In 2 Kings 4:38-44, the passage ends with incredible hope. What started in famine, ends in abundance. It is a great pair of stories. And then there is the mysterious end where there is leftover food. Leftovers are common in the Bossardet home, especially as we approach Thanksgiving. We have tons of food leftover, which promptly goes into the refrigerator and feeds us for the next week and a half.
But what do you do with leftovers in the desert? What do you do when you don't really have food storage? Bread can last a little while, but the prophets were constantly on the move- where would they store it?
The reality that in the ancient world, as well as the developing world, only the wealthy can afford to store food. Jesus tells a parable about a man who builds huge barns for himself to save for the future (only to find that he is going to die that night in a tragic irony). The rest can only take enough for the journey. The prophets' meeting was almost over, and they had a ton of leftover food. What to make of this leftover food?
It's for the journey. God's people are always to be equipped for a journey. Beyond comfort zones and corner offices (I have both), the Christian path is a process that will take us to our real-life neighbors and to the ends of the earth. The leftover bread was walkin' food, and a sign that the promise of Jesus is true: that He will be with us, even to the end of the earth.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
God is Generous: "Give it to the people"
In 2 Kings 4:38-44, there is famine and scarcity in the land. Famine and scarcity lead in one direction -> despair, which is the ultimate collapse of being and overpowering helplessness. The answer to despair is to build a sense of normalcy, in whatever way possible. Despair is powerful because it is kept in the dark. People are uncomfortable with despair. It is depressing, and scary, and sometimes we treat despair like it is contagious. And so the depressed are sometimes isolated by friends and family alike, which is only exacerbated by the isolation caused by depression/despair. Indeed, despair leaves us in the most vulnerable place- alone.
To counteract despair, societies develop values within cultural framework. Some cultures develop rituals to deal with despair, and some cultures try to hide despair. Sadly, the culture of middle-class America is in the latter camp, and it is the culture in which I live and move and have my being. We compensate for despair by promoting safety and security. If you can afford it, your house can be isolated from your neighbors and their messes. You can install attached garages and door openers so that you can move successfully from your car to your home without the risk of talking to someone else. If you are in a hurry, you can check yourself out at Meijer so that you won't have to deal with the person behind the counter. We can sanitize almost anything, and we can find dozens of products to enhance our safety and security.
Here's the problem. Safety and security don't exist. They are perceptions, but nothing more. They are impossible dreams, illusions that break down to the harsh scrutiny of reality. Chasing the dream of being fully safe and fully secure is meaningless because it will never happen. Isaiah 55:1-3 says this:
1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live."
"Why spend... your labor on what does not satisfy?" asks the prophet. In 2 Kings 4:38-44, Elisha offers one solution to the idol of safety and security: "Give it to the people." Generosity is a deep part of the Christian tradition, an act that reflects the creative and sustaining power of God. And so I would invite you to consider generosity as part of your spiritual life- being generous with our time, our money, our home and our energy.
To counteract despair, societies develop values within cultural framework. Some cultures develop rituals to deal with despair, and some cultures try to hide despair. Sadly, the culture of middle-class America is in the latter camp, and it is the culture in which I live and move and have my being. We compensate for despair by promoting safety and security. If you can afford it, your house can be isolated from your neighbors and their messes. You can install attached garages and door openers so that you can move successfully from your car to your home without the risk of talking to someone else. If you are in a hurry, you can check yourself out at Meijer so that you won't have to deal with the person behind the counter. We can sanitize almost anything, and we can find dozens of products to enhance our safety and security.
Here's the problem. Safety and security don't exist. They are perceptions, but nothing more. They are impossible dreams, illusions that break down to the harsh scrutiny of reality. Chasing the dream of being fully safe and fully secure is meaningless because it will never happen. Isaiah 55:1-3 says this:
1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live."
