Now

... from the rising of the sun to its setting.

 - From Psalm 50

What an excellent description of the meaning of "forever." 

We all want forever. Even the saddest of all people, hopes there is a forever. Because if time could just continue, without ending, there would have to be a point where my sadness ends. Or, if I knew I would never die, maybe that alone would take away my pain.

Suicide is an extreme act, to hasten the coming of Forever. It is within the human heart and spirit, to believe life goes on beyond death. So I'll just get there now, and skip past the inconvenience of several dozen years of life on earth. 

But "the rising of the sun to its setting" is talking about here . . . and now. It is referring to the passing of our days, the continuous routine of our daily grind. And since the sun is always rising, and always setting, somewhere on earth, the illustration in today's Psalm is talking about what Eternity is really about.

Unending Now. This present moment, continuing forever. 

There is no time in eternity. But eternity is best understood as whatever we are experiencing in this moment, but without a sense that the clock is ticking.

Real Eternity is something we can grasp. It really is Eternal Life!

If you take your own life . . . you are not hastening anything. You are skipping something very important: your own life. And that is what makes suicide an even greater tragedy, yet.

If we didn't yearn for eternal life, we could never bear even a simple sadness, or setback. Eternal Life is the very essence of hope. 

It's just got to get better.

And it will. 

You will enjoy The Best Day Ever . . . over and over again. And that seems, to me, way more appealing than all the other descriptions of eternity. 

Ascensions

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind . . . 

 - From 2 Kings 2

Going back to yesterday's reflection, this is one point in the life of Elijah, that God may have taken him up, and then planted back down into the timeline, onto the Mount of Transfiguration and the meeting with Jesus and Moses. 

Elijah's ascension was similar to that of Christ. The exceptions are, that Elijah required a vehicle, a flaming chariot, whereas Christ just ascended, without help. Also, Elijah's ascension had a lot of buildup. He had traveled from Bethel, to Jericho, to the Jordan River, each time picking up another handful of prophets and probably a growing mass of people. The ascension of Elijah was a spectacle, a major event not unlike a 21st Century community annual summer festival. 

Elijah's sidekick, Elishah, was well-prepared to take over. 

But Jesus' ascension came suddenly. Despite all of His preparations and advice to the Apostles, they still seemed surprised by it. He was with them only. Just a dozen men off at some remote area. 

But I like to think that Elijah's ascension had one other key point - - - he was on his way to a meeting with Moses and Jesus. 

And immediately after that meeting, Jesus would begin His journey, amidst a growing throng of people. Elijah's journey started in Bethel, and ended at the Jordan River. Jesus' journey began at Bethelehem, was launched in earnest in his baptism in the Jordan River, and ended in Jerusalem. 

Elijah's ministry began quietly and ended among a lot of fanfare.

Jesus' ministry exploded into international fame (Rome had heard about Him), but ended quietly, with a few friends. 

Elijah ascended in a flaming paroxysm. 

Jesus ascended in a gentle flurry of overwhelming quiet. 

Master of Time: The Transfiguration

And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

 - From Mark 9

There are some commonly-held views about what actually took place at the Transfiguration of Christ. But as with all of Scripture, there may always be some little point, or detail, that is overlooked, or perhaps veiled. 

All of us together have only part of the whole. One of the reasons why unity is so eminently critical to humanity, is so that we can match the details that each of us hold, and with creativity, put together concepts, ideas, or facts, that seem incompatible. The outcome is Truth. Humanity fails to make true progress, because humanity is in love with partisanship, and denominationalism.

Let me share my little take (just one point of many) regarding the Transfiguration. It comes from years of studying some rare texts about all kinds of doctrine, combined with my reading of history and science, and a whole of discussions with people from all walks of life,. over decades.

And I am indebted, also, to the influence I received in the 1990s, from a variety of people, to strive for open-mindedness and embrace new ideas.

It goes like this:

How did Moses and Elijah get to the Mount of Transfiguration? What were they doing there? Was it just a vision, or dream? Was it really them? Were they resurrected for this purpose only, and then returned to the grave? How did the three Apostles know their identities?

