What should we know biblically about first fruits? This offering is supposed to be “without blemish.” It’s not good enough that it’s the first of a crop. It has to be the crème de la crème of the first. If you are bringing your new grain, it better be the best grain. If you are bringing an animal, it better be a first born one year old male in good health. This is believed to be the reason Cain’s offering was not accepted but Abel’s offering was. Abel gave the best of this first born flock, while Cain just gave an offering. The result was, God rejected Cain’s offering, while accepting Abel’s. When it’s God taking our first fruit, instead of us giving it, it could be a curse. Think of the last Egyptian plague, where God took the first born sons of the Egyptians. Meanwhile, when we are offering our first fruits, biblically we are supposed to to understand it will be followed by God’s blessing. Our giving is a sign of trust in God’s grace. It is mentioned in scripture in multiple areas, if we give our best, God will bless what we have left. Because of this, these scriptures have also been misused and abused over the years, especially by those I unabashedly call the “Snake Oil Salesmen” of the faith. Let me just say, a few things in life make me livid. People using faith to con others out of their hard earned money is one of those things that just make me angry. I guess when talking about first fruits it is easiest to start with what it isn’t. It isn’t a magic candy machine. Let me explain. When one gives because they want God to bless them in return it gives the illusion that God is just one cosmic candy machine. Put in your quarter, get blessings in return. When I was a teenager and young adult I saw giving this way. I may have found blessing through giving, but it wasn’t like I gave $10 and I miraculously came upon $100 the next week. There was a Spiritual blessing, for sure, but I would be bummed when my giving wouldn’t pay out. (You know, the further I get from my childhood, the more it embarrasses me.) Anyway, there came a point where I had to learn what giving (and giving from our best and first) was all about. First, we give because it all belongs to God anyway. This is possibly the most preached subject by every Disciple minister I have ever heard ever. I would fathom to guess you too have heard it. “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give unto God what is God’s. The catch is, even when you are paying your taxes, it is still all Gods. Therefore, when it comes time to give to God, we should always keep that fact in mind. Great message. Second, the gift to God was a thank you for saving the Israelite people from slavery in Egypt. Every year they spent in the Promised Land was another year they were a free people. Salvation, in a very real way was a physical reality for them. They were literally saved. As Christians, we receive our salvation through the redeeming acts of Jesus Christ. Our gifts are a thank you for that salvation. Once again, a stewardship sermon I’ve heard over and over. Another great message. Third, we give because our first fruits always goes to what we are most dedicated to anyway. A couple of years before I entered High School, South Cobb received the title, “Georgia School of Excellence.” They invited Monica Kaufman-Pierce to come speak the students. Nothing remains of that speech today except one line painted over the senior hall: “What you do, with what you have, is who you are.” As someone who came from a less than perfect childhood, that sentence was a motivator. It pushed me in great ways. I say it all the time, so much, I’m guessing my husband is tired of me saying it. What you do, with what you have, is who you are. When it comes to first fruits, what we do first with our time and money speaks of who we are. It speaks to what our greatest want really is. Play this game with me. Imagine you walk out of church, and somehow you came upon $1,000. (Legally, of course. No one pretend to rob the local Panera. We’re in church.) It’s just an unexpected windfall. What is the first thing you want to do with that money? What was the first thought that came in your head? I submit that immediate desire is what you naturally give your first fruits to. Was it God? There is a reason why giving a speech about paying the bills never works. We are not dedicated to the electricity or water bill. We are not here because of the air conditioning. We are here because of the mission and the community. Electricity, maintenance, water gas… these are things that support and help the mission and community. I took a course with the former General Minister and President Dr. Rev. Dick Hamm. In one of the lessons he talked about Bullard’s life cycles of the church. In a new church plant it all begins with the vision. With the vision, relationships are formed. With those relationships, programs develop. Finally, some form of management is put in place to act as an accountability system. When a church begins to fail the first thing they lose is the vision. The object the church hangs on to at the last moments is the management. Then, that is what they try to sell at stewardship campaigns. “Hey, were not meeting the needs to pay the bills. Everyone needs to give a little more so we can keep the doors open.” No! It doesn’t work that way. Finally, these churches try to throw new programs at the problem thinking that will solve the issue, but without a real vision (a desire to do God’s work in the world) the programs fail and so does the church. That being said, what excites you about church? What is going on that you just have to support it? Is it a clothes closet? Is it adult and youth ministries? Is it Godly Play? It is the church's involvement in the local community? What fires you up here and gets you giving your first fruits? Is it Christian education? Is it the fellowship? What you do, with what you have, is who you are. Who are you? What are you doing with what you have? Find the fire here, the passion for God work. When that offering burns with living fire that will be the offering God will accept. That, my friends, is what stewardship means, and how it works. Find your desire here, and give your first fruits in response. In that, God will bless the church and all who worship.