"Why spend... your labor on what does not satisfy?" asks the prophet. In 2 Kings 4:38-44, Elisha offers one solution to the idol of safety and security: "Give it to the people." Generosity is a deep part of the Christian tradition, an act that reflects the creative and sustaining power of God. And so I would invite you to consider generosity as part of your spiritual life- being generous with our time, our money, our home and our energy.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
God is Generous: On Being a Prophet
The two stories found in 2 Kings 4:38-44 center on the prophets as main characters, with servants of the prophets acting in as characters as well. Prophets are some of the main characters of the Old Testament, people filled with the Holy Spirit who lived radically different from the culture (even the God-following culture). Today, people use the term "prophet" to gain power or credibility (especially in cult circles) or as a way to denote that the speaker is saying a fundamental and unpopular truth. Mostly, the prophet is considered a special role in the Church, and one that only a few select people are called to.
And this is partially true, but only partially. Jesus embodied the three great offices of Israel (prophet, priest and king) completely. And we, as Christians, now share in the royal, priestly and prophetic call of Jesus Christ. I refer you to the Heidelberg Catechism's definition of a Christian:
Question 32. But why are you called a Christian?
Answer. Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to
confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience
against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.
I share in the anointing of Jesus- which means that I am meant to be a prophet as well. But what is a prophet?
A prophet is someone who speaks and lives the truth, which is the character, heart and purpose of God. It goes beyond being honest, it goes into living out God's character and power in your world. In a world of famine, we speak of plenty, for example. Human nature, however, defies truth and prefers lies. We deceive ourselves and others, putting on masks (look to the sections on "Don't Just Do Something, Stand There") and taking the world at face value. God, however, looks beneath face value and embraces the world at the deepest levels.
To be a prophet is to be deep; not just deep in yourself, but deep in who God is and what God wants for your life. What do you think God wants for your life?
And this is partially true, but only partially. Jesus embodied the three great offices of Israel (prophet, priest and king) completely. And we, as Christians, now share in the royal, priestly and prophetic call of Jesus Christ. I refer you to the Heidelberg Catechism's definition of a Christian:
Question 32. But why are you called a Christian?
Answer. Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to
confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience
against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.
I share in the anointing of Jesus- which means that I am meant to be a prophet as well. But what is a prophet?
A prophet is someone who speaks and lives the truth, which is the character, heart and purpose of God. It goes beyond being honest, it goes into living out God's character and power in your world. In a world of famine, we speak of plenty, for example. Human nature, however, defies truth and prefers lies. We deceive ourselves and others, putting on masks (look to the sections on "Don't Just Do Something, Stand There") and taking the world at face value. God, however, looks beneath face value and embraces the world at the deepest levels.
To be a prophet is to be deep; not just deep in yourself, but deep in who God is and what God wants for your life. What do you think God wants for your life?
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
God is Generous: Famine
On Sunday, we explored the way we view the world- famine and scarcity or abundance (in God's view). I want to explore abundance through God's eyes, breaking away from the middle class view of abundance that equals safety and security for me and mine, but I will save that for later. Our passage opens us with famine, and so that is where we ought to begin.
Famine is a complicated subject in the Bible, because many famines (including probably this one) were the result of the people's disobedience to God. Nowadays, internet personalities and pundits claim that every major natural disaster is a result of some specific group or another. Interestingly, no one ever stands up and says about a hurricane, "Yep, that was me, sorry everyone." It's usually the others' sins that produce disaster. My sins produce nothing more than an interesting story to tell later. And so we have shrunk back from the connection between God and natural events. However, that shrinking back will inevitably remove from our minds the Biblical witness.
We are co-creators with God. When God created people, we were given stewardship over the land. It was our job to tend to the garden and tame the wilderness, to care for the animal species on the planet. When we messed up that stewardship, God did not take back that responsibility and power. What God did, in Genesis 3, was to say that it would get harder for us to do that which we were created to do- take care of creation. Famine usually happened when God's people turned away from the source and tried to "do it on their own." And so they created a world without God- a world of famine. Interestingly, our heavily commercialized world is seeing a dramatic increase in famine. The Sahara Desert, for example, is growing about 30 miles per year to the south. This is unprecedented growth. Desert growth contributes to poverty, mass migrations (into slums) and even wars. Many people believe that the liquid which will begin WW3 will not be oil, but water. We are living in a world of increasing famine, and we as the people of God have to stand up and say "we're sorry, we did this." It is the people of God who are given first responsibility to the land.
