Tag: spiritual life

Against Injustice (Jeremiah 19:1-15)

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

This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 

They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.

“‘In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals. I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’

“Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”

Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.’” (New International Version)

When God wants to get someone’s full attention, the Lord engages the people’s full senses in order to communicate an important message. Through the prophet Jeremiah, we get symbolic action that does just that.

The symbolism, in this case, is a judgment speech, visually and viscerally depicted through the breaking of a pottery jug. The point of the action, and the words, was meant to convey a singular message: God will bring disaster and destruction against Jerusalem and its surrounding towns.

The act of breaking the pottery took place at the entrance to the Potsherd Gate – which was also known as the Dung Gate because that is where the garbage and refuse came out of the city to a dump located in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. It just so happened that this valley was also the location of altars to false gods other than Yahweh. Idolatrous practices – including child sacrifice – were carried on there.

In the ancient Near East, smashing pottery was a ritual act that depicted the destruction of enemies.

I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father.
Ask me,
    and I will make the nations your inheritance,
    the ends of the earth your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron;
    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” (Psalm 2:7-9, NIV)

The prophet Jeremiah was going to make his oracle against the people both unforgettable and irreversible. He wanted to be clear about what God truly thinks about harming children in religious rituals. But more than that, that it’s absolutely unacceptable for people who worship Yahweh to let it happen, just outside their own city gates, and to even participate in it.

The pottery jar represented Jerusalem. And when a piece of pottery is broken and smashed, there is no opportunity of remaking it from all that destruction. That’s what it would be like for the city who turned their backs on the Lord’s holiness.

Sometimes contemporary people may struggle with the reality that God gets angry – even angry to the point of pouring out wrath on a city. Yet, perhaps we fail to notice the gross and terrible injustice that has been done in the name of religion. The anger of God is always a reflection of God’s love. For love cannot contend with evil perpetrated on innocent people, especially children.

Love is purely subversive. It declares that harming others and hurting people by means of religious violence is not to be accepted nor tolerated. Love is an absolute refusal to settle for the injustice that exists in the world.

Today, and every day, is our opportunity, purpose, and privilege to put love where love is not – to upset the status quo of injustice and establish love as the supreme ethic of God’s commands.

Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it:
a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
a world where the riches of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect;
a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

What Is Your View of God? (Psalm 86)

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

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all day long.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
    abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my cry of supplication.
In the day of my trouble I call on you,
    for you will answer me.

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come
    and bow down before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things;
    you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may walk in your truth;
    give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

O God, the insolent rise up against me;
    a band of ruffians seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to your servant;
    save the child of your maidservant.
Show me a sign of your favor,
    so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. (New Revised Standard Version)

The biblical psalms are first and foremost a collection of prayers. Spanning the scope of the human condition, and plumbing the depths of human emotion, we find that there are psalms for every sort of situation we may find ourselves in – whether the circumstance is good or bad.

In David’s particular case, he knew what it was like to have evil men hate him and pursue taking his life through no fault of his own. Although I have never faced adversity to such a degree as David did, I do know something about people who, to put it bluntly, just flat-out hate my guts. It feels awful, and it can be terribly draining emotionally and spiritually. Having disrespectful and rude people talk behind your back (and sometimes even to your face) is in direct contrast to who God is.

God is described by David as merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and faithful. Whereas insolent people objectify others and seek their own selfish agendas, God always acts in accord with a basic character of love and grace. 

Based upon the nature of just and benevolent God, we can choose to cry out, just like David did, to show us a sign of God’s favor. We can pray for God to provide us with some tangible communication of divine love in ways we can understand so that we can be helped and receive the kind of comfort we need through our adversity.

Be assured that with such a God, our pleas, cries, and tears will be noticed, affirmed, and answered. We can trust the sovereign Lord of all creation to address the insolence and injustice that exists around us and toward us.

All of this talk about adverse circumstances and unjust people, gets down to our view of God and our theological understanding of the basic Divine nature and purpose. 

For some people, God is up there, somewhere, like some white-bearded old guy who is aloof to what is going on down here – there is neither anything personal nor personable about him, at all. 

For others, God is a force which binds all things together. In this theology, God exists, but you are never quite sure how to connect – it’s like a crapshoot trying to get in touch with him. 

For yet others, God is perpetually perturbed about something; God has a bee in his bonnet, and it is apparently our job to figure out what he is so sullen and upset about all the time so that we can appease him in some way.

However, the psalmist David, sees God in wholly other ways than this. For David, God is personal, knowable, and reachable. David thought about God in ways which transcend either gendered or personality-type categories. 

Note the descriptions David provided: a willingness to forgive; an abiding, consistent, and steadfast presence of divine love; always having the time and desire to listen; possessing the power and ability to provide help and protection; being kind and merciful; not being easily angered; and extending needed comfort and consolation.

