Be Right VI - Halloween

Take away the stone.

 - From John 11

This gruesome scene.

There is so much about Bible stories, and Bible times, that we don't really get. We act like it's a fairy tale about a wolf eating Grandmother and then a lumberjack later opening up the wolf, thus saving Grandmother. To the eyes and ears of young Baby Boomers, and every single generation prior to them, it was a fun and magical story that taught kids to be wary of strangers. They didn't entertain thoughts of gore and horror, as Millennials do. Everything wasn't taken to the most ridiculous or disgusting extreme. 

And yet, the story of Lazarus, and his resurrection, should be treated with the utmost literal and gory imagery. 

The man had been dead only a few days. He had been embalmed, according to the practices of the day. His sisters feared that there would be an odor if the tomb were opened. 

When my Dad was prepared for viewing, and left overnight in the church, for his funeral the next day, there had been an incident within the church facility, where a college men's group had been kind of horsing around, not far from the room where they kept my Dad. The church had never struck me as the most secure place in town . . . there were many people with a key to the church. And I dreaded leaving Dad there overnight. Almost anybody, I thought, could go in there and mess with my Dad. 

This is only the beginning of the emotions present during the week of the death of Lazarus. 

Jesus had talked about actually going into the tomb, and even handling the lifeless body of Lazarus. It seems so inappropriate, extreme, disrespectful, gory, and even horrible. It feels a little sick, if you're responding to it the way anybody would, in any situation that did not involve Jesus. 

And besides, people today would believe that the person's spirit flies away to Heaven at death. Their paradigm does not really contemplate this idea of the person being asleep, and then being awakened by an outside force. It certainly did not make sense, if decomposition had started. 

Christ had ultimate knowledge. He understood everything about life and death. He had the knowledge of the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge Good and Evil. But he was able to handle that knowledge. It was not more than He could handle, as it was for Adam and Eve.

Focus on this: Christ's knowledge enabled Him to overlook the desperate emotions present: the anger, the fear, the horror. He simply knew exactly what He was doing. He knew what to do, and how to do it. And He understood that His knowledge, or His faith . . . would be sufficient to restore life to His friend. 

Faith and Knowledge are pretty close to the same thing. 

Our gut instinct is that Truth is a good thing to have, and to seek. But we have to seek it from the right Source. Let us begin with One that knew enough to resurrect a dead man. 

Be Right V

Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.

 - From Revelation 21

The written word carries with it a sense of legitimacy. Word of mouth isn't enough, unless your reputation for honesty and fairness is pure gold. 

You may report some news to someone, verbally. And more often than not, you'll "How do you know that?" Or "Where did you hear that?"

But when it's written, that doesn't happen. The written word is a one-way form of communication, normally. You don't know exactly who's reading it. And you don't know their response. 

Writing takes more effort than simply telling. Perhaps we honor the extra effort by giving the writer automatic credibility. "If they put the effort into writing it, it must have some truth to it." And then, legitimate writers cite their sources. It's built into the system of good writing. Verbal conversations come and go quickly. There isn't time to review and cite sources.

Social Media bears more of a resemblance to verbal communication, in that way. Perhaps that is why we get more aggravated with it. One party writes it down (or types), and assumes it will be received with the seriousness of all writing. But the other side receives it as spoken word, because of its immediacy. 

Maybe people should not post things on social media without providing sources?

The Apostle John was told to "write this." Keep a permanent record. 

I had a boss that insisted we write everything down, so that we wouldn't forget it. And recently, I have begun working with some songwriters, that record everything. 

Keep a record of it. Your memory is suspect. 

Scribes were highly valued in ancient times. 

Indeed, if it's in writing, take it seriously!

Let's make ourselves more right, about more things, by doing more reading, and more writing. We really don't know as much as we think we do, and our memories are too selective, biased, and limited, to trust. 

Be Right IV

Your faithfulness remains from one generation to another; you established the earth, and it abides.

 - From Psalm 119

I've had an ethic, from the day of my birth, that derives from being a member of a very small community, in a very small Christian denomination. Our emphasis was on pursuing, and being changed by, Truth. 

The idea was that real Truth would make you uncomfortable. It would not be the same knowledge held by the mainstream of people. It would be different, elevating. And there would be fewer people around you, the closer you got to Truth. 

It's got nothing to do with "the right side of history," because the majority, and the most powerful, decide what that is. It's not something to be found from deep meditation in solitude, because as finite beings no one of us has all the answers. Though numbers may be few, still you would need others to help you navigate the snares along the path to Truth.

Truth is not popular. It does not bring you instant health, wealth, fame, or length of life. 

But it might give you quality of life . . . and it might guide you to eternal life. 

