Listening (Job 20-21, Luke 20)

One of the most important things to learn and things I struggle with most is being a good listener, especially when there’s nothing you can do to help the other person. Luckily, that’s exactly what Matt Helms addressed in his reflection on Job 21:34.

How empty is your comfort to me;
only deceit remains in your responses. -Job 21:34

I was recently asked by a member of the Young Adults group what the hardest part about being a pastor is. After a little thought, I responded that it was being in situations where you want to help someone but feel powerless to do so. It happens far too frequently for pastors unfortunately, but this happens to all of us at different points in our lives as well: visiting a friend in the hospital, having a family member struggle with bad decisions, speaking to someone after the death of a loved one. In the midst of sadness and grief, we want to say the right thing that will bring some level of comfort and peace.

We have been reading through the book of Job over this past week, and Job’s friends have been trying to comfort him through words, to “fix things.” Yet rather than feeling comforted, Job instead throws their words back at them. This story teaches us that there are no magic words or easy fixes in a time of grief; instead the greatest gift we can give to those we care about is our presence and a listening ear. Rather than saying “I know how you feel,” we can say “Tell me how you feel.” Only by sharing in others’ pain can we then seek comfort with them. – Matt Helms

Well, said.

Sorry, Job

I’m finding the book of Job to be incredibly boring. Back when I was in high school, I used to write “poetry.” Moody, teenage girl stuff full of dramatics and overwrought feelings. That’s what Job feels like. Sorry, get over it.

Invest wisely (Luke 19)

I work at a non-profit and the constant rallying cry is to “leverage.” Leverage dollars, time, people, talents, resources, everything! Little did I know that you’re actually listening to God when you try to make the most of what resources you have.

¹² He said, “A certain man who was born into royalty went to a distant land to receive his kingdom and then return. ¹³ He called together ten servants and gave each of them money worth four months’ wages. ^w He said, ‘Do business with this until I return.’ ¹⁴ His citizens hated him, so they sent a representative after him who said, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ ¹⁵ After receiving his kingdom, he returned and called the servants to whom he had given the money to find out how much they had earned. ¹⁶ The first servant came forward and said, ‘Your money has earned a return of one thousand percent.’ ¹⁷ The king replied, ‘Excellent! You are a good servant. Because you have been faithful in a small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.’

¹⁸ “The second servant came and said, ‘Master, your money has made a return of five hundred percent.’ ¹⁹ To this one, the king said, ‘You will have authority over five cities.’

²⁰ “Another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your money. I wrapped it up in a scarf for safekeeping. ²¹ I was afraid of you because you are a stern man. You withdraw what you haven’t deposited and you harvest what you haven’t planted.’ ²² The king replied, ‘I will judge you by the words of your own mouth, you worthless servant! You knew, did you, that I’m a stern man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit, and harvesting what I didn’t plant? ²³ Why then didn’t you put my money in the bank? Then when I arrived, at least I could have gotten it back with interest.’

²⁴ “ He said to his attendants, ‘Take his money and give it to the one who has ten times as much.’ ²⁵ ‘But Master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten times as much!’ ²⁶ He replied, ‘I say to you that everyone who has will be given more, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ²⁷ As for my enemies who don’t want me as their king, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’ ” – Luke 19: 12-27

Diversion: Marriage as Community

Not surprisingly, John Vest’s contribution last week to the Fourth Church class on the marriage and the church was excellent and not long enough. For the first time, someone has explained for me, fairly simply even, what exactly the point of Christian marriage is and how it relates to God. The class two Sundays ago went through a whirlwind tour of bible passages that make reference to marriage and relationships, both good and bad passages to a present day progressive’s eye.

Two key lessons from the class:

1. The Bible has crazy things to say about marriage. As such, the concept that conservatives like to throw around of “biblical marriage” is ridiculous and means essentially nothing. Unless, of course, by biblical marriage, they mean marriage where wives are treated as property, where multiple wives are allowed, where adulters are stoned to death, where widows get the privilege of marrying their dead spouse’s brother, or where you’re locked in because you can’t have a divorce. I’m sure that’s exactly what they’re thinking of…
2. Marriage as a reflection of God, in the sense that God actually is relational (Trinity). This is the one that pretty much blew my mind. Said in another way, marriage is a recognition of the need for and value of community and it’s that relationship that is a reflection of what God is.

