Tag: wrongdoing

Accept Accountability (Genesis 35:22-29)

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

So then, each one of us will be held accountable. (Romans 14:12)

While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had resided as aliens. Now the days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years. And Isaac breathed his last; he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. (New International Version Updated Edition)

For me, one of the great tragedies of the human experience is that we share so little of ourselves to and for one another. And that especially goes for those times when we fail, make a poor decision, or feel guilty for not being a better person.

It seems that in those times we gravitate toward covering up whatever misdeeds we have done. Why do we do that? There’s a myriad of answers to that question. There are many folks who simply do want to be held accountable for their wrongdoing – not to mention the shame and embarrassment the action may bring to them. They would like to keep some sort of manufactured pristine image to project for the world, instead of what’s really going on.

I like that the Bible is mostly straightforward about issues concerning accountability (both at the personal, and especially at the corporate level). It’s hard to live in a safe and enjoyable society whenever there is a lack of accountability within the community.

In today’s Old Testament lesson, we get this seemingly isolated verse thrown into the mix of a Scripture story. But it’s an important insertion. It has consequences to its actions, with the sort of ramifications that reverberate throughout time.

Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob – which carried with it a whole set of responsibilities, as well as privileges. Yet, Reuben did something that left him accountable before both his earthly and heavenly fathers. He “lay with” his father’s concubine (that is, a lesser wife) who was not his own mother.

We aren’t told why Reuben did it. But I think we are meant to read between the lines enough to know why.

What eventually happens is that Reuben loses his family status. At the end of Jacob’s life – as he was doling out blessings to each son – he had this to say about Reuben:

Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob;
    listen to Israel your father.

Reuben, you are my firstborn,
    my might and the first fruits of my vigor,
    excelling in rank and excelling in power.
Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel
    because you went up onto your father’s bed;
    then you defiled it—you went up onto my couch! (Genesis 49:2-4, NRSVUE)

Unfortunately, this fails to sound like the sort of blessing one would want to hear at the end of his father’s life. But that’s what accountability does; it makes sure that the offense is put squarely on the perpetrator, and not the victim.

For me, one of the maddening things about today’s political climate is that personal wrongdoers, along with the institutional evils surrounding them, have no thought or appetite for being accountable to the very people to whom they are supposed to be serving. It’s as if public service and the value of the nation’s common good isn’t even in the current presidential cabinet vocabulary.

However, accountability will have its day. And it’s not only in government. Business corporations, healthcare organizations, financial systems, educational institutions, and much more are rife with all sorts of clever ways to get around being accountable to others for their unjust activity.

I have personally experienced it myself, multiple times. And right now, today, there are millions of people whom no one knows is going through hell at their job because of this very issue of the powerful using their position at the expense of the powerless.

“Accountability breeds responsibility.” Stephen Covey

Please hear me when I say this, even though it can be a very scary and intimidating thing: Not naming the person or persons or institutions which perpetrate injustice protects those perpetrators from the accountability they need. Investigations into unethical and/or illegal activity cannot happen unless it is identified and named.

Not everyone is a deliberate knucklehead who goes around hurting people. Sometimes they just need a whistleblower to call them on their injustice. And once that happens, behavior and attitudes change. That’s how it’s supposed to work. Yet, we all know that it doesn’t always work like that – which is why it is important to have plenty of support through your own unwanted and fiery experience.

Taking a lesson in accountability from Jacob toward Reuben, he didn’t attack his son, but stuck to the issue which brought his downfall from firstborn status. In other words, it’s always best to attack problems, not people. If not, we ourselves end up becoming the very sort of perpetrators we try to expose.

And, by the way, if you are observing or seeing a pattern of illicit behavior, keep a journal of it; write it down; document what actually happened and what kind of impact it had on you. In today’s society, failing to have appropriate documentation usually means the perpetration is going to go unaccounted for.

