Beware of your contempt

In my old age, I find that I am more curious than ever. I am intrigued when I hear my generation talk disparagingly of those who will follow us. Of course, the other thing about getting old is realizing how often we are simply repeating the sins of our forefathers. I distinctly remember the older generation besmirching the character of hippies and those lazy, good-for-nothin' kids who smoked cannabis back in the 1970's - of course, no one called it cannabis that back then. In fact, the various slang terms for marijuana actually serve to make my point. Since we old folk often run off on tangents - here's one for you. In the 1930's law enforcement called cannabis Giggle Smoke; it was considered a highly dangerous narcotic. in the 1930's and 1940's it was popularly called Goof Butts. In 1949 Raymond Chandler mentioned it in his novel "The Little Sister" when he referred to a character as a "muggle smoker." Mary Jane. Jive. Haschich Fudge. Catnip. 13 (for the letter M). Even "Nixon" - which described inferior cannabis. Today, cannabis is legalized in many states. It is possible that two things can be true here - some things don't change, we just rename them; times do change and people are capable of changing their minds.

One thing that never seems to change is this: we are a judgy people and we seem to take delight in assuming that the generations that follow us will somehow be inferior. Why is that? What does that historical habit cost us? How might we look at this differently and make meaningful changes to our perspective?

I suppose this is is yet one more reason why I return to the scriptures time and again for perspective. Although I have no intriguing new insights from the scripture as it relates to cannabis, I do find a story that certainly could help all of us step back and consider our own beliefs, assumptions and even prejudices. It's found in the Old Testament in the book of Ruth, a Hebrew short story that was masterfully written.

It's the story of Ruth and Naomi - a young and old woman who together, shed light on a way of seeing the world and being in it that delights God to no end. The story goes something like this: during the time of Ruth and Naomi, the Judahites and Moabites held contempt for one another. Over the course of history both tribes had at one time or another invaded, bewitched, seduced and oppressed each other. A famine caused a Judahite by the name of Elimelech to flee with his wife Naomi to Moab in search of food. Bascially, they were immigrants who left their homeland to survive, no one was under the assumption they were going on a Disney vacation. During this time their two sons married Moabite women and eventually Elimelech died - leaving Naomi a widow. Then the boys die. Naomi is left with nothing and decides to return to her homeland.

Here's where the story caught my attention. Naomi treats her two daughters-in-law with kindness, and she suggests that the daughters return to their family with the hope of securing new husbands. Ruth refuses. She remains committed to Naomi; she is loyal and loving. And although it must of been hard to return to Naomi's homeland as a foreigner born of a hated people, nevertheless, she does it.

The story ends happily. Ruth, the young Moabite, becomes the great-grandmother of David and an ancestress of Jesus. She is one of only two women that have a book of the Bible bearing their name. She is one of only four women who appear in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. I love this story so very much.

When we are tempted to think of ourselves or anyone else from a position of contempt, beware. God is at work. When we judge anyone because of their age, race, cultural background, suffering or neglect - beware. God is at work. In keeping with my theme of being old and willing to say anything, here goes: We old folks would do well to shut our mouths and wait, watch, pray for and wonder at what the Lord is about to do for that kid who is smoking the Giggle Smoke, or understands politics differently than we do, or makes choices we do not understand. Ruth made a choice that made no sense, but it got her written up in the Bible as a hero of the faith and an ancestor of Jesus.

I'll challenge all of us to one more thing: have a little faith. If your eyes are too weak to see the value in each person, that's not ok but it is what it is, do this instead - have a little faith in God. Creator. Redeemer. He's not finished with any of us - including you! In a world where it is easy to judge, choose the less traveled path - be a Ruth.

Samson: The Conan of the Bible

The story of Samson is one of the most unique in the Bible. Or, perhaps I should say, it’s one of the most cinematic. From his feats (feets?) of strength to a tragic downfall at the hands of the woman he loved, to his redemption in death, Samson’s story perfectly represents that of a “tragic hero.” His story is one of passion, betrayal, and redemption, and it tells us a little something about the complicated nature of people with “a calling.”

