I meant to post this weeks ago. Better late than never...
It was my full intention to read Luke's account of Jesus entering Jerusalem in hope of studying his final week of ministry. However, I decided to start in chapter 17 instead of 19 and got hung up on the cleansing of the lepers. Not sure why but it kept gnawing at me so I decided to stick with it a bit and here are the tidbits I discovered in my studies...
Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.
And they lifted up [their] voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
Luke 17:12-13
1) It is interesting how we open our circle of friends when we are in positions of despair. How quick we are to take any friend we can find when others won't have us. I say this because a few verses later we find out that there was a Samaritan in the bunch. Jews and Samaritans typically do not pair well, but in this case, their infirmity brought them together. If only we could see that we all have a "leprosy" of our own and not be so quick and selective in the company we keep. I am sure we would be astonished that the people who would most likely understand and appreciate our ailments are those whom we show indifference to and choose to keep outside our little circle.
2) They stood far off. They recognized and obeyed the law that demanded they keep their distance due to their disease. They were considered impure and were humble before the only Man that could remedy their impurity. Shouldn't we all recognize our own impurity before the Lord and humble ourselves before making our own petitions.
3) Jesus, Master. I love how Mathew Henry puts it so I will just let him do the talking..."those that expect help from Christ must take him for their Master, and be at his command. If he be Master, he will be Jesus, a Saviour, and not otherwise."
4) have mercy on us. I love that they did not ask for a cure specifically. They didn't need a medical cure, they needed the mercy of Christ. Sometimes I wonder if some unanswered prayers are simply a result of not asking for the right remedy. There is so much going on around us in the world that we are not permitted to see but are told about in the Bible. I am no physician and often have no clue that one ailment is often the effect of some other, often more severe problem. However, I do know that I am in constant need of divine mercy. It is the cure all for what ails us fragile humans.
So when He saw [them], He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the
priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
Luke 17:14
1) I love that He saw them. They had just lifted up their voices, the text could have easily said, "He heard them". No, He laid eyes on them. It was so much more personal (for both Jesus and the lepers). Not just the sound of a voice in need, but a face with desperate eyes and a body full of disease and the Lord of heaven and earth took the time to look at them in their totality.
2) show yourselves to the
priests. Really, that's the prescription? He didn't say you are healed, He just said "Go". Interesting how the act of obedience is the catalyst for the cure and not the other way around. I fear we too often approach God with a "give me mine, and I will give you yours" attitude. Oh the healing we are missing because of our mindset on how we think God should operate.
(a) I wonder how quickly it took for the healing to begin. Obviously their obedience was first necessary but did it happen as they turned in compliance, did they take but a few steps or did it take long enough for doubt to start to creep into their mind? Were they even looking for the miraculous right away or assume that something else must be in order?
3) they were cleansed. No one wants to think of themselves as dirty, in need of cleansing. That gives the idea that our filth may indeed be self inflicted and that is in complete contrast of how we like to see things. If I be dirty, it be because of some reason, surely not of my own devise. But the cold hard truth is that our filth is more often than not the product of our own hands, feet, mouth and mind. It's a good thing Jesus is in the laundering business because boy do I need to be cleansed.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on [his] face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
Luke 17:15-16
1) One, only one returned. I am tempted to give the benefit of the doubt to the others. Maybe they are just following orders and the orders were to go to the priest. Maybe they didn't know what that one guy was doing. But the text reads that the one returning with a loud voice glorified God. Surely they heard and knew what was going on. After realizing that they too were healed not a single other person thought it a good idea to do the same? Perhaps after being healed their circle of friends was tightening and they were no longer in need of a Samaritan friend.
2) He fell on his face. The very face whose eyes not too long ago had only despair a anguish and was covered by a disease that most would turn in avoidance. But he fell at the feet of the Man who looked at him and delivered him from his scourge. I too often have been one of the ones that kept going, occasionally I may turn my head and issued a perfunctory thanks. Shame on me. The Samaritan, having been cured, knew he could now legally approach Jesus, but also recognized his position enough to know that being on his knees, face down, at His feet was were he needed to be.
