Friday, April 30, 2010

Ecclesiastes 10

Ecclesiastes 10 deals with the reality of the king, and that living in a kingdom demands a certain kind of attitude. Buried within this passage, though, is a truth that applies to all sorts of situations- primarily conflict. In verse 4, Ecclesiastes lets us know that "Calmness can lay great errors to rest." Anxiety is a chronic problem in humanity. Conflict and stress produce all sorts of anxiety in people, and we (for the most part) are not people who handle anxiety well. We "take it out on other people," gossip, fight, shut down, burn bridges, and all sorts of strategies that we would not have used if not for the anxiety.

Being non-anxious, or calm, in the face of conflict, is not easy. It requires us to be aware of ourselves and aware of other people. It requires us to take a minute to acknowledge what is really going on around us; in other words, it requires for us to take a moment to think before we react. In society, reaction and the ability to react quickly and decisively is considered a strength, but many decisions made our reaction are really decisions made out of anxiety. And in relationship, reactivity and anxiety do not promote health. So if you are facing stress or anxiety with someone in your life, try today to handle that anxiety with calm. Pray for the peace which passes understanding, so that it might guard your hearts. Amen.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Ecclesiastes 9

Ecclesiastes 9:6 has taken on a strange beauty this morning. Ecclesiastes explores the nature of death a little (or a lot, depending on how you look at it). And there is something final about that verse. Yet there is also something comforting. Anything bitter a person has held has now vanished, and their pain is past. It's one of the comforts we take out of funeral services, even part of the end of the service blessing.

Therefore, says Ecclesiastes, enjoy today. As the stageplay Rent would tell us, there's no day but today. So today, be a blessing to someone. While you can still love, love without limit. If there is hate or jealousy in your heart, let it vanish today. For today is all we have. Amen.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Ecclesiastes 8

Sometimes we have beliefs that go unquestioned, and momst of the time they hover right below the surface. One of them is this- good things happen to good people, bad things happen to bad people. But there are "good people" who are being trampled down, and there are "bad people" who are rewarded and sleep well at night. How does that happen?

Ecclesiastes struggles with this very issue, and also comes up with an answer. That is, it comes up with the fact that there is no answer. At least there is no answer that we have immediate access to. Some things just go beyond human understanding. After all, the simple answers (God is arbitrary, there are things beyond God's control, etc.) don't end well theologically.

So what do we do in these kinds of scenarios, when it seems like the unjust thing is happening? We live in obedience to God. We speak for those without a voice. We act for God's Kingdom in all times and all places. I pray that we seek for ways to live for God's Kingdom today.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Ecclesiastes 7

The other day, the subject of generation-defining moments came up. Where were you when... JFK was assassinated, the Berlin Wall came down, the first plane hit the World Trade Center on September 11, the stock market fell so rapidly in the past couple years? The thing about grief is that it creates this feeling like "I wish I could go back to the day before all this happened." Ecclesiastes 7 addresses that feeling, letting us know that questions like "Why were things better before" is not a wise question (7:10). Going back, as this blog has mentioned before, is simply not possible. Trying is like running on a treadmill, you're trying to go back and the world is going forward. In the end you're just stuck in one spot.

The Fruit of the Spirit includes patience, as does this passage in Ecclesiastes 7. We rarely know how the Spirit is going to work things out so that "the end of a matter is better than its beginning" (7:8), but patience is built on radical trust in God. Patience is built on spiritual practice, of waiting and watching, and of a deep understanding of who God is. The kind of deep understanding that comes between two friends who can finish each others answers, the kind of deep understanding that comes between a couple in love. I hope we can grow in that kind of understanding.

Oh, and what do take away from Ecclesiastes 7:16-17?

Monday, April 26, 2010

Ecclesiastes 6

The more the words,
the less the meaning,
and how does that profit anyone?
- Ecclesiastes 6:11

Therefore, allow me only to say that today I am praying that God will show you something of Himself today that reminds you of God's love.

