We have all heard of, or perhaps witnessed, strange marriages. Like Jack Spratt, who would eat no fat and his wife, who would eat no lean, some partnerships seem to thrive as a combination of opposites. At least Mr. and Mrs. Spratt would have had fewer arguments over Sunday dinner. Wherever love is, there are at least two different personalities. What is true for us, in this regard, extends all the way to the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three Persons in love.
Here on earth, differences can also create the potential for conflict, sometimes with those whom we love, such as between parents and children, or husbands and wives, and who hasn't experienced sibling rivalry! Does it need to be this way? I can still hear my mother saying to us when we were young, "Why can't you learn to get along?"
In Psalm 85, we find a song of deliverance from animosity and pain and bitter discord. In this case the parties are God and His people Israel. Sent into captivity for their sins, --this has been the theme of the prophet Ezekiel, among others, whom we have been reading lately--they longed to return to the land that God had given them. Hadn't they been punished enough?
"Wilt thou be angry with us forever?" they asked.
They longed for reconciliation with God, when
"He will speak peace to His people, to his saints, to those who turn to Him in their hearts."
The King James version translates this last phrase as " only let them not turn back to folly." Either way, it works.
And God gave them their heart's desire, forgiving their sin and bringing them home, so they sang:
"Mercy and truth have met together."
Two irreconcilables, sinful humanity and a holy God, brought back into harmony with one another, and the beauty was palpable:
"Righteousness and peace have kissed each other."
Who could do this, and how could He have brought it about? Well, that is story of a greater Prophet, in a different, New Testament, time. But here we have the gist of it, two very different children, mercy and truth, sharing a similar lineage, who are indeed, like righteousness and peace, kissing cousins.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Departure Time
Most of us are familiar with reading the big screens at airports announcing the details of arrivals and departures. Who hasn't heard the announcement: "Flight number so and so, for such a city , is departing from Gate number whatever, in ten minutes."
With what mixed emotions I hear these words. As a boy of twelve, being sent away to school for the first time, those words sounded an note of dread in my heart. But at the opposite end of the school year, with exams done and the long vacation stretching deliciously before me, what rapturous joy the same words evoked.
Even today, I hear those words with mixed emotions.
In his Second Letter to Timothy, Chapter 4, verse 6, Paul makes the announcement of his own impending departure:
"For I am already on the point of being sacrificed, the time of my departure has come."
How did he feel about it? Typically, he was looking up, and yet he made no effort to minimize his precarious situation.
This was his second time of imprisonment in Rome, but unlike the house arrest recorded in the Book of Acts, he was now in chains, facing a trial with one foregone conclusion, his own execution. On the point of departure, he looked back at his work accomplished:
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
He also looked around him, at his companions and the colleagues who had shared in his ministry. It is a surprising list.
Demas, "in love with the present world," had left him.
Crescens and Titus had gone on errands to other places.
Tychicus had been sent to Ephesus.
Luke alone was with him.
There was a warning about Alexander the coppersmith, who had done him great harm.
And then there was faithful Timothy, whom Paul urged to come quickly, bringing his papers ("parchments") and his cloak, for winter was soon to be upon them.
The danger was immanent, but so was Paul's hope. The very word "departure" is his favorite word to signify the Christian understanding of death. A nautical term, it is a testament to his thinking, and means a loosing, a casting off, and setting sail for the open sea. For him physical death was not an ending, but a beginning.
The same expression was used by the English poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, who compared of his own impending departure from this world to a boat leaving harbor at the end of day. It is called Crossing the Bar (try reading it aloud.):
Sunset and evening star
And one clear call for me!
O may there be no moaning at the bar,
When I put out to sea,
He pictures the tide on the move:
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again, home
As the light fades, it is a time for farewells:
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
O may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
And it is a time of hopeful expectation:
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place,
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
Now that is a departure I am looking forward to.
With what mixed emotions I hear these words. As a boy of twelve, being sent away to school for the first time, those words sounded an note of dread in my heart. But at the opposite end of the school year, with exams done and the long vacation stretching deliciously before me, what rapturous joy the same words evoked.
Even today, I hear those words with mixed emotions.
In his Second Letter to Timothy, Chapter 4, verse 6, Paul makes the announcement of his own impending departure:
"For I am already on the point of being sacrificed, the time of my departure has come."
How did he feel about it? Typically, he was looking up, and yet he made no effort to minimize his precarious situation.
This was his second time of imprisonment in Rome, but unlike the house arrest recorded in the Book of Acts, he was now in chains, facing a trial with one foregone conclusion, his own execution. On the point of departure, he looked back at his work accomplished:
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
He also looked around him, at his companions and the colleagues who had shared in his ministry. It is a surprising list.
Demas, "in love with the present world," had left him.
