DAY 90

HAPPY EASTER

Judges 11 & 12 and Luke 6:1 – 26

The story of Jephthah is one that is tragic. Rejected by his family, they turn to him in their hour of need. He delivers victory for them, but makes a terrible vow with the Lord. Having read the story of Abraham and Isaac, I am waiting at any minute for the God to speak from heaven; there is even two months time for God to speak.

As you read this it is Easter Day, and the Old Testament lesson is a difficult one to write about on the day we celebrate the Resurrection. In some ways though, as we sift our way through the Old Testament, while God has not changed, our standing with Him and our understanding of Him, because of the Resurrection has changed.

I have commented before that much of the history of Israel is about God revealing Himself – said more simply, “it is about God trying to get people to notice that He, God, exists…and not only that, wants to know us.” God spends years, decades and centuries trying to get our attention, chasing after us, constantly forgiving our unfaithfulness.

Today, we know that is all changed. We know HE IS RISEN! And that by His death and resurrection He has won for us the victory that is in Christ Jesus. 

DAY 89

BROKEN RECORD

Judges 9 & 10 and Luke 5:17 – 39

While Gideon was a very successful Judge, his offspring, or more correctly one of his seventy offspring, was a schemer. We read that Abimelech negotiated with the people of Shechem, his people. I know there have been many names of many cities. The key to understand just who Abimelech is negotiating with and the text says they paid him out of the treasury of Baal-berith: a Canaanite god. Getting the picture? Abimelech, son of Gideon, is in cahoots with people who do not worship the Living God. Abimelech kills all but one of this brothers, and he would have killed him had he not escaped.

Abimelech thinks he can mix one god with another god. This problem of syncretism (the combining of different beliefs) will plague Israel. It will seem like a “broken record”, one that plays the same song over and over. At the root of this behavior is the belief that we are in control; that we can decide what works and makes sense, as compared to what doesn’t.

It is why God told them to destroy all the people so that they would not be drawn away to idol worship. Yet this seems to be their Achilles heel. Even today we read one chapter later that, “⁶ The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria,the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him. 

How many more gods are they going to serve? More of the same song: yet I too am like a broken record. Today as you read this we are on the other side of Good Friday with Jesus laying in the tomb. He has come to earth, lived among, taught and healed (a paralytic in today’s reading) and dealt with this issue, this issue of our tendency to not follow God, to sin. I spent much of today thinking about how my behavior is what led Jesus to the Cross.

What is it Jesus said today? “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus has come to call all who turn to and serve other gods. Our gods of today look different. They look like money, comfort, the pursuit of beauty – none of these in their own right are bad, it is just when they become play too big a role in our lives. For example, God doesn’t dislike money, it is the “love of money” that is the issue.

The call of God, the call of Jesus, is to love Him fully – and to love others. This is a high standard. When I get tired I do a lousy job of it and begin to sound like a broken record. The Good News is that Jesus deals with all my shortcomings – perfectly deals with them.

DAY 88

I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Judges 7 & 8 and Luke 5:1-16

Today in the Old Testament we finish the story of Gideon; he has come far. From a frightened man hiding in a winepress to an effective judge, Gideon certainly did much to honor the Lord. Yet none of us is perfect, we read he had a concubine. I will defer comment on the concubine, might I point out that she was from Shechem. Shechem was now part of Manasseh but had long been a Cannanite center for Baal worship. That is a story for tomorrow, for today, we come to the close of a man’s life where he clearly heard God saying to him, “I believe in you”, even when he did not believe in himself.

In the New Testament today we have Jesus getting into a boat, teaching, calling some of His disciples and giving us that famous line, “I will make you fishers of men”. We have read this call in both Matthew and in Mark. I went back and looked at those blogs to make sure I am not repeating myself, and I don’t think I am, so here goes: People are always amazed that “they dropped their nets and followed him”.

Are you? I am, in part, but only in part. The Jewish school system of the day, primary school, was for both boys and girls. They memorized the first five books of the Bible – memorized them. The best of those went on to secondary school and they memorized the rest of the Hebrew Bible. The best of those (so the best of the best) upon graduation were interviewed by Rabbi’s. The Rabbi not only wanted to know if they were smart, they wanted to know if those being interviewed had what it took to “be like the Rabbi”.

If you were not selected you went back to the family business. Some went to press olives and some went to fish. That is who we find in the boats; men, probably relatively young men, who have memorized the Hebrew Scriptures, but had Rabbi’s not think they had what it took. Rabbi Jesus looks at them and he might as well have said, “Hail O mighty man of valor”(Yes think of yesterday) instead He says, “Follow me”.

