We didn't hold a Bible study this week, with it being a long weekend, but a few of us met for coffee and a chat anyway.
Following our study on letting love be genuine, word has spread of conflict within our congregation. We heard with dismay of people within the congregation being hurt and hurtful, of the destructive power of gossip, of the growing divisiveness of an "us/them" mentality. How can we, a few, relatively powerless and insignificant members work for peace in this situation?
It seems so sad that, even as we are reading about having the mind of Christ, people we care about are making accusations of other people we care about. As we read about overcoming evil with good we find negativity growing and spreading. What good can we do? We don't know all the sides of the issue(s) so cannot even judge fairly who is right in each situation - but is that what we are called to do? Going back to last weeks' lessons and making genuine love our goal - we have concluded that the most powerful actions we have at our disposal are praying and staying positive. While we struggle with the latter as various stories emerge, we will continue to try to spread affirmation and positive support. We will continue to try to speak positively of our brothers and sisters, even when we don't agree. But more importantly we will pray.
Too often we downplay the importance of prayer. While we are hampered by our human limitations and emotions, God sees the situation clearly. While we often misread situations and misjudge the right thing to say or do - God knows not only what we should say or do but how it will be received. While we get tired and discouraged - God can strengthen us to carry on. We need to keep praying, to draw on the strength and omniscience of our wonderful, loving God - maybe there will be a solution that we can't see. Maybe God will work through our meagre attempts to help bring about healing and hope.
And so, on this day when most people focus on the larger issue of world peace - towards which we also need to work and pray - and grandiose attempts to bring it about, we dwelt on working for peace within our troubled selves and our troubled congregation. May we continue to "pray without ceasing" and somehow be a catalyst for peace within ourselves, our congregation and our world.
Saturday, 16 November 2013
November 4 - Let Love be Genuine
Sometimes what seems like a pretty innocuous theme turns into a challenging discussion. This was one of those weeks. We started out by reading Article 22 of A Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective. Though I think we all knew that Mennonites stand for Non-resistance and peace making some people were surprised by the contents of this chapter. It became very obvious that, even though we have a lot in common, care about each other and respect each other as Christians seeking to find answers to how to follow Christ, we have different understandings of what "non-resistance" means. And this was just the start of the challenges.
Romans 12:9-21 speaks of genuine love - for each other within the church and for strangers. We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Even when we disagree, we are still supposed to bless each other. We are to be ardent in spirit, but not to claim to be wiser than we are. We are to bless those who persecute us and live in harmony with one another. The challenge comes with the passages on not repaying evil for evil, but feeding or supplying beverages for needy enemies. At first this seems fairly simple as we don't really have "enemies" as such. but the video broadened the definition and brought it closer to home. The one speaker on the video spoke of meeting someone from another faith - and reaching out to her was like reaching out to long ago and combatting the persecution that followers of both faiths had experienced back then. So even though they weren't enemies now, at some point they both had a history of evil cutting them off from each other through the persecution of that day so, by coming together, they were overcoming evil with good. This was a little vague for us. The other example hit home, though. The speaker shared about a situation where she had been deeply hurt by a couple within her congregation. She had dealt with it by avoiding direct contact - until she was heading a small group/committee, which included this couple. What do we do when we disagree? How do we handle it when others within our faith family say and do hurtful things, either knowingly or unwittingly. This is suddenly hitting us where we live.
The guide emphasizes blessing those who persecute you, on leaving vengeance to God and on focussing on "enemy-love". This sounds so good in theory but those of us dealing with situations found it difficult to commit to this. Although we all agreed we should, it was harder when a concrete situation came to mind.
To add to all this, I was listening to a sermon from the Meeting House (themeetinghouse.com) and guess what the theme was? You guessed it - disagreeing in love. The pastor there emphasized over and over that we are a family and families stick together and love each other even if they disagree (and fight). He has no problem sharing his definite views on homosexuality or nonresistance - but acknowledges that other "good and godly Christians" read the Bible and come up with a different answer. Their congregation will never become an "affirming" congregation - yet attracts people of other orientations because it is a safe place to explore what it means to be a Christian. They state with no apology that they do not believe in serving in the military or carrying a weapon for work - yet have police and military officers as a part of their family because they know they are loved and accepted, even if not everyone agrees they have made the right career choice. How can we get to that? In our congregation the polity forces us to be more definite as we determine jointly who can become members or take on leadership positions and how we will present ourselves. But is there not some way that we can pull closer to this?
The conclusion I have come to, in my imperfect understanding, is that the most important part of the whole Romans passage is the first part (verse 9) where we are called to genuine love of all our brothers and sisters. We don't have to agree on everything. We should be able to disagree, even argue with each other, but when we disagree we should do so respecting the other person as an intelligent, God created Christ follower. God will decide who is right and what the penalty will be for whoever is wrong. Our job is, as far as is possible, to live peaceably with all, in unity, in harmony. We are called to love.
This is difficult for me. When I have succeeded in looking for the positive and respecting an alternative view, even if I "know" it is wrong, I have managed to maintain loving relationships. When hurt sets in, however, it can be difficult to let go of the pain and love the other person anyway. The tendency is to lash back. But we have challenged ourselves to speak positively - not only about our enemies but about every one. It is a skill that needs to be practiced - so we will try to practice it until it becomes a habit. (Please forgive me when I fail). We will try to look for the positive in those around us so we can genuinely love them, whether or not we disagree, and maybe even forgive them when they hurt us.
As I said...a challenging week.
Romans 12:9-21 speaks of genuine love - for each other within the church and for strangers. We are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Even when we disagree, we are still supposed to bless each other. We are to be ardent in spirit, but not to claim to be wiser than we are. We are to bless those who persecute us and live in harmony with one another. The challenge comes with the passages on not repaying evil for evil, but feeding or supplying beverages for needy enemies. At first this seems fairly simple as we don't really have "enemies" as such. but the video broadened the definition and brought it closer to home. The one speaker on the video spoke of meeting someone from another faith - and reaching out to her was like reaching out to long ago and combatting the persecution that followers of both faiths had experienced back then. So even though they weren't enemies now, at some point they both had a history of evil cutting them off from each other through the persecution of that day so, by coming together, they were overcoming evil with good. This was a little vague for us. The other example hit home, though. The speaker shared about a situation where she had been deeply hurt by a couple within her congregation. She had dealt with it by avoiding direct contact - until she was heading a small group/committee, which included this couple. What do we do when we disagree? How do we handle it when others within our faith family say and do hurtful things, either knowingly or unwittingly. This is suddenly hitting us where we live.
The guide emphasizes blessing those who persecute you, on leaving vengeance to God and on focussing on "enemy-love". This sounds so good in theory but those of us dealing with situations found it difficult to commit to this. Although we all agreed we should, it was harder when a concrete situation came to mind.
To add to all this, I was listening to a sermon from the Meeting House (themeetinghouse.com) and guess what the theme was? You guessed it - disagreeing in love. The pastor there emphasized over and over that we are a family and families stick together and love each other even if they disagree (and fight). He has no problem sharing his definite views on homosexuality or nonresistance - but acknowledges that other "good and godly Christians" read the Bible and come up with a different answer. Their congregation will never become an "affirming" congregation - yet attracts people of other orientations because it is a safe place to explore what it means to be a Christian. They state with no apology that they do not believe in serving in the military or carrying a weapon for work - yet have police and military officers as a part of their family because they know they are loved and accepted, even if not everyone agrees they have made the right career choice. How can we get to that? In our congregation the polity forces us to be more definite as we determine jointly who can become members or take on leadership positions and how we will present ourselves. But is there not some way that we can pull closer to this?
The conclusion I have come to, in my imperfect understanding, is that the most important part of the whole Romans passage is the first part (verse 9) where we are called to genuine love of all our brothers and sisters. We don't have to agree on everything. We should be able to disagree, even argue with each other, but when we disagree we should do so respecting the other person as an intelligent, God created Christ follower. God will decide who is right and what the penalty will be for whoever is wrong. Our job is, as far as is possible, to live peaceably with all, in unity, in harmony. We are called to love.
This is difficult for me. When I have succeeded in looking for the positive and respecting an alternative view, even if I "know" it is wrong, I have managed to maintain loving relationships. When hurt sets in, however, it can be difficult to let go of the pain and love the other person anyway. The tendency is to lash back. But we have challenged ourselves to speak positively - not only about our enemies but about every one. It is a skill that needs to be practiced - so we will try to practice it until it becomes a habit. (Please forgive me when I fail). We will try to look for the positive in those around us so we can genuinely love them, whether or not we disagree, and maybe even forgive them when they hurt us.
As I said...a challenging week.
Friday, 25 October 2013
October 28 - The mind of Christ
Unfortunately I am unable to be present for the discussion this week as the group talks about Philippians 2:1-11 and the Article 2 - Jesus Christ, Son of God, Prophet, Teacher, faithful High Priest, King & Savior of the world.
According to Leonard Beechy (p28, Dig-In, MennoMedia 2013) the context for the letter to the Philippians is conflict within the church - or more specifically between two women who were co-founders of the congregation. Each had a clear vision of what was right, of the way to follow Christ - they just didn't agree with each other. How often does this happen in The Church and in various churches throughout history? Why do you think there are as many denominations and as many versions of denominations as there are?
We understand things differently. When someone speaks with authority, like the Church leaders from Jerusalem who truly believed a person had to be a Jew in order to be Christian, many feel inspired to follow. They speak with logic and passion and make it seem so right. It is no wonder many follow. But when the opposing argument is presented or has been presented with equal authority, logic and passion, by someone like Paul, who truly believed that Christ was enough - that Jewish religious rites were not required - many will also believe that. When the authorities and political powers that be around you have a different view yet - and power to physically intimidate - that plays into the discussion as well. The argument that you just go to Scriptures doesn't always help because, in spite of what some believe, we always read with the filter of our lives and experiences and existing beliefs and biases. Many times all these factors combine to make both arguments seem sound. So when you have earnestly discerned and come out with different answers - what is THE answer?
Paul's answer (ignoring the fact that he would know that he was obviously right) is that we are to have the mind of Christ who allowed himself to be humbled, even to death on the cross. This is so opposite what we see in history with leaders talking over and even yelling at each other, not to mention excommunicating and/or, even persecuting each other to death. Even in this day and age and continent we have preachers condoning violence to people who believe differently. Greg Boyd, Pastor of Woodland Church, in his message "From Baptist to Anabaptist"(The Meeting House, June 23,2013) speaks of how it is a greater blasphemy/heresy to kill a heretic than whatever heresy s/he was promoting. This does not appear to be commonly accepted. How do we have the mind of Christ? How do we make decisions within a church or congregation (or other group) when opposing ideas are seen as absolutely right by different people within the group?
Well I don't see an answer in the material. The focus of the lesson is not decision making but treatment of each other. The focus is developing the mind of Christ. Christ could have chosen to force his views on others. He could have rained down fire on the court that sentenced him to death - or risen to heaven in defiance of their authority. He had the power to do that. He chose, instead, to allow the others to ridicule and humiliate him. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross (the lowest of the low). We are called to stay true to what we believe - to what we have been called, but not to force it on others or bully others into agreeing with us. Jesus actually did know he was right, yet he let those in authority beat him up and even kill him because they didn't agree. He didn't give in and agree with them, and he didn't bluster his way through. He quietly and constantly held what he knew was true and allowed the authorities to bluster and bully,
How do we develop the mind of Christ? How can we imitate Christ? How do our lives reflect Jesus'? Often society's notions of power & influence are so different from the humility displayed by Jesus, how can we make a difference while remaining humble? I hope there are some answers in the group - right now I just have more questions.
According to Leonard Beechy (p28, Dig-In, MennoMedia 2013) the context for the letter to the Philippians is conflict within the church - or more specifically between two women who were co-founders of the congregation. Each had a clear vision of what was right, of the way to follow Christ - they just didn't agree with each other. How often does this happen in The Church and in various churches throughout history? Why do you think there are as many denominations and as many versions of denominations as there are?
We understand things differently. When someone speaks with authority, like the Church leaders from Jerusalem who truly believed a person had to be a Jew in order to be Christian, many feel inspired to follow. They speak with logic and passion and make it seem so right. It is no wonder many follow. But when the opposing argument is presented or has been presented with equal authority, logic and passion, by someone like Paul, who truly believed that Christ was enough - that Jewish religious rites were not required - many will also believe that. When the authorities and political powers that be around you have a different view yet - and power to physically intimidate - that plays into the discussion as well. The argument that you just go to Scriptures doesn't always help because, in spite of what some believe, we always read with the filter of our lives and experiences and existing beliefs and biases. Many times all these factors combine to make both arguments seem sound. So when you have earnestly discerned and come out with different answers - what is THE answer?
Paul's answer (ignoring the fact that he would know that he was obviously right) is that we are to have the mind of Christ who allowed himself to be humbled, even to death on the cross. This is so opposite what we see in history with leaders talking over and even yelling at each other, not to mention excommunicating and/or, even persecuting each other to death. Even in this day and age and continent we have preachers condoning violence to people who believe differently. Greg Boyd, Pastor of Woodland Church, in his message "From Baptist to Anabaptist"(The Meeting House, June 23,2013) speaks of how it is a greater blasphemy/heresy to kill a heretic than whatever heresy s/he was promoting. This does not appear to be commonly accepted. How do we have the mind of Christ? How do we make decisions within a church or congregation (or other group) when opposing ideas are seen as absolutely right by different people within the group?
Well I don't see an answer in the material. The focus of the lesson is not decision making but treatment of each other. The focus is developing the mind of Christ. Christ could have chosen to force his views on others. He could have rained down fire on the court that sentenced him to death - or risen to heaven in defiance of their authority. He had the power to do that. He chose, instead, to allow the others to ridicule and humiliate him. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross (the lowest of the low). We are called to stay true to what we believe - to what we have been called, but not to force it on others or bully others into agreeing with us. Jesus actually did know he was right, yet he let those in authority beat him up and even kill him because they didn't agree. He didn't give in and agree with them, and he didn't bluster his way through. He quietly and constantly held what he knew was true and allowed the authorities to bluster and bully,
How do we develop the mind of Christ? How can we imitate Christ? How do our lives reflect Jesus'? Often society's notions of power & influence are so different from the humility displayed by Jesus, how can we make a difference while remaining humble? I hope there are some answers in the group - right now I just have more questions.