Crescens and Titus had gone on errands to other places.
Tychicus had been sent to Ephesus.
Luke alone was with him.
There was a warning about Alexander the coppersmith, who had done him great harm.
And then there was faithful Timothy, whom Paul urged to come quickly, bringing his papers ("parchments") and his cloak, for winter was soon to be upon them.
The danger was immanent, but so was Paul's hope. The very word "departure" is his favorite word to signify the Christian understanding of death. A nautical term, it is a testament to his thinking, and means a loosing, a casting off, and setting sail for the open sea. For him physical death was not an ending, but a beginning.
The same expression was used by the English poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, who compared of his own impending departure from this world to a boat leaving harbor at the end of day. It is called Crossing the Bar (try reading it aloud.):
Sunset and evening star
And one clear call for me!
O may there be no moaning at the bar,
When I put out to sea,
He pictures the tide on the move:
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again, home
As the light fades, it is a time for farewells:
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
O may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
And it is a time of hopeful expectation:
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place,
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.
Now that is a departure I am looking forward to.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Tools of the Spirit
I had a teacher in high school who would ask us, when we had forgotten our books (and our homework,) "What use is a workman without his tools?"
The greatest tools of the Spirit that we possess are the Holy Scriptures. In his second letter to Timothy, which we have been reading this week, Paul urged his protégé, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the world of truth." 2 Timothy Ch. 2, vs. 15.
How do we handle this great tool of the Sprit, the Holy Scriptures? The question has several aspects.
First, do we leave them on a shelf, or do we take them out, and get the feel and heft of them? Yes, this means holding them in our hands. As the old gospel hymn puts it, quaintly but truly, '"Where there's dust on the bible, there's trouble in the home" And in our house it doesn't take long for things to get dusty!
Second, when we open them, do we use them? A power tool, for example, is of no use unless it is plugged in, and the Scriptures are our direct conduit to the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said to his disciples, "When you no longer see me, the Comforter will bring to mind all that I have said to you."
Third, this tool of the Sprit requires an open minded and alert operator. Have you ever hit your thumb with a hammer, or slipped with a pair of scissors and cut something you didn't intend? Think about it!
Fourth, do you use the Scriptures intentionally, with forethought? Who hasn't been comforted by a phrase from the Bible that has leapt off the page in a crisis moment, such as words from the twenty-third Psalm? But as we know, tools wielded haphazardly are only going to do half the job, or else make it take twice as long.
Lastly, do you employ the Scriptures for the ends for which they are intended? A hammer used to drive a screw, or any other misused tool will not only tend to make a mess, it can be dangerous. The Scriptures used indiscriminately, like taking a verse out of context--did you know the Bible says "there is no God"? Check out Psalm 14, verse 1, and see for yourself !--or wielded without charity, can do lasting harm, and leave scars that last a lifetime. Employed with love and charity, however, and with understanding, as Jesus did, builds the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is us, into God's Church. (See Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, Ch. 2, vs. 22 on this one.)
How do you handle the tools of the Spirit?
The greatest tools of the Spirit that we possess are the Holy Scriptures. In his second letter to Timothy, which we have been reading this week, Paul urged his protégé, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the world of truth." 2 Timothy Ch. 2, vs. 15.
How do we handle this great tool of the Sprit, the Holy Scriptures? The question has several aspects.
First, do we leave them on a shelf, or do we take them out, and get the feel and heft of them? Yes, this means holding them in our hands. As the old gospel hymn puts it, quaintly but truly, '"Where there's dust on the bible, there's trouble in the home" And in our house it doesn't take long for things to get dusty!
Second, when we open them, do we use them? A power tool, for example, is of no use unless it is plugged in, and the Scriptures are our direct conduit to the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said to his disciples, "When you no longer see me, the Comforter will bring to mind all that I have said to you."
Third, this tool of the Sprit requires an open minded and alert operator. Have you ever hit your thumb with a hammer, or slipped with a pair of scissors and cut something you didn't intend? Think about it!
Fourth, do you use the Scriptures intentionally, with forethought? Who hasn't been comforted by a phrase from the Bible that has leapt off the page in a crisis moment, such as words from the twenty-third Psalm? But as we know, tools wielded haphazardly are only going to do half the job, or else make it take twice as long.
Lastly, do you employ the Scriptures for the ends for which they are intended? A hammer used to drive a screw, or any other misused tool will not only tend to make a mess, it can be dangerous. The Scriptures used indiscriminately, like taking a verse out of context--did you know the Bible says "there is no God"? Check out Psalm 14, verse 1, and see for yourself !--or wielded without charity, can do lasting harm, and leave scars that last a lifetime. Employed with love and charity, however, and with understanding, as Jesus did, builds the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is us, into God's Church. (See Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, Ch. 2, vs. 22 on this one.)
