Retreating to the Altar of Truth

Dear friends,

Fall is a time of change, a hinge time, a turning of one thing to another. Not just the leaves, but our clothes, our habits, our diets, and even our personalities must transition with the season. But all of those changes are made a bit easier by an awareness that things will go back to how they were before, that the shortening days will lengthen again and peaches will one day be back on the menu.

Most of us can deal with that kind of cyclical, predictable change pretty well; after all, we’ve dealt with it many times before. But what about the changes that are much bigger, much slower, and much more difficult to undo? What about changes in society, ecology, and politics?

The fact is that our Christian sensibility, which leads us to reach out and directly engage those who disagree with us, works best when we can find a way to eat together, talk together, when there’s an opportunity to actually connect as human beings and ignite the flame of Christ’s love that lies dormant in every heart. This works well for personal discussions of politics, but when it comes to things like the now-frequent marches of racist hate groups in this country, we may need to approach things differently.

This week’s Psalm 43 is a prayer for those who have seen clear truth and are oppressed by vile lies. It’s a prayer for hope and patience, and for deliverance from deceptive people.

If current trends continue, there will at some point be another white supremacist rally at a nearby town or campus. When that happens, we may be best served to draw away, to “go to the altar of God.” It is good to show up and resist those who distort history and worship their own skin color, but unfortunately even well-intentioned resistance can add fuel to groups that thrive on hate. Rather than giving them the spectacle of resistance and violence that they crave, we might gather at a different place and make clear that God’s light and truth shine among us.

Change doesn’t have to be threatening, nor does it have to be irreversible. The darkness of hate we now see in so many hearts in this country may continue to get worse, but God’s light will be victorious in time. In Christ we become part of turning the tide; there lies our joy and our confidence. The nights may be getting longer, but we already look forward to Christmas when the daytime will begin to gain ground.

God’s light and truth be with you each day,
Andrew

The Depths

Dear friends,

The days are darkening as winter takes hold, and it seems like we all know someone who is struggling to keep up their spirits (or are struggling ourselves.) This week I was struck by an old devotional I stumbled across from the Mennonite publication Rejoice. Written by Nancy Witmer as a meditation on Psalm 42, it spoke to my own feelings of deep sadness as I look at the world around us in general and at the suffering of people I know and love in specific. I don't think I can improve on Nancy's words, so I've reproduced them here. I recommend that you first read the psalm and dwell on its expression of endurance in the face of depression, and then allow Nancy's words to bring the scripture into your life:

I admired Laura. She was a confident woman, a 

glowing Christian, a willing worker and leader in the church. Laura

reflected the best qualities of the model woman of Proverbs 31 and

of the New Testament heroines, Dorcas and Priscilla.

Then a series of hardships dropped on Laura. A family member’s

long-term illness and too many responsibilities slowly crushed

her upbeat spirit. Mental and physical exhaustion drained Laura’s

positive outlook on life, leaving in its place a deep sadness and

despair.

“I don’t even want to crawl out of bed in the morning,” Laura

told me. “Every day is harder than the one before. It’s been ten long

years. Where is God? I’m trying to believe that he is in control of

my life, but I can’t see it now.” Laura sighed. “Nevertheless, I must

cling to God’s promises because I’ve got nothing else left.”

The writer of Psalm 42 also struggles to trust in God. This former

worship leader now questions whether God even remembers

him. Sadness swallows his former joy. Enemies surround him with

taunts and threaten his life. Despite the psalmist’s desperation,

however, he tells himself, “Hope in God; for I shall again praise

him.”

Today, we find ourselves in a hopeless situation. We’re exhausted

and weary. We feel like God has forgotten us. May we take heart

and continue to hope in God. We will praise him again.
                                     -Nancy Witmer

"Deep calls to deep," as the psalm says, and the depths of our despair calls out to the depths of God's love. May that unfathomable, abiding love be your daily companion and nightly song.

Blessings of strength and hope,
Andrew

Time is... Caesar's?

Dear friends,

“Time is money” they say, and the fact is we spend a lot of our time earning money (or saving it by doing work we would otherwise have to pay for.) Even those of us who are retired or in school are still in money’s orbit, either preparing for a career or managing our assets and relationships after our career. We try not to let ourselves obsess over it, but we can’t deny that money still matters a lot.

But if money is what we receive in exchange for our God-given days and hours on this earth, it seems we should give those gifts back to God first and foremost. That being the case, why does Jesus tell us to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” in this week’s gospel passage? Is he really saying all our money belongs to the government first and foremost because it has pictures of presidents on it?

