NT – Luke 12:35-59
Look at vs. 47-48
“The servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
This was John D Rockefeller Jr.’s favorite Bible quote.
I recently watched The Rockefellers on American Experience. We have Netflix and I love the whole biography section.
Here is PBS’s synopsis of the series:
“For decades, the Rockefeller name was despised in America–associated with John D. Rockefeller Sr.'s feared monopoly, Standard Oil. By the end of his life, Rockefeller had given away half his fortune–but even his vast philanthropy could not erase the memory of his predatory business practices. His only son, John D. Rockefeller Jr., would dedicate his life to recasting the family image. In the quest for redemption and respectability, Junior would give away hundreds of millions of dollars, and would insist that his six children behave impeccably. Their contributions transformed America. When he died at age 86, Junior left his six children and 22 grandchildren an invaluable inheritance: a name which stood not for corporate greed, but for "the well-being of mankind."
I highly recommend the video if for no other reason to watch the evolution of the modern oil business.
But in thinking about WHY this was his favorite quote, it made me think if *I* believed it. It would be nice if we had a get out of jail free card because we are Christian. I think it works totally the other way around. If we are Christians, we are held to higher standards, not lower. And I think this is true for multiple reasons. The first one that comes to my mind is that other people are watching. (I am probably paranoid, in addition to my ADD). When you declare yourself for the Lord and then you behave badly, gosh, I hate it, but you invite others to say you are a hypocrite. A word that featured highly in our NT reading today. Hate that word. Secondly, because of our love for the Lord, we should behave better. We KNOW better. And if you know this is your weakness or your place of wicked, you should have measures in place to help you cope with the situation. And the last reason I can think of is that we are called to set the example . And not a bad one. It is extremely ugly of me to fuss at my children for not picking up their dirty socks if my stuff is everywhere. Do as I say not as I do. Hypocrite.
All that to say is that really nice. And we strive awfully hard to be good. But just as in the Moses tirade in our OT reading today, it is almost impossible to reach to those lofty standards. I know Moses said it was within reach. I have not found it so easily. Wicked calls to me a lot.
So what is a lowly servant like me to do?
I think Jesus offers us some insight into that very question just before he launches into this tirade.
The answer is to do the very best you can regardless of whether or not someone is watching. Make it a habit to do your Christian job the best you know how regardless of your surroundings or your watchers. The other thing is that you need to know God's will? That is where the Mary thing comes in, I think. Mary, unlike Martha, knew what she was supposed to do. She was supposed to be sitting at Jesus’ feet listening instead of bustling around. You have to be quiet. You have to be focused. And you need to be listening and ready. I just want to go on record as saying, the world does need the Martha ability to feed and restore honored guests and family. That may be what you are called to do. But not in a frenzy. And not without taking time out for the Lord. The grocery list can wait until after church.
I guess the answer to my question about the Rockefeller quote was that I do believe it, but I don’t live it. That makes me, you guessed it, a hypocrite.
Happy Easter to everyone and since I won’t be at Mt Vernon Presbyterian for the Halleluiah Chorus, here is a great YouTube rendition. Click here if your email doesn’t support YouTube.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
April 7
Psalm 78:32-55
Vs. 38-39 “Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrains his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.”
I am with my in-laws who are both in a nursing home in Decatur, Il. It is a very nice nursing home. Clean, well-tended. But still a home full of people at the end of their lives. And it is not a glorious end. It is hard to see God’s mercy here. Many of these folks, my father-in-law included, served in World War II and were true heroes. Now, they are burdens. Most of them know it. The ones that don’t are just as pitiful with their memories gone or nearly there.
Last night, we brought my carnivorous f-i-l steak and a baked potato. Don insisted on green beans as well but they were barely touched. But there were no sharp knives in this place. When I wandered back and found the kitchen, the cook took pity on me and washed and dried her own paring knife. When I tried to press some money on her, she stood tall and said she was just doin’ her job and that anyone who took money for doing a mercy to her folks should be ashamed. And that if someone DID take money for doin’ their job, well, they needed to be reported.
And that is where I saw God’s mercy yesterday. What about you?
OT – Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27
It isn’t often that leaders willingly hand over power. And to hand over power in such a gracious way. “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.” Twice Joshua gets told this. Once by Moses and once by God.
