accepting difficult news and finding God’s help and provision

And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for

“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:5b-11; NRSVue

And everyone, clothe yourselves with humility toward each other. God stands against the proud, but he gives favor to the humble.

Therefore, humble yourselves under God’s power so that he may raise you up in the last day. Throw all your anxiety onto him, because he cares about you. Be clearheaded. Keep alert. Your accuser, the devil, is on the prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith. Do so in the knowledge that your fellow believers are enduring the same suffering throughout the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, empower, strengthen, and establish you. To him be power forever and always. Amen.

1 Peter 5:5b-11; CEB

And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering. And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him belongs the power forever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:5b-11; NET

Life. There’s no escape from disappointment and not good news. It happens. What are we to do with it?

Easy things to do: Panic. Spend hours and hours on the internet trying to find something that will bring some relief. Brood. Imagine a better report. Fret. Blame God. Ask, “Why me?” Fill in the blanks. My list here comes out of my experience.

They say psychologically that it takes time to come around to accept something, that one has to go through a series of reactions. There’s probably much truth in that, but for the believer, there’s also the help that comes from God.

Peter helps us see that out of humility within community, we can find God’s help when bad news comes. We’re to cast our difficulty onto God, who cares for and about us. God wants to help us.

The kinds of difficulties Peter was describing seemed to come out of suffering, in the context of that letter, persecution for their faith in Jesus as Lord. Where I live what “persecution” we face for being faithful is nothing of the sort referred to here. We think of anything that makes us uncomfortable or worse. It does seem generic enough to me in this passage, that we can do that. But suffering in the New Testament is largely in the context of enduring resistance in following Christ. That said, casting all of one’s anxieties on God, means all of them, so that excludes nothing that weighs us down.

Peter says we’ll be exalted in due time if we cast our cares on God, maybe referring to the resurrection (CEB), but could refer to the here and now as this is probably interpreted most of the time. And the encouraging promise at the end that after we’ve gone through suffering “for a little while” God will help us be established and stand because of God’s help. I take that to mean internally. We receive help to cope and live well with life as it is.

Another important part of God’s promise and help to us in Jesus.

reaching forward, straining ahead

 

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us, then, who are mature think this way, and if you think differently about anything, this, too, God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.

Philippians 3:4b-16; NRSVue

What is our default position even as followers of Christ? Seriously. U2’s song: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” comes to mind. 

In Christ we have a passion, we have a goal. In a way, one might say that keeps us going. We know we haven’t arrived yet, so we have to keep on moving.

In the meantime, we don’t have to get hung up with our own sense of incompleteness. If we think we’re complete, that we have arrived, we’re mistaken. It is good to have those experiences of wholeness and rest. But life continues, this life.

If we keep pressing on, we’ll be getting closer. That is our experience now. “Already/not yet.” Looking towards Christ as our goal, yes now.

life is not for the faint of heart: the need for courage

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me
to devour my flesh—
my adversaries and foes—
they shall stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.

One thing I asked of the LORD;
this I seek:
to live in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD,
and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, do I seek.
Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off; do not forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will take me up.

Teach me your way, O LORD,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!

Psalm 27; NRSVue

Pressed all over the pages of Scripture, and evident in life is the basic need for courage. Life is not for the faint hearted.

The psalmist takes courage in God in the midst of dangers along with the difficulties, disappointments, and even disasters that life can bring. This is all good news. We can and must take courage in God in spite of things, not because of them. Our confidence should not be and ultimately is not in our circumstances. There’s not a one of us who likes difficulties. None of us sign up for that. On the other hand, simply to live as a human on this planet, in civilization as it is, in many places is to face severe challenge. Though people can live privileged lives beyond the imagination of most of us, so that they may be shielded from much of this, even they cannot escape death, nor unexpected trouble.

We have to move on, no matter what, look squarely on what is in our face, and in the midst of all of that, find our help in God. We do so as we can see from Psalm 27, as those entirely devoted to God, seeking God’s face. We do it in service of something much bigger than ourselves.

Therefore we’re to wait for God, be strong and take courage, “be stouthearted,” a nice rendering in the NABRE. Believing that we will indeed see God’s goodness in the land of the living, for the good of all.

God is with us *in the midst of trouble*

 

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar; the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice; the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Come, behold the works of the LORD;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations;
I am exalted in the earth.”
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Psalm 46; NRSVue

Looking at “trouble” in the psalms from the NRSVue translation helps us see that it is mirrored there in all the complexity of life. Sometimes, maybe even oftentimes in our experience, God seems absent in the midst of trouble (Psalm 10:1). The psalms are faith filled in the real world, running through the gamut of human experience.

Jesus tells us that in this world we will have trouble, but that he has overcome and is victorious over the world (John 16:33). That is only in Jesus’s victory, not in the victory of Christendom or Christianity as we too often see it today, or any day. Once again, we turn to the pages of Scripture to find out what Christian is supposed to mean, beginning with the four gospel accounts. The trouble Jesus speaks of is actually more in line with persecution, or as the NET puts it, “trouble and suffering.” To really follow Jesus will never be to fall in line with empire or the dictates of the state, though we comply insofar as that does not violate our allegiance to Christ.

