which we were discussing education policy in the US and, specifically, in Arkansas. Not long ago the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Arkansas education is neither adequate nor equitable. The ruling came as a result of a suit filed by a school district that was in academic and financial distress. To make a long story short, the court ruled that the state is not fulfilling its constitutional duties to educate Arkansas children.

As a result of this ruling, the state legislature convened to answer the shortfall. Although I don’t necessarily agree with everything the legislature offered, there is one particular idea that is being tried in some school districts that does interest me: teacher bonuses for improved student performance on standardized tests.

The problem that some teachers and citizens see is that such a measure may compel some teachers to “teach to the test” rather than just fulfill their noble calling. Whether this idea will work in its present form or be modified in some way down the line remains to be seen. The general consensus of those who oppose this idea is that teachers are supposed to teach children HOW to think rather than WHAT to think, believing that test scores could do nothing but improve if students were just encouraged and taught how to use the mind the Lord gave them. In math and the sciences, there are certainly facts that must be known, but is it enough to just know that 2+2=4 or will this figure have greater success in serving a purpose if children are shown HOW and WHY 2+2=4?

The “thought” that crossed my mind in class is this: in the history of religion, perhaps in the history of mankind, teaching our children WHAT to think is what we’ve been doing all along, especially in religion. Most of us grew up with the familiar Bible stories and “how it was” and we’ve been taught about Jesus’ life and what He meant by the things He said, but I also think that we were – more often than not – told WHAT we should believe and what we should know. I, for one, do not remember ever being encouraged to engage a story and think for myself.

Is this a bad thing? How can we impart our knowledge without our biases? How can we teach our children about the Lord without slanting our observations toward what we believe to be true, confident that we are “right” and that anything which deviates from what we believe to be true is heresy? It may be nearly impossible because of the subject matter. There are some moral and spiritual absolutes that don’t leave much room for interpretation. Some things are wrong, have always been wrong, and will always be wrong.

What are the “absolutes” and who sets the standard? As a theological conservative, I used to see most things scriptural in a “black-and-white” context. Over time, however, I have learned to look at the texts a bit more broadly. My more liberal friends would call that “becoming enlightened”. I call it utter confusion. I have now reached a point in my spiritual development in which I actually envy some who seem stable in what they believe even though their seeming inflexibility is sometimes maddening.

At one time I thought I was loosing my faith; in some ways I still struggle. It is a gift, you know. We cannot know that the Lord even exists unless this knowledge is imparted to us by Divine means, by the Lord’s own good grace. This is to say, I can tell you that the Lord is and will always be but I cannot give you absolute proof which would leave no room for doubt; the Lord Himself would have to grant this to you. So it is a somewhat unsettling matter to consider that this gift has somehow been misused so much so that it is being withdrawn.

By such reasoning, it is possible to consider that maybe the reason so many come of age and choose to leave the Church is not because of “those hypocrites” or “that preacher” (some of the more popular excuses) but because the knowledge and the faith they believe to have once possessed turns out to be the faith and the knowledge that actually belongs to someone else. They were never fully able – or enabled – to embrace that knowledge or that faith because it never quite became their own. Why? It may be because they were taught WHAT to think and not HOW to think for themselves.

What does this mean for preachers and Sunday school teachers? Stop teaching? Modify what is being taught? And if so, in what way do we modify? Teachers and preachers are expected to make a point and help us draw certain conclusions, and the point would be somewhere along the lines of what is right and what is wrong. This is what we expect because our doctrines are geared toward this end. Doctrine teaches us what is and what isn’t. Do we need more evidence beyond conflicting Christian doctrine on, say, Baptism and Holy Communion to see that someone has to be wrong or that everyone is right but only to a degree?

