Hear the word of God:
Oh, how I love your instructions!
I think about them all day long.
Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are my constant guide.
Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,
for I am always thinking of your laws.
I am even wiser than my elders,
for I have kept your commandments.
I have refused to walk on any evil path,
so that I may remain obedient to your word.
I haven't turned away from your regulations,
for you have taught me well.
How sweet your words taste to me;
they are sweeter than honey.
Your commandments give me understanding;
no wonder I hate every false way of life.
NUN
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path.
I've promised it once, and I'll promise it again:
I will obey your righteous regulations.
I have suffered much, O LORD;
restore my life again as you promised.
LORD, accept my offering of praise,
and teach me your regulations.
My life constantly hangs in the balance,
but I will not stop obeying your instructions.
The wicked have set their traps for me,
but I will not turn from your commandments.
Your laws are my treasure;
they are my heart's delight.
I am determined to keep your decrees
to the very end.
SAMEKH
I hate those with divided loyalties,
but I love your instructions.
You are my refuge and my shield;
your word is my source of hope.
Get out of my life, you evil-minded people,
for I intend to obey the commands of my God.
LORD, sustain me as you promised, that I may live!
Do not let my hope be crushed.
Sustain me, and I will be rescued;
then I will meditate continually on your decrees.
But you have rejected all who stray from your decrees.
They are only fooling themselves.
You skim off the wicked of the earth like scum;
no wonder I love to obey your laws!
I tremble in fear of you;
I stand in awe of your regulations.
AYIN
Don't leave me to the mercy of my enemies,
for I have done what is just and right.
Please guarantee a blessing for me.
Don't let the arrogant oppress me!
My eyes strain to see your rescue,
to see the truth of your promise fulfilled.
I am your servant; deal with me in unfailing love,
and teach me your decrees.
Give discernment to me, your servant;
then I will understand your laws.
LORD, it is time for you to act,
for these evil people have violated your instructions.
Truly, I love your commands
more than gold, even the finest gold.
Each of your commandments is right.
That is why I hate every false way.
Psalm 119:97-128
Blessings,
Jason
Showing posts with label Torah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Torah. Show all posts
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Community is the trump card
In the classic short story, A Man without a Country, Edward Everett Hale writes about a young military officer, Philip Nolan, whom he places in America during the early 1800’s. This young man became a friend, and then associate of the infamous Aaron Burr. Over time, Nolan so revered Burr that he grew to value his relationship with this one man over all of his other relationships. Nolan assumed the easy cynicism toward the state that was, to him, the sign of the knowing insider. Consequently, Nolan became involved in activities that led to his eventual arrest for treason, and trial alongside Burr.
When confronted by the judge, Nolan’s cynicism reaches its highest point. Nolan curses the United States, and then swears an oath: “I wish I may never hear of the United States again.” The judge, instead of sentencing Nolan to death, gives him a sentence of exile. Nolan is never to see nor to hear of his country again. The judge gives Nolan into the keeping of the US Navy, and charges it with keeping Nolan onboard naval warships for the remainder of his life. The Navy carries out its orders with its usual thoroughness and efficiency; Nolan never sets his foot on land in the United States again. When a ship heads back toward a home port, Nolan is transferred to another ship going the opposite direction. Naval officers even censor the newspapers and magazines Nolan reads to remove any mention of his homeland.
After decades of this life at sea, a changed Nolan finally approaches his death. A young officer recounts his conversation with Nolan as he escorts him to another ship:
"For your country, boy," and the words rattled in his throat, "and for that flag," and he pointed to the ship, "never dream a dream but of serving her as she bids you, though the service carry you through a thousand hells. No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you or abuses you, never look at another flag, never let a night pass but you pray God to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that behind all these men..., behind officers and government, and people even, there is the Country Herself, your Country, and that you belong to her as you belong to your own mother. Stand by her, boy, as you would stand by your mother...!" I was frightened to death by his calm, hard passion; but I blundered out that I would, by all that was holy, and that I had never thought of doing anything else. He hardly seemed to hear me; but he did, almost in a whisper, say, "Oh, if anybody had said so to me when I was your age!"