We had been working on something else. The boys had just finished giving presentations on famous Americans, when I pulled out three different kinds of knives. Gently, I showed what each knife did, what it was named, and let them get a closer look. This was the first step in learning how to safely use a knife. When it comes to Theology Safety, identification is also our first step. Just like everyone cuts (whether it is with the edge of a fork, a pair of scissors, or a knife) anytime we try to understand our relationship to God, we are practicing theology. Theology is the study of the nature of God and religious belief. Perhaps when we think of theology we think of dusty tomes with learned people sifting through thousand year old words. Yes, this can be theology. The truth is, anytime we attempt to understand God, we are practicing theology. Perhaps we are using someone else's template to define theology for us. Perhaps we want to believe we don't practice theology at all. Perhaps we use multiple sources to come to our own theology. No matter what we believe, we are practicing theology. Today I'm going to use a simple scripture to make a point: I'm going to get into some really important tools as the weeks progress. Today I just want to make a point. Read through the scripture without inflection. Seriously. Stop reading this and read the scripture. Okay, what can we glean from the text? We know Mary, Martha, Jesus and others are there. Maybe the disciples were there, maybe they were not. Notice it doesn't say Martha welcomed the disciples as a guest when she welcomed Jesus. If you mentally put the disciples in the house, congratulations, you made a theological choice. If you mentally did not put the disciples in the house, congratulations, you too made a theological choice. We know that Martha was working on the meal while Mary sat at Jesus' feet. Did you visualize the body language of Mary, Martha, Jesus, or those others listening? Did you see them disgusted, intrigued, or something else? If you did, you were practicing theology. Now read through the scripture again, and this time add inflection to the dialogue. How is Martha talking to Jesus? How is Jesus talking to Mary? Really? You are just going to keep reading, and not do what I asked? Go back up there and read the scripture with inflection. Come back here when you are done. The scripture says nothing about the emotions in the room. Emotions are really important to this story. How is Martha talking to Jesus? She told Jesus to order Mary into the kitchen. How did she do that? Was there humility in her voice? Was she comfortable enough to just to make bold statements like that? This tells us something about the personal relationships of Jesus, and yes it's theology. Why did Jesus say Martha's name twice? Was she trying to talk over him? Was she heated or hurt and he was trying to calm her down? Was he angry and he was chastising her? How we mentally think about Jesus' words tells us something about his humanity. It is theology. Here are the things we are going to look at over the coming weeks:
X +Y=Z Next week we will discuss "X" and "Y". Today, let's talk about "Z", or the end result. Everyone and everything has a "Z". "Z" can best be described as our greatest want. The world is full of needs and wants. I used to think what we need is greater than what we want. I realize this couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, needs are picked by what we want. Let me give you an example. Jane wants to live. The want is the prime point. For Jane to live she needs to eat, find shelter, and stay healthy. See? The want figures out what the needs are. Let's do it again. John wants to play in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. For John to have a chair in the orchestra he needs to purchase an instrument, learn to play it perfectly, audition, and have those doing the audition feel he is better than everyone else who auditioned. We all have lesser and greater wants. Our greatest want is what drives all of our decisions. I think if many were to name what the most common greatest want is, many would name the desire to live. I don't know if that is really the case. I would say there is a struggle between wanting to live, and wanting to be comfortable or happy. When these two (life and happiness) are sold as a package, it can motivate people to do horrendous things. People will sacrifice the life and happiness of others, to maintain their own. This is where I want to seriously look at scripture: 9 “As the Father loved me, I too have loved you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete. 12 This is my commandment: love each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than to give up one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. John 15:9-14 CEB 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. 25 All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will find them. 26 Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? What will people give in exchange for their lives? 27 For the Human One is about to come with the majesty of his Father with his angels. And then he will repay each one for what that person has done. 28 I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see the Human One coming in his kingdom.” Matthew 16:24-28 CEB Before I get into how this works within a church or organization, let me suggest something radical that Jesus was the founder of: Jesus wanted us to make God, in the form of Jesus, as our greatest want. If we understand the two texts under the idea of wants and needs, "saying no to themselves" would be replacing our greatest want, with Jesus. This completely alters why and how we do things. Instead of doing something for happiness, we are doing it to keep the Body of Christ healthy and happy. The outcome, when the Body is functioning correctly is health and happiness. Now it should be obvious that the great want a church should always have is Christ. X +Y=Z Z is our greatest want. X and Y are the needs to get what we want. Now here's where things get complicated. We could all agree a church exists to make Z equal Christ. We could also probably agree that all the congregants are there for the same purpose. Here is the hard to hear truth. Not every person is in church for Christ. People go to church for all different reasons. Perhaps they want to get their children in something they feel would be safe. Perhaps they go because it is what they have always done. Perhaps the church is offering something the person can only get if they are a member. Maybe being a congregant is advantageous to the person in some way. For example, a politician might gain poll points for being an active member at a church. Some politicians go to church for the polls, not for Christ. No matter what the reason, their Z is different than Christ. Those people will (mostly unknowingly) try to replace Z with their greatest need. This will derail the healthy transformative process, and break the church. Always. If you are in a broken church it is your job to discover that new Z, why it happened, when it happened, and put the church back on the correct path again. This is what I want you to do this week: Discover if your faith institution has Christ as their greatest want. Try to name your own greatest want. Is it Christ?
