Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest

Read, mark, learn and inwardly digest. This has been a favorite directive of mine for years. It comes from a collect in the Book of Common Prayer. The entire thing goes like this: 

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP 236)

As I walked this morning, this verse came to mind and I thought about it in a new way; and that is, it is a progression that begins with reading the Scriptures. Without having done that, the entire thing falls flat-and there is no going forward beyond that; no way to mark and learn without having read them first, and no way to read them if one hadn’t at least heard of them first. (Notice the hearing comes first in the collect.)

This reading bit I think is a stumbling block for many of us: Taking the time to read what God says is the beginning-and not the end, yes it is a goal-but the culmination of this goal is getting to know the author. That is where the “inwardly digest” bit comes in. when we eat-whatever we eat, that something becomes a part of us, it is a building block (hopefully and not total junk-but that is another discussion), it is incorporated into our very being-it forms our cells and so grows us into who we are.

This is the inward digestion that is being called for in this prayer; that the Word might so become a part of us that it is integral to who we are, how we think, what we do, and how we perceive and respond to the world around us. For today, I pray that I might READ, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Word of the Lord-and so get to know the author in a deeper way. Amen.

Bless and do not curse

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)

What shall we do with this? After all, we are called to live the good news. There are many opportunities to do something other than this-to revile, to complain, to dishonor others with our thoughts, our words or our actions. I read today of a murder depicted live on Egyptian news television. The response was not along these lines-and you might say “who can blame them/us/me?” But, this passage calls for a different response-“bless and do not curse.”

I find it interesting here that God knows our spirit well enough to give us this point: in this way “you will heap burning coals on his head.” Is it in knowing how these acts of kindness will be received that our vindictive nature would be satisfied? Obviously, there is more to this passage than that. How do we reconcile the gut reaction of our inner selves with this call to “bless those who persecute” us?

Yesterday evening a friend and I were conversing about not having our attitude shaped by others, not having our day ruined by someone else’s bad behavior, even if it was directed at us-or perpetrated in our vicinity. Normally this doesn’t rise to the level of bloodshed-but of course as the news is full of violent incidents it can come to that-what does Paul say in this letter to the Romans? He says not to be “overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Here is a passage a bit earlier in Romans: (Romans 5:1-5)

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

What I suggested to my friend was: you don’t have to have someone else’s bad day. What Paul says here is similar and in another instance in 2 Timothy 4:7 he says “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” It is this finishing that matters-it is this fight that matters. In the end…we need to keep our eyes on Jesus-and all else will fade out of focus. Yes, still there-but not as important as knowing Him and following Him.

MTH thoughts-on feelings, marriage and society

At the risk of placing myself on the “wrong side of history,” I find I agree with Robert George when he says that: “the conjugal conception [of marriage] has historically been embodied in our marriage laws, and explains their content (not just the requirement of spousal sexual complementarity, but also rules concerning consummation and annulability, norms of monogamy and sexual exclusivity, and the pledge of permanence of commitment) in ways that the sexual-romantic domestic partnership conception simply cannot. Still, having adopted the sexual-romantic domestic partnership idea, and seeing no alternative possible conception of marriage, they assume—and it is just that, an assumption, and a gratuitous one—that no actual reason exists for regarding sexual reproductive complementarity as integral to marriage.”

I am not ignorant of the fact that many people-friends and family alike will not agree with this understanding. When considering whether this concept that marriage is just about emotional attachments and sexual attraction I find I do not believe it is one of permanence nor do I see it as a positive force for our society. As someone who comes from a family with a long history of divorce or “serial monogamy,” and having suffered through –or chosen divorce myself rather than the alternative actions that could have been taken I fully understand this emotional need to be loved and to love-and the need to “feel” that certain something. But guess what, I think I was wrong. I think I got it wrong and that unless we as a country rethink these ‘norms’ we are going to be revisiting a continuum of emotional/societal problems that develop out of this new understanding of what is acceptable.

