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Chapter-a-Day

Traditions: Serious and Silly

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Traditions: Serious and Silly (CaD Matt 15) – Wayfarer

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
Matthew 15:1-2 (NIV)

Traditions are a funny thing.

On one hand, I am a lover of history and so it easy for me to wax nostalgic about certain traditions. I can find incredible meaning and a depth of emotion within them. I can’t hear a horn blowing Taps without tearing up.

On the other hand, my individualist nature rebels when people take traditions too seriously.

In today’s chapter, there is an undercurrent that is easily lost on the casual reader. Matthew is careful to point out that some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to inspect Jesus. Jerusalem was the home office. These officials were the big dogs sent to check up on all the rumors about an the upstart preacher who was #trending in flyover country by the Sea of Galilee.

The first thing that the grand inquisitors notice is that Jesus and His followers don’t follow the tradition of ceremonially washing their hands before they eat. This is a serious tradition that continues to this day. When I had the honor or visiting Jerusalem and enjoying a Sabbath feast at the King David hotel, there was a sink right there in the dining room for people to ceremonially wash their hands before the meal.

Traditions die hard.

Jesus pokes back at the inquisition, pointing out that they are rabid about the “tradition” of ceremonially washing their hands before a meal while completely ignoring God’s command to honor their parents if they can profit from it.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I mentioned in a recent post that I like hats. Growing up, I was forever getting in trouble with my father for wearing my hat at the dinner table. I always thought this odd because my friend Chef Alex is required to wear a hat around food to avoid hair falling into it. So the chef must wear a hat around the food but if I wear a hat at the table I’m offending people.

Even a year or so ago I stopped at my local church to pray during the lunch hour during our local gathering’s regularly scheduled Thursday prayer time. One of the sisters who serves by praying over people came by to ask if she could pray for me, which was kind of her. She, however, asked me to remove my hat as she was offended I would wear it inside the church. But, when I was in Jerusalem and attended synagogue or approached the Wailing Wall I was required to cover my head.

People are silly about traditions.

Jesus makes this point in today’s chapter though I have observed that it never gets much airplay on Sunday mornings. Poking at people’s sacred cows is a bit like poking a stick at a rabid dog. I’m not the sick one, but I’m probably going to get bit and I have to ask myself if it’s really worth it. When my sister asked me to remove my hat before she would pray over me I respectfully honored her request, though everything inside of me wanted to press her as to why she was offended. She probably would have quoted Paul’s letter to the believers in Corinth in which he says that, “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.” But he follows that up by stating, “But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head.” I noticed that my sister was not wearing a head covering.

Perhaps I should have offered her my hat.

I also noticed that Paul wrote to believers in four different letters to “greet one another with a holy kiss.” My prayer sister didn’t so much as pucker her lips as she asked me to remove my hat, dangit.

People are silly about traditions.

In the quiet this morning, I love the fact that Jesus poked the big dogs from Jerusalem regarding their rabid hypocrisy when it came to their traditions. Less than a week after Good Friday, I’m equally reminded that these same rabid, big dogs will quite literally kill Him for it.

People get very serious about their traditions.

As a disciple of Jesus, I personally prefer to care more about the heart issues Jesus was concerned about and less about human traditions that make little or no sense in the grand scheme of things. But, that’s just me.

“Down, Cujo. Down!”

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

Arrogant Luxury

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Arrogant Luxury (CaD Matt 3) – Wayfarer

“[The one who comes after me], his winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Matthew 3:12 (NIV)

We live in very unique times. In fact, I believe that we are in one of the most tectonic shifts in the history of Christianity. It is, perhaps, the most significant shift since the Reformation. Mainline denominations who held sway over the lives of millions of believers around the globe for centuries have imploded and fractured into countless factions. Some are still in the process of their implosions. After Covid, millions of regular and semi-regular church goers simply stayed home and never returned to church. Here in rural Iowa where Wendy and I live, small churches have shut their doors in record numbers. The institutions of academia and government around the globe, many of them founded by Christians and/or Christian principles, have become hostile to Christianity, some claiming it to be the worst thing that ever happened to humanity.

I can see the result of these things in our own local gathering of believers. It broke with the mainline denomination it was part of for a century and a half. Suddenly it is a melting pot of sincere and committed Jesus’ followers from widely diverse denominational backgrounds and theological bents. It is forcing our gathering to reexamine all of our beliefs and ritual practices. I personally consider this a great thing.

