God Bless' the Child, That's Got His Own

“Them that's got, shall get, Them that's not, shall lose, So the Bible said, and it still is news… Yes the strong seem to get more, While the weak ones fade… God bless' the child, That's got his own…”

Some of you will remember these lyrics from Blood, Sweat & Tears in the late ‘60s. Others might know that they actually go back to American Blues Singer Billie Holliday. Are the ideas expressed fatalistic? Reflecting the reality of too many? Are they what some aspire too - get your own, and that means God blessed you?

All these viewpoints reflect situations for many in our world. The last one is troubling though. This was an understanding in Judaism, held by Jesus’ followers 2000 years ago. He tried to correct it then. Seems too many Christians have skipped over that part. Too many preachers still preach this ‘prosperity gospel, ’ often preying most on those who can least afford to give. The preachers ‘get’ all right, their listeners not so much.

So what do we understand when we read of Jesus saying, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and more will be given to you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away (Mark’s version of the Gospel, chapter 4 verses 24b - 25).” I dare say the ideas I have been describing are so ingrained in us that when we read that, we say, as the song does, ‘Yeah, that’s life, we see it happen. The Bible even confirms that’s reality.’ 

Really? You think Jesus is talking about things material and money? He has been teaching this disciples about how to listen, to evaluate, to be open to new understandings. Jesus has resorted to telling the truths he wishes them to hear in parables, so only those who really want to understand will. He is talking about his teachings, about the wisdom contained in them, about the understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven he is introducing on earth. He is talking about ideas that come form God. 

What Jesus is really saying here is that if you pay more attention, dig deeper, you will learn more. You will be given more wisdom and understanding.  If you have gained some of what he’s saying, you will be prepared to gain more. You will grow spiritually, in faith. That will be a blessing.

On the other hand, as with the seed, in the parable just told before these sayings, that fell on rocky ground and quickly sprang up from the heat, but died just as rapidly because there was no depth of soil, if you have not really grasped what Jesus teaches, If you didn’t put effort into studying the Word to grow, you will lose what you have. In effect, it will be taken away, not by God, but by the spiritual powers that rule the world. There is both encouragement, comfort, blessing and warning in these words, depending on what you have done with what you received to being with. God does his part but you have to do yours.

Do You Love Me?

Have you ever asked this question? Some might quickly reply, “Of course, don’t most people ask that question at some point or another in their lives?” Others might recall asking the question in all serious innocence of someone in their circle as a child. How many of us have that purposefully asked that question of another a an adult? Do we even ask those dearest and nearest to us? Did we ask, if we are married, our partner before marrying? Or after?

Some might say, we don’t need to ask that question in some of these circumstances. We know the answer. Indeed? How so? I think some might answer, “I can see it in [the other.]” Other would say, “They show it in their words and actions.” Exactly - without the proof of what is said and done, how do we know love exists? 

This brings me to the famous account of Jesus’ intimate moments with his follower Peter after Jesus’ resurrection (It is recorded in the last chapter of John’s version of The Gospel).  They were back home, in familiar territory, where they had met three short years earlier. Peter and his companions had once again gone fishing. It was what they did. When they turned shoreward at dawn, having caught nothing all night, they saw a man on the beach. The man asked them if they had caught anything. When he heard the negative answer he told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat.  It might have seemed an odd request but there was something that compelled them to do so. When they did so, they caught so many fish they could not pull the net full into the boat and simply dragged it along. A miracle?

It seems the men thought so, as, they then recognized this was Jesus, having seen him at least twice already since his resurrection, and whom they knew was entirely capable of performing miracles. Of course, they also knew his voice, one they had often obeyed, as they had felt they should now. And look what happened!

When they reached shore and disembarked, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it, and some bread. Perhaps seeing that there was not enough fish to go around, Jesus asked them to bring some of what they had just caught. No miracle this time?

Peter obeys and then Jesus asks them to join him for breakfast. He took the bread and  fish, blessing it in the recognizable way they had become so accustomed to, gave it to them.

After breakfast the men likely got busy taking care of their catch. We don’t know for sure what happened next, but reading what followed, I doubt Jesus would have been so insensitive as to initiate the conversation he did in front of the whole group.

Jesus wanted Peter’s attention. At one level, I suspect Peter was dreading this moment. So far, Jesus had said nothing to him about Peter’s denials while Jesus was on trial and Peter was outside, although Peter probably feared that was coming. At one level he probably just wanted to get it over with too, to clear the air between him and his Master.