One of my instructors maintains – in the realm of government policy development – that truth is relative to what we believe to be true up to that point in our lives and that the opposite of truth is in this context is “intent to deceive” which is to say that we don’t really possess the knowledge we think we do but we will argue to the point of obnoxiousness to try and convince others that we are “right”. How can this be so? It is because the knowledge that we think we have is knowledge that has been given to us but that we’ve not bothered to think through for ourselves. Depending on who presented the information or how it was presented or in what context will determine whether we will simply accept it as is without question, or we will look more deeply into it and draw our own conclusions.

Is this dangerous? I think it is potentially so especially when we are talking about the spiritual and educational well-being of our children. They need to know that there are some moral, spiritual, doctrinal, and social absolutes. This, I think, is foundational. It is something upon which to build, but it cannot and must not end there. Children have to be given the foundation as the starting point, but then they must also be taught how to reason through things. It is akin to defining the difference between simply memorizing a fact for no rhyme or reason or actually dealing with it, experiencing it, engaging it, and working through it. Which has the greater potential to stay with the student?

We are about to enter into what is one of the Church’s most holy seasons. We are preparing to celebrate and commemorate the birth of the Messiah. And we enter into this season with more than a little anticipation and with certain expectations about what this season will bring, but how much thought do we give to such a statement as “heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33)?

Consider how much time and attention is devoted this year to customs and traditions and, yes, even TEACHINGS of man and compare this time against how much we spend with and for the Lord and His moment, that moment when Light entered into a very dark world in which we were hopelessly lost and were somehow found.

Merry Christmas, dear friends. This is my wish; this is my prayer.

Amen.

Representation for Sale (though not cheap)

Michael Goodwin of the New York Daily News quotes Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer who is reflecting on the newly won Democratic majority in the Congress: "If we don't produce for people, we could blow it in 2008. The public is up for grabs. We still have a lot to do but if we succeed, the next election could provide a lock for a generation."

I have no problem with Senator Schumer believing that there is a lot to do; there is. It is a given that the nation's participating voters have had a gut full of far right ideology and perceived Republican absolutes and strong-arm tactics. Many have also expressed a concern that President Bush seems to believe that the War on Terror gives him more latitude than the Constitution or the people are willing to give. Right or wrong, this election did come with a mandate but not necessarily FOR Democrats. It was a message to members of Congress that their employment is tenuous.

The problem I have with Senator Schumer's statement is his perception of the "public" and "people". Are we really "up for grabs"? And as political "produce" goes, I am extremely disturbed at the implication that our support for either party is for sale to the highest bidder.

Time will tell, of course, but I am afraid that we have led our own representative Congress to believe that we want hand-outs when it is clear by the budget deficit and the national debt that we cannot afford much more. I expect there to be tax increases proposed to offset the budget deficit not necessarily because Democrats hold the majority but because for Congress it is much more politically expedient to raise taxes than to cut spending. For one thing, cutting spending means actually digging deep into a budget and facing facts and numbers. For another, emotions play much better to the constituents and "produce" far more politically favorable results.

There has been a lot of hand-holding and singing of "Kumbaya" among Democrats and Republicans, so we should not hold out much hope for anything of any real substance being addressed in this lame-duck session of Congress. However, once the Democrats take the bridge and exercise some of that new-found power, it is anyone's guess what this next session will "produce". I think, however, that it is going to be very expensive for the taxpayers.

Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth

I never quite understood the term, “to look a gift horse in the mouth”, until I looked it up on line. Having virtually no knowledge about livestock, I never knew that the age of a horse could be determined by looking into its mouth. How this particular saying came to its current use by such a comparison is anyone’s guess, but my understanding has always been that it is considered poor form to receive a gift and question its intent or usefulness or the gift-giver’s ulterior motive, if any. I suppose that’s part of the reason why I hate to be asked what I want on any particular gift-giving occasion. It’s not that I expect that anyone who knows me should be able to know what I want, and I certainly do not want anyone thinking that I EXPECT a gift at all. It is that I’ve always believed that any gift given, regardless of its perceived, inherent, or cash, value should be received by anyone “as is” with a mind toward another old saying, “it’s the thought that counts.”

Indeed.