A while back I ran into someone among our gathering who came from a slightly different theological bent than our gathering’s tradition. One of the differences, which I consider to be minor, is in the interpretation of the prophesies of the end times such as in the book of Revelation. My friend was obviously disturbed, believing their interpretation to be the one true way of belief, and the gathering’s traditional interpretation to be heretical. These are the kinds of hair-splitting that created so many denominational silos over the centuries. In my mind, we can no longer afford such proud luxuries of smug assuredness in our interpretation of theological non-essentials, especially as it relates to the prophetic.

The truth of things is that humans have a long tradition of getting God’s prophecies wrong. The greatest, most educated theological minds of Jesus’ day had interpreted that God’s Messiah would be a warrior King (wrong) who would wipe out Rome (wrong), establish Himself as a human monarch on a throne in Jerusalem (wrong), and rule over all the kingdoms of this world (wrong).

In today’s chapter, we meet John the Baptist. John was the fulfillment of multiple prophesies. He was a herald and forerunner of Jesus as proclaimed by Isaiah. The prophet Malachi, in the final prophetic words of the Great Story before the time of Jesus, said that the prophet Elijah would return. In the story of Elijah, he did not physically die but was taken up to heaven. So, naturally all of the great theological minds in Jesus’ day with the proud luxury of espousing and proclaiming their learned thought were assured that Elijah himself would physically return in bodily form. They were all wrong.

Of John, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” Yet as I pondered John’s words in the chapter it was obvious that John had his own preconceived notions about who Jesus would be and how things would play out. John expected Jesus to immediately be the superhero Messiah in his cape, wiping out the bad guys and ushering in a new world order. In fact, in just a few chapters John will find himself unjustly languishing in Herod’s prison. The fact that Jesus has not dashed into a phone booth, come out wearing his cape, given Herod his just desserts, and freed John from prison has John at the point of having a crisis of faith.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself asking a simple question. If the prophet whom Jesus said was greater than everyone was completely wrong in his interpretation of the ancient prophesies and what Jesus’ life, ministry, and mission would actually be, then how can I possibly afford to be smug in my own personal theological interpretations? History proves that humans regularly get the prophetic wrong. God through Isaiah made it clear that God’s ways are not our ways and His ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than our own. Why on earth would I conclude that I am one-hundred percent right and other learned, sincere believers are one-hundred percent wrong in their interpretation of how things will play out at the end of the Great Story? Why on earth would I judge them and let our differences of opinion divide us?

The further I get in my journey, the more humbly I find myself simply choosing not to ascend theological hills to die on. I find myself more open than ever to loving and learning from my brothers and sisters in our diversity of thought, experience, and backgrounds. I am more convinced than ever that we are entering a time when believers will find unity in the essentials of our faith and learn to appreciate and learn from our diversity in the non-essentials. The world has shunned the arrogance, division, and pride of our forebears in their denominational kingdoms. Perhaps we can learn to be the Light of the World in our humility and love for one another in the age to come.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

Best of ’24: #2 Responding and Reacting

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For two weeks, while Wendy and I are away enjoying some warm weather, I’ll be counting down the top ten chapter-a-day posts of 2024 (based on total views and plays). It’ s always interesting which posts resonated with readers and listeners. The chapter for tomorrow’s post will be listed at the bottom.

Responding and Reacting (CaD Rom 12) – Wayfarer

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21 (NIV)

This past weekend, the world was stunned when the opening ceremony of the Olympics featured what appeared to be a parody of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper using drag queens and a large lady with a plunging neckline in place of Jesus. There have been all sorts of reactions to the scene, but it came to mind this morning as I read today’s chapter.

I will admit that my initial reaction was one of shock then offended anger. I scrolled my feed on X to see how people were responding. I ran across one tweet from a young Muslim woman. “As a Muslim, even I am offended by this. Where are you Christians? Why are you so weak?”

As a disciple of Jesus, however, I don’t want to be a slave to my emotional reactions but rather respond in the Spirit. So rather than spew my rage to the masses, I took some time to ponder the French parody and how Jesus would respond. Here are the conclusions I came to.