Jesus asked Peter, “Simon, do you love me?” Note, Jesus did not call him Peter, ‘the rock,’ He went back to the beginning, to Simon, ‘a reed,’ instead of using the name he had given him when he called him to be his follower. Peter replied, “Yes, Lord, you know that I like you (according to the original language).” Notice the difference between the question and the answer. Jesus responded with, “Feed my lambs.” 

Jesus asked again, “Simon, do you love me?” Peter gave the same answer. This time, Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” What’s the difference? Perhaps Jesus was thinking after the first answer, ‘If you cannot commit to more than simply liking me after all we’ve been through, maybe you are only qualified to minister to beginners, lambs.’ However, when Peter gives the answer the second time, perhaps Jesus thinks, ‘All right, you’re at least sticking with that answer. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say you can also feed my sheep.’ Teach the deeper stuff to adults, the more mature believers.

Jesus asks once more, “Simon, Do you like me?” Notice the difference. Jesus, ever sensitive to where a person is as at, perceives that Simon is not ready to commit to anything more than ‘like.’ So, he’ll go with that. Jesus can use us where we are at, sometimes in spite of ourselves. 

Notice that Peter’s cousin, John, who was nearby, (which we know because right after this exchange Peter turns around and sees John and changes the subject to ask Jesus about him) and wrote this, writes that Peter was upset because Jesus asked him this question three times.  Why would he not be upset? He knew exactly what Jesus was getting at. He knew he had it coming to him. Peter had denied even knowing Jesus three times when Jesus was at his most needy. Now, Jesus was giving him three chances to say something different. He was giving hm three chances to make good.

However, Peter cannot bring himself to say, “I love you.” Was that some ‘macho’ fisherman thing? No, Peter, ever honest, knew that at that moment, knowing what he had done a couple of weeks earlier, could not commit to that higher level of affection, to love.

Jesus knows Peter has a way to go. He also knows Peter is the best he’s got to begin to carry on his mission on earth. He tells him again, “Feed my sheep,” but he goes on to tell Peter that he, Peter, will some day pay a high price for his being willing to keep liking Jesus. Then he gives him a chance to grow, but at the same time makes a request, which, if Peter complies, will give Peter the opportunity to gain what he is yet lacking,”Follow me.” It’s the same call he had given him when he called him from his fishing by the Sea of Galilee three years earlier. Then he had told him he would make him a  ‘fisher of men.’ Now it is a shepherd he is calling Peter to be. We could write another whole essay, nay, a book, on what it means to be a shepherd. Peter had some idea though. He had heard Jesus speak of this, of himself being The Good Shepherd, giving some characteristics of such, and what the relationship of a good shepherd with his sheep entails. 

As we know, once Peter was baptized with the Holy Spirit some two months later, he became an emboldened and powerful shepherd indeed. We can read all about it in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, which, in our Bibles, follows the Gospel of John, the last chapter of which gives us this story.

As if there is not enough in this for us to stop here and mull over, there is one more point of utmost significance that needs to be made about this conversation. When things were on the line between Jesus and Peter, Jesus got right to the heart of everything. He asked Peter, ‘Do you love me?’ Not, ‘Okay Peter, you have been with me three years, what do you really know about who I am?’ Peter had answered that one before when he said Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Nor did he ask him, knowing he was soon to leave Peter, at least from an earthly point of view, ‘What do you believe, about me, about what I have taught you? What do you remember that you are to feed my lambs and my sheep with?’ 

God, including Jesus in the flesh, is all about relationships.  That’s why God created us, to be in relationship with God. God is love, and at its best, a relationship is based on love, grows on love, matures in love. Jesus did not ask Peter about all those things we as Christians disagree on, get into squabbles, divide and yes, even kill each other over - the identity of Christ, beliefs, doctrine, matters of ethics and practice etc. No, none of that. Jesus got right to the core. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Put on the clothes of love, which is the bond of perfection, of harmony (his letter to the church at Colossae, chapter 3, verse 14).” Love never divides.    

What did I write at the beginning? We know love from action. There is no love without action. What action(s)? For us, simple, in the words of Jesus himself, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself.” And in case you forgot, the Parable of the Good Samaritan makes it clear that everyone is our neighbour.

The Mind of Jesus

 Having finished what he wanted to say, concluding with what he knew would be his final prayer with his disciples before his own death, Jesus looked around at the eleven men still around the Passover table with him. He felt an overpowering fatigue and would have liked nothing better than to find somewhere to lay his head and just sleep. The events of the last week had taken him to new highs, but there were also lows.  But he knew he had to press on. However, at this moment he was more concerned for his friends - he had just told them he no longer called them servants, which a Rabbi was entitled to do, but friends.