Think of this on a small scale- our own family lives. How many of us live in a land of famine? Not enough time, not enough energy, not enough intimacy in our relationships? And how often do we contribute to the famine by adjusting to it rather than taking our God-given power to change it?
So let me ask you- what would it take to reverse a famine? Are we ready and willing to do what it takes?
Famine is a complicated subject in the Bible, because many famines (including probably this one) were the result of the people's disobedience to God. Nowadays, internet personalities and pundits claim that every major natural disaster is a result of some specific group or another. Interestingly, no one ever stands up and says about a hurricane, "Yep, that was me, sorry everyone." It's usually the others' sins that produce disaster. My sins produce nothing more than an interesting story to tell later. And so we have shrunk back from the connection between God and natural events. However, that shrinking back will inevitably remove from our minds the Biblical witness.
We are co-creators with God. When God created people, we were given stewardship over the land. It was our job to tend to the garden and tame the wilderness, to care for the animal species on the planet. When we messed up that stewardship, God did not take back that responsibility and power. What God did, in Genesis 3, was to say that it would get harder for us to do that which we were created to do- take care of creation. Famine usually happened when God's people turned away from the source and tried to "do it on their own." And so they created a world without God- a world of famine. Interestingly, our heavily commercialized world is seeing a dramatic increase in famine. The Sahara Desert, for example, is growing about 30 miles per year to the south. This is unprecedented growth. Desert growth contributes to poverty, mass migrations (into slums) and even wars. Many people believe that the liquid which will begin WW3 will not be oil, but water. We are living in a world of increasing famine, and we as the people of God have to stand up and say "we're sorry, we did this." It is the people of God who are given first responsibility to the land.
Think of this on a small scale- our own family lives. How many of us live in a land of famine? Not enough time, not enough energy, not enough intimacy in our relationships? And how often do we contribute to the famine by adjusting to it rather than taking our God-given power to change it?
So let me ask you- what would it take to reverse a famine? Are we ready and willing to do what it takes?
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Meeting with God: Your Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven
Here's a great story I once heard/read from Peter Rollins:
A novice passes through a town on his way to prayer. He meets a couple and they beg him to bring their barrenness before God. The novice asks God to give them a child, but God tells him this is not their destiny.
A few years later, the novice stops by the couple’s house. They introduce him to their three children. They explain that after he left, another devout man stopped by and prayed for them. Shortly thereafter, they conceived their firstborn.
The novice brings his confusion to God, who remembers and laughs.
“That sounds like the work of a saint,” God says, “because they have the power to change destiny.”
When I first heard this story, my Reformed theology alarm went up and I thought, "Change destiny? Are you serious?" But as I thought more and more about this story, and it worked its way through my delicate filters and into my heart, it began to work some changes. I think about this story in the light of "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," and it reminds me that there is a gap between the way God intends for the world to be and the way the world currently is. That gap is where injustice and emotional scars live, where disobedience meets insecurity, that gap is sin. And, left unchecked, what would the end of the world look like? What would your life look like if nothing changed from here to eternity? I don't know about you, but a destiny where nothing changes is worrisome. Transformation is where I find life and celebration, stagnation is where I find frustration and cynicism. But God changes destiny. God enters into the world, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and creates a brand new future.
So, as one of my favorite teachers would ask, what is your destiny?
A novice passes through a town on his way to prayer. He meets a couple and they beg him to bring their barrenness before God. The novice asks God to give them a child, but God tells him this is not their destiny.