Jesus would not be surprised at all by it. In fact, He told me that this is exactly the thing I should expect from the world. Here are a couple of key statements:

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”
Matthew 24:9

“Everyone will hate you because of me.”
Luke 21:17

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
John 15:18-19

…in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.
John 16:2b

“But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”
John 15:25

Jesus asks me to respond differently than the world reacts. Anger, rage, and retribution are the ways of the world. To me, this silly mockery is a metaphorical slap in the face, and a classic opportunity to respond in the very way Jesus taught me.

God does not need me to be His avenger. A few years ago, the offices of Charlie Hebdo in France were attacked and the workers were massacred by Muslim terrorists. They did this because the French satire magazine parodied Mohammed in a comic. I wondered, “Is this what the Muslim young lady thinks Christians should do so as not to be ‘weak?'” Jesus made it very clear that God can handle vengeance on His own without my help, and that my job is to love, bless, and pray for those who mock, hate, and persecute.

The very heart of Jesus’ example and teaching is that real spiritual strength is found in what the world perceives as weakness. Jesus willingly surrendered Himself to be crucified and said that I should take up my own cross and follow His example. Resurrection power does not come from marching in the streets, taking up arms, political leverage, or trending social media outrage. Resurrection power only comes through death. Sometimes that means I have to die to my desire or need for a sense of justice, or revenge, or self-righteous satisfaction.

In the quiet this morning, I’m thinking about an article I read yesterday in the Free Press in which the author commented that the people who should really be angry are not the Christians, but the citizens of France who had a chance to show the world the best they’ve got to offer with regards to art and culture and have to ask themselves “Is this is the best we could come up with?” In the meantime, I’m not too worked up about it. I have people to love, clients to serve, and a bunch of meetings today in which I hope to be an example of Jesus’ loving kindness and self-control.

Tomorrow’s Chapter: John 6

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!

Chapter-a-Day

Best of ’24: #3 God’s Righteousness vs. Self-Righteousness

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For two weeks, while Wendy and I are away enjoying some warm weather, I’ll be counting down the top ten chapter-a-day posts of 2024 (based on total views and plays). It’ s always interesting which posts resonated with readers and listeners. The chapter for tomorrow’s post will be listed at the bottom.

God's Righteousness vs. Self-Righteousness (CaD Rom 10) – Wayfarer

For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Romans 10:2-4 (NIV)

I had lunch with a friend this week who is a pastor. As we were catching up they mentioned that they had received a “poisoned pen letter.” I have received my own share of these letters along my spiritual journey. They come from the religious rule-keepers I’ve described in recent posts. “Poisoned pen letters” typically point out one or more rules that the religious rule-keeper considers to be conditional for salvation that you’re not keeping in their eyes. There’s always scripture included, often quoted in the Authorized King James version. A poisoned pen letter always includes the threat that unless you start keeping their prescribed rules you are going to hell, you will be forever damned, you will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, you will burn in hell, or similar. They are almost always sent anonymously.

The poisoned pen letters I know of have dealt with things like not preaching the right things, not using their prescribed version of the Bible (usually the King James Version), not wearing the right clothes, not having the right hairstyle, wearing a hat in church, not having your head covered in church, not keeping the sabbath, being friends with sinful people, drinking alcohol, listening to the wrong kind of music, not using the right kind of music in the church service (e.g. traditional hymns), not being political enough from the pulpit (of their political persuasion, of course), being too political from the pulpit (the side they disagree with), and etc.

In today’s chapter, Paul describes his fellow Jews as zealous for God. Their zeal, he goes on to explain, is misguided. The religious rule-keeping Jews didn’t know the righteousness of God. They only knew self-righteous rule-keeping. The former is sourced only from God through faith. The latter is sourced by keeping prescribed behavioral rules through human effort. The former is a gracious and generous gift from God. The latter is a threatening condemning human demand.

Wendy recently read the story of a person who was raised as a fundamentalist rule-keeper but has since renounced her religious roots. She explains that a religious rule-keeper thinks that they are showing love by pointing out another person’s sins. The condemnation and threat of hell are seen as a loving act that will potentially save the object of their public rebuke or poisoned pen.