The difference is that they follow. Unlike Gideon they don’t try and talk Jesus out of it, they follow. There will be times when they fail, even abandon (as I type this it is Holy Thursday, the night they will abandon) and times Jesus will be utterly alone (as you read this it is Good Friday). Yet Jesus calls, saying, “I believe you can be like me”. That is what Rabbi’s do with people they believe in.

As you read this on Good Friday remembering Jesus’ death a Cross, you know that in a few days He will rise to new life, and right before His Ascension He will commission His disciples to go into the world…because He believes in them…He has no Plan B…this is it…these 12 are to tell the world. They, and those after them, have done a pretty good job. Sure they could have done better, that is always the case. Yet you and I know the Good News, it has made this far…and now it is up to us…and on this day Jesus hangs on a Cross looking at you saying, “I think you can do it…there is no Plan B”. God bless you.

DAY 87

RELUCTANT WARRIOR

Judges 4, 5 & 6 and Luke 4:31-44

I have commented on the parallel New Testament text in Mark where Jesus cannot do many miracles in his home town, while when he goes to Capernaum he heals many! There is certainly more we could dig into in the Luke passage, but today I want to dig into the Old Testament, it has some great stories.

Today we meet two powerful women, Deborah and Jael. We also meet Gideon. If you ever wonder about God’s view of women, then today’s reading ought to clear that up. Today we find a woman appointed Judge over all Israel and one executes an opposing general! I know we don’t like the violence in the Old Testament, but God’s Word today certainly presents women in a light parallel to the male heroes we have read about. We find the nation being cruelly ruled by a foreign power for twenty years (Jdg 4:3). They pray to God, and Deborah, Israel’s judge, mounts a successful battle with only a few of the tribes. Her campaign and her commander Barak were so effective that the land had rest for forty years (Judges 5:31). A key part of the story regards a woman named Jael. The opposing commander seeks refuge, she hides him in a rug and then drives a tent peg through his head – this is one tough lady.

Yet after four decades of peace Israel forgets God, does what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, and finds themselves under the hand of Midian for seven years. God will next deliver Israel through a Judge named Gideon. This is a great story, showing not only God’s sovereignty, but also his sense of humor.

The story starts with the angel of the Lord addressing Gideon “O mighty man of valor”. That is an interesting way to address someone who is in a winepress threshing wheat. You don’t normally thresh wheat in a wine press. Gideon is hiding. He is hiding from the Midianites. After Gideon’s attempt to talk the Angel of the Lord (a euphemism for God) out of the plan, Gideon asks that he wait as Gideon goes and prepares a present. The text describes that Gideon goes and prepares a meal, which should take a bit of time. Gideon brings it out, and Lord consumes it with the touch of the tip of his hand, and then vanishes. The story goes on from there with a reluctant Gideon. There is a tension in the story. It seems as Gideon is struggling more and more to get away from the Lord’s plan, yet the Lord pulls Him into the plan. In the end Gideon is a reluctant hero.

God uses reluctant warriors. In fact I think he likes those best. People who are reluctant tend to shy away from the fanfare. They are not interested in the limelight. Their lack of enthusiasm tends to have them lean more on God. Yet reluctance doesn’t mean they don’t “obey” or “go” or “serve” – might there have been a time you have been a reluctant warrior – are you being asked to be one right now?

DAY 86

GO THE RIGHT WAY

Judges 1, 2 & 3 and Luke 4:1-30

Today we read of the nation of Israel going into battle, at times being successful and at times not. We read a rather bizarre story about King Ehud – I, and my family, actually acted this story out at camp one year with a Samurai Sword!

The Old and New Testament together provide a contrast; a contrast between human nature and divine nature. In the Old Testament we read that the people disobeyed God, that they “whored after other gods, and bowed down to them.” (Jud. 2:16). They worshipped Baal and Asheroth; fertility gods, gods that required child sacrifice.

In the New Testament we read of Jesus, who in the face of amazing temptation did not abandon God, but remained obedient. His obedience did not bring Him grand acceptance, in fact He is rejected in His own town.

The readings today again show us that obedience to God is the best way, but “that best way” may or may not lead to earthly blessings.

Right now it is Holy Week, a Week we remember just how obedient Jesus was and is – may we walk in his footsteps.