Naaman, a general for the king of Aram, was a great man and highly regarded by his master, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. This man was a mighty warrior, but he had a skin disease. Now Aramean raiding parties had gone out and captured a young girl from the land of Israel. She served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master could come before the prophet who lives in Samaria. He would cure him of his skin disease.” So Naaman went and told his master what the young girl from the land of Israel had said. Then Aram’s king said, “Go ahead. I will send a letter to Israel’s king.” So Naaman left. He took along ten kikkars of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. He brought the letter to Israel’s king. It read, “Along with this letter I’m sending you my servant Naaman so you can cure him of his skin disease.” When the king of Israel read the letter, he ripped his clothes. He said, “What? Am I God to hand out death and life? But this king writes me, asking me to cure someone of his skin disease! You must realize that he wants to start a fight with me.” When Elisha the man of God heard that Israel’s king had ripped his clothes, he sent word to the king: “Why did you rip your clothes? Let the man come to me. Then he’ll know that there’s a prophet in Israel.” Naaman arrived with his horses and chariots. He stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent out a messenger who said, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored and become clean.” But Naaman went away in anger. He said, “I thought for sure that he’d come out, stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the bad spot, and cure the skin disease. Aren’t the rivers in Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all Israel’s waters? Couldn’t I wash in them and get clean?” So he turned away and proceeded to leave in anger. Naaman’s servants came up to him and spoke to him: “Our father, if the prophet had told you to do something difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? All he said to you was, ‘Wash and become clean.’” So Naaman went down and bathed in the Jordan seven times, just as the man of God had said. His skin was restored like that of a young boy, and he became clean. 2 Kings 5:1-14 CEB Let's see, how many times can I preach on the same text? I wrote about how the entire text hinged on the smallest of voices. I also connected the Jordan to the Missouri. (This later one is very important to understanding where I'm coming from. I highly suggest you take a moment and read it if you are new here.) I guess, for now, the answer is three, because today I'm at it again!) This month is movie/book month. Last week we were introduced to Evan Dolive's new book: Seeking Imperfection. In the next few weeks we will look at The Aviator and The Giver. Today it's all about Cinderella! My initial experience with Cinderella was probably not your initial experience. I grew up reading illustrated fairy tales that piled up in a wicker basket in my grandma's farmhouse. One of those fairy tales was Cinderella. It was true to the original, with the stepfamily having their eyes gouged out by birds and all. I loved the Disney iteration, but it was a secondary experience for me. Since then, I've seen multiple versions, each choosing to change it's own thing. I've seen the Hammerstein musical, I've watched the Brandy Norwood version which is probably the most multicultural adaptation out there. Yes, I admit to seeing Hilary Duff try to fit into the role with A Cinderella Story. My favorite is probably Drew Barrymore in Ever After: A Cinderella Story. Then so many others, I barely remember. As our cultural identity moves towards new understandings of equality, our view of Cinderella becomes more and more difficult to tell. The piece that always seems to stay the same in all versions of Cinderella is the extraordinary has to come from the ordinary. Cinderella is the servant of her house. Everyone in the story, except her, can get to the castle in their own carriages, and wearing their own pretty dresses. In the Disney Cartoon movie, at first even Cinderella attempts to use these methods to get to the castle. She wears her mother's dress, and tries to hitchhike on her family's carriage. Of course, it doesn't work, and Cinderella is left to cry outside the house, all hope lost. That's the way new church planting has gone for generations. Follow this exact path, look a specific way, and you will make it [to the party]. Only, so many are gently feeling nudged into new church planting, but there is no way they could follow the formula. Maybe, like Church of the Misfits they are countercultural already, and conforming will cause them to lose a piece of their unique identity. Maybe, like Jerusalem Christian Church, they are in the context of being a church birthed from a dying church. It's a context where there has to be much more intentional grace and love for what was. Maybe, like us, you have a minister who started her journey taking the traditional route, and discovered her dress in tatters; no means to get to the party. There was a time I thought the journey had be taken by knowing the right people, and dressing the right way. That just isn't always true. Like Naaman, God can take the ordinary to make the extraordinary happen. It's possible, for a plain dirty river to heal a foreign lepar. It's possible. God can take shoestring and bubblegum and change the world. John the Baptist was a zany and fool, and he was the one who started the journey for Christ. In the end, it's not about having/getting the right things; it's about God being present with the ordinary things you already have. We would love to hear from you. 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Join Fig Tree's Subreddit Follow our Pinterest page Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter 23 He went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!” 24 When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 2 Kings 2:23-24 The first time I heard this scripture was the summer before entering Seminary. I was a counselor for Chi-Rho, (This is the name my denomination gives for middle school kids. This was the Summer Camp in my region.) One of the fellow counselors, and keynoter for the week, had just finished seminary, at the very seminary I was about to enter. He shared his newly acquired knowledge throughout the week, culminating at the Talent Show, where he had his cabin group reenact our scripture for today. No commentary. Nothing added. He read the scripture. The kids pantomimed the words. That was it. All of us were left dumbfounded. A few laughed awkwardly. He wanted to leave us with a simple message: There are bible verses we have no idea what to do with. It’s better just to leave them alone. Apparently this had been what my ministers had done, because, up until that point, I had never heard that scripture before. Yeah, I knew who Elisha was. He was the prophet handpicked by Elijah. This would be the same Elijah who went up in a flaming chariot to heaven. The Elijah who dropped his mantle down to