In this comic, a few people are walking down a paved sidewalk, surrounded by trees and shrubs in a public park. A couple of strands of white Christmas lights are hanging overhead across the sidewalk. In the foreground, we see an adult and a child – perhaps a grandfather and grandchild – walking hand-in-hand down the path, away from us, as if we are following them on their outdoor walk. They are looking over to the side, where, away from the path and in front of a low brick wall, a young family sits on the ground, huddled together with a few blankets. This family consists of a father, mother, and young child, and they are arranged in such a way that a passerby (like the grandchild) might notice a similarity to the familiar Christmas scene of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus lying in a manger.
“No, honey, that’s not a manger scene.”
Take a few moments to sit with that comic, and think about it. I’ll share a few thoughts below. Continue reading →
Last night, on Jeopardy’s “Tournament of Champions,” the Final Jeopardy category was “New Testament.” As a student of the Bible and an ordained pastor whose work revolves around this collection of writings, I would have bet everything on this last clue. But I would have lost everything…because the “correct” answer is, in reality, incorrect.
Here’s the clue: “Paul’s letter to them is the New Testament epistle with the most Old Testament quotations.”
The answer that was deemed to be correct: “The Hebrews.”
This is understandable, but it is incorrect, specifically because Paul did not write the letter to the Hebrews. That’s the overwhelming consensus of biblical scholars. Yes, Hebrews contains the most Old Testament quotations of all the epistles (letters) in the New Testament. But Paul didn’t write that letter.
How do we know?
Three main reasons:
First, the letter to the Hebrews is anonymous. Usually, when Paul wrote a letter, he put his name on it, often at the beginning and the end of the letter. This was common practice for people who wrote letters in the first century – the equivalent of putting your name and address in the upper-left-hand corner of an envelope when you send a letter in the US mail. Check it out for yourself: find the very first word of Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. In every instance, each one starts with the word “Paul,” the author of these letters. (There is scholarly debate about Pauline authorship of, for instance, Ephesians and Colossians, but that’s another story.) But Hebrews has no authorship designation, no introductory material at all. Hebrews jumps right into some heavy content: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…”
Second, the content of Hebrews is quite different from Paul’s writings. The perspective of Hebrews is substantially different from Paul’s letters. Hebrews is a deep, complex theological treatise. It does not address moral and ethical situations like Paul often does. Hebrews uses language differently than Paul does. Hebrews is concerned with different topics than Paul is. Besides, Paul considered himself to be an “apostle to the Gentiles” – so why would he write a long letter to Jewish folks? Paul’s letters are almost always addressed to Gentile churches or to people who worked with them.
Third, the order of the New Testament letters is significant. The New Testament was assembled through a lengthy process over many years in the fourth century. What emerged from this process is, more or less, the New Testament that we have in our Bibles today. The structure of the New Testament is deliberate:
The Gospels are first: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
A book of history is next: Acts.
Then we have Paul’s letters: Romans through Philemon (see the list above), arranged in descending order of length.
Then we find the other letters: Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, arranged in descending order of length.
Finally we arrive at Revelation, which is unique among the books of the New Testament.
The 27 books of the New Testament have stood in this order for centuries. Long, long ago, Hebrews was considered to be one of Paul’s letters, but students of the New Testament gradually came to understand that Hebrews was not written by Paul. Otherwise, they would have included it in the block of Paul’s letters. Instead, Hebrews is the longest of the letters that were not written by Paul. That’s why it appears after Philemon, the shortest of Paul’s letters. (For more information, read this summary about the authorship of Hebrews.)
But what about King James?
This is the KJV Bible I received from the American Legion when my grandfather passed away in 2001.
Yes, I know, the King James Version of the Bible gives the full title of Hebrews as “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews.” And many people, especially today’s older adults, grew up with the King James Bible as their primary (or only) Bible. Even today, some Christian groups are “KJV Only,” meaning they reject any other English translation in favor of the King James.