Now this is a God you can sink your teeth into – attentive, engaged, and anything but upset all the time. This is the reason why David has confidence to ask for deliverance, direction, and delight. Such a God is like a caring grandmother who seeks to always love and serve, and not a crotchety old curmudgeon who always seems bothered by everyone and everything.

If your theology and your view of God cannot support and bear the weight of life’s hardest circumstances, then you need a different view of God!

I invite you to see the God of David. Theology proper discerns the being, attributes, and works of God as fundamentally faithful and loving. This God has both the ability and the will to meet and satisfy your life’s greatest needs.

Great God of David, you are above all things and beside all things and with all things. You are uniquely positioned and powerful to walk with me through all the situations of my life. Thank you for sending the Son of David to make real your promises to me. Amen.

The Idea of Spiritual Separation (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1)

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

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will live with them
    and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.”

Therefore,

“Come out from them
    and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
    and I will receive you.”

And,

“I will be a Father to you,
    and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (New International Version)

There are entire Protestant denominations built upon verses such as today’s. They take the admonition to be separate as a cornerstone value. Ever since the Reformation, various Christian groups have struggled to maintain their witness in the world through, essentially, having nothing to do with the world whatsoever.

The dogma of separation inevitably leads to defining precisely what is “worldly” and what isn’t. This is where the idea of creating lists of what’s not acceptable come from. Each group or denomination has it’s own teaching about how to identify oneself as a Christian, and what sorts of behaviors communicate one isn’t a Christian. And the lists often vary quite a bit.

The Puritans had detailed lists and laws of what must be done and not done in order to remain in the community and be pure without spiritually contaminating oneself. For example, here are just a few of the many puritanical laws in Massachusetts in the 1600’s:

Sunday was a holy day. Trade and business were not allowed. No other public meetings could be held (except church services). No travel, except for walking to and from church and for emergencies. No entertainment. Church attendance was required. If a person missed church, they had to go to court (on Monday) and pay a fine.

All the other days were holy, too. Immodest and ostentatious clothes was illegal. Long hair for men was illegal. Smoking was illegal in the street. Courting a girl without her parents’ consent was illegal. Kissing in public was illegal. The following behaviors were illegal: using bad words, drinking too much alcohol, laziness, gluttony, fighting, poorly made products, having a bad attitude, and gossip.

Any violation, in Puritan thought, put the entire community at risk of raising the ire of God – who may punish them with various natural disasters. With all of these laws and lists, there was no opportunity for anyone to ever marry an unbeliever or be in business with a non-Christian, simply because it was illegal to be anything but a Christian!

None of this is meant to pick on the Puritans. It’s commendable that a group of people would want to be holy in all that they do and say. Yet, attempting to legislate every facet of another’s life isn’t so admirable – especially against their own Christian convictions.

Because, the reality of it all is that, in such systems, the few (usually old white guys) make the laws and decisions for everyone else – whether everyone likes it, or not. And worse, the old guys would couch their laws in the pious language of maintaining the common good of all persons (that is, themselves).

That sort of practice is still done today, in every system and every institution; the few call the shots for everyone else. And yes, even in a stated democracy like the United States of America.

So, if that isn’t what the Apostle Paul was getting at with the Corinthian Church, what then did he mean when he talked of separating from unbelievers, not being contaminated, and maintaining purity amongst the community?

Paul was speaking about the reality that the Corinthians – who had been ardent pagan worshipers before their conversion to Christianity – were still making significant accommodations to their surrounding pagan environment. Like a pair of ox yoked together, it just did not work. The two were greatly mismatched; they would not be able to go anywhere or get anything done.

In a series of rhetorical questions, Paul sought to illustrate the incompatibility of being a spiritual square peg trying to fit into a round hole. To be holy means to be set apart for the specific purpose of and devotion to God.

Rather than making holiness be the avoidance of dancing, drinking, playing cards, and dressing up, holiness and purity is to be characterized by righteous humility and gentleness; warm and compelling light; peace and peacemaking, like Christ did; love for fellow believers; and commitment to Christian community.

Put another way, avoiding spiritual contamination means to work on separating from sinful pride; giving into the shadows and the darkness of one’s heart; fostering arguments and division; and being unmerciful.

If the Apostle were to write to us today, on this topic of separation, what would he say to us? Maybe his rhetorical questions would be something like this:

What are you doing, failing to make a distinction between good and bad, right and wrong? How can you partner up with people who have ethics which are opposed to Christ? Can the light of justice ever be best friends with unjust darkness? Do Jesus and Satan ever have a midnight stroll holding hands with each other? Would anyone ever set up a worship altar to the wealthy or powerful in a church building?

Paul may argue, even today, that we contaminate ourselves in rather creative ways by employing illegitimate means to try and accomplish a legitimate need.