How misguided. They ignore the scripture that says it is God’s kindness that leads people to repentance. So also do they ignore the scripture that lists the fruit of the Spirit that a believer produces. Nowhere on the list will you find anger, threats, condemnation, yelling, protesting, or sending anonymous letters. The list is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. A poisoned pen letter exemplifies the exact opposite of patience, kindness, and self-control.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself being mindful of Paul’s attitude toward his zealous, self-righteous Jewish brothers and sisters. His heart goes out to them. He prays for them to see the Truth and to know the righteousness from God that can only be received, never earned. Paul’s attitude towards these people reminds me of Jesus on the cross saying, “Father, forgive them. They don’t get it.” I think that’s the attitude and posture that God wants me to have when dealing with rule-keepers when they confront me or write me anonymous letters. It’s easy for me to get angry with them, but how will they repent if I use their own angry, condemning tactics against them? They won’t. But perhaps if I respond to their condemnation and anger with kindness, patience, and loving faithfulness they will see in me that there’s a better way.

Tomorrow’s Chapter: Romans 12

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

Essentials and Non-Essentials

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Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?
1 Corinthians 15:29 (NIV)

Along my spiritual journey, I have worshipped and served in a number of different denominations and traditions. While they all shared that salvation was by grace through faith in Jesus, they varied in other thoughts, in their rituals, and in their worship. In some cases, I didn’t agree with some of what I considered to be non-essential beliefs, but I chose to respect them and to learn as much as I could. My experiences helped hone my own beliefs, taught me things I would have never otherwise learned, and gave me a far broader love for and understanding of what the Apostle’s Creed refers to as the “holy catholic church” which does not refer to the Roman Catholic denomination but rather to all believers everywhere, no matter their particular tradition or denominational bent.

For Paul and the other Apostles, one of the biggest challenges they faced was a combination of lack of human control, poor communication lines, and all sorts of competing religious thoughts and philosophies that crept into the local gatherings.

In today’s chapter, there are two fascinating things mentioned by Paul in one verse (the one at the top of today’s post). It refers to one major issue that became a major issue in the church in the first few centuries. The other is a curious and largely forgotten ritual. Let’s start with the major issue.

Gnosticism was an emerging religious philosophy in Paul’s day and took on many different thought traditions of its own. Basically, it taught that humans and the material world were the lesser meaningless creation of a minor god, and that the spiritual realm was the only thing that mattered. It also taught that salvation came from “secret knowledge” of one’s true and spiritual identity. So, gnostics denied Jesus was God (no spiritual being would choose to become human), Jesus died for sin (there is no sin, only ignorance), or rose from the dead (there is no bodily resurrection, only leaving the material behind to attain the spiritual). In today’s chapter, Paul is addressing some within the local Corinthian gathering of believers who are embracing the notion that there is no resurrection and undermining the essential core beliefs of Christianity.

In making his argument for resurrection, Paul mentions that some of the Corinthian believers were being “baptized for the dead.” He doesn’t explain it. He doesn’t condemn it. He just mentions it in passing as part of his argument and it doesn’t appear anywhere else in the Great Story. Apparently, Corinthian believers were being baptized on behalf of people who were physically dead in hope and anticipation of effecting that person’s after-life status in some way. We don’t know and the ritual obviously was not perpetuated, though the practice was curiously “resurrected” (pun absolutely intended) as part of the theology of Latter Day Saints in the 1800s.

A few days ago I quoted St. Augustine who taught that there should be unity in the “essentials” and liberty in the “non-essentials.” In the quiet this morning, I couldn’t help but think about the fact that we have in one verse a rather interesting combination of the two. For Corinthians to deny that Jesus rose from the dead undermines the foundational and essential belief of the faith itself and what Jesus Himself claimed and taught. At the same time, Paul references this curious practice of baptizing people for the dead, a non-essential ritual that was not widely practiced, never referenced anywhere else, and died away with time.

Along my spiritual journey, I’ve learned and benefitted from understanding the difference between essentials of my faith and belief in Jesus and His teaching, and the non-essentials of ritual and tradition that vary widely all over the world. I have learned from and even spiritually benefitted from learning and practicing non-essentials from traditions that are different than mine. I confess that some of them didn’t resonate with me or I found them silly. In all those different experiences, I met brothers and sisters who shared the same essential beliefs with me and whom I will enjoy seeing in heaven.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

“…the More They Stay the Same.”