DAY 85

SERVING GOD ALONG THE JOURNEY

Joshua 22, 23 & 24 and Luke 3

This is rather a late night post, just getting it in the queue before midnight. It is Holy Week. We just had our Chrism Service where the Bishop blesses the holy oils, and then Priests & Deacons renew their ordination vows. After the service we have a meal together – it was held at the Cathedral and so I was the host. So things are not fully “jelling” in my mind, but at the same time when you see over 65 clergy vested and processing in a Cathedral, it gets your mind to thinking about serving all the time trying to walk your own journey.

In the Old Testament we read of the people who possessed the land on the “east side” of the Jordan returning to their land – with Joshua’s blessing. They had done their job. They had “fought the good fight”, they had "served" as it were.

As they journey back to their land they build a large altar. News of this new altar spread like wild fire and caused great alarm with the people who remained in the main part of the Promised Land. They were concerned that the people of Rueben, Gad and the ½ tribe of Manasseh had turned away from God. They were ready to go to war with them, their own people!

A delegation is sent to find out exactly what is going on. The answer is very telling about human nature. The people of Rueben, Gad and the ½ tribe of Manasseh make clear they had no plans to offer sacrifices appointed for the Tent of Meeting on this altar – they were not intending to use this huge altar in that manner. They had constructed it as a memorial to tell the succeeding generations that they were indeed part of the nation. It says they actually feared that later generations would forget and consider them enemies.

We then read of Joshua’s closing days; another servant. He points out the work is not yet finished. Some of the tribes have their land, but not all (vv. 23:4-8). He reminds them again not to mix with foreign peoples and foreign gods – a warning we have heard over and over again. Then there is the famous moment where Joshua says, “As for me and my house, we will serve Lord”. Another big chapter in the history of Israel is coming to a close.

The New Testament, Luke 3, is the opening of new chapter in Israel’s (and the world’s) history – Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, the Savior of the World is beginning his very public journey; is beginning to serve.

Three points strike me. We know the actual date, this idea of mountains and valleys being leveled, and the dynamics at Jesus’ baptism.

To the first point, if you examine what the actual year (by our way of marking time) is that Jesus started his ministry, it would appear to be between 26-29 AD. I just think it is cool that we can actually know that. It reinforces the fact that Jesus is a real person and walked this real terra-firma.

The second point has to do with the terra-firma. John the Baptist quotes Isaiah that “every valley shall be exalted and every mountain laid low”. I know that this is figurative, but think about the process of doing so – the process of moving earth around is one that uses a great deal of energy, and one that while when it is done can look nice, the process to get it there is messy.

The third point that catches my eye is the presence of the Trinity at Jesus’ baptism. I know that is probably a tired old sermon point, but it is just amazing.

I don’t know that I have any grand unifying point to the blog today. Each of the little items I have observed: the fear of the “eastern tribes”, the fact that Joshua spent a large portion of his life to subdue the land, and yet there is still work for the Lord to be done, the beautiful quote at the end of his life…to John the Baptist and the reality of Jesus linked with the super-natural nature of Jesus – it all seems to be there – the journey of life, all with the possibility of Christ being present…who will you serve this day?

DAY 84

WAITING

Joshua 19, 20 & 21 and Luke 2:25 – 52

I have trouble waiting. In America we have a “drive through” culture. I pull up in my car, look at a screen of choices, pick what I want, drive up to the building and get what I want – having never left my car. I can get food, prescriptions, money and even beer this way! I can also “point and click”, never leaving my recliner while I shop from my computer. I am conditioned to not wait.

Israel has been waiting, waiting to receive the Promise Land. They ended up taking a forty year detour, and they had to defeat the occupants of the land to get it – for them there was a lot of waiting and a lot of work. Yet they were waiting on God – a God who is completely faithful. It was not a matter of “if” God would do what He promised; it was rather about “when” He would do it.

In Luke’s gospel we have Simeon and Anna. Simeon was told by God that he would see the Messiah before he died; he has been waiting his entire life. When he sees the child Jesus he is overjoyed, and he took Jesus in his arms, can you imagine what that was like; holding the Son of God when he was small! Then Simeon offers praise and says something very interesting: “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

It makes sense that now Simeon can “depart in peace” because he has seen the Messiah. The phrase “a light for revelation to the Gentiles…” That statement is remarkable. After Jesus is raised from the dead, his apostles will struggle with whether Jesus is only for the Jews. It is fairly clear from this passage early in Jesus’ life that he is for the world! It will be the apostle Paul who will champion this point of view.