Thursday, 24 October 2013
October 21 - A Road Less Traveled
This week we looked at Mark 8:27 - 9:1 - a story where Peter seems somewhat of a hero by being with it enough to proclaim Jesus as the messiah - then almost immediately somewhat of a villain (Satan?) for rebuking Jesus for talking about his upcoming suffering. Isn't that the way it goes sometimes? You think you finally have something figured out and WHAM - you find out you didn't quite get it. Even though Peter had all that time with Jesus, in person, he still had remnants of the cultural expectation that the Messiah would be a conquering hero - not a suffering servant. He still was stuck in cultural expectations. But Jesus basically tells Peter to continue to follow - don't tempt me, don't lead me astray from my purpose - but get behind me and follow me and learn.
I wonder how often we need to learn that. How often do we think we have it figured out - then others come along and point out how we have missed the point. Think of Martin Luther, Menno Simons, John Calvin and all the other reformers through history. They saw the way the church was going and called them to stop and follow. Today we have a new set of reformers - In my limited sphere I hear Bruxy Cavey and Shane Claiborne and others calling us to follow Christ not religion. We have new communities (who don't want to be called churches) springing up in an effort to be true to the teachings of Christ.as they read them. How do we follow? How do we "pick up our cross"? Can we avoid following the crowds of religious people and just follow Christ?
The two people on the dvd had very different stories. Marisa told the story of her father who took the suffering involved with cancer treatments in stride as he continued to minister through the pain and the discomfort caused by the cancer and the radiation treatments. He taught his daughter that pain and suffering, denying oneself the luxury of self indulgent recovery was all part of life - especially life following Christ. So she has learned to look to the blessings found living to follow Christ, instead of looking enviously at what some others seem to have. Shawn runs a home for people recovering from addiction. He knows first hand how wanting instant gratification led him to a road of misery and substance dependence. He, too, sees that learning to lean on God's power, God's timing God's being in charge, helps him keep going without needing the chemical help.
We questioned what it means for God to be "in charge". Does this mean we have no say in what happens - that all is foreordained? What is "God's plan"? Is it a script we have to follow? If we don't hear/follow our calling does that mean we've permanently missed out? That the rest of our life is 2nd best? We were given an image of a fenced pasture - the fence being the will of God and the pasture being loving and following God. Within that pasture we can make many choices yet still be within God's will and loving & following God. I'm sure there are limitations to the allegory but it was helpful to ponder.
We also looked at two short excerpts from Shane Claiborne's book. The one was a challenge not to be the type of Christian who goes about daily life like everyone else and just fits in a bit of Jesus now and then. The other was a story of a woman who they offered a warm, safe place who saw that they were Christians, not by their surroundings or language, but because they shone. So we asked - what does it mean to shine? Do we shine? Does our following Jesus change us so people can actually see a difference?
There were many other topics that we touched on, which is not surprising since we were talking about how our Christianity is influenced by our culture and how we are called to be different. We decided our homework for this week (with a check in next week! - keep track ladies!) was to shine - to try for at least one week to keep what was coming from our mouths positive. Bluntly that means no bad mouthing people or plans or events. It sounds so simple but sometimes we just get in the habit of pointing out the negative, or, when things irritate, or even hurt, us so much, we allow the pain to spill out in negativity. This week we are going to look for the good side - especially of people. Let's try to truly shine, whatever crosses we have to bear this week.
May we discover what it means to truly follow, truly serve as disciples of Jesus Christ.
I wonder how often we need to learn that. How often do we think we have it figured out - then others come along and point out how we have missed the point. Think of Martin Luther, Menno Simons, John Calvin and all the other reformers through history. They saw the way the church was going and called them to stop and follow. Today we have a new set of reformers - In my limited sphere I hear Bruxy Cavey and Shane Claiborne and others calling us to follow Christ not religion. We have new communities (who don't want to be called churches) springing up in an effort to be true to the teachings of Christ.as they read them. How do we follow? How do we "pick up our cross"? Can we avoid following the crowds of religious people and just follow Christ?
The two people on the dvd had very different stories. Marisa told the story of her father who took the suffering involved with cancer treatments in stride as he continued to minister through the pain and the discomfort caused by the cancer and the radiation treatments. He taught his daughter that pain and suffering, denying oneself the luxury of self indulgent recovery was all part of life - especially life following Christ. So she has learned to look to the blessings found living to follow Christ, instead of looking enviously at what some others seem to have. Shawn runs a home for people recovering from addiction. He knows first hand how wanting instant gratification led him to a road of misery and substance dependence. He, too, sees that learning to lean on God's power, God's timing God's being in charge, helps him keep going without needing the chemical help.
We questioned what it means for God to be "in charge". Does this mean we have no say in what happens - that all is foreordained? What is "God's plan"? Is it a script we have to follow? If we don't hear/follow our calling does that mean we've permanently missed out? That the rest of our life is 2nd best? We were given an image of a fenced pasture - the fence being the will of God and the pasture being loving and following God. Within that pasture we can make many choices yet still be within God's will and loving & following God. I'm sure there are limitations to the allegory but it was helpful to ponder.
We also looked at two short excerpts from Shane Claiborne's book. The one was a challenge not to be the type of Christian who goes about daily life like everyone else and just fits in a bit of Jesus now and then. The other was a story of a woman who they offered a warm, safe place who saw that they were Christians, not by their surroundings or language, but because they shone. So we asked - what does it mean to shine? Do we shine? Does our following Jesus change us so people can actually see a difference?
There were many other topics that we touched on, which is not surprising since we were talking about how our Christianity is influenced by our culture and how we are called to be different. We decided our homework for this week (with a check in next week! - keep track ladies!) was to shine - to try for at least one week to keep what was coming from our mouths positive. Bluntly that means no bad mouthing people or plans or events. It sounds so simple but sometimes we just get in the habit of pointing out the negative, or, when things irritate, or even hurt, us so much, we allow the pain to spill out in negativity. This week we are going to look for the good side - especially of people. Let's try to truly shine, whatever crosses we have to bear this week.
May we discover what it means to truly follow, truly serve as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Sunday, 20 October 2013
Fall 2013 - late start
It has taken me a long time to get back into writing this blog. First there was not much controversial or new that came out of our study of James in spring, then I went on an amazing tour and spent time pondering the apostle Paul and his journeys and teachings - but somehow didn't get around to writing about them - then summer came with numerous trips and visits and weddings and this and that - and then fall came and has flown by. I am having trouble recognizing that it is already nearing the end of October!
This fall I have been doing some interesting reading. Some relevant - like Shane Claiborne's book, Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical, and some less so - like Dan Brown's Inferno. It is fascinating how various unrelated readings seem to tie together in my head to create blow-your-mind ideas - and how difficult a time I have expressing them - so don't expect to be blown away!
As a Bible Study group we have chosen to follow the "Dig-In" study put out by MennoMedia in answer to the question, "How do we read the Bible in this age and...How can the Bible guide us as we navigate difficult questions of how to live and how to be the church for our time?" (p4). Each lesson draws on a short Bible passage and one of the article of faith from Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective (copyright 1995 by Herald Press, Harrisonberg, Virginia). We have had a lot of meaningful discussions, and, I hope, have had thoughts rumbling around our heads for us to ponder during the week. We've even had homework on occasion.
The first lesson focussed on John 1:1-18 - The Word in the Flesh. We looked at the articles on God, Jesus, and the creation and calling of human beings. We looked at the question "What can Jesus' way of coming into the world teach us as a Christian Community about our own call to serve the world?" As it was a few weeks ago now, I don't recall specifics of our conversation but we did talk about how we can know God understands us because, as Jesus, God has experienced the limitations of being human, the trials of being bullied, the joys of being loved by friends and family. It is so easy to not want to pray about something because it seems too trivial for God to understand why it matters to us. It is so easy to get frustrated because thing aren't going the way you think they should - it's obvious that if God is in control then God just doesn't get it - right? Maybe we're the ones that don't get it. It is a challenge to recognize the humanity of Jesus and how much God gave in order to help us know that we are understood, and loved.
The second lesson focussed on Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and article 1(God) Love God Love God's Words. We spoke of Shema! - and how orthodox Jews actually take these words from Deuteronomy and bind them to themselves and have them on their doorsteps etc. How do we keep God front and centre? How does loving God in this way affect our lives? Does it? So we challenged ourselves to have a sticky or some other note where we would see it often in our day - reminding us to Love the Lord our God with all our hearts, and with all our souls, and with all our might. Some of us have kept the sign around, others probably haven't. But it was interesting to try having this concrete reminder in sight at various times during the day.
The third lesson focussed on 2Timothy 3:14 - 17, Article 4 (Scripture) - A Story to Pass along. It was interesting to consider the part the Bible plays in our lives. Do we have time to read it regularly? Do we know it well enough that, if Bibles were taken from us we could still remember and learn from it and draw comfort from its promises? It is interesting to think about how different people come to such very different conclusions about issues based on words from the very same book. It is really hard to know if we really have it right when we look around and so many different groups are so sure they have it right - yet disagree with each other. The challenge this week was to read the lectionary passages sometime during the week - and the blog Donita has been writing about them. Let's try, for at least one week, to make reading the Bible a priority. Maybe it will become a habit!
The fourth week we looked at Isaiah 53:1-12, Article 17 (discipleship) - Suffering Love. We talked about suffering - and how suffering from a disease like cancer was different from suffering at the hands of bullies or suffering for taking a stand. Are all these kinds of suffering useful? Could we ever say they were God's plan for us? The guide calls us to look at suffering through a "multi-focal lens" so we can see different facets. I think we can agree that we often come out of suffering having learned something or maybe being stronger - but we have trouble seeing this as God's plan as much as it is God's bringing some good out of the awful. We did not really pose a challenge for this week - but left considering suffering and God's plan and how they worked together.
And now we are caught up. I will try to ponder future lessons more deeply. Tomorrow we are again speaking of Discipleship. There is so much to consider - How do we react when the church and/or the world and/or our own reading of scriptures disagree? How can we truly follow Christ in our day to day lives? So much to consider yet so important. Come back for more on our views on it.
This fall I have been doing some interesting reading. Some relevant - like Shane Claiborne's book, Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical, and some less so - like Dan Brown's Inferno. It is fascinating how various unrelated readings seem to tie together in my head to create blow-your-mind ideas - and how difficult a time I have expressing them - so don't expect to be blown away!
As a Bible Study group we have chosen to follow the "Dig-In" study put out by MennoMedia in answer to the question, "How do we read the Bible in this age and...How can the Bible guide us as we navigate difficult questions of how to live and how to be the church for our time?" (p4). Each lesson draws on a short Bible passage and one of the article of faith from Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective (copyright 1995 by Herald Press, Harrisonberg, Virginia). We have had a lot of meaningful discussions, and, I hope, have had thoughts rumbling around our heads for us to ponder during the week. We've even had homework on occasion.
The first lesson focussed on John 1:1-18 - The Word in the Flesh. We looked at the articles on God, Jesus, and the creation and calling of human beings. We looked at the question "What can Jesus' way of coming into the world teach us as a Christian Community about our own call to serve the world?" As it was a few weeks ago now, I don't recall specifics of our conversation but we did talk about how we can know God understands us because, as Jesus, God has experienced the limitations of being human, the trials of being bullied, the joys of being loved by friends and family. It is so easy to not want to pray about something because it seems too trivial for God to understand why it matters to us. It is so easy to get frustrated because thing aren't going the way you think they should - it's obvious that if God is in control then God just doesn't get it - right? Maybe we're the ones that don't get it. It is a challenge to recognize the humanity of Jesus and how much God gave in order to help us know that we are understood, and loved.
The second lesson focussed on Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and article 1(God) Love God Love God's Words. We spoke of Shema! - and how orthodox Jews actually take these words from Deuteronomy and bind them to themselves and have them on their doorsteps etc. How do we keep God front and centre? How does loving God in this way affect our lives? Does it? So we challenged ourselves to have a sticky or some other note where we would see it often in our day - reminding us to Love the Lord our God with all our hearts, and with all our souls, and with all our might. Some of us have kept the sign around, others probably haven't. But it was interesting to try having this concrete reminder in sight at various times during the day.
The third lesson focussed on 2Timothy 3:14 - 17, Article 4 (Scripture) - A Story to Pass along. It was interesting to consider the part the Bible plays in our lives. Do we have time to read it regularly? Do we know it well enough that, if Bibles were taken from us we could still remember and learn from it and draw comfort from its promises? It is interesting to think about how different people come to such very different conclusions about issues based on words from the very same book. It is really hard to know if we really have it right when we look around and so many different groups are so sure they have it right - yet disagree with each other. The challenge this week was to read the lectionary passages sometime during the week - and the blog Donita has been writing about them. Let's try, for at least one week, to make reading the Bible a priority. Maybe it will become a habit!
The fourth week we looked at Isaiah 53:1-12, Article 17 (discipleship) - Suffering Love. We talked about suffering - and how suffering from a disease like cancer was different from suffering at the hands of bullies or suffering for taking a stand. Are all these kinds of suffering useful? Could we ever say they were God's plan for us? The guide calls us to look at suffering through a "multi-focal lens" so we can see different facets. I think we can agree that we often come out of suffering having learned something or maybe being stronger - but we have trouble seeing this as God's plan as much as it is God's bringing some good out of the awful. We did not really pose a challenge for this week - but left considering suffering and God's plan and how they worked together.
And now we are caught up. I will try to ponder future lessons more deeply. Tomorrow we are again speaking of Discipleship. There is so much to consider - How do we react when the church and/or the world and/or our own reading of scriptures disagree? How can we truly follow Christ in our day to day lives? So much to consider yet so important. Come back for more on our views on it.