And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit go with you today, tomorrow, and forever. Amen.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Ecclesiastes 5

This passage opens with the importance of the spoken word. Specifically, this passage starts with vows. I find it's only fitting to wonder about vows when I am performing a wedding tomorrow.

I remember as a child that there were two tiers of truth-telling. There was talking to someone normally, and there was adding "I promise" at the end. In fact, I remembered a conversation with a friend where he said to me "You know I'm telling the truth because I said 'I promise.'" It was as though without those two little words, there was a license to lie.

The spoken word is very important to God, though, especially in a world where so many words are spoken. We have hundreds of TV stations firing words at us, selling products to us and promising all sorts of instant and glorious results. At some point or another, in this gluttony of words, we stopped expecting the truth. We expect to be lied to, and our world hungering for community (see yesterday's post) also hungers for truth-tellers.

I believe this chapter challenges us to choose our words carefully, to listen more than we speak, and to tell the truth. And, of course, to stand in awe of an awesome God.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Ecclesiastes 4

This passage, at first look, has a bunch of different themes. But as we look closer at it, we find a deep longing for community. In our society, one might say that we are looking for the same thing. I just read yesterday that the upcoming generation is the first generation to prefer text-based communication (texting, facebook, etc.) to voice-based communication (Click here for the story.) Yet with all of the ways we have to communicate, the longing for deep community has not gone away. Ecclesiastes surveys a world of oppression, where the powerless have to face evil after evil under the sun. And the lament of the passage is that there is no comforter- no one to stand by the powerless. No community for the oppressed.

Ecclesiastes surveys the work people subject themselves to. But there is no one to share the reward of that work. No family, nor friends. The laborer is left wondering what the meaning of his/her work is, and the truth of its meaninglessness comes out. And now we live in a country that has the longest workweek of any country in the world (surpassing Japan for the first time- click here for the story.) And yet family and household structures have never been more fractured. What is the point of productivity when there is no community?

Verses 7-12 are the epitome of this chapter- that community is necessary for survival. When community deteriorates, it cannot survive. God created people with an instinctive desire for community, going all the way back to Adam and Eve. Without community, all of the advancement in the world is meaningless. So appreciate your community today- your household, your family, your friends, your church family, wherever your community is, let's thank God for them.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Ecclesiastes 3

Time goes in seasons, and there are seasons for all activities. Some seasons see building, some see tearing down. Some seasons see death, others see new life. Some seasons are for weeping, other seasons are for laughing. We all encounter these seasons as they come and go, the only thing that doesn't change is that everything changes. I don't think Ecclesiastes condones this reality, just acknowledges that our broken world has these seasons.

But that isn't the way the world is supposed to be, I think. Grief is good for the human spirit, since there are things worth grieving. Hope, however, seems to be a day when grief will not be necessary. This may be the eternity that is laid on the hearts of human beings (Ecc. 3:11). For now, though, we live in the mystery of a broken world and an unbroken God. While we cannot be certain of what God is doing (especially what God will do), we can be certain that God is trustworthy. So as we travel from season to season, our aim is not to fake a never-ending season of bliss, but to go through each season hopeful for God's eternity.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Ecclesiastes 2:17-26

Heather and I had a great time snow-shoeing while there was still snow on the ground, and we walked a small trail east of Empire. As we trudged along, we came upon a dilapidated building. It used to be a processing shack for Maple syrup, but it had long since collapsed. We couldn't even go inside because the building could have completely fallen in on top of us. I read this section of Ecclesiastes and think of that building. People made their living within this building, and now its a ruin, a monument to what came before. In a world where everything is "built to last," what really lasts? Buildings like the Colosseum were built to last, and now its a tourist attraction. This Ecclesiastes wisdom is indeed true, that we can't truly build a guaranteed future. We can't control the future, we can only live here in the present. So let's endeavor to remember God in each moment and find our joy in Him.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Ecclesiastes 2:12-16

What is the point of wisdom? Ecclesiastes walks a very thin line in this passage, straddling wisdom being good on the one side and the depressing reality that wise people still die on the other. So what's the point?