I imagine the Israelites were thrilled they now had their land; we know Simeon was thrilled. It seems as if God knows that waiting is something we need to learn. Many stories in the Bible involve waiting. Think about what we have read already. There is Abraham, 25 years after he first met God before a child. Think about Moses, how many plagues it took Pharaoh to “get it”.

Waiting, it can be tough. I think we need to make sure we have a key distinction here. If we are waiting for something God has appointed, then it will happen: God is faithful. If we are waiting for something that we want, but it isn’t necessarily what God has designed, then it may or may not.

Waiting can be tough. Waiting for a job, or waiting for a spouse, or waiting for news. What are you waiting for right now? Stay close to God; stay close in prayer, and remember God teaches us to have character traits that are similar to His; we are created in His image. Sometimes I think the act of waiting, learning to wait, is as important as that which we are waiting for, not always, but sometimes.

God knows how to wait – He is patient – He waits patiently for us to come to Him.

DAY 83

BORN TO RIDE…

Joshua 16, 17 & 18 and Luke 2:1-24

The readings from Joshua continue the narrative of the tribes of Israel taking their portion of the land. You have no doubt noticed some disgruntle-ness; also notice that they did not rid the land of the Canaanites. This situation will come back to haunt them.

My mind goes to the birth narrative of Jesus and that this is Palm Sunday. Jesus was born to ride…born to ride into Jerusalem as the chosen unblemished Lamb of God. At the Cathedral where I serve our Palm Sunday Procession is wonderful. After the Palms are blessed, everyone processes to the hymn “All glory laud and honor” and then when we are almost all the way around the Cathedral, as we are about to approach the High Altar that hymn ends, we pray a beautiful prayer, and then we sing another hymn “Ride on”. This hymn’s refrain is “Ride on, ride on, in majesty” which sounds grand. Yet the music and the lyrics tell a different story. The music is in a minor key lending a tone of solemnity and the lyrics, well read for yourself: “Ride on, ride on, in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die; Bow Thy meek head to mortal pain, Then take, O God, Thy power, and reign.” The point is simple. As we celebrate Jesus coming to Jerusalem, the Triumphal Entry is put into perspective – it comes at a cost – an infinite cost. Jesus was born to ride on…Jesus was born to die. Let us pray: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

DAY 82

PROMISES KEPT

Joshua 13, 14 & 15 and Luke 1:57-80

The readings from Joshua are rather long and seemingly a bit tedious. They contain many names and much detail regarding which tribe of Israel will get what portion of the Land. Whenever I come across God devoting that kind of space to something in the Bible I tend to “lean into” it and ponder just why it is so important.

The dividing up of the Promised Land is God taking the next step in fulfilling His Promise. It is not that Joshua has secured this land. In fact he is getting old, and God says that He, God, will do it. He also instructs them to divide the land as an inheritance. It is a little like knowing what you parents “last will and testament” says while they are still alive. Caleb even points out that he had been promised a “bit” and God grants it.

I sense the reason God is doing this, and the reason so much space is devoted to it in Scripture, is to bear witness to God’s faithfulness – God keeps His promises. In this case the Promise of giving them the land and establishing them as His People.

The same principle is at work in the New Testament, and in reality it is the continuation of God’s Promise, God’s Covenant. God is determined to restore humankind unto Himself – to have us be His people. He will do whatever it takes; even His sending His Son to earth. I am not sure if you celebrate what the Church calls Holy Week. We start it Sunday with “Palm Sunday: The Sunday of the Passion”. It is the week where we, through our church services (our liturgies) re-enter the climax of God’s plan – the death and resurrection of His Son. We do this to plant deeply in ourselves the knowledge of God’s faithfulness. We do this in order to worship Him.

Zechariah knows that at the birth of his son, John the Baptist, that they are beginning something remarkable and so he cries out: “Blessed by the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people…” (Luke 1:68). Zechariah knew the story. He knew that someday God would send the Messiah.

God is still in the business of keeping His Promises for He is faithful. What are his promises? You have been reading them these past 82 days. Still it can be helpful to have a list! You can “Google “God’s Promises”” and you will get all sorts of list. Here is one link that is pretty good. It is from a blog site named “Sticky Jesus” – I love that.

http://stickyjesus.com/2011/08/50-promises-god-gives-you-as-step-into-the-digital-world-today/

The point of today’s readings is not only that God is faithful, but that those who were following him knew it, and counted on it. The knowledge and belief in God’s faithfulness led Caleb to bring up what he had been promised, and it led Zechariah to cry out in praise. That is a good lesson for me – to make sure I plant God’s promises deeply inside me – to always have them as a source of strength.