One of the reasons there is not a full-fledged soap opera account of Reuben’s act with Bilhah is the nature of Holy Scripture itself. The Bible leaves lots of details out with open stories in order for us as readers to understand with our imaginations what’s going on; and to envision the potential outcomes of particular actions.

What “really happened” is much less important than the lessons we are meant to learn from any biblical story. We may consider large gaps in stories as an annoyance, yet I believe those gaps are quite intentional.

Holy Scripture is meant to not only be an individual reading experience, but is a valuable opportunity for robust moral and theological discussion about contemporary realities as they relate to ancient wisdom traditions.

As readers and interpreters, we must fully engage the story, paying attention to what’s there, and what’s not there. Then, figure out together how we might (or ought) to fill in those gaps of what’s missing.

And for me, I see all sorts of ways in which all of us must be surrounded by and surrendered to accountability. Being accountable to others means that we accept responsibility when it is ours to accept, thus strengthening the bonds of community.

What’s more, accountability fosters courage and humility, as well as stopping the blame game in its tracks.

When it comes to the Church, we have a collective responsibility because of our baptismal covenant to strive for justice, peace, and the common good of all heavenly citizens. That means we will continually work toward observing the dignity and worth of every human we encounter – even the ones we don’t much like.

Blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, help me to be honest with myself and release the excuses that hold me back.

Give me the strength to take responsibility for my actions and the courage to choose growth over comfort.

Renew my mindset so I see challenges as opportunities, not reasons to delay.

Align my thoughts and actions with purpose, discipline, and truth.

Teach me to be consistent in the small things,

and to follow through on what I start, even when it feels difficult.

Help me to trust my ability to grow,

and to move forward with confidence instead of doubt.

Guide me to move forward with clarity, ownership, and intention,

becoming the person I am meant to be, in the power of your Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The Penitent Soul Changes the World (Hosea 5:15-6:6)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Saint Dominic in Penitence, by Filippo Tarchiani, c.1607

I will return again to my place
    until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face.
    In their distress they will beg my favor:

“Come, let us return to the Lord,
    for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;
    he has struck down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
    on the third day he will raise us up,
    that we may live before him.
Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
    his appearing is as sure as the dawn;
he will come to us like the showers,
    like the spring rains that water the earth.”

What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
    What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
    like the dew that goes away early.
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
    I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
    and my judgment goes forth as the light.
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
    the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (New Revised Standard Version Update Edition)

We are meant for righteousness, not wickedness. So, whenever we fail to do what is right, we will suffer pain. This is because wicked attitudes, words, and behavior go against how we were designed and created as humans.

There are times when we all transgress what is right by either doing outright wrong, or by failing to do what is good, right, and just when we have the opportunity to do so. Therefore, repentance is vital and necessary. That is, to practice something that seems to be lost in our contemporary language: penitence.

Penitence simply means to have regret over wrongdoing. When we are penitent, we seek to repent (turn from what is wrong and do what is right). God has no interest in those who offer the forms of repentance without any penitence. That’s why God told the ancient Israelites that love and knowledge are what’s important, more than sacrifices and offerings.

What’s more, penitence is necessary for spiritual maturation and growth. The penitent soul finds that one’s faults and wrongs can be transformed into assets – such is the power of God through one’s penitent repentance.

And even more, the individual who experiences penitence and repents of wrongdoing, is forgiven, leading the whole world to be forgiven along with them.

Just one penitent and repentant person will intercede and confess the sins of the world; and that can change everything. So, imagine when a community of forgiven persons are motivated to bring about humanity’s greatness and nobility through penitent prayer.

I want you to think this thought: Any sort of moral misdeed committed by an individual weakens the soul of the entire community, and indeed, all the world.

Every attitude and action has a consequence, whether good or bad. Penitence, repentance, and forgiveness are the mandatory practices to restoring and renewing a life-giving dynamic to everyone.

Thus, penitence brings healing to the world; the individual who repents is forgiven; and the whole world is forgiven with him.

The powers of evil want to keep us ignorant of such things – which is why knowledge of God is so very important. Ignorance inevitably leads to sin and to the construction of a false self, which then encrusts itself upon the soul.