Hale’s message about his nation, his community, is powerful. Perhaps it might be even more powerful if we remember that Hale published this story in the Atlantic Monthly in 1863. Hale wrote the story as a call for those in South to reconsider what he considered a desertion of the Union during the Civil War (otherwise known as the War of Northern Aggression).
I am not choosing sides here. I hope that everyone would agree with me that slavery is wrong, and that the oppression of human beings to maintain structures of power and wealth is totally unacceptable. It is certainly also true that the North proved itself to be no more capable of a steward of power and wealth when the war was over, as they systematically punished and oppressed their surviving brothers and sisters in the South. Can we not learn something from this horrible breach in community? Doesn’t our current world confront issues just as important as slavery? And isn’t our citizenship in the church tested by, yet superior to, our citizenship in our country?
Doesn’t this whole discussion speak to the Christian about the nature of community and the choices we make to go or to stay, to exclude or include, within the community? Doesn’t wisdom require that the status quo is changed when it does not produce truth, beauty, or the good? Doesn’t it require that community is maintained, even when that community makes decisions which don’t necessarily align with our personal choices or loyalties? Doesn’t love and faithfulness toward the community require us to work out the tensions in these statements with one another? The writer of Proverbs calls us to wisdom here:
My child, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments;
for length of days and years of life
and abundant welfare they will give you.
Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good repute
in the sight of God and of people.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be a healing for your flesh
and a refreshment for your body.
Proverbs 3:1-8 - NRSV
Community has teaching to maintain proper boundaries. For spiritual Israel, those boundaries are described by Torah. There are going to be times when keeping Torah is inconvenient. There are times when Torah will requires exclusion, but usually it requires the harder task of inclusion. Torah is meant more to exclude our foolish behavior toward one another than to exclude one another. This ought to remind us that, no matter the time in which we live, there are always those people and events who will test our loyalties to our community. This has happened, and will happen within the church. This has happened, and will happen within the Westview community.
Especially in our youth, others test our loyalties to our community. There is an element in the church and within ministry that is “wise in its own eyes.” It displays a certain cynicism toward the community and status quo that is meant to portray knowledge, wisdom, and experience. Instead this behavior communicates disillusionment, disloyalty, and dishonor. If unchecked, these symptoms will precede spiritual death. This temptation to cynicism will seek out the young men at Westview and it will search out the young adults at Westview. On the other hand, those of us who are older are more tempted to sacrifice relationships to maintain the status quo. Both are unwise and evil. May we truly be wise in a godly way, and trust in the Lord with all of our heart. He will surely refresh our body within the body of Christ when we are loyal and faithful both to the community and members of the community as God is faithful and loyal to both.
Grace and peace among us,
Ron
When confronted by the judge, Nolan’s cynicism reaches its highest point. Nolan curses the United States, and then swears an oath: “I wish I may never hear of the United States again.” The judge, instead of sentencing Nolan to death, gives him a sentence of exile. Nolan is never to see nor to hear of his country again. The judge gives Nolan into the keeping of the US Navy, and charges it with keeping Nolan onboard naval warships for the remainder of his life. The Navy carries out its orders with its usual thoroughness and efficiency; Nolan never sets his foot on land in the United States again. When a ship heads back toward a home port, Nolan is transferred to another ship going the opposite direction. Naval officers even censor the newspapers and magazines Nolan reads to remove any mention of his homeland.
After decades of this life at sea, a changed Nolan finally approaches his death. A young officer recounts his conversation with Nolan as he escorts him to another ship:
"For your country, boy," and the words rattled in his throat, "and for that flag," and he pointed to the ship, "never dream a dream but of serving her as she bids you, though the service carry you through a thousand hells. No matter what happens to you, no matter who flatters you or abuses you, never look at another flag, never let a night pass but you pray God to bless that flag. Remember, boy, that behind all these men..., behind officers and government, and people even, there is the Country Herself, your Country, and that you belong to her as you belong to your own mother. Stand by her, boy, as you would stand by your mother...!" I was frightened to death by his calm, hard passion; but I blundered out that I would, by all that was holy, and that I had never thought of doing anything else. He hardly seemed to hear me; but he did, almost in a whisper, say, "Oh, if anybody had said so to me when I was your age!"