In trouble we often are in lament and lament is a most neglected yet powerful place and even source of faith for the faithful. There’s really no end to the help we can get from Scripture, but we have to be in it, together in community as well as in our individual daily lives. Psalm 46 pointing to God’s saving help in the midst of trouble.

 

faith, in the real world

Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
But know that the LORD has set apart the faithful for himself;
the LORD hears when I call to him.

When you are disturbed, do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the LORD.

There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O LORD!”
You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine abound.

I will both lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety.

Psalm 4; NRSVue

The psalmist was hardly doing handstands. They were faced with all kinds of troubles. It’s basically all here. Life.

But in the face of that, there’s also faith. A faith which ultimately gives the confidence to carry on and even be glad. A faith that is ongoing, always needed in this life.

what is life? and the American dream (part one)

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:13-21; NRSVue

It seems like the push and pull of our lives is mostly about taking care of ourselves and our families, which in itself, held in its proper place is right and good. But what is involved in that becomes the issue.

This is related to financial advisers telling people how much they need for retirement. And it’s really far more than what people actually need to live. But the idea is to carry on close to the same way the person or couple were living before.

Jesus’s parable of the rich fool, quoted above, helps us see the foolishness of a large aspect of “the American dream.” The idea that we have to have a lot stored up which we essentially hoard with the thought that we need that to live. While too many others around us are struggling to make ends meet, some falling through the cracks. There is indeed something wrong here with what we’ve been told, the idea and promise of “the American dream.”

In the end, what does all of this matter if our lives are not in line with Jesus’s teaching? What if we have that big house with all the luxuries we think we have to have, things we have come to consider essentials? Is that life? Jesus says it isn’t.

“together for the long haul” mentality

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Acts 4:32-35; NRSVue

In our consumer culture, we pick and choose and that goes for everything, after all, why not! And that certainly includes churches. I’m not one to want to go back to “the good ole’ days” because I think there’s inevitably a selective look back, into a nostalgia that forgets or even brushes away obvious problems. But one feature of the past that I do think had its advantages is the idea of a parish church. I admire those who have been in one church their entire lifetime or have stayed in the same tradition of churches when they’ve moved. The idea of a church which retains most all of its members is less and less a prospect given how people work nowadays.

But what should be one of the staples of any church? Surely one of them is being in it, in life fully together in the long haul. That includes through thick and thin, when there’s disagreement, disappointment, even failure of different kinds. We need to patiently include all, even those who don’t have this vision, but at the core of our being and doing, committed to this.

This is not about selling everything and living together in a community like the Hutterites, though in itself, that’s certainly not wrong or bad. However precisely we work it out, it certainly will include our material resources including money. We are to be generous and systematic in our giving, if I understand the Bible and the teaching of Christ and the apostles correctly. We do all that we can together to make sure that everyone in the community of believers is taken care of in resources and in receiving the help they need.

It seems to me that if we commit ourselves to praying for each other, but not helping each other in practical, down to earth ways, then our prayers lose much of their power and efficacy. “Thoughts and prayers” mean nothing if we don’t do our part to see that they’re answered. And as we take care of each other, that same love spills out in “good Samaritan” ways outside our “four walls.”

One heart, one mind, one soul, one body in Christ.

following the Lamb in empire/the world system

A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth. Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to deliver a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a scepter of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.

And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven proclaiming,

“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
Rejoice then, you heavens
and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath
because he knows that his time is short!”

So when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had delivered the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. Then from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon was angry with the woman and went off to wage war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.

Revelation 13:1-7; NRSVue

This is plainly not only apocalyptic, but figurative language. We can’t take it entirely literally, but we had better take it seriously.

Revelation is a book that is an encouragement as well as instruction to Christians on how to live as faithful followers of Christ in empire. Specifically, in that time, the Roman empire, but for any day, the world system which has values that not only don’t align with the values of Christ but are in direct opposition to them.

There are depictions or characterizations of Jesuses and Christs out there who are not the real Jesus Christ, not even close. Then some which might be closer, yet don’t pass muster. We have to get back to the four gospel accounts and let them speak for themselves, carefully avoiding some of the ways that the church or Christendom have either misinterpreted or acted contrary to them.

We as followers of Christ should anticipate being barraged with accusation. We also need to be aware of just where our victory lies. Of course in Jesus Christ, but not just in him, but in our following of him, yes, in the way of Christ. It’s not at all enough to confess Christ, make the right confession. We have to follow in the way of Christ, the way he has made possible. The blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, not clinging to our lives even in the face of death.

burial: a part of our faith

I am one who has seen affliction
under the rod of God’s wrath;
he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
against me alone he turns his hand,
again and again, all day long.

He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;
he has broken my bones;
he has besieged and enveloped me
with bitterness and tribulation;
he has made me sit in darkness
like the dead of long ago.

