Category: Christian Spirituality Blog

Avoid an Ambush (Acts 23:12-35)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot. They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.

Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” So he took him to the commander.

The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”

The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen[a] to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

He wrote a letter as follows:

Claudius Lysias,

To His Excellency, Governor Felix:

Greetings.

This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.

So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace. (New International Version)

An “ambush” is a sudden and unexpected attack from a concealed position. In the Apostle Paul’s case, there were those looking to ambush in order to kill him.

Some Jerusalem Jews were determined to be rid of Paul. They demonstrated their commitment by taking a solemn oath to not eat or drink until they killed the Apostle – which has always made me wonder, when I read this story, if the plotters starved to death, or not, when the ambush was foiled.

In retrospect, I hope the would-be assassins saw how stupid it is – in more ways than one – to make an oath of killing someone.

Maybe even more nonsensical is that the oath-takers presented their plan to the Sadducees (the Jewish chief priests and elders) who endorsed the whole thing, signed-off on it, and actually participated in it.

I’ll just make the historical observation that the Sadducees no longer exist today; and they haven’t since the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. I grew up with an old rural folk saying that essentially said, “Dumb dogs die young.”

In the end, the nefarious plan of the Jerusalem Jews was foiled by Paul’s nephew. The young lad caught onto the conspiracy, reported it to Uncle Paul, and then to the Roman authorities.

The Roman commander lost no time in providing an impressive display of security in transporting Paul to Ceasarea. There, the Roman official Felix received him, along with a letter from the commander.

Once in Ceasarea, Felix promised Paul a fair hearing when his accusers arrived. In the meantime, Paul was kept under house arrest. The planned ambush was thus averted, and Paul was securely in Roman custody.

Unfortunately, there are people in this world who twist even their own religious ethics in order to justify violence – going so far as to ambush an innocent person to prevent an unwanted agenda (in this case, the Christian faith) from making inroads into society.

It will not do for any of us to believe that we are immune from trouble in the form of an ambush – whether the ambush is a literal physical one, or mental, emotional, or spiritual.

Gaslighting is a sinister form of mental ambush; a group bullying and threatening an individual is a horrible emotional ambush; and I personally have been the victim of, or diverted, many a spiritual ambush from disgruntled parishioners over the years who wanted my ministry finished.

Yet, many of our emotional ambushes are much more subtle. We might not realize, until later, that we’ve been had by one. Many times the ambush is couched in language of flattery, such as:

  • “We’re depending on you.”
  • “You’re the only one who can do this.”
  • “You did such a good job last time.”
  • “I’m counting on you.”

Or the statements can be more blunt:

  • “Don’t mess this up. A lot is riding on you.”
  • “If you don’t do it, everyone will be disappointed; everything will go to hell.”
  • “You’ve done it before. You have to do it again.”
  • “Don’t make me look bad, or else.”

Please remember the following whenever you find yourself in the crosshairs of an ambush:

  1. You are under no obligation to do whatever another person says.
  2. Take a deep breath and respond from the core of your being instead of from your fear and anxiety.
  3. There are 7 billion people on this earth. Everything doesn’t depend on you.
  4. You have the freedom to say, “No,” without having to explain why or justify it.
  5. Call a spade a spade. If you walk into an ambush, call it for what it is, and report it to the proper persons. It’s really okay to do that.

The more we can connect with what is of most value to us, the greater we can make decisions we’re able to live with, even in the moment.

What’s more, it’s possible to prepare ahead of time for a potential ambush, simply through consistent daily growth in wisdom and knowledge.

Be safe. Be strong. Be spiritual. We are all in this life together.

Yet Another Conflict (Acts 21:27-39)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Apostle Paul in Jerusalem, by Gustave Doré, 1878

When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)

The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!”

As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”

“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. “Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness some time ago?”

Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.” (New International Version)

The Apostle Paul arrived in Jerusalem, after a sojourn in Greece and the province of Asia. He had been gathering a collection for the believers in need. In his journey, Paul received messages, warnings, and even prophecy that he would be arrested if he went to Jerusalem.

Since the prophecy did not tell Paul to stay away, he kept going, ready not only to be arrested but to also die for his faith, if need be. (Acts 21:10-14)

Iron handcuffs (chains) from the Roman Empire, Archaeological Museum in Durrës, Albania

The first week of being Jerusalem entailed the status quo for Paul: He dealt with yet another church conflict between Jews and Gentiles. Then, the prophecy began to unfold and become reality.

Jews from Asia, who had seen Paul in the Temple and recognized him as a Christian agitator, immediately jumped to the conclusion that Paul was up to no good. It appeared to them that Paul had taken a Gentile into the Temple, thus defiling it, which in fact, he had not.

But when you have a grudge against someone, and an axe to grind, you begin making mental correlations and causations that aren’t really there.

So, the Jews from Asia got the crowd all stirred up by judging Paul as a person who teaches everyone everywhere against the people, the law, and the Temple. In other words, they accused Paul of being anti-Semitic and fomenting violence against the Jews.