So, John didn’t exactly expound on this second point (in fact, he kind of backpedaled on it when someone in the class asked a question that took it in a different direction), but my boyfriend and I spent a lot of time discussing and dissecting it afterwards. I’m not talking about the whole “marriage is a reflection of the vertical covenant that God has with us” thing. I’m talking about the horizontal relationship between two people is a reflection of the relationship of God. Considering God is three entities in one, you can’t really get any closer than that. There’s no way, really, that people can be as close to each other as God-Jesus-Holy Spirit are to each other (since they’re one). So, marriage in the Christian (rather than legal) sense and the bonds of love that tie people together (including emotional and sexual) are the closest we can get. And then my boyfriend pointed this out in Genesis:

²⁶ Then God said, “ Let us make humanity in our image to resemble us so that they may take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the crawling things on earth. ”

²⁷ God created humanity

in God’s own image,

in the divine image God created them,^b

male and female God created them. – Genesis 1: 26-27

I think we all usually read that as God talking in the “royal we.” But, what if “us” meant he was talking inclusively about all aspects of the trinity? So then, the us is the trinity, but also, when it says “Let us make humanity in our image,” the us is again the trinity and the people are in the image of a community. I don’t know…kinda out there, but also kinda blew my mind and made me excited. My value system is very community-oriented and to think that marriage could be a reflection of ideal community via the trinity is pretty awesome. Of course, I am no expert and none of this is grounded in any theological study, but it answers my question, and I suppose that’s good enough for me.

I’ll leave you with a lovely song about Christmas and the Trinity:

Diversion: Marriage and the Church and Me

So, at church, they’re doing a four-part adult education class on The Church and the Definition of Marriage. My boyfriend and I are taking the class and the first one was last Sunday. One of the first things they did was to have people voluntarily explain why they were taking the class. Most people were there to talk about gay marriage and the church’s role in that, which is pretty neat, of course. But, I couldn’t help feeling like I was on another planet than many of the people there. Not because I am against gay marriage, mind you, but because I’m pretty much way off in the other direction. Frankly, if you believe in equality, than the question of gay marriage isn’t even a question. It’s a non-issue in my mind. No need to “discuss” it. I took forever to craft in my head what I would have said to explain why I was taking the class, that the introduction part was over and we moved on to the substantive parts. So, since I didn’t get to say it in the class, I’ll say it here instead.

I have a pretty postmodern view of marriage, as I imagine many people of my generation who are children of divorce might have. And because of other complications in my family history, my parents’ divorce was particularly traumatizing for my sisters and I. Mix in the fact that I grew up Catholic, with all the talk of annulments and excommunication (if an annulment is supposed to make it so the marriage never happened, what happens to the kids?), and you might begin to see why I don’t have a rosy view of marriage. Oh, and add in that I’m a feminist, so I hate “weddings” and all that ridiculousness that women are made to think they want. And, I believe in the right of people to be single and happy…and how selfish and such an imposition on people that weddings are (um…if I have to spend thousands of dollars on your wedding and I never get married, how is that fair? and don’t even get me started on the politics of gets invited and who doesn’t). And, if gay people aren’t allowed to get married, how is that fair (solidarity!)? So, as one can imagine, I was for a long time pretty adamantly anti-marriage.

But, my radicalism has softened with time. I started meeting people who were married who weren’t selfish, who had lives outside their marriage, who actually believed they would be with this person forever, who respected people who were single. I began to understand the gay marriage argument and the legal rights and financial pitfalls of not having your relationship acknowledged by the government. I met someone who I could actually envision wanting to spend the rest of my life with, who also had disdain for the pomp and circumstance of weddings. And, frankly, discovered a religious world outside of Catholicism.

At the recommendation of my boyfriend, I read C.S. Lewis’ The Four Loves. And though I had much to disagree with on his views of homosexuality, his other ideas about marriage, and Christian marriage in particular, were new and intriguing to me. So, while I think the church has absolutely no business interfering with the legal definition of marriage, I can see the significance of the idea of Christian marriage and the connection with commitment to God. And it’s that type of marriage that I’m curious to learn more about. What exactly does it mean for your earthly marriage to another person to reflect a marriage to God? And how can that add value to the a legal/secular marriage?

Defend yourself! (Psalm 74)

10 How long, God, will foes insult you?
Are enemies going to abuse your name forever?
11 Why do you pull your hand back?
Why do you hold your strong hand close to your chest?

22 God, rise up! Make your case!
Remember how unbelieving fools insult you all day long.
23 Don’t forget the voices of your enemies,
the racket of your adversaries that never quits.