DAY 81

THE SUN STANDS STILL

Joshua 10, 11 & 12 and Luke 1:39-56

The Old Testament chronicles another series of Joshua leading the people of Israel in a successful campaign. In the midst of these events the “sun stands still”. A miraculous feat: just “Google It” if you want to see a few opinions as to if it happened, and if so then how. You will find a variety of explanations that range from it being a merely figurative account, to a variety of scientific explanations.

I find the investigation of these types of Biblical events at once stimulating and also distracting. What if you cannot figure out how it happened? What if that shortcoming leads you to begin doubting God’s action in the world? By overly investigating the “how it happened” do we forget to ask “why it happened”? Now I am not saying we should not ask “how” - I was on a website that actually had the math calculations for the earth stopping its rotation on its axis based on some theories of large objects coming in proximity to it – I am just saying we need to remember to ponder the question of “why.”

Why do you think God had the “sun stand still”? Before you read on, take a moment and answer that question, “Why do you think God had the sun stand still”? The text would suggest  it was so that the day would be longer in order for Israel to capitalize on the battle going in their favor. In fact the text says, “He (Joshua) said, sun stand still at Gibeon…” The Bible says this right after it says Joshua spoke to the Lord. Now I am wondering if this was a spontaneous moment, or if when Joshua was speaking to the Lord the Lord told Joshua to command it so that the people would trust in God. God was always doing these sorts of things with Moses.

This is in part, my answer to the question of “why”. The Israelites should not have won this battle. Five kings and their respective countries formed an alliance. They attack Gibeon and not Israel directly. There is some pretty good political and military strategy going on. Yet God again demonstrates His authority over the situation. He has authority over everything – He can make the sun stand still – so trust Him.

In Luke’s Gospel the same thing is going on: people trusting God. People daring to dream the impossible like the sun standing still is what is going on in both readings. A ragtag group defeating five established countries might seem impossible. So might an aged “thought to be barren” woman and a virgin both being pregnant. The scene is wonderful. A young girl who is trying to faithful to God is carrying the Savior of the world and an older woman who was thought to never have a child are both pregnant. The young girl’s fiancée defends her by staying by her side and the older woman’s husband is unable to speak. All involved in this story will spend the rest of their lives trusting God like never before, and no doubt coming face to face with situations that they would have considered impossible days earlier. When you are “out there”, trusting God and the world is shaking its head at you thinking you have lost your mind, you are happy to meet another person who is living on the edge for God. Mary and Elizabeth are delighted to meet; two women watching the sun stand still in their lives. Mary has a sense of what is taking place as she proclaims, “…for he who is mighty has done great things for me”

How about us? Reflect for a moment and consider God’s presence in your life. Ponder whether there have been times in your life when the sun has stood still – and if you identify any then ask, “And I learned ______________ from that moment”. I expect you might say, “I learned to trust God even more.”

DAY 80

SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO PUT IT OUT THERE

Joshua 7, 8 & 9 and Luke 1:21-38

Today I am feeling challenged by the two readings for two very different reasons. The first set of readings in the Old Testament challenge me because we read of God directing the killing of other people. The second reading in the New Testament speaks of a virgin conceiving. In both God is “acting in the world”. He is doing “these things” I believe for a very specific reason, so let me just “put it out there”. The reason: God is motivated to do whatever it takes to reveal Himself to us. 

This idea of “revealing” is an important one. How does an invisible, omnipotent being who is the creative force that actually let his creation exist – how does He reveal himself? The Bible shows us the answer; it contains the story of God revealing himself over and over. We have read about many of those moments already. From Abraham, to Moses, to just yesterday Zechariah and Joshua - all had encounters with God. God is a God who is in the business of not hiding from us. He is not hiding from us today, even in the midst of these challenging passages.

Today then how do I think about God and violence? Before I answer that question let me just say two things:

1.   I think God and His message are unchanging – I think His means of communicating changes based on our limitations. I think God uses the means to communicate with us in a way that hopefully we will then understand.