In the continued journey through the Law, and specifically the so-called “Ten Commandments”, we have moved through the Lord’s introduction of Himself and the expectations He has of His people. And even though there are many who view the remainder of these “Ten” rather negatively, it is my intent to show the grace and the mercy which comes from these “thou shalt not’s” not because I think we need to search for an angle but because of the incredible gift which has come to us from Above through these words.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
Exodus 20:8-11 NKJV

So can this be received as a gift when it seems to be presented as a commandment, an absolute? According to Scripture, the penalty for its violation is death. It is funny to me (and I am among the guilty though still trying to work it out) to listen to those who insist that these are not the ten “SUGGESTIONS” while they feast on Sunday at a restaurant where all the “servants”, male and female, are working diligently to try and keep up with the Sunday “church crowd”. As with the others, this particular commandment has the potential to go far beyond the mere words that are written on a page.

Jesus was challenged often on what the true meaning of Sabbath really was in the context of pharisaic teaching, and Paul comes very near to suggesting that these words are meaningless to us now since we are in Christ. “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16, 17 NKJV

I respectfully take exception to what Paul suggests or at the very least, I take exception to our common interpretation that our New Covenant seems to disregard or conflict the Old. “The Lord spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.” Exodus 31:12-14 NKJV

Do we live in such a “new” economy that refraining from work of all kinds is just not realistic? And if this is true, has the Lord relented from His command that we rest? If so, who then is authorized to speak this new word? I work for a trucking company which operates 24/7. It might seem unrealistic that the company should just cease operations for a full day, yet the law restricts the number of hours drivers may operate in a defined period of time. This same law even mandates a day off when too many hours have been used though the law does not demand that all drivers shut down at the same time. There isn’t enough parking space in the entire nation to accommodate that kind of mandate!

Farmers and ranchers have the same type of challenge, especially at harvest time. What is realistic for them? I said earlier that I know very little about livestock, but I do know they need to be fed. Is Sunday a day in which livestock can go without being fed? These are not pets. For the most part, they have to be maintained so that come market time, a fair price can be had. For the farmer and harvest time, that fair market price fluctuates sometimes so wildly that if they are not in a position to sell, they could lose fuel money which is substantial. However, it is written in Exodus 34:21 that “six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.” There does not seem to be an exception; there is only reality.

There are more retail stores and restaurants open than closed on Sunday now. What would happen to our economy or to our lives if the MALL were closed on Sunday? What would people do with their time, for heaven’s sake? The retailers would take a big hit for sure, and those who need the extra hours might take it on the chin come payday for losing a days’ work. The state would even take a big hickey over lost revenue from sales taxes paid.

But what would we really be losing and not gaining if we were to have the courage and the faith to live according to the written Word? How much of an adjustment would become necessary so that there wouldn’t be a recession? I think it’s already happening at Christmas time where people may not be so inclined to spend so much money. Somewhere adjustments have to be made, but the bigger question is whether or not we have the faith to see it through.

I don’t think the economy will run us over if we fail to go an entire day without spending any money, and I don’t think our lives will be ruined if we spend an entire day with our families just relaxing. Of course this is all easy for me to say since I don’t have much money and I hate shopping anyway. If there is indeed such a thing as the Catholic doctrine of purgatory, I should like to believe that the PUNISHMENT phase of that particular state would be perpetual shopping!

However, it is not the shopping in and of itself that is the problem. The problem is with those who are compelled to work because of our demands. And work in and of itself is not necessarily the problem. It is, I think, rather a compulsion to do something that we may well need a REST from because what some might consider to be “work” is actually “leisure” for others such as working in the yard, which I happen to enjoy - sometimes. This, I think, is the key to what the Lord’s word in this is all about.

As with any of the Commandments, our first approach must be as it is when we approach this list in the first place. We must recognize the Divine Wisdom that is contained within each one. Examining each of these with such a perspective can help us to get beyond the “thou shalt not” that may come from an angry, vengeful, distant, and self-serving god (or the men who wrote it) and see that there is a God in Heaven whom Jesus called “Father”.

