Today's readings: Ps 137, 144; Job 3:1-26; Acts 9:10-19a; John 6:41-51
Psalm 137 is a difficult text. Its violent images and sentiments arose from a people suffering in oppressive exile. Jewish faith and identity were inseparable from the land delivered to them by God. When the Babylonians forcibly removed them from that land and placed them into slavery, their faith and identity were in unimaginable crisis. When the psalmist asks “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (v 4) he is responding to his captors’ demands for the Israelites to perform holy songs as crude entertainment.
Instead, the Israelites compose a song about the revenge they would seek on the Edomites, a people who captured escaped Israelites and sold them to the Babylonians. Of course the Israelites are really using the Edomites as a cover to curse the Babylonians. Used in nursery rhymes, African-American spirituals, and other songs, such coded language is common when a people can’t safely express themselves openly.
Sadly, the description of the Israelites happily dashing the enemy’s infants against the rocks is not code for anything. We may find this image shocking, but an honest look at world news reveals similar atrocities every day. The oppressed becoming the oppressor is an old, old story.
In this psalm – unlike some of the passages in Joshua – God is not commanding cruelty against innocents. The psalmist and his people are turning a degrading demand into a revenge fantasy. Oppressed people need a way to vent their rage, and a song or poem is a safe way to do so. Modern artistic expressions from rap to slam poetry to screamcore often portray violence as a reaction to oppression. We are not required to advocate or agree with a position to understand or consider it.
This psalm warns us about who we may become when oppressed, and what we may reap when we oppress. Let’s take heed.
Comfort: God understands our anger.
Challenge: Compare and contrast the lyrics of “When Will We Be Paid For The Work We’ve Done?” by the Staples Singers to Psalm 137
Prayer: God of renewal, I trust you even with my anger.
Evening readings: Ps 104
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 146, 147; Job 4:1-6, 12-21; Rev 4:1-11; Mark 6:1-6a
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Whiz! Boom! Bang!
Today's readings: Ps 121, 122, 123; Jud 18:1-15; Acts 8:1-13; John 5:30-47
Not surprisingly, the Book of Acts is full of action. The apostles add “great numbers of believers” day after day. No time at all seems to pass between Stephen’s appointment to deacon and his subsequent arrest. So far conversations (with the exception of Stephen’s speech to the council) have been short, to the point, and effective. In today’s reading, Philip converts Simon the magician with one unbelievably believable speech. In John, Jesus performs another sign and gathers new disciples every time he turns a corner. Christianity is a never-ending parade of wonders!
Except when it isn’t. The gospels and Acts are testimonies. Almost by definition, they are favorably biased toward their subject matter. The authors compressed time to keep the stories moving. While they aren’t some sales pitch representing Christianity as painless or without risk, they were written for the purpose of attracting converts. The reality of day-to-day Christianity can suffer by comparison.
Without delving into the theology of miracles, it is safe to say most of us don’t experience them with the same frequency portrayed in the gospels and Acts. If our expectations are not tempered with realism, our own faith experience can be disappointing. We must learn to balance our conviction that God can do anything, with the truth that he doesn’t do everything. Must we resign ourselves to a lackluster faith?
Of course not. We don’t have to host regular healing revivals to be part of a Spirit-filled community. Miracles are nice, but the stories in Judges tell us their effects are not long lasting. We need to learn to recognize the many ways God works through us in the world. A church food pantry that’s taken years to get off the ground, and a village well dug through hard work and mission donations, also point to God’s continued presence in the world. Could it be actually more exciting to see God everywhere, than in discrete miraculous moments?
If we spend our time looking for miracles, we may just be missing them.
Comfort: God can work through us in our daily lives.
Challenge: Each evening ask yourself: “Where did I see God today?”
Prayer: God of renewal, open my eyes to your daily presence.
Evening readings: Ps 124, 125, 126
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 119:145-176; Jud 18:16-31; Acts 8:14-25; John 6:1-15
Not surprisingly, the Book of Acts is full of action. The apostles add “great numbers of believers” day after day. No time at all seems to pass between Stephen’s appointment to deacon and his subsequent arrest. So far conversations (with the exception of Stephen’s speech to the council) have been short, to the point, and effective. In today’s reading, Philip converts Simon the magician with one unbelievably believable speech. In John, Jesus performs another sign and gathers new disciples every time he turns a corner. Christianity is a never-ending parade of wonders!
Except when it isn’t. The gospels and Acts are testimonies. Almost by definition, they are favorably biased toward their subject matter. The authors compressed time to keep the stories moving. While they aren’t some sales pitch representing Christianity as painless or without risk, they were written for the purpose of attracting converts. The reality of day-to-day Christianity can suffer by comparison.
Without delving into the theology of miracles, it is safe to say most of us don’t experience them with the same frequency portrayed in the gospels and Acts. If our expectations are not tempered with realism, our own faith experience can be disappointing. We must learn to balance our conviction that God can do anything, with the truth that he doesn’t do everything. Must we resign ourselves to a lackluster faith?
