We can’t explain Trinity, but we can’t explain anything without it.

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 12, 13

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!  (Deuteronomy 6:4)


Known as the Shema, meaning "hear," Deuteronomy 6:4-5 emphasized God's unity at a time when the nations of the world were predominantly polytheistic.  When translated into English, unity is all we hear in the Shema:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

But when we look closely at the original Hebrew, we see deeper into the verse:

Hear, H8085 O Israel: H3478 The LORD H3068 our God H430 is one H259 LORD. H3068

The numbers you see are called “Strong’s Numbers.”  First published in Strong’s Concordance in the late 1800’s, each number refers to a definition of the original Hebrew or Greek word.

What we need to see in the Shema is that LORD (H3068) and God (H430) are different words in the original (Hebrew) language.  H3068 refers to the name of God which was revealed to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14.  H430 is the name of God which we first encounter in Genesis 1:1.

The Shema, then, could be literally rendered as--

‘Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Elohim (plural) is one Jehovah!’

It could be even more literally rendered as--

‘Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Trinity is one Jehovah!’

Stand in the Rain has focused on the concept of Trinity in many articles over the last three years.  Here are a few of them:

"through the rift"
"a triple-braided cord"
"no one 'gets' Jesus but by Him"

We struggle to understand the concept of Trinity.  It taxes our imaginations, to say the least.

But as a practical matter, I am coming to realize that while Trinity raises some questions, it answers (1) more questions than it raises.

We can’t explain Trinity, but we can’t explain anything without it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) an example can be found in "through the rift," linked above

big wheels on a dead-end road

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 10:12-11:32

He is your praise. (Deuteronomy 10:21)


When we turn 20, we say that we don’t care what the world thinks of us.

When we turn 30, we start to wonder what the world thinks of us.

When we turn 40, we start to realize that the world isn’t thinking about us at all.


We all seek self-affirmation or praise. In fact, when we’re 20 and most vehemently denying it, that’s when we’re most avidly seeking it.

Teenage girls think having a boyfriend would affirm their worth. Teenage boys think that making the team would prove their worth. Bible bloggers think that a certain number of “clicks” would provide affirmation of their efforts.

In person, I speak street-level crude. When a big shiny pickup truck with oversized wheels roars down our road, I tell my sons that the bigger the wheels the smaller the, umhh, self-concept of the man behind the steering wheel. (My phrasing is coarser than that, but I will never achieve the number of clicks that would affirm my insecure ego if I were to write this blog like I talk to my sons.)

As I was writing the sentence above, it occurred to me that maybe I would get more clicks if I were to lower the level of discourse that this blog tries to maintain. I mean, a street-crude Bible blog just might generate 10,000 page-views per day—maybe more. Think of the souls saved! Think of the advertising revenue! Think of the publishers that would be clamoring for my book-to-be! Think of the speaking fees!

And think of the compromises, Franklyn.

You can see, from the little vignette above, where this need for affirmation or praise can take us. Teenage girls decide to put out (that should generate some clicks!) a little more than they should in order not to lose Johnny (who made the team) to pert and pretty Pamela. A man learns to second everything his boss says because he notices that it’s the yes-men who get the ego-affirming promotions and raises…

The Bible teaches us not to go there, because there is never enough affirmation, when we get there, to fulfill us. The Bible teaches us to look here instead:

He is your praise. (Deuteronomy 10:21)

A sustained sense of self-worth is not found in ourselves. It is not found in any achievement or relationship on the human plane.

Psalm 3:3 shows us how to keep our heads held high:

But you, O LORD, are a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of my head. (Psalm 3:3)

Jeremiah 9:23-24 gives us the one thing we can really brag about:

Thus says the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me.

***

I hope you’ll re-read the three verses printed directly above. As you do, think of your past and present attempts to achieve a sense of self-affirmation. If your self-worth is predicated upon anyone or anything other than the relationship recommended by those verses, then you’re on a dead-end street.

I spent a lot of time there, so I should know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

accounting for the unaccountable: the calculus of God’s grace

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 9:1-10:11

Sometimes, as I’m writing these articles, I come to a passage of scripture that expresses an equation, a divine calculus, which is so supernatural that it is nearly incomprehensible to my sin-addled brain.

Here is one of those passages:

Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky…
After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, "The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness."
No, it is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land;
It is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people. (excerpted from Deuteronomy 9:1-6)

The verse means that we are not saved because of who we are. We are saved because of who He is.

Let me write it this way:
Because He is a Savior he saved me.

My personal qualities—my virtue or lack of same—are not a factor. My sin cannot stop him from saving. If you’ll allow an abridgement, the passage can be paraphrased this way:

He saves us despite --not because of -- who we are.

This principal accounts for the unaccountable mercy of God. Probably the best-known example is Judas Iscariot. Jesus offered him forgiveness as he was in the very act of betrayal (1). Judas never received it, but the offer was always on the table.

Judas never truly understood the unconditional redemption that Jesus would purchase on the cross. We can assume (because we do the same) that Judas inserted his own sinfulness into the equation, which gave rise to the despair that prompted his death.

Prayer is answered on the very same basis. God gives because he’s a giver, and not because we’ve been either naughty or nice. The “in Jesus’ name” that we tack on the end of our prayers means that God answers prayer based on who Jesus is and not on who we are.

But we for the most part just blow through the phrase in a rote and meaningless way as we are calculating whether we’ve been good enough, during the last week or so, for God to say “Yes.”

This principal also goes a long way towards explaining Samson (who is otherwise inexplicable by our calculations.) Samson played fast and loose with the Nazirite vows he was supposed to uphold. But the Spirit and power of God were upon him. Despite his shortcomings, he was conspicuously gifted.

The only thing that can explain this, for me, is that Samson truly knew, to his marrow, that God gives gifts because he is a gift giver—not because of whoever Samson was.

God saved you because of who Jesus is. God answers prayer on the basis of who Jesus is. The day we truly understand this principle—which, it seems, Judas never “got” and Samson never forgot—is the day that we get out of God’s way.

“Salvation is of the LORD,” Jonah told us (2). Note that neither you nor I are factored into the calculus of God’s grace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) In a parallel betrayal, today’s reading (see Deuteronomy 9:9-21) describes the children of Israel in the act of breaking two of the Ten Commandments as they were being written. At the time they were making the molten calf, Moses was on the mountain getting the commandments. Among them were “You shall have no other gods” and “You shall not make any graven image.”
(2) Jonah 2:9

every word -- part 3

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 8

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:3)


“Why do we study the Bible?”

“What’s in it for me?”

“Where does it take me?”

When I’m asked those questions, I start at Deuteronomy chapters 6-8 for the answers. Since that is where we are, we’ve stopped to field those questions, one at a time.

