Monthly Archives: March 2021

No Defense

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03.28.21 Palm Sunday

Have you ever asked someone how they were doing and find their response ‘I’m Fine’ hard to beloved.  Whether it is due to the tone of their voice or the look on their face, it is response that is not very convincing.  You want more, you want more words to help you navigate the assumptions made from their non verbal signals.

There are some responses, or explanations that only need a word or a handful of words and you know exactly what is meant.  Sometimes a very short sentence can communicate much more than a very wordy sentence.

An example, As we see the words ‘Jesus wept’, we are given a powerful moment with God’s experience of our experience of grief, as well as an evidence that Jesus, who sits next to God, understands the impact  of our humanness.

As we see Jesus on the cross and hear his voice the three simple words ‘It is finished’ we are hit in the face with his determination to travel his path all the way through the cross. 

And then, earlier in Mark, there is the narration ‘He intended to pass them by’

For us to understand the significance of Jesus silence before his accusers we must go back to Jesus voice in the midst of human struggle. Back to the midpoint in the ministry of Jesus. Early in the evening after Jesus fed 5,000 plus people and now he was closing out the day by permitting personal moments with those in attendance.  An exhausted Jesus looked over at this disciples.  This had to be an exhausted group of men, this journey following Jesus had been challenging especially today. Jesus had told them to feed the crowds, it was an absurd request. The men were tired and as Jesus saw this he insisted they get in the boat and head ahead of him, he assured them he would be fine as he pushed their boat into the deeper waters. Jesus then went back to the crowds and eventually found  a quiet spot and began to pray.

When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and Jesus was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. 

But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”  

Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Mark 6:47-52

Such an odd statement, ‘he intended to pass by them’ or ‘he wished to walk on by them.’ 

When Jesus saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. he wished, to pass them by.

Mark 6:48

He intended to pass them by? What stopped him? 

When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased.

Jesus plan, or his preference, had been to walk on past them, not a word or even a wave. He stopped because they were afraid, they were struggling, they didn’t see any hope. They had just seen Jesus perform this miracle yet now, with the winds growing stronger, they quickly forgot God.  So Jesus got into the boat with the frightened disciples who had forgotten the power of God.

See Jesus was on a path, his calling, on his way to Jerusalem, on his way to the cross, on the way to saving the world.  Saving the world was his mission not calming the disciples, nor had it been the healings or feeding, or any of the other diversions. But, Jesus could not just walk by the hurting people anymore than he could walk on by his struggling disciples.  So he stopped, just like he would continue to stop whenever there was a need.  That is what he did, that is what God does, he goes off the path to bring us peace, he climbs into the boat with us.  Jesus detours off the path for us,  he hears our cries. 

Salvation of the world was Jesus’ calling, his mission, but, climbing into boats was Jesus’ character it had been carved out of compassion and mercy and powered by love.

I feel confident that I can say that we have all been in the scary boat at least sometime this past year.  Many times Jesus has claimed in the boat with us. Sometimes he even sends us to climb in a boat with mercy and compassion. 

When stepped off the path, he did not explain, he just helped, he calmed, he brought peace.  That was what he does, there was no explanation needed, there were no expectations, no defense, no conditions, no reprimands, he just did what he knew needed to be done, and then, he resumed towards his calling, he returned to his path.

The apostle Paul explains this challenging challenge to us, 

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.  

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of  a slave, being born in human likeness. 

And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross.

Philippians 21-8

A determination that is willing to go through to do what God has called you to do – that was the determination of Jesus. That is the same mind of Christ, the same way of thinking, that we are called to.  A determination to follow God’s path all the while keeping our eyes open for essential detours, opportunities to reveal the same compassion and mercy displayed by Jesus.  It is only then, that Christians can heed God’s first call – to save the world. 

So let’s return to Holy Week.

Instead of focusing on Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, on this Palm Sunday, we are going to go right up to the cross.  We will travel with the compassionate and merciful Jesus on his determined path, right up to the cross.

The cross was not Jesus’ destination, however, his path led through the cross, though the empty grave, through the seat waiting next to the Father, and to his calling to save the world.  The cross was an essential part of his path.