Many of Jesus’ friends and neighbors were deeply opposed to paying Roman taxes, since they saw the horrible things the Roman armies did with that money. Today, some of us intentionally resist paying war taxes but the majority of us are (more or less) content to pay our part; we see the money doing a lot of good! We need infrastructure and the rule of law. Beyond that, many of the practices and priorities of the Christian church have turned out to be such good ideas that over the centuries the government has decided to get involved-- literacy, care for the sick, care for the poor. These are valuable things, and the government has proven a reliable, if flawed, provider.

I think Jesus was advocating for a middle ground; neither total rebellion against government taxes, but also not a total acceptance of the way things are. He’s telling us to play along with the system, but to always keep in mind God’s broader perspective. We should still feel ambiguous about paying our taxes even as we do pay them, aware that our ultimate allegiance calls us to look for ways to reform or even abolish the system we support.

May we all experience some freedom in that ambiguity, freedom based on an understanding that God’s Image is infinitely more valuable than Benjamin Franklin’s.

Grace and peace be with you all,
Andrew

Your Divine Worth

Dear friends,

How often do we hear words of comfort in our lives? Hopefully they form part of our daily diet, regularly spoken as part of our interactions with family, friends, and coworkers. But the sad truth is that too many people in the world go too long without having someone reach out in a way that both recognizes their troubles and affirms their worth. And oftentimes when such words do come they can’t be heard, they can’t sink into a heart hardened by a lifelong lack of encouragement.

Last night a friend recommended to me a speaker and author, Brené Brown, whose TED talk on human connection I found to be profound and life-giving. I highly recommend you click the link and listen to what she has to say about human connection and the crucial importance of a sense of self-worth.

Many of us may struggle with that numbness which both the Bible and Brené describe. For me the words of this week’s psalm, Psalm 23, are medicine. The green pastures and still waters described there become in my heart a place of safe retreat where I can gather the strength required to be vulnerable, to let myself feel. These words are immensely popular for a reason; they accomplish the very thing they speak of, that is they bring us an awareness of God’s presence and abiding love.

Read them and remember that you are loved, first by God but also by those of us who have had the privilege to be with you. As Jesus loved us so we love one another, and with Christ we are able, at times, to even love people we have never met, people we may never meet, people who might count themselves our enemies. All are worthy; and if they can just hear and understand this, I think it will bring much healing.

God’s love be with you all,
Andrew

God on the Radio

Dear friends,

I find listening to the radio in the car to be pretty much endlessly amusing, no matter how awful the music or talk show may be. I like getting exposed to so many subcultures and genres, taking the pulse of how people talk and think in half a dozen different groups within a few minutes. Of course, once you’ve listened to your millionth self-righteous breakup song or sappy love song, you start to feel like you know where they’re going with it.

Imagine with me that you’re listening to one of those love songs, a woman singing about her lover and how he cares for her. Maybe it’s a country song all about jeans and saddles, maybe a pop/hiphop song all about champagne and dance moves, or maybe a folk song all about fields and flowers. Whatever the imagery, just as the singer really gets going about how awesome her guy is and how he showers affection on his beloved, we find out it’s all for nothing; she’s just using him.

Suddenly the song swaps perspective: The betrayed lover starts singing, whose gifts and affection have been taken advantage of. What should he do? It isn’t a clichéd love song anymore, but a clichéd breakup song about dumping a cheating, lying, cruel and ungrateful partner, a song of bitter triumph, where he takes back everything he gave-- no more fancy cars, no more nights on the beach.

And then comes the final twist… this has been a political song the whole time! It’s been about America who has turned away from her principles despite being showered with all the best jeans, champagne, and flowers. Instead she has chosen a path of bloodshed and misery; an economy, foreign policy, and culture based on violence, and the God that gave so abundantly will now take everything away.

That’s what it felt like for the people of Jerusalem when they first heard the lyrics written down in Isaiah 5:1-7 (click here). It was a sophisticated use of the “ploughing in the vineyard” imagery out of popular love songs to offer a cutting critique of the social and political choices of the nation.

So the next time you hear a sappy love song on the radio, think of God’s love for the children of Israel, for the people of America, for all nations. And the next time you hear an angry breakup song, think of God’s bitter disappointment at the suffering and death we cause because of our fears and power struggles.

Told you the radio was endlessly amusing.

Grace and peace be with you all this week,
Andrew