The truth is that anything that hinders us from doing God’s will; anyone who draws us away from a good relationship with Jesus; and whatever causes us to put the Christian life on the back burner of life, needs to be jettisoned. It will make us impure, ineffective, and eventually bite us in the backside.

We can always look at other groups of people whom we believe didn’t get things quite right. Yet, we really must deal with ourselves in this moment and for this time. Comparative holiness will get us nowhere (except maybe hell). Instead, let us contend with God and God’s people in ways that are redemptive, life-giving, and helpful for us and for our salvation.

Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may love you completely,
and rightly magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

“Follow Me” (John 1:43-51)

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

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”

Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.” (New Living Translation)

I describe myself as a follower of Jesus. I have been for decades. I found, and continue to find, in Jesus Christ a compelling person full of grace, truth, and love.

But my early life was not characterized with knowing Christ. I certainly learned about Jesus, that this ancient guy lived an altruistic life, got tortured and killed on a cross, and that Christians believe in his resurrection from death. However, back then it was more like some strange history lesson. The information made no difference to me.

That is, until I heard a voice – not an audible one that others could hear. Yet, it was just a real as any daily conversation with another person. I heard the call of Jesus. The Ancient of Days showed up.

I know with every epistemic fiber in my being that it wasn’t an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato. I am sure beyond certainty that there was more of an empty grave than gravy about my experience of the risen Christ.

I experienced the call of Jesus to “follow me.” And that is really, at its simplest, the call which continually goes out to all humanity. It is a gracious and merciful call. It isn’t a summons to experience a cataclysmic event of total belief in one fell swoop. Rather, it’s a call to believe that is much more an unfolding awareness of the deep spirituality and connection with the divine within.

Important to that faith process is another call to “come and see.” Whereas there are some Christian traditions which focus solely on a singular one-time experience of saving faith in Christ, the Gospel of John displays a drama of faith with multiple layers which people move through.

There is no egalitarian zap in which God grants total and immediate understanding. Instead, faith is an ever-increasing process. It is appropriate and biblical to say that our salvation has happened, is happening, and will happen. We follow, we come and see, and we keep following, keep coming, keep seeing more and more.

Like a muscle, our faith grows, develops, stretches, and strengthens over time. To use another metaphor, we ascend a stairway to heaven, one step at a time, day after day, following Jesus and ascending to spiritual maturity.

Orthodox icon of Christ calling Philip and Nathanael

Methinks this is likely part of what Jesus was getting at with Nathaniel in today’s Gospel lesson. Nathaniel would have quickly picked up on the reference Jesus was making, way back to the first book of Genesis. The Jewish patriarch, Jacob, had an experience of seeing the angels of God on some celestial stairway, ascending and descending. It was an encounter of God’s presence with Jacob, assuring him of divine intervention into the muck of humanity. (Genesis 28:10-17)

Jesus connected that ancient portrait to himself so that Nathaniel would understand, would believe, that God has again broken into this world with a special divine presence. To look at Jesus and follow him, is to see and follow God.

Christ Jesus is the ultimate example and embodiment of God with us. Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus presents himself as:

  • Living water – connecting to Jacob’s well (John 4:5-14)
  • The Temple of God – the place where the Lord dwells in all divine fullness (John 2:18-22)
  • Bread from heaven – linking the giving of manna to the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 16:4-7; John 6:1-59)
  • The good shepherd – fulfilling divine Old Testament imperatives of caring for people (Ezekiel 34:11-16; John 10:1-30)

In all these ways, and more, Jesus intentionally connects himself as fulfilling God’s ancient promises to people.

In whichever way we need to hear the call to follow, Jesus accommodates to us. For some, Christ comes knocking on the front door. For others, he enters the side door, or slips into the backdoor of our lives.

And, if we will come and see, Jesus will also accommodate us by being the authority over us, the teacher to us, or the friend beside us. The Lord Jesus shall shepherd us and woo us to the flock for guidance and protection.

However it may be that Jesus comes to you, it most likely will be in ways you aren’t expecting. Surely, nothing good can come from Nazareth! Yet, it did. Can anything good come from Calcutta, India, or Juarez, Mexico, or Hoboken, New Jersey, or Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or even from a small rural area that doesn’t show up on a map? Yes, it can. Because with Jesus, God has entered this world, and, as it turns out, the Lord’s presence is everywhere.

Follow me. Come and see. Two of the simplest exhortations ever uttered. Yet, two of the most gracious phrases ever said, with profound implications for us beyond what we can fathom or imagine.

Guide us waking O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ and asleep we may rest in peace. May the shape of each day be formed by the pedantic following of my Lord; and may I come and see the wonders you have done, are doing, and will do. Almighty and merciful God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – bless us and keep us. Amen.