Sunday, 21 April 2013
April 15 - James 1
Today we started a new study - a look at the book of James. We didn't get very far, but gleaned a few insights - or at least questions.
The book of James is quite different from other New Testament books/letters. In fact Luther did not like this book, calling it an "epistle of straw" because it did not focus on the story of Jesus or the Holy Spirit, but on the people to whom it was addressed. There are no quotes from Jesus - but his teaching is reflected within the text. Apparently, with no written text available at that time, oral tradition was so strong any allusion to the teachings of Christ would be recognized as such, so James didn't need to quote or overtly refer to Jesus in order for the themes to be recognized as being based in them. (according to Richard Peace in the Study Guide for the Book of James published by Serendipity Foundation in 1986.)
We also saw that James seems to have been someone well respected and in authority in the early church. Looking at the story of the Council of Jerusalem in Acts, it was James who seems to have had the final say in what the church would believe/do. According to Richard Peace, even the brevity of the introduction to the writer shows that he was well known - for he did not have to explain who he was or by what authority he made the statements that were about to be made. Tradition has James as the brother of Jesus. We do not know - but we can see he was not a fringe believer but someone central to the early church.
The first chapter of James introduces us to some main themes: Enduring trials/remaining faithful through adversity; wisdom/speach; andthe role of wealth/blessings/generosity in the Christian life. There were a few points that caught us - like what does it mean to be "mature and complete" (James 1:4)? How can we "ask in faith, never doubting (ch 1:6) and not be shaken when the answer seems to be no? What does it mean for us when it says "in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away" (1:11)?
So far we are asking more questions than we are answering. We are seeing little leeway for the unsure, little forgiveness for those with wealth (how wealthy? Do we count?), little understanding for when circumstances get us down. We are hoping that, as we get past the introduction and into the letter itself that we will gain more helpful insights, but for now we are starting to wonder - will this be helpful?
There seem to be many challenges ahead as we dig into the book of James. We hope and pray that we will learn more about who we are meant to be and how we can become those people.
The book of James is quite different from other New Testament books/letters. In fact Luther did not like this book, calling it an "epistle of straw" because it did not focus on the story of Jesus or the Holy Spirit, but on the people to whom it was addressed. There are no quotes from Jesus - but his teaching is reflected within the text. Apparently, with no written text available at that time, oral tradition was so strong any allusion to the teachings of Christ would be recognized as such, so James didn't need to quote or overtly refer to Jesus in order for the themes to be recognized as being based in them. (according to Richard Peace in the Study Guide for the Book of James published by Serendipity Foundation in 1986.)
We also saw that James seems to have been someone well respected and in authority in the early church. Looking at the story of the Council of Jerusalem in Acts, it was James who seems to have had the final say in what the church would believe/do. According to Richard Peace, even the brevity of the introduction to the writer shows that he was well known - for he did not have to explain who he was or by what authority he made the statements that were about to be made. Tradition has James as the brother of Jesus. We do not know - but we can see he was not a fringe believer but someone central to the early church.
The first chapter of James introduces us to some main themes: Enduring trials/remaining faithful through adversity; wisdom/speach; andthe role of wealth/blessings/generosity in the Christian life. There were a few points that caught us - like what does it mean to be "mature and complete" (James 1:4)? How can we "ask in faith, never doubting (ch 1:6) and not be shaken when the answer seems to be no? What does it mean for us when it says "in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away" (1:11)?
So far we are asking more questions than we are answering. We are seeing little leeway for the unsure, little forgiveness for those with wealth (how wealthy? Do we count?), little understanding for when circumstances get us down. We are hoping that, as we get past the introduction and into the letter itself that we will gain more helpful insights, but for now we are starting to wonder - will this be helpful?
There seem to be many challenges ahead as we dig into the book of James. We hope and pray that we will learn more about who we are meant to be and how we can become those people.
April 8 - Sapphira
Our final "bad girl" is Sapphira, wife of and co-conspirator with Ananias. Their story is found in Acts 5. Together they decide to sell their land and present a portion of the proceeds to the church as if that portion was the whole. This could, potentially, give them an "in" with the church, where all belongings were being shared. This could make them seem really righteous while allowing them a little nest egg "just in case".
How often are we like that - we want to make a full commitment to God, to Christ, even to the church - but we want a safety net just in case we are wrong and the church/God fails us. In this case it was monetary - but it could be emotionally or in any other way. What are we holding back? What is the price we are paying/going to have to pay because of it?
In this case the cost was dear. Peter was not fooled by the presentation and so gave Ananias, and later Sapphira, the chance to admit they had back some of their money - but neither did - so they ended up falling down dead right there.
For us it may not be so much a physical death - though when what we hold back is our habits/indulgences like overeating, drinking, smoking, drugs etc. perhaps we are hastening our own deaths - but there is a spiritual death that comes each time we come before God pretending to be/bring something we are not. We know deep down that we are not fully committed, and God knows it, and we actually know God knows it - but still we try to fool ourselves and God that we are bringing our whole selves.
How does one give it all? How can one take that leap of faith? I still struggle with that nearly every day but what one doesn't do is pretend to have given more than you have. Peter explains to Ananias that the field was his - he was not obligated to give the proceeds to the church. What he did wrong was making a show of being more pious, more religious, more generous than he really was. He tried to fool not only the church, but God - and that was unacceptable.
But the focus was to be on Sapphira - how does she fit into this? The story makes little distinction between what she did and the actions of her husband. She was a part of the decision to sell the field as well as the decision to hold back some of the proceeds. She had a chance to come clean when Peter asked her - but, not knowing her husband had been struck down, she remained loyal to him rather than being honest with Peter and the church. It is sad to think that the one seemingly functional marriage relationship we have studied ends up this way. Sapphira seems to have had a good relationship with her husband, they worked together and made decisions together. They were loyal to each other. But the decision they made together ended up costing them both their lives. She was not a horrible person - nor even as warped as many we have seen - but she, like so many before and after her, longed for security and put that before faith. Is this not something we all have to fight? We see people who are homeless, people who lose everything, not to the church but to the bank or to the government or to some other creditor - and we do not want that. We want to feel safe.
Somehow we need to get to the point where we can feel safe in God's hands - where we are not relying on our own abilities, possessions, strengths. Somehow we need to let go and come to God with open hands (as Henry Nowen put it), take that leap of faith (as Kierkegaard put it), rest in the promises (as the hymn puts it). However we put it, somehow we need to give our whole selves into God's hands. If we find we cannot let go to that point - we need to recognize it, be honest about it and pray for help, not pretend that we have.
So let us focus on giving ourselves to God. Let us focus on being honest with God about our struggles - its not like we're fooling anyone anyway - and let work on, not looking like good Christians, but being the Christians we are called to be.
How often are we like that - we want to make a full commitment to God, to Christ, even to the church - but we want a safety net just in case we are wrong and the church/God fails us. In this case it was monetary - but it could be emotionally or in any other way. What are we holding back? What is the price we are paying/going to have to pay because of it?
In this case the cost was dear. Peter was not fooled by the presentation and so gave Ananias, and later Sapphira, the chance to admit they had back some of their money - but neither did - so they ended up falling down dead right there.
For us it may not be so much a physical death - though when what we hold back is our habits/indulgences like overeating, drinking, smoking, drugs etc. perhaps we are hastening our own deaths - but there is a spiritual death that comes each time we come before God pretending to be/bring something we are not. We know deep down that we are not fully committed, and God knows it, and we actually know God knows it - but still we try to fool ourselves and God that we are bringing our whole selves.
How does one give it all? How can one take that leap of faith? I still struggle with that nearly every day but what one doesn't do is pretend to have given more than you have. Peter explains to Ananias that the field was his - he was not obligated to give the proceeds to the church. What he did wrong was making a show of being more pious, more religious, more generous than he really was. He tried to fool not only the church, but God - and that was unacceptable.
But the focus was to be on Sapphira - how does she fit into this? The story makes little distinction between what she did and the actions of her husband. She was a part of the decision to sell the field as well as the decision to hold back some of the proceeds. She had a chance to come clean when Peter asked her - but, not knowing her husband had been struck down, she remained loyal to him rather than being honest with Peter and the church. It is sad to think that the one seemingly functional marriage relationship we have studied ends up this way. Sapphira seems to have had a good relationship with her husband, they worked together and made decisions together. They were loyal to each other. But the decision they made together ended up costing them both their lives. She was not a horrible person - nor even as warped as many we have seen - but she, like so many before and after her, longed for security and put that before faith. Is this not something we all have to fight? We see people who are homeless, people who lose everything, not to the church but to the bank or to the government or to some other creditor - and we do not want that. We want to feel safe.
Somehow we need to get to the point where we can feel safe in God's hands - where we are not relying on our own abilities, possessions, strengths. Somehow we need to let go and come to God with open hands (as Henry Nowen put it), take that leap of faith (as Kierkegaard put it), rest in the promises (as the hymn puts it). However we put it, somehow we need to give our whole selves into God's hands. If we find we cannot let go to that point - we need to recognize it, be honest about it and pray for help, not pretend that we have.
So let us focus on giving ourselves to God. Let us focus on being honest with God about our struggles - its not like we're fooling anyone anyway - and let work on, not looking like good Christians, but being the Christians we are called to be.
Sunday, 7 April 2013
April 1 - Easter Monday musings
We decided to take a day off for Easter Monday - but some of the events of the past week have made me ponder anew about the amazing community of God's family.
On Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend an interfaith symposium on "My religion's answer to world peace". It was fascinating to hear women of different faiths speak of peace and how their faith viewed it. While some spoke more academically and others spoke more personally, each spoke of her understanding of Faith's answer to peace. The women who lead and attended this symposium varied in age, race, occupation and, of course, religion. Yet we gathered together to talk to each other and share this experience of listening to each other and learning more about other faiths while putting faces to faiths and getting to meet other women as friends. We were all different but could meet and learn and even pray together.
On Thursday and Friday I attended inter-Mennonite Passion Week services. People from several Mennonite Congregations gathered to worship God, celebrate communion, and generally ponder and give thanks for Jesus' sacrifice. If asked, we would not agree on a lot of specifics of faith - as to forms of baptism, response to various ethical questions, even to usual style of worship - yet we could come together and have a meaningful time of praising and learning about God together.
I have also been reading a book by Bruxy Cavey, The End of Religion. In one of the earlier chapters he speaks of The Council of Nicaea where 250 bishops gathered as brothers in Christ. They worked at defining their faith through the drawing up of an official creed (The Nicene Creed). Through this process "the group of formerly united-although-diverse Christ-followers could now be officially divided into "orthodox" and "heretics," with the heretics being given the option of exile of death."
These are three of the influences that have reminded me once again that we are called to be the diverse body of Christ on earth - and that God is so much bigger and greater than any human could ever understand.
I am pretty sure that no one person has all the answers to who God is and how we should respond to that. The only person that could would have been Jesus - and he tried to teach us through his life, his teachings, his death and his resurrection. Since different groups disagree on what he was saying I would guess we haven't received the message completely correctly either. Yet in spite of our incomplete comprehension and following of Jesus and his message, we often condemn each other for understanding and following differently. Though we are all sinners, we often condemn those who sin differently. We set out to follow, yet often get distracted by judging those who see a different path. We try to set our rules about who is "in" and who is "out" of God's kingdom - but how do we know? Why can't we gather together more often to celebrate what God has done, to learn from each other's perspective and tolerate our differences? When we focus on learning and worship we can come closer to answering Jesus' prayer that we "may experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you [God] sent me [Jesus] and that you love them as much as you love me."(John 17:20-23, NLT). God is so much bigger and greater than you or me, who is to say that we can't both, differences and all, fall under God's loving umbrella of grace?
We are called to be the body of Christ in all its glorious diversity. A Pancreas doesn't look like a foot (as far as I know) but is important for the function of the body. The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and fingertips are very different from each other, yet together help us distinguish the world around us. We are not a monochromatic duvet cover determined by a single set of right and wrong beliefs but a beautiful, colourful patchwork quilt made with different textures and memories all built in - perhaps even held together by slightly uneven stitches at times but able, together, to provide the service for which it was planned and created. So, too, should we work together, worship together, even when we don't all agree. Let us focus on God, not our differences. Let us Christians focus on Christ who worshipped with the Jews and the gentiles, the "clean" and the "unclean." Let us not work too hard to define exactly who we, as a group, are and what we believe through statements and creeds but let us live out who each of us is called to be so that, together, we can by God's Grace be God's hands & feet, or patchwork quilt, here on earth.
Happy Easter!
On Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend an interfaith symposium on "My religion's answer to world peace". It was fascinating to hear women of different faiths speak of peace and how their faith viewed it. While some spoke more academically and others spoke more personally, each spoke of her understanding of Faith's answer to peace. The women who lead and attended this symposium varied in age, race, occupation and, of course, religion. Yet we gathered together to talk to each other and share this experience of listening to each other and learning more about other faiths while putting faces to faiths and getting to meet other women as friends. We were all different but could meet and learn and even pray together.
On Thursday and Friday I attended inter-Mennonite Passion Week services. People from several Mennonite Congregations gathered to worship God, celebrate communion, and generally ponder and give thanks for Jesus' sacrifice. If asked, we would not agree on a lot of specifics of faith - as to forms of baptism, response to various ethical questions, even to usual style of worship - yet we could come together and have a meaningful time of praising and learning about God together.
I have also been reading a book by Bruxy Cavey, The End of Religion. In one of the earlier chapters he speaks of The Council of Nicaea where 250 bishops gathered as brothers in Christ. They worked at defining their faith through the drawing up of an official creed (The Nicene Creed). Through this process "the group of formerly united-although-diverse Christ-followers could now be officially divided into "orthodox" and "heretics," with the heretics being given the option of exile of death."
These are three of the influences that have reminded me once again that we are called to be the diverse body of Christ on earth - and that God is so much bigger and greater than any human could ever understand.