Samson was a Nazarite, meaning he took a unique vow (or rather, his parents took it on his behalf) in order to demonstrate his devotion to God. It was threefold. 1. He would not drink alcohol, 2.He would not cut is hair, 3. He would touch a dead body. Okay, weird, but fair enough. In return, God gives Samson special strength- which he will keep so long as he keeps his vows.

These vows seem odd to us, perhaps. But think of it less like an odd combination of strange requests that God is making of someone and more like a concrete way of demonstrating your commitment to God. Think of these vows as being like a wedding ring, a symbol of commitment to another person. There is nothing particularly special about the ring being on the finger. It certainly doesn’t do anything to protect or preserve the relationship. But it is a concrete and visual sign that something has been promised. Samson is doing the same, in his old-timey way. He is demonstrating his commitment to God through a certain kind of lifestyle.

This has always been a part of God’s relationship with people. He wants them to be “holy”, aka set apart, distinct, a little bit different. By virtue of living a life that is a little bit different people call attention to themselves. They don’t do it in a show-y, “look at me louie” kinda way. They simply live a unique life and, by doing so, their lives in very obvious and concrete ways point others to the goodness of God. That’s the idea anyway. And even if it seems weird to us, this is the dynamic at play back then and people got it. So we can just roll with it.

Regardless of all this, Samson, of course, breaks each of his vows. A fact we’ll return to later.

Samson was also just not a good dude. He used his strength to get what he wanted and he murdered and slaughtered somewhat indiscriminately. He was arrogant and lustful, and he had little regard for the vows he had made to God. Not exactly heroic.

You all know the story. He gets a gf who is secretly in cahoots with his enemies- and they’re pretty invested in getting this strong man to be, uh, weak. They recruit Delilah to figure out the source of his strength (odd they don’t assume it’s just muscles) so that they can take Samson down. Eventually this is what happens. Samson tells Delilah about his hair, she cuts it, he loses his strength, he is blinded and put in prison. He’s later pulled out of prison to perform for his enemies- and Samson prays to God that his strength return. His dying act is to knock over pillars that are supporting the ceiling of the structure he’s in and so Samson dies, along with a good chunk of his enemies. This is interpreted as being an act of self sacrifice in order to save God’s people.

According to the book of Hebrews, Samson is a hero of the faith. I suppose this is likely for the role he played in saving his people in death. It was most certainly not a lifetime achievement award. As far as we know, Samson basically did one good (bad) deed that involved killing a group of people who were trying to wipe God’s people off the earth. That one good deed is enough to make him a hero. There’s a lot of scandalous stuff in his life. Not just food and wine but sex and murder and, more broadly, having little regard for the vows he makes to God. And yet, one good deed is enough to overshadow all this.

Should we all be so lucky as to have our legacy stem from our best moments as opposed to our worst ones. It’s hard for us to imagine our legacies being based on our best moments when we live in the midst of a “gotcha” culture that’s really only interested in our mistakes. But- God does not seem to work this way.

On the one hand, I don’t want to make any sweeping generalizations about what “one good deed” can do. On the other- perhaps it’s enough to know that one good deed can overshadow a lifetime of thumbing your nose at all the things God holds dear. And, if that’s all it takes, perhaps God isn’t as concerned with our pasts as we might think. And, perhaps, atoning for our sins isn’t so difficult to do.

I’m thinking through all the conversations I’ve had with people where they express regret at how they’ve lived and how they can’t imagine that God could accept them given all they’ve done. But maybe it’s not that hard for God. Maybe all he needs is one good deed. And I bet you’ve got one left in you.

Worshipping Gold instead of God

Click here to read the story of the golden calf

Exodus 32 tells the story of the Israelites who, in Moses’ absence, made a golden calf to worship in God’s absence. Remember- God has just delivered them from slavery in Egypt and continues to watch over them and provide for them as they travel. There are, of course, plenty of complications along the way. There is food insecurity, anxiety about the future, and so on and so forth. The Israelites’ fears are easy to judge- but also quite easy to understand if we’re willing to take a step back. How would you feel about your God if he “rescued” you and then you didn’t have any food to eat? Given all this- the story offers a few insights into human nature and our relationship with God.