Elisha. This was the same Elisha who confronted the priests of Baal on top of the mountain. The same Elisha who had every last priest killed when Yahweh won the bet. Of all the prophets in the Hebrew Bible, Elisha is the most hotheaded. With that context, it’s probably not that surprising this would be the prophet involved in a story where two bears maul a bunch of children. As for the bears side of things, until that fateful talent show night, I had no idea bears had ever been mentioned in the bible. Lions, sure. Donkeys, of course. Bears? Not really on the radar. Come to find out bears are mentioned, in some form, 12 times. Two of which are in Proverbs! Really, I wanted the Elisha story to be the only story that had bears. If it did, maybe it was something added years later by some sleep deprived monks. I wanted to read the story how European bears ended up in a Middle Eastern text. No such luck. There are middle-eastern bears. The thing is, I want to do something with the text. I don’t want to put it aside because it makes me feel uncomfortable. It is there for a reason, and I want to understand what that reason is. But that's not really our culture right now, is it? Our culture tells us to cut off, turn off, and ignore. Don’t understand; just ostracize. If someone is saying something we don’t agree with, it’s like they are spewing poison. Only, if what a group is saying is poison, ignoring them means they are dying from that poison. Or, God forbid, we are the one who are really wrong. Not being open enough to listen to opinions counter to our own could mean we are the ones really dying from that poison. It’s a bear. Literally it’s a couple of bears, but figuratively it’s a bear to deal with these texts. It’s easy to do nothing. If we do nothing, the texts sit in the back of our mind, a reminder of what’s in the bible, of what we can’t deal with. What do we do? Let me break this apart for you. Here is my theology: I believe there is something beyond this realm of existence. You might wonder why I start here. We are at the point in our culture this needs to be our starting point. We believe something exists or it doesn’t. Our reality is the end all, be all, or it isn’t. I believe God is part of that existence. There is some sort of Creator for this existence we call life. Maybe the design took trillions of years, but I believe it’s a design. I believe God acted in the world, and communicated how we should treat ourselves, one another, and God. I believe those actions and precepts so positively affected a people, they wrote the events and precepts down. When I read the bible, I’m trying to understand the original God event. What really happened 2,000-6,000 years ago? This is why I use secondary sources. This is why I want to know how others interpreted the event. This is why I want to know the archeological and cultural understanding of the words. No, I don’t see the bible as literally the Word of God, because seeing the bible literally turns the bible into a thick concrete wall. To quote God talking about the ocean in the book of Job: ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther.’ To use my own words, “Nothing to see here. You’ve got the story right here. No need looking any deeper.” /s The bible is a resource, not a foundation. Christ is the foundation. I once described building a faith on top of the bible is like building a house on top of a house. It might be possible, but it’s precarious at best. Use the bible to build on the foundation of Christ. Now, if you think I’ve chosen to talk about the bible instead of a bunch of boys getting mauled by a couple of bears, you’d be wrong. Now is where I bring it back around. Do I believe the event in 2 Kings could have happened? Sure. Is it possible a few boys criticized a prophet? (It was criticism by the way. People from that area rarely went bald. It was not a genetic trait for the early Hebrew people. Therefore, it was disrespectful to call someone bald whether they were or not.) So, was it possible a few boys criticized Elisha? Yeah, of course. Is it also possible a couple of momma bears attacked a bunch of boys? Well, not even going outside the bible there are scriptures about the danger of being around momma bears. Momma bears are fierce. They will viciously attack anyone or anything that could possibly get near their cubs. Yeah, I think it is very possible. Literally, do I believe God sent momma bears to attack the boys because they called the prophet bald? No. I don’t. If I was sitting in the pews right now, this is what I’d be thinking. “Pastor! You just had us sit through ten minutes of dialogue just to tell us you don’t believe it?! What was the point?” The point. Now let me get to that. Yeah, I believe both Elisha being called bald, and the boys being mauled could have happened. Yes, I believe it wasn’t God directly sending bears to maul disobedient boys. The obvious question becomes, what do we do with this scripture? Yeah, you could take what I’ve already said, and learn a little about the context. Sure. If you want to take it deeper, learn something about how the Israelites saw God. The two events appeared connected for them because they saw God like a protective parent. God called Elisha as a prophet. Sure, he was the most hotheaded prophet of the bunch, but he was still called. It wasn’t the strong and dangerous lions that came to attack the boys. Instead, it was the protective momma bears. Elisha belonged to God, and as the Israelites saw it, God was protecting Elisha as a mother bear would protect her cubs. That’s a strong and reassuring image. God is our protective momma bear. There was no way we could have seen that if we just decided to push the scripture aside because it was uncomfortable. I’m Facebook friends with someone I’ve known since middle school, Randall Self. With the Supreme Court ruling and the Charleston Shooting still fresh in our memory he’s had Facebook friends say things he’s in complete disagreement. Whether or not you agree about the side he’s on, listen to his words regarding what he is going to do about it: Ok, so I have a few people arguing that same sex marriage is wrong. My initial reaction is to unfriend, unfollow, shun and scorn these individuals but I've decided against it. Theologically speaking, we can’t cut out biblical passages we disagree with, because we don’t learn anything doing that. Socially speaking, we shouldn’t ostracize our friends and colleagues for believing something different from us because doing so puts us in an intellectual vacuum, and no one learns anything. I’ve heard some very hurtful things in the name of protecting ones faith over the past few weeks. Things said with venom but painted over with “God’s love.” It’s too easy to hit “unfriend” and move on. We do it online, and we do it in real life. We do it to each other and we do it to our bible. When others and our scripture gets uncomfortable, that’s when we need to push into it with Christian love. That’s when we need to ask one another the tough questions. If we do that, if we really begin engaging one another again… God is there too.