He had tried to tell them, give them some idea of what lay ahead. But they just did not seem to be getting it. He had not wanted to spell it out so graphically that he would scare them all off. Then what would have to show for his three years with them, his three years of toiling at his mission?

Now, he knew the end  - or was it the beginning - of something new, something even greater than what had been happening these last three years - was only hours away. He had already dispatched Judas, setting him free to do what Jesus knew was inches heart. Jesus’ heart ached for Judas. He had been a loyal supporter these last years. Why, at this time, had he chosen to betray Jesus? Some things Jesus could not explain now, but he trusted his Father was still in control and things were unfolding according to his grand plan, a plan set in place before the beginning of time.

Jesus felt John at his left, with his brother James next to him. Simon Peter sat at his right. Oh Peter, he thought, you too are going to disappoint me, but perhaps not as much as yourself. I need to warn you, all of you, but especially you, Peter.

Addressing all of those with him, Jesus said with a heavy heart, remembering his three years with these faithful followers “You will all become deserters of me tonight; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I ma raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

Peter, ever the quick to speak, blurted out, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.”

Turning to him, Jesus replied, “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you-“ he gazed directly into Simon Peter’s eyes, “-when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Peter wanted to ask, ‘Turn back from what?’ But sensing some of Jesus’ present anguish, said instead, trying to sound as reassuring as possible, “Lord, even though I must die with you, I will never deny you. I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” The other disciples began to make similar protestations when Jesus broke in, still directing his words at Peter. 

“I tell you Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.” Peter was stunned. He? Deny Jesus? Had he not just said that was something he would never do? He wanted to protest, to ask what that was supposed to mean, but Jesus had turned away and, lifting his arms, was leading them all in the final hymn of Passover:

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Let all Israel say: "His love endures forever.

Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever.

Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever."

In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free.

The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in 

the name of the LORD I cut them off.

I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.

Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: "The LORD's right hand 

has done mighty things!

The LORD's right hand is lifted high; the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!"

I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.

This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.

I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;

the LORD has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes.

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we 

bless you. ^[1]

The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join

in the festal procession up ^[2] to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

Jesus paused for moment, letting the words they were so familiar with sink in. As he looked again upon his followers he wondered, Did they know the full meaning of what they has just sung. Of course not, he knew. However, they would learn it yet. First, they had to experience it, and that was beginning now.

He looked again at his followers, knowing he would never see them in the same way again. John, John, the young man he felt closest to. Jesus knew he would not be far away. This was reassuring because Jesus needed him. His mother, long widowed, needed a caregiver and John was the most suitable inches group. Jesus took another look at James. If you only knew, but it’s a good thing you don’t - you will be the first in our circle to be put to death by our adversaries - after myself.

Jesus shook his head, as if to get away from those thoughts and clear his mind for what lay ahead. He asked:

“When I sent you out without a purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”

“Not a thing,” the men answered.

“But now,” Jesus continued, “the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was counted among the lawlesss’; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.” He could say that because he knew, with all the warnings he had given his men, that some had gone and purchased swords, Peter being one of them. So far, they had been keeping them concealed.  However, now they admitted, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” The second one was Thomas’s. Jesus was not surprised. Thomas had grasped enough of what Jesus had been saying about his pending death to say, when they had set out to come to Bethany to see their friend Lazarus, that he was ready to go and die with him.

“It is enough,” Jesus finished as he rose and began to walk in silence towards the door. It was dark when they stepped out, and the chill of an early spring evening was settling in. The eleven knew where they were going. Jesus had seemed to want to stay near the city at night these days, not even going to their friends over the hill at Bethany. They just been bedding down in an olive grove at the base of the hill known as Gethsemane. They had become used to carrying extra cloaks to help ward off the cold at night as they huddled together in the garden. 

Jesus looked up to his left as they set out into the Kidron Valley. The walls of the city were silhouetted against the darkening sky above them. As they followed the curve of the valley eastward and then north, the upper portion of the temple also came into view over the tops of the city wall. 

The house of Israel, the priests, they could sing “The Lord is good, his love endures forever” in their homes and in the temple. Jesus knew that, under current circumstances in their land though, these were more words of hope that Israel clung to than conviction. The way they had suffered under the Greeks and now the Romans, it was not easy to really believe their God was good and still loved them. 

