Ok so this is a day late but yesterday I was very busy with Youth Alpha leading (which went fab) and Connect in the morning (which had the added bonus of secret sign language lady!) I'll do this now and another this evening. Onto business then!
Today’s readings
2 Samuel 13:1-39
Acts 4:23-5:11
Psalm 71:9-18
Today's Old Testament reading is hard stuff. Let's have a moment of levity first then! I have to say I flipping love the idea of a sheep shearing party. Bring a sheep and get involved!! Fantastic stuff. Let's look at the rest of the text though. What a messy and horrific set of events we have to read about today. It's hard to see any lesson from this except the obvious. The whole situation is just one big lesson in not being an idiot and treating people with the respect that they deserve. There's a lesson here as well about trying not to take consequences into your own hands. God hates suffering and sin but he doesn't call us to be Batman. We're not asked to go and avenge wrongs but to fix the world's issues by putting love into the situation. It's a massive challenge to do this definitely but it is the ideal. Absolom's anger and thirst for vengeance ate away at him and the murder he carried out might seem like justice but we should be relying on God's ultimate justice. We all do horrific things to other people and it's only God that can forgive us and allow us to carry on. If someone has done something awful then we're not called to be a Daily Mail lynch mob. Instead we should pray to God that He can help us in that situation be His light and His love to the victims.
Into the New Testament we shuttle and it's more grimness! It's always hard to rationalise when people are struck down by God so to speak. Do we read between the lines and wonder if Ananias and Sapphira were excuted by someone? They were certainly living in a very close knit group where trust and fear would have been big issues. But I think how they died isn't as important as why they died. It's tempting to see this story and especially the end of chapter 4 as a glowing praise of Communism as a model for Christian living; but Peter doesn't demand that all wealth is shared, it's just the natural way that the community of believers had adopted. He says to Ananias that if he wanted to keep the money it was his to keep and if he only wanted to give part then that would be fine too. But Ananias' mistake was messing with God. We need to remember that we're always accountable to God. We can't lie or blag our way out of situations with Him and if we're actively working against Him then we're not living our lives in the best way to help ourselves or other people. And lying to God is actively working against Him, and pointless too!
Our Psalm continues with the Psalmist promising to spread word of God but seeming to say that he will on condition of his safety and rescue. I think that's putting the cart before the horse because surely if you trust that God will keep you safe then you are able to go and spread the gospel but spreading the good news with fear and trepidation means you aren't going to be giving your all to God. Today's reading seems to be telling us that respecting God's authority, trusting His promises and not losing sight of His real desire for our actions are all necessary to really live life completely.
And that's your lot for today. Apart from the fact I'll bash out another before bed... Yesterday's song is here. Tell me you're reading this again folks!
Jon
www.facebook.com/british.hedgehog
I've been planning to read this since you put it up yesterday and I spotted it on Facebook. Eating my sandwich gave me the opportunity required.
ReplyDeleteThis is really excellent reading, and I think it is as relevant as ever. Whenever something goes wrong, our (my) initial reaction is to look for someone to blame and angrily demand justice, rather than approach the situation constructively. This seems to be reflected in the media -- the lynch mob you mention. We all have a tendency towards the mob reaction to some extent. Freak snow? Councils didn't buy enough salt! Child tragically neglected? Social workers didn't heed the warning signs! Financial crisis? The bankers should have gotten smaller bonuses so they didn't *want* to offer us all those excessive loans!
Hypocritically I've now got myself all cross and red in the face and I've started thumping the desk, which is unfair because the desk hasn't done anything wrong at all.
But I understand that is part of your point: we humans are not well-suited to being avengers, as much as we try, because we are no good at judging others. I'm glad you tell me I don't need to be Batman. Aside from the moral dilemmas he faces, I don't really have the pectoral muscles to pull it off (or is Batman's chestplate shaped like that to make him look stronger than he really is?)
Well, ok, it's clear I've run out of poignant remarks. Just wanted to show that you'd been very thought provoking!
Day 159 = quite a back log, so I may pick at your previous posts in a random, rather than completionist, manner ;-)
Keep up the good work, Jon!