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September 9, 2024

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Bible Stories, God's Plan, Obedience, Trusting God

THE RIGHT TIME AND WAY

“No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed!” [1 Samuel 26:9-11 (NLT)]

But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.” [Acts 13:22 (NLT)]

In the Gospel stories of the two miraculous catches of fish, experience told the disciples that fishing in the light of day was the wrong time and casting a net from the right side of the boat was the wrong way to do it. Nevertheless, that’s exactly how Jesus told them to fish. If we look at those stories more figuratively, we see that night time was man’s time and the boat’s left side was man’s way. Those miraculous catches, however, tell us that the right time is whenever God says it is and the right way is however God says it’s to be done!

It’s not just in His fishing instructions to the disciples that we find Jesus’ way counter-intuitive and unconventional. Man’s way is to hold grudges but Jesus’ is to offer forgiveness. Man’s way is to get even; Jesus’ is to be merciful. Man’s way is exclusive; Jesus’ is inclusive. Man’s way values power, authority, and wealth; Jesus’ way values the meek, humble, and poor. Man’s way declares certain people unclean, disgraceful, worthless, or untouchable; Jesus’ way loves and touches them all. Man’s way is to be self-sufficient; Jesus’ is to be God-dependent. Man’s way doesn’t turn the other cheek, find strength in weakness, or go the extra mile, but Jesus’ way does! As strange as it sometimes sounds, God’s way always is the right way!

Seeing the oppression of his people under Pharaoh, Moses initially tried to do things his way in his own time. After observing an Egyptian beating a fellow Hebrew, he killed the offender and hid the body in the sand. While his motive was good, Moses accomplished nothing by killing one Egyptian. Doing it his way meant fleeing Egypt, separation from his own people, losing his position and power, and 40 years as an alien in a foreign land. Meanwhile, the Hebrews spent another 40 miserable years in slavery! It was only when Moses abided by God’s timing and way that he brought Egypt to its knees and the entire Hebrew nation to freedom!

On the other hand, when David was on the run from Saul, he passed up two opportunities to kill the king and take the crown. Even though he’d been anointed king by Samuel, David knew that God anointed Saul first. David trusted that, in God’s time and His way, Saul would fall and he faithfully waited until God’s time. He was, indeed, a man after God’s own heart!

As counter-intuitive as it often seems, we’re supposed to do things God’s way in His time. It’s not a question of how or when it’s always been done or we want to do it; it’s how and when God wants it done! Remember, if we’re not fishing at His time from the right side of the boat, it doesn’t matter how many times we drop that net!

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” [Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)]

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (NLT)]

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September 5, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, Money & Wealth, Temptation & Sin

MODESTY

Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive apparel, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. [1 Timothy 2:9-10 (NASB)]

peacockDo these verses mean I can’t wear my pearl earrings, diamond wedding ring, or gold cross to church? Do I have to say “farewell” to Nordstrom’s and start shopping solely at outlets and discount stores? Although my hair is short, it’s hard to believe my grand’s lovely French braids are inappropriate at church or anywhere else. What did Paul and Peter mean with their admonitions about women’s attire and modesty?

Let’s put the Apostles’ words into cultural context. The early church was a mix of Jew, Gentile, men, women, free, slave, wealthy, and poor. In the Roman Empire, jewelry and expensive clothing of linen, silk, and embroidered fabric were valued as much for the status they gave the owner as for their beauty. Behaving like a peacock by showing off one’s extravagant jewelry and lavish apparel was the ancient way of openly boasting about one’s position, bank balance, and investment portfolio. While it was as crass and insensitive in the 1st century as it is today, some members of the early church were doing just that!

More valuable than diamonds at the time, pearls represented both wealth and power. Rich women often embellished their clothing with pearls; the more pearls a woman wore, the richer and more esteemed she (and her spouse) were. Because only people of great wealth or high status wore them, pearls set the wearer apart from the rest of the public.