He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;
he has put heavy chains on me;
though I call and cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer;
he has blocked my ways with hewn stones;
he has made my paths crooked.

The thought of my affliction and my homelessness
is wormwood and gall!
My soul continually thinks of it
and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24; NRSVue

Phil Yoder recently gave the most thought-provoking message I’ve ever heard on the issue of what it means to give up on one’s hopes and dreams maybe even in the midst of living them out, all of that “buried” so that by and by something better can emerge. That’s my own description of it, but if you do nothing more, stop and listen to this.

During Holy Week, Saturday is the day when Jesus is buried, and all the hopes and dreams of his followers buried with him. All hope was gone, or at least in their experience it certainly seemed so. Jesus had told them on at least three occasions that he would suffer, be killed, and on the third day rise again. But they simply didn’t understand what he was saying. It made no sense to them at all in their understanding of Scripture and the scheme of things.

A lot of Christians seem to look at Holy Week as Easter week, just skipping over everything prior to get to Jesus’s resurrection. Others will include the other days, especially Good Friday and maybe Maundy Thursday as well, but Holy Saturday is just a footnote. But carefully considering everything in that story as well as in the rest of Scripture like in the passage above from Lamentations, we do much better to stop on this Holy Saturday and dwell on and in this day.

Something mighty and most wonderful was going to happen, but it was hidden from the disciples. We do well to stay here. In the Christian faith death is always followed by burial and only then comes resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 6:4). And as noted above, a necessary metaphorical burial of sorts is a part of this life. All the hopes and dreams in us, every one of them important, but necessarily submerged into the darkness of death, with the promise that the full good and life of such will emerge and break forth.

finding the sweet spot

The heavens are telling the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth
and their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens
and its circuit to the end of them,
and nothing is hid from its heat.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the decrees of the LORD are sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can detect one’s own errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless
and innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19; NRSVue

Depending on a good number of things, people will find their sweet spot in different places. What do I mean by “sweet spot?” That place where one is most alive, we might say, most themselves, what God intended and intends for them.

This doesn’t mean that when people find this, it makes life easy. Life is what it is, challenging both externally with what happens, and internally with how we process it all. The external challenge seems greater today than at any point in my lifetime. Internally we not only react, but we have to process it in a way that is healthy to ourselves and others. That’s not easy, either, but necessary.

The psalmist lived in difficult times, too. And two places they look: God’s creation, and God’s Word. Somehow they get settled through both. It’s in terms of response as well as finding one’s footing and fulfillment.

I’ve been a Bible person much of my life, I personally don’t think all that good at that, but I’ve stayed in it. If I could do only one thing, I suppose it would be to have Bible in hand, maybe a good study Bible along the way, a cup of coffee, and classical music in the background. One thing I haven’t been consistent at is getting out in nature, in God’s creation. Not enough of that, though I have seen some of it.

Don’t underestimate the power of nature. Just getting out on the beach to enjoy the sand, the vast lake or ocean, the sky in all its glory, the birds, the breeze, the peace that comes with that, can do one a world of good in a short time. And then there’s places where there are trees, marshes, hills, mountains, etc. I’m not a nature guide, but I know there’s nothing like nature to fill one with a sense of awe and wonder, or at least to help ground one in a healthy stillness and peace.

The Bible seems to be an old, crusty, outdated book to many. And it definitely has not only its odd features, but sometimes seems lost itself, at least to me. The only intended way to make sense of it is to see and measure it according to the life, teaching, works, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Each part has to be taken seriously on its own, but we have to come to see it all in the light of Jesus as revealed first in the four gospel accounts, and then what follows.*

If one is a novice to the Bible, to start in Genesis and read straight through to Revelation is commendatory, especially if you make it all the way through. I would recommend starting in the gospels. To make it simple, just read it through as it is in our Bibles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Or maybe in more of a logical order: Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. Mark, Matthew, John, then Luke followed by Acts would be another logical approach. All the rest of Scripture must be seen in the light of those four gospels.

An essential is easily lost in all of this for us who live in an individualistic world. This psalm is actually meant to be read to, or read and heard by God’s people together. We have limited ourselves by making everything an individual endeavor and have lost an untold amount in the process. The appreciation of God’s world and Word is by far best appreciated in community and especially community in and through Jesus. Yes, we need those times alone, too. I highly value some solitude. But Jesus is especially present in the communion of people gathered together in his name. We will be blessed in ways we didn’t recognize at the time, when we make community in Jesus an ongoing priority in our lives.

Where do you find your sweet spot? I don’t think it always has to be in nature and Scripture, though where you find it will be related to both. Nature, we could say includes what comes natural to us, what makes us tick, what we have a knack for and more than interests us.  God’s Word is evident everywhere, if we just develop an ear for it.* In both, extended out in vast, limitless ways, we can find our sweet spot, a continued endeavor from the gift of God.

*Nonviolent Word: Anabaptism, the Bible, and the Grain of the Universe, by J. Denny Weaver and Gerald J. Mast

note, too, related to this post, The Strange New World Within the Bible, a sermon by Karl Barth which he delivered in 1917