non-metaphysical stephen

I’ve often wondered why it would be important that Jesus should come from the tribe of Judah rather than the priestly tribe of Levi or of any other tribe. But check out this passage–Jacob’s sons must convince him to allow them to take Benjamin with them to Egypt so that they might get more grain.

And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.”

Could this be what Jesus told God about us? He is the pledge of our safety, promising our Father/Mother to return us safely home.

How wonderful is that? Thanks be to Christ Jesus for his lovingkindness toward us! Amen!

Today’s Hebrew lectionary reading tells of Joseph’s success in dealing with the famine in Egypt, and several things interest me:

• Joseph’s plan to preserve Egypt’s food supply during the seven years of plenty would probably not go over very well today. He doesn’t allow the people of Egypt to use all of their resources, but demands that some be stored up every year for the future. And how many people today would believe Joseph that there were seven bad years coming? I cannot imagine our U.S. government trying to institute such a policy today, even though it was clearly the right thing to do (and God had ordained it). I know some will complain that our government does try to do this, but their complaint shows just how controversial God’s plan would be today. (Side note: I seem to recall reading that when the economy started going south a few years ago, only one state escaped a budget crisis; that state had the foresight to make a contingency plan.) I also wonder what our modern analogues to the famine are: the environment? the economy? What if we had been told after WW1 to prepare for a major depression? What if we had been told after WW2 to prepare for an environmental crisis? I’m realizing just how self-centered and in-the-moment we are as a culture. How do we as Christians convince people to change their ways? Even to give up what they see as their “rights” for the sake of the common good?
• I had forgotten that Joseph’s sons were born before the arrival of his Hebrew compatriots. But even more surprising to me today is to realize that he married the daughter of an Egyptian priest! I know that from a practical point of view, Joseph could not look for a Hebrew wife. Still, it is interesting that he married into a priestly family. Not only is there the question about religious syncretism (does Joseph raise them as Hebrews rather than as Egyptians? I suppose this became possible once his family moved there…), but there is also the surprising fact that two of tribes of Israel are part Egyptian!
  
• His second son’s name, Ephraim, is said to mean “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” I’ve been thinking a lot lately about maintaining our faith in times of difficulty (see my posts on the Wilderness) and how we need to trust that God can not only see us through these times, but also can use them for good. Ephraim’s name is a wonderful testimony to this fact: Even when our circumstances seem to be against us (Joseph was not in Egypt by choice, and he had to endure two years in prison before becoming Pharaoh’s adviser), God can still bless all that we do, even using us to benefit those around us, friends and enemies alike.
• God’s role in ordaining Egypt as a land of salvation during the time of famine. God truly is LORD over all the nations!
  

This morning a couple of images came to my mind during my prayers, both of them related to my future and my attempts to discern God’s direction for me as I prepare to graduate and move on to a career.

1) I am at the border of the Red Sea, wondering whether to walk into the water or to wait for them to part for me. Then I realize I’m already in the water, and it’s getting deeper as the current continues to push the water around me. I cannot see the bottom, so I have no idea how much farther I can walk before I can no longer touch the ground without going completely underwater. And, I have no idea how much longer I will have to move forward before things get easier for me. Will God part the water? Or will God strengthen me to swim to the other side? Keep the faith and expect both….

2) I am at a fork in the road — three prongs. I know what the three roads are, but I cannot see which one leads to the Kingdom. Or do all three lead there? I do not know which road I am meant to take; all three seem desirable, and yet I cannot take them all. Perhaps they eventually come back together into one larger road? Meanwhile, should I continue on the road I have long thought I was meant to take? Or should I wait for clearer direction?

May it be done with me according to God’s will. God has led me into this Wilderness, and God will provide all that I need. My prayer is that I may be faithful to walk with Christ and that I may be fruitful for Christ’s kingdom.

Amen.

The Lectionary readings for Sunday included Jesus’ temptation in the Wilderness, and Renee spent most of her sermon on that passage. It’s material I’ve heard a thousand times before, and yet needed to hear again.

This time, I started to notice my own reactions to God in the Devil’s words:

“IF you are the Son of God, then…”

How often have I demanded that God prove himself by doing something? How often have I told myself that I didn’t know if I could believe in God if X were to happen, in spite of all that God had brought me through in the past. Jesus’ faith protected him from falling for this trick. Like him, we must learn to trust in God’s provision and not demand “if-then” proofs of God’s existence or power.

I also heard myself in something Renee said when she imagined whether Jesus reacted to his time in the Wilderness with “Did I make a mistake?”

Again, how often have I seen signs of God’s faithfulness and provision only to wonder if, in spite of it all, I’ve gone astray somewhere, with no idea how or when? How do I lose faith so easily?

I’m feeling a bit of Wilderness fever right now with my job search. May God preserve me and give me the faith I need to trust that God is preparing me to for a holy service, to minister to God’s people and to live out the reality of God’s kingdom.

Amen.

An interesting thing happened last night while listening to the radio. The station was playing a live version of John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane,” and I started to realize something about myself and what I wanted from my life. No, not a little pink house….

Hearing the live version, I started to wonder how much time and effort Mellencamp has put into his music career. I thought about how badly he (like other successful musicians) must have wanted it, fought for it, sacrificed for it. How much time does he devote to rehearsing his performances, so that they’ll be just right and that he’ll be in full control at the mic? How focused has he been on obtaining and maintaining his status?

What I began to realize about myself is how much I crave serving God’s people. That wasn’t a surprise in itself, but I started to wonder if maybe I wanted a college teaching job as much as I had always thought. I love teaching, but if I had to choose between teaching and service, which am I willing to leave to the side? Am I devoted enough to teaching to perform diligently the research and writing and publishing that attends most academic careers? I don’t know. I’m not a particularly enthusiastic researcher now; would that truly change once I’m employed?

May God help me to discern what God’s call is for me. And may God deliver me from all that would distract me from God’s will and open the doors for me to serve the Church of Christ Jesus. Amen.

I’ve been chatting online about our response to suffering, and today’s readings contained this gem of a passage:

Hebrews 10.32-35:

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Whoa! I recall Paul’s admonishment that we ought not to be upset when people defraud us, and this verse seems right in line with Paul.

How many of us would be willing (much less able) to joyfully accept having our property plundered? How many of us have the maturity to count our earthly possessions as nothing compared to the hope that is at hand for us in Christ Jesus? How many of us could see God’s goodness and activity in such an event?

As the author of Hebrews states just before this passage,

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

I wonder how many of us could withstand these sufferings without cursing God?