As for braids—when wealthy women plaited their hair during the Roman period, they’d entwine strands of gold, precious stones, and pearls into the braid. The Apostles’ issue with plaited hair wasn’t the braid; it was with the showy embellishments in the braid! Like lavish clothing, pearls, and excessive jewelry, such braids implied a sort of social “pecking order” or class system that was unacceptable in a community where all are to be one in Jesus Christ!

While we think of immodest dress as attire that leaves little or nothing to the imagination, neither Paul nor Peter were referring to things like cleavage, bare midriffs, miniskirts, or “booty” shorts; those things were not an issue in the 1st century. A woman’s lack of coverage wasn’t what concerned the Apostles nor were they establishing a “modesty patrol.” Nevertheless, taking these verses out of context, some denominations have established rules regarding women’s attire requiring things like hemlines below the knee and sleeves that extend to the elbow while prohibiting things like make-up, jewelry beyond a wedding ring and watch, and women’s slacks because “they immodestly reveal the feminine contours of upper leg, thigh, and hip.”

It wasn’t excess skin that concerned Paul and Peter; it was an excess in attire that demonstrated pride, self-importance, and arrogance! The modesty about which the Apostles were speaking was economic and social rather than sexual in nature. Addressing those who were flaunting their wealth and social status, the Apostles took issue with the ostentatious displays of opulence that threatened a sense of kinship and unity within the early church.

Rather than turn legalistic with an external set of rules regarding proper attire, Paul and Peter set a much higher standard for us all—that of godliness. Qualities like respect, humility, love, trust, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, and reverence are conditions of the heart—not an issue of clothing. The way we present ourselves to others isn’t supposed to point to us; it should point to Jesus. No matter how we’re attired, if we haven’t put on Christ, we’re not dressed properly!

Many come to bring their clothes to church rather than themselves. [Thomas Fuller]

Your adornment must not be merely the external—braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or putting on apparel; but it should be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. … clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. [1 Peter 3:3-4,5:5 (NASB)]

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September 2, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship

HATS OR NOT

A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering. [1 Corinthians 11:4-6 (NLT)]

I grew up attending the Episcopal Church at a time when women covered their heads during worship and the men worshipped bare-headed. While not a hard and fast rule in the denomination, it was a time-honored tradition. Women wearing head coverings in Episcopal and Catholic churches began to wane in the 70s and, by 1983, the Roman Catholic church no longer had rules regarding headwear for men or women. The last time I attended an Episcopal or Catholic church, the women were hatless and some of the men wore baseball caps! Although culture plays an important role in the way we dress and behave in church, how do we interpret Paul’s words today? Should I dig out my mantilla and must our pastor toss out his ball cap?

Kephalé, translated as “head,” meant both the body part on top of the neck as well as the master or person in charge and Paul used it in both senses in his letter. That is one of the reasons many scholars find this passage in 1 Corinthians 11 one of the most difficult in the New Testament to understand thoroughly. Leaving the semantics to the scholars, let’s look at Paul’s words about head coverings in their cultural context. 1st century Corinth was a cosmopolitan and prosperous city notorious for its corruption, idolatry, and immortality. The Corinthian church, a mix of men, women, rich, poor, slave, free, Gentile, and Jew, was jeopardized by various factions and spiritual immaturity. After attending to three specific problems within that church, the Apostle tried to unify this diverse community of new believers by addressing topics such as food sacrificed to idols, abuses at the Lord’s Supper, the Spirit’s gifts, the resurrection of believers, and proper conduct in worship.

Paul’s directive that men worship with bare heads and women with covered is better understood when we know that male officiants in pagan Roman rituals covered their heads with a fold of their togas when praying, sacrificing, offering drinks, and practicing divination. On the other hand, Gentile women participated in some cultic rituals with their heads uncovered and their hair unbound. With a large Gentile membership, such practices may have found their way into the new church. Worshipping Jesus in the same manner they’d worshipped gods like Apollo and Dionysus put Him in the same category as Rome’s idols and Paul disapproved of dishonoring Christ that way!