I am pretty sure that no one person has all the answers to who God is and how we should respond to that. The only person that could would have been Jesus - and he tried to teach us through his life, his teachings, his death and his resurrection. Since different groups disagree on what he was saying I would guess we haven't received the message completely correctly either. Yet in spite of our incomplete comprehension and following of Jesus and his message, we often condemn each other for understanding and following differently. Though we are all sinners, we often condemn those who sin differently. We set out to follow, yet often get distracted by judging those who see a different path. We try to set our rules about who is "in" and who is "out" of God's kingdom - but how do we know? Why can't we gather together more often to celebrate what God has done, to learn from each other's perspective and tolerate our differences? When we focus on learning and worship we can come closer to answering Jesus' prayer that we "may experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you [God] sent me [Jesus] and that you love them as much as you love me."(John 17:20-23, NLT). God is so much bigger and greater than you or me, who is to say that we can't both, differences and all, fall under God's loving umbrella of grace?
We are called to be the body of Christ in all its glorious diversity. A Pancreas doesn't look like a foot (as far as I know) but is important for the function of the body. The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and fingertips are very different from each other, yet together help us distinguish the world around us. We are not a monochromatic duvet cover determined by a single set of right and wrong beliefs but a beautiful, colourful patchwork quilt made with different textures and memories all built in - perhaps even held together by slightly uneven stitches at times but able, together, to provide the service for which it was planned and created. So, too, should we work together, worship together, even when we don't all agree. Let us focus on God, not our differences. Let us Christians focus on Christ who worshipped with the Jews and the gentiles, the "clean" and the "unclean." Let us not work too hard to define exactly who we, as a group, are and what we believe through statements and creeds but let us live out who each of us is called to be so that, together, we can by God's Grace be God's hands & feet, or patchwork quilt, here on earth.
Happy Easter!
Friday, 29 March 2013
March 25 - The Woman caught in adultry
John 8 tells the story of a woman who was caught "in the very act" of adultry and was brought to Jesus, not as a human being seeking the wisdom of a teacher but as a test. We know nothing about her. No name. No age. No background. We don't know if she was married or was caught with a married man. We don't even know for sure she was caught in the act - we only have the word of a mob who was trying to trick Jesus into condemning himself in the eyes of either Jewish or Roman law. This poor woman may have been doing something very wrong - but the saddest part of the story is how little anyone seems to care about her - or even recognize her as a person.
Jesus changed this. He did not downplay what she had done - but recognized that her accusers were also far from perfect. In many ways he put them on the same level as she - or put her on the same level as her accusers.
As a sidebar, I find it somewhat amazing that, even back then, the preoccupation of those wanting to cleanse the church was with sexual sins. What is it about sexuality that draws our focus from trying to live our own upright lives? Why are the men of this story as well as many Christians today so caught up in who is sleeping with whom they don't see the evil hatred and deception and violence of which they need to repent?
I think there is a carry over from last week. Herodias was so caught up in feeling threatened by the words, and therefore the very existence, of John the Baptist she could not let go and enjoy her life. Many "righteous" people are so caught up in feeling threatened by the successes or happiness of the "sinful" they can't enjoy the blessings of being in right relationship with God - and soon their relationship with God suffers. Why are we so jealous of those living in sin and not paying a consequence that we can see? If we focussed on the joy and blessing of living the life we are meant to live, others would be jealous of us! They would want the inner peace and the joy that only comes from having that solid centre. But when we focus on the "fun" we are missing, we cannot see or experience the fullness of joy promised to us.
Looking back at the woman we also need to notice that Jesus took the time to actually look at her. He talked to her. He didn't drag her, preach at her, send her away. He took a few seconds and treated her like a person worthy of conversation, worthy of eye contact. We will never know what the result of that day was for that woman. Maybe she became a follower of Jesus. Maybe she returned to a loving husband and was forgiven. Maybe she was shunned by her husband, her father, her society and had no place to turn. This is not what was important to this story. We don't need to know whether she suffered for her sins (more than she did that afternoon). That is not our problem. What we need to know is that, even though she was humiliated and seen as a lowlife worthy of death, Jesus saw her as someone who had the option of changing - of sinning no more. Jesus sees each of us that way. He knows how far from perfect each of us is - yet he claims each of us as someone with whom he wants a relationship.
Not long ago a group of teens from Steubenville stripped, raped, and totally dehumanized an unconscious young girl. Not only did they physically assault her, they took pictures, posted them for the world to see and taunted her with them. And this was seen as ok by many of the townsfolk because they were "boys" and they were football heros and everyone knows football stars have to sew their wild oats. This is an example of the extremes that an attitude of superiority can bring. If I don't see you as a valuable brother or sister in Christ and in humanity - you become an object for me to do with as I please. Many cultures have treated slaves that way. Many cultures treat "lower" class people that way. Many people treat women that way. We need to really work at seeing Christ in all of the people we meet. Sometimes it is harder to see than others - but everyone is loved by Christ. We don't deserve that divine treatment any more than anyone else - but since we have been blessed we should pass it on. God created us all to be in relationship, to be part of God's family.
So the challenge of the story of this unnamed woman is at least twofold. One - we need to look at our own failings before we judge too harshly - or better yet we can love the sinner (including ourselves) and leave judgement to God. Two - we need to look for the humanity and the God-likeness in each person and give them some basic respect - and maybe even share some of God's love for them - even if we can't approve of what they have done/are doing. We need to let them have their names, their places in their story and in ours and to let them know they are valuable to Christ. We are not so different - from those we see as "better" not those we see as "worse". We are all fallible members of God's amazing and diverse family. Let us love our siblings.
Jesus changed this. He did not downplay what she had done - but recognized that her accusers were also far from perfect. In many ways he put them on the same level as she - or put her on the same level as her accusers.
As a sidebar, I find it somewhat amazing that, even back then, the preoccupation of those wanting to cleanse the church was with sexual sins. What is it about sexuality that draws our focus from trying to live our own upright lives? Why are the men of this story as well as many Christians today so caught up in who is sleeping with whom they don't see the evil hatred and deception and violence of which they need to repent?
I think there is a carry over from last week. Herodias was so caught up in feeling threatened by the words, and therefore the very existence, of John the Baptist she could not let go and enjoy her life. Many "righteous" people are so caught up in feeling threatened by the successes or happiness of the "sinful" they can't enjoy the blessings of being in right relationship with God - and soon their relationship with God suffers. Why are we so jealous of those living in sin and not paying a consequence that we can see? If we focussed on the joy and blessing of living the life we are meant to live, others would be jealous of us! They would want the inner peace and the joy that only comes from having that solid centre. But when we focus on the "fun" we are missing, we cannot see or experience the fullness of joy promised to us.
Looking back at the woman we also need to notice that Jesus took the time to actually look at her. He talked to her. He didn't drag her, preach at her, send her away. He took a few seconds and treated her like a person worthy of conversation, worthy of eye contact. We will never know what the result of that day was for that woman. Maybe she became a follower of Jesus. Maybe she returned to a loving husband and was forgiven. Maybe she was shunned by her husband, her father, her society and had no place to turn. This is not what was important to this story. We don't need to know whether she suffered for her sins (more than she did that afternoon). That is not our problem. What we need to know is that, even though she was humiliated and seen as a lowlife worthy of death, Jesus saw her as someone who had the option of changing - of sinning no more. Jesus sees each of us that way. He knows how far from perfect each of us is - yet he claims each of us as someone with whom he wants a relationship.
Not long ago a group of teens from Steubenville stripped, raped, and totally dehumanized an unconscious young girl. Not only did they physically assault her, they took pictures, posted them for the world to see and taunted her with them. And this was seen as ok by many of the townsfolk because they were "boys" and they were football heros and everyone knows football stars have to sew their wild oats. This is an example of the extremes that an attitude of superiority can bring. If I don't see you as a valuable brother or sister in Christ and in humanity - you become an object for me to do with as I please. Many cultures have treated slaves that way. Many cultures treat "lower" class people that way. Many people treat women that way. We need to really work at seeing Christ in all of the people we meet. Sometimes it is harder to see than others - but everyone is loved by Christ. We don't deserve that divine treatment any more than anyone else - but since we have been blessed we should pass it on. God created us all to be in relationship, to be part of God's family.
So the challenge of the story of this unnamed woman is at least twofold. One - we need to look at our own failings before we judge too harshly - or better yet we can love the sinner (including ourselves) and leave judgement to God. Two - we need to look for the humanity and the God-likeness in each person and give them some basic respect - and maybe even share some of God's love for them - even if we can't approve of what they have done/are doing. We need to let them have their names, their places in their story and in ours and to let them know they are valuable to Christ. We are not so different - from those we see as "better" not those we see as "worse". We are all fallible members of God's amazing and diverse family. Let us love our siblings.
Saturday, 16 March 2013
March 18 - Herodias
Now here is a woman we do not hear a lot about. By today's standards she seemed to have had a pretty warped life - married first to one uncle (father's half brother) and then to his half brother - by extension also her uncle, who divorced his wife so he could marry her. The whole divorce thing is a bit confusing as the Herods' father, Herod the great, had 5 wives - at least some of them seem to have been at the same time so I'm not sure why he would have had to divorce the foreign princess to marry his niece/sister-in-law. In any case it was not seen as proper for Antipas to take his brother's wife while his brother was alive and John the Baptist did not hesitate to tell him that. Herodias was not impressed and was quite vindictive about it, holding a grudge until such a time as she could arrange for John the Baptist's death.
It all seems very convoluted and complex. What is there to learn from this? Don't marry your uncle and if you do don't divorce him to marry another uncle? I don't think this is the message. Herodias seems to have been a somewhat unhappy woman. If she had felt secure and happy in her second marriage the presence of John the Baptist may not have bothered her so much. But maybe it would if she felt guilty about leaving her first husband. Or maybe she was somewhat shunned by the rest of the family because of her actions. Or maybe she was afraid her husband would get rid of her as he had his first wife. Or maybe she had been abused in her first marriage and was afraid she would be forced back to that husband. In any case there was something about John the Baptist's presence that nagged at Herodias and she was having a hard time tolerating it.
I have found that this has happened to me. When I was unsure of our house purchase I became overly critical of that of one of my friends - mostly because, at the time, I felt they got the better deal. When I question my hesitation to act and see another who did not hesitate succeeding - I feel a resentment that has nothing to do with the other person but may be focussed there. Or if I see someone getting away with something I got punished for, it irks me. It is sometimes the "what if"s that get to us. We let resentments and frustrations fester, disturbing our rest and spoiling the joy we could experience, instead of letting go and letting others, justly or unjustly, go happily along their way.
So what can we learn from Herodias? To let go of our grudges so we don't ruin/hurt ourselves and those around us. I'm not sure her daughter would have dealt well with having to dance for her step-father/great uncle nor with having to be faced with the freshly cut head of the prophet. In the Matthew passage it seems Herod was haunted by guilt for having had John beheaded. Herodias let her hate get to her and it affected her family and probably her life. Let us learn to move on.
The lectionary passages for this Sunday (17th) speak about letting go of the past and looking forward to the new that God has planned for us. This is really hard, but, if we are successful, can be so rewarding. So as we look forward to spring (even as more snow falls) and all of its new beginnings let us look forward to living in the present, in the gift from God that is today. Let us enjoy the beauty of the pristine whiteness while we look forward to the green that will , we hope, soon follow.
It all seems very convoluted and complex. What is there to learn from this? Don't marry your uncle and if you do don't divorce him to marry another uncle? I don't think this is the message. Herodias seems to have been a somewhat unhappy woman. If she had felt secure and happy in her second marriage the presence of John the Baptist may not have bothered her so much. But maybe it would if she felt guilty about leaving her first husband. Or maybe she was somewhat shunned by the rest of the family because of her actions. Or maybe she was afraid her husband would get rid of her as he had his first wife. Or maybe she had been abused in her first marriage and was afraid she would be forced back to that husband. In any case there was something about John the Baptist's presence that nagged at Herodias and she was having a hard time tolerating it.
I have found that this has happened to me. When I was unsure of our house purchase I became overly critical of that of one of my friends - mostly because, at the time, I felt they got the better deal. When I question my hesitation to act and see another who did not hesitate succeeding - I feel a resentment that has nothing to do with the other person but may be focussed there. Or if I see someone getting away with something I got punished for, it irks me. It is sometimes the "what if"s that get to us. We let resentments and frustrations fester, disturbing our rest and spoiling the joy we could experience, instead of letting go and letting others, justly or unjustly, go happily along their way.
So what can we learn from Herodias? To let go of our grudges so we don't ruin/hurt ourselves and those around us. I'm not sure her daughter would have dealt well with having to dance for her step-father/great uncle nor with having to be faced with the freshly cut head of the prophet. In the Matthew passage it seems Herod was haunted by guilt for having had John beheaded. Herodias let her hate get to her and it affected her family and probably her life. Let us learn to move on.
The lectionary passages for this Sunday (17th) speak about letting go of the past and looking forward to the new that God has planned for us. This is really hard, but, if we are successful, can be so rewarding. So as we look forward to spring (even as more snow falls) and all of its new beginnings let us look forward to living in the present, in the gift from God that is today. Let us enjoy the beauty of the pristine whiteness while we look forward to the green that will , we hope, soon follow.
March 11 - Gomer
Gomer was the wife of Hosea, an Old Testament prophet. She was your typical, promiscuous, unfaithful bad girl. He was the faithful husband, forgiving her over and over again and even taking her back after she had turned completely away from the family. From their relationship Hosea draws an allegory of God's relationship with the Jewish people, who also had strayed with other gods/religions. As Hosea stayed true to Gomer, even to the point of buying her back when she fell to the slavery, so, too, has God stayed true, even to the point of buying us (extending the covenant past the Jewish people) back through the life and death of Jesus.
Much is made, by some commentators, about the horrible threats mentioned in Chapeter two- for all I know standard punshment for adultrous women. Some dwell on the question of how historically true is the story of Hosea and Gomer. Some focus on the words describing Hosea's intended wife - was she a prostitute? just a little loose? Maybe just from parents who were 'loose'? Some focus on the perceived abuse Gomer suffered.