Penitence and repentance remain as lights deep within a person, even if they are buried beneath all sorts of arrogance and bravado of the ego.

Change of our world and transformation of our lives will not come apart from a vigorous and popular education of God and God’s Word. With so much ignorance all around us, it is imperative that individuals and communities become familiar with how spiritual realities work.

Although it appears that sinister darkness is spreading across the world and into the depths of humanity, the hope and promise of light discerns that evil can and will be overcome.

Penitence is the key to the healing presence this world needs.

For those who have experienced the renewal and reformation of a forgiven life, the steadfast love of God’s grace is very much needed for those still stuck in the mud of wickedness.

In truth, the meanness of a person betrays how much anguish of soul they are actually experiencing. Their estrangement of God is such that they are in great spiritual pain.

So, every situation designed by God to evoke penitence and repentance within such a mean person leads not only to a struggle in the soul, but also to outward conflicts with others in the forms of bullying, arrogance, and hardness of heart.

Not only do we suffer because of another’s grotesque sin, so does God. The pain of the wicked person unfortunately works to bring others pain, including God.

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. (Genesis 6:5-6, NLT)

Both humanity and God are in anguish when the dark powers take hold within an individual, and in the community.

We must have the grace to bear with others and hold our ground, giving the Spirit of God time to bring about penitence and repentance. For our part, continual learning of divine things and a commitment to steadfast love becomes the hands and feet of our prayers.

When one suffers, we all suffer, because there is an inextricable connection between all people.

Regret, remorse, and sorrow over wrongdoing are the prerequisites for goodness to become ensconced in the world. Penitence serves both the individual and the community, preventing any poisonous root of bitterness to grow up and corrupt many people.

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. (Hebrews 12:15, NIV)

God and humanity are meant to be united. And the Lord will create whatever conditions are necessary for divisions to be healed, and for people to love one another and love God will all their hearts, souls, minds, and energy.

Almighty God, my heavenly Father: I have sinned against you, through my own fault, in thought, and word, and deed, and in what I have left undone. For the sake of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me all my offenses; and grant that I may serve you in newness of life, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

A Calling Is a Sacred Responsibility (2 Kings 9:1-13)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
King Jehu

The prophet Elisha called to a member of the group of prophets, “Get ready, take this jug of oil with you, and go to Ramoth-Gilead. When you arrive there, look for Jehu, Jehoshaphat’s son and Nimshi’s grandson. Go to him, then pull him away from his associates, taking him to a private room. Take the jug of oil and pour it on his head. Then say, ‘This is what the Lord has said: I anoint you king of Israel.’ Then open the door, and run out of there without stopping.”

So the young prophet went to Ramoth-Gilead. He came in, and the military commanders were sitting right there. He said, “Commander, I have a word for you.”

“For which one of us?” Jehu asked.

The young prophet said, “For you, Commander.”

So Jehu got up and went inside. The prophet then poured oil on his head and said to him, “This is what the Lord, Israel’s God, says: I anoint you king over the Lord’s people, over Israel. You will strike down your master Ahab’s family. In this way I will take revenge for the violence done by Jezebel to my servants the prophets and to all the Lord’s servants. Ahab’s whole family will die. I will eliminate from Ahab everyone who urinates on a wall, whether slave or free, in Israel. I will make Ahab’s dynasty like the dynasty of Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, and like the dynasty of Baasha, Ahijah’s son. And as for Jezebel: The dogs will devour her in the area of Jezreel. No one will bury her.” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.

Jehu went out to his master’s officers. They said to him, “Is everything okay?

Why did this fanatic come to you?”

Jehu said to them, “You know the man and the nonsense he talks.”

“That’s a lie!” they said. “Come on, tell us!”

Jehu replied, “This is what he said to me: ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king of Israel.’”