George Washington also gave a similar address to the nation when he declared his intention not to run for a third term. His was not a speech since his 4,000,000 were scattered over a continent but published in a newspaper.
Here is paragraph one:
“The period for a new election of a citizen, to administer the executive government of the United States, being not far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your thoughts must be employed designating the person, who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprize you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.”
It is a fascinating address and holds many, many truths for us now. Much like Moses, George Washington was a wise and perceptive leader.
Read the complete address here.
But back to Joshua. I am not sure that it is fair for Moses to heap all the infidelities of the Israelites on Joshua since he himself had his fair share. But he does and continues with his woes on them as they ‘cheat’ on the Lord. Clearly, Moses really wanted to go on being the leader but God had chosen and Moses stepped aside. We are very fortunate that our leaders do the same. Most of the planet does not have that luxury.
NT—Luke 12:8
Tomorrow is Easter. Almost every year, I try to have a new dress or outfit for church. I definitely want my boys looking fine. I realize that Jesus' admonition against being 'lilyified' applies to me, but really, I just can't help it. This year, since we are not at home and travel really light so we can avoid checking bags, our Easter finery will be in our hearts.
We are taking Don’s dad to his home church for Easter service.
It is a resurrection of sorts. Don’s parents have been mainstays of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Decatur, Il for 53 years. Don’s dad Joe has been an elder several times and most of those times he was Clerk of Session. His mother, Mickey, was deacon for years and years and did a tour of duty as head deacon when they were in the midst of a building campaign and construction. Trying days for a mother of six, full time school teacher – math. Now they are both elderly and Mickey hasn’t been to church in 2 years. Joe went without her, first while she slept away the morning at home then after she went to the nursing home when he could no longer care for her dementia at home. Joe hasn’t been there in 6 weeks. He asked me to find a ‘good tie’ and his nice jacket. I offered to press a shirt but he said he had one to wear that would look good with his sweat pants. My Easter finery is a man trying his best to recover from a stroke being wheeled by his son with his two fine grandsons by his side.
I wish you a blessed Easter and a glorious Resurrection Day.
Vs. 38-39 “Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrains his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.”
I am with my in-laws who are both in a nursing home in Decatur, Il. It is a very nice nursing home. Clean, well-tended. But still a home full of people at the end of their lives. And it is not a glorious end. It is hard to see God’s mercy here. Many of these folks, my father-in-law included, served in World War II and were true heroes. Now, they are burdens. Most of them know it. The ones that don’t are just as pitiful with their memories gone or nearly there.
Last night, we brought my carnivorous f-i-l steak and a baked potato. Don insisted on green beans as well but they were barely touched. But there were no sharp knives in this place. When I wandered back and found the kitchen, the cook took pity on me and washed and dried her own paring knife. When I tried to press some money on her, she stood tall and said she was just doin’ her job and that anyone who took money for doing a mercy to her folks should be ashamed. And that if someone DID take money for doin’ their job, well, they needed to be reported.
And that is where I saw God’s mercy yesterday. What about you?
OT – Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27
It isn’t often that leaders willingly hand over power. And to hand over power in such a gracious way. “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.” Twice Joshua gets told this. Once by Moses and once by God.
George Washington also gave a similar address to the nation when he declared his intention not to run for a third term. His was not a speech since his 4,000,000 were scattered over a continent but published in a newspaper.
Here is paragraph one:
“The period for a new election of a citizen, to administer the executive government of the United States, being not far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your thoughts must be employed designating the person, who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprize you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.”
It is a fascinating address and holds many, many truths for us now. Much like Moses, George Washington was a wise and perceptive leader.
Read the complete address here.
But back to Joshua. I am not sure that it is fair for Moses to heap all the infidelities of the Israelites on Joshua since he himself had his fair share. But he does and continues with his woes on them as they ‘cheat’ on the Lord. Clearly, Moses really wanted to go on being the leader but God had chosen and Moses stepped aside. We are very fortunate that our leaders do the same. Most of the planet does not have that luxury.
NT—Luke 12:8
Tomorrow is Easter. Almost every year, I try to have a new dress or outfit for church. I definitely want my boys looking fine. I realize that Jesus' admonition against being 'lilyified' applies to me, but really, I just can't help it. This year, since we are not at home and travel really light so we can avoid checking bags, our Easter finery will be in our hearts.
We are taking Don’s dad to his home church for Easter service.