All this month we will be taking a closer look at some of the animals in the bible. From whales to bears, we will learn some interesting and important facts about these animals. Last week I spent a few nights, with my son, at Cade's Cove. We tent camped, and hiked to Abram's Falls. Considering the theme for this month, it was very fitting. I saw deer, a tufted titmouse landed right next to me at camp, there were wild turkey, and a bear! It wasn't like the bear just came into camp, that was the deer. We were seeking her out. It was evening, and we heard where they liked to hang out in the cove. We simply went to those spots and eventually saw one about 100 yards away. My sister took the picture, and I asked to share it with y'all. The Middle Eastern Bear, historically.The Syrian brown bear is vulnerable on the endangered scale in most places in the middle east. It is extinct in Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. It prefers higher elevation, where there is tree cover and caves. It is believed these bears are descendants of the European brown bear. Biblical BearsBears are only mentioned, in some form, 12 times in the bible. I say "in some form" because I added Job talking about the bear constellation in the list. There are two bear Proverbs: Safer to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than fools in their folly. Proverbs 17:12 A wicked ruler over the poor is like a growling lion or a prowling bear. Proverbs 28:15 Dangerous Bears in the Bible:
The Mother Bear: There is something distinctive about the mother bear. It is intentionally brought up in scripture.
Come back on Sunday for a message on Elisha and the Bears!
21 So Balaam arose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab. 22 Then God became angry because he went. So while he was riding on his donkey accompanied by his two servants, the Lord’s messenger stood in the road as his adversary. 23 The donkey saw the Lord’s messenger standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, so the donkey turned from the road and went into the field. Balaam struck the donkey in order to turn him back onto the road. 24 Then the Lord’s messenger stood in the narrow path between vineyards with a stone wall on each side. 25 When the donkey saw the Lord’s messenger, it leaned against the wall and squeezed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he continued to beat it. 26 The Lord’s messenger persisted and crossed over and stood in a narrow place, where it wasn’t possible to turn either right or left. 27 The donkey saw the Lord’s messenger and lay down underneath Balaam. Balaam became angry and beat the donkey with the rod. 28 Then theLord opened the donkey’s mouth and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you’ve beaten me these three times?” 29 Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you’ve tormented me. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now.” 30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on whom you’ve often ridden to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” Balaam said, “No.” 31 Then the Lord uncovered Balaam’s eyes, and Balaam saw the Lord’s messenger standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand. Then he bowed low and worshipped. 32 The Lord’s messenger said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I’ve come out here as an adversary, because you took the road recklessly in front of me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it hadn’t turned away from me, I would just now have killed you and let it live.” 34 Balaam said to the Lord’s messenger, “I’ve sinned, because I didn’t know that you were standing against me in the road. Now, if you think it’s wrong, I’ll go back.” 35 The Lord’s messenger said to Balaam, “Go with the men. But don’t say anything. Say only that which I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials. Numbers 22:21-35 NRSV This month is all about animals. Last week we looked at the lions in the den. Next week we discuss the bears and the children. This week it’s all about the donkey. Donkeys were an important part to Middle Eastern culture. When they were domesticated in the fourth millennia BC, they changed the world, as we knew it. First, they were an easier animal to work with. More so than the cud chewing ox. The domesticated donkey meant more could be accomplished and, people could travel further. It was a beast of burden, but a steed of royalty. Let me recap the scripture, no there is too much, let me sum up: We have this story about this guy who just wants to get what’s his. The price is right, so he sets out on a quest for someone else. During his adventure he decides he is not going to work for the guy who hired him. Instead, he’s going to help the focus of the initial quest. Oh yeah, and there’s a talking donkey… and I’m not talking about the hit animated comedy Shrek. I’m talking about Balaam, the foreign prophet. It’s a story we are supposed to laugh at. A donkey sees God when Balaam can’t. Balaam punishes the donkey for saving his life. Ancient Near-East comedy at its best. After all, it’s not our prophet, so it’s OK to snicker. It’s part of the reason I’m drawn to him. It’s not like he chose to be born outside of Israel. God still called him. For goodness sake, why is no one laughing at Jonah? He thought he could run away from God and found himself in the belly of a big fish! Oh, it’s because he was an Israelite. That makes it unfortunate, and a good life lesson. Not something to laugh at. I’m drawn to this outsider because I feel I can relate. As a young child, my mother’s second husband brought domestic abuse, neglect, and verbal abuse. It would take years to deal with the damage it did to me. I was in seminary when I first understood it for what it was. I don’t care to talk about my past anymore, but I used to wave it like a flag. I used to think my past made me special, because it was the only time people paid attention to me. In truth, because I couldn’t see that my past broke me, I was unwilling and unable to heal. It left me unable to connect with people. In being broken, I had no place to talk, and nothing I could add to the conversation, until I was willing to admit I was broken. Then I had to piece