Then each man quickly took his cloak and put it beneath Jehu on the paved steps. They blew a trumpet and said, “Jehu has become king!” (Common English Bible)

The biblical books of 1 & 2 Kings (originally one book of Kings) tells of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah over a five-hundred year period from c.960-586 B.C.E. The dynasties of the house of Omri and the house of Jehu were the longest lasting in Israel.

The books of First and Second Kings are primarily concerned with an evaluation of the 20 kings of Judah and the 19 kings of Israel. Of greatest concern was whether the particular king was loyal to God, or not. If the king tolerated worship of other gods besides Yahweh, and established sacrifices outside of Jerusalem, then that king was evaluated as doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.

This judgment of the kings is consistent with Deuteronomic laws of sole loyalty to God, and the importance of a central location for all Jewish people to worship (in Jerusalem).

To understand why it was so important for Jehu to be anointed with a mission is to know something of the house of Omri, and in particular, the king Ahab and his queen Jezebel. They are both conveyed to us in the biblical text as a power couple who want what they want, without a lot of concern about the subjects of their kingdom.

Jezebel was a follower of Baal and Asherah, not Yahweh. She provided for hundreds of their prophets. Her husband the king was fine with this situation. Jezebel was a clear enemy of God’s prophets, and killed hundreds of them, so that there were only a few left, including Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 18:13).

Ahab and Jezebel’s powerful misuse of authority is relayed in the story of Naboth (1 Kings 21). Ahab wanted to buy Naboth’s vineyard, which was adjacent to his own land. But Naboth refused to sell, mainly because the land was his family’s ancient generational inheritance.

Jezebel went to work and arranged false witnesses to claim that Naboth had cursed both God and King (which was the ultimate sign of treason in Israel). As a result, Naboth was wrongly stoned to death; and Ahab unjustly confiscated his property.

Elijah prophesied that Ahab’s descendants would die, his dynasty will perish, and that Jezebel would be eaten by dogs (1 Kings 21:17-24). In our story for today, this is alluded to in the reference of God eliminating all that belong to Ahab who “urinate on a wall,” that is, unjustly marking the territory of another as their own property.

Indeed, it all shook-out according to prophecy. Ahab died in battle. Then, Ahab and Jezebel’s son Ahaziah succeeded him as king. Young Ahaziah died two years into his reign, and his brother Jehoram became king. Jehoram was then killed by Jehu. After this, some of Jezebel’s own palace officials tossed her out a window to her death, and dogs descended on her carcass – all to Elijah’s earlier prophecy.

Injustice, unrighteousness, abuse of power, and selfish concerns are ugly nasty business. These sorts of attitudes and behaviors ruin people, and keep others locked into patterns of poverty and powerlessness. God is not okay with any of it.

Whenever we are in the middle of oppression and/or authoritative people abusing their power for their own benefit, its hard to maintain our sense of rightness and goodness. Yet, we must. In such times, patience and perseverance is needed without resorting to attempts of paying back evil with evil.

What’s more, we can find ways of tapping into the spiritual power of God within us, in order to resist and subvert unjust authority with righteousness. To some degree, everyone can do something by employing nonviolent resistance tactics like networking, protest, persuasion, non-cooperation, and speaking out through either speech or writing.

Only those who possess nothing can be entrusted with everything. Systemic evil isn’t changed from the top, because those at the top benefit from the system. Rather, structural evil is transformed through grass roots efforts from the bottom up. What’s more, individuals rarely change from the outside-in, but rather from the inside-out.

A ruling establishment is not always necessarily wrong. Yet, it takes a lot of willing accountability and plenty of intentional soul searching for administrations to remain on the straight and narrow.

Such realities characterized Jehu. He was a non-descript military man. There was nothing, in particular, which distinguished him as having a special calling from God.

Yet, although Jehu fulfilled his calling, he added to the call; the Lord was not pleased with Jehu’s form of violent bloodshed, and so, put an end to Jehu’s house, just as Omri’s house had been purged from Israel.

Power and authority will do that to a person – which is why leaders must be continuously vigilant to guard against developing a thick ego and following their pride.