We must also realize that even in our individuality, there is still a commonality in which mankind – which would imply ALL – was created in the Image of our Creator. As such, the Divine Wisdom which calls out to us from these words is the Wisdom which knows of our limitations. This Creator, this Divine Designer, knew then just as He knows now that the human body and mind have limited capacity to function before we become so overwhelmed that we simply “crash”.

A wise Father knows best. We are to obey this commandment as a sign of a Covenant made by the Holy Father, a Covenant that – like all the others – distinguishes us from the rest of the world. It is a day of rest. It is a day, a HOLY day, of worship. It is a day of respite from the busyness of the world so that we can focus on our Holy Father and regenerate our own spiritual batteries. It is a day of Sabbath, of rest. It is a day of focus.

It is a day of renewal.

Darren McFadden-isms

The Arkansas Razorback football program is on a roll. After a pretty rough start against Southern Cal, Arkansas has moved on to an impressive 9-1 record with reasonable expectations of two more SEC West conference wins. Maybe not national title stuff considering the major contenders out there, but it's good enough for us.

Riding on this season's high is talk of running back Darren McFadden's potential Heisman candidacy. Whether he makes the final rounds is not so important to us: he's still ours as are they all. But after Saturday's decisive win against Tennessee and McFadden's exceptional performance, I share with you some -isms (author unknown) for those die-hard Darren McFadden fans.

• Darren McFadden's calendar goes straight from March 31 to April 2; no one fools Darren McFadden
• Leading hand sanitizers claim they can kill 99.9 percent of germs. Darren McFadden can kill 100 percent of whatever he wants
• Darren McFadden counted to infinity - twice
• Darren McFadden's tears cure cancer. Too bad Darren McFadden has never cried
• Darren McFadden was originally cast as the main character in the hit TV show "24" but was replaced by the producers when he managed to kill every terrorist and save the day in 12 minutes, 37 seconds
• Darren McFadden can speak braille
• Darren McFadden died 10 years ago, but the Grim Reaper can't get the courage to tell him
• Superman owns a pair of Darren McFadden pajamas
• Darren McFadden puts the "laughter" in "slaughter"
• Darren McFadden does not sleep; he waits
• Darren McFadden owns the greatest poker face of all time. It helped him win the 1983 World Series of Poker despite holding only a joker, a "Get of out jail free" Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades, and a green #4 card from the game Uno
• Darren McFadden can slam revolving doors
• Darren McFadden sleeps with a night light not because Darren McFadden is afraid of the dark but because the dark is afraid of Darren McFadden
• Once a cobra bit Darren McFadden. After 5 days of excruciating pain, the cobra died
• Before the Boogeyman goes to bed, he checks his closet and under his bed for Darren McFadden
• Giraffes were created when Darren McFadden uppercut a horse
• When Darren McFadden exercises, the machine gets stronger
• Ghosts are actually caused by Darren McFadden killing people faster than Death can process them
• Darren McFadden is the only person on the planet who can kick you in the back of the face
• Darren McFadden does not use pick up lines; he says "now"
• Darren McFadden plays Russian Roulette with a fully loaded revolver ... and wins
• Darren McFadden once punched a man in the soul
• If you can see Darren McFadden, he can see you. If you cannot see Darren McFadden, you may be only seconds away from death
• Darren McFadden did that to Michael Jackson's face
• The chief export of Darren McFadden is pain
• A handicap parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped drivers. It is actually a warning that the spot belongs to Darren McFadden and that you will be handicapped if you park there
• Darren McFadden was once the FBI's chief negotiator. His job involved calling up criminals and saying, "This is Darren McFadden"
• The most honorable way to die is to take a bullet for Darren McFadden. This amuses Darren McFadden because he is bulletproof
• On Neil Armstrong's second step on the moon, he found a note which read, "Darren McFadden was here"
• A unicorn once kicked Darren McFadden. That is why unicorns no longer exist
• Darren McFadden used to beat the snot out of his shadow because it was following too closely. It now stands a safe 30 feet behind him
• Darren McFadden does not read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants

What's in a Name?