I don't know if our defensiveness around this story is because we don't want to seem too bad, or whether we caught up in Women's rights and so are offended by the politically incorrect words used to describe Gomer, but we seem all too ready to be distracted from the point of the story. Just as salvation is not really about us, in some ways - we can do nothing about it on our own - so too is this story not really about Gomer or how bad or misused she was. This is all about God and how, even though we keep doing things to make ourselves unworthy of a relationship with our creator, God keeps forgiving us, giving us opportunities to come back into relationship, and wanting to be with us. Even though we deserver punishment, we get loving acceptance.
This is the story of Gomer, a woman who, like all the rest of us in the human race, make a lot of poor choices and bad mistakes. She was loved, taken in and given status as the wife of a prophet, squandered it and, instead of dying as was the law, was redeemed to her husband and family and status. Let us take from this, not the horrors of patriarchal law, but the wonder of God's faithfulness and never ending patience with our poor choices. God is good and has given us so much, let us respond with greatful faithfulness.
Much is made, by some commentators, about the horrible threats mentioned in Chapeter two- for all I know standard punshment for adultrous women. Some dwell on the question of how historically true is the story of Hosea and Gomer. Some focus on the words describing Hosea's intended wife - was she a prostitute? just a little loose? Maybe just from parents who were 'loose'? Some focus on the perceived abuse Gomer suffered.
I don't know if our defensiveness around this story is because we don't want to seem too bad, or whether we caught up in Women's rights and so are offended by the politically incorrect words used to describe Gomer, but we seem all too ready to be distracted from the point of the story. Just as salvation is not really about us, in some ways - we can do nothing about it on our own - so too is this story not really about Gomer or how bad or misused she was. This is all about God and how, even though we keep doing things to make ourselves unworthy of a relationship with our creator, God keeps forgiving us, giving us opportunities to come back into relationship, and wanting to be with us. Even though we deserver punishment, we get loving acceptance.
This is the story of Gomer, a woman who, like all the rest of us in the human race, make a lot of poor choices and bad mistakes. She was loved, taken in and given status as the wife of a prophet, squandered it and, instead of dying as was the law, was redeemed to her husband and family and status. Let us take from this, not the horrors of patriarchal law, but the wonder of God's faithfulness and never ending patience with our poor choices. God is good and has given us so much, let us respond with greatful faithfulness.
March 4 - Job's Wife
Well I kinda got behind in blogging my thoughts - I guess life interferes some times.
I was a bit surprised to see Job's wife listed as a "bad girl" of the Bible. Not that I had thought much about her, but mostly I saw her as a neutral personality. She is mentioned only in that she encourages her husband to "Curse God and die." It seems that, for some, this has relegated her to the status of a cold, faithless, even evil person.
I do not see her that way.
First of all, she has lost everything too. She has lost the children she bore, she has lost the status that comes with wealth and possessions, and now she is slowly losing her husband. The stress and grief she bore must have felt unbearable. It is not surprising she would feel little hope of things returning to their former normality. It is not surprising she would want to give in.
Secondly, she was watching helplessly as her husband endured pain and humiliation, sitting in the ashes, waiting for healing to come. Have you ever watched a loved one suffer? Her cry may have been one of compassion, one of grief and despair. There was nothing she could do - no words or actions that could make this better - death may have seemed the only hope of reprieve. How can wanting some peace for your husband be bad? If she was speaking from the dark corners of depression, can we not understand how she may have felt that too much was being asked of her and, especially Job?
We do not hear of anyone comforting her. We do not hear whether Job's rebuke was gentle or angy but it seems dismissive. We do not know if anyone took any notice of her. Barbara J. Essex draws out of this questions of how women can be heard. How can we make a difference and not just be shrugged off. While these are important questions I don't seem them central to this story. I feel more cenral is the warning to see the other person as a whole person. I was told of a person teaching referees about interacting with players/coaches who used the phrase - you don't know who's dog died. There is often baggage behind comments that may seem offensive - it may be that their dog just died and they are grieving and are taking it out on the next person to cause a minor frustration. It may be they are at the limits of their tolerance and they just blow up when they feel one more thing is being asked. It may be that you remind them of an old nemesis. We don't know. So we need to work at being patient and getting to the real problem. If there is anything we can do to help, we need to find what it is. If there is not, or if they won't let you get to the real problem, we need to let go and not let the aggressiveness of their action/reaction change us for the worse. First we need NOT to judge.
I think that is more of what I take from this story of a woman who has been demonized for saying what was, arguably, the wrong thing to say while under incredible stress. Let us try to be more understanding of those around us.
I was a bit surprised to see Job's wife listed as a "bad girl" of the Bible. Not that I had thought much about her, but mostly I saw her as a neutral personality. She is mentioned only in that she encourages her husband to "Curse God and die." It seems that, for some, this has relegated her to the status of a cold, faithless, even evil person.
I do not see her that way.
First of all, she has lost everything too. She has lost the children she bore, she has lost the status that comes with wealth and possessions, and now she is slowly losing her husband. The stress and grief she bore must have felt unbearable. It is not surprising she would feel little hope of things returning to their former normality. It is not surprising she would want to give in.
Secondly, she was watching helplessly as her husband endured pain and humiliation, sitting in the ashes, waiting for healing to come. Have you ever watched a loved one suffer? Her cry may have been one of compassion, one of grief and despair. There was nothing she could do - no words or actions that could make this better - death may have seemed the only hope of reprieve. How can wanting some peace for your husband be bad? If she was speaking from the dark corners of depression, can we not understand how she may have felt that too much was being asked of her and, especially Job?
We do not hear of anyone comforting her. We do not hear whether Job's rebuke was gentle or angy but it seems dismissive. We do not know if anyone took any notice of her. Barbara J. Essex draws out of this questions of how women can be heard. How can we make a difference and not just be shrugged off. While these are important questions I don't seem them central to this story. I feel more cenral is the warning to see the other person as a whole person. I was told of a person teaching referees about interacting with players/coaches who used the phrase - you don't know who's dog died. There is often baggage behind comments that may seem offensive - it may be that their dog just died and they are grieving and are taking it out on the next person to cause a minor frustration. It may be they are at the limits of their tolerance and they just blow up when they feel one more thing is being asked. It may be that you remind them of an old nemesis. We don't know. So we need to work at being patient and getting to the real problem. If there is anything we can do to help, we need to find what it is. If there is not, or if they won't let you get to the real problem, we need to let go and not let the aggressiveness of their action/reaction change us for the worse. First we need NOT to judge.
I think that is more of what I take from this story of a woman who has been demonized for saying what was, arguably, the wrong thing to say while under incredible stress. Let us try to be more understanding of those around us.
Saturday, 23 February 2013
Feb 24 - Jezebel
Jezebel is a name that has become the epitome of evil, backstabbing women. Here is a woman we can all agree is known as a bad girl of the Bible. If you look at things from her side, however, she was totally justified in all her actions. There was no evil intent (as such). She was a strong, determined woman who knew what she believed and enforced it.
Jezebel was a royal princess from a line of totalatarian monarchs. She had no understanding other than that kings(and queens) had the right to whatever they wanted. Ahab wanted the land so he should have it. This means that, to her, Naboth was in the wrong to try to deny the king the vineyard Ahab wanted. She did bow a little to the culture in which she was living to make it seem that Naboth's death was due to his own lawbreaking, but the result was what, in her mind, it should have been all along. Naboth was just collateral damage. Monarchs have that right.
According to the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Jezebel was also a priest of Baal and Astarte. Even her name is a feminine version of the name Baal - honoring the god she served. So for her to try to change her adopted country to her religion was a given. She does not recognize the Israelite religion as valid - or even complete as there was no female counterpart to this Yahweh they claimed to worship. So clearing the way for the priests of the true gods, Baal and Asherah/Astarte was a necesary task. If this meant killing off all the priests of the Israelite God, so be it. She needed to have her gods served! Her missionary zeal was amazing. Put together with the power of the monarchy, she seemed unstoppable.
It is interesting to see Jezebel and Elijah compared. Both had names declaring themselves as servants of their God. Both were, according to Barbara J. Essex, "active, fanatical, violent, stubborn - and all in the name of their deities." Yet the difference is who it was they served and how they are perceived in this modern age.
Throughout history missionaries have gone in and ignored existing cultural values to impress their own. We have repented some of these, others we have not yet recognized. This story does tell us of the aweful things that Jezebel did - but she did them to serve her gods. Does that make them right? I don't think so. Neither do our good intentions excuse us. Jezebel ended with a terrible, gruesome death - no royal lying in state with respect being paid - but with being trampled and scavenged til there was almost nothing left of her.
If there is one thing I take from the study of this story, it is that we need to be sensitive to those around us, especially those over whom we hold some power. It is too easy to push our thoughts, opinions and values on others, when theirs may be just as, or in Israel's case more, valid than our own. I don't think this means we don't argue for or express our views, but it does mean we need to listen and recognize the other person as a thinking, feeling creation of God, just as we are. We also need to remember that God is so much bigger than any of us - and so it is possible that within God's vastness we are both partially right. Yes, I have gone past the Jezebel story, but it is an extension of the realization that just doing what we think is right for what we think are the right reasons does not make it right. I hope and pray for God's guidance so that the words we speak, the meditations of our hearts as well as our actions may be acceptable in God's sight.
Jezebel was a royal princess from a line of totalatarian monarchs. She had no understanding other than that kings(and queens) had the right to whatever they wanted. Ahab wanted the land so he should have it. This means that, to her, Naboth was in the wrong to try to deny the king the vineyard Ahab wanted. She did bow a little to the culture in which she was living to make it seem that Naboth's death was due to his own lawbreaking, but the result was what, in her mind, it should have been all along. Naboth was just collateral damage. Monarchs have that right.
According to the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Jezebel was also a priest of Baal and Astarte. Even her name is a feminine version of the name Baal - honoring the god she served. So for her to try to change her adopted country to her religion was a given. She does not recognize the Israelite religion as valid - or even complete as there was no female counterpart to this Yahweh they claimed to worship. So clearing the way for the priests of the true gods, Baal and Asherah/Astarte was a necesary task. If this meant killing off all the priests of the Israelite God, so be it. She needed to have her gods served! Her missionary zeal was amazing. Put together with the power of the monarchy, she seemed unstoppable.
It is interesting to see Jezebel and Elijah compared. Both had names declaring themselves as servants of their God. Both were, according to Barbara J. Essex, "active, fanatical, violent, stubborn - and all in the name of their deities." Yet the difference is who it was they served and how they are perceived in this modern age.
Throughout history missionaries have gone in and ignored existing cultural values to impress their own. We have repented some of these, others we have not yet recognized. This story does tell us of the aweful things that Jezebel did - but she did them to serve her gods. Does that make them right? I don't think so. Neither do our good intentions excuse us. Jezebel ended with a terrible, gruesome death - no royal lying in state with respect being paid - but with being trampled and scavenged til there was almost nothing left of her.
If there is one thing I take from the study of this story, it is that we need to be sensitive to those around us, especially those over whom we hold some power. It is too easy to push our thoughts, opinions and values on others, when theirs may be just as, or in Israel's case more, valid than our own. I don't think this means we don't argue for or express our views, but it does mean we need to listen and recognize the other person as a thinking, feeling creation of God, just as we are. We also need to remember that God is so much bigger than any of us - and so it is possible that within God's vastness we are both partially right. Yes, I have gone past the Jezebel story, but it is an extension of the realization that just doing what we think is right for what we think are the right reasons does not make it right. I hope and pray for God's guidance so that the words we speak, the meditations of our hearts as well as our actions may be acceptable in God's sight.
Feb 18 - Family Day
We did not meet due to the holiday - but i thought I'd throw in a few random thoughts from my week.
My husband and I were in Florida Feb 10 - 17. We enjoyed the sun and some of the entertainment available in the Orlando area. While having dinner with some of the other people there representing AMBS, one woman told of her first trip to the"Magic Kingdom". She had felt somewhat guilty spending time and money on such a "worldly" pursuit - but had decided it was an experience she didn't want her kids to miss. While on the trip she had two "aha" moments. I have to admit I have forgotten one, but the other has stuck with me. She spoke of being struck by how the staff ("cast members") in Disneyworld are so friendly and cheerful and how that really infects the whole spirit of your visit there. You even find people smiling as they walk miles between rides or stand in line, and people generally being patient in lines, even letting others go ahead in line on occasion, and being very forgiving of mistakes etc. You don't see that so much in grocery stores. She asked what would happen if that was the impression people had of the church? If a secular organization can have that positive effect on people there for purely recreational purposes, shouldn't we be able to influence people seeking the comfort and joy of relationship with God? Shouldn't we be "The happiest place on earth"?
I've also been reading Bruxy Cavey's book The End of Religion. I haven't gotten too far as I ended up not reading as much as I thought I would on holidays - but the premise is quite fascinating: that God never intended for there to be "religion" but, rather, planned for an intimate relationship between God and humans and created the rites/rules as a way for us to regrow our relationship with God. His belief is that Jesus came to get rid of religion and re-establish the close relationship God had with Adam and Eve before they decided to eat the forbidden fruit. As I said I have a long way to go in reading this fascinating book. I am challenged already, however, to try to be more Christlike and less caught in rules/regulations, to try to trust God to work things out - and not get caught up in fair and unfair, to try to open myself to what God plans for me - not just do what is expected.
So these are my insights for this week. To be a better example of God's love and to focus on following Christ. Nothing too new - but coming from a different perspective for me. What are you doing to deepen your relationship with God? Something to ponder.....
My husband and I were in Florida Feb 10 - 17. We enjoyed the sun and some of the entertainment available in the Orlando area. While having dinner with some of the other people there representing AMBS, one woman told of her first trip to the"Magic Kingdom". She had felt somewhat guilty spending time and money on such a "worldly" pursuit - but had decided it was an experience she didn't want her kids to miss. While on the trip she had two "aha" moments. I have to admit I have forgotten one, but the other has stuck with me. She spoke of being struck by how the staff ("cast members") in Disneyworld are so friendly and cheerful and how that really infects the whole spirit of your visit there. You even find people smiling as they walk miles between rides or stand in line, and people generally being patient in lines, even letting others go ahead in line on occasion, and being very forgiving of mistakes etc. You don't see that so much in grocery stores. She asked what would happen if that was the impression people had of the church? If a secular organization can have that positive effect on people there for purely recreational purposes, shouldn't we be able to influence people seeking the comfort and joy of relationship with God? Shouldn't we be "The happiest place on earth"?