A couple days ago, we asked "Why?"

Yesterday, we asked "What?"

Today, we'll ask "Where?"

***

“Where does Bible study take me?”

The process is mystical (1) and I struggle for the words to explain it, but as you continue to immerse yourself in the Word of God, you will gradually become one with it. You will identify with it until you are identical to it:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  (2 Corinthians 3:18; cf. 1 John 3:2)

Eventually you will echo and even personify the Word Himself.  Scripture says it this way:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. (Romans 8:29)

So stay with it.  If you do, if you act out Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (above) by continuously being engaged with Scripture, then as you change, God’s Word will begin to change.

You’ll be reading the same words, but you will comprehend them differently. A born-again, blood-tipped, Spirit-anointed (2) ear will eventually turn commandments into prophecies, and prophecies into promises:

Commandment: "You shall (must) love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength…"

Prophecy: "You shall (someday) love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength…"

Promise: "You shall--guaranteed!--love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."

Q. Guaranteed?

A. Absolutely:

And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.  (Deuteronomy 30:6/ESV)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) See Mark 4:26-28; (2) See Leviticus 14:17, 25

every word -- part 2

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 7

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.   (Deuteronomy 8:3)

“Why do we study the Bible?”

“What’s in it for me?”

“Where does it take me?”

When I’m asked those questions, I start at Deuteronomy chapters 6-8 for the answers. Since that is where we are, we’re fielding those questions, one at a time.

Yesterday, we asked "Why?" Today, we'll ask "What?"

***

“What’s in it for me?”

When I was a kid, I was athletic in a way (I could run like a deer) but in other ways I was the nerd at summer camp who hoped it would rain so we could have skit day!

I got pushed around in basketball; I struck out in baseball; I got bored in soccer; the swimming pool water stung my eyes. But if it rained, we got to write a skit and then act it out.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 has all the ingredients of great skit:

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

Utilizing a few simple props, it makes an obvious point in a humorous, over-dramatized way which borders on the ridiculous. (Recall that this is the same Writer who will teach a precept by showing us the blind leading the blind into a ditch!) It effectively illustrates that God wants His children and their children to be continuously involved with His Word:


He wants us teaching his Word to our children.

He wants us talking about his Word whether we are sitting, walking, lying down, or getting up!

He wants us talking about his Word whether we are at home or on the road.

He wants us to wear his Word on our hands and between our eyes.

He wants us to write his Word on the doors of our homes and at the entrances into our cities.

If we act out Deuteronomy 6:6-9 by continuously keeping God’s Word before our eyes, then, lo and behold, we will see God act out the rest of His Word.

The Word becomes flesh, is the way the gospel of John says it. I came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, is how Jesus says it.

It’s mystical and not easy to explain, but if you purpose in your heart to seek his every word, you will see God step off the page and into reality. The more faithfully we study his Word, the more real Jesus becomes. That’s what’s in it for us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

every word -- part 1

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 6

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

 

“Why do we study the Bible?” “What’s in it for me?” “Where does it take me?”

When I’m asked those questions, I point to Deuteronomy chapters 6-8 for the answers. Since that is where we are, we’ll field those questions, one at a time, over the next few days.

***

“Why should we study the Bible?”

The best answer is found right here:

So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

I could rest my case on that testimony alone, but I won’t -- because I want to take you to an astonishing New Testament passage where the incarnate Word of God echoes the written Word of God concerning every word of God:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."
But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:1-4)

That is why we should study the Bible.  Any way we slice it or dice it, Moses (quoting God) and Jesus (quoting Moses, quoting God) say that our spiritual life is unsustainable without daily ingestion of God's Word.

Now let’s see what else Deuteronomy has to say on this subject:

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

We should teach it, talk it, walk it, sleep on it, awaken to it, tie it to our hands, paste it to our heads, spray-paint it on the front door and on the toll booth!

Tomorrow, we will.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I fought the law -- and we both won

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 4:41-5:33

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. (Deuteronomy 5:6-7)



Since we’ve already read the Ten Commandments (in Exodus chapter 20) I don’t think it’s necessary for us to go through them again, one by one.

This time, instead of repeating them individually, let’s talk about the Law collectively, as a whole.

The Law gives us a glimpse into the genius of God. (These are some radical precepts, so hang on…)

1. The Law, though it cannot save us, is not a failure:

The law itself is holy and right and good. (Romans 7:12)

The law itself is good. The problem is with us:

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. (Romans 8:3)

The law is weak through the “flesh” – our sinful nature. If you’ve ever roasted a chicken in the oven, then tried to lift the whole roasted bird out of the pan with tongs, you might have found out that the tongs were strong enough to lift the chicken, but the chicken disintegrated and fell to the floor!

Think of the law as those tongs — able, on its own, to lift us. Then think of us as the roasted bird!


2. The Law was given to increase sin:

The law was added so that the trespass might increase. (Romans 5:20a)

Why in the world would God want to increase sin? A famous Bible story shows us why:

In Luke 18 a tax collector (think “Mafia”) was praying. As he did, he was so ashamed that he would not even lift his eyes toward heaven. His prayer asked only for mercy:
“God, be merciful to me, the sinner.”

Nearby, a Pharisee (think “Pastor”) was inviting God to pat him on the back for being such a wonderful guy:
"God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector."

Here’s Jesus’ assessment of the scene:
“I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God."

The Law is a truth teller. Although the truth the Law tells us about ourselves may temporarily hurt, it is actually meant to eternally heal. With that in mind, let’s look again at Romans 5:20a:

The law was added so that the trespass might increase.

Now let’s add the rest of the verse:

But where sin increased, grace increased all the more. (Romans 5:20b)

The Law, the truth-teller, had gotten through to the tax collector, leaving him in perfect position to receive God’s unearned, unmerited, and undeserved grace.

If it weren’t for the Law, we wouldn’t have a prayer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doth the Lady protest too much?

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 4:1-40

And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power.   (Deuteronomy 4:37)

***

Sing me no song! Read me no rhyme!
Don't waste my time, Show me!
Don't talk of June, Don't talk of fall!
Don't talk at all! Show me!  ("Show Me," from the musical "My Fair Lady")

We spent the last couple days talking about musical declarations of love for Jesus. I wondered whether some of those songs are appropriate for a public setting. It wasn’t until the very end of a two-part article that we got around to what the Bible says love for God should look like:

The theme of Deuteronomy, which we are just beginning, is to love and obey God:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

OK, we should love God, but how is that accomplished? The Bible makes it clear that obedience is man’s response to God’s love:

If you love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)

***

In the books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) God models a very important axiom of true love:  Show, then Tell.

We are not aware that he is modeling this axiom until we get all the way to Deuteronomy 4:37:

And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power.