myself back together first, before I shared my story. Now on the healthy side of life, I tend to see the person who sits on their own, or doesn’t connect as easily. I’m drawn to helping them relate to the group. I’m often frustrated when someone does something that ostracizes people, or how some seem to naturally get a pass because they were born to the right family or accepted by the right people. So, yeah, I’m naturally going to stick up for Balaam, the outsider prophet. Then there is the other side of the story. Last week I told you there was a time to stop talking. There are times when the best gift you can give someone, is the gift of presence and silence. Outside of crisis, there are also times to act, and open our mouths. I may have a soft spot for the outsider prophet Balaam, but this prophet was still about to go to Israel and throw down a curse. See, Balaam was not like the other prophets we read about in the bible. The other prophets get a message from God and share that message. Balaam, on the other hand, was a prophet for hire. He was known for his ability to throw out curses and blessings and have them stick. If we had read earlier in scripture, we would have learned King Balak was scared. He saw what the Israelites had done to his neighbor, the Amorites. He was afraid his land of Moab was next. He decided to call for Balaam. We don’t know how, but even with multiple warnings from God, Balaam eventually decides to take Balak’s money offer and go curse Israel. This is the story of the bad guy Balaam becoming a good guy. (Still sounds like Shrek, but let me continue.) We all know those people. They are the ones whose actions purposefully or inadvertently hurt those around them. Because the community is a system, ultimately the person endangering others gets hurt too. Balaam was headed down the wrong road, literally. It was going to lead to a whole heap of trouble. You know, when we are called to be quite, we are acting to not hurt the person in crisis. When we are called to open our mouth, we need to be prepared for repercussions. People want order and routine. It’s not that the order or the routine are correct. It’s just that we have this primal understanding to watch out for change. It comes from our caveman days. Movement in forest, bad. Our reflexes tells us to lash out at those things that are different, because that’s how life worked back then. More than likely those things were bad. Now, we react the same way when something different could actually be good, because it might be the routine or the order that has become corrupt. Truth hurts. It hurts the person hearing it, and it often hurts the person saying it. Truth hurts because we don’t want to hear we have been headed in the wrong direction. Balaam was headed in the wrong direction. He was warned, not once, but twice not to go curse Israel. His salvation came from one of the most unlikely of sources: His donkey. A few years ago I had an epiphany. It was during a nativity play and the director was casting for God. She cast this booming voice. Someone who spoke and everything he said just filled the room. It hit me. Every time I “hear” God in a play it’s this loud and terrible voice. Why do we do that? Does God come to you in a loud and booming voice? When God comes to me it’s usually in meek, and very unlikely places. For example, I was telling you how I was broken, and my realization I needed healing didn’t come until Seminary. Let me tell you about that moment. I had registered for a class on Moral Justice, Care, and Faith. It was a psychology class. I was told ahead of time there would be no theology or bible in this class. It was the truth. It was probably the only place where I didn’t walk in with my bible. There came a moment in the class where we were discussing the difference between introverts or extroverts. We were off topic. Y’all know who Dr. Jerry Gladson is? He’s an introvert, but he teaches classes at Columbia, and was the Senior Minister at First Marietta. I asked my professor about him. He’s very connected to those around him, for being an introvert. He said an introvert still connects with society, it just wears them out quicker. Without realizing it, I said, “I bet they struggle with conflict.” He responded, “You put an introvert’s back against the wall and they’ll act, and probably stronger than an extrovert.” To everyone else in that class, it was just an interesting moment. To me, in this quiet room, spoken by a soft voice, God had unlocked the truth. I grew up thinking I was an introvert. I thought I was an introvert because the thought of getting in front of a group of people seized me with fear. The thought of dealing with conflict stopped me in my tracks. I was not an introvert. I was a broken extrovert. It was my past that kept me from dealing with conflict in healthy ways. In a class where we were promised God was not going to be discussed, I had met with the divine. That’s what the donkey is for me. It’s not the bloggers who promise God in their advertising riddled pages. The ones who scream the truth laced in venom. Often times it’s not the obvious places. God is in the donkey, speaking in ways we, or often the person we are talking with, don’t expect. God is in the man in the wilderness, completely disconnected with the corrupted routine and order. God is the woman at the well, a second class citizen who brought her town to faith. God are the people who sat at the restaurant counter asking for equal treatment. God is Jesus on the cross being punished for speaking the truth. Being punished for trying to keep us from that danger. God is often not the booming voice, but the still small echo. The last voice we ever expect to fix our brokenness. To fix our unhealthy systems. Today I ask you to listen out for our unexpected God moments, and not to punish them when they come. I ask you to extend grace to those who do lash out at those unexpected voices. Like Balaam, they may not realize the dangers they are being moved away from. Mostly, I just ask you to realize that all have the ability to see the truth. Even when it seems we have to fall on the person to keep them from harm. Everyone has the ability to change for the better. In those moments, there God is also.