Hale’s message about his nation, his community, is powerful. Perhaps it might be even more powerful if we remember that Hale published this story in the Atlantic Monthly in 1863. Hale wrote the story as a call for those in South to reconsider what he considered a desertion of the Union during the Civil War (otherwise known as the War of Northern Aggression).
I am not choosing sides here. I hope that everyone would agree with me that slavery is wrong, and that the oppression of human beings to maintain structures of power and wealth is totally unacceptable. It is certainly also true that the North proved itself to be no more capable of a steward of power and wealth when the war was over, as they systematically punished and oppressed their surviving brothers and sisters in the South. Can we not learn something from this horrible breach in community? Doesn’t our current world confront issues just as important as slavery? And isn’t our citizenship in the church tested by, yet superior to, our citizenship in our country?
Doesn’t this whole discussion speak to the Christian about the nature of community and the choices we make to go or to stay, to exclude or include, within the community? Doesn’t wisdom require that the status quo is changed when it does not produce truth, beauty, or the good? Doesn’t it require that community is maintained, even when that community makes decisions which don’t necessarily align with our personal choices or loyalties? Doesn’t love and faithfulness toward the community require us to work out the tensions in these statements with one another? The writer of Proverbs calls us to wisdom here:
My child, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments;
for length of days and years of life
and abundant welfare they will give you.
Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good repute
in the sight of God and of people.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be a healing for your flesh
and a refreshment for your body.
Proverbs 3:1-8 - NRSV
Community has teaching to maintain proper boundaries. For spiritual Israel, those boundaries are described by Torah. There are going to be times when keeping Torah is inconvenient. There are times when Torah will requires exclusion, but usually it requires the harder task of inclusion. Torah is meant more to exclude our foolish behavior toward one another than to exclude one another. This ought to remind us that, no matter the time in which we live, there are always those people and events who will test our loyalties to our community. This has happened, and will happen within the church. This has happened, and will happen within the Westview community.
Especially in our youth, others test our loyalties to our community. There is an element in the church and within ministry that is “wise in its own eyes.” It displays a certain cynicism toward the community and status quo that is meant to portray knowledge, wisdom, and experience. Instead this behavior communicates disillusionment, disloyalty, and dishonor. If unchecked, these symptoms will precede spiritual death. This temptation to cynicism will seek out the young men at Westview and it will search out the young adults at Westview. On the other hand, those of us who are older are more tempted to sacrifice relationships to maintain the status quo. Both are unwise and evil. May we truly be wise in a godly way, and trust in the Lord with all of our heart. He will surely refresh our body within the body of Christ when we are loyal and faithful both to the community and members of the community as God is faithful and loyal to both.
Grace and peace among us,
Ron
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A wineskin in the smoke
Today another meditation on a section of the great psalm, 119. Hear the words of Psalm 119:81-88:
My soul languishes for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
My eyes fail with watching for your promise;
I ask, "When will you comfort me?"
Sometimes we fret and fume when we are at a place where, for a while, we have to endure pain or suffering. We are distracted, our prayers are weakened, and we become a burden to our acquaintances (yet not our true friends). How much more trying must it be to have to live with pain? Not just for days or weeks, like most of us, but for years? I have several friends who suffer in this way. Month after month, year after year, they hurt, and they find it difficult to work, if they can work at all. The life of their family is reshaped around this suffering, from their rising in the morning, until (and if) they go to bed at night. Yet a knowledge of, and faith in, God’s word, his Torah, sustains even these struggling souls. If they can endure through the night with the hope that the day of God’s comfort, the hour of God’s blessing, will come, then surely God will bring it.
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
At first, we might think that to be such a wineskin means that we have been discarded, tossed into the fire like so much trash. Yet, this is probably not the meaning of the psalmist. There was a purpose for hanging a wineskin near the fire in ancient Israel; this served to mellow a wine in the warmer temperatures so as to make it into a finer beverage. Yes, the wineskin would blacken. Yes, the skin might even crack, but the fire transforms the contents into something marvelous, even as it mars the vessel through the experience. The scars of the saints may well explain the sublimity of their souls. If we can take this view of our sufferings, then perhaps we will be able to emerge, saying, “Yet I have not forgotten your statutes.”
How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;
they flout your law.