If it is always up to the individual to decide how they “feel” then situations are always going to be up for grabs. ‘I don’t feel like it’ is reason enough to do whatever we wish. When children are told to go to bed to get enough sleep, to eat their vegetables, to grow up healthy and strong-if they don’t feel like it-then what can our response be; Oh, ok, sorry to have imposed our will upon you? Patients who are aged and infirm and at risk of falling out of bed or injuring themselves cannot be placed in beds with four sides-in the off-chance that they do not wish to stay safely in bed-we cannot impose our will upon them either. If someone gets tired of going to work-if someone gets tired of getting out of bed? What of these? They just don’t feel like it. Are we going to reduce our society to one that only addresses feelings? Will ‘you hurt my feelings’ be an offense punishable by law? You may not see these examples as related, but I am afraid they are. When feelings are elevated to the highest order of consciousness we put reason and thinking and working and striving in the background of all relationships. And there are two examples in the Bible that are brought to mind in this case.

The first is from Judges 21:25: In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

If we all do what is right in our own eyes then no one else matters-only ourselves-and our feelings. We are very dangerously close to this, in my opinion; not one of us wishes to give over any of our control-not one of us wishes to have a King over our lives. The 70’s understanding of “if it feels right-do it” rules everyone and everywhere. I overheard a conversation and the parting remark between the two people was “she had to do what was right for her” this was not questioned –it seemed to make perfect sense –but my assertion is that it is just more of the same attitude that individuality trumps everything else. Yes, obviously we are all individuals with different wants and even different needs-but total anarchy of individual obsession and self-satisfaction is not a healthy direction for a society. In community we all need each other, and we need to have disagreements and work through things, we cannot always have it our own way. We all need to be able to distinguish between needs and wants; sure I want a brand new fast car, or not to get up and go to work-or to have a flashy famous job or …you name it there are wants we all would like to have fulfilled; wants for more money or to be taller or to be slimmer or to…you get the picture.

The second verse is Psalm 106:15: And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. When is enough not enough? If we have whatever we desire-what more is there? Many times I have seen people who get depressed after striving for something because they no longer have to work to attain it. People who lived together for years-decades even get divorced shortly after getting married because it didn’t feel right. The papers are full of stories of people who have won the lottery, and go broke afterward-this comes from getting everything they desire-having the ability to fill their endless list of “I wants,” they are not able to reach a point where they can say I have enough, I am satisfied. I have said it is good to have dreams and desires-to want something that is out of reach and that needs to be worked for-the striving is in itself a good thing-the result is not the end-the striving is the point.

What these two verses may have to do with a redefined concept of marriage is that I see it as another way in which we elevate feelings to a higher level than anything else-and a way in which we put no lord over our life-other than those feelings-and in the end if God gives us our request-we may find what we receive is a leanness in our souls. The old adage is “be careful what you wish for…you may get it,” is I think applicable in this case.

References

George, Robert, (July 19, 2012) Marriage, Religious Liberty, and the “Grand Bargain” http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/07/5884

The Essential Jesus - Day 6 It's a Sin!

Genesis 3:1-24
I read this last year while looking at the Essential 100 passages (E100) and thought a lot about blaming others and not taking responsibility - and of course lying and conniving. This time as I read this all that is still there and yet there are more things that stand out to me today.

My husband has described Adam and Eve as teenagers - you've met teenagers, they always think they know what is best and that rules don't apply to them...interesting idea and well, not really at odds with our reading. The Garden is young, the world is young and Adam and Eve are young yet too. But, this is not what I am thinking about today.

I was stopped at the point where Eve says the serpent deceived her-and I just don't see it. The deception was in the serpent's mind but his words were clear and Eve found them appealing. What do we read here?

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

The apple was all of those things - not inherently bad of its own, what was the stumbling block for her/them/us was that she chose to go against God's instructions, to do it her way, this was not a deception of the serpent, it was a choice on her part. What happened after that was just pointing fingers and not taking responsibility for her/their actions.