What I love about the Scriptures, especially Ecclesiastes, is that I am challenged to question my beliefs and also examine my heart. Why do I pursue wisdom and attempt to do good rather than evil? Is it for some benefit to myself? Ecclesiastes seems to say, "Why try to be good when you will still die and your name still be forgotten" (which makes it only appropriate that the author of Ecclesiastes is hinted at, but never named).

So we ask ourselves- what do we gain by being wise (Ecc 2:15)? Do we get healthier? Sometimes. Do we get wealthier? Sometimes. Do we get more popular? Sometimes. But we can gain the same things through wickedness and folly. But do we have the heart of Christ formed in us when we embrace folly? Are we open to pray with others and serve others when we are only thinking about what benefit wisdom has for ourselves? I think the answer to both of those is no. So maybe wisdom is not the key to earthly success and happiness, but perhaps it is being involved in something greater- the mission of God.

What do you think?

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

Do not be surprised if Ecclesiastes gets frustrating.

That being said, we have an important passage today about the meaning (and apparent meaninglessness) of pleasure and enjoyment. It would be far too easy to label this passage as Solomon's frat boy party days where he spent all of him time in drunken debauchery. And he probably tried some of that. But he also did really productive things like building gardens and built houses and amassed wealth, which are many of the things that we spend our time doing. And he gives this a shot for quite some time, as gardens do not come up in a day.

And he had fun doing it, the reward of his work was in the joy that he found in doing it. Yet there was something nagging him when he finished all of his work. Was there meaning found in the work itself? It doesn't seem so. What it seems to say is that Solomon sees his work as fleeting. Part of that is the nature of the work- very self-serving (I built x, y and z for myself). Another element of Ecclesiastes' restlessness is the searching. And we will continue to explore this searching throughout the entire book. We are all searching for "meaning" in some way, and we spend our lives engaged in the search. Some parts of the search will be enjoyable, others will not. But we can't get so caught up in the destination that we refuse to remember/hold onto the the search itself. So as we all stumble toward God, I pray that we will treasure the journey God brings us on and embrace the mysteries of that journey.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

Have you ever said something horrible about a person, just to realize that the person was standing right behind you? I somewhat feel this way about Wisdom. Almost in reading a passage entitled "Wisdom is Meaningless" I feel like I have betrayed her. I wonder if I'm going to turn around and the same Wisdom whom I have had metaphorical coffee with the past few weeks in Proverbs will be standing behind me, wondering how far I have fallen in only a couple days out of Proverbs.

Yet, I completely get where Ecclesiastes is coming by. Did anyone else find in reading the Proverbs that applying all of them in a single life would be next to impossible? What a heavy burden, indeed! I completely understand chasing after wind after just trying to apply one proverb each day. So how do we put together that Wisdom is desirable and Wisdom is a chasing after the wind?

Wisdom is worth chasing after, but be ready for it. This chapter concludes with a proverb (irony!) about wisdom creating grief. The more people know, the more grief there is to be had. Ignorance is bliss, right? But ignorance is still ignorance- it isn't reality. Opening our eyes and trying to see will be frustrating. We will be frustrated at what we don't know, and frustrated at what we do. We will be saddened to see what is really going on in the world, and saddened at our inability to change it. And hopefully, in the midst of all of that, we will be drawn back into the loving arms of our God.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

It is only appropriate that after we have explored the basis of wisdom (and Wisdom) throughout the Proverbs that we turn our attention to Ecclesiastes. Labeled by many as the most "postmodern" book of the Bible, Ecclesiastes questions (one might even say deconstructs) everything. Wisdom has its limits, riches have their limits, work has its limits, everything has its limits.

This first section of Ecclesiastes starts the book off with the central problem - everything is meaningless. Nothing lasts, everything just goes in cycles. The Greek and Roman Empires thought they would last forever, now the empires are fragmented into individual nations and the buildings they thought would stand the test of time are ruins. The great Roman Empire is now a tourist attraction. Nothing lasts forever, yet we are on a constant path to attempt some kind of immortality built on achievements. Since the days of the tower of Babel, humanity seeks to find its eternal glory in our achievements.