Truth does not change from one person to the next, or from one generation to the next. It remains unchanged through the ages. That's what makes it Truth. People need a bedrock, a standard, a bullseye. And Truth gives them that. Truth is the attainable to which we all must strive. 

My lifelong quest for truth assumes that I am mostly wrong. You must be humble if you seek Truth. 

And so, the paradox is: If you want to be right, you must admit you're wrong. About everything and anything.

Because it's a safe bet you're wrong about most things, and so am I. And so, if it makes you uncomfortable. If it requires you to change, or to be humble, rejoice!!

For . . . you are most likely being steered in the right direction. 

Be Right III

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

 - From Job 42

So here's Job, a highly respected man for his times. He was wealthy beyond measure, and had a large, close, and happy family. He was held in high esteem by his friends. He was a leader. 

We can imagine him being an elder in his church. A local elected official. Everybody always came around to him for donation to this or that charity. He was Grand Marshall of the local parade, more than once. 

And then, when the most horrible of fortunes befell him: the destruction of his property and holding, the death of his children and grandchildren, the liquidation of everything, and then the onset of a debilitating disease, he suddenly found himself with fewer friends, and utter sadness. 

He had enough positive energy to last a while, but when it went on and on, he became bitter towards God. His past had made him accustomed to being right all the time. Nobody ever questioned Job's judgment (aren't rich people always right?). He even felt like God must really think highly of him . . . perhaps he had a sort of pipeline to the Lord's throne, that made him a bastion of wisdom and knowledge. 

He was confident, in his protestations to the Lord, that he could persuade and manipulate God into restoring his fortune. He wanted an apology from God. He want God to respond to Job's own bidding!

In the end of the long saga of Job, we find him realizing how little he did know. He had a lot of knowledge, and a lot of good will. But he was lacking perspective and humility. Job was human and finite. He was mortal. And humanity plus mortal equals - you don't know it all. 

The early years of the Millennial Era finds humanity trusting Science for an awful lot. But do we really think Science has all the knowledge of the ages. Do we really believe that, in one hundred years (let alone a thousand) that 21st Century Science will be regarded as wise beyond its years? There are assumptions we have made, and conclusions in which we are convinced . . . that our great-great grandchildren will mock. There are progressive viewpoints today, that will be considered disgusting, two centuries from now. 

And we have hurt our case for our posterity, by being so hatefully dismissive or previous generations. 

We can be right. We can be always right. But it has to start with being humble. And it proceeds under the presumption that other people, with other views, may have a piece of truth that we are lacking. 

Be right. 

Be Right II

Is not this the carpenter’s son?

 - From Matthew 13

We read, and hear, Scripture rendered in such somber tones. It makes you think that Bible times were very serious, even-tempered, steady, boring.

But those were brutal times. There were few people with any rights. Classes and castes were strictly observed. We have to try to imagine how people today would respond to the Lord, and to do that you simply need to just read the newspapers, or watch cable news and reality TV.

Or read Social Media.

"Carpenter's Son" was a dismissive, derisive put-down. 

Who does this guy think He is?

Doesn't He know His place?

Why are we listening to Him? Where's his degree? His learning? His wealth? If he were so smart, he'd have more to show for it! How can He afford all this wandering around? What does He know about being a woman? He can't relate to me - I'm a Samaritan! He's not a Roman . . . don't pay any attention to Him!! He doesn't have a right to such opinions!!

Whatever reason you have, to discount someone's opinion, the same was said of Christ . . . or worse. 

And still today, people look for reasons not to listen to Him.

As my cousin, Larry Johnson (RIP) once said: "Even if you do not believe in Christ as Savior, if you lived according to the Bible, you would be more successful, and happier."

But people want their groups to belong to. They want to be angry about something. They want to feel more important, or smarter than, or more popular, than others. 

They want to matter. 

Being right begins with being willing, even to listen to a Carpenter's Son, and treat Him like He counts. 

Even though he's poor. Or not a celebrity. Or a troublemaker. 

Be Right

As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

 - From 2 Timothy 4

I came from a marginal group within a marginal group. The generation of my grandparents went through a period of being shunned by others, because of their religion. 

We were taught to be proud of that. The closer you get to the Truth, the fewer people there will be, to support you. 

Everybody always wants to be "right" these days. Well, that is to say . . . people have always wanted to be right. We are an argumentative species. He like to be noticed, to be looked up to. We're competitive. We crave the sense of being better than others. We like to be smarter, better looking, more successful, richer. 

But the evidence that we're right, or better, is always measured according to how many people are with us. We want to be able to say we're "on the right side of history", and to support out assertion by participating in some big massive public demonstration. 

But I feel . . . down to the marrow . . . that if you are in a large group, you are most likely not on the right side of anything. Mobs have qualities that are decidedly not reflective. Their values and positions are not arrived at through some careful, deliberative process. 