Of course not. We don’t have to host regular healing revivals to be part of a Spirit-filled community. Miracles are nice, but the stories in Judges tell us their effects are not long lasting. We need to learn to recognize the many ways God works through us in the world. A church food pantry that’s taken years to get off the ground, and a village well dug through hard work and mission donations, also point to God’s continued presence in the world. Could it be actually more exciting to see God everywhere, than in discrete miraculous moments?
If we spend our time looking for miracles, we may just be missing them.
Comfort: God can work through us in our daily lives.
Challenge: Each evening ask yourself: “Where did I see God today?”
Prayer: God of renewal, open my eyes to your daily presence.
Evening readings: Ps 124, 125, 126
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 119:145-176; Jud 18:16-31; Acts 8:14-25; John 6:1-15
Monday, August 16, 2010
But what has God done for me lately?
Today's readings: Ps 106:1-18; Jud 17:1-13; Acts 7:44-8:1a; John 5:19-29
New relationships are exciting. We learn new things. We feel new things. We expect new things. But as a relationship matures, we realize we can’t depend on things being constantly new. Deep relationships are based on established expectations. If we are wise, we confide more in someone we’ve grown to trust over time than in our most recent acquaintance. Unfortunately, we can become almost addicted to the excitement of new relationships because they raise immediately gratifying emotions. In the worst cases, we never learn to value depth over novelty.
Psalm 106 recounts the many times the Hebrews fell in love with God because he delivered them, and how in time the lure of new and exciting local gods repeatedly pulled them away. In Judges 17, the people resume the practice of creating idols after their memory of God’s deliverance begins to fade. Even though they separate themselves from God and lose his favor, God ultimately remains faithful to his people.
In what ways can we be like the Hebrews? When people first find their faith, or have a faith-renewing experience, it’s like the beginning of a new relationship. They are wrapped up in feelings. They see God everywhere. They can be practically giddy. But the novelty eventually fades. If the relationship ages but does not mature, they need new experiences – like new “signs” – of God’s love and presence. An immature relationship demands constant reassurance because it values feeling over faith.
What a mature relationship with God may lack in flash, it makes up in substance. Like lifelong friends who are content simply to be in each other’s presence, our relationship with God may be punctuated with long periods of silence. We should not confuse this silence with absence or boredom. Like a fallow field, it may seem dormant, but below the surface its very structure is constantly renewed. While the steady maintenance of a good relationship, especially when it seems “dull,” may not produce the high of something new, an enduring relationship built on faith and trust is infinitely more rewarding.
Comfort: In times of God’s silence, we still build our relationship.
Challenge: This week, devote 10 minutes a day to silent meditation.
Prayer: God of renewal, I seek a mature and confident relationship with you.
Evening readings: Ps 108:19-48
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 121, 122, 123; Jud 18:1-15; Acts 8:1-13; John 5:30-47
New relationships are exciting. We learn new things. We feel new things. We expect new things. But as a relationship matures, we realize we can’t depend on things being constantly new. Deep relationships are based on established expectations. If we are wise, we confide more in someone we’ve grown to trust over time than in our most recent acquaintance. Unfortunately, we can become almost addicted to the excitement of new relationships because they raise immediately gratifying emotions. In the worst cases, we never learn to value depth over novelty.
Psalm 106 recounts the many times the Hebrews fell in love with God because he delivered them, and how in time the lure of new and exciting local gods repeatedly pulled them away. In Judges 17, the people resume the practice of creating idols after their memory of God’s deliverance begins to fade. Even though they separate themselves from God and lose his favor, God ultimately remains faithful to his people.
In what ways can we be like the Hebrews? When people first find their faith, or have a faith-renewing experience, it’s like the beginning of a new relationship. They are wrapped up in feelings. They see God everywhere. They can be practically giddy. But the novelty eventually fades. If the relationship ages but does not mature, they need new experiences – like new “signs” – of God’s love and presence. An immature relationship demands constant reassurance because it values feeling over faith.
What a mature relationship with God may lack in flash, it makes up in substance. Like lifelong friends who are content simply to be in each other’s presence, our relationship with God may be punctuated with long periods of silence. We should not confuse this silence with absence or boredom. Like a fallow field, it may seem dormant, but below the surface its very structure is constantly renewed. While the steady maintenance of a good relationship, especially when it seems “dull,” may not produce the high of something new, an enduring relationship built on faith and trust is infinitely more rewarding.
Comfort: In times of God’s silence, we still build our relationship.
Challenge: This week, devote 10 minutes a day to silent meditation.
Prayer: God of renewal, I seek a mature and confident relationship with you.
Evening readings: Ps 108:19-48
Tomorrow's readings: Ps 121, 122, 123; Jud 18:1-15; Acts 8:1-13; John 5:30-47
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