Last time I was writing about this I found the idea that Adam and Eve not only wished to be like God, what they really wished was to BE God they wanted to call the shots and direct their destiny, and what they found instead was the breaking of the relationship, a separation. When we put our will ahead of that of God, we step outside his providence, we deny the relationship that can be and change it into something all about ourselves. No wonder Adam and Eve found themselves naked-they no longer walked in Gods presence under his protection they were in fact alone -for the first time.

Up until that time there was no evil - they knew no evil because it wasn't there, once they conceived of it, it stayed with them. This self willed life outside of God's presence was not perfect it was not in God's will. It was hard work, sad and lonely work and it was a purposeful walking away from God. The only deception was that the outcome was hidden from Eve and Adam, they had no idea what their actions would lead to. No, they wouldn't be God, they wouldn't be like God, they would be alone and outside of his presence and the relationship would be strained because of it.

Once that happened it was not possible to get back in relationship by our own. We would need help.
Peace.
-see you tomorrow

(a link to last year's blog on this topic)

The Essential Jesus - Day 5 The Big Church

1 Peter 2:4-10
Why is today's reading entitled the big church? What is it that makes it 'big?'
This must be some of what we will discover as we go through the coming readings.
Today we read Peter's letter on what it means to be in ministry-to be building a community of life.

This Jesus is not a god made by people that needs to be carried about because it is made of stone or metal or wood, rather Jesus is alive and carries himself about doing those things which he recognizes as his father's will. What Peter does in this writing is let us know that we too are alive and have the task of being part of this life-giving ministry. That makes us a very 'big' church. We are many people spread over many countries, continents and centuries and yet we are built together into this one "spiritual house."

That is the difficulty for some - how can individuals disconnected hold together to over time and space never having met each other? How can something that happened more than 2000 years ago - this life of one man make such a difference in all of time? Yet when we read the writings of others before his time we see hints or what is coming and we see how this might happen. If we read carefully, we see why Jesus' life and sacrifice made all the difference for us-no matter when we lived.

This is what Peter says at the end of today's reading: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

We are precious and our response can be-should be to tell people about the difference Jesus makes in our lives. A little further along Peter says we should always be prepared to "make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." (1 Peter 3:15) This then is what I think he is working toward - be prepared to talk about why life is or can be different-and who makes that difference. Peace.
-see you tomorrow

The Essential Jesus - Day 4 What is God like?

Hebrews 1:1-4
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

Jesus is the exact imprint of God's nature. I understand we are called to reflect-to show-to shine with the love that God has given us and extended toward us. This says, though that Jesus is the exact imprint. Like the joke about the two twins separated at birth Juan and Ahmal the punch line to the joke is 'once you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal.' But this seeing is not a joke it is a truth-Jesus is our way to see God. Our eyes can comprehend and take in the wholeness of God in Jesus. What is God like? Look to Jesus, and you'll know.

Jesus upholds the universe by the word of his power. In Genesis we read that God spoke - and the world was. This is a powerful word; this is more than Captain Picard's "Make it so," this word is alive, it doesn't create the action this word is the action. This same word that God spoke, we see here that Jesus upholds the universe by the power of his living word.

After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

We read that Jesus sits down at the right hand of God having become superior to the other servants of God. He is not just a servant-because we see that he does serve-but it isn't the obedience of compulsion, it is obedience out of love, out of agreement. He is like-minded-he is of one mind with his father.

This picture of love and obedience is one worth recognizing, worth reflecting upon. That will be my job today. What is God like? Look to Jesus. How do we do that? We read what we have available, and we look around us for evidence of his work in the world-still continuing today all these years later from when Jesus was with the Hebrews in Bethlehem. Peace.
-see you tomorrow.