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” Exodus 20:7 NKJV

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare



What does the commandment mean when it refers to using the name of the Lord God in vain? To do anything in vain is to act toward no particular end like our continued prayer that our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who have made the ultimate sacrifice will not have died “in vain”; that is, for nothing. We need to believe that their sacrifice has meant something; so, too, must it be when we choose to invoke the name of the Almighty. There should be a good reason for mentioning His name, and the reason cannot be for selfish gain.

There are certain traditions – some say superstitions – that forbid that His name be spoken or even written. Often there are references to “YHWH” which is not pronounceable even though we call it “Yahweh”, and there are some rabbis who will write out only “G-d”. The simplest reason for a refusal to mention His name is that He is utterly holy, and no human tongue is worthy to speak His name.

I must admit that I have difficulty with the simple English translation, or transliteration, “God”. In my mind, such a reference infers too much familiarity though I cannot find fault with others who do make such a reference. I see no disrespect intended and throughout the Bible, this is the common reference.

What is interesting about His “name”, however, is that I’m not so sure anyone really knows what His proper name is. He certainly has many titles, but does He have a “name” as you and I have names by which we are identified? And if we did know His name, would there be such thing as a prohibition against using His name aloud? According to some traditions, yes. So if we cannot speak or write His holy name or even pronounce it, how can we be accused of misusing His name or using it “in vain”?

Using such reasoning, how can the use of the word (or name) “God” as a prefix to a particular swear word be considered to be a misuse; that is, if His name is not “God”? This particular point is arguable on many levels so far beyond my scholarship that I won’t even try to go there. Suffice it to say, I think such a narrow interpretation does not serve us well and does little to help us to understand what is at risk because of the written statement that those who do misuse His holy name will be held accountable for such misuse. Like other points of the Law, we would do ourselves no favors by seeking the narrowest or simplest explanation and then choosing to move along as having settled the matter.

To be sure, this particular commandment coming so early in the “list” serves a purpose. We have already been introduced to the Lord as the One who delivered a nation from captivity and we have been put on notice that we are not to create carved or “graven” images in a feeble effort to make for ourselves a “god” that might be pleasing to our sight. So now we are being advised that because the Almighty is holy, His name must be invoked with nothing less than profound respect. The passage seems clear enough that He does indeed have a name. If we then know it, we must be careful about how we choose to use it.

One approach to addressing this particular commandment might be to consider the continual conflicts that arose between Jesus and the Pharisees. I think we can agree that the Pharisees were a pious bunch, very religious, very devout, but also very misguided in their interpretations – AND ENFORCEMENT – of the Law. Looking carefully at many of the discussions or arguments between Jesus and the Pharisees, it would be easy to conclude that perhaps it was that even with noble intentions, the pharisaic interpretation of the Law served more to suppress a people than to free them. And we should know that when the Law was presented to Moses and then to Israel, it was presented to a freed people. So it would stand to reason that this commandment has not lost such a particular flavor that has somehow between Sinai and now become a means by which to suppress or enslave anyone, especially in the name of the Holy God of Israel.

So as a freed people who have been redeemed by this very God, how can we make best use of this particular passage? And we must, as a redeemed people, understand that surely this commandment itself has not been written “in vain”. It means something to us; it must. Otherwise the Law itself has been reduced to nothing more than a “buffet” line of choices we can accept or reject depending on our level of understanding and/or willingness to obey. This commandment, as all others, requires our attention.

The most notable violation throughout the world today is the radical Islamist who carries out his acts of terror in the name of “Allah”. In Arabic, this means “God” which infers the one living and true God of all creation. These terrorists have every intention of making the world to live in genuine fear but to what end? They need to be feared, and this is very much a reason why they want all the media coverage they can possibly get. Do you remember the videos that were floating around on some Arabic websites in which captured westerners were beheaded? It was meant to invoke fear. Who wants to die at all, let alone die in such a horrific manner?