Paul’s main concern about women wearing head coverings probably had to do with propriety and respect. Although many upper-class Gentile Corinthian women found it socially acceptable to appear bare-headed in public, it was unseemly for Jewish married women to venture outside their homes without covering their heads. A woman’s covered head was a sign of modesty and regard for her husband and a wife who exposed her hair to the public dishonored her spouse. While an uncovered head was a sign of progressive freedom to a Gentile, it was a sign of impropriety and promiscuity to a Jew. Paul’s reference to the shame of a shaved head was because the Torah’s punishment for an adulterous wife was a shaved head.

In the Corinthian church, the issues of head coverings for both men and women caused discord between people of different backgrounds, social status, and spiritual maturity. Paul’s instructions were meant to ease those tensions and unify the church. Today, however, head coverings don’t carry the same meaning as they did in the 1st century Roman Empire. They’re little more than a fashion statement or a way to protect us from the sun. For today’s believer, Paul’s words aren’t as much about covered or uncovered heads at church as they are about dressing in a culturally appropriate way so that both our attire and demeanor in worship honor God, our spouse, and our fellow believers.

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. [1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)]

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. [Colossians 3:14 (NLT)]

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August 26, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Love & Works, Money & Wealth

HEARTFELT OR HYPOCRITICAL?

Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. … But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.  [Matthew 6:1,3 (NLT)]

st. Thomas Catholic Church-Petosi -WisconsinIn the category of “Newer Words,” the night’s Final Jeopardy clue was, “Philosopher’s use it for language that accompanies an action, like ‘I dub thee knight’; it also means done for show or signal.” The correct response was “performative.” A new word to me, I encountered it again the following day in an article by Rich Villodas about “performative spirituality.” After asking, ”If a good deed is not posted on social media, did it really happen?” Villodas continued with another rhetorical question, “If an act of generosity is not caught on camera and never goes viral, was it a worthwhile gesture?”

Performative behavior is intended to show how a person wants to be seen by others, rather than who they really are. While performative spirituality is more blatant in this day and age, it didn’t begin in the 21st century with social media. God the Father took issue with it back in the 8th century BC. Through the prophet Hosea, God made it clear that outward expressions of faith through offerings and sacrifices were meaningless without the covenant loyalty, love, and obedience that are the hallmarks of spirituality. God wanted true faith rather than empty sacrifice. [6:6]

Jesus certainly took issue with performative spirituality in the 1st century. Along with strict adherence to the law, Jewish religious leaders considered giving, fasting, and praying to be the most important proof of one’s piety. When they made offerings, many were sure to do it in public view and, when they fasted, their sad demeanor, unshaven unwashed faces, and unclean clothes made it obvious to all. To show their piousness, they often enlarged their tefillin, lengthened the tzitzits on their robes, and prayed long, loud, and public prayers. They may have worn large prayer boxes on their arms, but they hadn’t placed the boxes’ words in their hearts nor were they obeying the commandments represented by their long tassels. Being regarded as righteous by others is not the same as being righteous before God!

Jesus chastised the Pharisees and scribes for the way they could appear devout and honorable through their strict obedience to the law while actually breaking it. Through the practice of Corban, they could dedicate their property (both real and personal) to the Lord. In theory, having given everything to the Temple, they were penniless. In practice, however, they retained their wealth with a life estate in their property. Able to keep their possessions and land, they could live off any earnings and interest for the rest of their lives! Contrary to God’s law, this arrangement allowed them to enjoy a comfortable life while freeing them from their debts along with their financial responsibility to support their aging parents and help those in need.

When Jesus told us we’re not to let our left hand to know what our right hand is doing when we give to those in need, I’ve always interpreted the words to mean that our giving should be done anonymously. After all, kindness, generosity, and compassion aren’t spectator sports. Jesus, however, is speaking of more than anonymity. For a Christ follower, charity and compassion should be as automatic and instinctive for us as it was for Jesus. With no thought of reward, it should be so natural that the left hand doesn’t even notice when the right hand reaches into the wallet or writes a check to charity. Moreover, with the left hand uninvolved, we can’t applaud our “righteous” behavior!