And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where [are] the nine?
Luke 17:17
I cant help but wonder who was Jesus looking at specifically when he said these words. Was He looking at those traveling with Him to demonstrate the lack of gratitude within the healed group or was this a direct question to the single returning man? I personally think it was to the returning healed leper. Not entirely sure why I feel this but it reminds me that, yes, we are our brothers keeper. Maybe the returning man should have insisted that the others return with him, or at the very least point out that their continuing would be inconsiderate to the One who healed them.
And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
Luke 17:19
I love that Jesus distinguishes this gentleman's cure from the others. The others cured by the mercy of Christ and their desperate petition, but this man, this non Jew, it was his faith that completed him. The others might soon forget their healing and the healer and perhaps not even care the means of their cure, but this Samaritan would never be able to shake the words of his Healer as it entangled him, a lowly, diseased man with the Son of God in an unbreakable bond that led to his healing. I love that God loves to tangle Himself in our everyday life and let us participate in our own healing.
April 11, 2013
January 25, 2013
Love Never Ends...on my "to read" list
Last year was a blur of busyness. Hindsight, it feels like a lot was going on but nothing was getting done. This is very frustrating and disconcerting. One of the things that I regret having to let go of last year was reading. I love to read. I like that it takes me to places and times that I can not visit. I like to meet, in a virtual respect, people that are intriguing and I love that it is almost impossible to finish a book and not be better for reading it. Sure I have read books that I wonder why I wasted my time with it, but that is why I learned many years ago that it is important to pick words out of books that you like or don't know the meaning of and add them to your repertoire so that at the very least I can say I learned a new word.
I have a few books that I got last year and either never got to finish or worst yet, have yet to crack the spine of it. I have promised myself that I would finish these before I seek another book. But darn the luck, a book has found me and I absolutely can not wait to hold it in my hands (yes I prefer the tactile pleasures of holding a book rather than reading from an electronic reading device).
The book I am speaking of is...."The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer" edited by Isabel Best. Here is a snippet from an excerpt that I recently read.
I have a few books that I got last year and either never got to finish or worst yet, have yet to crack the spine of it. I have promised myself that I would finish these before I seek another book. But darn the luck, a book has found me and I absolutely can not wait to hold it in my hands (yes I prefer the tactile pleasures of holding a book rather than reading from an electronic reading device).
The book I am speaking of is...."The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer" edited by Isabel Best. Here is a snippet from an excerpt that I recently read.
There will be just one thing in the end, and that is the love that was in our thoughts, worries, wishes, and hopes. Everything else ends and passes away - everything we did not think, and long for, out of love. All thoughts, all knowledge, all talk that has not love comes to an end - only love never ends.
Bonhoeffer goes on to answer why everything else meets an end and yet love continues....
Because only in love does a person let go of himself or herself and give up his or her will, for the others person's benefit. Because love alone comes not from my own self but from another self, from God's self.
I must admit that I have been meaning to read Bonhoeffer's biography for a few years now and have never gotten around to it, however, this excerpt has awakened a new desire to not only read his biography but this newly released collection of sermons. Good thing my birthday is not to far off and I have about a month to finish my current book so that I might sink my teeth into this one.
January 5, 2013
When listening becomes hearing
Its been several weeks since I first heard "I Will Wait" by Mumford and Sons. When I first heard it I thought it was cute but it didn't really catch my attention. Next time I heard it I found myself enjoying the instrumentation and uniqueness of sound that emanated from them. Their voices where that of storytellers. I love songs that envelope a story, I believe it adds a depth to an otherwise "flat" interpretation of life in song. So, I decided that if they sounded like storytellers then perhaps I should listen to the story they were telling. Boy am I glad I did.