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“…the More They Stay the Same” (CaD Ezk 25) – Wayfarer

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations.
Ezekiel 25:6-7 (NIV)

Sometimes on this chapter-a-day journey there are moments of synchronicity. Today is one of those days.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Hamas’ massacre in southern Israel. The horrific acts of that day included rape, the murder of infants, children, and women, decapitation, and the mutilation of the living and the dead. It was the worst terrorist act ever perpetrated against the modern state of Israel and the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

What has been fascinating to watch over the past year is not just the diminishment of the event and its atrocities but the schadenfreude and rejoicing on a grand scale. The depth and scale of anti-semitism that remains in this world has come to light.

In today’s chapter, God’s prophetic messages through Ezekiel make a clear and dramatic shift. After 24 chapters of prophetic warnings to His own people, God now turns his lens onto the surrounding nations. In Biblical numerology, seven is a number that designates “completeness” (e.g. Seven days of creation). Today’s chapter begins a series of seven prophetic messages to seven different neighbors of ancient Israel. The seventh message has seven parts to it.

The four nations mentioned in today’s chapter are Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. All of them were longtime enemies whose lands bordered and surrounded Israel. God cries out against them because they rejoiced in Israels downfall, they refused to help refugees fleeing the Babylonian and Assyrian massacres, and used the opportunity to carry out vengeance.

In the quiet this morning, I can’t help but be a bit awed by the sheer irony of it. Prophecies uttered some 2,500 years ago feel eerily like they are addressing current events. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

When I visited Israel, during the second intifada, I had the unique experience of having two guides. One was Jewish woman named Devorah. One was Arab man named George. They were both amazing, wonderful individuals with very different perspectives about almost everything. Despite their profound disagreements (they argued in Hebrew), they loved and respected one another. They were both followers of Jesus. In the time I spent with them, I realized that, for the two of them, Jesus’ command to love your enemies and bless those who curse you came with a lot more baggage than I will ever know. That baggage is thousands of years old, and it is still with us.

I find myself grieving the massacre of October 7th this morning, the hostages that remain to this day, and the timeless conflict from which it sprang. I have no profound answers to this historic hatred which is rooted in the depths of the Great Story. I’m simply reminded that Jesus calls me to be an agent of love, mercy, grace, peace, and truth. Not just with my allies, but also my enemies.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The Perpetual Contrast

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The Perpetual Contrast (CaD Ezk 22) – Wayfarer

“‘‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols…’”
Ezekiel 22:3 (NIV)

One of the repetitive messages of the prophets was the railing about idolatry. I have found as a modern reader that it is easy to get focused on the idolatry in the prophets’ messages and then mentally zone out because, let’s face it, the notion of worshipping strange little statues is such a foreign concept in a world that has predominantly monotheistic for centuries.

What is often missed in the prophets messages is that it was never really the idolatry alone that was the problem in God’s eyes. It was behaviors that went with it and the human outcomes. Pagan worship in those ancient times was often a pretense for all sorts of bad behavior from sexual immorality to selfish ambition to cursing and eliminating one’s enemies. Pagan culture promoted a self-centered mentality of selfishness, immorality, and violence.

In today’s chapter, Ezekiel lists the common behaviors that had resulted from Jerusalem’s being turned into a pagan carnival (see verses 6-12):

Corruption
Violence and murder
Contempt for family
Oppression of foreigners
Mistreatment of orphans and widows
Desecration of the holy and sacred
Slanderers
Dishonesty
Profiting off the poor
Extortion
Sexual immorality including:
Incest
Adultery
Rape

Now look at a list of what Paul describes as “the acts of the flesh” which stand in contrast to the “Fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:

Sexual immorality
Impurity
Debauchery
Idolatry
Witchcraft
Hatred
Discord
Jealousy
Fits of rage
Selfish ambition
Dissensions
Factions
Envy
Drunkenness
Orgies

In the quiet this morning I am reminded that the prophets were never just about idolatry and bowing down to funny little statues. They were standing against the same things that God has always stood against, that God still stands against as He asks me and every other believer to, by the power of God’s Spirit, live daily lives of:

Love instead of hatred
Joy instead of criticism
Peace instead of anger and violence
Patience instead of selfish impatience
Kindness instead of meanness, prejudice, and harshness
Goodness instead of corruption
Faithfulness instead of falseness
Gentleness instead of violence
Self-control instead of immorality

Through Ezekiel and the other prophets of his day, God was crying out for His people to have a change of heart and life. Daily life looks much different than it did 2500 years ago, but human behavior is still given to the same contrasts. As a disciple of Jesus, I’m called to follow Jesus in moving against the world’s behavioral traffic flow.