It is a resurrection of sorts. Don’s parents have been mainstays of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Decatur, Il for 53 years. Don’s dad Joe has been an elder several times and most of those times he was Clerk of Session. His mother, Mickey, was deacon for years and years and did a tour of duty as head deacon when they were in the midst of a building campaign and construction. Trying days for a mother of six, full time school teacher – math. Now they are both elderly and Mickey hasn’t been to church in 2 years. Joe went without her, first while she slept away the morning at home then after she went to the nursing home when he could no longer care for her dementia at home. Joe hasn’t been there in 6 weeks. He asked me to find a ‘good tie’ and his nice jacket. I offered to press a shirt but he said he had one to wear that would look good with his sweat pants. My Easter finery is a man trying his best to recover from a stroke being wheeled by his son with his two fine grandsons by his side.
I wish you a blessed Easter and a glorious Resurrection Day.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
April 6
Today is Good Friday in the Western Christian World. The Greek Orthodox church celebrates Easter on April 15 and so their Good Friday is April 13.
For all my Western Christian friends, I wish you grace and peace on this day.
My pastor says you can't have the joy of Easter without the pain of Good Friday and I know he is right. But it is very painful for me to imagine that Jesus would willingly set his face towards that path and walk it.
OT -- Deuteronomy 29:1- 30:20
Several things struck me in this passage. One of which I knew but only because I had read it previously in the Stone Chumash. vs. 29:5 says "During the 40 years that I led you in the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet."
I realize that if God could raise a man from the dead (or a little girl or a teenage boy or his friend Lazarus), what are clothes to him. Still, that seems remarkable. I find these small details about the Exodus fascinating.
vs 30:11 "Now what I am commanding you to do is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. Is is not up in heaven so that you have to ask 'Who will ascend into heaven to et it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it.'"
So if it isn't that hard (to love the Lord and not worship other idols), why did they do it? Why turn almost immediately to other gods? Heck, why do we?
And finally, Moses' admonition to 'choose life'. This is what L'chaim means. Not 'to' life, but CHOOSE life.
Folks, snug up in God's embrace and choose Him.
NT -- Luke 11:37-12:17
Vs 12:6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrow."
Do you remember what the sparrows were being sold for? To be killed as sacrifices for someone's sin. Now, granted, they wouldn't have been grown if they weren't bound for the Temple sacrifice market.
What does that say about Jesus? Isn't he the ultimate Temple sacrifice?
Pennies we would pay for sparrows. Judas got 30 silver coins. What did we pay for his sacrifice for us? What does God require?
"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8
Psalm 78
Wow, a restatement of Moses' sermon! Love it!
Have a blessed day.
For all my Western Christian friends, I wish you grace and peace on this day.
My pastor says you can't have the joy of Easter without the pain of Good Friday and I know he is right. But it is very painful for me to imagine that Jesus would willingly set his face towards that path and walk it.
OT -- Deuteronomy 29:1- 30:20
Several things struck me in this passage. One of which I knew but only because I had read it previously in the Stone Chumash. vs. 29:5 says "During the 40 years that I led you in the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet."
I realize that if God could raise a man from the dead (or a little girl or a teenage boy or his friend Lazarus), what are clothes to him. Still, that seems remarkable. I find these small details about the Exodus fascinating.
vs 30:11 "Now what I am commanding you to do is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. Is is not up in heaven so that you have to ask 'Who will ascend into heaven to et it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it.'"
So if it isn't that hard (to love the Lord and not worship other idols), why did they do it? Why turn almost immediately to other gods? Heck, why do we?
And finally, Moses' admonition to 'choose life'. This is what L'chaim means. Not 'to' life, but CHOOSE life.
Folks, snug up in God's embrace and choose Him.
NT -- Luke 11:37-12:17
Vs 12:6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrow."
Do you remember what the sparrows were being sold for? To be killed as sacrifices for someone's sin. Now, granted, they wouldn't have been grown if they weren't bound for the Temple sacrifice market.
What does that say about Jesus? Isn't he the ultimate Temple sacrifice?
Pennies we would pay for sparrows. Judas got 30 silver coins. What did we pay for his sacrifice for us? What does God require?
"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8
Psalm 78
Wow, a restatement of Moses' sermon! Love it!
Have a blessed day.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
April 5
NT – Luke 11:14-36
Vs 17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and a house divided against itself will fall.”