So what entered their minds when they sang the second stanza Jesus wondered. How much of this was hope? How much of it was memory, the stories of the first Passover and the deliverance from slavery and oppression in Egypt led by Moses, the entry to the promised land under Joshua, the return centuries later from the exile to Babylonia. That was the last time they had felt somewhat free, although even then, they had been under the Persians. And their neighbours hd not been welcoming either, those whom he Babylonians had left behind, indeed, even transported here from other parts of their empire. Of course, no one else could know how much Jesus himself now clung to these assurances for himself as he trudged wearily along the valley with is followers in silence behind him.

The end of the fourth stanza was what really hit home to him. He would live - again. Yes, death waited, but there was also a resurrection. As the psalmist had written, “He will not give me over to death.” I will not stay dead Jesus told himself.

“…The gates of righteousness…” To his fellow countrymen, these were the gates of Jerusalem, through which they came time and again on their pilgrimages, to worship in the temple, where they believed their God was with them. But Jesus was thinking of another set of gates. Going through with what lay before him would give him the right to enter the gates of heaven itself.

“…the stone the builders rejected…” Oh my people, Jesus thought again. You are rejecting me, but I am the answer you are looking for and I will, ultimately, be the head of the kingdom you long for. I am your Messiah. You treated me as if I was, a mere week ago. You even sang and shouted these words, with boughs in hand as it is written, ”Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” We were indeed a procession entering Jerusalem, as the prophet Zechariah predicted. But all the religious leaders could think of was what a commotion you were making. They did not share your beliefs, your passion. They were only concerned that, especially at Passover when there were more Roman soldiers in Jerusalem than usual because of previous revolts during this season, that the soldiers would think this was the beginning of another revolt  and there would be another bloodbath. Indeed, there was reason to fear. The Romans were cruel when it came to suppressing opposition. And there was going to a lot of that for his followers in the years to come too, Jesus knew. How would he ever prepare his followers for that?

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever.” Jesus lifted his head and began humming the tune. He needed to do something to stay focused. One by one his followers joined in as they neared the garden. 

Living the Simple(r) Life - I

 

There is a lot of speech and writing these days about living a simple(r) life. I use”(r)” because most of really have no or a rather limited idea of what a simple life really is.  there are many who long for something like this, even turn their backs on what they had. They have become disenchanted with the ‘rat race,’ ‘living the dream,’ ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ or whatever other expression describes our busy and cluttered lives these days. And when I write cluttered I mean both our days and our homes. In our wealthy society, even the homeless cart around loads of stuff they value. It even keeps some of them from entering shelters for fear of theft. Those of us who are fortunate enough not to be homeless have so much of this world’s goods we have created a new business – storage of the stuff we have no room for in our homes!

 

Some strive for a simpler life because of some grain of past input about that kind of life. Maybe they saw it in their grandparents. Others have come to this because they’ve adopted some new philosophy of life, perhaps because of a spiritual awakening, regardless of what religion. All the great world’s religions really have teachings about this kind of life and hold it up as something of an ideal. Maybe they’ve traveled or done some service abroad and learned that even the poor in the world – by our standards – are happier and more generous than we are. We would know that is true of many of the less-well-off here at home too if we knew them, but most of us don’t know any or many of them personally. 

 

I come at the simpler life from a Christian perspective, particularly the Anabaptist perspective on Christianity. Now, I will be the first to say that most of us fail to live up to what we might hold as an ideal in this regard – if we have even come close to figuring out what that might be. However, we keep at it. 

 

I want to be practical in what follows. You might call it giving advice, although that stops many right there. We are told in the Bible to imitate Christ. Interestingly, St. Paul also says we can imitate him. He was confident enough about his walk with Christ that he could say that. I am no Apostle Paul but, again, I think I can say something similar. After working at this for over 50 years, I believe I do have something I can share to help others on this journey. We can all learn from one another, so I invite such feedback. 

 

How and where do we start with this? I think we begin with what we know ‘the world’ seeks after. Not to make too long a list, we can start with some common things many wish for or work for. Some of these things are important, even essential one could argue. One other thing before we go on. To me, simple living also clearly means spending less money in most instances. There are other good things you can do with your money besides spend it all or mostly on yourself or your family. 

 

So, let’s begin with the basics of food, clothing and shelter.

 

1.     Food – We can live more healthily and less expensively if we buy our own ‘raw’ materials with which to make our meals. Let’s start with breakfast. Get your own yeast, flour, oil and other ingredients and learn

to make your own bread. Better yet, learn to make sour dough by propagating your own yeast. True confession here – it’s mostly my good wife who does this in our home. 