A few years later, the novice stops by the couple’s house. They introduce him to their three children. They explain that after he left, another devout man stopped by and prayed for them. Shortly thereafter, they conceived their firstborn.
The novice brings his confusion to God, who remembers and laughs.
“That sounds like the work of a saint,” God says, “because they have the power to change destiny.”
When I first heard this story, my Reformed theology alarm went up and I thought, "Change destiny? Are you serious?" But as I thought more and more about this story, and it worked its way through my delicate filters and into my heart, it began to work some changes. I think about this story in the light of "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," and it reminds me that there is a gap between the way God intends for the world to be and the way the world currently is. That gap is where injustice and emotional scars live, where disobedience meets insecurity, that gap is sin. And, left unchecked, what would the end of the world look like? What would your life look like if nothing changed from here to eternity? I don't know about you, but a destiny where nothing changes is worrisome. Transformation is where I find life and celebration, stagnation is where I find frustration and cynicism. But God changes destiny. God enters into the world, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and creates a brand new future.
So, as one of my favorite teachers would ask, what is your destiny?
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Meeting With God: Your Kingdom Come
Why did Jesus come to earth? If you are a good Protestant like me, you answer the question something like this: "Jesus came so that He would die on a cross to forgive our sins." True. If we read the Gospels carefully, we find that the Gospels really focus on the crucifixion. Paul can't escape the importance of the cross in his letters. I will not diminish the importance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, nor will I minimize the importance of forgiveness. What I would like to do is frame forgiveness in a greater context- the Kingdom.
Mark 1:35-45 gives us a framework of what Jesus came to do. Jesus is healing tons of people, but tells His disciples that He has come to preach. The content of Jesus' preaching was, at the core, a declaration that the Kingdom of God has come (Mark 1:14). The desired response- repentance, which opens a pathway to transformation. Forgiveness is key in the Kingdom and in repentance, for it is the promise of forgiveness that acts as the siren song to a broken heart. But "me and Jesus" forgiveness shrinks the Kingdom to a one-on-one transaction. What is interesting about the Mark passage is that Jesus leaves from saying that and is face-to-face with a leper. Jesus touches the leper and is declared unclean- meaning He can't go into the villages to preach for a week. Jesus' ministry is more than spoken word, it is spoken word matched with action.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
This passage is Jesus' introduction in Luke, and is a fitting description for the Kingdom. Good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoner, recovery of sight for the blind, release of the oppressed, and the year of the Lord's favor are all elements of the Kingdom. Jesus repeats this way of thinking in a discourse right before the crucifixion (Matthew 25:31-46).
In my former way of thinking, salvation was that I was saved "from" something and the rest of my life was convincing others to join the path. But as I am increasingly confronted with Jesus, I am realizing more and more that I have been saved "from" something and "to" something- the good works prepared for God's people (Ephesians 2:8-10). What have you been saved from? What have you been saved to?
Mark 1:35-45 gives us a framework of what Jesus came to do. Jesus is healing tons of people, but tells His disciples that He has come to preach. The content of Jesus' preaching was, at the core, a declaration that the Kingdom of God has come (Mark 1:14). The desired response- repentance, which opens a pathway to transformation. Forgiveness is key in the Kingdom and in repentance, for it is the promise of forgiveness that acts as the siren song to a broken heart. But "me and Jesus" forgiveness shrinks the Kingdom to a one-on-one transaction. What is interesting about the Mark passage is that Jesus leaves from saying that and is face-to-face with a leper. Jesus touches the leper and is declared unclean- meaning He can't go into the villages to preach for a week. Jesus' ministry is more than spoken word, it is spoken word matched with action.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
This passage is Jesus' introduction in Luke, and is a fitting description for the Kingdom. Good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoner, recovery of sight for the blind, release of the oppressed, and the year of the Lord's favor are all elements of the Kingdom. Jesus repeats this way of thinking in a discourse right before the crucifixion (Matthew 25:31-46).
