Syrophoenician

So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

 - From Mark 7

We get a couple glimpses of Christ's activities during this time of His life and ministry; a time when He was riding high. His reputation was going viral throughout the ancient world. His fame was so astounding, and His deeds so remarkable, and His attitude so super-human, that I would not be surprised if almost every human on the planet had not heard about Him. Even without the Internet, humanity is very good at getting the word out. 

He's going from one place to the other. In the course of an ordinary day, He is followed, and people are insisting that they get close to him. Their desperation is like people clinging to departing aircraft, in order to get to a better life. Crowds grew around Him, instantly; and they grew geometrically. 

His fame was even greater than the Beatles, in 1965.

He touched this person, and then that. He had short conversations with people, that were worth volumes. He had peculiar methods, involving spit, and fingers in ears. But almost always, it seems . . . He touched. 

A person came up to Him, not wearing a mask. As the person got nearer, the people around Jesus moved away from the maskless person, which meant they got further away from Jesus. This person was making no effort to stay clear of others. As they spread out, you could see, in their eyes (for they were masked and you could not see the most expressive part of their face, which is the bottom half) bitter sneers directed at and against the unmasked one. Among the murmuring, you could hear many people in the crowd insisting that the person be roped and dragged away from the people that obviously cared more about others. And certainly away from the Lord . . . for He was not safe while in the presence of this maskless infidel. A hush came over the crowd as they waited to see what the Lord would do. 

They could see that the two were carrying on a conversation. Jesus was unaffected by the mask-status of the person. It was as if it were unimportant to Him. They got closer as they chatted! They were less than a fathom apart! (Look it up). But soon, the unmasked person flashed a smile so bright, that it couldn't help but lift the spirits of the previously angry throng. The person turned, and began to walk. The walk turned into a fast clip. The clip turned into a full sprint. And the crowd, overtaken by an overwhelming spirit of goodwill, forgot that the person had no mask on, and began cheering, and following along, some distance, as the maskless one disappeared on the horizon.

Oh, did I say maskless person? 

The person was a woman. And the woman was a Syrophoenician. 

Until

. . . until the day dawns . . . 

 - From 2 Peter 1

Peter had seen all of it, firsthand. He is a witness to so many things documented in the New Testament. He's writing his account of all of it, based on his memories, and perhaps his own journaling. He was there. 

By the time he's writing his epistles, probably long enough for many in the Church to become impatient: "So when is Jesus going to come back, after all?" They were getting tired of waiting. The Roman world wasn't getting any better. Like any great civilization in its early stages of sliding from it's plateau, things were getting very scary. And the Church had this expectation that if they just be patient. Wait. Have faith. For another moment. Another hour. Another day, Another week. Another month. Another year. 

Another century . . . 

That their patience would be rewarded, and Christ would return, and they would never again have to fear living in the counter-culture underworld of society; or being refused the benefits of society as second-class citizens, or torture, or the gallows, or crucifixion. 

But then members of the first generation Church began dying. And then another generation. And then another. 

Two thousand years have passed. Christ has not returned yet. 

But now we are in a situation that is as close to the downfall of Rome, as any national slide since the time of Christ. I am not exaggerating. The world today is faced with conditions more chilling and dire than at any time, perhaps ever, in history.

Peter wrote to the Church . . . to us . . . to keep our light shining in a world of darkness . . . until . . . the day dawns. 

The world is in darkness. It is the just before the first twilight, called the "astronomical" phase . . . the darkest period of the day. It's also the quietest. At some point after midnight, the creatures of the night stop their din . . . and the world is quiet. Any sound, even benign ones, sound menacing, in those wee hours. 

The world alone isn't just dark, today. The Church itself . . . so many churches everywhere, are also silent when they should be calling out world events, and marking them as guideposts of what's to come. 

Peter wrote encouraging words to us. Is there world dark? Let us be the light. Let us continue until . . . 

And until can be a very, very long time. 

But so can a long, quiet, dark, menacing night, turning nervously, unable to sleep. 

But the light finally returns. It always does. 

Face

Hide your face from my sins . . . 

 - From Psalm 51

If we could just boil every human behavior and attitude down to its very essence:

Is that selfish?

Or is it not?

I think that's really where it all starts. Are you doing that for yourself, because it feels good? Have you put any thought into the effect that what you're doing will have on others? Is it good for children, or does it just make you feel good, or smart, or important . . . or "bad"?

In 2021, we've just about made the transition complete, to a society and culture that actually prefers the bad; that prefers mediocrity. You know . . . stuff that doesn't require a lot of work, nor the inconvenience of being honorable; nor to think about others. 

If I feel good . . . then I must be good. 

What will people think of us, seven generations from now? Oh that's right, we don't care what they think. Just like we couldn't care less about our ancestors and their sacrifices. They're dead anyway. 