I had no idea this was in the Bible. I thought Abraham Lincoln had made it up.
Instead, he quotes the Bible in the 1858 speech he gave while he was running unsuccessfully for Senate against Stephen Douglas, his long time nemesis.
Click here for the body of the speech. I have to say, he is speaking to us even if the issue is different, the attitudes are not.
Lincoln was, of course, talking about some states permitting slavery while other did not. Jesus was talking about serving God and Beelzebub at the same time. Maybe they are the same.
All of the similes in this section are ideal images for us to hold onto as touchstones for when we are assailed by wickedness. Even the picture of the evil spirit who has left but comes back with 7 more to a clean house is true to form.
Being wicked, for me, is like dieting. I always say, it will never happen again. So, I don’t need to prepare. But you and I both know that tempting food is lurking everywhere and so is the inclination to follow evil rather than good. The trick is to have something to fill your attention so that you don’t obsess over the cupcake or whatever the flavor of the month wicked is. We need to prepare IN ADVANCE our strategy for handling wicked. Think on this today and jot down some notes for yourself. Then slip these ideas in your Bible.
OT – Deuteronomy 28:1-68
My Strong Chumash has this to say about this chapter in Deuteronomy:
This is the Second Admonition in the Torah: The first was uttered by God and its litany of punishments is expressed in the first person, for God was telling Israel what He would do (Leviticus 26); THIS Admonition was uttered by Moses and it is expressed in the third person, for he was saying in his own words what God would do to those who defied Him. This is Rashi’s interpretation.
Ramban, on the other hand, says that the first Admonition referred to the years leading up to the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile. The Second Admonition refers to the waning years of the Second Temple and the current Diaspora.
Sylvia: Either way, it is a chilling prophesy of the way people behave when the chips are down. To all those out there who are prepping for the coming end of modern civilization, I think you need to read Deuteronomy 28 and then hope you are one of the ones that goes first…..
Proverbs 12:18
Reckless words pierce like a sword but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Truer words were never spoken. My mother always prays this prayer for me when I go to visit my in-laws “Lord, keep one hand on her shoulder and the other over her mouth.”
Clearly, this is an issue for me.
On a personal note, Don’s dad fell 4 ½ weeks ago and they did not find him for 12 hours. He suffered a stroke during this period and has been hospitalized and is now in a nursing home for ‘rehab’. He is very unhappy and very weak and is desperate to go home. Prayers would be extremely appreciated especially for wisdom.
Vs 17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and a house divided against itself will fall.”
I had no idea this was in the Bible. I thought Abraham Lincoln had made it up.
Instead, he quotes the Bible in the 1858 speech he gave while he was running unsuccessfully for Senate against Stephen Douglas, his long time nemesis.
Click here for the body of the speech. I have to say, he is speaking to us even if the issue is different, the attitudes are not.
Lincoln was, of course, talking about some states permitting slavery while other did not. Jesus was talking about serving God and Beelzebub at the same time. Maybe they are the same.
All of the similes in this section are ideal images for us to hold onto as touchstones for when we are assailed by wickedness. Even the picture of the evil spirit who has left but comes back with 7 more to a clean house is true to form.
Being wicked, for me, is like dieting. I always say, it will never happen again. So, I don’t need to prepare. But you and I both know that tempting food is lurking everywhere and so is the inclination to follow evil rather than good. The trick is to have something to fill your attention so that you don’t obsess over the cupcake or whatever the flavor of the month wicked is. We need to prepare IN ADVANCE our strategy for handling wicked. Think on this today and jot down some notes for yourself. Then slip these ideas in your Bible.
OT – Deuteronomy 28:1-68
My Strong Chumash has this to say about this chapter in Deuteronomy:
This is the Second Admonition in the Torah: The first was uttered by God and its litany of punishments is expressed in the first person, for God was telling Israel what He would do (Leviticus 26); THIS Admonition was uttered by Moses and it is expressed in the third person, for he was saying in his own words what God would do to those who defied Him. This is Rashi’s interpretation.
Ramban, on the other hand, says that the first Admonition referred to the years leading up to the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile. The Second Admonition refers to the waning years of the Second Temple and the current Diaspora.
Sylvia: Either way, it is a chilling prophesy of the way people behave when the chips are down. To all those out there who are prepping for the coming end of modern civilization, I think you need to read Deuteronomy 28 and then hope you are one of the ones that goes first…..