2.      I believe today that God is opposed to us using violence to hurt each other.

Having said those two things I don’t believe that was the case in Old Testament times. We think of God as separate from politics, government and the like. That is not how people thought in Old Testament times. Any victory or defeat is attributed to “their god/God”. You might consider that they would frame their question, “How do we know your God is real?” The answer isn’t because your God is a God of love. The answer (and again this is my thought and bit hard to type) the answer is because my God is powerful enough to defeat yours in battle. Not only that my God wants to wipe out all possibility of your gods surviving because they are not gods at all, they are merely superstitions that will lead my people away.

You might argue (and probably should argue – in the positive sense of the word) with me. My sense of the world back then is that it was brutal. We know that “An eye for an eye” was actually a law to limit the revenge people extracted on one another – it was actually a law of compassion in that day and age. Power and might was how people listened.

So let me put this to you. If “power and might” is the medium by which people can hear, and you really want them to hear, would you communicate through that medium? I know it is unpleasant to think about, but for a moment consider the question. My answer is that God uses power and might to communicate to the world He is God – because (and this is a BIG because) that is the only way the people will listen. That is how I think any of this makes sense. God is so focused on getting through to us that He will do whatever it takes for us to listen – even when it causes Him pain. I do believe it causes Him pain each time a human life is lost, especially to violence. He is not doing any of this because He wants to “show off”; quite the opposite.

How, or better why, do I believe this about God? Because He did not spare His own Son…cf. Romans 8:32. God endured the violence of the Cross so we would “hear and receive” the message of the Love of God in Christ.

I know that is a lot to take in, and you don’t need to agree, but before you dismiss large portions of the Old Testament I do ask you to think about it. It is also a lot to take in that God came to earth through the Virgin Birth. There were prophecies that God would deliver His people by way of a virgin conceiving. Two points: first if I believe God is supra-natural (outside of nature) and in fact capable of controlling nature (such as parting the Red Sea, etc.) then I believe He can orchestra an egg in a woman being fertilized – he can orchestrate a virgin birth. Again, He is not showing off, He is trying to get us to “hear” that He is revealing Himself to us.

The question might be, “How is God revealing Himself today to us?” Do we see God in the eyes of the poor? Do we see Jesus in the cancer ward and Alzheimer's unit? Do we see Jesus in the moments of our world? For God is still in the business of revealing Himself to us.

DAY 79

MAYBE IT IS REALLY THE PLAN?

Joshua 4, 5 & 6 and Luke 1:1-20

Wow, there is much in our readings today: here is a thumbnail sketch:

·         Israel crossed the Jordan, in fact the river stops flowing, and they set up a memorial – standing stones!

·         The men are circumcised (apparently this practice fell into disuse)

·         They eat the produce of the land. Think about this for a moment. For forty years they have been eating manna. Now they will have to eat the produce of the land.

·         Joshua meets the Commander of the Lord’s Army, it has the overtones of a “burning bush” moment – “take off your sandals” we read.

·         The story of John the Baptist being conceived is told complete with the Angel Gabriel and a father who will be unable to talk for nine months!

Sometimes there is a lot going on not only in the Bible, but also in our lives. How do you do when there is a lot going on? Can I be honest? On a good day I am like a duck. I try to be calm on the surface, but underneath I am paddling like crazy. On a day that is not so good I let the stress get the best of me and it shows.

I bring up stress because I am trying to put myself in these peoples situation. Re-read the thumbnail sketch above and consider whether the main characters were a little stressed. I mentioned the priests yesterday being the “first ones in”, but consider the people, they are going in to invade a country – “a wee bit of stress”. Then getting circumcised – I am not even going there. Then the people have to learn how to gather and cook food they have never eaten. It has been 40 years of manna and quail. Can they even tell the difference between poison ivy and spinach?

We move from broad people groups to two specific people: Joshua and Zechariah. Joshua might have been wondering if he was hallucinating when he saw the Commander of the Lord’s Army. He has a lot of responsibility. It is maybe his second or third day “in office” and the plan is to march around the city. Picture what he might be saying to himself! Then there is Zechariah; we hear what “he is saying” because he does not keep it to himself – the result – Mute!

And yet…and yet in each instance God’s plan prevailed. We know (and will read about shortly) that Zechariah will have a son, John the Baptist – and get his voice back.  We know that the people will learn how to work the land. We know that the Israelites will go into battle and succeed. We know that the people get across the river.

God’s plan prevails.

And maybe that is the lesson. Amid all the stress the people were experiencing; all the doubt, the confusion, and more…God’s plan prevails.