However, remember that the King James Bible was created in 1611, long after the New Testament was finalized. (The KJV has several serious textual problems and translation mistakes, but that’s another story as well.) Remember also that the titles of books of the Bible are not divinely inspired. Neither are chapter and verse numbers, section headings, footnotes, or any other study aid. These devices have all been added to the biblical text as an aid to readers.
But just because the KJV says Paul wrote Hebrews doesn’t make it true. (The same principle holds for the five “Books of Moses,” the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Once again, that’s another story.)
Why does this matter?
I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus, and the sacred text that guides my spiritual life is the Christian Bible. I need to be familiar with this book, to study this book, to understand how this book is constructed, to recognize what this book teaches. I need to put into practice all the literary principles that I learned in grade school, college, and seminary. This includes considering authorship, context, language choice, genre, character development, and many other characteristics of literature. I don’t just assume that Paul wrote Hebrews because someone taught that to me once, or because I read those literal words in a certain translation of the Bible.
If I am locked into a literal reading of the phrase “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews,” then I might be locked into a literal reading of, say, Mark 16:18, where Jesus himself says that his followers “will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all.”
I need to take this book seriously, to handle it carefully, to know it deeply. I need to be open to this text, to exploring this text, to accepting facts about this text that might seem counterintuitive to me.
You can read them in Luke 16:1-15 and Luke 18:1-8. They are sometimes called “The Parable of the Shrewd Manager” and “The Parable of the Persistent Widow.” And they are strange teachings from Jesus.
In the first passage, Jesus tells a story about a manager who is being fired by his employer because he was accused of wasting the employer’s possessions. In his final few moments of work, he makes friends among a few clients by reducing the debts they owe his business – some by 20%, some by 50%. This dishonesty is celebrated not just by the employer in the story, but by Jesus himself!
In the second passage, Jesus tells a story of a widow who went to her local judge to beg for justice against her adversary. The judge denied her request, but she kept asking over and over and over again. Finally the judge gave in, not because he changed his mind, but because he wanted to get rid of this nuisance of a woman!
What odd stories. We have a hard time making sense of them. Continue reading →
This morning, I watched a livestream of the final committal service for Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. This took place two days after I led a funeral service for a lady in our community. Two very different people who lived very different lives; each died and was remembered by loved ones through the distinctly human practice of funeral services.
Sometimes people shy away from talking about death and funerals, because those events often evoke painful and difficult feelings among us. Yet I believe that grief can be a good thing (see our recent sermon series called “Good Grief” for reasons why!). Of all the species of life on this planet, we human beings have the most developed and intricate celebrations of life, expressions of grief, and rituals around the deaths of our neighbors. This is important and needs to be respected and acknowledged.
Just then someone spoke up from the crowd and said, “Master, you should tell my older brother that he has to divide the family inheritance and give me my fair share!” Jesus answered, “My friend, you can’t expect me to help you with this. It’s not my business to settle arguments between you and your brother – that’s yours to settle.” Speaking to the people, Jesus continued, “Be alert and guard your heart from greed and always wishing for what you don’t have. For your life can never be measured by the amount of things you possess.” (Luke 12:13-15, The Passion Translation)
We often read this story from the perspective of the brothers or the people in the crowd. This time, let’s take a look at it from Jesus’s perspective. In this section of Luke, Jesus is on his long journey to Jerusalem where he will be crucified. He has just spoken a number of “woes” against the Pharisees and other religious leaders because of their hypocrisy. And here in chapter 12, Jesus is encouraging his followers to remain faithful and not to fear or worry about what those religious authorities might do to them.
In the midst of all this, someone comes to Jesus with this strange request to mediate a dispute about their family inheritance. The request is strange to our ears, but it was typical in that time for rabbis like Jesus to weigh in on disputes like this.
Watch how Jesus responds, though: “It’s not my business to settle arguments between you and your brother.”
I used to love playing the board game called Puerto Rico. It’s a well-designed strategy game in which each player builds a mini-civilization on their own island of Puerto Rico. Various crops can be raised (like corn, sugar, and coffee) and then shipped back to Europe or sold at the local trading post. Many buildings can be purchased and built, which enhance a player’s production, shipping, and trading. The gameplay mechanic is really fascinating, too: there are a certain number of “roles” that players can choose from each round, such as settler, trader, captain, or builder. When a player chooses a certain role on their turn, that player gets a specific bonus, and then all the players can take the actions of that role.