Proverbs 12:18
Reckless words pierce like a sword but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Truer words were never spoken. My mother always prays this prayer for me when I go to visit my in-laws “Lord, keep one hand on her shoulder and the other over her mouth.”
Clearly, this is an issue for me.
On a personal note, Don’s dad fell 4 ½ weeks ago and they did not find him for 12 hours. He suffered a stroke during this period and has been hospitalized and is now in a nursing home for ‘rehab’. He is very unhappy and very weak and is desperate to go home. Prayers would be extremely appreciated especially for wisdom.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
April 4
Proverbs 12:15-17
“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. A fool shows his annoyance at once but a prudent man overlooks an insult.”
Growing up, my family got 2 newspapers a day. The Atlanta Constitution in the morning and The Atlanta Journal in the evening.
The morning paper was sacred. No one got to look at it until my dad finished with it and since he was the last to get up almost every morning (which was why we were almost always late to school since he drove us Tuesday – Friday), we never read it.
The evening paper was different. It was usually there when we got home from school and we grabbed it and divided it up amongst the three of us. Alfred read the sports, Debbie avidly followed the comics, but I LOVED the Ann Landers column. Ann Landers wrote an advice column and she was very frank. I learned about all sorts of things that I don’t think my mother would have approved of me learning at a fairly young age. *She* would not have approved of Moses’ dictum on ‘nocturnal emissions’. I also think she was a very sagacious (SAT prep word!!) and rarely made a bad call. If she did and readers objected, she printed their rebuttals and either backed down or stated her case. I loved her. I only wrote one letter to her and it was about college applications. She did not print my letter but I got a nice letter back from her office telling me that she had received my letter and unfortunately could not print them all nor could she answer individual mail. But they did include a pamphlet on making decisions. I thought that was very helpful and felt like my larger question – what to do with myself – had received some advice that I found acceptable.
What was even more interesting to me later was that she was a twin, an identical twin, and her sister also wrote a nationally syndicated column – Dear Abby. And even more astounding to me was that they were ‘estranged’. Seems like she should have taken her own advice!
Our proverb today says that a wise man listens to advice. Earlier in Proverbs, we read that a wise man keeps his own counsel. So which one is it, Mr. Know-it-all?
I think Ann would say, Sylvia, it is both. Sometimes, you need to keep your mouth shut and follow your instincts. Other times, you need to stop, question wise people, then make up your mind. The trick is knowing which occasion the problem fits into.
Example 1, Don and I have a fight. Whatever we are fighting about, that usually isn’t the real reason for the upset. This is not a time to get advice. Anyone who I know does not need to know the down and dirty details about us. Keep your mouth shut, pray a good bit, follow your instincts.
Example 2, Matthew wants to go to any unsupervised lake party for the weekend. I am stunned. Don has more questions than I have answers. Step back, go to my wise women friends who have already been there, done that, ask advice. Then make up my mind that I should have been more stunned.
These are the easy ones. There are others out there that are so much harder. And then there are the ones that you think should fall into Example 1 but turn out to have really been Example 2.
Then we have to have a discussion about forgiving ourselves. Ann Landers had a theory on that one, too. I’ll save that for when the proverb describing that one shows up.
NT – Luke 10:38-11:13
I hate to say it, but I am a Martha gal. Ever busy. I don’t do much sitting. I have a really, really hard time relating to Mary. And don’t I know some Marys.
Church can sometimes be hard for us Marthas. I have been known to make grocery lists, design the addition to my house, work out a new diet plan, and decide on vacation destinations.
Is this you? Or are you Mary? How do you make yourself just sit at Jesus’ feet and just be? Can I say that I am somewhat envious? And the part that is not, has the prideful streak of running around boasting “Look how much I can get done!!!” But who is the one who is not happy? Who is the one who is stressed out? Martha.
Maybe, after Matthew graduates and all my spring chores are done, I will take on the babysteps that will help me stop the Marthaing and really focus my attention on Jesus and learn to be Mary. She chose. I can too.
Blessings on your day and your meditations.
“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. A fool shows his annoyance at once but a prudent man overlooks an insult.”
Growing up, my family got 2 newspapers a day. The Atlanta Constitution in the morning and The Atlanta Journal in the evening.