I do not know much detail of the band but I do believe they are a folk rock band that is influenced by literature. Not sure if they meant this song to have a strong Christian undertone but it sure does drive at it with some of the most beautiful amalgamations of words and sentiment I have heard in a while. If they did intend it to be so I love that they didn't cloud it with the false pious bravado that is often found in some Christian songs and hymns. They opened the words and managed to give them the freedom to dance and smile on the ears of the hearer so much so that it is difficult to hear the humility and longing that is being spoke of. Theologians the world over have stumbled over esoteric words and hyper religious banter that eventually fail where these words minister to the secret longing in the depths of the heart with a blinding clarity. Bravo.
I am sure that some will say that I am only hearing what I want to hear from the words of the song. To them I say - perhaps. But that just makes this song so much more intriguing as that is exactly what the Word of God does. It means what you need it to mean, when you need it to mean it. Not in a frivolous, cherry-picking way but one that is personal and provoking.
To think that I might have missed all of this if I had settled for listening instead of hearing the song. To think that many who listen may have deaf ears to its meaning.
Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait
Well I came home like a stone
And I fell heavy into your arms
These days of dust, which we've known
Will blow away with this new sun
And I'll kneel down, wait for now
And I'll kneel down know my ground
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
I do not know much detail of the band but I do believe they are a folk rock band that is influenced by literature. Not sure if they meant this song to have a strong Christian undertone but it sure does drive at it with some of the most beautiful amalgamations of words and sentiment I have heard in a while. If they did intend it to be so I love that they didn't cloud it with the false pious bravado that is often found in some Christian songs and hymns. They opened the words and managed to give them the freedom to dance and smile on the ears of the hearer so much so that it is difficult to hear the humility and longing that is being spoke of. Theologians the world over have stumbled over esoteric words and hyper religious banter that eventually fail where these words minister to the secret longing in the depths of the heart with a blinding clarity. Bravo.
I am sure that some will say that I am only hearing what I want to hear from the words of the song. To them I say - perhaps. But that just makes this song so much more intriguing as that is exactly what the Word of God does. It means what you need it to mean, when you need it to mean it. Not in a frivolous, cherry-picking way but one that is personal and provoking.
To think that I might have missed all of this if I had settled for listening instead of hearing the song. To think that many who listen may have deaf ears to its meaning.
Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait
Well I came home like a stone
And I fell heavy into your arms
These days of dust, which we've known
Will blow away with this new sun
And I'll kneel down, wait for now
And I'll kneel down know my ground
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
December 27, 2012
Joseph's Lullaby by Ron Klug
Sleep now, little one.
I will watch while you and your mother sleep.
I wish I could do more.
This straw is not good enough for you.
Back in Nazareth I'll make a proper bed for you
of seasoned wood, smooth, strong, well‑pegged.
A bed fit for a carpenter's son.
Just wait till we get back to Nazareth.
I'll teach you everything I know.
You'll learn to choose the cedarwood, eucalyptus, and fir.
You'll learn to use the drawshave, ax, and saw.
Your arms will grow strong, your hands rough ‑‑ like these.
You will bear the pungent smell of new wood
and wear shavings and sawdust in your hair.
You'll be a man whose life centers
on hammer and nails and wood.
But for now,
sleep, little Jesus, sleep.
November 21, 2012
Thanksgiving
I can not think of a more needed holiday for the soul, except of course the birth of our Savior. What a splendid idea to take a day, a full 24 hours and devote it to the art of giving thanks. Yes, I said art. I am not sure many of us know what it truly means to give thanks, me in particular. It is something that I have been contemplating in this season of my life, which happens to correspond with a season of Thanksgiving.
I used to think that Thanksgiving was about saying thank you for all that I had and loved. I still do believe this but I am not all that certain if that is what is at the heart of Thanksgiving. You see when you have to take stock of what you have that makes you happy you inevitably encounter a dark corner in our hearts that always wants to take heed of all the "I do not haves" in ones life. You know, the things that keep us pushing on in the daily drudge of life. Hoping that the next job, the next paycheck, the next lottery ticket is going to put us in closer reach of whatever we are lacking so that we can fill that void in our shallow hearts, in hope that it will satisfy a desire to "have". Please tell me I am not alone on this one.