We come to the trials of Jesus following his arrest, the lies, the deceit, the holes in the contradictory statements, and the near silence of Jesus the accused.  Mark’s gospel does not detail the scrambling between Pilate and Herod, it just gives us the tone and environment of what took place, and most importantly, we see what determination looks like.

Just before his arrest, Jesus had prayed in agony in the garden of Gethsemane, he had questioned God asking if there was any other way his path could go, did it have to go through the arrest, the trials, the public humiliation, the grief piled on his loved ones, the pain and misery…..was there any other way? Jesus knew the answer, he had been a part of the decision making before the beginning of our history, he knew what had to take place, he knew, but, he was also human, with the human emotions of fear and dread, he also knew, and he knew the victorious outcome, but still, he asked ‘is there any other way to get there?’

In the midst of all of this, there was already isolation, which had already begun, even his disciples were unable to help him navigate this human experience.  He knew the isolation would be complete as even God would have to forsake him.  The weight of the sin of the world on the shoulder of one man was not a journey that could be shared, isolation and rejection were expected but not looked forward to.

As Jesus walked from the garden, Satan grabbed the opportune moment.  Satan attempted to use Jesus’ humaness against him for 30 years – now, Satan had the most opportune opportune moment, if this didn’t work, Satan had no chance of any ultimate victory. Satan manipulated and cajoled humans, the guards appeared at the entrance to the garden.  They were there to arrest Jesus in this opportune moment. As Jesus saw  the guards he responded,

‘“What is this, coming after me with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal? Day after day I’ve been sitting in the Temple teaching, and you never so much as lifted a hand against me. What you in fact have done is confirm the prophetic writings.” All the disciples bailed on him.’

Mark 14:48-50 (the Message)

It had begun, Jesus was alone, he had been deserted.

The religious leaders quickly put together a trial of Jesus.  They coached witnesses, and brought them before the leaders as they approached their  formal judgement.  Finally, the chief priest said,

‘The Chief Priest stood up and asked Jesus, “What do you have to say to the accusation?” Jesus was silent. He said nothing. The Chief Priest tried again, this time asking, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed?”’

Mark 14:60-61 (the Message)

The chief priest was foaming at the mouth, Jesus remained calm which made the priest even more incensed.  Jesus didn’t look angry, scared or defensive, he had just sat there. The red faced priest glared at Jesus waiting for an answer, the other leaders and priests moved to the edge of their seats, then Jesus look directly into the eyes of the chief priest and began to speak, 

“Yes, I am, and you’ll see it yourself: The Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Mighty One, Arriving on the clouds of heaven.”

Mark 14:62 (the Message)

In their furor, the religious leaders, now a raging mob, took Jesus to the one who had the power to finish this ‘Jesus Problem’ off.  They took him to the ruler Pilot who could send Jesus to his death.  

In a room filled with the religious leaders, priests, and witnesses, Pilate asked Jesus,

“So You are the King of the Jews?” 

Jesus responded, “It is as you say.”

Mark 15:2 (NASB)

As the hate filled crowded room became even more hostile, Pilate  attempted to bring reason and rationale into the inquiry,

“Do You offer nothing in answer? See how many charges they are bringing against You!”

Mark 14: 4 (NASB)

Jesus, from this point forward was silent.  He did not need to talk, he did not need to defend himself, it was unnecessary, he had accepted his fate when he walked into the waters of John’s baptism, he had affirmed it in the garden. This was all part of this path, it was all part of the isolation, it was all essential to his purpose.  He did not need to take a detour just to prove that they were wrong, it would not advance Jesus on his path, nor would it be an opportunity for compassion and mercy.  So, from this point forward, he would offer no defense, he would give no argument, now it was time for love not words. 

In this opportune moment, Satan used screaming voices, lies, hatred, and deceit, Jesus, in this same opportune moment, used love, mercy, compassion, grace, and strangely, silence, and even hope.

That is what an opportune moment, a moment of opportunity.  We can chose to make that detour a opportunity to add to hate, or we can use that detour to let God shine through us.