Deuteronomy 4:37 is the first time in the Bible that God tells anybody he loved them. But he has demonstrated it from the first verse in Genesis.

We would do well to emulate God by letting our obedience demonstrate our love for him. Whether or not we ever get around to saying ‘love’ is very nearly immaterial.

In the great book of Psalms, which is the Bible’s collection of worship songs, I was able to locate just two verses where the Psalmist tells God that he loves Him.  Here they are:

I love you, O LORD, my strength. (Psalm 18:1)

I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. (Psalm 116:1)

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder, as we proclaim our lavish love for God every Sunday, whether our protestations of love are, as they should be, the exclamation point following a week of obedience.

If the Bride of Christ has not first demonstrated love by her obedience, then her 'love' is just a word that was never made flesh.

Sometimes I get the feeling, as we sing our ardent love songs to Jesus, that the Lady doth protest too much.

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heard it in a love song (can't be wrong) -- part 2

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 3

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

If you love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)

Yesterday, in part 1, we sampled a few lyrics from the current rash of "Jesus is my boyfriend" songs which have made their way into our churches. (If you aren't aware of this particular genre, we hope you'll click here to see what you haven't been missing.)

Part 1 concluded with these thoughts:

Though (I guess) these songs are meant to be understood figuratively, I still fail to see how they advance an individual’s relationship to God. And when the song is over, it’s still not over; its effects linger in the air. I’m not offended as much as I am disturbed and saddened.

What saddens me is how many young guys, like my own sons, find these songs either faintly or overtly creepy and thus determine, mid-song, that they can’t wait to get out, and stay out, of anything resembling “church.”

To a large segment of the people we are trying to reach, such songs can be terminal to any possible relationship that they might have had with Jesus. They, and I, would feel more comfortable in the company of snake handlers.

With so many songs to choose from, why these? And even if someone might personally benefit from them, what are they doing in church?

***

What disturbs me most about these songs is not that they could be written about anybody’s boyfriend. What really bothers me is that they could be written about anybody’s false god. There is very little that is specific to Jesus Christ in these lyrics.

To keep things in perspective, I must say that the church has far bigger problems than this one. I don’t want to overstate the issue, so if you’ll allow me just a few scriptural precepts, I’ll be making my way towards the door:

1. There is nothing is Scripture which resembles these lyrics in tone or content. That does not make them wrong, per se, or unscriptural. But if we must sing them, could they at least be labeled “Other than Scriptural” or “Religiously Generic” (sort of like “X-mas” songs).

2. I say this very gently and respectfully, because most people (I hope) do sing these songs figuratively. So let me review a biblical figure of speech --the bride of Christ (1)-- which seems to be operative in these songs:

No one ever marries Jesus, even metaphorically. It’s the church (at large) and not the individual who is the scriptural “Bride of Christ.” Furthermore, “bride” is used figuratively to represent the spiritual faithfulness of the church -- as contrasted to the prostitute or adulterous wife, who figuratively represent spiritual unfaithfulness.

The predominant biblical description of our relationship to God is that we are children of God the Father by virtue of our relationship to his Son Jesus Christ (2).  Believers have the same Father because we have the same Brother.

3. Love is a many-splendored thing, and that is precisely why the New Testament, in its original Greek, was careful to designate carnal love as “eros” and the love relationship we have with God as “agape.” It seems to me that to describe agape in terms of eros is unseemly at best.

4. Finally, back to our reading schedule. The theme of Deuteronomy, which we are just beginning, is to love and obey God:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

OK, we should love God, but how is that accomplished? The Bible makes it clear that obedience is man’s response to God’s love:

If you love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)

And while we’re at it, it wouldn’t hurt if the love lyrics we sing to him could never be mistaken for words we might direct towards the junior accountant three cubicles over.

Just sayin'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(1) The phrase "Bride of Christ" does not specifically appear in your Bible, but it can be inferred from 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-27, 32; Revelation 19:6-8; 21:2, 9.

(2)  See Romans 8:29 and Hebrews 2:11-13

heard it in a love song (can't be wrong) -- part 1

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 2

May I be frank?

Well, I already am. Frank’s my name.

I thought I’d start out with some disarming drivel because what I’m about to say will step on some toes:

I can’t stomach the prevalent “Jesus is my boyfriend” theme that seems to have permeated Christian music.

And you might, rightly, say to me, “Then turn to another station.” But I don’t listen to Christian music on the radio, which is optional. I’m getting more than my fill of it at church (which is less optional), and I'm left with very few places to “turn.”

In seemingly every church, some overwrought singer is gushing every Sunday about his or her desire to feel Jesus’ heartbeat. If it weren’t for the name Jesus (which is sometimes in the chorus) and the fact that I’m in a church, there is absolutely no difference between these lyrics and the pinings of a moonstruck 7th grader who has developed a rampant crush for her paperboy:

“Draw Me Close”

Draw me close to You never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear You say that I'm Your friend
You are my desire no one else will do
'Cause nothing else could take Your place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help me find the way bring me back to You

If I may be both frank and curt, Yuck!

Here (if you can stand it) is another example. This one is called (wouldn’t you know it) “Hold Me.” Though not by the same composer, it sounds for all the world like the moonstruck lass in “Draw Me Close” graduated from high school, got a job, and is now pining for the junior accountant in the third cubicle to the right:

(I love, I love, I love, I love the way You hold me)
(I love, I love, I love, I love the way You hold me)
(I love, I love, I love, I love the way You hold me)
(I love, I love, I love, I love the way You, the way Ya, the way Ya)

I've had a long day I just wanna relax
Don't have time for my friends, no time to chit-chat
Problems at my job, wonderin' what to do
I know I should be working, but I'm thinking of You and
Just when I feel this crazy world is gonna bring me down
That's when Your smile comes around
Oo, I love the way You hold me, by my side You'll always be
You take each and everyday, make it special in some way
I love the way You hold me, in Your arms I'll always be
You take each and everyday, make it special in some way
I love You more than the words in my brain can express

Oh my!

"Your Love is Extravagant"

Your love is extravagant
Your friendship, it is intimate
I feel like moving to the rhythm of Your grace
Your fragrance is intoxicating in our secret place
Your love is extravagant

Oh dear!

And, finally, the song that gave me the heebie jeebies just 5 days ago in church :

I wanna sit at your feet.
Drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breathe, hear your heart beat
This love is so deep, it’s more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it’s overwhelming.

The lyrics on paper are unsettling enough, but you should have seen the accompanying look on this dame's face as she sang them.  OMG!

There is very nearly nothing in this recent rash of songs which separates them from the carnal realm. Which makes it nearly impossible to stand next to my sons in church and sing these songs. (Come to think of it, if you strike “nearly” from the previous sentence, the sentence becomes truer.)  Come to think of it, forget about singing these songs. The truest truth is that I find it impossible to stand next to my sons during these songs without longing to disappear beneath the floorboards.