The Essential Jesus - Day 3 It's All About Jesus

Colossians 1:15-23
I am struck by the phrase in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. How exactly does that work? ALL the fullness of God, was PLEASED to dwell. It must be possible since we read here that it has already happened. I wonder would the fullness of God be pleased to dwell in me? Would that be possible, even?

Today's title suggests that it is all about Jesus. We see from this reading that he was before everything, and everything was made through him, and he was/is the firstborn from the dead. This echos what we read yesterday in Paul's letter to the Christians in Philippi, and echos what we read from John's Gospel on day 1.

Now we see a little more: and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross...in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven...

I think it will be very good to read more about Jesus - and about the need for this reconciliation and how the cross accomplished this. I will be looking forward to hearing more about these topics. For now, I am willing to continue in the faith - to keep my eye on the Gospel and I really look forward to hearing what has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven.

A friend recently sent me some cartoons of Maxine talking about Jesus and the caption in one says God made the angels and Satan was one of them, so there was no way Satan was going to defeat God - so no worries. Somehow this concept of everything being made through Jesus, in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, makes the rest of the world and all its worries seem much less significant, making it possible not to shift from the hope of the Gospel that we have heard. Tomorrow we read, what is God like. I'm looking forward to that. Peace.
-see you tomorrow

Essential Jesus - Day 2 Living Like Jesus

Philippians 2:1-11
This is interesting - to respond to life as Jesus - to respond to others not out of arrogance or conceit or power or fear but rather to respond as if I loved the other person, as if they mattered to me as if they mattered to God. Not to think only about my wants but about someone else as well.
How easy and how often reinforced to think of myself first-and even to only think of what I want as if it were a right that couldn't be denied-that shouldn't be denied as if everyone and everything comes second to my wants...not even my needs-my wants. This passage points in another direction.

I am fascinated by the portion that says Jesus-who is with God and from God and IS God didn't wield that power - but rather he willingly let all of that go for the sake of love. This love action was so remarkable no one has ever or will ever be able to do the same thing again, and that is the beauty of it - no one ever need do it again. God, God the Father has accepted and acknowledged this gift as a once and for all action that is unparallelled and there is no one who has ever lived or will ever live that won't recognize that gift.

I was thinking about this phrase that says: Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I was talking late into the night with some friends almost 20 years ago and the question came up about what Jesus did when he 'descended to the dead' the phrase we use in the Creed. The Orthodox depict Jesus pulling the captives free starting with Adam and Eve and in this discussion it occurred to me that Jesus did not go to hell in order to say 'neh neh neh neh neh.' He wasn't being mean, he was saying 'Hey, you don't have to live here-come with me and be free.' He went down and brought the captives freedom.

This is what this passage is saying everyone - at some point will see the glory that John talked about in yesterday's passage. I believe - and I will confess that Jesus is Lord - now.
Peace.
-see you tomorrow

Essential Jesus - Day 1 Truth Beyond Facts

John 1:1-18
This is one of my favorite things to read. Poetry and a love letter all rolled into one.

Poetic: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him,and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Love letter: to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

This Word - IS. Alive, Love, Light... "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory."

The Essential Jesus challenge is to read 100 passages from the Old and New Testaments and pray, read, reflect, apply and pray again - for 100 days.

Last year looking at the Essential 100 passages in the Old and New Testaments giving an overview of the Bible and the story of God's love for us was an adventure - and a challenge I am glad to have accepted. This year, when given the chance to read 100 passages that point to and tell us about Jesus, I said yes and am jumping right in - happily.

This Word that is light and life and love - and lives among us - this is worth letting in to illumine the dark corners of my life or fears or unknown places - this Word I desire to know better, this light I desire to follow out of darkness, this life I desire to follow into full life.

This is what John says, John who has "seen his glory." For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God;... [Jesus] has made him known."

For the next 99 days I commit to reading praying, reflecting, applying and praying through these scripture passages, and I will share what thoughts I have here with you. Peace.

-see you tomorrow