remember your birthright

Jeremiah 2:4-13
for Sept 2, 2007 (Proper 17)

Jeremiah says, "Cross over to the coasts of Kittim (now Cyprus) and look, send to Kedar (now Jordan) and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this." The 'like this' refers to the southern kingdom of Judah's rejection of the birthright of its faith. Jeremiah is saying, "Look, all these other nations, who serve false gods, have managed to hang on to theirs. What is wrong with you?!"

What was wrong with them is what is wrong with us. We are sinners. Sinners don't act in their own interest because they are so profoundly lost. You've encountered people like this. Drug addicts and other addicts fall into this category.

"Well... thank goodness I'm not one of them!" What do you mean? A drug addict or a sinner? Remember, it's the problem of sin that is at issue here.

We forsake our spiritual birthright individually when we succumb to narcicissm, hedonism, or materialism. Translation: living a life focused on yourself in which you spend all your money in a lust for more entertainment. Know anyone like this?

We forsake our spiritual birthright corporately when we succumb to corporatism and populism in our churches. Is the point of the gospel that the church should be run more like successful corporations, or that the people running corporations should be encouraged to conduct themselves more like Jesus? Is the point of the gospel to maximize Sunday attendance (we've got to pay for this building) or to save lives and change lives, and transform communities?

Fellow disciples of Christ, let us remember our birthright.

Anathoth: a beacon of hope

Michalengelo, "Jeremiah"

Proper 16 (Aug. 26, 2007)
Jeremiah 1:4-10

Anathoth is one of my favorite places in the Bible because of how the Lord used it to speak hope into my own life and into my ministry. One day, while residing in Siberia I found myself on a train in Romania reading Jeremiah. A colleague said, "What are you reading?" He knew it was the Bible but wanted to know which book. "Jeremiah," I replied. "What are you getting out of it?" He may have asked this because like me he sometimes struggled to know what to make of Jeremiah, the ponderous prophet from Anathoth.

Michalengelo's painting above seems to pick up on this heaviness. Another title for the piece might be, "This does not look good." What a thankless job Jeremiah had: the northern kingdom of Israel had fallen, and despite all that Jeremiah would do, Judah would soon fall as well.

Yet amidst all of this darkness persists a little beacon of hope named Anathoth. Anathoth was a beacon of hope first of all because it was one of the original cities of refuge. Second, it was the birthplace of Jeremiah himself, one of the righteous remnant. Third, it was the place where God commanded Jeremiah to buy real estate in the face of the impending Babylonian invasion. Talk about the ultimate contrarian!

Back on that train in Romania, in response to my friend's question, "what are you getting out of this?", I answered, "Well, I'm thinking I may need to buy some real estate in Siberia." I did, and that too has proven to be a good investment. Never doubt that the investments you make in ministry will be worth it, despite the hardships that may attend.

Jeremiah's investment turned out to be a good one, too. Eventually the Babylonians faded away and the people of Israel returned. Finally Jesus himself arrived to plant his kingdom, the one that once planted would endure forever.

Keep your eyes on the promise of God and hope will never be lost again.

a lullabye of malevolence

Van Gogh, "Red Vineyard"
(apparently the only painting he managed to sell in his lifetime)

Proper 15 (August 19, 2007)
Isaiah 5:1-7

This passage is one of the most beautiful examples of Hebrew poetry in the entire Old Testament. The opening notes of what is really a song describe a lush vineyard as a metaphor of God’s blessing and care. This song was not only for the southern kingdom of Judah but is for contemporary believers and churches as well. God has planted us on a fertile hillside, and having cleared this hillside of stones, our lives now flourish as the choicest vines. Yet despite all this care and blessing so often we produce only bad fruit. When this occurs what else can God do but clear the vineyard and start over? Suddenly, the full and tender blessing of God meets a malevolent end.

Let's take a moment to evaluate the fruitfulness of our own lives. Am I producing fruit consistent with the blessings God has planted in me? How about the fruitfulness of our own local church? Is she producing wine consistent with the blessings showered upon her? If not, what is now plush could soon become a wasteland.