Though (I guess) these songs are meant to be understood figuratively, I still fail to see how they advance an individual’s relationship to God. And when the song is over, it’s still not over; its effects linger in the air.  I’m not offended as much as I am disturbed and saddened.

What saddens me is how many young guys, like my own sons, find these songs either faintly or overtly creepy and thus determine, mid-song, that they can’t wait to get out, and stay out, of anything resembling “church.”

To a large segment of the people we are trying to reach, such songs can be terminal to any possible relationship that they might have had with Jesus. They, and I, would feel more comfortable in the company of snake handlers.

With so many songs to choose from, why these?  And even if someone might personally benefit from them, what are they doing in church?

***

Alright, I've had my say. Tomorrow we will see if the Bible has anything to say about some of the issues I've raised.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

yours for the taking

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 1


“Deuteronomy.”

Literally, it means “the second law.” But that’s a little misleading. Actually, Deuteronomy tells the eternal “law” to the next generation.  Same Word, new hearers.

Behind them, in the wilderness, was a national cemetery -- an entire generation who would not enter the land.

From that generation, only Caleb and Joshua -- the men of faith -- would cross over Jordan into the Promised Land:

I said to you, "You have now come to the mountain country of the Amorites, to the land the Lord our God will give us. Look, here it is! Go up and take it. Then all of you came to me and said, "Let's send men before us to spy out the land. They can come back and tell us about the way we should go and the cities we will find." I thought that was a good idea, so I chose twelve of your men, one for each tribe. They left and went up to the mountains, and when they came to the Valley of Eshcol they explored it. They took some of the fruit from that land and brought it down to us, saying, "It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us." But you refused to go. When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and made an oath, saying, "I promised a good land to your ancestors, but none of you evil people will see it. Only Caleb son of Jephunneh (and) Joshua son of Nun (and) your little children that you said would be captured will go into the land. I will give the land to them, and they will take it for their own.” (excerpted from Deuteronomy 1:20-39)

Let’s stop right here to hammer a precept home. Though I know the precept and you know the precept, let’s hammer it deeper into our souls:

The Land, though promised to all, was only entered by those who believed. This principal prevails all the way to the cross. Let’s listen, again, to the Bible’s most well-known verse:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16/KJV)

The Promised Land, and the greater Promise of salvation through Jesus Christ, are given to all:

God so loved the entire world, and every last soul within it, that he gave…

But the promises are received only by those who believe:

…that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The fact that all are not saved can never be charged to God’s side of the covenant equation. God is a universal giver, but the people are not, universally, takers.

Jesus Christ urged his disciples to Take, and eat (1). We associate the phrase with the communion service, but we should not confine it to a ceremony.

It should also be applied to the milk and honey of the Promised Land, and to the fruit of the Spirit.

They are yours, for the taking.

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(1) Matthew 26:26

Please pass the salt.

The Word for today:
Mark 9:30-50

Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves... (Mark 9:50)

The sins that get the most attention are known as sins of commission. They are sins that we do: we get drunk, we have adulterous affairs, we gossip, we surf porn sites, we steal, and we kill. These sins of commission are the sins that make the six o’clock news.

Not as newsworthy, but just as spiritually grievous, are sins of omission. They are the things we don’t do: we don’t forgive, we don’t help when we should, we don’t stand up against evil, we don’t give a damn when a damn should be given. It’s hard to show something that didn’t happen on the 11 o’clock news, so while sins of omission generate sermons and preachy editorials, they don’t generate as much buzz as sins of commission do.

But the sins of commission or omission are just surface sins compared with sins of being.

Don’t look up the term, because I just made it up. These sins are not about what we do or don’t do, but about who we are.

Jesus alludes to these under-the-surface sins in today’s reading when he says,

Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? (Mark 9:30)

I make soups and stews, so I know how bland they are without salt. So I think (1) that Jesus is urging us to let his influence permeate our being like salt permeates a stew and gives it savor, flavor, taste, and tang.

In other words, let’s bring some zing, some zest, a little showmanship, and a bit o’ flair to our lives. You may not think this sounds sufficiently spiritual until you consider this: we are Jesus to the world. He is, to the unsaved world, what we are.

That’s a sobering reality, because the church has achieved the antimiraculous: we have managed, by and large, to present a bland Jesus to the world.

We have been so consumed with doing -- or not doing -- the surface stuff that we’ve forgotten to let his Person permeate to the core.

If we want the world to taste and see that the LORD is good (2), then we must, as Jesus said, have salt in ourselves. (Mark 9:50)

So, for myself and for the entire church, I pray, “Please pass the salt.”

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(1) If you peruse the commentaries, you will see various interpretations of this passage. Most of them mention salt’s preservative properties and derive their interpretation from there. But, silly me, I read the word flavor and I hear Jesus mentioning salt’s seasoning properties. So I’ll go with my unschooled eye and ear, and derive my interpretation from there.
(2) Psalm 34:8

the best advice my Father ever gave me

The Word for today:
Mark 9:1-29

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" (from Mark 9:2-7)

Note: The Transfiguration of Jesus is crucial to overall biblical understanding. Indeed, it is so significant that we urge the reader to click here first, where we concentrated on the Transfiguration’s central character and its most significant truths.

Our article for today, found below, will focus on the supporting actors in the scene. It is meant to be only a supplement to the article we pointed to, above.

***

The Transfiguration is so cinematically stunning and so spiritually significant that we forget how strange it is.

Visually, the Shekinah glory (which hadn’t been seen for 600 years) shows up to engulf the characters in glory (or in light or in whatever Shekinah is.) Then, audibly and majestically, the voice of God proclaims the three most important words in any language:

“Listen to Him!”

Meanwhile, we almost forget that standing there as witnesses to all of this are none other than Moses and Elijah.

You remember them, right?  They merely personify “the Law and the Prophets” (which was shorthand for the entire Bible at that time.)

They were graphic confirmation of Peter’s confession (Mark 8:29) that Jesus was the Messiah—that he was the fulfillment of everything toward which the law pointed. He fulfilled what the sacrificial system (the heart of the Mosaic Law) was teaching. He fulfilled every messianic prophecy.

There they were, carrying on a conversation with Jesus, who had previously said,

“Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”  (Matthew 5:17)

A fulfillment which he explained, in detail, on the Road to Emmaus:

He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.  (Luke 24:25-27)

The Law and the Prophets were preliminary and partial. Their purpose was to point to Him. The first words of the book of Hebrews say it this way:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

“Listen to Him!”  Those three words are the best advice my Father ever gave me. As a son, I hope to heed His advice. As a father, I hope to pass it along.