It is bad enough that we suffer in this world. Yet it is too often made worse by those who do not suffer, and who do not understand suffering. Those who treat us like pariahs, those who act as if there are not enough degrees of separation between us and them, as if our suffering were in some way contagious. Or does suffering tend to make us paranoid? If nature, and perhaps even our own body has turned against us, isn’t everybody else against us, too? Therefore it is absolutely necessary that we leave the judgment of those whom we perceive to persecute us in the hands of God. If they have flouted his law, then their pitfall shall surely catch them.
All your commandments are enduring;
I am persecuted without cause; help me!
They have almost made an end of me on earth;
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
In your steadfast love spare my life,
so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. This is most particularly clear to us when we keep his words in our mouths day and night. May we choose to so honor God, whether our days are currently bringing us blessing or bane, pleasure or pain.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sweeter than honey
Today, a meditation on Psalm 119:102-105:
I do not turn away from your ordinances,
for you have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
It is not as though we have always had this way of thinking. There have been, for many of us, times when we have either not been aware of the value of God’s ordinances, his Torah, or that, having some awareness, we have turned to pick our own path. But the rockiness of the road to disobedience has a way of teaching even the most foolhardy of souls the sweetness of relationships, the satisfaction of company on our journey. Torah maintains those relationships, Torah keeps us in the company of others whose lives are rooted in love, honor, trust, and loyalty. To be right with God, to be right with others, and even to be right with ourselves, we must attend to God’s rules for relationships.
therefore I hate every false way.
It is not as though Torah anticipates every situation and provides a simple “Do this,” or “Don’t do that.” It does provide a set of principles, and a view of the God who gave them, though. These principles and divine perspective allow us to think through all of our life situations and “get understanding.” We do have a guide that is useful for reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. The Bible, though, is not about easy and cheap answers, and whenever someone presents the book in that way, it ought to make us more than a little nervous. There are false ways on both sides of the true path, and we ought to hate every one of them.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
God’s word is for illumination, not gravitation. It is not meant to be a paperweight, bookend, or doorstop.
God’s word is for illumination, not manipulation. It is meant to reshape the way that humans think, not the thickness of their pocketbook.
God’s word is for illumination, not alienation. It is intended to make clear the connections between people and the ways that we might strengthen them; it is not meant to be molded into bricks to build walls that classify, divide, or protect.
When God’s word properly illumines our path, then we find purpose, strength, and joy. May we so dwell in his word that we find these things today.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Thursday, July 17, 2008
It's all about bread
In 1 Samuel 25, the biblical historian tells this fascinating story about David. Having lost favor with King Saul, David has become an outcast hiding in the desert, the mountains, the desolate places in Palestine. Over time David accumulates a small army of fellow outcasts who accept him as their unquestioned leader. David's little army hides out in the vicinity of the huge estates of a very wealthy man, Nabal. Whether it is land, or grain, or animals, or servants, Nabal has exceedingly more of it than any one family can need or use. The presence of David and his cohort protects Nabal's prosperity from the violence which is frequent here in the outlands. Even the wild animals have a hard time getting to Nabal's flocks because of the shielding presence of these soldiers. And, unlike most wandering bands of soldiers, they are scrupulous about not taking any of Nabal's livestock for their own consumption. Nabal is, after all, a fellow child of Israel.
There is peace until the time of the sheep shearing. Then Nabal has his wife Abigail supervise this feast that is literally fit for a king. Except there is no king, and there are none of the king's people. Just Nabal. Nabal has enough food to gorge for days, and enough wine to stay drunk through the entire feast. David sends his men to ask for some food as a sign of hospitality and as a gift of thanks for the protection that they offer. Perhaps Nabal thinks like many people who read this story today: David is only some Mafioso who wants protection money. David is some guerilla whom loyalty to the king demands that he not support him (but a person who is too dangerous to report). Nabal hastily rebuffs them. His wealth is his wealth. This answer makes David furious. Just before David wipes Nabal and his people from the face of the earth, Abigail brings 200 loaves of bread and five cooked sheep (and a lot of other food and delicacies) to feed David's people. In a pinch. In a hurry. She saves the day, even though she cannot save her husband from the wrath of God.
Why is David so angry? Is it because his will has been thwarted? Is he really just some thug whose gang has been dishonored? If this is all that it is, then why is God angry enough to respond in this way? Some readers of the text say that the historian is only trying to cover up for the David that later becomes the king. I don't think so.