This is, perhaps, the most famous story of idolatry in the entire Bible and it demands that we wrestle with the question of what idolatry is (and how might it look today). Idolatry, at its core, is the act of placing our own priorities above God’s. It is easy to assume that we would never make the same mistake as the Israelites and worship a physical object instead of God…in fact, the story probably seems quite silly to you (as it does to me). Worship a golden statue? Ummm, why?

And so we might ask ourselves- what exactly are God’s priorities anyway? My answer will not shock you: Living lives (or trying to live lives) defined by their grace, love, forgiveness, mercy, and so on. Including those who seem like they don’t belong. Providing for those who can’t provide for themselves. Etc. etc. This is roughly the scope of what God calls his people to be and do in the world.

We are, of course, not always going to do these things perfectly. The idea here is that, hopefully, God’s people on the aggregate are doing these things. So that the entire community of people of faith is carrying on the mission on our off days. I say this because it’s important to me to communicate that having “off days” doesn’t put you in trouble with God. That is not an equivalent act to building a golden calf. The calf was an organized and concerted effort to turn away from God by almost all of God’s people at one time. So, let’s just all agree we’re not going to do that, okay? Agreed. Moving on.

The story of the golden calf also highlights how fear and anxiety can sometimes push us to choose priorities that aren’t in line with who we really are. The Israelites were afraid and anxious about Moses’ absence, and so they turned to idol worship as a way to feel safe. They felt that God went missing, and they wanted a god who was active, present, and taking care of them in a moment of weakness. But it highlights a very real dynamic- our fear and anxiety can carry us to strange places. Now, this is not my way of saying, “Don’t have fear and don’t be anxious.” That just isn’t realistic. If there were a concrete takeaway from this point- it would have something to do with learning to pay attention to our fears and anxieties so we can be conscious of the impact that they have on us.

As an aside it’s my personal opinion that when we are at our best, our priorities are in line with God’s. This raises the question of how we get to be “at our best” and/or how we  know when we are at our best- perhaps a question best answered by you (or tackled more in depth at another time).

You’ll know if you’ve listened to me talk about the Old Testament in this series that I have strong feelings on how we often caricature the God of the OT. So I want to highlight this- even given the Israelites’ idolatry, God remained faithful to them. This highlights the very unique dynamic relationship between God and his people. It is a two-way relationship, in which God does not demand obedience because he loves being the boss, but because he honors his commitment to people and wants there to be mutuality in the relationship. This mutuality is about humans carrying God’s way of being to the rest of the world.

And while God does get angry from time-to-time, he’s not an angry God.  It is important to note how God responds to his own anger. He frequently backs off. He can be temperamental, there’s no denying it, but the real question is: what does he do with that anger? In the case of the Israelites, God ultimately forgave them and continued to work with them despite their mistakes.

Alright how about some takeaways, shall we?

The story of the golden calf in Exodus 32 offers insights into human nature and our relationship with God. It’s a two-way relationship, built on mutual respect (yes, God respects humanity) as well as mutual expectations. No good relationship has one party doing all the work, right? It highlights  the role  fear and anxiety play in the human relationship with God. And it highlights, once again, that while God can and does get angry- his dominant side is his gracious and merciful side.

The God who Rebels Against Authority

I’m hoping our current series (All the stuff they didn’t teach you in Sunday school) gives you a sense not just of interesting moments from the Bible but how these moments tie into the mentality and history of God’s people. In other words, do their actions make more sense? Does God make a little more sense? And, at least as far as the beginning of the series goes, does the Old Testament make a little more sense? I have no idea if that will happen or not, but that’s my hope.

Today we’re skipping ahead a bit- moving beyond the stories of individual people and moving into stories that are more directly about a group of people. If I could choose my legacy as a pastor (and I probably won’t have a “legacy” nor would I get to choose it if I did, but whatever) it would be to help people see themselves as part of the group called God’s people (or God’s family) and not as just an isolated person who happens to worship the same God as other people. Maybe thinking about the Israelites will help us make that move. Again, I’m not sure. But let’s dig into today’s passages and see what happens.

8 Now a new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph. 9 He said to his people, “The Israelite people are now larger in number and stronger than we are. 10 Come on, let’s be smart and deal with them. Otherwise, they will only grow in number. And if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and then escape from the land.” 11 As a result, the Egyptians put foremen of forced work gangs over the Israelites to harass them with hard work. They had to build storage cities named Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they grew and spread, so much so that the Egyptians started to look at the Israelites with disgust and dread. 13 So the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites. 14 They made their lives miserable with hard labor, making mortar and bricks, doing field work, and by forcing them to do all kinds of other cruel work.