But to do such a thing in the name of our Lord, let alone any “god”, would naturally beg the question: what “god” would demand such a thing of his followers and for what purpose? Reaching back to the time in which the Law was given, the Israelites were about to move into a land that was inhabited by pagans, some of whose religious practices required human sacrifice. These were the “gods”, as I shared earlier, that are extremely self-serving. A human sacrifice accomplishes nothing more than to drive people away or worse, subject them to nothing more than suppressive, oppressive, abject, senseless, soul-wrenching fear.

The name we are to invoke is a name that does not seek fear but, rather, respect. The Lord God of all creation, the God and Father of Jesus the Christ, will accept no less. So the use of His name must move toward this particular end, to glorify that holy name and give Him the opportunity to work in the lives of others as we profess to have had Him work in our own.

Think about the political battles we have endured in this country, sometimes suffering the invocation of the Lord as a means by which to force others to live according to standards we have adopted for ourselves. The so-called “religious right” has been in the forefront of some major political battles in an effort to design a society or a culture that would be more pleasing to them, and I have to say that in some ways I am probably as guilty as I have shared in the past about my beliefs on homosexuality and abortion, just to name two particular social issues.

Is secular legislation the answer, though? Some insist that this is a Christian nation founded on Christian principles. Ok, so what exactly does this mean? And where is it written in Holy Scripture that we are called to legislate and force adherence to our understanding of moral standards rather than live as an example and act according to these same moral standards? Is it good use of the Lord’s name and reputation to try and “beat” others into submission for the sake of the Gospel, the GOOD NEWS that we have been redeemed? The Crusades and the Inquisition are two moments in human history that would suggest that such efforts will always fail miserably unless one’s goal is to do harm. How ironic it is that we would choose to use the very freedom we have been granted and attempt to enslave others according to our own interpretation of what is good and right!

Something occurred to me during a recent policy process class session when we were discussing the civil rights era. I had never considered the underlying conflict that virtually embodied the struggle for civil rights but it seems to me that Dr. King, a Christian preacher who helped lead the struggle for equality according to principles taught by Christ Himself, was in conflict with others who believed that our Holy Father commanded that the races not mix. I also happen to believe that it is highly significant that because of Dr. King’s Christian leadership, the movement was successful even though I also believe that we still have a long way to go – just not by secular legislation. It might seem, then, that this struggle for HUMAN rights was a good use of the Lord’s name. Notice, however, that Dr. King rarely invokes the Lord by name but, rather, by principle … and by action.

It must also be considered by the faithful that a violation of any of these ordinances or commandments as presented to us in the Torah is a misuse of His name. We live and work and worship in public, and friends and acquaintances typically know that we are Christians. How much good use of His name is there when we are known as Christians only by the churches we attend rather than by the lives we choose to lead?

When we invoke His name, it speaks volumes about our understanding of His nature when the context of our use of His name is taken into consideration. Is our life one of selfishness or selflessness? Is our life one of vengeance or justice? When we work within our own society and within our own system of government, are we trying to force a certain standard only because this particular standard would be more pleasing to us, or are we genuinely concerned about the moral well-being of those who do not believe as we believe or act as we act or live as we live? Do we have an ulterior motive when we call upon, or invoke, His holy name?

We must always try to be openly aware of the Lord’s presence in our lives, and we must know that our personal opinions or desires are not always the Lord’s. Everything we do matters not only in the eyes of others who know us as the Lord’s own; it also matters to the Lord who wants the unbelievers as much as He wanted us. Our use of His holy name without careful consideration of His will and His desire – and not our own – will have everything to do with the success – or failure – of our endeavors.