Ultimately that is the point of God directing a monument be erected. God says to erect “standing stones”. Standing Stones are found in the Middle East in archaeological sites. They were erected to commemorate an event. People in their travels would come upon these stones and ask, “What happened here?” Then the story would get told about all that had happened, and in this case, all that God had done!

Which brings me to another section of Scripture: did you know that you and I are to be Standing Stones – in fact Living Stones? We are suppose to live our lives, full of all the stress we have, full of all the questions, sometimes paddling away, and people are to look at us and ask, “What happened here?”

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:1-5.

DAY 78 A

“THE END?”

Mark 16

Before we jump into looking at the different endings of Mark’s Gospel, I want to share a few thoughts about The Bible. We know it is highly regarded. We refer to it as God’s Word. You and I are even reading it, all of it, in one year!

And while Homer has been translated into 40 languages, Shakespeare into 60 – the Bible has been translated into 2,100!  Over 530 Million copies are printed each year and it is always the #1 Bestseller.

We must however be honest; sometimes things don’t seem to “add up”. The ending(s) to Mark are case in point. There is a field of study called “textual criticism” which develops methods for answering the questions about the authenticity of the books we read and what to do with situations such as Mark’s endings.

I want us first to appreciate just how bona fide these documents are. One method to determine authenticity is to look at how close the first copies of a book appeared in relation to the original manuscript or event. Basically it says that the closer the first copy appears to the original, and the higher the number of copies found – the higher the odds are that the book we have is genuinely describing the event.

The book of Herodutus (and ancient Greek historian) was written in between 488-429 BC and was first copied in 900 AD, some 1,300 years apart with only 8 known copies – we rely on it.

The works of Thucydides (another historian and Athenian General) was written between 460-400 BC and was first copied in 900 AD, again some 1,300 year with only 8 known copies – again we use his works such as the Peloponnesian Wars.

Caesar’s Gallic Wars was written between 58-50 BC and was first copies in 900 AD, some 950 years with only 9-10 known copies

The list could go on, but here are the numbers for the Gospels/New Testament: written between 40 – 140 AD, first copies appear between 130-350 AD and the number of copies – 5,309!

In the variety and fullness of the evidence the text of the New Testament stands absolutely unapproachable and alone among ancient prose writing (F.J. Haught).

The point of that long introduction is to give you some confidence in what you are reading, and so now on to Mark.

We have a number of Mark manuscripts, the earliest (called the Papyrus 45 dates from between 200-250 AD). If you are really interested in more about other old pieces of Bible parchment here is a link with a fairly easy to read chart:

http://www.usefulcharts.com/religion/oldest-bible-manuscripts.html

So what of the ending of Mark? Here you are going to get my approach to reading the Bible. Simply put, keep the big picture in front of you. In Mark’s Gospel, even the short ending has the tomb empty! Do we know Jesus is risen? We know that the other Gospels have accounts of Jesus being raised. We also know (and this is part of the big picture) that in Mark’s own Gospel Jesus says he is going to die and then after three days be raised up.

Some scholars, and these are serious people, think the last part of the ending was lost. Others scholars, equally serious, suggest that the longer ending was added by people and different scholars suggest different motivations for the additions.

So how should we, those of us reading our Bibles and looking at the footnote and wondering about the ending. My suggestion; we should not be surprised to find a longer ending, nor should we be upset by the shorter – I don’t think that either scenario radically changes “the big picture”.

He is Risen!

DAY 78

GOING FIRST…

Joshua 1, 2 & 3 and Mark 16

I realize today we read of the empty tomb, the Resurrection. You might find it curious that the blog does not focus on this, the greatest event in the history of the world. It might be because Easter is 13 days away and I don’t want to write about it just yet. It might be because I commented on the Resurrection on Day 48. It may just be that there is something in all these readings that has gotten my attention: Today we meet people who “go first”.

·         Joshua, is the first to lead the people into the Promise Land.

·         Rahab, is the first in Jericho to really understand just who this “Hebrew God” really is. She says, “He is the God of heaven above and earth below”.

·         The Priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan; they are the first ones in the water. . Now the river was at flood stage; raging water. I imagine some of the priests saying to their fellow priests, “Why don’t you go first today?”

·         Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome…went first to the tomb. They were worried, “Who will roll away the stone for us…?”

In every one of these situations, God was asking people to have faith in Him. He has some words for Joshua that apply to all of the situations we read about today. Three times God says:  “Be strong – be courageous”. God also tells him, “Meditate on the Book of the Law day and night.”