 

Have you looked at the list of additives on that bread from the supermarket? I’m referring to all forms of ‘bread’ here, whether it’s the loaf we are familiar with or the baguette from France the naan from India, the pita from the Middle East and Mediterranean, a wrap or even pancakes. You can get bread from bakeries that would have less, maybe no additives, but we’re aiming to be simple right? Such bread usually costs a lot more. One more point – for more health, and it’s really not more expensive – use whole wheat flour or buy whole wheat bread products.

What do you put on your bread? Do you need to put something on it?  Nutella? Really, still? There’s a big debate over butter vs. margarine. Cheese is a good source of protein and fat but it is more expensive, and we won’t even begin to talk about all those even more expensive fancy and imported cheeses. Some fat does help keep the hunger pangs from developing too much before lunch time though. Peanut butter? Organic or not? That’s another whole discussion. We all know organic products are often more expensive and much that is non-organic may be healthy enough. Syrup? Some is pretty artificial. Honey is probably better. Jam? Can you pick and can or freeze your own berries or fruit, whether ‘wild’ or from someone’s garden or orchard? We regular pick blackberries which make great jam and sauce. They are even organic as they grow in our city parks which can not be sprayed with anything and the city is all too happy for you to pick them and so help cut down the spread of these invasive plants – brambles. We sometimes also get to pick blueberries to preserve. On the prairies you have those lovely saskatoons, even wild raspberries and strawberries.

 

Or do you make something to dip it in or scoop up with it, e.g. hummus. Oops – are chickpeas imported? Olive oil? Supposedly better than other oils but again, it’s imported. Can we not survive on sunflower or canola oil grown on our own prairies? 

 

Do you eat cereal? To be healthier, skip all those packaged cereals, which will also save you money – simpler living. Do you know how much sugar is in most of those? Three grams of sugar equals a teaspoon. Read the labels provided and do the math. Then there’s fat. We make and eat our own oatmeal from rolled oats almost every morning and have done so for years. In recent years we’ve even cut out the milk topping. Now we’re no longer adding sugar. You can add fresh fruit to give it more flavor and reduce the sugar. You can cook it with raisins or chopped apples, chopped sweet potatoes. We actually often eat it with bananas. We’ve been using cinnamon too, which has health benefits but, again, imported. That probably started with using raisins.

 

You like granola? That healthy cereal we got to know and love in the ‘70s? If you can get plain granola, fine. But so much of the packaged stuff is again chockful of additives. You can make you own with some imagination – oatmeal, chopped nuts, seeds, maybe some dried raisins. Ah, there we go again with imports, unless you live near vineyards from which raisins come.

 

Another general point here. Some might just have said – Aha, sweet potatoes, bananas. Aren’t they imported? Indeed, so that might be a consideration for simpler living. Simpler living can mean trying to cut down on imported things. Look at obtaining and preserving what is grown locally. Again, this is all not that easy. Imported foods can be cheaper. Then there is the whole idea of the global economy. Are we really helping those in other nations by buying what they grow? That’s another whole discussion I will not get into now.  

 

Sometimes we have eggs with breakfast. Again, more protein to help fill you up with more than just carbohydrate bread. Usually cooked, or sometimes we’ll fry them. You can also ‘poach’ eggs easily in the microwave, or does living simply preclude that appliance? I just put whole stirred egg in a dish, with salt and or pepper if you wish, or even some chopped vegetables. Now we’re getting close to a kind of omelette. A thin film of oil on the dish first will keep the egg from sticking to it too much.

 

Some will have yogurt for breakfast. We’ve done that, even putting it on oatmeal – after it’s cooked! Pure yogurt with no additives is best. Again, just throw in some fruit or jam if that’s too much to ask. Some even make their own yogurt. If you want to indulge in a flavoured one, watch the sugar content – you’d be surprised!

 

Simpler living can simply mean trying to cut down on all kinds of things that are added to foods – to make you want to eat more. You know that a lot of research goes into the right balance of sweet and sour or sweet and salty, sweet and spicy. Notice how ‘sweet’ is in all of that, which means sugar, syrup or honey. Why do you think we have an obesity epidemic?

 

Is breakfast over? I’m sure some of you have other things you eat at breakfast, like bacon or sausages. What about all that fat? Those nitirites? That salt. But we do like such - once in a while, right? Like protein, fat tides you over better till lunch.