The morning paper was sacred. No one got to look at it until my dad finished with it and since he was the last to get up almost every morning (which was why we were almost always late to school since he drove us Tuesday – Friday), we never read it.
The evening paper was different. It was usually there when we got home from school and we grabbed it and divided it up amongst the three of us. Alfred read the sports, Debbie avidly followed the comics, but I LOVED the Ann Landers column. Ann Landers wrote an advice column and she was very frank. I learned about all sorts of things that I don’t think my mother would have approved of me learning at a fairly young age. *She* would not have approved of Moses’ dictum on ‘nocturnal emissions’. I also think she was a very sagacious (SAT prep word!!) and rarely made a bad call. If she did and readers objected, she printed their rebuttals and either backed down or stated her case. I loved her. I only wrote one letter to her and it was about college applications. She did not print my letter but I got a nice letter back from her office telling me that she had received my letter and unfortunately could not print them all nor could she answer individual mail. But they did include a pamphlet on making decisions. I thought that was very helpful and felt like my larger question – what to do with myself – had received some advice that I found acceptable.
What was even more interesting to me later was that she was a twin, an identical twin, and her sister also wrote a nationally syndicated column – Dear Abby. And even more astounding to me was that they were ‘estranged’. Seems like she should have taken her own advice!
Our proverb today says that a wise man listens to advice. Earlier in Proverbs, we read that a wise man keeps his own counsel. So which one is it, Mr. Know-it-all?
I think Ann would say, Sylvia, it is both. Sometimes, you need to keep your mouth shut and follow your instincts. Other times, you need to stop, question wise people, then make up your mind. The trick is knowing which occasion the problem fits into.
Example 1, Don and I have a fight. Whatever we are fighting about, that usually isn’t the real reason for the upset. This is not a time to get advice. Anyone who I know does not need to know the down and dirty details about us. Keep your mouth shut, pray a good bit, follow your instincts.
Example 2, Matthew wants to go to any unsupervised lake party for the weekend. I am stunned. Don has more questions than I have answers. Step back, go to my wise women friends who have already been there, done that, ask advice. Then make up my mind that I should have been more stunned.
These are the easy ones. There are others out there that are so much harder. And then there are the ones that you think should fall into Example 1 but turn out to have really been Example 2.
Then we have to have a discussion about forgiving ourselves. Ann Landers had a theory on that one, too. I’ll save that for when the proverb describing that one shows up.
NT – Luke 10:38-11:13
I hate to say it, but I am a Martha gal. Ever busy. I don’t do much sitting. I have a really, really hard time relating to Mary. And don’t I know some Marys.
Church can sometimes be hard for us Marthas. I have been known to make grocery lists, design the addition to my house, work out a new diet plan, and decide on vacation destinations.
Is this you? Or are you Mary? How do you make yourself just sit at Jesus’ feet and just be? Can I say that I am somewhat envious? And the part that is not, has the prideful streak of running around boasting “Look how much I can get done!!!” But who is the one who is not happy? Who is the one who is stressed out? Martha.
Maybe, after Matthew graduates and all my spring chores are done, I will take on the babysteps that will help me stop the Marthaing and really focus my attention on Jesus and learn to be Mary. She chose. I can too.
Blessings on your day and your meditations.
Monday, April 2, 2012
April 3
OT – Deuteronomy 23:1-25:19
So, clearly I just caught Moses on a bad day yesterday.
Today’s reading is full of nuggets of gold and goodness. Some goofy stuff too and things I would rather not think about (nocturnal emissions….) but good, logical social directives.
For example, the pooping outside of the camp. In 1900, social workers coming into the Appalachian mountains had to instruct the mountain people about where to place their outhouses. Now, that seems sort of logical to me – not to place my outhouse close to my well or the spring where we draw our water, but clearly, the mountain people didn’t know it and I guess Moses’ camp people didn’t either. Dysentery dropped 75% after the social workers showed up. They also had to have a talk with them about inter-marrying, something Moses goes into a lot. I guess there weren’t a lot of Bible readers in the 1900 in Appalachia. My mother’s folks come from there and maybe that’s what makes me so argumentative.
When I read these passages in Deuteronomy, I think how smart and people savvy Moses must have been. Yes, there are some weird things like the mixed thread but I am assuming that we just don’t know the back story for that one. Other stuff like leaving part of your harvest for others or having differing weights in your bag makes a lot of sense to me and would be good for the group as a whole. There was a lot of thought put into these strictures – even the goofy ones.