I believe that God, Who occupies Eternity . . . a dimension without time. A concept and place that is the never ending Present - - - also could control time. He can mix and match it. He can move events and chronologies around the way we cut and paste parts of a document, or sort a column in a spreadsheet. And we're no more aware of this editing process, than the characters in the Harry Potter series are aware of J.K. Rowlings' thoughts. 

The Transfiguration was a simple act of God placing Moses and Elijah in the timeline of Christ, at just the right time. For the Master of Time, it was easy.

And now the fun part becomes: studying the lives of Moses and Elijah . . . and trying to figure out at what point they were clutched away from that moment, to be placed into the cataclysmic moment with Christ.

As the two stood there, with Christ, imagine their thoughts, and comments, as they looked down at the frightened three Apostles, and considered the impact of this intersection of several different threads in the Gospel story. 

Veil

Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

 - From 2 Corinthians 4

There are probably a number of logical reasons why some people turn away from eternal life. Today's reading opens with one such reason:

They can't help it.

It all starts with stubbornness, willfulness, self-centeredness, self-love, instant gratification, desire for material or sensual pleasures. 

And we all start out with these traits. No . . . babies do not come into the world pure. They enter life with a hyper-focus on themselves. They have to . . . if they didn't, we might not care for them as we should. We have to learn not to be selfish (or hateful, or racist, or misogynist, etc.) One reason we have babies is so that as adults, maybe then, we can learn to put others ahead of ourselves. And that just prepares us to care for our elders.

Evil people are basically people that never grew up, to an extreme.

But it all starts there. God begins reaching out to us, from the very beginning. But if we keep resisting Him, it's like we are training ourselves to be very good at closing our minds, for turning away from the long-term. God requires us to see ourselves as part of the bigger picture. We must think of others ahead of ourselves. That's what God teaches us. 

But if we keep pushing back, God gets to the point of, "Well, okay . . . then I will harden your heart, Myself." It's a last-ditch effort to get us to listen.

The Gospel is veiled, because God has placed a veil over it, for those that simply will not listen to Him, after years of trying. It makes sense, too . . . we don't want people whose faith is weak, and that hate God, to understand everything about eternity. I think history has shown what happens when people people have too much knowledge.

Despite our past, and all of the mistakes we make every day . . . if we yearn for eternal life, and to be found acceptable to God, that may be all the reassurance we need, that we are in good hand, for the long haul. 

Rhetorical We

 to stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

 - From Psalm 84

Have you ever tried to drop in at a friend's home, or better yet, the home of a close family member, and felt like they did not want you there? Let's say it is a place where you have always felt more than welcome. They've told you, more times than you can count, that you are welcome anytime. "You don't even have to call!" 

But this time, as you stood at the door, knocking, when they answered, they kept the door open to about a ten-inch crack, and the door between themselves and you. They were friendly enough, but the body language and tone spoke very clearly: "You're not coming in."

How did that make you feel?

The Psalmist says he'd rather be left on the threshold of God's door, than to be resting, eating, visiting, and laughing, in the warm, inviting domicile of a wicked person.

Ahhhhh . . . . but we do that all the time, don't we?

I've been resisted, recently, by others, when I use the rhetorical "we," as I just did in the previous sentence. They take it way too personally. With a haughty tilt of the head, they rejoin: "I do not include myself in your "we", Gordon!" 

Well, I did. Both you and me - - - I included both of us, or . . . all of us. 

We pick the bigger club, the richer friends, the cooler hobby, the more popular value system. 

We don't make waves. Keep the popular, the wealthy, the powerful person happy. You have to pay your bills! Be realistic!

We should prefer the proximity to God . . . even if it's a cold front porch, to the comforts of the wicked person. And the evil person always makes us feel comfortable doesn't he? We know that's how they control people. Except, they always control other people. But never me. 

Why do you really believe what you do? Does it have anything to do with the grades you may receive, the person you want to impress, the raise you may get, or the cool people you may get close to?

I really don't think we care to answer too honestly here. 

This Unreasonable Career

...he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver...''


 - From Malachi 3

The descendants of Levi. Artists. Writers. Scribes. Journalists. Bloggers. Preachers. Musicians. Teachers.