Ironically, however, that is just what the Asian Jews did themselves. Without just evidence, they evoked the crowd’s emotions enough to drag Paul from the Temple. And they weren’t inviting him to tea. It seems they had every intention of doing him in, and not by throwing sugar cubes at him.

The only thing that stopped a death that day was the Roman authority getting in between Paul and the crowd. As per the prophecy, Paul was arrested and bound with chains.

The crowd had turned so riotous that the Roman commander could not ascertain Paul’s identity. The mob became violent, so Paul was whisked away by the Roman soldiers. As he left, the shouts of “Away with him!” could be heard throughout the city.

Jesus had a similar experience, but went to his death without any opportunity for a defense speech before an angry crowd.

Paul requested, however, to address the mob. And the Roman commander was aghast to learn that Paul spoke Greek – supposing that he was just another annoying religious nut on the street corner who got up into everyone’s grill a bit too much.

Yet, the commander quickly discovered that he was dealing with a citizen of the Empire who was no kooky preacher. Here we see a turn of events and a flip-flop between two groups of people.

It’s the Roman army who upheld proper justice and protected the interests of the individual; whereas the Jewish crowd became vigilante, ironically violating their own law by trying to put an innocent person to death without justification.

In a twist of history, the Roman arrest of Paul was his deliverance from a Jewish mob. Go figure.

Today’s story opens for me a set of questions that are both genuine, as well as a bit rhetorical:

  • How often do we – as both individuals and churches – accuse others of being unfaithful and/or unbiblical, when it is we ourselves who are going rogue from Holy Scripture?
  • In what ways do we handle false charges, judgmentalism, and unjustified criticism from others who misunderstand and/or misinterpret us?
  • What do we do (and not do) whenever there are differences within the church, family, community, workplace, or nation?
  • Does our manner of approaching conflict include the verbal violence of gossip and slander and/or actual physical violence through passive-aggressive behavior?
  • Am I looking too closely and/or critically under the hood of your soul? What will you do with me, let alone Jesus?

If you can receive this, I recommend taking some time and space today for answering those questions honestly through writing them in a journal and/or talking about them with a trusted friend.

May God have mercy upon our human institutions, societies, and relationships. To God be the glory. Amen.

Confronting the Evil in Front of Us (Mark 6:14-29)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
St. John the Baptist rebuking Herod, by Giovanni Fattori (1825-1908)

King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’s name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 

And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him. 

But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests, and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” 

She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. 

Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. (New Revised Standard Version)

Feast of Herod with the Beheading of St John the Baptist, in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain

The earthly life and mission of Jesus was connected to the social and political affairs of Judea and the Roman Empire. In truth, Christ’s impact is never only ethereal; rather, it smacks against every system and organization in this world.

John the Baptist’s death was closely connected to Christ’s mission and ministry; and it was also a result of the social and political forces John was subjected to. This would explain why Herod thought of Jesus as a resurrected John, after killing him. Both the messages of John and Jesus were met with resistance by the powers that be.

Marriages in the ancient world, especially among governmental officials, were primarily political affairs, and not love arrangements. The more authority and power a person had, the greater the political implications and impact there was. And marriage was one way of consolidating more power.

Herod’s marriage to Herodias may have been politically expedient, but was ethically repugnant, and John let him know about it. Herod was both a Jew and a Roman official, with his actual allegiance being to himself.

Herodias considered John as politically repugnant and found it unethically expedient to silence him once and for all when she had the opportunity. John the Baptist discovered first-hand that hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn. Herodias hated him and waited for an opportune time to be rid of him once and for all.

But not only did Herodias orchestrate John’s demise, she did it in a way that sought to humiliate him. To die in battle at the hand of an enemy soldier was an honorable death; but to be executed because of a woman’s handiwork was a mark of shame.

Anyone who lives for God and speaks truth to power will nearly always suffer deep consequences. Hence, this is why a great many prophets ended up dead, often by tortuous methods – including Jesus and nearly all his original disciples.

Unfortunately, there are individuals in this world who are incapable of doing good.

Whenever such persons talk a good line, or do a good deed, it’s always in the service of a larger evil agenda. They often end up in positions of authority, simply because they have no scruples and will lie to you with a straight face.

And they will do anything to not only hold on to their power, but to acquire more so that they can be in control of everything around them. Of course, the people around such a person are miserable. They typically feel powerless to change the situation.

So, if there’s going to be transformation, there will need to be a prophet – someone like John the Baptist – who has the courage to speak truth to power and remind the world that God is the sovereign of the universe.

The Gospel writer Mark presents Herodias as a person with influence and power who only cares about her own interests. She had no scruples in using her daughter for malevolent purposes.

Whereas the young daughter of the synagogue ruler Jairus was (earlier in Mark’s account) raised to life by Jesus, in today’s story the young daughter of Herodias became the vehicle of a grisly murder. And, of all things, it’s this girl who brought the severed head of John the Baptist on a platter to her mother.