Ultimately, meaningless. Just imagine, even in our Bible, how few people are named in its pages. Genealogies keep many names alive, but how many people are actually named? 1000? 2000? Out of an entire nation spanning a few thousand years? Human achievement does not stand the test of time. What does stand the test of time? What lasts? What is eternal?

Friday, April 9, 2010

Proverbs 31

Proverbs 31:8 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute"

"Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality." Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality. A powerful quote from one of the most important spiritual figures of the recent past. I read this quote and this proverb and get all energized, but then I see the towering forces of individualism that have been shaping our minds for a couple centuries, and they are in conflict.

In an individualistic world, we are not affected by the things that happen to other people. We look out for ourselves, and assume that if everyone looks out for their own good that we will all get better together. What this pastor tells us, confirmed in the words of the Proverbs, is that individualism flies in the face of reality and therefore God's ways.

What if I read the news and instead of looking at what affected me, assumed everything affected me? Would that change the way I view the world? I wonder how I might be changed if I believed that I will never be who I ought to be until you are who you ought to be. Would that change how I spend my time? Let's not let these questions be rhetorical, I would love to hear what you have to say.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Proverbs 30

Proverbs 30:7-8 "Two things I ask of you, Lord, do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread."

Give me only my daily bread. What a great way to deliver our dependence on God. In God's grace, there is no savings account or debt, only continued day-by-day dependence on God.

We can't build up grace for a grace "rainy day fund" and we can't run out of grace and go into grace "debt." Indeed, we can only count on what God gives us each day. A tenet of AA and other 12 step programs is the reality of living one day at a time, and that is a concept straight from the Bible. Whether "our daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer or the manna in the wilderness, God has always been about giving us one day at a time. In fact, Jesus tells us to only consider today, because tomorrow has its own worries.

So what is God doing in us today?

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Proverbs 29

Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the Law."

Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint. What an interesting way to point out yet another way we are dependent on God! As I read this proverb, the mythology in my head about my character being formed by my actions and experiences crumbles away in my realization that the only character I have is because of God's revelation of Himself in the world. Without God's character showing up in creation and in the Word, I would have no bearing to set my life. This morning, as I type, the reality of God permeating the world even to the heart makes me thankful.

It also challenges me to stay connected to God in the Word and prayer. Realizing that the farther I place myself from being aware of God's revelation, the more apt I am to "cast off restraint," the best possible way to avoid such behavior would be to stick with spiritual practices that refresh my mind and heart in God's revelation. I hope you will join me in that today- one option would be to join us for prayer tonight at 5:30 in the prayer room off from the sanctuary.

What proverb jumped out at you this morning?

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Proverbs 28

Proverbs 28 is a fascinating chapter, because it flows with one theme the entire time - power and power's effect on people. At despair.com, they make de-motivational posters which parody the motivational posters seen on office walls. One of my favorites is the power poster- "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. But it rocks absolutely, too." Power is a tough thing to balance, but one thing that is a sure sign that power is corrupting is the place of fear in maintaining that power.

Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion."

We live in a world of fear. Fear is used to control people across the nations. One insightful book that I found incredibly valuable is "Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear" by Scott Bader-Saye at Calvin College. In it, Bader-Saye points to the evidence of fear as a controlling influence in our world. Dictators use fear of military/police might to control their subjects. Companies spend lots of money for advertising that make you feel afraid of the consequences of not buying their products. And sadly, churches drum up vivid expressions of hell to scare people into God's love. Certainly, the New Testament talks about the reality of wickedness and some kind of punishment for wickedness, but Paul and the apostles rarely used that as the intro in their messages about Jesus. More often it was the image of the cross and the resurrection which were used to convey God's love and the opportunity to be counted as righteous because of Jesus.

1 John tells us that perfect love drives out fear. And since our love is still being made perfect, it is the perfect love of God which has to do the driving. So today, as you are bombarded with messages designed to make you afraid of something (or someone), rest in the perfect love of God and let God drive that fear away.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Proverbs 27

Proverbs 27:7 "He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet."