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losers are keepers

The Word for today:
Mark 8:27-38

 

Jesus is famous for turning the tables in the Temple upside down.

A lot of people value that scene for its graphics. I am one of them, because I think its graphics are truthful. It presents a picture of a more “muscular” Jesus, which corresponds to the hints we’re given in the Bible:

1. As a carpenter, he worked with heavy beams, heavy hammers, and with the omnipresent building material in Israel--stone. Think “construction worker,” not “cabinet maker.”

2. In today’s reading, when he asked what the people were saying about him, the disciples agreed that the man-on-the-street saw him as the return of either John the Baptist or Elijah (1). Since the people perceived both John and Elijah as tower-of-power prophets, we can infer that Jesus could not be the mild flower child that many, today, perceive him to be.

But while I do value that scene pictorially, I value it metaphorically even more.

Because Jesus turned thought, itself, upside down. He single-handedly turned truth, as the world perceives it, on its head.

With astonishing authority, he addresses their misperceived notion of the Messiah. When Peter confessed that “You are the Christ,” he and the disciples had in mind the superhuman leader Israel had been waiting for since the time of David—who would overthrow Israel’s enemies, make Jerusalem the center of the world, and establish the perfect reign of God.

But Jesus turns the tables, teaching them what had never entered their imaginations: the Messiah would conquer sin through his suffering.

When well-meaning Peter took him aside to help him re-think his mission statement, Jesus turns the tables again, identifying Peter’s traditional view of the Messiah as the logic of Satan:

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Mark 8:33)

Then, as if all of that were not enough table-turning for one afternoon, he decides to flip the definition of “winning” and “losing” upside down:

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. (Mark 8:34-35)

From that day to this, the world (whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not, whether we admit to it or not) has had to re-think every one of its standard suppositions.

All because a single voice insisted that suffering was salvation and that losers are keepers.

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(1) Mark 8:27-28

found poetry

The Word for today:
Mark 8:1-26

 

When we went to Florida for Easter, we were reminded of how little shade a palm tree provides. We were also reminded of what it’s like to drive all over Florida without air conditioning.

We don’t use our air conditioning much during the perfectly temperate Western New York summers, so it wasn’t worth fixing when it broke down. Thus, when we got to Florida we tried to make sure we parked beneath the better shade trees. But everybody else in Florida had the same intentions, so we were often relegated to the meager shade of a palm tree.

We could usually position most of the car in shade, but while the car and the tree didn’t move, the sun never stands still. So when we returned from a beach or a store or wherever we went for a while, the car was no longer in shade.

Which caused Shelley, at one point, to remark, “The shade always moves.”

“That’s found poetry at its finest!”

“Found poetry?“

“Yes, ‘found poetry.’ It’s poetry that’s apparently (at first glance) not there at all. It just shows up accidentally. It can be found all over the place—on billboards, embedded in casual speech, on the backs of cereal boxes and shoe boxes. It can show up anywhere, if you’re listening and looking for it.”

“Dad, what’s poetic about ‘The shade always moves?’ ”

“Eddy, what is shade?”

“It’s shelter from the hot sun.”

“That’s right. So give me a wider meaning than what Mommy meant in the first place.”

“Just when you think you’re protected from the elements, you find out you’re not.”

“Perfect. You found metaphorical meaning where it wasn’t meant to be found. You found poetry!”

“I get it! Let’s find some more!”

I happened, at that time, to be a few steps ahead in the Stand in the Rain reading schedule. So I took my Bible off the dashboard, which was bookmarked at Mark 8:1-26 (today’s reading). Handing it to Eddy, I told him, “You find some more.”

“In the Bible?”

“There’s more found poetry in the Bible than anywhere else. Just look for phrases that convey a wider meaning than the original speaker probably meant.”

I waited as Eddy slowly, audibly read through the passage. “There’s none there, Dad.”

“Yes there is. Try again. Don’t look at single words, but see words in chunks, in phrases.”

This time he read it silently. I watched his eyes as they lingered on sections of text at a time. He was getting it.

“‘Bread in the wilderness (1).’ Is that found poetry?”

“Maybe. What does bread in the wilderness mean, beyond what the speaker first intended?”

“Well, it’s like what God gave Israel in the wilderness every day.”

“Manna,” Frankie interjected.

“Keep going, Eddy. You’re almost there.”

“Well, Jesus was about to miraculously give the people bread in the wilderness -- just like God gave to the people of Israel.”

“Keep going.”

“And he’s the Bread of life,” added Frankie.

“That’s right! So the disciples spoke a phrase -- bread in the wilderness -- without knowing that they were alluding to the Old Testament, to the miraculous manna, and most importantly to Jesus Himself! They were poets who didn’t know it!”

“Is there any more found poetry in this chapter?”

“You tell me.”

Now Frankie was avidly searching the page alongside him. “‘I see men like trees, walking (2).’  Is that found poetry?” Frankie asked.

“Maybe. Tell me what wider meaning it conveys.”

“It’s like at the end of the love chapter in Corinthians where we see indistinctly-- through a glass darkly -- but when we come face to face with Jesus someday, like this blind man did in the story, then we will see Jesus as clearly as he sees us.”

***

I was in awe. A metaphor for misperception (which up to now I’d misperceived) had given me new perception -- about how a clearer and clearer perception of God gives us a clearer and clearer perception of everything, including ourselves. Whew! They’d found a metaphoric hall of mirrors.

That man in the story is not the only one who sees men like trees, walking. Nor is he the only one who will see clearly, someday:

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

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(1) Mark 8:4; (2) Mark 8:24

Say "Cheese!"

The Word for today:
Mark 7:24-37


I hope you love my Bible cover as much as I do. As you can see (above) it’s yellow and a little tattered, but that smile sure comes through!

My Bible cover used to be my son Eddy’s Bible cover when Eddy was just a little lad. But when he turned twelve, well, he thought his Bible cover should grow up with him. So we got him a Bible cover that looks and feels like the pebbly cover of a basketball (which was his game at the time.)

Anyway, that’s how I inherited my Bible cover from my son, who thought it was a little too young for him!

It’s my cover now, so I get to say whose picture is on it. But I’m not telling you who that is yet. First, I’ll give you some hints and you try to guess:

Hint #1: It is not a picture of me.

Hint # 2: It is not a picture of Eddy.

Hint # 3: The person whose picture is on the cover also has his name on the cover.

OK, those are all the hints. So now it’s your turn to take a guess…

If you said that's God on the cover, then you are right! So the deep meaning of my Bible cover is that God loves us so much that it makes Him smile!

I like to see God smile, but he hardly ever does in the Bible. Well, he does but it doesn’t directly say so. Once, when I set out to look for God’s smile in the Bible, I couldn’t even find the word smile, except for a few times in, of all places, the book of Job (where you’d least expect it.)