I love strategy games like Puerto Rico. The dynamics of the game, the strategy of how you will try to amass the most victory points, the choices that affect not only your board but the boards of other players – I find that kind of game really enjoyable.
But there’s a problem. I said at the outset that I used tolove playing Puerto Rico. I don’t anymore.
Why? Well, I’ve left out one key part of the game. For any of your settlements or buildings to function, you need to staff them with people. Otherwise, they will sit empty and not do anything at all. In this game, the people are referred to as “colonists” and are represented by small, round, brown tokens.
Brown “colonists.” They literally arrive on a ship and are put to work on your island of Puerto Rico, working in fields or buildings as you direct them. You can shuffle them around, but they never leave your island.
There is another word for these brown colonists, a word that the game’s creators conveniently omit: slaves.
Because that’s the real history of Puerto Rico and so many other locations in the western hemisphere. Brown “colonists” were brought over on ships from Africa and were made to labor at their masters’ discretion. But they were not colonists at all. They were slaves.
You may have seen on the news recently that a new federal holiday has been approved by Congress. That holiday is called Juneteenth, and it celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth occurs on June 19 every year, because it was on June 19, 1865, that slaves were proclaimed free in Texas by the victorious Union Army.
To be honest, I had never heard of Juneteenth until about two or three years ago. I never knew about this important day in American history and this important celebration for African Americans – for all Americans. I grew up in Indiana, and Juneteenth simply was not part of the education I received, either in school or at church or in society. But I’m starting to learn, a little bit every year, just how significant Juneteenth is.
The point of all this is to say that I need to grow and change. I need to learn. I need to listen. I need to ask questions, seek answers, and knock on doors that I never even knew existed. I need to join in celebrating Juneteenth and to continue the pursuit of liberty and justice for all.
I probably will never play the board game Puerto Rico ever again. But I look forward to celebrating Juneteenth with every passing year. And I hope I keep learning to uncover the blind spots in my vision – or, rather, the planks in my own eye. (Matthew 7:1-12)
Do you know who Barley MacTavish is? I’ll be honest, the name was unfamiliar to me until I saw it in an article from the Midland Daily News the other day. Barley MacTavish, as it turns out, is not the name of a real person. Instead, the Barley MacTavish Fund seeks to help people from Midland County with their financial needs. This fund is supported by anonymous private individuals, and the names of all applications for financial support are kept anonymous, too.
“Dear Barley, I have contacted a number of churches to aid me, but they cannot help for a number of reasons. My neighbor suggested that I write to you with my request. I am a single woman and am disabled. I live on a fixed income. All of my family members have passed, so I do not have any relatives to count on. My biggest concern is with my well pump. […]”
Read that first sentence again. Read it a couple of times.
People contact churches for financial help all the time. Here at Mt. Haley, we usually get one or two phone calls a month from people who are asking for help to pay a propane bill, prevent an electric shutoff, or cover the cost of a hotel room and a meal. I welcome these calls, and I make a point to empathize with the life situations facing the folks who call for help. I usually ask about what other resources they have explored for help so far. Often, they say they have called 211, which usually has told them to call area churches for help. But the churches they’ve called either don’t help at all or have an application/interview process they have to go through. Occasionally someone will tell me they have had some success receiving help from a few different churches in the area – occasionally, but not often.
“I have contacted a number of churches to aid me, but they cannot help for a number of reasons.”
There are lots of reasons why a church might not help people. Maybe the church has been “burned” by people in the past – they’ve offered help but that help has somehow been misused or abused by its recipient. Maybe the church has given help with strings attached – “we’ll help you if you come to our service!” – and that has resulted in no help given at all. Maybe the church only helps people in its immediate community. (Did you know that’s how our congregation used to function? Our benevolence was essentially limited to people who lived within Mt. Haley Township.)