I've also been reading Bruxy Cavey's book The End of Religion. I haven't gotten too far as I ended up not reading as much as I thought I would on holidays - but the premise is quite fascinating: that God never intended for there to be "religion" but, rather, planned for an intimate relationship between God and humans and created the rites/rules as a way for us to regrow our relationship with God. His belief is that Jesus came to get rid of religion and re-establish the close relationship God had with Adam and Eve before they decided to eat the forbidden fruit. As I said I have a long way to go in reading this fascinating book. I am challenged already, however, to try to be more Christlike and less caught in rules/regulations, to try to trust God to work things out - and not get caught up in fair and unfair, to try to open myself to what God plans for me - not just do what is expected.
So these are my insights for this week. To be a better example of God's love and to focus on following Christ. Nothing too new - but coming from a different perspective for me. What are you doing to deepen your relationship with God? Something to ponder.....
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Feb. 11 - Delilah
Ok most of us have heard of Delilah. We have images of a beautiful, seductive Philistine woman who betrayed the man who loved her. I even had the impression that they had been married. We see a Mata Hari type person, seductive, promiscuous and seemingly ammoral. But when we look at the story itself without all the preconceived impressions, we see a woman asked to help her country and be very well paid for it. She may not have liked Samson, may even have been somewhat disgusted by his arrogance and his destructive ways. The story says that Samson fell in love with her, it does not say she seduced or encouraged him. He was a well known, not very popular person - more infamous than famous. Maybe he was like so many celebrities today who just assume any woman who catches their eye will fall into bed with them. Who knows, maybe some of the Philistines he killed to get the robes he needed for his bet were important to her. Maybe some of the thousand men he slew in Lehi were relatives or friends. In any case, the "lords of the Philistines" hired Delilah to bring them information to get rid of Samson - and so she played the spy game and found out how to bring down this enemy of her people.
So often we build pictures of people based on our own biased outlook. We often forget there is another side of the story. Over and over as we look at these women who are mentioned in the Bible, we see that their stories are just touched on as a part of other stories. We recognize that we know so little about their lives, their families, their feelings. How often are we like that in our day to day lives? Judging others by how their actions affect us? My son has gently (?) reminded me that the fans for the opposing team are probably not really that much different than the fans on our side - but to me they are SOOOOO annoying (while we are just supportive)! That person driving speed limit in front of us when we want to go faster because "everybody" does on this road - really does have the right, and even the legal obligation to go that speed. My not leaving enough time for travel is not their fault. To me, however, they are frustratingly in my way and therefore must be obnoxious people! I can see this having implications even in making church decisions: Do we really listen to those who have different opinions or are we just busy thinking of statements to rebut what they have said so we have a better chance of "winning" the vote, having things go our way (as opposed to the way of those stubborn selfish people who think differently)?
I think in my head the three stories of Samson with women, (his marriage, his night with a hooker and his relationship with Delilah) all had merged into one, giving me a warped sense of who Delilah was. I do kind of wonder what was going on in her head and whether Samson really cared for her and whether she felt any kind of affection for him. We really don't know. She plays a short lived but crucial role in his life and downfall.
How would the story be different if Samson was Philistine and Delilah was Israelite? Would she then be seen as a strong, resourceful, patriotic woman? Would the emphasis of the story be more on the brash cruelty of Samson's actions and the courage it took forDelilah to take on this powerful, volatile man? It is hard to justify playing with another person's emotions just to cause their downfall, but it is interesting to ponder the difference perspective makes. Who was really a hero here?
Apparently some people use this story as a cautionary tale against trusting a woman. This is really not fair. Now trusting a woman who has tried everything you named as making you weak - that was not so brilliant. He already had been betrayed by his wife and had been randomly killing the country people of this woman - yet somehow he didn't suspect that she might have alterior motives for wanting to know how to make him lose his power. This is not the same as building a real relationship with a woman with whom you have common interests and goals. I don't think this is the same as trying to get to know a woman, listening and trying to get in tune with her feelings. I guess there is a caution, though, to not be stupid about things. Take some responsibility for your actions and your decisions, recognizing that things may not work out. And maybe don't put your whole life in another person's hands so quickly.
I'm not sure I found this story particulary helpful or enlightening. An arrogant, self-righteous, physically powerful and violent man is brought down by his own bad judgement and yet is hailed as a hero of faith while the spy who brought him down is vilified. The only redeeming factors I see are a) that God works through flawed people (HOPE!) and b) that we need to remember there is always another side to a given story. So I will try to accept people, even those I don't understand or like, and listen to hear their side of the story even if it is inconvenient to me, recognizing that God may have brought them into my life to teach me something, maybe even something about myself; or maybe its not all about me after all, and God will use that person to bring about something wonderful somewhere else down the line. It is not up to me to know - but to trust God.
.
So often we build pictures of people based on our own biased outlook. We often forget there is another side of the story. Over and over as we look at these women who are mentioned in the Bible, we see that their stories are just touched on as a part of other stories. We recognize that we know so little about their lives, their families, their feelings. How often are we like that in our day to day lives? Judging others by how their actions affect us? My son has gently (?) reminded me that the fans for the opposing team are probably not really that much different than the fans on our side - but to me they are SOOOOO annoying (while we are just supportive)! That person driving speed limit in front of us when we want to go faster because "everybody" does on this road - really does have the right, and even the legal obligation to go that speed. My not leaving enough time for travel is not their fault. To me, however, they are frustratingly in my way and therefore must be obnoxious people! I can see this having implications even in making church decisions: Do we really listen to those who have different opinions or are we just busy thinking of statements to rebut what they have said so we have a better chance of "winning" the vote, having things go our way (as opposed to the way of those stubborn selfish people who think differently)?
I think in my head the three stories of Samson with women, (his marriage, his night with a hooker and his relationship with Delilah) all had merged into one, giving me a warped sense of who Delilah was. I do kind of wonder what was going on in her head and whether Samson really cared for her and whether she felt any kind of affection for him. We really don't know. She plays a short lived but crucial role in his life and downfall.
How would the story be different if Samson was Philistine and Delilah was Israelite? Would she then be seen as a strong, resourceful, patriotic woman? Would the emphasis of the story be more on the brash cruelty of Samson's actions and the courage it took forDelilah to take on this powerful, volatile man? It is hard to justify playing with another person's emotions just to cause their downfall, but it is interesting to ponder the difference perspective makes. Who was really a hero here?
Apparently some people use this story as a cautionary tale against trusting a woman. This is really not fair. Now trusting a woman who has tried everything you named as making you weak - that was not so brilliant. He already had been betrayed by his wife and had been randomly killing the country people of this woman - yet somehow he didn't suspect that she might have alterior motives for wanting to know how to make him lose his power. This is not the same as building a real relationship with a woman with whom you have common interests and goals. I don't think this is the same as trying to get to know a woman, listening and trying to get in tune with her feelings. I guess there is a caution, though, to not be stupid about things. Take some responsibility for your actions and your decisions, recognizing that things may not work out. And maybe don't put your whole life in another person's hands so quickly.
I'm not sure I found this story particulary helpful or enlightening. An arrogant, self-righteous, physically powerful and violent man is brought down by his own bad judgement and yet is hailed as a hero of faith while the spy who brought him down is vilified. The only redeeming factors I see are a) that God works through flawed people (HOPE!) and b) that we need to remember there is always another side to a given story. So I will try to accept people, even those I don't understand or like, and listen to hear their side of the story even if it is inconvenient to me, recognizing that God may have brought them into my life to teach me something, maybe even something about myself; or maybe its not all about me after all, and God will use that person to bring about something wonderful somewhere else down the line. It is not up to me to know - but to trust God.
.
Saturday, 2 February 2013
Feb 4 - Potiphar's wife
In Genesis 39 we have the story of Potiphar's wife, another nameless woman important to the story of God's people. Her persuit of Joseph and his constant refusal to give in to his owner's wife (remembering that he had been sold into slavery) demonstrate Joseph's goodness and faithfulness to God and his human master. Her lie that Joseph had tried to seduce her caused him to lose his favored position in Potiphar's house and landed him in jail, which ultimately ended up in his coming to the King's notice and rising to even higher status, that of King's advisor. So we usually just see her as an evil antagonist, necessary to the plotline, not as a real human being.
So who was she? I guess we'll never know too much. Her husband was an officer of Pharoah, a captain of the guard. This would imply that she had wealth and comfort. They could afford slaves, so she probably did not have to do much, if any, work. Perhaps she was bored. Perhaps her husband ignored her. Perhaps she just really liked the way Joseph looked and the way he handled their household. Often I picture her as one of those rich divas featured in so many soap operas - self important and petulant; expecting everyone to do as she says. This may or may not be true. I wonder if it was common back then for rich wives to sleep with their slaves?
When I read the story my thoughts drift to the stories of the south - of the slavery experienced in North America. How many times have we heard stories of Masters forcing their female slaves to sleep with them? and then selling them if they become pregnant? How often have we heard of families being sold to different people, children being torn from their parents, husbands and wives separated. We hear of the slaves being treated like animals, or worse - with no concern for family ties or health or religion. I can't help but wonder, if this is similar to Egypt back in Joseph's time, how he managed to put 'Mrs. Potiphar' off for as long as he did. I guess his station within the house would give him a modicum of power - and his physical strength would prevent her from physically forcing him - but it is still amazing that, when she was so adamant that he sleep with her that he could refuse while technically being her property.
Of course there is the possibility that she actually cared for him. That, through their interactions while running the household, the mistress developed a kind of love/respect for him (infatuation?) that made her wish for a deeper physical relationship as well. Maybe he cared for her, too, but could not betray his master or go against his belief that adultry was wrong. Maybe she just finally snapped. We've heard tales (especially on tv or movies) about obsessive "love".
In the Interpretation Commentary written by Walter Brueggemann it is suggested that this story is multi-layered. There is a common beginning with the Egyptian tale of Two Brothers - where the older brother's wife tries to seduce the younger brother who refuses her and ends up banished when she accuses him of attempted rape. In that story, after many twists and turns, the younger brother is reincarnated and becomes the Pharoah, naming his older brother as his trusted advisor. There is the idea that the Israelites know (and Mrs. Potiphar doesn't know) that Joseph's success is due to his being chosen by God and therefore his faithfulness to his belief makes sense. There is the conflict between the "empire" (Egypt) and the "dream" (Joseph's vision of ruling). The way to rise in the empire is to do as your are told by your superiors, The way to rise to the fulfilment of God's plan is to stay true to what God tells you. Joseph picked the "dream". There are themes and word usages that would have brought other stories to the mind of the ancient reader.
I guess the Bible doesn't tell us more about the wife of Potiphar because her motives and desires are not important. It is her actions that cause her inclusion at all. Because she managed to get Joseph imprisoned he came to the attention of the king's cup-bearer and baker. Because he interpreted their dreams correctly, the cup-bearer mentions him to Pharoah when he was troubled by dreams. Because Joseph was able to explain both Pharoah's dream and its meaning, Joseph was elevated to second in command in Egypt. So if it had not been for the foolish/evil desires of Potiphar's wife, Joseph may never have come to rule in Egypt.
What does this teach us? I'm not sure. That revenge sometimes backfires? Potiphar's household not only lost a great manager and all the blessings/prosperity he brought, but also ended up lower than Joseph in society. Maybe we learn that we have no idea what results our actions good (Joseph staying true) or bad (Mrs. Potiphar lying) may have. Maybe that God is in control no matter what. In the end run, this is what matters. God is in control and can use current "horrible-ness" to bring future "right-ness". It doesn't seem fair - we live in the small picture and may not be around for the "happy ending" or the big picture corrections. I guess this is where faith comes in. When Joseph said no to pleasing his owner's wife, he did not know if this was going to be the end of him, or if he would rot in jail for the rest of his life or whether he would be ok. He had to trust. And so do we.
So who was she? I guess we'll never know too much. Her husband was an officer of Pharoah, a captain of the guard. This would imply that she had wealth and comfort. They could afford slaves, so she probably did not have to do much, if any, work. Perhaps she was bored. Perhaps her husband ignored her. Perhaps she just really liked the way Joseph looked and the way he handled their household. Often I picture her as one of those rich divas featured in so many soap operas - self important and petulant; expecting everyone to do as she says. This may or may not be true. I wonder if it was common back then for rich wives to sleep with their slaves?
When I read the story my thoughts drift to the stories of the south - of the slavery experienced in North America. How many times have we heard stories of Masters forcing their female slaves to sleep with them? and then selling them if they become pregnant? How often have we heard of families being sold to different people, children being torn from their parents, husbands and wives separated. We hear of the slaves being treated like animals, or worse - with no concern for family ties or health or religion. I can't help but wonder, if this is similar to Egypt back in Joseph's time, how he managed to put 'Mrs. Potiphar' off for as long as he did. I guess his station within the house would give him a modicum of power - and his physical strength would prevent her from physically forcing him - but it is still amazing that, when she was so adamant that he sleep with her that he could refuse while technically being her property.
Of course there is the possibility that she actually cared for him. That, through their interactions while running the household, the mistress developed a kind of love/respect for him (infatuation?) that made her wish for a deeper physical relationship as well. Maybe he cared for her, too, but could not betray his master or go against his belief that adultry was wrong. Maybe she just finally snapped. We've heard tales (especially on tv or movies) about obsessive "love".