Even Jesus acknowledged this contrast when He said:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)

For the record, Jesus never mentions a middle road.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The Scepter and the Sword

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The Scepter and the Sword (CaD Ezk 21) – Wayfarer

“‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.’”
Ezekiel 21:10b (NIV)

Along my life journey, I have observed that the political divide here in the States can arguably be boiled down to those who don’t trust the government to do anything well and want to diminish its role in our lives versus those who trust the government to do everything for us and therefore want to entrust more and more of our lives to it.

One of the things that history has taught me is that while the world changes, the one thing that does not change is the human condition and, therefore, all the human systems that we humans create. It’s why Shakespeare is still so powerfully relevant today. Arguably, no one has ever captured the human condition for the purposes of both comedy and tragedy as the Bard.

In today’s chapter, I found that the ancient Israelites were dealing with their own sense of safety and trust in their government, a monarchy founded on the royal line of David.

Throughout history, the staff or scepter has been a symbol of authority, royalty, and command. When God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, He sent Moses with a staff that became a metaphor for God’s power and authority. Archaeologists have uncovered an ivory pomegranate that was used at the top of a scepter with an inscription indicating it may have very well been used by the priests in Solomon’s Temple. Statues and artwork of both royalty and idols frequently showed them holding a scepter.

The Israelites of Ezekiel’s day, living in Judah and Jerusalem, had been raised to revere the King as a member of David’s royal house. It had been proclaimed that God would establish David’s throne forever, and they put a lot of stock in this promise. Many believed that as long as a member of David’s house was on the throne God would protect them and prosper them. Certainly the King had prophets on his payroll who would proclaim this loudly in an effort to keep the peace. People believed it.

Ezekiel, however, is given a prophetic vision contrasting the scepter of the royal house of David to the sword of God’s judgment in the hands of the King of Babylon. The prophetic word begins with the sword despising and mocking the “stick” in the king’s hand. The prophecy continues to explain that the sword is more powerful than the scepter, and warns the people not to trust their king and his royal prophets.

The prophecy ends on a Messianic note:

“‘A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.’”
Ezekiel 21:27 (NIV)

As a follower of Jesus, I couldn’t help but note that the monarchy in Jerusalem did end with Babylon’s siege. There was no king in Jerusalem until Jesus rode in on a donkey and Matthew remembered the words of the prophet Zechariah:

“Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’

In the quiet this morning, I am reminded of my dual citizenship. Yes, I am a citizen of the United States, but as a disciple of Jesus I am also a citizen of God’s heavenly kingdom. The former is human and temporal, the latter is divine and eternal. My citizenship in God’s Kingdom does not diminish my earthly citizenship or my responsibility to be an active and participatory citizen on earth as I have heard people argue. On the contrary, as an ambassador of God’s Kingdom on this earth I am required to be a more dutiful and engaged member of society, respecting those in authority and acting on a daily basis to make life on earth a better place for my fellow human beings for Heaven’s sake.

With that in mind, I am also mindful that the one thing that does not change on this earth is the human condition, unless it becomes subject to the power of God’s Holy Spirit. The end of the Great Story as told in Revelation is a parallel to Ezekiel’s prophecy in today’s chapter. God’s sword (pictured as the Words from Jesus’ mouth; see Rev 19:15) standing against the scepters of the Prince of this World and all the kingdoms of this world.

Despite knowing and believing the ending, my role in this Great Story is to be an ambassador of God’s Kingdom here on earth today. And that means being a good citizen, and operating out of love in everything I say and do. Here we go…

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Slandered

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Slandered (CaD Ezk 20) – Wayfarer

But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
Exodus 20:14 (NIV)

I have a vivid memory of being at a high school football game. While at the game I happened to strike up a conversation with a kid from another school who was hanging out with friends from our school. There was a natural affinity between the two of us and I ended up introducing myself to him.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of you,” he said. “You’re the guy who always calls the cops and tells them where the parties are to get people in trouble.”

Apparently my reputation as an outspoken follower of Jesus and my lack of participation in said parties led to me being scapegoated as the snitch anytime a party got raided. I was shocked by this since it was utterly false, but it would not be the last time it happened.