 

I think we’re off to a good start. We’ve touched on a number of issues that simpler living raises – how much? From where? What’s in it? How much does it cost? These questions can all apply to a range of other items we can consider under this overall heading of simple living. More next time. 

Advent – proof of the truth of Christianity

 

 

I posted on the social media platform Facebook a statement along the lines of the title of this essay, hoping it would stimulate some interest, which it did. Understandably, the statement called for some explanation, which I now offer.

 

When I was a child, growing up in a rather conservatively religious setting, I don’t recall hearing the word ‘advent.’ At least not in reference to a specific season, namely the four weeks leading up to Christmas, which is how we know it now. I probably first got acquainted with the term for the season when we moved to the city where one was exposed to more varieties of Christianity, including the broader Mennonite church, which was my background. I became acquainted somewhere along the line with Advent being part of what is referred to as the Church Calendar. 

 

Advent refers to the arrival or the beginning of something. The Christmas Advent season is the time of anticipation of the celebration of the birth of Christ. According to Wikipedia, this Advent appears to have begun in the 5^th century, long after the birth of Jesus. 

 

Actually, in the Judeao-Christian traditions, one can speak of three seasons of advent. To begin with, Judaism, at least in its more orthodox forms, is in a season of advent of the coming of the Messiah. This is a state that has lasted at least 2,500 – 2,800 years. That takes us back to the time of the exile of Israel and then Judah, the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of the Jews in what had been Canaan, and subsequently became known as Palestine. This is when Jewish prophets really began to put forward the vision of the coming of the Messiah who would liberate the Children of Israel, restore them to their homeland in Canaan and to their former glory under kings such as David and his son Solomon. Those were the glory days, when the kingdoms, still united, were at their zenith.

 

Secondly, we have the pre-Christmas season of Advent, which we have already described briefly. If the above date is correct, this has been celebrated for about 1500 years. It is really an anticipation of a commemoration of a past event though, not a real event still to come. For Christians, this past event was the actual coming of the Messiah of which the Jewish prophets spoke, although Judaism staunchly refuses to accept this.

 

Thirdly, in Christianity we have what is sometimes referred to as the Second Advent. This is the anticipation of the promised return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. It is sometimes referred to as his Second Coming. This is another millennial time of waiting, also approaching 2,000 years.

 

There have been skeptics of the veracity of Christianity’s claims since this faith began. Most who really give the religion serious attention will acknowledge that there was this Jesus who was a great moral teacher. Others, interestingly often lawyers, who are experts at uncovering facts, but also some philosophers, concede when they really dig into things, that Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee of Palestine also did miracles and was who he claimed to be – God become man, that he was indeed killed on a Roman cross, but was resurrected to life and then returned to where he came from, generally described as ‘heaven.’. Others, such as Rousseau, Voltaire, Marx and Freud, dismiss all religions as creations of the human imagination to serve a certain purpose, perhaps provide some semblance of reasonably satisfactory answers to life’s questions, or a means of control of the masses. 

 

However, these thinkers and writers have all died and Christianity is still here, actually coming out of the period of Christendom, which began in the 5^th century CE, when the Roman Emperor Constantine took control of the Church. This lead to a harmful church-state union, which in some quarters, especially since a pivotal reform movement some 500 years ago now already, is now rejected, resulting in a renewed and revitalized Way that more closely resembles the Church prior to Constantine.

 

Christian ‘believers’ will testify that the chief reason for their affirmation of this faith is their experience of meeting this risen Christ through his Spirit, which is given them upon their belief. However, many also provide many other more objective (?) proofs of the truth of Christianity. In the statement which led to this writing I stated that advent is one of these proofs. I say this simply because, in the face of all that has been thrown against Christianity, or Judaism for that matter, what is historically more persistent than the tenacious belief in advent. Who promulgates a so-far unfulfilled hope for 2000 years, and which sees no sign of stopping? If there was nothing to Christianity, these beliefs, among others, would have long ago been abandoned, and all we would have been left with is a moral corpus of teachings, exemplified by the life of their founding teacher, like Confucianism or Buddhism. However, the Judeo-Christian religion, and to some extent Islam, remain grounded in a history that looks forward to a conclusion. Advent has never been given up on. That seems to prove something to me.

Lessons from the Story of Abraham & Isaac

 

This enigmatic story, from Genesis 22:1-19, has puzzled more than a few thinkers. I referred to this story where God ostensibly asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. Over the centuries, millennia even, readers have wondered, Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice his own son? Of course, those of us who know the story, know it has a ‘happy ending.’ Well, happy for Abraham and his only son, but not for the ram that God pointed out to Abraham at the last minute to offer instead of his son.