Something about this strikes me the wrong way. We are supposed to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. But if we make a habit of refusing to help people when they are in need, we are doing something wrong. Can you imagine people saying, “I have contacted Jesus to help me, but he cannot help for a number of reasons”? Yeah, me neither.
From beginning to end, scripture calls the people of God to live generously, with open hands and open hearts. Jesus himself instructed us to “give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42 NIV). James gives a powerful example: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16 NIV). Our faith in God is shown to be real through the way we serve people in need. That’s one huge reason why “acts of service in Jesus’s name” is one of our goals as a congregation this year.
Our congregation has money set aside in our budget for showing this kind of mercy to people. We contribute $50 to whatever situation people are facing, without any requirements about where they live or what they do for us in return. We do our best to pay the vendor directly (Consumers Energy, the propane company, the hospital, the hotel, etc.) whenever possible. And we do this to let people know that God loves them, that we love them, and that they are not alone.
Churches need to do a better job of helping people in need. I’m thankful for Barley MacTavish, but I hope that people’s letters to Barley start having a different flavor to them:
“I have contacted a number of churches to help me, and they have helped a lot, but I am still coming up short. Can you help too?”
(If you would like to make a donation to the Barley MacTavish Fund, or if you want to request assistance, you can write to Barley care of the Midland Area Community Foundation, 76 Ashman Circle, Midland, MI 48640 or call 989-839-9661.)
This quote comes from a book titled “Invitation to Love” by Thomas Keating:
Whatever we experience of God, however exalted, is only a radiance of his presence. No experience in this life can be God as he is in himself because God infinitely transcends all categories and experiences. In the transforming union, the energy of faith, trust, and love is constantly being beamed to us whether we experience it or not. The body has been prepared and stabilized by the practice of virtue and the purification of sense and spirit so that it can receive the divine communications uninterruptedly. Divine love can now manifest itself in all our activities, even the most ordinary. The same all-pervasive union is present while walking down the street or brushing one’s teeth as in periods of contemplative prayer. External and internal realities are unified because all are equally rooted in God and manifest God. The entire organism is sensitized to all the ways in which the divine presence manifests itself, without mistaking any one of them as the ultimate expression of God’s love.
I’d like to reflect on this paragraph with you today, by connecting it to my recent running experience. (I know, I know, I talk about running a lot these days. But it’s a big part of what I’m doing in my spare time! I spend a lot of time thinking about it.)
On my runs, I have been listening to the wisdom and encouragement of several coaches who talk through the various workouts in my training program. One theme that keeps coming up in many of the workouts, regardless of who the coach is that particular day, is the importance of being fully present, fully aware, fully “there” in the moment. It’s easy to dwell on things that happened earlier, or things that I’ll have to do after the run. It’s easy to think about how much farther I have to run before I can stop for the day. The challenge is always to be completely present in this moment, right now.
Thomas Keating writes that God’s “divine love can now manifest itself in all our activities, even the most ordinary.” Even while I’m running. Even while I’m passing the next mile marker or crossing the next road. Even while I’m admiring the buds on the trees or the frogs in the creek beds. Even while I’m shaking the tension out of my arms or focusing on controlling my breathing. God’s love, now, can show up in every single activity of every single day.
The challenge is to be completely present in this moment, to learn to be aware of God’s love which sustains us and inspires us and consoles us every moment of our lives.
A second way this paragraph from Thomas Keating connects to my running life is through an injury I sustained last week. My left Achilles tendon started acting up on me, and that made it painful to run. I was a bit away from home when I decided that I had to stop running and just walk the rest of the way home.
Now, I’ve dealt with a few leg injuries over the past few years. And in the past, when I’ve been sidelined by a pulled hamstring or a twisted knee, I have been really discouraged and frustrated. Doesn’t my body know that I have training to do? Doesn’t it realize that this pain thing is silly, and it should just straighten up so we can get back out there again?
But this time, when my left Achilles started aching and I had to stop running, I wasn’t frustrated or bothered. I decided to accept this situation, to welcome the next few days of rest, and to trust that eventually I’d be back on the road again.