Throughout my life journey, I have experienced seasons in which I found out that I was the object of slander which is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as “a false and malicious statement or report about someone.” It is never fun, but it has taught me three important life lessons. First, positions of leadership of any kind in any human system inherently come with a target on your back. Second, you can’t control what other people say about you, and running around trying to do so is a fool’s errand. Finally, and most importantly, I am called to simply press on following in the footsteps of Jesus and His example of operating daily in the fruit of the Spirit. This includes, of course, forgiving and blessing those who slander you.

“Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

In today’s chapter, God gives the elders of Israel a message through Ezekiel in which He walks them through the history of His covenant relationship with them. There’s a repetitive cycle in which God gives them His guidelines for life, they refuse to follow the guidelines, and God acts in response to their unfaithfulness. In each case, He states that their slanderous rejection of Him “profaned” His name. Zeke even makes mention of specific instances in which Kings of Israel took God’s specific guideline to consecrate the firstborn and twisted it into justification for actual pagan child sacrifice. And in each case God acts and responds “for the sake of my name.” In other words, the actions of His people were slanderous, but God continued to press on being God. As Paul described it to Timothy, “When we are faithless, God is faithful because He can’t help but be who He is.”

In the quiet this morning, I spent some time thinking back on my own seasons and acts of unfaithfulness to both God and others. I asked God for forgiveness, and thanked Him for both His faithfulness and forgiveness. Then, I thought of specific individuals who I know have slandered me over the years, consciously choosing (once again) to forgive them, and praying a blessing over them. That’s what Jesus has gratefully done for me ceaselessly. How can I not do the same?

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Stupid Decisions

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Stupid Decisions (CaD Ezk 18) – Wayfarer

Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
Ezekiel 18:31-32 (NIV)

Wendy and I have several good friends who are currently residing in that stretch of life’s journey when one has the responsibility to parent teenagers. No one seems to be having any fun.

The thing about the teen years is that kids begin to get a taste of freedom and of free will, but they’re still about ten years from having fully developed brains. They make really stupid decisions. And, because they are old enough to get into serious trouble, those stupid decisions run the risk of quickly becoming tragic.

As I listen to some of the stories, it brings back memories of both Taylor and Madison. The girls were good kids and I’m happy to say they made far more good decisions that stupid decisions. But make no mistake, they both made stupid decisions. We caught a few of them. Certain stupid decisions are stupid because they’re so stupid that getting found out is a certainty. I’m certain there were stupid decisions that they got away with. Parents are stupid too, to believe that somehow our children won’t make the same stupid decisions we made when we were their age.

Stupid teenager decisions are a great example of what we call sin. We know it’s wrong, but we do it anyway. We do it for any number of reasons.

In the Great Story, sin is the major spiritual problem. It enters the Story in the third chapter of Genesis. Adam knew that he wasn’t supposed to eat the fruit of one tree. But, dang it, it looked so beautiful and juicy and he was really craving a taste of sweet succulent fruit at that moment.

Stupid decision.

Stupid decisions have consequences.

The consequence of Adam and Eve’s stupid decision, God says, is death. Not right away, but eventually. The human body will break down, wear out, and return to the dust of the earth from which it was formed. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.

As Paul wrote to Jesus’ followers in Rome:

sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned –

The message God continues to relay to humans throughout the rest of the Great Story is that He is for life. He wants me to be for life. He wants me to experience life.

At the same time, God does not like death any more than the. parent of a teenager likes to get a call from the Police because they have a teenager in custody.

In today’s chapter, Ezekiel relays what, at the heart of it, this very simple message. In fact, it’s as simple as they come. If you make stupid decisions and live a life of selfishness, pride, stealing, cheating others, living in immorality, and never looking out for anyone but numero uno then death is the just consequence for squandering the opportunity life affords.

But that’s not what God wants. He takes no pleasure in it. It’s a tragic consequence of endless stupid decisions.

God wants life, and He even makes a way for it. Ezekiel proclaims it beautifully in today’s chapter:

Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

In other words, turn around. Make different choices. Follow God. He’s offering a new heart and a new spirit. A fresh start.

Paul put it this way to the believers in Rome:

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

Just as death to all came through one sin, so God would arrange for life for all to come through one death. Life…death…new life.

I will tell you, that the new life began for me when I made one good decision to take the first step:

I admitted I was powerless over my stupid decisions — that my life had become unmanageable.

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV)

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.