 

I titled this essay, “Lessons…”, not singular, indicating there has been more than one understanding drawn from this tale. So, what might they be?

 

There are at least two common meanings that have been derived from the story since it first entered Hebrew consciousness. Actually, I should more accurately say, not having studied Judaism to any extent, these are lessons Christianity has taken from this saga. 

 

The first is concerning religion of the time in a general sense. Apparently, many of the peoples surrounding Abraham at the time, and perhaps even more so when his descendants came on the scene after that 400-year sojourn in Egypt, offered infant and child sacrifices in an effort to appease their gods, to gain their gods’ ear in their accompanying supplications. The line I was thinking here goes that God was testing Abraham. God wanted to see if Abraham would indeed offer his son as a sacrifice as his contemporaries were want to do. We understand that Abraham was one of the original monotheists, i.e. believing in only one God ultimately, and perhaps God was testing him here to see if he still also would continue to worship other gods in the way his contemporaries and perhaps ancestors had done

 

In the first place, with regards to this interpretation, we should first of all note that Abraham was obedient to his God. He followed the instructions he apparently received and took several days journey with his son, servants and firewood, to the mountain where God had indicated this sacrifice was to take place. This is just another example of where Abraham obeyed God. That was one of Abraham's strong points, and something we can learn from in itself. 

 

As we have already mentioned, ultimately, Abraham was not required to sacrifice his son. This leads us to a second understanding of this story. Some see it as a ‘type’ or an example of something that was to come, namely the sacrifice of Jesus. Some might say that the sacrifice of another human would be ineffective to the extent to which what has been viewed as another sacrifice some 2000 years later was viewed. I refer, of course, to Christ's death on the cross. There is a degree to which the traditional and generally accepted understanding of Jesus' death is that it was a sacrifice, a sacrifice to end all sacrifices, as is described, at least in first reading, in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament.

 

There are many though, who still are uncomfortable with this story, and at the same time are uncomfortable with the traditional understanding of Jesus' death. Increasingly, over the last half-century and more, theologians have begun to seriously challenge the long-standing understanding of Jesus' death as a ransom, paid to free us, a substitute for us. In that understanding, humanity was viewed as under a curse ever since "the fall", the story in Genesis 3, and only Jesus' death could remove that curse, not a human, such as Abraham's son, because only Jesus, as both all-powerfully divine and all-human, was capable of accomplishing that.

 

Even if we stopped to think about the word ransom, to whom was this ransom owed? To whom was it paid? If we contend that the human race had fallen into the domain of Satan ever since our ancestors' disobedience to God, was this a ransom paid to Satan to obtain our freedom? This is absurd. Our all-powerful God owes nothing to Satan. Why would he sacrifice - his son - to Satan?

 

Others understand it slightly different, seeing Jesus' death as taking on our penalty for disobedience and giving his life to atone for that, as we, imperfect as we are, could never achieve that. Again, the question is asked, would the God of love, grace, light, truth and mercy scheme to send his only son to earth to die for us in such a horrible way?

 

Some of those who question these understandings maintain that holding to those beliefs is what has led over the centuries to what they would see as a distorted belief in the value of suffering and ultimately even in suffering abuse, such as a spouse from her husband. How often have we not heard of clerics telling their female parishioners to go home and stay with their abusive husbands, as that is their duty, or by so doing they may witness to their husbands and stop the abuse. With this really be what the God we described in the last sentence of the last paragraph would want? Those who have really been oppressed and suffered, over the centuries, such as women and Blacks, who are now writing their own theologies, cannot accept this. This is entirely understandable.

 

Then there are those of us who have long had difficulty reconciling what appears to be a judgmental God who even orders genocide, as might appear to be described in the Old Testament, with a God who is otherwise described as Love, with a God who was exemplified by the life that Jesus lived. The life that Jesus lived, the picture he gave us of God, seems so different from what many have understood as representing "the God of the Old Testament." 

 

This understanding is something that has increasingly come under the scrutiny of my co-religionists, anabaptists, who firmly believe that Jesus taught us away of peace and nonviolence. They, plus those thinkers and writers described in the second to last paragraph above, are leading us in a new understanding of the nature of Jesus' death that does not require us to accept all those other views of God and explanations of Jesus' death that have become unacceptable.