This chapter of Proverbs is full of good quotes that are some of the most famous in the entire book. But this one is not one of the most famous, although it has a meaning that is deep and runs straight to the heart of the 21st century USAmerican Christian.

Once, while on a mission trip, we noticed (as many do) the sense of joy among the people we were serving. And as we talked to the people, we suddenly found out how the Gospel was spreading all around the region in ways that were uncontainable. And then we looked to the US, where the Church is barely holding steady, and we asked aloud "How can this be?"

The answer we got was surprising- "Your people do not need to trust God." It hit us like a brick; not because the statement was a lie, but because it is true. We are surrounded with the majority of the world's wealth and posessions, we can (generally) afford things which other societies and peoples strain for (clean water, some kind of regular food supply). Even the unemployment we face, while high, hardly ranks with other parts of the world which face over 50% unemployment. Even in our tough times, we are still better equipped than much of the world. In other words, we are full. And we trust in our money, our technology, our politics, our (fill in the blank) to keep us full. So when God acts, we do not see need for it- we don't need the honey of God's presence.

Jesus, the same Jesus who we celebrate in the resurrection, emptied Himself when He became human two thousand years ago. He did not consider Himself full, so that He might be filled by God. That is an example to us all, and one I pray for myself and for all. May we empty ourselves so that we can place our full trust in God.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Proverbs 26

Proverbs 26:20 "Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down."

In Matthew 18, Jesus outlines a pathway for conflict resolution that is direct and keeps the conflict between two people until absolutely necessary. Gossip is the opposite of Jesus' way of conflict resolution. When people gossip, they begin to involve more and more people in the conflict. And the conflict grows, as people begin to build up teams and allies as though they are going to war.

Let's pretend that X and Y are in conflict. X and Y both complain to their spouses about the other, so now X-Spouse resents Y-Spouse. They both tell their friends about how awful the other couple is, and now X-Friends resent Y (and vice versa). Now let's pretend that X and Y make up and are fine with one another. But X-Friends have not had this healing experience and are still in silent conflict with Y (again, and vice versa). Now the conflict monster is bigger than ever and the fire spreads to more and more people, even though X and Y aren't part of it anymore.

Proverbs 26:20 illustrates the need to keep conflict between two people, unless absolutely necessary. It keeps the fires of conflict from raging and destroying, and instead promotes a Christlike community.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Proverbs 25

Proverbs 25:28 "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control."

The tail end of the fruit of the Spirit, self-control is also one of the most difficult virtues to obtain. In the face of emotional responses and knee-jerk reactions, self-control is rarely modeled in our world.

Recently, I saw a news report on cyber-bullying and "trolling," the act in which people intentionally try to provoke one another on the internet by posting disgraceful and disgusting things on blogs, facebook sites and other places. They do so to get a reaction, but it has also been a venting strategy for people who are angry at something. And I look at the lack of self-control in our society, from "trolls" and "cyber-bullies" to fringe groups claiming Scripture as a basis to plan paranoid attacks on law enforcement personnel, and think that the image in this verse is perfect- a city without protective walls. When we lack self-control, anything can get in. We become purely anxious creatures, always reacting.

So in the face of extreme emotional reactivity in our society today, what does Jesus look like as He faced the cross? He doesn't look reactive at all. As Isaiah 53 says about Him, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth." That looks nothing like the venomous speech seen today in the face of imagined persecution and oppression. Meanwhile, what does this anger produce? Transformation? Christlikeness? Or profits for talking heads, across the political spectrum, who encourage such wrath? Perhaps we have been deceived, and have spent too little time at the foot of the cross.

It's Thursday of Holy Week, called Maundy Thursday. Jesus spent time with His disciples celebrating the Passover meal, which would eventually become the Lord's Supper. After this beautiful expression of Christ's love, the disciples miss the point and fall into bickering and emotional reactivity about who is the greatest (Luke 22:1-30). Can we get the point this year? Can we see that self-control is not about just "playing nice" but radical faith that God is sovereign over all things? I pray that's true.