Your Own Kin

"Is not this the fast that I choose . . . not to hide yourself from your own kin?"

     - Isaiah 58

People avoid their own family. When you're finding extended kin: second and third cousins, the problem is even more pronounced. You plan a large family reunion, and the question is: "Will I know any of these people?" You find something interesting about a great-grandparent, or grand-aunt or uncle: "Oh I'm not interested in dead people."

And as a Christian this attitude always bothered me. I couldn't put my finger on just why. To me, Scripture is wrought with references to the need to care for family. I mean, if you are to take care of widows and orphans first, isn't that because something awful happened to them: a relative shunned them? (And what could be worse than that?)

But here is a clear Scripture in support of my position. God puts His finger right on it. Even more important than fasting . . . is not to hide from your own kin! He put them in our lives, so that we would care for them! And we may need them in return, some day!

Friends can bow out. And we know that even spouses certainly can, and do, make an exit. 

There is nothing in nature binding friends together. But the very DNA coursing through your veins ties you to your kin. And even if the fourth and fifth generation has gotten so watered down that the DNA is not that similar . . . well at least they have a common ancestor that they may even have met; or someone that they know met and has memories. Doesn't this tie people together . . . enough? If I have heard stories of my Great-Great Grandfather, and one day I show up at his home with distant cousins I have just met, that heard versions of the same stories . . . doesn't this count?

It's Fat Tuesday. And I shall call on people to take a fast from hiding from your own kin.

Our Part

"Why should it be said among the peoples, `Where is their God?'"

 - Joel 2

Before getting to this concluding question - Why should it be said "Where is their God?", Joel first talks about a horrible judgment coming, in the form of an army larger than any ever seen before. And then it goes on, that the people should repent, and that they should all come together, from the very old to the very young, and petition the Lord for forgiveness.

And then Joel says that God will turn around instantly, and His blessing will be even greater than the people deserve.

And so today: We're nearing a point (if not there already) where people are mocking God's people: "Where is their God?" Or better yet - "Why would a loving God blah blah blah?"

But have we repented? What about our divorces and our adulteries? What about our cheating, our withholding funds that could go to the poor? What about our sick divided denominational priorities?

Have we fasted? Have we spend hours in prayer? Do we put people ahead of money, jobs, games, TV, raunchy music?

Where is God indeed? Where are we?

Some Political-Biblical Issues

"O mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob."

 - Psalm 99

These concepts: equity, justice, and righteousness are in use in politics today.

The Left loves the word "equity."

Both love the word "justice", but it means different things to different people.

And the right loves the word "righteousness."

And that's the problem. Both sides have a handle on something important.

The problem is that neither side likes the other having the reigns of government, and defining the terms.

The Left does not want the Right defining "righteousness" and enforcing it. The Right is scared to death of what the Left means by "equity."

So the answer, for believers, is to pursue both within the Church, and in the community . . . and to stay out of politics where arguments ensue.

Let's have all three . . . in God's name.

When Talking to God

"Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God."

 - Exodus 34

A lot happens in the Old Testament, that will never happen since, because of our lack of faith. 

Nobody's face physically shines anymore, from talking with God, because we don't believe anyone can talk to God like that, and we actually don't believe it will make your face shine.

But Science shows that your face actually emits light. So it should be scientifically possible for someone to activate that light capability even more than normal. If your experience is heightened enough, maybe it's possible.

"Let your light so shine." We talk about someone with a sunny disposition. We know that many people are like light in the darkness, when they walk into a room. But no one believes they actually give off true, physical, observable light.

And this is why it doesn't happen today. If we really believed could shine, we would observe it all the time. So at heart of these Old Testament lessons is that our collective faith is so weak.

Nevertheless . . . make that an aspiration. Desire to be light. And then talk to God and see what happens.

"Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people."    - Hebrews 2

This is a hard one to grasp, unless we take it at face value.

Jesus became just like us.

Just like us.

He would get cold, hungry, and angry. Presumably, He had all the same urges.

And it's essential that we understand that He was able to overcome every temptation. When He was presented at the temple as a boy, two people full of the Holy Spirit approached Mary and Joseph and affirmed that their son was the Promised One. How did they know this? They had great faith, and they stayed in the Temple all day long, praying.

Jesus had those disciplined practices even more. 

It is possible to overcome temptation. You have to pray, fast, get into God's, and fellowship with other believers. But most importantly, you have to want to be holy.

If He did not respond to Nature in just the same way as us, then He could not be our redeemer. He had to be just like us. 

And this gives us hope that we have a Redeemer that matters, because we matter to Him. And we also know that we are able to master temptation, for He showed us how.

And the main ingredient is desire to be sinless.

"For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap."

 - Malachi 3

One of the most distressing things about the human experience, is our out-of-control thoughts. Our words are bad enough. But the things that go on in our minds; the thoughts that are only known by yourself. Those dark, horrible things that you consider, that you ponder on. The hate, the violence.

I believe that every single person thinks these thoughts. When a person says, in jest "I ought to kill you!" we take it innocently enough. But really, should such a thought ever be entertained, even if there is no chance it will be taken seriously?

I have observed restless people with nothing to do. We pelt our minds with constant images, sounds, and stimuli. We do not like being left alone to our own thoughts. We engage in hate on social media, because we cannot bear the self-reflection that tells us how horrible we are, because our thoughts are horrible. We seek, and find, solace in the affirmation we get from others that also hate.

We don't think, or speak, as people that are comfortable with themselves. We do not like our thoughts, and we so all the wrong things to control them.

In this context, we should come face to face with the Refiner. I can bear myself if I know that one day God Himself will completely incinerate the evil that permeates my psyche. If can just be like Christ: with the purest thoughts, the kindest regard toward others, and the warmest sense of presence, anywhere, then I will be fine.

As eternal beings with unlimited resources and unending life, there is no reason for us to hate. With perfect knowledge of everything, we would know everybody fully, and see that there is really nothing there to resent.

But to make sure we become truly pure, God destroys the evil within us. He burns it away, and boils it off the top.

That alone, puts my thoughts at ease. That promise, and that assurance, are the coals thrown upon the Refiner's fire, that makes the flame hotter yet.

The Pro-Life Readings

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you ..."

 - Jeremiah 1

This week we have an Old Testament reading, and a Psalm, that both reference God's knowledge of us, before we were formed in the womb.

Not before we were born. Not even when we were children.

"Before I formed you in the womb."

So the point becomes, if the formation has started, how do you know that God isn't the One doing the forming? Any new life is a thing of beauty.

Our debate today is focused on Planned Parenthood, on pro-life terrorists bombing clinics, on whether or not the fetus is a human, or tissue, and whether or not abortion is murder and what should be the severity of the penalty for having one. And, who is at fault? Who's the criminal?

Such a sickeningly complicated issue!!

In its most simple terms, we should have faith: Faith that whatever God has started in the womb, He will protect. Faith that, whatever mistakes we have made, at least there is a future human that could make a difference in the world.

What if we quietly, and simply affirmed: leave what's happening in the womb, alone. Maybe this is the person to invent warp drive, or to cure cancer, or to feed half of Africa. Maybe this person will lead us to a better form of politics.

And of course . . . if the Christian community is going to stand on such principles, than it had better follow through on helping that child and his or her mother.

Maybe you are the one that God will use, to protect and nurture that child.