 

I am not going to flesh out what these new understandings are. That would be the subject of further writing. However, I think it can point back to our original subject story and give it a third even more important meaning. If we can accept that God did not offer Jesus as a sacrifice, a ransom, a substitute, with all the negative connotations those interpretations bring, we can see that this story of Abraham and Isaac is indeed typology, but in a different way than I mentioned above.

 

According to what I am introducing here, this story points not to the belief that the death of Jesus was required as a sacrifice over and against a human sacrifice. It points to the even more fulfilling understanding that such a death, a sacrifice, is not necessary at all. Again, the full understanding of this point would only be gained by further reading of the texts of those anabaptist, black and female writers I referred to above (One good place to start though, as far as that is concerned, would be J. Danny Weaver's The Nonviolent Atonement, particularly as he critically summarizes any of the writings of those other camps).

 

Just a footnote here: Some might still ask, what about the ram? To that, my simple comeback would be, as Jesus and the subsequent New Testament writers themselves made clear, animal sacrifices are no longer required either. Indeed, there are some hints in the Old Testament, Jeremiah 6:20 and 7:21-23 come to mind, that they might never really have been demanded by God. Again, that is another subject.

Late to the Game

If we have been paying attention to the media, or – radical idea! – listening to young people, we will have heard that many are pessimistic, even anxious and depressed about the future of the world. First it was the bomb. Why plan for the future when the whole world might be blown to smithereens in a matter of minutes. Now, for years already, it’s climate change. Our young have been brought up in a world of science, so they may tend to believe the scientists more so. Too many of us older folk were not as sure. Maybe we were in denial, having lived through two world wars, with a major depression in between. Maybe we thought, since we’ve lived through that and the bombs have not gone off again, and we seemed to be able to ‘fix’ everything till now, we can fix this.

 

Were we that blind? Were we in denial? Now those scientists, Christians even, are telling us we have less than ten years to turn things around or the fires burning around the world now will be burning everywhere. With that prospect, one might well ask – about practically every human endeavour not focused on that – what’s the point?

 

As some of you know, those few good friends – thank you so much - who purchased my book on Mary & Jesus, I did get one book published last year – but at my own expense. I have three or four stories I’ve begun to write but I really can’t afford to keep self-publishing. Besides, that doesn’t get you the publicity that might really help sales. Unless maybe you go into promotion full time for a while. 

 

Earlier this year we had a small lending library in the lobby of our building. I picked up a Louise Penny novel there and found I really enjoyed it (She’s Canadian too). This week I read a story on her and found it had taken her fifty submissions to publishers before she got somewhere! Now that’s determination. Now she is internationally known and has sold over ten million books! 

 

That gave me hope and I thought, I should get to work on those stories of mine. This morning even my wife encouraged me. On the other hand, I’ve just finished reading Thomas King’s Indians on Vacation. The protagonist is a retired writer who bemoans the fact that what he wrote does not seemed to have changed the world or made it a better place. He questions what was the point of it all. His partner thinks he’s depressed.

 

I retired nearly six years ago and there were issues around my retirement and since that have not always made things easy.  Sometimes I wondered if I was depressed. I even convinced – I’m the (retired) psychiatrist after all – my family Physician to give me a trial of antidepressants. After six weeks and no difference I had to face the fact that it’s just me. Buck up my friend!

 

So, after breakfast I sat down at my desk, thinking I would get at the story that had most captured my imagination. I had even figured out that it could be more than 'just' an enteataining story. It could carry a strong and still needed message in our world (Hint, Jesus was a ‘feminist’, which might not be quite the right descriptor but you get the point).  

 

But then those other messages I’ve been hearing, especially within the past week, echoed in my mind. Less than ten years? All else fails in the face of that. Is this a time to write novels? Is that like the old trope of the Roman Emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burned? Or is it a time to try and wake up enough of my fellow human beings who are not already ‘woke’ to the looming disaster? 

 

I am not and have never been a pessimist. Unless I don’t know myself. Some might have even seen me as too far to the opposite at times. Especially as a Christian. As long as we know and believe that the Lord we serve – or claim to – is the Creator and Sustainer of this world, there is hope. We believe God’s plan will culminate in renewal of the world he made and once pronounced good, repeatedly. It’s up to us to listen to the voices around and inside of ourselves, to The Spirit, to see what our Lord would have us do in our present world situation. We understand God created us to be co-regents with him in ‘ruling’ this world. What does that mean for us today, here and now? Stay tuned – to the world and your inner voice, which, if you are a Believer, should be God’s voice. As long as God lends you breath, it’s never too late to get in the game.