Though it doesn’t really spell out s-m-i-l-e, my life verse (if I’ve got one) shows God smiling:

For not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them. (Psalm 44:3)

I’m sure that shows God smiling, because light caused by delight is sure to be a smile.

I don’t want to tell too many people about a verse that says I cause God to smile, because if everybody knew about it then they would probably make it their special verse, too. So I’m telling only you, OK? That way God will be smiling at just me and you and he won’t have to shed the light of his face all over the place. Which leaves more light/delight for you and me, see?

Now before I go, I’m going to show you (shhhh!) another place where God smiles. It’s found in our reading today, when Jesus sort of starts trash-talking with the Gentile (non-Jewish) woman whose daughter is spiritually sick. Jesus tells her that only the children of Israel (1) get to receive the generosity of the king:

Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." (Mark 7:26-27)

We know that Jesus must have said this with a sparkle in his eye, because he had already reminded his disciples that God healed only Naaman (another Gentile) in the days of Elisha:
But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." (Luke 4:25-27)

The other reason we know Jesus was speaking playfully is that the woman returned his banter:
But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." And he said to her, "For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter."  (Mark 7:27-29)

Now I’d be careful, if I were you, about trying to see God smile by trash-talking with him. We should leave that to experts like the lady in Mark chapter 7.

Better yet to turn back to Psalm 44:3, where God is always smiling.  Or you could wait for a little kid to grow out of his groovy yellow Bible cover.

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(1) see the parallel account of this incident in Matthew 15:22-28

The Iconoclast, part 2

The Word for today:
Mark 7:1-13

And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:6-8)

 

When we compile a list of what Jesus did and who he was, we read wonderful titles like Deliverer, King, Redeemer, Prophet, Savior…

But you never see “Iconoclast” on that list. And I wonder why, because it’s one of my favorite things about him. Whenever a tradition of man obscured the word and character of God, Jesus didn’t just break it, he smashed it to smithereens. On one occasion, when he'd healed a man on the Sabbath and was criticized for breaking the Pharisees’ hallowed Sabbath traditions, he immediately withdrew to the streets, where great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all!  (Matthew 12:1-15)

Most of our church tradions were God-honoring at one time. They brought people into a closer relationship with God. But over time, the tradition begins to honor itself.

Many of our traditions and creeds eventually supplant the Word of God:
And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observeyour own traditions! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.” (Mar 7:9-13)

In Jesus' day and in ours, traditions eventually depart from the scriptures they were founded upon. Pretty soon we have a lot of people just going through the motions, until going through the motions is what church is all about.

My hope is that we take a long look at the rituals and traditions in our own lives and churches.  What is their purpose? Are they still serving that purpose? If not, let’s honor the tradition of iconoclasm, as practiced by the great iconoclast Himself.

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the iconoclast -- part 1

The Word for today:
Mark 6:30-56


Jesus met tradition at every turn:

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" (Mark 7:1-5)

When he met it, he met it head on:

And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." (Mark 7:6-8)

***

On another occasion, he healed a man on the Sabbath and was criticized for breaking the Pharisees’ hallowed Sabbath traditions. So what did the Lord of the Sabbath do? He immediately withdrew to the streets, where great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all:

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath." He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath." He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--so that they might accuse him. He said to them, "Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all.  (Matthew 12:1-15)

***

When we compile a list of what Jesus did and who he was, we read wonderful titles like Deliverer, King, Redeemer, Prophet, Savior…

But you never see “Iconoclast” on that list.  And I wonder why, because it’s one of my favorite things about him.  Whenever a tradition of man obscured the word and character of God, Jesus didn't just break it, he smashed it to smithereens with a deft irony that always strikes me as funny, whenever it doesn't strike fear in my heart.

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John, we hardly knew ye

The Word for today:
Mark 6.6b-29

For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom." And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. (Mark 6:17-28)



When I read the account of the beheading of John the Baptist, I feel as if we’ve located the Hall of Shame.

The Bible has a Hall of Fame, located in Hebrews 11. There you will find Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and Sarah and Jacob and Joseph and Moses and Samson and Rahab and the rest, all heroes of faith.

What a contrast when we walk into Herod’s Palace and find Herod himself there along with his lovely wife Herodias, who had left his brother Philip in order to marry him.

Which John the Baptist said was wrong. Which cost him his life; because when they sever, then serve, your head, you’re dead.

His head ended up on a platter because that’s where Herodias wanted it. She rather enjoyed being queen instead of the relative nobody she’d been, so when she found out Herod was listening a little too intently to John the Baptist about the adultery issue, she looked for a way to snuff John.

Which opportunity presented itself after Herod, in the presence of his drunken entourage (with their bellies full of wine and their eyes full of candy) promised Herodias’ dancing daughter up to half the kingdom for her pleasing performance.

Which was worth more than the head of a prophet on a platter, so that’s what Herodias told her daughter to ask for.

Had enough? Me, too. I’ve often thought that if you peeled back the layers of that scene, every sin known to mankind was in attendance at their grotesque banquet.

And how awful for the Story’s sake, to see the poignant and powerful presence of John the Baptist vanish from the page. We sense we hardly knew him.

But I’ve got a feeling, just a feeling, that we haven’t heard the last from John the Baptist. Second comings in Scripture are not confined to Jesus.  Moses already made his way back here and so did Elijah.

There’s a real biblical case to be made that John the Baptist will reappear before “The Day of the Lord,” (The Second Coming of Jesus.) So if you miss John, do not dismay.

Just keep a supply of locusts and wild honey on hand. And if you hear a commanding voice condemning the self-righteous as a “brood of vipers,” then you’ll know it’s either Jesus or John the Baptist—or both.

They are the only two who ever used the phrase. They are the only two who could.

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he could hardly believe unbelief

The Word for today:
Mark 5.21-6.6a

It’s not often that Jesus is caught by surprise. One of those times occurs in our reading today:

And He marveled because of their unbelief. (Mark 6:6)

There is only one other instance when Jesus marveled at something:

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  (Matthew 8:10)

These two incidents, when juxtaposed, give us a glimpse into Jesus’ head. But what does that glimpse show us?

At first glance, it seems that Jesus marveled the first time at unbelief and the second time at great faith. But I think a closer reading reveals that he marveled at unbelief both times.

In the first instance, we are specifically told he marveled at their unbelief. The next time, we are only told he marveled. But at what? Let’s look again:

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! (Matthew 8:10)

It seems to me that his astonishment was, again, over the unbelief of the many in Israel.

Faith never startled Jesus. Faith was his mindset, his outlook, the way he saw the world. What amazed him was when somebody else could see things so differently.