So I stopped and just looked at the work Thanks.....GIVING. There it is. The lynch pin. Not thanks saying, not thanks acknowledging, but thanksgiving. Maybe thanksgiving is something that you give away. But wait, if Thanksgiving is about saying thank you for what I have, why in the world would I give it away...its mine. That is when it hit me, Thanksgiving may not be about saying thank you for the haves in your life, perhaps its about giving to others the best part of you. The content, joyous, gracious part of you. If you notice, contentment, joy and graciousness require no possessions. If fact, one can be lacking a great deal and still be in possession of the aforementioned qualities. In fact, the miracle element of contentment, joy and graciousness is that the act of giving them, causes a not a deficit in oneself but surplus. This could possibly mean that one can not truly be thankful unless one has already given thanks. It is like one of those superluminal particles that goes back in time to endow us with thankfulness based on what we do prior to having that attribute in our repertoire. (Sorry, I have to go there. Got to put some of my limited particle physics knowledge to use somewhere.)
So I would like to think that Thanksgiving is not just about saying thank you for what I have, but a state of mind that choose on a daily basis. I want to be thankful period. Not for anything that I own. Not for anyone in my life. I want to be thankful because. Because that is what we were made to be. I want to give others my thanks by sharing my joy, treating them with a gracious spirit and displaying a contentment that hinges only on the fact that I chose to be.
This is a work in progress, obviously. I still am tempted to just spew off a list of items and people that I am thankful for and call it a day. But I want to live a life that is always eager to give my thanks to anybody, for any reason and definitely for any season.
Have a blessed and joyous Thanksgiving to everybody.
I used to think that Thanksgiving was about saying thank you for all that I had and loved. I still do believe this but I am not all that certain if that is what is at the heart of Thanksgiving. You see when you have to take stock of what you have that makes you happy you inevitably encounter a dark corner in our hearts that always wants to take heed of all the "I do not haves" in ones life. You know, the things that keep us pushing on in the daily drudge of life. Hoping that the next job, the next paycheck, the next lottery ticket is going to put us in closer reach of whatever we are lacking so that we can fill that void in our shallow hearts, in hope that it will satisfy a desire to "have". Please tell me I am not alone on this one.
So I stopped and just looked at the work Thanks.....GIVING. There it is. The lynch pin. Not thanks saying, not thanks acknowledging, but thanksgiving. Maybe thanksgiving is something that you give away. But wait, if Thanksgiving is about saying thank you for what I have, why in the world would I give it away...its mine. That is when it hit me, Thanksgiving may not be about saying thank you for the haves in your life, perhaps its about giving to others the best part of you. The content, joyous, gracious part of you. If you notice, contentment, joy and graciousness require no possessions. If fact, one can be lacking a great deal and still be in possession of the aforementioned qualities. In fact, the miracle element of contentment, joy and graciousness is that the act of giving them, causes a not a deficit in oneself but surplus. This could possibly mean that one can not truly be thankful unless one has already given thanks. It is like one of those superluminal particles that goes back in time to endow us with thankfulness based on what we do prior to having that attribute in our repertoire. (Sorry, I have to go there. Got to put some of my limited particle physics knowledge to use somewhere.)
So I would like to think that Thanksgiving is not just about saying thank you for what I have, but a state of mind that choose on a daily basis. I want to be thankful period. Not for anything that I own. Not for anyone in my life. I want to be thankful because. Because that is what we were made to be. I want to give others my thanks by sharing my joy, treating them with a gracious spirit and displaying a contentment that hinges only on the fact that I chose to be.
This is a work in progress, obviously. I still am tempted to just spew off a list of items and people that I am thankful for and call it a day. But I want to live a life that is always eager to give my thanks to anybody, for any reason and definitely for any season.
Have a blessed and joyous Thanksgiving to everybody.
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