All this month we will be taking a closer look at some of the animals in the bible. From whales to bears, we will learn some interesting and important facts about these animals. TIL the most innocent swear word out there might just be jackass. Literally it means male donkey. I didn't realize, outside of pregnant dog, there was another animal centered obscenity. One for each gender, I suppose. The domesticated Donkey comes in over a hundred breeds all over the world. It's wild ancestor comes from Africa. It still exists today, but there are only 570 known to exist. It is very endangered. Historical DonkeyDonkeys were first domesticated around 3,000 BC. They were basically the next evolution in travel, and were used to help with the labor. Donkeys are also a historical paradox. They were considered draft animals, and sometimes they are symbolic of someone who is worked hard, like Issachar. They were also a symbol of royalty, as the more a person had the wealthier they were. Also, donkeys used for travel were not "saddled" as we traditionally understand it. The only object between the rider and the donkey was a cushion. Biblical DonkeyDonkeys were and are so prevalent in the middle east, we sneak them into scripture even when they are not mentioned. How many of you imagine Mary riding into Bethlehem on a donkey? Never mentioned. Not in one biblical story. There could have been a few donkey's taking Christ's family to Bethlehem, but we have no context from scripture. In God's whirlwind speech to Job, God uses the wild donkey to suggest God cares for creation even when it doesn't benefit humanity. In Zechariah 9:9 there is a prophecy that the new King of Jerusalem would ride into town on a Donkey, which is exactly what Jesus does. It's a fitting symbol, as Jesus is as paradoxical as the donkey.
16 Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!” 17 A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him. 19 Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions.20 When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Daniel then said to the king, “O king, and live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. (Daniel 6:16-24 NRSV) Over the next three weeks I hope to share a view of God, and how we can live in the light of that view. I plan to do it through the lens of biblical animals. Now there are many animals that could have been the focus of this series. There are doves and dogs, goats and sheep, serpents and fish. Three weeks? We could spend three months talking about animals and the bible. I believe the three I have chosen help us understand God better. Today, the subject is lions. When we think biblical lions the first thing to come to mind should be strong and dangerous. This was a time period where the wilderness was free to roam. Lions attacked travelers. It was something that happened. We don’t hear about lion attacks in the Middle East today, because they were poached to extinction. Back then, they were commonplace. This is why it shouldn’t surprise you to hear lions are mentioned some 145 times. Just putting it out there, many scholars doubt this exact story actually happened. There are historical issues, and no written proof of a King Darius. What they don’t doubt, is someone could be thrown into a lion’s den and sealed up as punishment. Here’s the rub. I want to know what we can do with the text. I don’t want to stand in front of you and repeat over and over about our God being an awesomely strong God. Yeah, yeah, yeah, God is strong, but what do we do with that? I’m also not about to rehash the lesson we learned in Children’s Church. We’ve all heard it, “Do God’s will no matter what the consequences. We’re adults. We know sometimes doing the right thing means being put into the lion’s den and having the lions devour us. Martin Luther King, Jr. comes to mind. He did the right thing, and was assassinated doing it. Those early Christians who were martyred in coliseums comes to mind too. Christianity is right, but it’s rarely easy. Even Jesus warned us of the cost of following him saying, “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.” (Matt 10:16-18 NRSV) Only, what I just said doesn’t preach in relation to our Hebrew Bible scripture for today. Do the right thing no matter what the consequences? Daniel did the right thing, and it was relatively painless and easy. Actually, knowing Jesus’ words, it’s rather cruel to teach the classic “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” sermon. “Do God’s will and everything will be A-O-K!” “Oh, you were hurt doing God’s will? Are you sure you prayed hard enough?” I feel icky just saying it. That’s why I’m not going there. I’m going somewhere different. Somewhere unexpected. I’ve only been in ordained ministry for five and a half years. I personally have a hard time believing that. So much has happened in that short period of time. Seriously, just call me Abednego, because I’ve been thrown in the fire and tempered instead of burned. I know what it feels like to be in darkness and know God was with me. This isn’t about me. As diverse as the past five and a half years have been, I’ve heard the same story so many times. I’ve heard it in church. I’ve heard it from friends. I’ve heard it online. I’ve heard it so much I could share it with you now, and probably connect with at least a few of you. You might even think I’m telling your story even though we might never have shared a conversation. There comes a time, in quite a few people’s lives, where they find themselves in their own lion’s den. Maybe they lost their job, and they don’t know where their next meal is going to come from. Maybe they lost everything, and now they are on the street. Maybe they’ve become addicted to something they cannot let go of. Maybe they’ve been diagnosed with a serious illness. Or maybe, they lost someone close to them. Usually, at some point, all of us find ourselves there. We never ask to be put in that metaphorical den, but somehow or another, we find ourselves there, sealed in. Today I’m not going to tell you to be Daniel. When we are in those positions we have no other choice but to be Daniel. I am telling you to be something though. When you see someone in their own den, we must be the lions. Let me explain. In the book of Job, Job was blameless. He lost almost everything. He lost his property. He lost his