We are meant to see the impact and consequence when those in power have self-centered objectives and dark hearts. This is in direct contrast to both Jesus Christ and John the Baptist, both of whom gave their lives for that which is right, just, and good.

God’s mercy and redemption will eventually overwhelm all of creation. The cross and resurrection of Christ have won the victory over evil. Yet, until Christ returns, the dark forces of this old world know their time is short; and they are doing everything they can to throw a monkey wrench into the benevolent machine of grace, before the demonic forces themselves are thrown into the pit forever.

Christian mission and ministry was never designed to be easy nor pain-free. But it is meant to bring hope, love, redemption, peace, and satisfaction to all who believe.

Christ has connected himself to us. Let’s keep that gracious connection going by doing what is right and living a good and just life, and confronting the evil in front of us – to the glory of God. Amen.

Everything Belongs to God (Psalm 24)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year B1 Comment
By Stushie Art

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
    the world, and those who live in it,
for he has founded it on the seas
    and established it on the rivers.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
    who do not lift up their souls to what is false
    and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from the God of their salvation.
Such is the company of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Lift up your heads, O gate
    and be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in!
Who is the King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty,
    the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O gates!
    and be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in!
Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord of hosts,
    he is the King of glory. (New Revised Standard Version)

The world belongs to God; and so do we. People have a simple, yet profound, task in this life: To confess the Lord’s great and sovereign ownership of everything, including themselves; and to therefore live a good and holy life because of that theological understanding.

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”

Abraham Kuyper

Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) was born in the Netherlands. He was a church minister, university professor, and politician – having established a Christian university, as well as served in the Dutch parliament and as Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

Kuyper labored throughout his life to flesh-out the theological implications of a sovereign God. He consistently insisted that all we do as humans is to be integrated and brought under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

He firmly believed that all things belong to God in Christ; thus, all the fragments of our lives are to be oriented and integrated around our Creator’s great claim upon us as creatures. Whether a pastor, teacher, or politician – every vocation, each activity, and all thoughts and intents rightly belong to God.

By Stushie Art

This means that religion and spirituality cannot be kept within superimposed limits. There is no separation of any one domain of human thought from the rest, no isolation of any one domain of human life from another or from Christ.

The spiritual life is not limited to merely the ethereal. It is both celestial and terrestrial – heavenly and earthly – concerned for the immaterial and the material. God cares about it all, because it all belongs to God.

God owns the world. So, the implications of this for us is huge. It means we don’t really own anything. We are simply stewarding all that God has given us – including our very lives.

The chaos of this world, from a biblical perspective, comes from creatures attempting to assert their own sovereignty and to control things. Since we were not created to be little gods roaming about doing our own thing, the inevitable result is a topsy-turvy messed-up world.

God’s divine claim and ownership of the world means that absolute authority does not rest with nations, states, or leaders. Everything we see, as well as what we don’t see, belongs to the Lord.

A significant task of believers is to confess and bear witness to God’s rightful and benevolent rule in this world. In fact, Christians everywhere pray toward this end every week:

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

The circle of life, within Holy Scripture, is the Creator God bestowing life and relationship to created humans, who then respond by practicing just and righteous living – thereby receiving renewal from the Lord and life anew. Theoretically, this movement can go unbroken. It can be a regular celebration in consistent rhythms of worship and adoration of God.

When we are able to get into the intended divine groove of faith, life, and worship, we will discover our meaning and purpose in the world.

By rightly ordering our lives, centering and grounding them in the gracious and loving relationship of Creator and creature, then we find true blessing – because it enjoys an intuited stamp of approval by the God who makes life possible.

In the Christian tradition, Jesus is the Victor, the King of Glory. All the promises and hopes of people are found and focused, in Christ. We enter through Jesus, the door of life, into deliverance from death and everything which separates us from God, others, and self.

Jesus comes to bring blessing, justice, righteousness, mercy, purity, and peace. For this is how the world was meant to operate from the beginning. We are to open the ancient door of faith, especially when the Lord comes knocking:

Listen! I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will eat together. Everyone who wins the victory will sit with me on my throne, just as I won the victory and sat with my Father on his throne. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. (Revelation 3:20-22, CEV)

Old Abraham Kuyper is long dead, and yet he got it right, if we are able to hear him:

“Whatever people may do, to whatever they may apply their hands – in agriculture, in commerce, and in industry, or in mind, in the world of art, and science – they are, in whatsoever it may be, constantly standing before the face of God. They are employed in the service of God. They have strictly to obey God. And above all, they must aim at the glory of God.”

Blessed Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, though I am quite capable of fretting, complaining, and lamenting about how out of control things seem, the truth is that nothing is outside your grip. I may not always see your hand, discern your heart, or like your ways, but you are God and there is no other. 

So, continue to renew my thinking, gentle my heart, and deepen my worship. I humbly and gladly affirm that you are God, and I am not, through Jesus Christ, my Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit reign sovereign as one God, now and forever. Amen.