Where Are You In This Story?

 Last weeks Old Testament Reading was Jonah 3:10 - 4:11.  I have been playing around with this section of Jonah all week.  

Here is what went through my mind:

If you have never read the book of Jonah, you have missed an extraordinary snapshot of human life.

This is one tiny book, in the Old Testament, tells one vital truth about God’s unwavering dealings with the human psyche.

A story that mosts everyone can in one way or another identify with.

In a nutshell, Jonah gets mad — furious — at God for changing His mind about His  threat to destroy the City, and people, of Nineveh.  

Jonah finally did as God had asked.  He announced that the city would be  overthrown by God because of their evil ways.  

But, just as Jonah had predicted, the people — all the people — repented.  So God forgave them and let them live.

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. (Jonah 3)

That really pissed Jonah off. 

So he ran far out of the city to pout.

But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. ²He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. ³And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ ⁴And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ ⁵Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. 

6 The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. ⁷But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. ⁸When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’

9 But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?’ And he said, ‘Yes, angry enough to die.’ ¹⁰Then the Lord said, ‘You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labour and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?’ (Jonah 4)

I love God’s response:  Is it right for you to be angry

What we don’t have in this section of the story is what happened at the beginning when Jonah ran away from God’s request and ended up in the belly of a BIG fish.  And Jonah prayed and prayed that God would save him.

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, ²saying,

‘I called to the Lord out of my distress,

   and he answered me;

out of the belly of Sheol I cried,….

¹⁰Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land. (Jonah 2)

Biblical stories most always have two major points.

1. The story includes something familiar to the      

           culture.

2. They are also meant to expose something about 

           the human mind-set.

Things that all-to-often skew our ability to see past our own imagination of: fair, right and good.

These pointed stories challenge our set of values and expectations.  Our well defined thinking, our inability to see past life as we have experienced it.  To how things ‘should’ be — could be.

What is it that crabbed your imagination -- or tugs at your heart -- Jonah's story?

More on Jonah next time.  It might be a few days, I am leaving on a train trip tomorrow.

Right At This Moment

 I read these line (from Ted Loder’s ‘Grerrillas of Grace)  with my first sip of coffee this morning :

“Eternal Friend,

grant me an ease,

to breathe deeply of this moment, 

this light,

   this miracle of now.

Beneath the din and fury

of great movements

and harsh news

and urgent crises,

make me attentive still

to good new,

to small occasions,

and the grace of what is possible….”

And I put my head back, closed my eye, and let the silence speak what was in my thoughts.

Right here in this moment I am cozy in my chair with a warm cup of coffee and my fury friend lying close to me.

In this moment I am safe.

I have my daughter and family right next door. 

I am warm in my tiny home from the chill of fall. 

A new little great-grandson just across town,

Four wonders living their young live in their own ways.

I have a precious friend to share with and care for.

Right in this moment I have no worries, no needs, no fears.

In this moment I have people to love and who love me.

In this moment I am blessed with a faith that sustains me through whatever I must face as this day moves into darkness.

Right this moment I can watch the wind of the Spirit move about doing God’s bidding;

 

enjoy the white fluffy clouds in the blue sky,

the sun lighting up the whole world.

Right at this moment I have food in the freezer, cupboards and refrigerator to feed me for weeks.

Right this moment I have money enough for what ever I truly need.  And am mobile enough to get it.

25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁸And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” ³²For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.(Mt. 6)

Back to the Joseph story

Through the years I have learned that God can be painfully slow, and subtle, as He works.

You see, it takes time to heal brokenness  and trust.  

But slow is good.

                            In my humble opinion of course.

So God uses time to make sure the healing will truly take hold of all the damage.

It is like the difference between doing a poor job quickly; and an excellent job slowly and carefully.  

The carefully and thoughtfully worked job is long lasting. And stands the tests of time.

In my experience God doesn’t deal in the quick-fix-method.

If you read the entire story of what Joseph went through; before and after his brothers decided to act on their petty jealously.  You would see that the outcome of Joseph’s journey did not come without painfulness, nor ease.

God was making sure that Joseph learned the lessons he needed to learn.

And God made sure that Joseph’s brothers learned what they needed to learn as well.

And God does the same with you and me.