And can Moses’ hold a grudge or what??? The tenth generation ? Wow, that is 300 years!! No Amalekites, no Ammonites or Moabites. Just wondering – who do we hate for 300 years?
NT – Luke 10:13-37
The Good Samaritan. Books have been written on this subject. Numerous sermons. I once heard a funeral where this was the scripture basis. Based on my knowledge of the family, I think, but I am not sure, that this scripture was used to point out that others had been kind but not family. However, my mother tried very hard to pound in the stricture of not speaking ill of the dead so I will only say ‘think’.
My recent meditations on this passage have to do with what was the Samaritan’s motivation. I know he had one. We all do. I do realize that this is a parable but Jesus’ parables came from real life observations and just like my funeral above, you see this kind of behavior happen over and over again. The one who is less than, put upon, the one with the scars and wounds, that is the one who reaches out to help. Why? Why isn’t the response bitterness, hatred and returning evil for evil?
I finally finished Winds of War which leaves the Henry family on December 11, 1941. One of the main characters Natalie Jastrow Henry is stuck in Italy with her 3 month old infant and elderly uncle. They are Jewish. At the very end of the book, I am ashamed to say, but I could not listen to any more about her. Every time her segment would come on, I would skip ahead. I KNOW what is going to happen to her and I just cannot bear the inhumanity she will endure and that will kill Aaron, her uncle. I am that way now when anyone tries to tell me about Dafar or the raging child molestation case or whatever is the horror of the week.
Does this mean that I am not capable of being the Good Samaritan? Am I stuck being the priest or even worse for me Miss Bible Queen, the Levite? Jesus tells the ‘expert in the law’ (Oh Dear….) that this is the way to heaven.
A checklist and none of my boxes are checked.
Psalm 75
Also a great psalm for today. I must have just been in a rotten mood yesterday.
Proverbs 12:12-14
One more reason to keep your mouth shut. To escape trouble rather than be trapped.
Go with God and look for the opportunity to be the Good Samaritan. Then, ACT.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
April 2
I found both the OT and the NT readings today disturbing. Perhaps it was the glory of Palm Sunday and Joe B’s great message. Or maybe it was the incredibly beautiful day that was today. It had such an air of unreality about it. Life was very still here.
And then to sit down and read Moses’ calm dissection of what to do to protect the people from God’s wrath when a man is found slain.
Or Jesus’ wild hyperboles about foxes or Sodom.
I feel very disjointed.
And I am learning, when I feel uncomfortable with the scripture, to just let it sit. Rashi says that not one word of scripture is extra. So there must be something in the Moses passage that I am supposed to hear, to hearken to. I don’t think it is the mixing of threads. At least I hope not since not one thing I have on is of one kind of thread.
Even the psalm was brutal and unyielding. This is God’s might today. His wrath and his judgment. And I have a hard time with that.
I suspect that the Children of Israel and the people in Jesus’ time also had a hard time with God’s judgment. People who get manna and quail and receive water from striking a rock or having a well move behind you but then decide to go their own ways, well, you can see why God would get mad at them. And in Jesus’ time! Gosh, even the disciples are willing to rain fire and hail down on the unkind Samaritans!
Blessed be the Word of the Lord.
Keep trudging.
And then to sit down and read Moses’ calm dissection of what to do to protect the people from God’s wrath when a man is found slain.
Or Jesus’ wild hyperboles about foxes or Sodom.
I feel very disjointed.
And I am learning, when I feel uncomfortable with the scripture, to just let it sit. Rashi says that not one word of scripture is extra. So there must be something in the Moses passage that I am supposed to hear, to hearken to. I don’t think it is the mixing of threads. At least I hope not since not one thing I have on is of one kind of thread.
Even the psalm was brutal and unyielding. This is God’s might today. His wrath and his judgment. And I have a hard time with that.
I suspect that the Children of Israel and the people in Jesus’ time also had a hard time with God’s judgment. People who get manna and quail and receive water from striking a rock or having a well move behind you but then decide to go their own ways, well, you can see why God would get mad at them. And in Jesus’ time! Gosh, even the disciples are willing to rain fire and hail down on the unkind Samaritans!
Blessed be the Word of the Lord.
Keep trudging.
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