Nabal violates two different basic principles of his culture and Torah: the principle of hospitality and a principle of social justice - those without food must be fed. First, when someone comes to visit us, it is only good manners to offer them food and drink; we will not let them go hungry but will offer them the best of whatever we have available. Second, how can we stuff ourselves to the point of nausea and let the excess rot when there are those who live only minutes away who are going hungry? How can Nabal do this? How can we do this?
At the same time, these principles are somehow connected with this celebration, this feast of Nabal. If this celebration had any religious content or background (we can't be sure, but if it didn't, it should have), then how can a person celebrate their thankfulness to God in such a lavish way and know that someone on their porch remains hungry? Surely such behavior would make God furious. These same principles explain why Jesus is so careful to see to the feeding of those who have come to hear him.
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way." The disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?" Jesus asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish." Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.
Mt 15:32-39 - NRSV
Somehow, when we come together on the first day of the week to share communion, that solemn feast, that bread and that wine are connected with how we deal with bread the rest of the week. If we are to rightly celebrate this feast in the presence of God, wisdom and compassion (and perhaps even self-protection) require that we think about the needs for bread in our community and in our world. The Lord's Supper is a part of our weekly living, after all. It is sacred, but not separate. It is holy, but it is not wholly removed from how we live life.
Give us grateful hearts, our Father,
for all thy mercies, and
make us mindful of the needs of others;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
- Common Book of Prayer
God willing, we will talk more about this tomorrow.
For you I pray blessings, and the wisdom to use them wisely -
Ron
There is peace until the time of the sheep shearing. Then Nabal has his wife Abigail supervise this feast that is literally fit for a king. Except there is no king, and there are none of the king's people. Just Nabal. Nabal has enough food to gorge for days, and enough wine to stay drunk through the entire feast. David sends his men to ask for some food as a sign of hospitality and as a gift of thanks for the protection that they offer. Perhaps Nabal thinks like many people who read this story today: David is only some Mafioso who wants protection money. David is some guerilla whom loyalty to the king demands that he not support him (but a person who is too dangerous to report). Nabal hastily rebuffs them. His wealth is his wealth. This answer makes David furious. Just before David wipes Nabal and his people from the face of the earth, Abigail brings 200 loaves of bread and five cooked sheep (and a lot of other food and delicacies) to feed David's people. In a pinch. In a hurry. She saves the day, even though she cannot save her husband from the wrath of God.
Why is David so angry? Is it because his will has been thwarted? Is he really just some thug whose gang has been dishonored? If this is all that it is, then why is God angry enough to respond in this way? Some readers of the text say that the historian is only trying to cover up for the David that later becomes the king. I don't think so.
Nabal violates two different basic principles of his culture and Torah: the principle of hospitality and a principle of social justice - those without food must be fed. First, when someone comes to visit us, it is only good manners to offer them food and drink; we will not let them go hungry but will offer them the best of whatever we have available. Second, how can we stuff ourselves to the point of nausea and let the excess rot when there are those who live only minutes away who are going hungry? How can Nabal do this? How can we do this?
At the same time, these principles are somehow connected with this celebration, this feast of Nabal. If this celebration had any religious content or background (we can't be sure, but if it didn't, it should have), then how can a person celebrate their thankfulness to God in such a lavish way and know that someone on their porch remains hungry? Surely such behavior would make God furious. These same principles explain why Jesus is so careful to see to the feeding of those who have come to hear him.
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way." The disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?" Jesus asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish." Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.
Mt 15:32-39 - NRSV
Somehow, when we come together on the first day of the week to share communion, that solemn feast, that bread and that wine are connected with how we deal with bread the rest of the week. If we are to rightly celebrate this feast in the presence of God, wisdom and compassion (and perhaps even self-protection) require that we think about the needs for bread in our community and in our world. The Lord's Supper is a part of our weekly living, after all. It is sacred, but not separate. It is holy, but it is not wholly removed from how we live life.
Give us grateful hearts, our Father,
for all thy mercies, and
make us mindful of the needs of others;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
- Common Book of Prayer
God willing, we will talk more about this tomorrow.
For you I pray blessings, and the wisdom to use them wisely -
Ron
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)