-Psalm 74: 10-11, 22-23

I very often wonder this. Not only about God, but about politicians, public figures and other leaders, as well. It takes a lot of strength and self-assuredness to not get defensive as people all around you try to pull you down with lies and accusations.

Wait, They Lost the Instructions? (2 Kings 21-22, 2 Corinthians 9)

I’ve been slow at catching up in my Bible reading and slow to post because 1 and 2 Kings have been a slog. It’s just king after king after king after king doing exactly what God doesn’t want and getting in trouble for it. No wonder God got pissed. But then, I come to 2 Kings 22, and it appears that they didn’t know they were doing what they weren’t supposed to be doing???

⁸ The high priest Hilkiah told Shaphan the secretary: “ I have found the Instruction scroll in the LORD ’s temple. ” Then Hilkiah turned the scroll over to Shaphan, who read it.

⁹ Shaphan the secretary then went to the king and reported this to him: “ Your officials have released the money that was found in the temple and have handed it over to those who supervise the work in the LORD ’s temple. ” ¹⁰ Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “ Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll, ” and he read it out loud before the king.

¹¹ As soon as the king heard what the Instruction scroll said, he ripped his clothes. ¹² The king ordered the priest Hilkiah, Shaphan’s son Ahikam, Micaiah’s son Achbor, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the royal officer as follows: ¹³ “ Go and ask the LORD on my behalf, and on behalf of the people, and on behalf of all Judah concerning the contents of this scroll that has been found. The LORD must be furious with us because our ancestors failed to obey the words of this scroll and do everything written in it about us. ” –2 Kings 22: 8-13

So yeah, let’s back up. They just NOW found the Instruction scroll??????? Where was it all this time? How long has it been missing? How did Hilkiah happen upon it? Why did he so unceremoniously hand it over to Shaphan? Why didn’t he go present it to King Josiah himself? Would any of the other horrible kings have listened to it anyway if they had found it? So many questions….

On another note, this day’s reading also included 2 Corinthians 9, which included this line:

¹¹ You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous in every way. Such generosity produces thanksgiving to God through us. –2 Corinthians 9

This reminds me of this special I watched a few weeks ago about the idea of Heaven hosted by Barbara Walters. It was as awful as you can imagine, but it was one of those train wreck things where you couldn’t stop watching. But, back to the point, it was my first real introduction to that guy Joel Osteen. Apparently part of his ministry (and probably what makes him so popular) is that he thinks that God wanted people to be rich. I’m not sure where he gets that idea, but maybe it was the first part of that verse above. The thing is, he (and many many many people) seem to have forgotten the second part of it (and what the rest of that chapter talks about)–generosity.

If Only They Had Eminent Domain (1 Kings 20-21, 2 Corinthians 1)

If you can believe it, I had never ever before heard the story of Jezebel. I’ve heard references to her before and how bad she is, but I never knew what exactly she did. Turns out, what she did was pretty bad…

Now it happened sometime later that Naboth from Jezreel had a vineyard in Jezreel that was next to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. ² Ahab ordered Naboth, “ Give me your vineyard so it can become my vegetable garden, because it is right next to my palace. In exchange for it, I’ll give you an even better vineyard. Or if you prefer, I’ll pay you the price in silver. ”

³ Naboth responded to Ahab, “ LORD forbid that I give you my family inheritance! ”

⁴ So Ahab went to his palace, irritated and upset at what Naboth^j had said to him—because Naboth had said, “ I won’t give you my family inheritance! ” Ahab lay down on his bed and turned his face away. He wouldn’t eat anything.

⁵ His wife Jezebel came to him. “ Why are you upset and not eating any food? ” she asked.

⁶ He answered her, “ I was talking to Naboth. I said, ‘Sell me your vineyard. Or if you prefer, I’ll give you another vineyard for it.’ But he said, ‘I won’t give you my vineyard!’ ”

⁷ Then his wife Jezebel said to him, “ Aren’t you the one who rules Israel? Get up! Eat some food and cheer up. I’ll get Naboth’s vineyard for you myself. ” ⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, putting his seal on them. She sent them to the elders and officials who lived in the same town as Naboth. ⁹ This is what she wrote in the letters: “ Announce a fast and place Naboth at the head of the people. ¹⁰ Then bring in two liars in front of him and have them testify as follows: ‘You cursed God and king!’ Then take Naboth outside and stone him so he dies. ”

¹¹ The elders and the officials who lived in Naboth’s town did exactly as Jezebel specified in the letters that she had sent. ¹² They announced a fast and placed Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Then the two liars came and sat in front of him. They testified against Naboth in front of the people, “ Naboth cursed God and king! ” So the people took Naboth outside the town and stoned him so that he died.