~ Exodus 1:8-14, CEB

It never feels good to think of, or say, or draw attention to something like slavery. It’s an important reality of history to remember but something that, emotionally, we may feel inclined to resist. Who wants to voluntarily sit with and make space for reflection on tragedy, cruelty, violence, and so on. Yet, this is largely the legacy of God’s people, and even becomes the legacy of God himself once he enters the flesh in the form of Jesus: Dismissed in his hometown, viewed as a threat by the authorities, and put to death at the hands of his own people (Jesus was Jewish, let’s not forget).

The mentality of the Egyptians here is a mentality shared by the powerful throughout human history: There’s more of them than there are of us, and we don’t want to lose what we have, so let’s make sure they don’t rise up. There is a reason that the legacy of God’s people is one of suffering abuse at the hands of oppressors. Oppressors take active measures to protect themselves from the oppressed. It is the way of the world and history bears it out time and again. But we don’t need to get ahead of ourselves. It happens to God’s people several times in the OT alone. Here in Egypt, again by the Assyrians, again by the Babylons, eventually freed by the Persians (in a way). Fast forward a few thousand years and we have WWII with a great deal of persecution between those two events and prejudice that continues even today.

So, wait a second, this is a spiritual blog…what has all this to do with anything?

Well…you know…imagine what it’s like to live as someone who perpetually lives underneath someone else’s boot. What is the impact? There’d be quite a few. You’d have doubts. You’d be skeptical. You’d see yourself as helpless and incapable. You might be desperate. You might be violent if you’re desperate. In other words, you might look quite a lot like God’s people in the OT. They were a people who couldn’t trust what they saw because they’d been conditioned to believe that something awful was waiting right around the corner.

We’re supposed to believe that God is going to save us from slavery? Why? He hasn’t done it yet, and the conditions are only getting worse. Okay, so eventually someone leads them out of slavery but they end up in the desert. Now they’re free, but they have no food. What kind of trade is this? Now they’re still working hard and they can’t eat. They’re promised a land full of milk and honey and treats and stability and so on…but they’re not allowed to enter. Eventually, hope is a luxury…a luxury they don’t have. It’s fools gold. Believing that things will be better is just a way of setting yourself up for disappointment.

So you consider worshipping other gods. What’s the harm, really? So you stop caring for the needy among you…they’re just dragging down the rest of us, right? May as well embrace survival of the fittest (a few thousand years before its time).

Now, you see, that’s where God’s people end up. But this is the origin story of their pain and suffering. It starts here, with Egypt. Making bricks and being forced to do cruel work.

11 One day after Moses had become an adult, he went out among his people and he saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 He looked around to make sure no one else was there. Then he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

~Exodus 2:11-12, CEB

Moses was Hebrew by birth, and adopted into an Egyptian family. He grew up wealthy and spared of the cruel work that was forced upon his people. When I read this story as a kid, I thought Moses was a cruel person. Murder is wrong…so how can Moses, of all people, commit murder? And how can God let Moses be a voice of the people if he is a murderer?

One way to read that is to say, well, this is kinda good, even murderers can be redeemed by God and given a new purpose. Another way to read this is, God needed a revolutionary who understood suffering and was willing to go to any lengths to fight back against injustice.

Is Moses’ murder of the Egyptian moral or immoral?

For what it’s worth, God never says a word about it. But, then again, God stays silent on all sorts of things throughout the Bible. This isn’t exactly “proof” of approval.

When this story is read in developing countries, where rebellion and corruption and such are even more widespread and problematic than they are in our country, Moses is often seen as a hero for what he does in this story, as opposed to someone with a checkered past.

So, what shall we say? What do we takeaway from all this?

It’s up to you. Do with Moses what you will.

When it comes to God’s people, God wasn’t protecting the good or the righteous or the just, God was protecting the weak. In fact, of all the different types of people in the world, God chose the weak to be His people. He could have sided with the Egyptians, and chosen them. But perhaps God wanted a challenge. Perhaps God wanted a bit of a fight. Perhaps God didn’t want oppressors to rule without resistance. And so God sided with the “little guy”.