Yet know also how much the Lord loves you just because he does. With this in mind, pursue justice, and with his love firmly rooted in your heart, pursue righteousness. May the blessings of the Lord be found flourishing in the vineyards of our lives.

learn to do right

"Prophet Isaiah", Durer

Readings for week of Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007 (Proper 14)
Isaiah 1:1,10-20

What this opening chapter of Isaiah rails against is religious hypocrisy. The believers of Judah were bringing lots of sacrifices, but they were hollow, and meant only to keep up appearances. There was no real commitment to be transformed by the old covenant, and no real commitment to extend the righteousness of that covenant into their own lives, much less into their society.

To what extent might we be guilty of the same? Is the extent of our faith commitment to show up on Sunday and drop a few dollars into the offering plate, or is there a real shared commitment within our local fellowships to “Seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless, and plead the case of the widow” (Isa. 1:17).

Here are some questions to make these imperatives come alive for us:

Seek justice: Come to church on Sunday not to fulfill a religious obligation, but rather to create an opportunity for the justice of God to permeate our own priorites and commitments.

Encourage the oppressed: As a fellowship, commit to encouraging at least one oppressed group of believers somewhere else in the world. Chuck Colson, in a recent Breakpoint article, notes what Russian author and survivor of years in the Soviet gulag, has to say on oppression under totalitarian regimes (quoting from the Washington Post):

“The truth is that in totalitarian regimes, there are no human rights. Period. The media do not criticize the government. Parliaments do not check executive power. Courts do not uphold due process. And human rights groups don't file reports . . . life under totalitarianism is slavery with no possibility of escape."

Does our fellowship have contact with anyone this situation already, or who is at risk for this kind of oppression? Write to them. Pray for them. Visit them.

Defend the cause of the fatherless: Find out about the orphans in our community. Gather together a small group of adults from your church that can each commit to weekly to meet with an orphan to provide some love and mentoring.

Plead the case of the widow: Talk to a widow in our fellowship. Ask them what challenges they are facing and then find one specific way to help them practically.

There is something in this for us as well: “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.” (Isa 1:19).

Ephraim and the Lion's Roar

Rembrandt, "Jacob Blessing Ephraim and Manasseh"

Proper 13 (Aug 5, 2007)
Hosea 11:1-11

Why are there so many different names for the nation of Israel in the Bible? Why can’t the Holy Spirit just pick one name and stick with it to make things clearer. The answer may be that in the various names there often resides poignant meaning. In this passage, the prophet Hosea starts out with a very straightforward reference to ‘Israel’. Of course, this name itself is freighted with implications (as Howard Hendrix might put it). Yet then in verse 3 Hosea switches to Ephraim. Why?

It may be that Hosea knew that using the name ‘Ephraim’ would bring to mind details of the journey of the Jewish people from Egypt which he had already alluded to in verse 1. Ephraim and Manasseh were both born to Joseph in Egypt. One knowing the family history would recall the moment when Joseph brought his sons to their grandfather Jacob, also known as ‘Israel’, or “deceiver”. Joseph wanted his sons to receive Jacob’s blessing as family patriarch. Joseph directed Jacob’s right hand toward the head of his older son, Manasseh, but then Jacob intentionally crossed his hands to bless Ephraim the younger. What Jacob stole from his older brother Esau through deceit Manesseh would now receive legitimately by grace. So powerful yet tender is the love of God that even our deceit can be transformed into blessing.

Another reason Hosea may have employed ‘Ephraim’ here is to highlight the the tribe of Ephraim’s pre-eminence in Samaria, or what was now the northern kingdom of Israel. Ephraim ruled this area for more than 500 years during the time of the judges and the first kings of Israel, before the kingdom split in half. Ephraim was known for a domineering, discontented, and haughty spirit (Easton’s Bible Dictionary). So corrosive is the pull of sin that even a blessing such as Ephraim received can eventually fall apart.

Yet, says Hosea, despite the grandness of Ephraim’s blessing, and even despite the brazenness of its subsequent rebellion, God couldn’t bring himself to destroy it utterly (vv. 8 – 9). Instead, he would roar like a lion, and his children would come trembling from the west (v 10). Could this very passage be the source of C.S. Lewis’s depiction of God as the lion Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia?

Amidst all your activity this day, do you hear the lion’s roar? Then come trembling to him. “I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord (v. 11). This means that he will bring to your life the peace and joy of a blessing beyond which you could ask or imagine.