¹⁴ It was then reported to Jezebel, “ Naboth was stoned. He’s dead. ” ¹⁵ As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “ Get up and take ownership of the vineyard of Naboth, which he had refused to sell to you. Naboth is no longer alive; he’s dead. ” ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth had died, he got up and went down to Naboth’s vineyard to take ownership of it. –1 Kings 21: 1-16

So yeah…her husband, who was the king, mind you, wanted the plot of land next to his, but the owner wouldn’t give it up, so he threw a tantrum and pouted on his bed. His wife said she’d deal with it and schemed a way to frame the land owner so that he would be stoned to death and the king got his land. Yikes. If only they had eminent domain back then. Then the king could have just taken it for fair market value and Naboth could have had his life spared. I guess in this way, the rule of law makes us more civilized, even if we disagree with it.

It’s interesting that Jezebel gets such a bad rap in history, though. She’s pretty bad, but is she much worse than so many other (and many male) characters before her? Isn’t there a continuously long list of kings that are failures (it even says at the end of each reign  something about how it’ll be written in the history books how bad these guys were). Why don’t we use Ahab’s name in a negative way?

Casualties of War (2 Kings 6-7, 2 Corinthians 4)

This story just struck me as so sad. Not only because of what the one woman did to the other, but just the fact that they had to restort to this kind of behavior at all.

²⁶ Israel’s king was passing by on the city wall when a woman appealed to him, “ Help me, Your Majesty! ”

²⁷ The king said, “ No! May the LORD help you! Where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress? ” ²⁸ But then the king asked her, “ What’s troubling you? ”

She answered, “ A woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him today; we’ll eat my son tomorrow.’ ²⁹ So we cooked and ate my son. The next day I said to her, ‘Hand over your son so we can eat him.’ But she had hidden her son. ” –2 Kings 6: 26-29

The other night I watched the movie Children of Men for the first time. If you don’t know it, it takes place in 2027 in and around London in a world where women became infertile in 2009, so there are no more children. As a result, society has basically collapsed. Most major cities in the world have been destroyed by unspecified disasters/attacks. London is the only major city left and it’s managed to do that mostly because of their brutal anti-immigration policies. Illegal immigrants are caged out of the city and pushed into abysmal refugee camps. The lead character (Clive Owen) is connected by his ex-wife (Julianne Moore), who is a leader in militant pro-immigrant group, the Fishes, that are trying to overthrow the British government, to a girl from Fiji who miraculously happens to be pregnant. The bulk of the movie is him trying to get the girl to a rendezvous point with The Human Project, an almost mythical group that is trying to figure out how to solve the crisis.

I remarked after the movie that for a film set in the future, it seems to be so much more realistic than many films set into the future. Of course, it’s only about 15 years into the future, so things wouldn’t be that different, but for as realistic I thought it seemed, it also seemed pretty disturbing. The way immigrants were treated in the movie reminds one of the horrible things we read/hear about dictatorships and civil wars, things going on in Syria or subSaharan Africa or Afganistan. And even the liberation groups were extremely violent, politically manipulative, and seemed to care little about innocent casualties among the refugees they were trying to stand up for as they battled against the British military.

I guess it just made me think of these verses in the Bible: how desperate people become in times of war and famine and the horrible way people treat each other. Future movies always tend toward the dystopian (just watched Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451 recently, too), but with the way revolutions and wars, natural disasters and climate change, and policial extremism and social inequality seem to be on the rise right now, one can’t help but notice the increasing rhetoric of privatization, personal rights over communal rights, and exclusion and wonder where we’re headed.

Foreshadowing Jesus (2 Kings 4-5, 2 Corinthians 3)

I’ve never read Kings before, so I really knew nothing about Elisha. Nothing. Never heard of him. Then I read this and wonder, was the similar story about Jesus in the New Testament intentionally meant to refer back to this one?

⁴² A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God some bread from the early produce—twenty loaves of barley bread and fresh grain from his bag.ⁱ Elisha said, “ Give it to the people so they can eat. ”

⁴³ His servant said, “ How can I feed one hundred men with this? ”

Elisha said, “ Give it to the people so they can eat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Eat and there will be leftovers.’ ” ⁴⁴ So the servant gave the food to them. They ate and had leftovers, in agreement with the LORD ’s word. –2 Kings 4: 42-44