What we might call “performative spirituality” in the 21st century, Jesus bluntly called hypocrisy! His words about such behavior are a warning to all generations—especially ours when it’s so easy to be caught up in seeking approval from people. Nothing we do or say should be done with the purpose of displaying our ”righteousness,” exhibiting our “holiness,” or receiving admiration or applause. God knows what we do but He also knows why we do it. As God’s lamps, the purpose of letting our light shine is not to glorify ourselves; it to glorify the source of our light—God!

It is not the being seen of men that is wrong, but doing these things for the purpose of being seen of men. The problem with the hypocrite is his motivation. He does not want to be holy; he only wants to seem to be holy. He is more concerned with his reputation for righteousness than about actually becoming righteous. The approbation of men matters more to him than the approval of God. [Augustine]

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. [Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)]

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August 22, 2024

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Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Faith & Hope, God's Plan, God's Word: The Bible, Thanks & Praise

HARVEST HOME

And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?” He said to them, “An enemy has done this.” So the servants said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he said, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” [Matthew 13:27-30 (ESV)]

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin. [Henry Alford]

Because the pastor’s sermon was about being thankful, she’d selected “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” as the evening’s opening hymn. Henry Alford wrote this hymn in 1844 for village harvest festivals in England called Harvest Home. Rural churches would celebrate the harvest by decorating with pumpkins and autumn leaves, collecting the harvest bounty, and then distributing it to the needy. Because of its seasonal harvest imagery, we usually sing this hymn in November at Thanksgiving but this was mid-July! Reading the hymn’s words out of their traditional Thanksgiving context, I understood their meaning in an entirely different way.

While the literal meaning of “harvest” is the gathering in of crops, when Jesus spoke of the harvest, He used it as a metaphor for the gathering of souls into the kingdom. With its references to Jesus’ words about the harvest, Alford’s hymn is more than a song celebrating a bountiful crop of wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes; it is a metaphor for the final judgment and Christ’s return! The first verse, with its call for people to come to the harvest, alludes to Jesus’ words about the coming harvest being great but the workers being few. It reminded me that we all are called to be workers in His field!

The second verse’s, “All the world is God’s own field, fruit as praise to God we yield; wheat and tares together sown are to joy or sorrow grown,” combines imagery from Jesus’ parable of the growing seed in which the harvest comes through God’s provision and His parable of the wheat and tares. The wheat seeds symbolize the true believers sown by Jesus and the tares or weeds the bad seeds sown by Satan. While both the grain and weeds grow side by side, only the wheat will grow to joy while the tares will grow to sorrow! Alford concludes the second stanza with the simple prayer: “Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.”

The apocalyptic theme of the hymn becomes clear in the third and fourth verses: “For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take the harvest home.” Repeating imagery from Matthew 13, Alford continues: “Giving angels charge at last, in the fire the tares to cast; but the fruitful ears to store in the garner evermore.” Both wheat and tares will receive their reward; the wheat (the righteous) will be stored in the barn and enter into the Kingdom but the tares (false believers) will be gathered and burned in Hell.

How can a hymn about the final judgment be so joyful and filled with thanksgiving? Because, for a believer, the message of the gospel is one of hope. There will be no tares in heaven. As Alford says, it will be “free from sorrow, free from sin.” The hymn concludes with a prayer that Jesus would soon return for the harvest: “Even so, Lord, quickly come, bring thy final harvest home … come, with all thine angels, come, raise the glorious harvest home.”

As believers, we can be thankful because we’ve read the last chapter. We know our story won’t end with “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Instead, we will “shine like the sun in the kingdom” of our Father!

Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be. [Henry Alford]

Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. [Matthew 13: 40-43 (ESV)]

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August 15, 2024

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Bible Stories, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Trusting God

MORE THAN THESE

sunrise - Cancun MexicoWhen they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” [John 21:15 (ESV)]

Following His resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for forty days during which He was seen by His family, disciples, and followers (more than 500 of them at one time). The time frame of Jesus’ appearances, however, is unclear. Some time after He appeared to the disciples Resurrection Sunday and again eight days later when Thomas was present, Peter told the others he was going fishing. The disciple wasn’t referring to an afternoon of sport fishing—Peter was going back to fishing for species like tilapia and sardines rather than men. The kingdom had not arrived and, unsure of what was next, the disciples were at loose ends. Leaving Jerusalem, Peter and at least six others went to back to their homes and livelihoods in Galilee.

Fishing on the Sea of Galilee was done at night so the fish wouldn’t see the nets. Although the disciples cast their nets several times that night, nothing was caught. As dawn approached and the men again pulled in an empty net, a man on shore called out and told them to cast the net from the other side. Whether it was the morning mist, low light, or sweat in their eyes, the men didn’t recognize the stranger. Nevertheless, after a fruitless night on the water, the discouraged disciples did as instructed. When their net got so full they couldn’t haul it in, John realized the man was Jesus! After all, this wasn’t the first time He’d filled their nets. That first time, the men left everything to follow Jesus to become “fishers of men” and this miracle repeated Jesus’ call to them.

Upon recognizing Jesus, Peter immediately jumped out of the boat to greet Him while the others brought their enormous catch into shore. After enjoying breakfast on the beach, Jesus asked Peter if the disciple loved Him “more than these.” He asked Peter that question three times and scholars and theologians have written hundreds of treatises about His questions and Peter’s answers. They discuss the relationship of Jesus’ three questions to the disciple’s three denials and ponder the significance of Jesus calling the disciple by his old name of Simon rather than Peter. They analyze the use of agape (sacrificial love) and phileo (brotherly love) in both questions and answers while some even try to find hidden meaning in the number of fish caught (153). I’ll leave those issues to them.

My attention was caught by Jesus’ first question to the man who would be the foundational “rock” of the new church: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Although Peter asserts that he loves Jesus after each question, who or what are the “these” to which Jesus referred?

Was Jesus asking Peter if the disciple loved Jesus more than any of the other men did? That last night, when Jesus predicted He’d be betrayed and deserted before night’s end, Peter seemed to think he loved Jesus the most. The cocky man even boasted that, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will.” Was the one who denied the Lord three times that night still so sure of himself?

Could “these” have been the other disciples? Was Jesus asking Peter whether he loved Him more than he loved his brother Andrew and the rest of the men gathered on the beach? Could his love for those men ever draw him away from following Jesus? If he had to decide between Jesus and family or friends like James and John, who would he choose?

Or, could “these” have referred to the boat, nets, and amazing catch of fish on the beach that morning? In Jesus’ day, the fishing industry was quite profitable and the day’s catch represented a great deal of money. Did the disciple love Jesus more than his life as a Galilean fisherman? Was Jesus asking Peter if he loved the Lord more than the world in which he lived?

It was after Peter’s third affirmation of his love for Jesus that the Lord predicted Peter’s violent death. By describing Peter with his hands stretched out while others girded or bound him and took him where he didn’t want to go, the Lord was describing a martyr’s death, likely crucifixion. After making clear the true price Peter would pay, Jesus repeated the words He’d spoken to Simon the fisherman three years prior: “Follow me!”

Indeed, for Simon the fisherman to become Peter the apostle and leader of the twelve, he had to love Jesus more than any of the other disciples did, had to love Jesus more than he loved his friends and family, and had to love Jesus more than his life as a Galilean fisherman. In fact, since he knew how it would end, Peter had to love Jesus more than his own life!

Repeating the call He made to Peter, Jesus tells us, “Follow me.” Peter did; will we? Do we love Him more than these?

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. [John 12:25-26 (ESV)]

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