In the Interpretation Commentary written by Walter Brueggemann it is suggested that this story is multi-layered. There is a common beginning with the Egyptian tale of Two Brothers - where the older brother's wife tries to seduce the younger brother who refuses her and ends up banished when she accuses him of attempted rape. In that story, after many twists and turns, the younger brother is reincarnated and becomes the Pharoah, naming his older brother as his trusted advisor. There is the idea that the Israelites know (and Mrs. Potiphar doesn't know) that Joseph's success is due to his being chosen by God and therefore his faithfulness to his belief makes sense. There is the conflict between the "empire" (Egypt) and the "dream" (Joseph's vision of ruling). The way to rise in the empire is to do as your are told by your superiors, The way to rise to the fulfilment of God's plan is to stay true to what God tells you. Joseph picked the "dream". There are themes and word usages that would have brought other stories to the mind of the ancient reader.
I guess the Bible doesn't tell us more about the wife of Potiphar because her motives and desires are not important. It is her actions that cause her inclusion at all. Because she managed to get Joseph imprisoned he came to the attention of the king's cup-bearer and baker. Because he interpreted their dreams correctly, the cup-bearer mentions him to Pharoah when he was troubled by dreams. Because Joseph was able to explain both Pharoah's dream and its meaning, Joseph was elevated to second in command in Egypt. So if it had not been for the foolish/evil desires of Potiphar's wife, Joseph may never have come to rule in Egypt.
What does this teach us? I'm not sure. That revenge sometimes backfires? Potiphar's household not only lost a great manager and all the blessings/prosperity he brought, but also ended up lower than Joseph in society. Maybe we learn that we have no idea what results our actions good (Joseph staying true) or bad (Mrs. Potiphar lying) may have. Maybe that God is in control no matter what. In the end run, this is what matters. God is in control and can use current "horrible-ness" to bring future "right-ness". It doesn't seem fair - we live in the small picture and may not be around for the "happy ending" or the big picture corrections. I guess this is where faith comes in. When Joseph said no to pleasing his owner's wife, he did not know if this was going to be the end of him, or if he would rot in jail for the rest of his life or whether he would be ok. He had to trust. And so do we.
Jan 28 - Tamar
The story of Tamar is an unsavory tale of rejection, deception and evil. It sounds as though she could well have been abused by her first husband, an "evil man". When he died, due to Levirite laws, she had no choice but be married to her brother in law. He did not treat her well either. He seemed more than willing to sleep with her,whether or not she wanted to, but "spilled his seed" so she would not become pregnant. This left her in a position of shame without hope of having a child. According to the text God killed him for his evil. Understandably, at this point, Judah was leary of allowing his third and final son to marry this woman who, as far as he could tell, had caused the death of his other sons. He sends her back to her parents, instead. This is unthinkable. Now she has no options, no one to look after her and no hope of husband or children - her future is hopeless. So she takes it upon herself to force her father-in-law to right this wrong. After her mother-in-law dies, she dresses as a prostitute when her father in law is coming to town. He does not recognize her and "hires" her. When she becomes pregnant he is appalled - Now he is concerned with his family's appearance in society. Even though he obviously has slept with at least one woman outside of wedlock, and has bannished Tamar to a hopeless situation, he feels righteously indignent. It is only when she proves that he is the father of her children that he repents and allows her to live, though not with any status since she still was not married. At least she had her children.
This is an aweful story. A woman who was so abused and misused that she turned to questionable (at best) means to get what was rightfully hers. I have no answers for what she should have done. Throughout history there are stories of people in hopeless situations - some with triumphant endings, many not. I don't think those of us with relatively comfortable lives with lots of options can really judge their actions.
I think there are things that we can learn, though. Judah was blind to his sons' faults. Even though, as far as we know, Tamar had nothing to do with his sons' deaths, he blamed her, not them or their activities, for their being struck down. I think we all need to be aware that most stories have more than one side and that we need to realize we may not know all the relevant facts. We need to be open to discovering new facets to a story that seems somewhat straight foreward. And we need to be aware that we tend toward finding a scape goat - someone to blame when things are bad. Somehow we need to step back and see that it may not be anyone else's fault and that the story may have more sides than we can see.
It also seems no attempt was made, by Judah, his wife or sons to find out how Tamar was doing and how they could make it better. There was no real consideration of her as a real person. She was cast as Er's wife, not as a woman with wants and needs. This, too, is a trap we sometimes fall into. We think we know a person. We judge him or her by some actions we see or by his or her position in the church or community. The fact is that all of us are many faceted. We have hopes, dreams, pains and disappointments that affect our view of and reaction to any situation. Before we write anyone off we need to take the time to get to know him or her and see the good and the bad, We need to tear down the stereotype or pre-judgement and get to know, or at least glimpse, the whole person.
Our discussion centred around the hopelessness that many people, through fate or circumstance, people find themselves experiencing. Culture, finances, religion, age,and/or ill-health can all play into their situation. How do we make things better? We also talked about women's use of their sexuality. Tamar went to extremes - but how many of us use our sexuality in one way or another to get what we want or need? Or do we stifle it in order to seem more masculine and capable of handling business in "a man's world"? There were a lot of tough questions and I'm not sure we have a lot of answers. We do, however, have a kind of sad respect for Tamar who was so desperate she gave up her pride to pose as a prostitute and sleep with her father-in-law, risking her life for the chance at motherhood and at least a modicum of respect in society.
None of us is perfect. We do drastic things when we are desparate. We judge people and ignore people. Sometimes we hurt people. Sometimes we put ourselves before others. But even though both Judah and Tamar were far from perfect people, they became Jesus' ancestors. From all this deception, evil, and hopelessness comes that man that brings us all truth, love, peace and hope. I do take hope from this, that even us imperfect people can help further God's plans.
This is an aweful story. A woman who was so abused and misused that she turned to questionable (at best) means to get what was rightfully hers. I have no answers for what she should have done. Throughout history there are stories of people in hopeless situations - some with triumphant endings, many not. I don't think those of us with relatively comfortable lives with lots of options can really judge their actions.
I think there are things that we can learn, though. Judah was blind to his sons' faults. Even though, as far as we know, Tamar had nothing to do with his sons' deaths, he blamed her, not them or their activities, for their being struck down. I think we all need to be aware that most stories have more than one side and that we need to realize we may not know all the relevant facts. We need to be open to discovering new facets to a story that seems somewhat straight foreward. And we need to be aware that we tend toward finding a scape goat - someone to blame when things are bad. Somehow we need to step back and see that it may not be anyone else's fault and that the story may have more sides than we can see.
It also seems no attempt was made, by Judah, his wife or sons to find out how Tamar was doing and how they could make it better. There was no real consideration of her as a real person. She was cast as Er's wife, not as a woman with wants and needs. This, too, is a trap we sometimes fall into. We think we know a person. We judge him or her by some actions we see or by his or her position in the church or community. The fact is that all of us are many faceted. We have hopes, dreams, pains and disappointments that affect our view of and reaction to any situation. Before we write anyone off we need to take the time to get to know him or her and see the good and the bad, We need to tear down the stereotype or pre-judgement and get to know, or at least glimpse, the whole person.
Our discussion centred around the hopelessness that many people, through fate or circumstance, people find themselves experiencing. Culture, finances, religion, age,and/or ill-health can all play into their situation. How do we make things better? We also talked about women's use of their sexuality. Tamar went to extremes - but how many of us use our sexuality in one way or another to get what we want or need? Or do we stifle it in order to seem more masculine and capable of handling business in "a man's world"? There were a lot of tough questions and I'm not sure we have a lot of answers. We do, however, have a kind of sad respect for Tamar who was so desperate she gave up her pride to pose as a prostitute and sleep with her father-in-law, risking her life for the chance at motherhood and at least a modicum of respect in society.
None of us is perfect. We do drastic things when we are desparate. We judge people and ignore people. Sometimes we hurt people. Sometimes we put ourselves before others. But even though both Judah and Tamar were far from perfect people, they became Jesus' ancestors. From all this deception, evil, and hopelessness comes that man that brings us all truth, love, peace and hope. I do take hope from this, that even us imperfect people can help further God's plans.
Friday, 25 January 2013
Jan 21 - Rebekah
Today we look at Rebekah. She is a fascinating woman. In today's day and age she would probably be a successful business woman or academic. She is smart and creative and brave enough to take risks for what she believes. She was like Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice, Like Jo in Little Women, Like Anne of Green Gables. She was the somewhat impestuous young woman who pushed the limits of her society. Back in her lifetime, in a patriarchal society she was limited in her options. She took the chance to travel - not often offered to unmarried women. She agreed to marry a man she had never met in order to have that chance. When she couldn't conceive, she prayed and trusted God to come through. When she did conceive and the pregnancy was difficult - She prayed.again - and ended up giving birth to healthy twins. If this was all we knew about her she would be held up as an example of what we should be like, as a paragon of faithful womanhood. But there is more.
There is the rest of the story. Rebekah favored her younger son. We don't know whether that was because she was remembering the prophecy that the younger would serve the older, or because her husband preferred her older son or if Esau was just too much a "man's man" with his enjoyment of hunting and his early marriages. She favored Jacob to the point of helping him cheat his older brother out of his birthright and then getting his father to send him out of range of his brother's murderous rage. This part of the story makes her seem manipulative, devious, and deceptive. Not exactly the ideal descriptors of a Christian.
So who was she? I guess we'll never know for sure. She was probably a regular woman - with strengths and weaknesses like us all. She seemed to do a lot of praying early in her marriage and even heard God speaking to her late in her pregnancy. She had a vision of Jacob succeeding and she did what she could to make sure it happened. It does seem, however, that she did not trust God to fulfill the prophecy of Jacob's success. She seemed to feel she had to make things happen. Maybe this is the lesson that we need to learn from Rebekah - that when we take things into our own hands we end up doing things that maybe we shouldn't do. We end up hurting other people, like Esau, and even ourselves. Rebekah ended up having to send Jacob away to save his life and so was stuck living with the son she had slighted and all his foreign wives. She also may have hurt Jacob, by making it so he had to leave on his own, make his own way and not return to the home of his childhood for a very long time. This does not seem to be an ideal situation.
It is a challenge knowing how to best serve God, how to help God's will be done. It does not seem right to sit back and do nothing. We are God's body on earth and, as Christians, want to help. But it also does not seem right to lie and steal and cheat to serve God, even if the end result promises to be good. Somehow we need to learn to pray and to listen. We need to allow God to guide us. To trust God to show us the right way to go, even if it doesn't feel right and to take care of things so they will turn out right. As the old cliche says - we need to let go and let God - let God lead us, let God take charge, let God make the decisions. God can handle the responsiblity.
There is the rest of the story. Rebekah favored her younger son. We don't know whether that was because she was remembering the prophecy that the younger would serve the older, or because her husband preferred her older son or if Esau was just too much a "man's man" with his enjoyment of hunting and his early marriages. She favored Jacob to the point of helping him cheat his older brother out of his birthright and then getting his father to send him out of range of his brother's murderous rage. This part of the story makes her seem manipulative, devious, and deceptive. Not exactly the ideal descriptors of a Christian.
So who was she? I guess we'll never know for sure. She was probably a regular woman - with strengths and weaknesses like us all. She seemed to do a lot of praying early in her marriage and even heard God speaking to her late in her pregnancy. She had a vision of Jacob succeeding and she did what she could to make sure it happened. It does seem, however, that she did not trust God to fulfill the prophecy of Jacob's success. She seemed to feel she had to make things happen. Maybe this is the lesson that we need to learn from Rebekah - that when we take things into our own hands we end up doing things that maybe we shouldn't do. We end up hurting other people, like Esau, and even ourselves. Rebekah ended up having to send Jacob away to save his life and so was stuck living with the son she had slighted and all his foreign wives. She also may have hurt Jacob, by making it so he had to leave on his own, make his own way and not return to the home of his childhood for a very long time. This does not seem to be an ideal situation.
It is a challenge knowing how to best serve God, how to help God's will be done. It does not seem right to sit back and do nothing. We are God's body on earth and, as Christians, want to help. But it also does not seem right to lie and steal and cheat to serve God, even if the end result promises to be good. Somehow we need to learn to pray and to listen. We need to allow God to guide us. To trust God to show us the right way to go, even if it doesn't feel right and to take care of things so they will turn out right. As the old cliche says - we need to let go and let God - let God lead us, let God take charge, let God make the decisions. God can handle the responsiblity.
Monday, 14 January 2013
Jan 14 - Lot's Wife
Today we looked at one of the many nameless women in the Bible, Lot's wife. All we know is that in Genesis19 she is mentioned as first being called with her husband to leave, and in verse 26 as having turned back and turned into a pillar of salt. There is so much we don't know about this woman - including her name, nationality, or beliefs. All we know is she was married to Lot and had two daughters. So far could be almost anyone.
Commentaries suggest that Mrs. Lot was probably a local - Lot seems to have been quite young when he left Haran with his uncle Abram and so probably didn't have a wife yet. Since they never went back, chances are good that Lot married either an Egyptian during their travels or a local girl once he settled down in Sodom. In the world back then women didn't travel much unless it was with their fathers or husbands, so she probably had lived in Sodom her whole life, or at least long enough for her daughters to grow up and become betrothed. This is all supposition - but could explain why it was so hard for her to leave. If her whole life and family was in Sodom it would be difficult to leave it behind. It seems Lot held a respected position - sitting at the gate of the city - some even suggest he was the mayor. It would imply that he and his family probably had a pretty nice life - in with the IN crowd. We don't know what she believed - had she taken on Lot's faith or had she kept whatever faith, if any, her family held as she grew up? Maybe she didn't believe the warnings of the two men/angels who were staying with them. All in all - even with the little we know - it seems they had a pretty nice life in Sodom. Nice enough even Lot didn't want to leave. The visitors had to physically pull Lot and his wife and daughters out of the city. And when they were almost out of range of the "fire & brimstone" - Lot's wife turns around. Was it to check on her daughters? Was it because she had parents or siblings left behind? Was it because Sodom was the only home she had ever known? Whatever it was, that hesitation, that break in momentum forward, cost her her life.
