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.
There are widows, and then there are widows in the New Testament sense of the term, just there are wheels, and then there are wheels as Ezekiel saw them. In our day and age of Social Security and Medicare, old age pensions make me wonder what it means to honor our parents in old age. I remember, too, how Jesus said to the people of his day, "It is written you shall honor your mother and your father. But you say what I would have given to you is 'Corban', that is, dedicated to the temple. So by your tradition you are making void the Word of God." The commandment is categorical, defining an absolute duty, but need is obviously related to people's circumstances. A child who turned his back on his parents, in the Old Testament law, was liable for punishment, up to, and including, death. A congregation that neglects its ministers, but fattens itself, is treating its spiritual parents no better. Perhaps it is the Golden Rule that must guide us here, as in all things. As someone said, God gives us our family, but we choose our friends. Can we make friends of our family? There's a challenge.
ReplyDeleteI see that Paul gives Titus ( our readind for this week) instructions for how to treat old men, and older women, too . . . "Bid the older women likewise to be reverent in behavior [check] not to be slanderers or slaves to drink [double check!] . . . and so train the young women to be sensible, chaste, domestic, kind , and very respectful of their husbands [triple check!!] that the word of God may not be discredited." We seem to be heading onto holy, if not politically correct, ground here.
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