I count this as one way that God’s presence is working in my life. Thomas Keating writes, “the entire organism [my entire self] is sensitized to all the ways in which the divine presence manifests itself.” Maybe, just maybe, my patience with myself is really God’s patience at work within me. Maybe this situation is God’s reminder to me that there are lots of people with chronic pain or severe injuries, people who don’t say “eventually I’ll be back on the road again” – so this is a call for me to learn humility and to practice solidarity with those who suffer. Maybe this injury is a chance for me to recognize God’s presence in the midst of the struggle – not to ask “where are you, God?” but to acknowledge that God is experiencing this injury with me and will walk (if not run) with me through it.
Now that the American Rescue Plan has been signed into law, most of us will receive $1,400 per person in this third round of stimulus payments. I’m not interested to debate whether or not this is a good thing, whether or not you agree with the ARP, whether or not you’re concerned about where all this money is coming from. The fact of the matter is that most Americans are going to receive $1,400 in the next few weeks, if not sooner.
My question for you is this: What will you do with $1,400?
This is a spiritual question, not just a financial question.
I’m not here to tell you how to use these stimulus funds. Every person is in a different situation, and there is no single “correct” or “best” way to use this kind of money. If you do a quick search, you’ll find lots of suggestions from financial experts about what to do with this third stimulus payment. (Here is one article with six really good ideas.)
What I want to communicate today is this: How you decide to use this $1,400 says a lot about your spiritual health.
You probably know as well as I do that the Bible talks a LOT about money. There are hundreds and hundreds of references in scripture to wealth, possessions, cash, and how we use these tangible resources. Jesus spoke frequently about money, as well. Remember these? “You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24), the teaching about the poor widow who gave all she had out of her poverty (Luke 21:1-4), the parable about the rich fool who built bigger barns for himself (Luke 12:13-21). The list could go on and on.
Apparently, God believes that our relationship with money is important. How we view money, how we use it to care for ourselves, how we use it to help others, how it’s related to biblical issues like justice and righteousness and shalom – these are ways for us to gauge the spiritual maturity with which we approach the topic of money.
There is no separation between our spiritual lives and our financial lives. The financial decisions we make are spiritual decisions, and the spiritual growth we experience will affect our financial attitudes and choices. When we make decisions about money, we should do so carefully, thoughtfully, intentionally, spiritually. I’m not saying that we should pray for ninety minutes before spending a single dollar. I’m saying that we should recognize the inherent spirituality of all our decisions, including our decisions involving money.
What will you do with this $1,400 stimulus payment? Who will benefit by your use of that money? How will you use it while remaining fully aware that God cares how you use that money?
Here are a few suggestions for you to try on for size:
Be intentional with your use of the stimulus payment. However you decide to use this money, do so deliberately, thoughtfully, carefully, prayerfully, and responsibly.
Invite a trusted individual into your decision-making process. Sit down with a close friend or mentor and discuss how you want to use this stimulus payment. This can have the powerful effect of helping you to see your motivations more clearly. Beware of the temptation to brag, to be prideful, to be self-righteous. Listen for wisdom, and respond with humility.
Wait (if possible). Give yourself time to make this decision, if you can, because $1,400 per person is a lot of money. You may have an urgent need, such as an outstanding debt or an upcoming rent or mortgage payment. But if there is no sense of urgency, take your time. Journal about your decision. Sleep on it. Come back to it the next day, or a week later. You might find extra wisdom as you wait.
The second suggestion above might be uncomfortable or awkward, because we have been trained by our culture to privatize financial matters. But we have been trained to privatize spiritual matters, as well. I don’t think either of those is healthy. We need to be able to talk honestly with others about financial and spiritual issues, in the context of safe and (yes) confidential relationships. Ultimately, that’s a redundant statement, because financial issues are spiritual issues. So let’s deal with financial issues in spiritually healthy ways.
I have mentioned on occasion that I am training for the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon later this spring. It is just nine weeks away, and I am getting excited! Last week they announced that the event will be entirely virtual because of the covid-19 pandemic, which is a bit disappointing but understandable. I will still run my 13.1 miles on or around Mother’s Day weekend, but I’ll run here in Midland – maybe on the Rail Trail. I ran there for the first time last week, and I enjoyed the scenery as well as the lack of motor vehicles!