So what can we learn from this? Luke 17 (verse 32) uses this story to say we must be prepared to leave everything behind. But could we? I guess refugees have done it many times. From different countries in different eras people have been forced to leave behind comfortable lives because a change of government or other dominant circumstance like war, makes it a choice between life with discomfort and possible comfort combined with possible/probable death. People do it. Even people involved in a divorce can be forced to give up their home, thier status and, sometimes, even their support system. The prospect of losing all this has been known to keep unhappy people in marriages on occasion. It is hard to let go of so much. As I look around my house and think of my children growing up here and all the memories that it holds, let alone all the comforts we've accumulated through the years, I realize I would have trouble not looking back. I think I would want one more look at the place that has been central to my life and my children's lives for so long. I wonder if I would have the strength to just leave everything behind.
That's physically. What about emotional or spiritual baggage. Am I able to leave that behind? Do I find comfort in rites and rituals and beliefs that have been a part of my life for as long as I remember? Of course I do. If God tells me I need to look at things differently - will I be able to? Will I believe notice that I am no longer on the right track? Will I be open to God's leading to a new place spiritually? If I have to give up my dreams for my self and/or my children - will I be able to? Or will I have to be dragged to realization that I don't have much of a choice. I don't know - I wonder.
Another interesting thought was raised during our discussion. As the fire and sulphar consumed Lot's wife - turning her into a pillar of salt - so too sometimes we let things - competitiveness, jealousy, addictions - consume our thoughts and our time and our energy. As the salt stopped Lot's wife from running to safety so, too, our obsessions can stop us from reaching our full potential - from the life God has planned for us. So we need to free ourselves from obsessions, from things, from our attachment to home and focus on the future, on God's plan for us. Trust in God can help us let go of our old attachments and face the unknown with confidence. Then maybe we can run to the future without looking back.
In this week's passage I find a woman, not so different from me, who had trouble leaving her past life behind, even if it meant risking what seems to have been a horrible death. Our challenge this week is to be willing to let go of our securities and open up to new possibilities - to be thankful for the graces and gifts we have been given - but also to let go of them so they don't become what keeps us from living a full and faithful life.
Commentaries suggest that Mrs. Lot was probably a local - Lot seems to have been quite young when he left Haran with his uncle Abram and so probably didn't have a wife yet. Since they never went back, chances are good that Lot married either an Egyptian during their travels or a local girl once he settled down in Sodom. In the world back then women didn't travel much unless it was with their fathers or husbands, so she probably had lived in Sodom her whole life, or at least long enough for her daughters to grow up and become betrothed. This is all supposition - but could explain why it was so hard for her to leave. If her whole life and family was in Sodom it would be difficult to leave it behind. It seems Lot held a respected position - sitting at the gate of the city - some even suggest he was the mayor. It would imply that he and his family probably had a pretty nice life - in with the IN crowd. We don't know what she believed - had she taken on Lot's faith or had she kept whatever faith, if any, her family held as she grew up? Maybe she didn't believe the warnings of the two men/angels who were staying with them. All in all - even with the little we know - it seems they had a pretty nice life in Sodom. Nice enough even Lot didn't want to leave. The visitors had to physically pull Lot and his wife and daughters out of the city. And when they were almost out of range of the "fire & brimstone" - Lot's wife turns around. Was it to check on her daughters? Was it because she had parents or siblings left behind? Was it because Sodom was the only home she had ever known? Whatever it was, that hesitation, that break in momentum forward, cost her her life.
So what can we learn from this? Luke 17 (verse 32) uses this story to say we must be prepared to leave everything behind. But could we? I guess refugees have done it many times. From different countries in different eras people have been forced to leave behind comfortable lives because a change of government or other dominant circumstance like war, makes it a choice between life with discomfort and possible comfort combined with possible/probable death. People do it. Even people involved in a divorce can be forced to give up their home, thier status and, sometimes, even their support system. The prospect of losing all this has been known to keep unhappy people in marriages on occasion. It is hard to let go of so much. As I look around my house and think of my children growing up here and all the memories that it holds, let alone all the comforts we've accumulated through the years, I realize I would have trouble not looking back. I think I would want one more look at the place that has been central to my life and my children's lives for so long. I wonder if I would have the strength to just leave everything behind.
That's physically. What about emotional or spiritual baggage. Am I able to leave that behind? Do I find comfort in rites and rituals and beliefs that have been a part of my life for as long as I remember? Of course I do. If God tells me I need to look at things differently - will I be able to? Will I believe notice that I am no longer on the right track? Will I be open to God's leading to a new place spiritually? If I have to give up my dreams for my self and/or my children - will I be able to? Or will I have to be dragged to realization that I don't have much of a choice. I don't know - I wonder.
Another interesting thought was raised during our discussion. As the fire and sulphar consumed Lot's wife - turning her into a pillar of salt - so too sometimes we let things - competitiveness, jealousy, addictions - consume our thoughts and our time and our energy. As the salt stopped Lot's wife from running to safety so, too, our obsessions can stop us from reaching our full potential - from the life God has planned for us. So we need to free ourselves from obsessions, from things, from our attachment to home and focus on the future, on God's plan for us. Trust in God can help us let go of our old attachments and face the unknown with confidence. Then maybe we can run to the future without looking back.
In this week's passage I find a woman, not so different from me, who had trouble leaving her past life behind, even if it meant risking what seems to have been a horrible death. Our challenge this week is to be willing to let go of our securities and open up to new possibilities - to be thankful for the graces and gifts we have been given - but also to let go of them so they don't become what keeps us from living a full and faithful life.
Monday, 7 January 2013
Jan 7 - Eve
Today we started looking at the stories of some of the women in the Bible. Appropriately we began our new study by looking at Eve and the little bit we can tell about her from Genesis 1-3.
When the average person thinks of Eve we think of a beautiful young woman in the garden of Eden or of a sultry woman deliberately flaunting the rules by taking a bite of the forbidden fruit, causing the downfall of the human race. This is due to myths and artists' interpretations through the years. All we really know is that Eve was created to live in the Garden of Eden with Adam; to tend and care for it. From the little we are told she comes across as a contented young woman, intelligent enough to be aware of the rule surrounding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and ready to talk about it, even with a snake. When the snake started asking questions, Eve's inquiring mind started to wonder. She looked at the fruit and it didn't look evil or deadly but quite lovely and delicious - so with the assurances of the snake and the attraction of the juicy fruit, she decided to give it a try. Since it tasted pretty good she decided to give some to her husband, who took it without question and ate it. Then they discovered it hadn't been a great idea. They discovered shame and fear. They also had to pay the consequences of their decision to eat the fruit by being kicked out of the garden. They found out the hard way that it would have been better to obey.
Barbara J. Essex, in her book Bad Girls of the Bible, suggests that Eve was smart and curious and "bold, courageous and brilliant." She suggests that Eve was like a child, unaware of how to make good decisions or that bad ones would have long term consequences. She pushed the boundaries like any child testing a parent. She took a risk. She was not evil, she was not bad in any way - just innocent and unaware. It is interesting that Adam, who appears to have been right there, did nothing to stop her from talking to the snake or from taking the fruit. It was Adam who had the direct word of God against eating the fruit yet he did not resist. Adam also ate the fruit. It really seems that the disobedience of eating the fruit was a joint effort even if tradition has placed the blame firmly on Eve's shoulders.
Essex also suggests that the maturity that comes from experiencing the consequences of such a bad decision may also have been necessary for Adam and Eve to learn to consider before making other choices. It could be what enables them to resist future temptations. In other words she suggests that Eve needed to make this collossal mistake in order to make better decisions in her future. I suppose it could also be said that the story is there so we can learn, too, to make better decisions and not disobey.
We also need to be careful about jumping to conclusions. Many people have unfairly convicted Eve, and all womankind, because of an interpretation of one small section of the creation story. While both Adam and Eve disobeyed and had to pay the price, God still took care of them, clothed them and protected them from making another, similar mistake. The serpent was cursed, but Adam and Eve weren't. They made their lives more difficult by their decision to eat the forbidden fruit, but they did not forever change their value. Both men and women are God's creation, God's children, and both men and women make mistakes. God continues to value and look after all of us. Women are not forever condemned to be submissive to men or to have less value. Men and women were created to be partners in the caretaking of God's creation and it make sense that, while the task is more difficult now because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, it is still God's plan.
Reading the creation stories should remind us that we are made in God's image. Male and female, we exist because God breathed life into us. Like Adam and Eve, we may make mistakes, but, just as God clothed Adam and Eve when they realized they were naked, God cares for us and will give us what we need even when we mess up. When we struggle with our self esteem - when we feel we just can't measure up - we need to remember God created us this way and loves us even when we make mistakes. We just make it harder on ourselves.
So go forth - be curious, be courageous, make mistakes - but know through it all that you are the person God created you to be God can use you to do amazing things and will love you and care for you no matter what.
When the average person thinks of Eve we think of a beautiful young woman in the garden of Eden or of a sultry woman deliberately flaunting the rules by taking a bite of the forbidden fruit, causing the downfall of the human race. This is due to myths and artists' interpretations through the years. All we really know is that Eve was created to live in the Garden of Eden with Adam; to tend and care for it. From the little we are told she comes across as a contented young woman, intelligent enough to be aware of the rule surrounding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and ready to talk about it, even with a snake. When the snake started asking questions, Eve's inquiring mind started to wonder. She looked at the fruit and it didn't look evil or deadly but quite lovely and delicious - so with the assurances of the snake and the attraction of the juicy fruit, she decided to give it a try. Since it tasted pretty good she decided to give some to her husband, who took it without question and ate it. Then they discovered it hadn't been a great idea. They discovered shame and fear. They also had to pay the consequences of their decision to eat the fruit by being kicked out of the garden. They found out the hard way that it would have been better to obey.
Barbara J. Essex, in her book Bad Girls of the Bible, suggests that Eve was smart and curious and "bold, courageous and brilliant." She suggests that Eve was like a child, unaware of how to make good decisions or that bad ones would have long term consequences. She pushed the boundaries like any child testing a parent. She took a risk. She was not evil, she was not bad in any way - just innocent and unaware. It is interesting that Adam, who appears to have been right there, did nothing to stop her from talking to the snake or from taking the fruit. It was Adam who had the direct word of God against eating the fruit yet he did not resist. Adam also ate the fruit. It really seems that the disobedience of eating the fruit was a joint effort even if tradition has placed the blame firmly on Eve's shoulders.
Essex also suggests that the maturity that comes from experiencing the consequences of such a bad decision may also have been necessary for Adam and Eve to learn to consider before making other choices. It could be what enables them to resist future temptations. In other words she suggests that Eve needed to make this collossal mistake in order to make better decisions in her future. I suppose it could also be said that the story is there so we can learn, too, to make better decisions and not disobey.
We also need to be careful about jumping to conclusions. Many people have unfairly convicted Eve, and all womankind, because of an interpretation of one small section of the creation story. While both Adam and Eve disobeyed and had to pay the price, God still took care of them, clothed them and protected them from making another, similar mistake. The serpent was cursed, but Adam and Eve weren't. They made their lives more difficult by their decision to eat the forbidden fruit, but they did not forever change their value. Both men and women are God's creation, God's children, and both men and women make mistakes. God continues to value and look after all of us. Women are not forever condemned to be submissive to men or to have less value. Men and women were created to be partners in the caretaking of God's creation and it make sense that, while the task is more difficult now because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, it is still God's plan.
Reading the creation stories should remind us that we are made in God's image. Male and female, we exist because God breathed life into us. Like Adam and Eve, we may make mistakes, but, just as God clothed Adam and Eve when they realized they were naked, God cares for us and will give us what we need even when we mess up. When we struggle with our self esteem - when we feel we just can't measure up - we need to remember God created us this way and loves us even when we make mistakes. We just make it harder on ourselves.
So go forth - be curious, be courageous, make mistakes - but know through it all that you are the person God created you to be God can use you to do amazing things and will love you and care for you no matter what.
December 17 - Christmas Potluck
Today was a social time - great food, random conversation in a lovely, very Christmassy setting.
So how much is too much to give your kids? How do you answer questions about why other kids get bigger and better gifts? What do you tell your kids about Santa? What do you do about all the things they want/need just before Christmas? These are all questions that parents have to deal with at one time or another. But it is interesting that our discussion centred on the Gift giving part of Christmas.
The other day some of us had chatted about the service part of Christmas. They had traditions of "giving back" at Christmas time - serving a meal or distributing gifts or in some other way helping those less fortunate. Is this a part of your Christmas?
What we didn't talk about was what Christmas means to us - or about worship. Christmas is an interesting time - some people love it and feel all warm and fuzzy when they think about the Christmas season. Some people are rather neutral about it. Some people find it a very difficult time.
This year will be my first Christmas since my Dad died. Several of my friends have also lost parents - some just this past week or two. There is something about losing a parent that dulls the beauty of the story of new birth - that makes it harder to accept the hope, joy, and peace of the advent season. I hope and pray that, while we may feel sadness during this season, we may also feel hope - the hope of a new child, the hope of fulfilled promises, the hope of a loving God who is taking care of us and our loved ones.
Have a blessed and meaningful Christmas, everyone!
So how much is too much to give your kids? How do you answer questions about why other kids get bigger and better gifts? What do you tell your kids about Santa? What do you do about all the things they want/need just before Christmas? These are all questions that parents have to deal with at one time or another. But it is interesting that our discussion centred on the Gift giving part of Christmas.
The other day some of us had chatted about the service part of Christmas. They had traditions of "giving back" at Christmas time - serving a meal or distributing gifts or in some other way helping those less fortunate. Is this a part of your Christmas?
What we didn't talk about was what Christmas means to us - or about worship. Christmas is an interesting time - some people love it and feel all warm and fuzzy when they think about the Christmas season. Some people are rather neutral about it. Some people find it a very difficult time.
This year will be my first Christmas since my Dad died. Several of my friends have also lost parents - some just this past week or two. There is something about losing a parent that dulls the beauty of the story of new birth - that makes it harder to accept the hope, joy, and peace of the advent season. I hope and pray that, while we may feel sadness during this season, we may also feel hope - the hope of a new child, the hope of fulfilled promises, the hope of a loving God who is taking care of us and our loved ones.
Have a blessed and meaningful Christmas, everyone!
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