The constant theme, the constant truth, throughout our long history as God’s people is the gracious mercy of God to a sinful humanity.

And as we read Psalm 103, and Joseph’s story, we are eloquently reminded of that precious truth.

Saying that, I am reminded of a young man who long ago asked: “So What?”  

He was preparing to give the sermon that next Sunday; and I asked him how he had come up with such a powerful message.  He said I kept asking myself "so what?" when I read something that caught my attention.

“So what” does that truth have to do with you and me?

Does it really, honestly, matter that God is a God who does-not deal with us according to our sins — our unfortunate words and actions?

Does it really matter that He does-not repay us for our wickedness or evil little ways?  

Does it really matter at all?

Truly, does it impact you and me in any way?

Does it change how we interact with each other as you worship and work with each other?

It is a good question to reflect on when we read about the gracious and forgiving God we claim to believe in.

How Do We Forgive Awful?

In my last blog I talked about 9/11, and things that happened on that day. in reference to Joseph’s response to his brother’s attempt to ask for forgiveness for the awful/evil things they did to Joseph.

September 11th created a radically new chapter in the history of the  United States of America.

A day that most of us can remember moment by moment. 

We can remember where we were, what we were doing, how we were feeling, and how we spent that awful challenging day.

Horror, anger, disbelief, outrage etc.,  filled our thinking and our speaking.  

Now, nineteen years later, I sit here wondering about the issue before us as we read Genesis 50:15-21

15 Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, ‘What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?’ ¹⁶So they approached Joseph, saying, ‘Your father gave this instruction before he died, ¹⁷“Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.” Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.’ Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, ‘We are here as your slaves.’ ¹⁹But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? ²⁰Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. ²¹So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.’ In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

First of all the brothers did not ask for forgiveness.  

⁷“Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.” Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.’ 

How did Joseph respond?

⁹But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? ²⁰Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. 

Those who cause the destruction in New York, Washington D.C and over the skis of Pennsylvania, on September 11 2001, never even considered asking for forgiveness.

As a matter of fact, they believed they were doing God’s work.

so in order for those affected by that awful day to live in peace, there needs to be some form of forgiveness.

For their own peace of mind they need to grapple with what they grieved; and yet could do nothing about.

Put yourself in their place.

How would you do it?

I would imagine you would do it much like Joseph did.  He took life as it came and trusted in God’s presence and guidance.  Then lived each moment at a time.

Now I invite you to notice how Joseph responded to his brothers.

Notice that he didn’t actually say he forgave his brothers?

He basically told them they needed to let God do the forgiving.  And in order to do that they need to repent to God for their sins.

However, by his actions Joseph show no revenge.  

By his actions he show the love and mercy of God.

I want to think God mended Joseph’s anger and pain as a result of his brother’s action toward him.

As Joseph lived his life, in a foreign country/culture, he grew in faith and thus wisdom.  Learning to adjust to the awful that had been done to him

Without God’s gracious help, forgiveness is impossible for the human physic to manage.

That is just the truth.

A Day We Wish We Could Forget

Sitting here this morning thinking about  9-11-2001; and  three songs came in to my mind: Darryl Worley's "Have You Forgotten", Alan Jackson's "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning" and An artist unknown to me "Do You Remember?" 

All three of those songs talk about a day none of us could ignore; nor ever forget.  

Maybe not in our every minute; but this date is one that will never pass without a memory.  Why?  Because it woke us up to the possibility that the United States of America is also vulnerable.  

And that is horrifying to a people who have, for so long, lived in denial of such possibility.

The songs are graphic and bring back the pain of that day.  The sadness that our sisters and brothers on the East coast experienced in those awful moments in New York City, Washington D.C. and in the air over Pennsylvania.  

The destruction was massive and quick.  

No chance to change it. 

   

No possibility that it didn't happen on American soil.  

      

Bam

          Done 

                     Horrifying

                                          Period.  

Now, in the safety of your own home today, think about  that horrific -- un-godly  -- action taken in the name of God.  Yes, in the name of "God", a minority group of people who claim to have the will of God as their personal guide for doing what they do.

And yet what they did, it seems to me and many others I am sure, was so against the God I have faith in.