Our definition of "love" itself, has been mashed down into a tingly feeling we get when our chemicals and hormones get swirled around, just so. 

Does it put others first? Or yourself?

Scott Peck defines evil as fully-developed narcissism. Selfish acts feed selfish attitudes, and selfish attitudes grow into self-aggrandizement and the pursuit of what feels good. What makes me feel good.

You really can simplify the root cause of every bad thing . . . back to whether people are serving themselves, or others. 

The entire Psalm 51 (almost) is a sustained plea that God forget about our sinfulness. You cannot improve, you cannot gain real goodness, or the ability to express real love, without getting yourself out of the way.  In Scripture, God reveals His full face, to those whom He blesses. A covered face is a defensive face, an untrusting face. A face that is not interested in connection with others . . . at least . . . for the right reasons. 

The unselfish act is symbolized by showing one's face. It is an act of trust and vulnerability. It's the first step to meaningful human interaction. If we would cover one another's faces, we must do so with a full understanding of the possible repercussions, in expressing ourselves to one another, in this way. 

Uriah

David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah . . . 

 - From II Samuel 11

I'm going to assume that the reader is familiar with the account of David, Bathsheba, Joab, and Uriah the Hittite, so that I do not have to summarize it. 

It would be interesting to have some Bible students put together a list of the most infamous human deeds in all of Scripture. I would think that David's treatment of Uriah rises to the top three of such a list. 

Lust, sexual immorality, deception, and even pre-meditated murder. There's a sense that people rather enjoy focusing on this biblical episode. They get to say "Look at what David did, and yet he was a 'man after God's own heart!'" This statement is often delivered via a sly, slightly mischievous grin. "My, but I'm on the edge!"

The Uriah matter represents base, horrible human behavior. When you let it sink in, it becomes very difficult to see King David in a good light, at all. He would not make it through a 21st Century gauntlet of American public opinion, let alone the American criminal justice system.

And then the king goes and has Uriah himself deliver the order, that he be sent to the front lines, to the General, Joab. Why was Uriah chosen to be the messenger of his own fate?

 . . . Because Uriah had proven himself just, pure, and devoted to the king, and to the men in the field of battle. 

If one of the Bible's greatest heroes can sink to the level of such treachery, imagine what modern, ambitious, political characters are capable of. 

Mary Stayed

 . . . but she did not know that it was Jesus.

 - From John 20

Mary Magdalene was inconsolable. She stood outside the tomb of Jesus, crying. She had been there all of one day, and over two nights. 

I'm reading my own imagination into it. I believe she followed along, and did not leave the side of the Lord, not even once, from the moment He died until His resurrection. I picture her in her constant grief. She cried as Jesus did, when her brother, Lazarus, died the first time. 

The cry of grief, from the death of a loved one, is distinct and unique. It's a cry that you expect. There is nothing odd about it. Families gather around the loved one that has just fallen into the sleep of death.

They might take the hand of the departed, noticing along the way as the skin becomes cooler, and cooler, to the touch. For some time, the loved one appears to be only in a deep sleep . . . with the exception that, while living, a sleeping person still is making some exertion to prop him or herself up, in some form. Even in deep sleep, the body may move slightly, to get more comfortable. 

But the dead person is in complete surrender. Inertia, or gravity, is the single force operating upon the corpse. 

Mary followed the dead Lord throughout those days. 

But if I say she wept, inconsolably, that is not to say she was a weak person. It is not to say that she should, hopefully soon, pick herself up and move on. Her commitment to follow the Lord, even in death, bespeaks a strength of character. She stayed. She showed up and didn't leave. She remained, when all the others left. Her audible cries were more like hymns of praise than shrieks of despair. 

When she turned away, for a few moments, Jesus took a deep break, and stood up. He could move like a thought, now, as His body was now eternal, unworldly. He slipped around behind Mary as she peaked in and noticed the tomb empty, except for two shining Angels. 

At first glance, she did not recognize Him. Yes, it was definitely Jesus, all right. But now His essence was changed into, maybe, pure energy (albeit operating still, in a physical, touchable Being). It was obviously Jesus, but she had never seen Him like this, and it took some adjusting. 

But here's the point - - - you can spend every waking and sleeping moment with Jesus . . . with Him all along, right there within reach. And yet when He rises up and soars into a higher realm, we miss Him, for a moment. It may take faith, even, to recognize the Lord in His eternal state. 

And He's standing right near you, even now. 

Divisions

For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.

 - From Ephesians 2

You can't have peace with divisions. 

Paul is talking about two groups of humanity. The two fundamental divisions. The actual, root, down-to-the-core source of all human strife: divisions. 

It's not really about race. Race it just one expression of the problem. It's not about nationality. That too, is a smoke screen that hides the real problem. It's not the beautiful against the ugly. Not the athletic versus the artistic. Not the rich against the poor. Not the powerful against the weak. Not even, really, the wedge between human religions.