What if we were to flip our own outlooks upside down, making faith our norm? That would make unbelief unusual, even startling!

These marvel-ous passages reveal something about the mind of Christ which we should begin to ponder:

It was difficult for Jesus to fathom unbelief. It was strange, even foreign to him.  It was unnatural.  It was a lie.

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show him where it hurts

The Word for today:
Mark 4.35-5:20

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." For he was saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many." And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, "Send us to the pigs; let us enter them." So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea. (Mark 5:1-13)



I am not going to divulge the details, but I have, of late, been the target of an onslaught.

That’s about all you need to know, because my point is not my problems, or your problems, but the solution.

At one time or another, you've been targeted too.  I know you have, because it’s our shared circumstance. The onslaught is our lot in life.

In our reading today, we meet a man whose onslaught makes my onslaught seem slight. He was besieged by so many that his name had been changed to Legion.

How many demons were in a legion? I’m sure I could look it up, but to what purpose? The answer is too many.

Too many. Have you faced them? Too many emotions, too many worries, too many nameless fears, too many regrets.

What Jesus Christ offers is an overthrow, a complete turnaround, a reversal. He has authority over the supernatural realm and he has authority over the natural realm:

Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many." Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." And at once Jesus [20] gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. (Mark 5:9-13)

There is only one other circumstance in scripture when we see the words legion or legions. It occurs in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus faced his captors:

Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53)

Every one of your demons or troubles or fears or “unsolvable” situatiuons can be countered with saving power that will make your legions wish they were drowned in the sea.

Just tell him where it hurts. Tell him how many there are.  Because he would not, when on the cross, summon those legions for his own sake, he is able to summon them for you.

Just show him where the bullies are.

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the Word at work, illustrated

The Word for today:
Mark 4:21-34

The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. (Mark 4:26-28)


When I was in first grade, my teacher was Miss Banks.

You probably had Miss Banks for a teacher, too. You might have called her by a different name (Miss Banks got married and moved away while I was in the second grade) but if you got to color every day, and go out in the sunshine when the spring days turned warm, and act in skits, and laugh all the time right in school, and collect leaves, and sing songs, and look forward to school every single day—then it was your town that Miss Banks moved to!

Of all the wonderful things we did, I remember my little plant the best. That doesn’t mean I know what kind of plant it was, ‘cause I don’t.

The plant itself wasn’t the point anyway. The point was helping it grow and watching it every day, and watering, and waiting, and watering and watching.

We each brought in a soup can, which we decorated with construction paper so it looked like our own. Then we got some dirt and we carefully placed the seed in a hole halfway down inside. We covered the seed over and then we placed our plants on the window sill. Every Monday and Friday we gave it just a little water, measured with great precision!

The first thing we did very morning, after we hung our jackets up, was to sprint over to the window sill to see our plant.

Nothing happened for what seemed like the longest while. Then one day it was there—green and healthy and growing and growing!

Jesus says that’s exactly what’s going on inside you. The Word of God is at work in the believer, and we know not how:

The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. (Mark 4:26-28)

Our “Stand in the Rain” Bible literacy program derives its name from the Old Testament version of Jesus’ parable:

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (from Isaiah 55:10-11)

So if you never did get Miss Banks for your teacher, then do not dismay. Jesus is the best Teacher of all, and the Seed is at work right now.

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for those with ears to hear

The Word for today:
Mark 4:1-20

***

Happy Easter! Since Easter is a movable feast and Stand in the Rain is on a fixed schedule, we are not presenting an Easter article for this date.
However, in celebration of Easter we point you to this Easter-themed article, which we posted a few days ago. So we hope you'll put on your thinking bonnet and dwell upon it! --

"I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet"

***

Now, for today's Stand in the Rain article:

And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
(Mark 4:9)

A parable is a story from everyday life used to teach spiritual truth.

The Old Testament contains only a few parables, both in 2 Samuel: the parable of the ewe-lamb told by Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:1-9, and the parable of the woman of Tekoah in 2 Samuel 14:1-13.

But Jesus used them regularly to explain things to his disciples and hide his teachings from the unbelieving.

These brief stories reflected God’s truth, but they are intelligible only through the working of God’s grace to those who were willing to listen. They are designed so that those who won’t hear don’t hear. (See Mark 4: 11-13.) Jesus explained this phenomenon, saying that the same word was delivered, but it fell on different soils.

Parables, then, often reveal us as much about the hearer as about the characters in the stories. Many people were chasing Jesus around to see miracles, and not to receive spiritual truth. The parables ferreted out which ones were there for the miracle, and which ones were sinners there for the message of salvation.

As told by Jesus, the parables gave those with natural abilities (“smarter people”) no advantage:
But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"-- these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10, 13-14; cf. Matthew 16:16-17)

The parables contain much more than just a moral message. They give those with ears to hear (a desire to understand) an insight into the character of God and the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus carefully explained the elements of today’s reading--the Parable of the Sower--to his disciples. But many of the parables, which were often unexplained, run so deep that their full meanings have yet to be mined.

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saner-than-thou

The Word for today:
Mark 3.20-35

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." (Mark 3:20-21)

I went to a standard church-on-the-corner for about ten years.

What I remember of the place is that the people were so sane and reasonable there that it almost drove me crazy. I mean, it’s not normal for that many people to be so normal.

I mean it. I distinctly remember thinking that the people there were saner than Jesus, and I longed for someone crazy that I could relate to.

But that person never showed up, so I had to look for friends in the Bible, where the crazies are wall to wall:

Noah—the ultimate eccentric
Abraham—faith that real will get you arrested
Jacob—crazy in general, and even crazier about Rachel
Samson—never admitted to polite society
Elijah—bouts of clinical depression
Solomon—where to begin? Let me count the ways…
And finally (dare I say it?) Jesus—

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." (Mark 3:20-21)

So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." (John 2:15-17)

At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" (John 10:19-20)

To be sure, there are more sane people in scripture than there are otherwise. And to be fair, the people on the list above are not so much crazy as they are hyper-sane or just misunderstood.

But I do see in the church a higher percentage of saner-than-thous than I can find in the Bible. And I don’t see why, with all these biblical examples to the contrary, we effect the masks of normalcy and consistency and surface sanity to the extent that we do.

So if you’re a little off center, please, please drop the mask. I was looking for you back there on the corner. I looked for a long, long time, until I just had to give up.

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count me the stars

The Word for today:
Mark 3.7-19

mark this:
And he appointed twelve – designating them apostles -- so that they might be with him…(Mark 3:14)




I want to admit to you and to the world at large that I have Apostle Envy. I am otherwise unafflicted by envy, but I’d give my ring finger, the ring on it, and the hand it’s attached to to have been in the company of Jesus Christ for 3 minutes, let alone three years.