  

Now, I invite you to remember the God that Jesus came to personally model for us.

The God of love and compassion, mercy and forgiveness.  

A God who wants peace among his people. 

A God who came in Jesus skin to teach us not to be mean or unkind to others. 

A God who long before he came to earth, in Jesus skin, had his Prophet Isaiah announce to the nation:

4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they  learn war any more.   

Now ask you:  Does that sound like a God who would have airplanes do such massive destruction and murder?

And yet, with all that being written, we have in our country groups of Christians -- who claim to believe in Jesus --  who would have us believe that God is a God like the god the Taliban believes in — a God of wrath, judgment and destruction.  Who want us to believe that if we don't watch out God will get us, and punish us, and send us to hell or maybe have us killed. 

Now go on tube and listen to those songs sung from deep in hearts of those three men.  

                Watch the pictures.  

                           Then remember that morning.  

Where you are and what you are doing" 

And remember now the healing that has taken place by God's Grace alone.  

And remember that God does not wish for us to do harm -- large or small -- to our neighbors.  

Neighbors close.  

                        Or neighbors far away.

God Forgives The Unforgivable

There are two readings for this this Sunday’s lectionary, that I want to attempt to reflex on.  

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The first one is Psalm 103.

The second on is Genesis 50: 15-21.

As we reads through Psalm 103, that I reference in yesterday’s blog, we find a remarkable description of the divine/human relationship.  The clarification is spoken in verse 10: 

¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins,

   nor repay us according to our iniquities. 

“Iniquities” have the meaning, today, of wickedness or evil.

Think about this: Think of the worst of the worst ‘sin’.  The one thing you understand as unforgivable, what would it be?

That ‘sin’ can still be not enough to stop God’s love and mercy; God’s never failing compassion and gracious consideration.

¹⁴ For he knows how we were made;

   he remembers that we are dust.

God’s mind and heart are far greater, and far wider, than anything the human mind can imagine.

How does this bit of information compute in your brain?

As I get older, and continue to study God’s word, I can’t help but wonder about the two characteristics talked about in the two readings for this week,

The two characteristics that God portrays in His love and forgiveness.

I have learned that we — you and I — have no idea how blessed we are.

We have no idea all God does in this life we live.  In this world we live in.

A world where the good, the bad, and the ugly share the very same space with God.

I don’t think we have a clue that God is in the middle — surrounding all the crap of life that we create.  All the time preparing, and repairing,  and recreating something better.

That my friends is an amazing truth!

Just when we think this world is going to hell-in-a-hand basket.  God shows up and proves us wrong.

He did that in Joseph’s life. 

   
       He did the same thing after 9/11.

                                 
                  And He is still doing it today.

More on this next time.

¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul,

   and all that is within me,

   bless his holy name. 

² Bless the Lord, O my soul,

   and do not forget all his benefits— 

³ who forgives all your iniquity,

   who heals all your diseases, 

⁴ who redeems your life from the Pit,

   who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 

⁵ who satisfies you with good as long as you live

   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 

⁶ The Lord works vindication

   and justice for all who are oppressed. 

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,

   his acts to the people of Israel. 

⁸ The Lord is merciful and gracious,

   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

⁹ He will not always accuse,

   nor will he keep his anger for ever. 

¹⁰ He does not deal with us according to our sins,

   nor repay us according to our iniquities. 

¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth,

   so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him; 

¹² as far as the east is from the west,

   so far he removes our transgressions from us. 

¹³ As a father has compassion for his children,

   so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. 

¹⁴ For he knows how we were made;

   he remembers that we are dust. 

¹⁵ As for mortals, their days are like grass;

   they flourish like a flower of the field; 

¹⁶ for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

   and its place knows it no more. 

¹⁷ But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting

   on those who fear him,

   and his righteousness to children’s children, 

¹⁸ to those who keep his covenant

   and remember to do his commandments. 

¹⁹ The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,

   and his kingdom rules over all. 

²⁰ Bless the Lord, O you his angels,

   you mighty ones who do his bidding,

   obedient to his spoken word. 

²¹ Bless the Lord, all his hosts,

   his ministers that do his will. 

²² Bless the Lord, all his works,

   in all places of his dominion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.(Ps. 103)