There Can Be Only One

Psalm 119:25-32 Act 17:16-34

“I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:2

Last week was the beginning of a series in which I intend to explore the Mosaic Law. And even though I began with our popular notion of “Ten Commandments” and will seek to explore each one in some depth, my prayer is that we can broaden the scope of our understanding so that we may begin to understand more of how the Lord has revealed Himself and why.

A pretext to all of this must be the life of Moses and how the Exodus came to be. It would not serve us well to jump into these so-called “Ten Commandments”, especially since these Ten are considered by some to be rather negative – “you shall NOT” – without a better understanding of how the Israelites got here. Besides, I think that the commandments, if examined more closely and prayerfully, will reveal more of what we can do rather than what we cannot do.

We know that Moses was born a Hebrew and we know that his mother placed him into a basket and floated him on the river since the pharaoh had decreed that Hebrew sons were to be destroyed by Egyptian midwives once born because the Hebrew nation was becoming great enough in number to be considered a national security threat.

Moses was rescued by the pharaoh’s daughter out of the river and raised as her son. He lived as an Egyptian until he was forced to flee for his life after striking and killing an Egyptian task master who was beating a Hebrew slave mercilessly. Moses wound up in Midian where he married, had a son, and began to live the life of a stock herder, tending to his father-in-law’s flock. Soon it was that the Lord called out to Moses and decreed that Moses would be the one who would lead this Exodus.

Why Moses? Even Moses himself questioned the Lord. Up to this time there had been no apparent knowledge that there was such a One as a Supreme God though we can reasonably assume that Moses had at least some knowledge of gods the Egyptians worshipped. So starting from nothing, the Lord makes Himself known to Moses in Exodus 4 by turning Moses’ shepherd staff into a serpent and making Moses’ hand leprous and then healing it. Moses then tried to protest that he was no eloquent speaker and would lack the ability to convince pharaoh to release the slaves, so the Lord told Moses that his brother Aaron would be his “spokesman” for this purpose. In the end, Moses was given his marching orders.

What I think Moses did not realize until much later was that his life from the very beginning was a divine plan already in motion. The Bible does not give us any idea how many Hebrew boys were killed by the midwives, but we do know that the midwives “feared God” and would not do it. Still, it is reasonable to assume that at least some children lost their lives right after birth in pharaoh’s vain attempt to control the slaves and their great numbers.

Notice the relationships that are being used. First of the all, the Lord has to establish Himself with Moses. Secondly, Moses already has a relationship back in Egypt not only with the Hebrews but also with the house of the pharaoh. It seems to me that if established relationships were not necessary, the Lord could have simply struck the Egyptian nation dead and the Hebrews could either take over the land themselves or just leave. What might have come from such a move? It would be impossible to say for sure, but we could be pretty sure that even with our fundamental knowledge of how relationships work in our own lives, this sweeping act may have accomplished very little in establishing the nation of Israel as the Lord’s own.

We must also be mindful of the fact that the time from Joseph until now is about 400 years. The Lord heard their cries as it is written, but there is no mention that the people cried out specifically to the Lord. But the Lord identifies them as “My people” so even though the people may have forgotten over the generations, the Lord has not. Now was the time to re-establish a relationship with Israel and reveal Himself once again.

Speculating about the 400 years of divine “silence” would be useless since there is nothing for us to fill the void with. For our purposes, however, we would need to consider that it is possible – in fact, very likely - that when life is running on an even keel as it may have been for Israel during much of this period and we are content with our lives, we tend to not have such a need for the Lord. We may offer Him a little prayer here and there and we will certainly offer Him our prayers while in church like we’re supposed to, but beyond that the silence might be as profound as this biblical period of apparent silence from the Lord.

It could also be just as easy to surmise that the Israelites in Egypt were exposed to Egyptian “gods” and were maybe even actively involved in the worship. If this were true, it would also provide a little relational background when Israel can see by their own lives and “sorrow” that these gods serve no useful purpose especially to those who need mercy the most. If these “gods” were real at all, they were only good for those whose lives were already in order. These were not merciful “gods”; they were self-serving “gods” if “gods” at all.