My training for this mini-marathon includes some really good coaching from the good folks at the Nike Plus Run Club. They have a free app which I use to track my runs, and they offer a 14-week training program for preparing to run a mini-marathon. Each week consists of five unique and challenging runs which allow me to change my pace, rhythm, distance, and effort, all while learning more about how my body works and how to succeed in this practice of running. I’ve enjoyed it very much so far.
Coach Bennett is the name of the primary coach throughout this training program. He introduces each week’s schedule, explains why each run matters, and offers lots of encouragement along the way.
A couple of weeks ago, while I was nearing the end of my 10k “long run” for the week, Coach Bennett said something remarkable. He said (and I’m paraphrasing): “I know the end of the run is coming up. You might feel the temptation to push harder and run faster over these last few hundred meters, but I don’t want you to do that. And I don’t want you to let up off of your pace and slow down, either. Keep giving a solid effort. Maintain a controlled, comfortable pace all the way to the finish line.”
That was hard to do. After running for 6 miles, it was hard to keep going at the same pace for those last 0.2 miles. My body was tired, and my energy level was getting lower. My legs felt good but it seemed like my stride was getting shorter. I was ready to be done, to get in the car and drive home.
The only problem was that I was still 0.2 miles away from the car. I wasn’t at the finish line yet. I could have given in and started walking instead of running, but one way or the other, my legs would have to propel me the rest of the way. Giving up was not an option.
Maintain the pace. Keep giving a solid effort. You may need to take a breather for a little bit, and that’s okay. But the finish line is still ahead of you, so don’t stop now.
I could turn the corner right here and apply this principle to our spiritual lives: as long as breath fills our lungs, we must keep running toward Jesus, keep living for Christ, keep running the race with perseverance. I could even back that up with scripture (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, for instance). But I want to put a finer point on this idea.
We have to keep running the race through the entirety of the covid-19 pandemic.
It’s been a full year, I know. The first official death in the USA due to covid-19 was recorded a year ago. Since then, over 524,000 Americans have died from this disease. That’s an average of more than 1,400 every day, for a full year. That’s about 0.16% of the nation’s entire population, or 16 out of every 10,000 people. That’s a lot.
Vaccines are giving us hope. We have three available for use now: Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson. The best advice I have seen from experts in the field is that we should get whichever vaccine becomes available to us at the earliest opportunity. I am fortunate to have received my first Moderna shot last month, and I’ll get my second one next week. People over 50 years of age throughout Michigan will be eligible to receive a vaccination by the end of the month, if not sooner. I know it is an anxiety-inducing struggle for some folks who are waiting eagerly for their turn in line to be vaccinated. I know others are just plain sick and tired of this pandemic and want to life to go back to “normal.”
Maintain the pace. Keep giving a solid effort. We’re not at the finish line yet.
With the onset of spring, many people will feel the urge to relax – to get together with friends, to skip physical distancing recommendations, to put away those blasted face masks. Churches in particular face the pressure to get back to “normal” soon – we all feel the loss of the gathering of God’s people for worship.
But we’re not at the finish line yet. One way or the other, we have to move forward for the next 0.2 miles. It may look and feel like an eternity, but we have to keep going.
Coach Bennett has taught me that the real growth in a long run happens in that last section of the run, those final several hundred meters. That’s when we are stretching ourselves to the limit. That’s when we are testing the depth of our resolve, when we are learning how to stay mentally focused on the process of running. That’s when we get to choose to keep going, to finish the race, to persevere.
Maintain the pace, friends. Keep giving a solid effort. We’re not through this pandemic yet. I believe our response to the pandemic is just as much a sign of our spiritual well-being as anything else in this world could be. Covid-19 is a generation-defining moment, much in the same way that 9/11 and Vietnam and WWII have been. How we choose to persevere right now says a lot about our spiritual health and vitality.
The end is in sight, but we’re not there yet. Get your vaccinations. Keep wearing your masks. Maintain the pace. I’m cheering you on, even as I run right beside you.