The famous and rich and gifted and lucky and otherwise notorious people of our times do not interest me enough to know their names.

And from biblical times, even Moses and David and Elijah and Isaiah and John the Baptist do not stir in me the envy that the Apostles do. I’ll trade you their parting seas and towering Psalms and chariots of fire and cherubim and seraphim and all the locusts and wild honey in Israel for 1000 days of access to Him anytime.

If I were an Apostle, I'd ask the names of all the stars. Since God knows them by name (Isaiah 40:26) and they are, by all accounts, unfinite in number, that would mean that instead of just three years I’d have to hang with him forever just to hear him reply to my sincere question.

I’d sort of entrap God with scams and ploys so that I wouldn’t have to go home anytime soon. If Jesus were to say, “The answer would take forever,” I’d tell him that I’m in no hurry…

I’d sort of leverage his own patience against him. Many scams (and wrestling moves) are based on the principle of using a person’s own virtue (or strength) against him.

I think that’s what was going on when Jacob wrestled Jesus in Genesis. He just wouldn’t let Jesus go, so He had to break his leg to get away.

If that’s the only risk I have to take, I’m taking it. I have a bad case of Apostle envy, so by hook or by crook I’m going to get three years like they did.

When I can no longer detain him with his own patience, then I’ll devise a way to pit his kindness against him. When that runs its course, then I’ll play the empathy card. That oughtta keep him here for a while.

The way I see it, God’s got more virtues than there are stars in the sky. He’s got virtues that we don’t even have names for. I think I’ll ask him to name every one…

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I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet

The Word for today:
Mark 2:13-3:6

mark this:
No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins--and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins."  (Mark 2:21-22)

When I was a little kid, Easter was not as much about Easter baskets as it was about Easter bonnets.

When we went to Easter Sunday Mass, every single item we wore was brand new! New trousers, new shirt, new jacket, new belt, new shoes, new haircut.

All of this newness, of course, was recorded by my Dad’s trusty Brownie camera, which came out for Easter Sunday and then got put away until the next Easter. (So if you see any pictures of me prior to about 13 years old, our family appears to be quite well-to-do and I am a walking fashion statement. O, how the magic box lies!)

I don’t think my parents actually associated the new Easter clothes with new life in the resurrected Christ.  (If they did, they didn’t tell my brother and sisters and me.) But now I consider the new bonnet to be a far more appropriate Easter tradition than the bunny-in-a-basket trick that we currently practice.

Jesus ushered in a new day and a new way:
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

This isn’t patchwork, this is revolution.
He came to provide a new garment, the robe of righteousness, for those who do nothing more than trust in Him. He has not come to sew patches on an old garment:
No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. (Mark 2:21)

I’ve got nothing against bunnies and baskets and jelly beans, but when it comes to meaningful Easter traditions, I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet.

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period.

The Word for today:
Mark 1:35-2:12

The story of the leper healed by the touch of Jesus Christ is not, technically, a parable. But let’s make it one, because there is no gospel story more analogous to the cross than this account of when God touched man:

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. (Mark 1:40-42)

Leprosy is the Bible’s most complete picture of sin and its effects: Notice that the leper must live outside the camp:

The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp. (Leviticus 13:45-46)

To “live alone, outside the camp” is a picture of spiritual death, which is separation from God:
Your sins have separated you from your God. (Isaiah 59:2)

But the separation can end at the cross.

It is interesting, in an architectural sense, that the cross is nothing more than an intersection. It’s the place where God, who became man, became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

We generally explain the cross in terms that are personal, emotional, and poetic. But let’s see the cross from a geometric perspective.

Intersection is where two lines touch at a solitary point. Were it not for Jesus Christ, we would have absolutely nothing in common with God. Nothing.

We intersect the realm of God at precisely one point, one portal, one Person. Except for Jesus Christ and him crucified (1), there is no point at which my path and God’s path could ever touch.

Except for Jesus Christ and him crucified, there is no point, period.

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(1) 1 Corinthians 2:2

tracing it back to the Source

The Word for today:
Mark 1:16-34

mark this:
They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. (Mark 1:21-22)

 

I can’t remember where I first met Jesus. I can approximate when, but not where. It is wholly understandable that I should not remember such details because when I met him I was at the tail end of a two-decade alcoholic haze.

That does not mean I was less than sober when I first read the gospels. Most chronic drunks get sober every day. The problem is that they are also drunk every day, which puts memories of dates and places into a blender and turns it up to high speed. Memories become unsorted.

But the heart, even of a drunk, is not confused. Hearts remember the who long after the mind has forgotten the when and the where. Thus I remember absolutely everything about Him, right from the start, whenever that was.

I vividly remember having the very same reaction as those, in today’s reading, who are meeting him for the first time:

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. (Mark 1:21-22)

The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching--and with authority!” (from Mark 1:27)

Up to that point, I’d been literary all my life. That sounds sort of pretentious, but I don’t mean it in that way. I mean it in the same sense that if a kid next door sat on the porch all summer picking at a guitar and a banjo, we’d think of him as musically oriented. Or if that kid’s brother was out practicing basketball all day, we’d think of him as athletically inclined. I was the nerd next door with his nose in serious literature all day.

So when I first read the gospels, I was aghast at the injustice of it all! The so-called great authors had all ripped this guy off. Either blatantly or subtly, either in concurrence or in refutation, either consciously or subliminally, they were all cribbing (a polite word for plagiarizing) from this guy.

I could actually feel my eyes growing wider and wider, trying to take it all in. I could actually feel the revelation crystallizing: this is the Source; the seminal ideas in literature could be traced back to him, and no further!

He spoke, as the people were saying, with authority. What that meant to them was that he cited no references, which was the teaching methodology in the synagogues. Whenever a thought was expressed, its attribution was noted: “According to Rabbi Feinstein, whose commentary has been heavily influenced by Rabbi Schoenberg’s analysis of this issue…”

But there were no footnotes in Jesus’ presentation. How could there be? His thought was derived from no one. He was the Source. He was as far back as the stream of thought could be traced!

I knew just enough literature to know that I’d stumbled into the presence of the only author on earth who had never cadged a thought. I was in absolute shock and awe. I’d met the Beginning. And how deftly poetic to wait for the last page of his book before he calls himself that!--
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22:13; cf. Revelation 21:6)

Since then, of course, I’ve come to know him as the Source in so many other, more “spiritual” ways. But for me, in those earliest days, he was the fountain of ideas before he became the fountain of life.

In his grace, God met me as I was, with a bottle in one hand and a poetry anthology in the other. I remain convinced that I never would have met the Author of Salvation (1) if I had not met the Primordial Poet first.

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(1) Hebrews 5:9, 12:2