God has always been pretty serious about spreading the Gospel, and teaching the Law. He set aside an entire Hebrew tribe, to take on the task of making sure a few people were reading, studying, praying, reflecting . . . which turns out to be the most essential function in Israel or any other nation.

When a civilization has won all the wars, expanded all the boundaries, produced the most amazing inventions, and established the most just government . . . it always turns its sights on the arts, academics, and the pursuit of leisurely activities. We know our priorities, once we can afford them.

One of the great ancient Greek philosophers said something like this: "The questions are: Who is teaching the children, and what are they teaching them?"

God, who designed us, knows what we need to know. He knows what's important. 

And whether or not we value teachers, artists, and ministers; whether we work to ensure the right people are custodians of these highly, exceedingly influential professions (especially vis-a-vis future generations); it is certain that God will take care of them, some day. He has promised to do so. 

The reader may find himself in a conversation, in which people are disdained who follow a career in education, the arts, or the clergy. Why don't they go where the money is? If so, remember that God rewards them . . . . first. (Remember what a "tithe" is). 

And if you get a chance, if you cannot supplement the income of a teacher, or you are unable to provide a gift of supplies to a teacher's classroom; at least tell a teacher, or artist, or minister "Thank you. You are doing what I wish I could do. You are doing what I should be doing. What you are doing is more important than anything."

Furiously Enraged

Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against . . . 

 - From Acts 26

Ways to get normally centered/balanced people beside themselves in anger:

1) Suggest that we all try to become kinder towards, and accepting of, others. Utter Kindness.

That sounds okay, right? But what if you mean all others? As in . . . people with different opinions? What if it refers to people with different values? What if it means - - - be kinder to people that vote different than you do?

What if your acts of kindness mean: thinking so deferentially towards other people, that you are willing to entertain the idea that they may have information, or a perspective, that you are lacking? 

Do I really have to be open to Liberals? To Conservatives? To Bernie supporters? To Trump followers?

This is where people do more than draw the line. Despite their uplifting words about WWJD, etc, they think and act in ways that are decidedly hateful. Should we egg each other on, on-line? Should we stir the pot? Should we open up old wounds? Is it really smart to keep sharing articles, over and over again, that will "help" others understand how they should behave, or think, differently?

I was carrying on a rather respectful dialogue with a guy on-line recently. I think he is a Never-Trump Conservative. My point was, consistently, that we have to give some deference to people that vote differently. It's none of our business why they think differently. They are humans worthy of dignity and respect, and we should treat others accordingly, without qualification. This went back and forth, until finally he erupted in a barrage of vulgar invective against me. And all I did was suggest we be kind to each other. 

2) Take a good value that others are expressing, but nudge it a couple of levels further out, beyond their own definition of virtue. Utter Self-Control.

An interesting thing is how the great reform movements throughout history, always come back to issues raised by The Church, centuries before. Slavery is one example. And now, the "Me Too" movement is acting like it invented proper behavior between the sexes. I personally articulated such values for years, and for most of my life the people most likely to mock me for that, today are participating in "Me Too" events. 

Respect women. Absolutely. But take it one step further, and suggest people observe The Feast of St Agnes of Rome (January 21 - I'll leave it to the reader to research the background). What happens if we call on men to treat women as though they are equals . . . while simultaneously holding up as our example, history's model of chastity and virtue (self control)?

Well, on-line, the result is digital "crickets". Men of virtue absolutely control themselves, because they admire most, women that control themselves. Okay, I have just suggested "self-control" in the context of sexuality . . . which is fighting words in modern on-line debates. 

Suggest people be kind. Really kind. Suggest they be sexually proper . . . really proper; and you will get, not agreement, but anger.

Why?

Before Saul became The Apostle Paul, he was convinced he was doing the right thing. He was a religious guy. Of course, he believed in self-control. He had studied the Law and the Prophets. He knew about kindness and charity. He did all those things. 

By choosing to practice utter kindness, and utter self-control, these Christians, who agreed but preferred to ratchet up their values, a couple notches higher, frustrated and vexed Paul and his cohorts, desperately.

So much so . . . that he became "furiously enraged."

I don't get it, but I recognize it. I know that I have been subject to it before. 

Utter kindness. Utter self-control. 

It drives intelligent, successful, and respected people crazy.

And they know better.