That’s a pretty cool God, if you ask me.

The God who wrestles with people…and loses.

Last week we talked about the relationship between Jacob and Esau as part of our series, “All the things you should have learned in Sunday school.” In short, Jacob tricked Esau several times, in some pretty major ways, and ended up having to run for his life. Jacob’s life, from here, is a mixed bag. Here are some highlights:

- Jacob left his family and found some relatives to live with and work for. He was repeatedly deceived (by Laban). Jacob worked for 7 years to gain the privilege of marrying one of Laban’s daughters- but Laban tricked Jacob into marrying a different daughter instead. Jacob then worked for 7 more years to marry the daughter he originally set out to marry.

- Jacob eventually marries both sisters and his wives stay in open competition with each other for Jacob’s affections and over the bearing of children- they are hostile towards one another and play a continuous game of one-ups-man-ship.

- Jacob does right by Laban- working with honesty and integrity. He was tricked out of his rightful payment for his hard work- but he found a clever way to build his own fortune (made out of goats) anyway. Jacob is then, once again, sent away. He heads home and prepares to meet Esau.

- He sets up camp at a particular place- knowing Esau has done the same, nearby. Jacob is afraid. This brings us to the passage for today.

Click here to read about Jacob wrestling with God.

This story is strange. Jacob, fearing for his life as he approaches his homeland and Esau (who he wronged), sends his family ahead and stays behind. Perhaps he stays back to think or to plan, or to prepare, or to pray. It’s not clear what he intends to do.

Jacob then spends all night wrestling with a man-like figure that might actually be a god-like figure. It’s not totally clear if Jacob is wrestling with a man, an angel, or God himself. At first, it simply says Jacob wrestles a man, though by the end Jacob seems to think it’s God that he sees face-to-face.

The story, strange as it may be, brings us full circle. Jacob- who originally stole the blessings his father intended for his brother, will not let go of the man/god/angel until he receives a blessing. Jacob, perhaps at long last, is fighting for something that, as a younger man, he was content to simply steal or take. The man/god/angel blesses Jacob with a new name, Israel, which becomes the name of God’s people as a whole. This name reflects Jacob’s ability to wrestle with both God and man, and win.

What should we say about all this? What are our takeaways?

If we were writing for children we might say, Jacob finally learned the importance of hard work and was blessed for it. There may be some truth to this (he did learn hard work)- but the blessing that the figure gives Jacob does not fundamentally change anything about the blessings he received up to this point. This story doesn’t question their legitimacy or undermine Isaac's blessings in any way. It’s simply one more blessing added on. Jacob, in addition to being the new godfather of God’s people by virtue of receiving his father’s blessing, is now also a fighter.

But what is he fighting for? He hung back while everyone else went on. He thinks the end is near. He’s fighting for this blessing- he’s fighting with the hope that someone will take care of him because he can’t take care of himself. He doesn’t all of a sudden become strong. He’s fighting because he knows he’s weak- and he knows he needs help.

What does this teach us about God?

Well, we might have some questions. What kind of God wrestles a man and loses? That’s pretty odd. What kind of God wrestles with a man and respects the fact that the man was willing to wrestle him? Aren’t gods supposed to be angry and domineering? Aren’t they supposed to destroy humans who fight back, who refuse to stay in their place, and so on and so on? Isn’t that what gods do? They demonstrate their power.

Well…perhaps. But not this God. Not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is a God who values a negotiation, a spirited debate, or even a wrestling match. This is the type of God who wants to see humans stand up for themselves and step into their own, so to speak. This is a God who values both give and take. Not merely one or the other.

The Jewish religion has carried on this tradition far better than the Christian one. The tradition of spirited and lively debate not only with the text itself but with God himself. Did you know you’re allowed to wrestle? You’re allowed to be afraid? You’re allowed to not know what comes next? And you’re allowed to fight over it.

Did you know that you’re allowed to be weak and you’re allowed to need help and you’re allowed to ask for it? And, just by virtue of being born, you deserve to receive it. You deserve to receive help- whether it comes from God, or an angel, or a person.

You don’t deserve more punishment. You deserve more help.