health. He lost all of his children. In the way of his people, he mourned. He sat an ash heap, and put on sackcloth. His friends sat with him. He sat in silence for maybe weeks. When he finally talked, he cried out to God to explain why he was going through such torment. Rule number one, when dealing with a person in crisis, they are going to cry out. They are going to say things they may or may not believe because they are in pain. Think of a wounded animal. If you touch them, will they not bite out at you? It’s a defense mechanism. We should never be angry when people yelp or bite in their own pain. Rule number two, theology does not belong in the midst of crisis. Theology can be discussed when both parties are level headed. No one in crisis can look at issues with clarity. People need time and space. What did those friends do? They spent most of the book chastising Job. Basically one said, “Well, maybe you didn’t realize what you did wrong, but you did something wrong to cause this misfortune upon you.” Another said, “Stop saying that God is wrong! That’s impossible.” Then the third: “Just ask for forgiveness and move on. Things will get better.” When God finally comes and talks to Job, Job is indeed blameless. You know who isn’t? The friends. In the end, Job has to make sacrifices to redeem the friends. I believe, their failure to understand a person in crisis was their sin. Which gets me back to the lions. There is little we can do when we are the ones in crisis, when we are Daniel. When we are the one around the person in crisis, when we are the lions, God often calls us to shut our mouth. Yeah, there are actions that need to be taken to help a person in crisis. Most of us are not the angels in the room qualified to give it. We are the lions, and even if our nature is to lie with the calf, our mouth is a powerful and dangerous weapon. Our actions and words have the ability to destroy someone who is already in darkness. I've often prayed for God to show me how to act. In 5 ½ years I learned a new prayer, for God to show me when to leave something alone. I’ve learned, when sitting with someone in that den, sometimes the best gift is silence and presence. It’s in letting God act in as much in your non-action as your action, we can find God in that darkness.
All this month we will be taking a closer look at some of the animals in the bible. From whales to bears, we will learn some interesting and important facts about these animals. Lions, and Tigers and Bears, oh, my! While you will never see lions and tigers in a European forest, there was a time when all three roamed in the Middle East. (Considering Oz was a strange and marvelous place surrounded by desert, it kinda makes you wonder if Dorothy was really dropped into the Middle East.) Of the three animals, only the bear can still be found in the area. The Caspian tiger became extinct in the late 1960's. As the bible mentions nothing about any tiger, we will not be discussing them. Lions, however, are mentioned more than a few times. Historic Lions:With all the lions in the bible, where did they go? We've all heard of African Lions. We know how dangerous they are. Well, from texts and images, like the one to the left, we've learned they were heavily poached by the royalty of the time. In fact, the only place this animal exists today is in a small pocket in Asia. They have been completely wiped out of the Middle East. These lions also look a little different than their African counterparts. First of all, their mane is thinner while their coat is thicker. Secondly, the tassel on their tail is thicker. They are the same in their general demeanor. These animals were strong and dangerous. Biblical Lions:Lions are all over the place in the bible. New Testament. Hebrew bible. Allegory. History. I want to hit upon some major themes surrounding this beast. If I don't hit on a big one you know, perhaps it will come back on Sunday when I share my Lion sermon. Attacking Lion: When a lion attacks in scripture, it usually means death will soon follow. It could be the lion, or it might be the person being attacked. Sometimes the person being attacked overcomes the lion: The fighter of Kabzeel: "Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab's two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion." (2 Sam 23:20 NIV) David, King of Israel: "But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God." (1 Sam 17:34-36 NIV) The action of Samson: "The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done." (Judges 14:6) Sometimes the lion wins the battle: At defying God's words a man from Judah is torn apart by a lion: "When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived." (1 Kings 13:23-25 NIV) Historic Lion: While the scripture doesn't mention it, we know lions, among other deadly animals, were used in the coliseum to kill early Christians. Probably the reason these stories don't make into our biblical narrative is because, they happened rather late, but also over the subtext to being destroyed or overcoming a lion. If the bible story has the person overcome the lion, they are favored in God's eyes. If the story has the person devoured by the lion, they have lost favor in God's eyes. Those who died in the coliseums were in a situation where they were raised up as martyrs, favored by God. Yet, they still suffered death at the jaws of the lion. In a way, it is almost respectful not to have their story shared biblically. Symbolic Lion: Isaiah has a couple of symbolic images of lions worthy of our attention. In both places it shows peace as a lion acting outside its natural behavior. There are lions lying with calves, (Isaiah 11:6). There are also an image of a lion choosing to eat straw, (Isaiah 65:25). It's a beautiful image of peace, where that which is dangerous chooses not be dangerous anymore. Dead Lion: Sampson, having killed a lion, leaves it. A while later he finds it and bees had made a beehive inside of it. Being a Nazarite, eating wild honey from a dead animal was a big no-no. He does it anyway. While this incident doesn't take Sampson's power, it does show how disconnected from God Sampson has become. Sampson killed the lion, but would eventually die to be in God's good will again. Join me Sunday afternoon as I deal with Daniel and the Lion's Den! See you then.
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