I have been thinking about what it takes to “attempt something”, to do something for the first time. When something has to be attempted, when there is no option, what do we do? C.S. Lewis writes, “Faced with an optional question on an examination, one must consider whether one can do it or not: faced with a compulsory question, one must do the best they can. You may get some marks for a very imperfect answer: you will certainly get none for leaving the question alone.” He goes to say the same is true in life. In fact we often surprise ourselves by what we can do, when we have to.

These readings go beyond that idea because they are situations where people are attempting to “follow God”. In a few cases God is asking those involved to trust Him, and in one Rahab is convinced the “Hebrew God” is the one to follow.  

Is this not our situation? Are not we trying to “follow God”, “follow Jesus”? Does it not often feel as if we are trying to “go first”? We try and be first to show charity. We try and be first to not give in to some nagging tendency we have that we know to be sin? The key, and I think this is really important, is that we not grade ourselves so much on whether we perfectly achieved what we were trying for, but rather that we took the step, we trusted God, we attempted to follow! In fact we already know that we won’t get a 100%. There will be days (sticking with the same example) where we will not show the charity we should show.

The key is picking ourselves up, going to God for forgiveness, and taking our first step yet again. It is indeed this habit of getting up and following that will train us with the proper habits of the soul.

So, be strong, be courageous, God loves you and wants you to follow. He knows you are going to fall down a bit, but the more you try, the further you are along the path.

Post Script: where the actual ending to Mark’s Gospel is a question. I will provide a second post that gives you some background on that issue, and also provide my view about how you can with some intellectual integrity sort of these types of situations in the Bible. After all, if you are working so hard to read the Scripture, I want to try and offer whatever I can for some of these sticky issues.

DAY 77

IT IS ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE DAWN

Deuteronomy 32, 33 & 34 and Mark 15:26 - 46

The electronic version of these chapters of Deuteronomy doesn’t let you see the prose of Moses’ final song and blessing. It is rather beautiful. Sadly he will die and not enter the Promise Land. The scene is dramatic. In chapter 27 God gave instructions to put half the people on one mountain and half on the other. With them in place the law was read and the blessings and curses proclaimed (that we have been reading) and with the stark contrast set as a on a stage, God says “choose between life or death” – the scene is amazing. With this done Moses ascends a mountain, proclaims his song and blesses them for the last time.

It may seem dark, but there is that old adage that it is always darkest before dawn. It is certainly dark in the Mark reading, “…and when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice…and the curtain of the Temple was rent in two…”

There is much in this reading, a number of prophecies were fulfilled, but I want to zero-in on one part: the Curtain of the Temple being torn in two. I know we have not gotten to the Temple yet, but we have spent hours reading about the Tent of Meeting. The Temple in some ways is a big (really big) Tent of Meeting. You may recall the Tent of Meeting had a place called the “Holy of Holies” where the Ark of the Covenant was kept (Exodus 26:33-34 – Day 31) and where Moses would meet with God. No one else could go into this area, except the priest under very specific stipulations (Leviticus 16:2-34 - Day 45). The stipulations were that the priest had to have the sin offerings completed – in other words no sin in the presence of God.  The point is that God, while He dwelt with His people in the desert, still could not be completely untied with them because of the sin. The problem of course was that before the priest left the Holy of Holies sin would have re-emerged in the people.

This separation was recreated in the Temple with a curtain some 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, of the thickness of the palm of the hand, and wrought in 72 squares. [Here is an online reference: http://cbumgardner.wordpress.com/2010/04/06/the-thickness-of-the-temple-veil/]

All this is to point out that the symbolic separation of God and humanity was rent in two, top to bottom. How can this be? Certainly after Jesus’ atoning death there would be more sin in the world? The answer is that Jesus is infinitely perfect; His death covers all sin. (cf. Hebrews 9:28 and 10:10).

I want to just pause and revisit the scene again. Its the ninth hour, the priest would be raising the knife to offer the Passover sacrifice (of course this was going to have to be done over and over). At the same hour the Son of God, the One who knew no sin, who bore no blemish, was offered for the sins of the world.  He was offered on a garbage heap, outside of town, between two thieves, in the darkness that had fallen over the whole earth. The curtain is torn in two and  He utters a loud cry. Mark doesn’t tell us what he said, but John does, “It is finished”. It is always darkest before dawn.

Consider taking a moment and offering a prayer of thanks: this is the essence of the Gospel, that Christ died for the sins of the world – mine and yours – so that we will never be separated from God.