It is typical of human nature, however, that when things are not going so well and life tends to reach beyond our control, it is then when we need help. Suddenly we are able to remember childhood prayers and then just as suddenly, the Lord once again has a prominent place in our lives. That is, until things get back to normal.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. Exodus 20:4-5a

I suppose in many ways when we think of “foreign” gods, we might think in terms of statues. Many Protestants do not understand the use of statues in Catholic churches and have even maligned Catholicism in such a way as to infer “statue worship” in the Catholic Mass as “bowing down to them”, but this is far too narrow an interpretation – let alone application – of what this commandment speaks to us about today.

Irene Rubin is a political theorist who suggests that in the absence of any written policy, a conceived budget becomes the stated policy. That is to say, wherever the money is being directed and in what sums is a determining factor of what is considered important. In the United States, 60% of the federal budget is allocated to Social Security, Medicare, and federal and military retirement benefits. So even if there are written policies in place, it would be clear by the federal budget that old-age protection is what we seem to value most.

Consider our own spending priorities since money is a determining factor for most of us as to what we can or cannot do. Where does the lion’s share of our household budget go? What is most important to us? Or perhaps more telling, what are we most afraid of?

Or consider a life that is spiraling out of control as drugs, alcohol, and even sex as well as money are used as agents by which we seek to provide for ourselves some level of comfort that we can reasonably control. For most of the poor souls who suffer from such addictions, something is severely lacking in their lives and they will reach out for whatever is most convenient or handy in a vain effort to find some sort of fulfillment.

In the end we do know that no person and no single thing that is offered by this world can sustain us for long. As Jesus teaches us, thieves steal, moths eat, and rust destroys. And for those who have witnessed the death of a loved one, we even know that sooner or later all life in this world comes to an end.

Consider, however, that at a time when the American church shows to be in seemingly steady decline, United Methodist Reporter editor Robin Russell reports from Mozambique that even though the poorest of the poor in that nation have little to invest in the Church and the Church has seemingly invested little, Christianity in that tiny nation is thriving! Why is this?

Could it be possible that as they have so little, they are better able to appreciate the little things and be more susceptible to the Spirit working in their lives? Could it be that our American church is declining because we are distracted by the “gods” of this world that – at best – can only offer fleeting comfort? And that as soon as the “good” wears off from one, we move easily to the next worldly – and temporary! – “god” that will offer us whatever comfort we desire for the moment?

There is only One who is eternal, constant, and never-changing. The faith that Jesus teaches about that is built on a solid foundation is the faith that will sustain us in good times and bad. There is no mention whatsoever in the Bible in which we are promised riches, fame, fortune, and unending happiness and carnal satisfaction. In fact, we are virtually guaranteed a life of suffering IF we are faithful to the calling of the Lord.

The text clearly states that the Lord God is a JEALOUS God, but it is very important to understand that He didn’t just show up one day and make this proclamation. He has offered Himself to Israel through the hands of Moses to show them – AND EGYPT – who He is over a period of time and through a series of events. A relationship of trust was necessary to be established.

The carnal “gods” of this world which we encounter almost daily are never satisfied and will devour anything put forth, and nothing but emptiness, heart-ache, loneliness, brokenness, and pain will come forth from these “relationships”. These worldly, carnal “gods” are not “jealous”; they are SELFISH and self-serving. No good will come from such relationships primarily because there is nothing stable about them. These are not eternal, constant, and never-changing but are, rather, for-the-moment, intermittent, and EVER-changing from moment to moment and from generation to generation.

So even though the Lord God is a “jealous” God, there must be a sense of contentment and fulfillment that comes from serving YHWH because the satisfaction and fulfillment from such a relationship can never be taken from us by thieves, rust, or moths, and the service He expects from us is toward one another, the kind of service that gives life rather than destroys it.

“You will have no other Gods before me.” This is not a threat or an ultimatum. It is a promise and a blessing.

AMEN.