And so do we. Anyone who receives a call from God has a sacred responsibility and trust to fulfill that calling with competence, care, and conscientiousness.

Almighty God, direct me in all my activity with Your grace, wisdom, and help, so that in all I do and say may glorify Your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Advent Is Coming (Zechariah 13:1-9)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Coptic Church icon of Jesus the Good Shepherd

“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

“On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.

“On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’ If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’

“Awake, sword, against my shepherd,
    against the man who is close to me!”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,
    and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
    “two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
    yet one-third will be left in it.
This third I will put into the fire;
    I will refine them like silver
    and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
    and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” (New International Version)

There’s likely a reason why so many Bible-readers have barely considered, or just never read, the minor prophets of the Old Testament: It’s difficult reading, on several levels.

Yet, the twelve books of the minor prophets, along with the four books of the major prophets, account for a lot of material within Holy Scripture. If we are to understand the whole of the Bible, as well as know God better, we need to contend with what the prophets have to say.

Impurity and cleansing, grace and judgment, idolatry and stabbing, prophets and visions, sheep and shepherds, faith and apostasy, are all part of what seems, on the surface, to be a confusing hodge-podge of verbiage from the prophet Zechariah. Yet, we can still observe the things God cares about.

The Lord promised to rid the land of idols (false gods), (false) prophets, and the spirit of impurity (false righteousness). If God takes out the false prophets, then the people can say good riddance to a false message of leading others toward idolatry and impurity.

The spirit and the message behind false prophets, unholy leaders, and unrighteous teachers, has to do with propagating lies and suppressing truth, so that they can deceive people and manipulate others for their own benefit – leading groups of people away from reality, and into commitments that go nowhere.

This insidious stuff is meant to be taken quite seriously – because it leads to a breakdown in community, a proliferation of injustice, and oppressive spiritual bondage. That’s why we have a rather dramatic picture of parents stabbing a child – not because God likes violence – but to demonstrate that false prophets and their message will damage and destroy a nation, if indulged.

Orthodox icon of Jesus the Good Shepherd

We must always keep in mind and remember that injustice and unrighteousness must always be nipped in the bud (Deuteronomy 13:6-11). Sin, that is, those things which deceive and make false promises that result in a downward spiral toward death, is to be confronted. In the New Testament, Jesus put the matter this way:

If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matthew 5:29-30, NIV)

Christ was not advocating a physical maiming of oneself, but rather for us to separate ourself from sin by whatever means necessary. In other words, Jesus was saying that sin isn’t something to be managed, but instead something to eradicate altogether.

Truth matters. Truth brings reality and beauty to light. Falsehood is terrible. To promote that which is false, and perhaps even worse, tolerate it, gives hate and injustice a platform from which to crawl out of the darkness and make the world blind. It would take an awful lot to undo error’s presence.

This is why the shepherd, or maybe, from the Christian perspective, the Christ, is stricken. The Good Shepherd, the one who is truth incarnate, would have to suffer. The injustice and unrighteousness is so foul and degrading that only the pure can undo the impure. And it is all set in motion, not by the forces of darkness, but by God.

God strikes the shepherd, and the sheep scatter. He is not struck because he deserves it – far from it – but because he assumes responsibility for the wrongdoing of others. Father God is the parent who stabs a spear in the side of God the Son.

The ultimate good shepherd of the sheep will die as a heinous offender; and God is the executioner.

In Christ, God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

2 Corinthians 5:21, MSG

This same great shepherd of the sheep, who became the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, is coming again. And he will bring the refining and purifying fire of divine judgment upon the earth.

In this upcoming Advent season, we remember not only that Jesus has come to save the world. We also are reminded that there is yet a second Advent, in which Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead.

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:7-8, NKJV)

Blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, preserve us from our own madness. Direct us away from dealing destruction to others; help us to steer clear of paths which lead to the ruin of ourselves and our world.

Protect us. Enable us to hear you. Beloved Jesus, show us your precious face in all others – you in us, and we in each other, from all places. Amen.