The person that is out of control with anger is probably not right. 

When your motives are in any way selfish, your motives are suspect - as are your conclusions.

If your objective can be tied back to some personal, physical, immediate need gratification, then your objective should be questioned, and you should welcome the questioning. 

Paul writes, in his letter to Timothy, to "always be sober." So there's the first thing. Don't get drunk. Don't get tipsy. Keep your mind clear. Avoid addictive behaviors and tendencies. We could easily ask, between two advocates of competing views: "Which one drinks?" And if we are being honest, the one that does not drink should, at least in that regard, be held as a more reputable witness. 

But we don't. Since the non-drinker is "not normal," we will rule out his or her perspective. And the crowd wins over the individual, again.

When you're being right, you're being shunned. You're being ridiculed. You're being marginalized. In the end, our education, our culture, and our values, even . . . are more directed towards "notice me!!" and "it's what the majority wants" than "be right."

Be right, anyway. You may not feel surrounded by the other right people. But you're definitely in way better company.

Show Up!! X

 . . . He gathers the exiles . . . 

- From Psalm 147

God does not leave people alone. He does not leave you helpless.

This is why it is so critical, that we be aware of times when God has given us the task of gathering exiles, or helping the helpless. You may be the answer to prayer. You may be the fulfillment of God's plan.

The point is not to say "Where is God?" If that's the way you feel, it may because He has planted that particular concern on your heart. The answer to the question "Where is God?" is for you to show God to those around you. You must be the provider to them. You must show up. 

It's like the thing going around today "If you don't vote, you have no right to an opinion" (which is nonsense, and another topic). If you wonder where God is . . . show Him to others so that it's obvious. You are the answer. And the manifestation is that you will show up.

Show up, wherever you are.

Show up, when you're needed.

Just show up. 

It really is not so difficult, to know what God has asked you to do. Your plans must be made God's plans. If something comes up, to knock you out of your daily routine, treat it as though it is your daily routine. God has tasks for you today. Make them your priority. Show up.

Visit the elderly. Call the widow. Seek ways to help the child of a single parent. Find someone in prison, to write and even visit. 

My particular mode for all of the above, is to build strong networks of extended families. Family is the unit God has given us, to provide for basic needs. But families are too small and distant today. We need extended family support for others. 

Show up to reunions. Make sure your grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, elders, youth, are okay. 

You may not have time for your social justice and political hobbies. You have compelling needs right here, right now, in your life, in your family, in your house. 

Show up. Just show up.

Next: Be Right

Show Up!! IX

Then give the physician his place, for the Lord created him; do not let him leave you, for you need him.

 - From Sirach 38

We take a little detour here, to consider St Luke's Day, which comes up later this week; and read a passage from the Apocrypha. 

Doctors are elevated in this passage. They are to be placed on a prominent position in society, highly honored, and valued. 

Scripture praises certain professions above all others: ministers, teachers, servants, farmers. And here, we have doctors. The service professions are the best. Why is it, then, that we always have so much political discord when it comes to the professions that should be most prized by Christians? It's like anything else . . . if the Church would just do its job, government would not be tempted to come in and take over.

The Show Up aspect is found in today's focus. Do not let Doctors leave you. Keep them nearby. 

The implication on "show up" is that you go where you are needed . . . which we always need extra prompting to do. These are the service professions. They fulfill a need, without necessarily being paid much to do it. 

We do need service professionals. We need teachers, cleaning help, cooks, tailors, ministers, counselors . . . and doctors. The service professions are the Show Up professions. And I would add artists to the list. People that elevate our lives, while expecting very little in return. 

We need to help others anywhere, and everywhere, we can. It takes effort. And we need to value those that do so, as a calling and profession. 

There should be no debate - - - these service professions should be more highly prized than all the others. We could pay them more, and probably discover that they just pump that extra income back into charity, or into our communities. 

You must show up . . . put yourself out there. But you must ask others that can help, to come on into our towns, and even into your homes. Keep them close by. 

Show Up!! VIII

Look, we have left everything and followed you.

 - From Mark 10

Sincerity is not equal to commitment and follow-through. I have heard the most sincere oaths at Thursday night church camp altar calls, and at funerals. 

When a beloved grandparent dies, the grandchildren will find themselves closer than ever, to their cousins. They make great plans to meet up every couple months. They start a Facebook group. They pledge to visit the widowed grandparent regularly. They covenant with one another, never to let each other down. 

Even marital vows are not as intense. 

But the execution of such a plan is where it gets dicey. Nothing is so likely to get tested, as a promise made to another human. I think that one of the hallmarks of parental love, is to continue on in steadiness, after your child has failed . . . again . . . in helping out, or visiting, or doing some chore on Saturday. 