Although, these are all part of it. They are part, but not the whole. They are an outward manifestation, albeit a crude one. (Judge not by appearances). 

Simply put: It's the haves versus the have-nots. And it's fueled by jealousy. 

Prideful ignoramuses on the one hand. Petulant children on the other. 

And they're all just woefully human, doing what we should not be surprised that they do. 

We saw it on the school yard, ages ago. A bully . . . a kid bigger than the others, athletic, maybe from a wealthy family, probably blessed with a glib manner and a cute smile; this bully, having his way while the other kids pretend to like him. 

Or we might recall the forming of youthful gangs, practicing that most primitive of human traits: groupthink. The mob forming around a sense of anger towards one or two of the others; the gang developing its own character out of the unconscious movements of its individual parts. Moving inevitably towards a malicious purpose, until someone, or something, slaps some sense into enough of the kids, to cause the breaking up of the gang. 

We remember how Cain resented Abel. Ishmael resented Isaac. Esau hated Jacob. Joseph was loathed by his brothers. Saul feared David. And the Pharisees dreaded the growth of Christ's movement. 

We have every reason to recognize it for what it is . . . and yet, here in this "advanced" year of 2021, we see, playing out, the most baldly insidious fomenting of division in human history. We have division, for division's sake. We seem to want to be divided, simply because we like being divided. It's a fake and malicious sense that we become important if we are divided. 

The Apostle Paul articulated the most fundamental form of human division: Those in God's Kingdom (and possessing eternal life), versus those outside of it (mortal). 

And Paul says that God wishes to break down this barrier between us and them. 

If that is the case . . . shouldn't we actively, and aggressively, topple the superficial walls between us today, that have such potential to yield irreversible catastrophe?

Mercy, etc.

Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 

 - From Psalm 85

Look at these concepts that are grouped together. They belong together. They cannot be separated out, and merged back into other concepts, that are inconsistent with any of the other words in the group. 

Mercy

Truth

Righteousness

Peace

We find here, two words that are probably overused in our time. Or rather, they are used too much, without consideration of the two other words in the list. 

Yes we should have mercy, all right. We have been lacking mercy, and it's a systemic problem. The problem of merciless humans predates the foundation of the United States, since before recorded time. And when all that's left of the USA is ashes, still there will be a problem, a systemic problem, of a lack of mercy among humans. 

Racism derives from lack of mercy. Divorce. Abortion. Poverty. Homelessness. If people were merciful, as they should be, they would take care of these things. But you can't legislate mercy. You can't force people to be merciful. Yes, for a finite period of time, you may tax, and then force people to act as though they have mercy. But that doesn't change what's in their hearts. Real mercy proceeds from hearts that actually feel, and willfully choose, mercy. In fact, government coercion to act merciful probably creates more systemic mercilessness . . . because what it really does to many human hearts, is create resentment. 

It also would be nice to have peace. We all want peace. But this is the same as saying, we want to be left alone. We want to be able to pursue happiness in our families, success in careers, pleasure in our hobbies. Just leave us alone . . . that is peace for all of us. But when our peace is mandated from outside us, we are no longer at peace. Being forced to do something you don't want to do, is not peace. And of course, people in want, the hungry, the homeless . . . it can never be said that they are at peace. Their daily path is too dictated by their circumstances. When we start committing violent and destructive acts, out of frustration for the lack of "peace," we're only making the problem worse. We're making it eveb more systemic. You can't advance peace by being violent. You can't tear things down, and get in the faces of innocent strangers, out on the street. You can't tear symbols down, that have positive meaning to uncountable hosts of good people. That's not peace. 

There's a whole lot more to it. 

Truth, and Righteousness.

You can't get to Truth, if dialogue is shut down. We humans are too error-prone. We need each other, to check our assumptions and challenge our theories. We have to have open minds and open community discourse. When you insist on your truth, you're promoting anti-truth. (And I realize that I have just made a hot-button statement that will make some people recoil. Please share your thoughts in the comments section and let's go deeper.)

Your Mercy, Peace, and Truth are null and void, without righteousness. Case in point: the problem of politicians getting a blank check to say whatever they want, and do whatever they want, because of their "side's" skill at circling wagons. We're great at rooting out corruption on the other side, but horrible when it comes to our own side. Corruption should not be tolerated! Ever! 

Righteousness means honesty, integrity, ethics, morality. And if you want to know whatever it is you might be doing, that, frankly, doesn't "look good" or pass the "smell test," just ask someone else to level with you, honestly. Ask someone on the other side. And then make a covenant with yourself, to avoid doing what looks bad, even when your opponent is the one noticing it!

Mercy, Peace, Truth, and Righteousness. You can't have one without the other three. Not really.