How do you handle the tools of the Spirit?
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Wheels
"Ezekiel saw de wheel, way up in de middle of de air," as the old negro spiritual sings.
What would you give to see God?
We began reading the prophet Ezekiel this week, whose book opens with one of the most dramatic human encounters with the presence of the living God recorded in scripture. Like the prophet Isaiah, his eyes were opened to see the very throne of God, "in appearance like sapphire, and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a human form." And that's as close as Ezekiel gets.
He is given, however a detailed view of four living creatures that hover continually, before and around the throne of God. As he described them in Chapter One:
"They had the form of men, but each had four faces, and each had four wings."
They moved in unison, with wings touching, facing each direction, but without turning as they went, darting to and fro, he said, "like flashes of lightning."
Underneath were four huge spoked wheels, "and their rims were full of eyes." And when the cherubim moved, the wheels moved also, "for the sprit of the living creatures was in the wheels."
Overhead stretched the "likeness of a firmament, shining like crystal." And as the cherubim moved, Ezekiel wrote, "I heard a sound like the sound of many waters, . . . When they stood still, they let down their wings."
It was above this firmament that Ezekiel glimpsed the throne of God, with a likeness of human form gleaming like bronze, "and there was brightness all round about Him," like the brightness of the rainbow. Dazzling.
"Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." said Ezekiel, in Chapter One.
Jesus said: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew Ch. 5, vs. 8.
There are wheels within wheels.
What would you give to see God?
We began reading the prophet Ezekiel this week, whose book opens with one of the most dramatic human encounters with the presence of the living God recorded in scripture. Like the prophet Isaiah, his eyes were opened to see the very throne of God, "in appearance like sapphire, and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a human form." And that's as close as Ezekiel gets.
He is given, however a detailed view of four living creatures that hover continually, before and around the throne of God. As he described them in Chapter One:
"They had the form of men, but each had four faces, and each had four wings."
They moved in unison, with wings touching, facing each direction, but without turning as they went, darting to and fro, he said, "like flashes of lightning."
Underneath were four huge spoked wheels, "and their rims were full of eyes." And when the cherubim moved, the wheels moved also, "for the sprit of the living creatures was in the wheels."
Overhead stretched the "likeness of a firmament, shining like crystal." And as the cherubim moved, Ezekiel wrote, "I heard a sound like the sound of many waters, . . . When they stood still, they let down their wings."
It was above this firmament that Ezekiel glimpsed the throne of God, with a likeness of human form gleaming like bronze, "and there was brightness all round about Him," like the brightness of the rainbow. Dazzling.
"Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." said Ezekiel, in Chapter One.
Jesus said: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew Ch. 5, vs. 8.
There are wheels within wheels.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Hay, Paul, this is getting personal!
As I was
getting ready to write my blog entry today, I wondered which of the three readings
would capture my heart: Ezekiel? 1 Timothy? a Psalm?
It wasn't long before I discovered that today's passages are not easy to
understand. Chapter 9 of Ezekiel
reminded me once again of the nightly news.
Chapter 10 led me down a familiar
path. Whenever I read Ezekiel, I become
so eager to figure out what his visions looked like exactly, that I miss the
point of his message. [Google images of
Ezekiel's visions sometime.]
I thought
maybe I could write from the 1 Timothy passage.
I got through verses 1 and 2 with no trouble. Then smack, verse 3. What's are " widows indeed?" [KJV] This will take closer examination. Honor those who are "truly widows"
[NRSV]; honor a widow "who has no one else to take care of her." [NLT]
It was a downhill slide from there. You see, I am a widow; do I fit any of Paul's
categories? I became a widow in my early
fifties, so I missed Paul's cut-off age.
I have children and grand-children, but I don't think it's their
responsibility to take care of me. Maybe
I'll change my mind in a few years. I do
place my hope in God, but I would also like to have a little pleasure in life,
Paul. "Well reported of for good
works"—that might depend on who you interview and on what day. "Brought up children," check. "Washed the saint's feet,"
check. "Lodged strangers, "
whoops. I have lodged many, and some of
them have been strange, but most have been my own kith and kin. About the strangest I can think of is my late
grand-dog, an English setter who was allergic to grass and feathers.
Since I'm in
my sixties now, maybe I have missed the part about waxing "wanton against
Christ," marrying, and having more children [bless you, Sarah]. At this esteemed age, I surely wouldn't be
"wandering about from house to house," tattling, and being a general
busybody, would I? Maybe I would,
however, be guilty of "speaking things which they [I] ought not"
including this blog entry!
Continuing
in the chapter, I see that the elders and deacons are coming up next. I'm off the hook for a little while! Have
fun with your reading this week.
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