There just are so many distractions. 

The point is not to harp on people that do not follow through. I'm the worst at this. I say so many wonderful things that I plan to do. And if I would just do them, it really would be wonderful. But I just fail in the follow-through, more often than not. 

No . . . the point has something to do with giving each other a little slack. Yes - - - you have failed a loved one. You've dropped the ball. And so have I.

Jesus' Twelve Apostles were as devoted as a friend can get. They left everything, to follow Him. They did was Christ commanded the wealthy man to do: Sell everything you have, and come, follow me. And then . . . you would have eternal life. (The ultimate prize).

But even that is not enough. Peter left everything, but it didn't give him courage on the first Maundy Thursday. Thomas left everything, but it did not conquer his doubts for him. Judas left everything . . . but he still had his price. 

There's a little price to pay when you show up. You have to leave something for at least a few moments. There is something else you'd rather do. Your time with a hobby. A nap. Watching a football game. Showing up matters, because it costs something. 

And the best part is, somewhere deep down in their spirit, the person that you show up for, knows that you could be doing something else. 

And that's why it counts. 

Show up!! VII

And before him no creature is hidden.

 - From Hebrews 4

It occurred to me, while reading this familiar passage, that we deliberately position ourselves somewhere, physically and geographically, based on whatever need we are feeling at every point in time. We wind up where we want to wind up.

I understand that we are required to go to school and to a job. We sometimes are required to go to a family function, or to run an errand, or mow the lawns. But still, it takes an act of our will to get there. We inwardly may protest . . . but my assertion is that we are always doing what we choose to do, for whatever reason.

The Hebrews passage talks about approaching unto the throne of grace. Move towards it. Make your deliberate life direction, towards God. The Word of God is act, and narrates the historic process of creation rushing headlong back into communion with its Creator. We can be part of that. We are part of it anyway. But we assist the process and make ourselves more functionally connected with the lifeblood of eternity, by actively engaging. 

We show up in God's presence.

We go places where we can hide. If we are not interested in being in God's presence, our response normally us to hide somewhere. But humanity, strangely, often finds the best hiding place to be in the midst of mobs of people. You are most invisible in a crowded mass. This explains the lure of cities. 

But even there, God can find you. 

We ignore the places where we automatically fit: our families and communities . . .and run away to a mass of people somewhere. Because, apparently, despite our protestations, still we yearn for the affirmation of somebody. If I turn my back on my family, I will seek a set of people that can appreciate me anyway. There is always that option, somewhere on earth.

But you can never hide. 

The throne of grace is everywhere. You can show up there just be praying and meditating on it. And that way, you have God with you no matter where you are. You do not have to run away. 

Show up!! VI

Out of the mouths of infants and children . . .

 - From Psalm 8

Infants and children have perhaps the greatest wisdom of all. They do not question so much. If they are well cared-for, they accept the leadership of their parents. They learn to respect elders. They become comfortable on being dependent on others. They are okay, if they must defer to someone else. It is good to be taken care of. This is a parent's task. And when they fail in it, they create a generation of angry, bitter, and out-of-control teenagers and college-aged kids. 

"Honor your father and mother." This is not talking about doing wrong, if it's what your parents want. It is talking about acting as though your parents were ideal. Act as though they were fair and nurturing to you. Act as if they said a model of marital and familial fidelity, that you would want to follow. 

But we have a large class of young people today, the Millennial generation, between roughly ages 15 and 35. They were the latchkey kids, the trophy kids. They show up . . . but in the wrong way, at the wrong places! 

Their sense of right and wrong is not applied where they live! They seek personal value by being part of a movement, by seeking "social justice," and forcing others to comply with their wishes, by way of the ballot.

They have the wisdom of infants and children, but the bodies, and the rights, of full adults. 

Infants and children have greater wisdom yet. They are not driven by the hungers and passions of a teenager, or twenty-something. They live in the moment. They find joy in simple things. And they desire no more than the basics . . . they have not learned materialism.

We can learn from them. God has elevated infants and children in the hierarchy of things. 

My grand-nephew loves his great-grandmother. He senses her warm and genuine love for him. She is a widow that appreciates what's eternal, what's really important. Unlike his older cousins, who have found distractions in jobs, school, college, and career, he can stop and focus his attention on the one person in the family that has earned it more than all the others. 

The art and skill of "showing up" is evident in children - the ones that ask to go to "Maw Maw's house" and get everything they need there - - - but not the children, the under-twenty-five children, that are already caught up in Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle" lifestyle. These older children show up, all right. But it's in places where they feel like they are doing good for others . . . but the ones that have done more for them never get the benefit of it. 

Show up. In the right places. At the right time. 

Learn from children.