In my former way of thinking, salvation was that I was saved "from" something and the rest of my life was convincing others to join the path. But as I am increasingly confronted with Jesus, I am realizing more and more that I have been saved "from" something and "to" something- the good works prepared for God's people (Ephesians 2:8-10). What have you been saved from? What have you been saved to?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Meeting with God: Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your Name
Question 120. Why has Christ commanded us to address God: "Our Father"?
Answer. That at the very beginning of our prayer he may awaken in us the childlike reverence and trust
toward God which should be basic to our prayer, which is that God has become our Father through Christ
and will much less deny us what we ask in faith than our human fathers and mothers will refuse us earthly
things.
- Heidelberg Catechism
I like the word basic in that question and answer. Basic can sometimes mean simple or easy. Other times, basic can mean foundational. I think this use of basic might be the latter. After all, our adoption into the family of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is mysterious and complex, defying simple explanation and metaphor. It is also true that our adoption into the family of God is foundational to our relationship with God.
Family is inescapable. As I sit and write this, people are talking in the coffee shop about their associations and business relationships, which appear and dissolve all the time. Contracts are made and contracts expire. Friendships grow distant and cutoff. But there's something about family that leaves a permanent impact and remains despite the challenges.
Family is vulnerable. Nobody knows you like family. Nothing is as nerve-wracking as the first time one brings a boyfriend/girlfriend to meet the family. Family has all the embarrassing photos and the awkward stories. Family knows all of our growing pains and temper tantrums. And yet, when done right, family has the grace to embrace all of the ups and downs and holds together.
Family is human. There is something fundamentally human about families, a mix of love and brokenness. People emerge from families with tremendous strength and scars as well. That's why the Lord's Prayer includes the "in Heaven" clause. God does family differently. God, as the Divine Parent, nurtures and cares in ways both similar and dissimilar to human parents. Radically different is that God does not mess up. God does not abuse. God does not neglect. God does care. Radically similar (yet higher) is that God does instruct. God does earnestly seek our growth and maturity. God wants the best for the family.
Today I celebrate not only the family I emerged from but also the family of God that I have been emerging into as well. May our prayers enter into the embrace of the Father in heaven, hallowed be God's name.
Answer. That at the very beginning of our prayer he may awaken in us the childlike reverence and trust
toward God which should be basic to our prayer, which is that God has become our Father through Christ
and will much less deny us what we ask in faith than our human fathers and mothers will refuse us earthly
things.
- Heidelberg Catechism
I like the word basic in that question and answer. Basic can sometimes mean simple or easy. Other times, basic can mean foundational. I think this use of basic might be the latter. After all, our adoption into the family of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is mysterious and complex, defying simple explanation and metaphor. It is also true that our adoption into the family of God is foundational to our relationship with God.
Family is inescapable. As I sit and write this, people are talking in the coffee shop about their associations and business relationships, which appear and dissolve all the time. Contracts are made and contracts expire. Friendships grow distant and cutoff. But there's something about family that leaves a permanent impact and remains despite the challenges.
Family is vulnerable. Nobody knows you like family. Nothing is as nerve-wracking as the first time one brings a boyfriend/girlfriend to meet the family. Family has all the embarrassing photos and the awkward stories. Family knows all of our growing pains and temper tantrums. And yet, when done right, family has the grace to embrace all of the ups and downs and holds together.
Family is human. There is something fundamentally human about families, a mix of love and brokenness. People emerge from families with tremendous strength and scars as well. That's why the Lord's Prayer includes the "in Heaven" clause. God does family differently. God, as the Divine Parent, nurtures and cares in ways both similar and dissimilar to human parents. Radically different is that God does not mess up. God does not abuse. God does not neglect. God does care. Radically similar (yet higher) is that God does instruct. God does earnestly seek our growth and maturity. God wants the best for the family.
Today I celebrate not only the family I emerged from but also the family of God that I have been emerging into as well. May our prayers enter into the embrace of the Father in heaven, hallowed be God's name.
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