Jesus at this moment chose to shine. He chose to sacrifice himself, beginning with what others thought of him, his reputation, his sacrifice was not limited to the cross.  HIs sacrifice involved his entirety.  At this point, as he chose to remain silent and give not defense, he had stepped fully into sacrifice.

I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice. 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Jesus was now on the same path he had been since his baptism, he was now just steps from the cross, it was now just steps through the cross.

Shortly before Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the week of Passover, the Holy Week, Mary took not he scandalous act of anointing of Jesus with her most valuable possession, a container of expensive perfume.  Those present aghast and critical, they were not silent, they spoke, they criticized, the judged, they condemned.  In this instance, Jesus did speak, he did offer a defense, not of himself but of Mary,

“Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”

Mark 14:9

Later, as Jesus drew his final breath and gave up his spirit, a centurion, who had been a part of the execution, now standing there where had stood all day watching and witnessing the sacrificial act of Jesus.

‘At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing Jesus and witnessed his final moments and the manner in which Jesus breathed his last breath, this centurion said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”’

Mark 15:34, 37-39

Centuries before Isaiah had voiced our call,

“The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens— wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? All of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up. Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant, who walks in darkness and has no light, yet trusts in the name of the Lord and relies upon his God?”

Isaiah 50:4-10

This is our calling. This is a Holy Week.

Zeal

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03.07.21 – John 2:13-23

Our focus passage today comes from the gospel of John 2:13-22, a very interesting passage placed at a very interesting moment in the ministry of Jesus.  It is shortly after he, his mother, and his newly formed family of disciples, attended the wedding of a family friend of Mary, Jesus’ mother.  This was the event where Jesus was mom-pressured to take care of the ‘wine’ situation – the wedding hosts had run out and his mom, wishing to rescue her friends from a huge social faux pas, ‘asks’ Jesus to take care of the situation.  You probably remember, this was the classic mother/son moment when the son responds to the mother’s persistent pressuring by saying the classic son statement, ‘What do you want of me. woman?”  This was not only where the disciples saw Jesus perform a miracle, but it is also where they saw the humaness of Jesus, and it seemed, I’m sure, very similar to their own experiences of family.

As we approach chapter 2, I must point out, John often uses a different chronological system than the writers of Matthew, Mark, and Luke – John details Jesus’ visit to the temple at the beginning of his ministry. Jesus ‘cleanses’ the temple by confronting the collusion of the religious institution and the political system as well as aggressively challenging the merchants and money changers, all of who are taking advantage of the people for their own gain.  While John places this significant event early in the Jesus ministry, the other three gospel writers place it near the end, during holy week. Some think it is just a choice made by the author, others believe this is two different events.

Jesus had surely been to the temple before, even before John’s early placement in the canon. We actually know he was there as an adolescent, and surely, because of his religious training, had been there at least three times a year as a young adult. It would not be odd for him to address the abuse at the beginning and close of his earthly ministry.  Placing it as bookends of his ministry also confirms his own experience among the people, seeing their pain and misery, seeing their affliction and oppression, seeing that they were barely surviving when his passion was to give them life to its fullest.

Regardless of the time, or times, of this or these, temple experiences, there is an undeniable passion in Jesus’ response to the religious officials, for his fellow Jewish worshippers, and towards his earthly and eternal purpose.  This may be early on his path through the cross, or he may already be in the shadow of the cross.

Regardless, of placement, we begin at the Temple.

Around 600 hundred years prior to Jesus’ visit to the Temple, the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, and his forces destroyed Judah, Jerusalem, and the Temple – as well as taking most of the Israelites back to Babylon to be slaves to the Babylonians. During the seven decades of this slavery, the faithful realized there was an internal void in this new reality – they were now without the temple which, to them, meant they were without the presence of God. Even though they were in this new reality because they had neglected God, they now, slowly began to recognize their mistake. As they began to identify their need for God, they also began to navigate how to ‘Do Faith.’ God provided prophets such as Jeremiah who reminded them that God had not abandoned them. So, they began a journey not dissimilar to our experience this past twelve months, they began to meet in homes and other places, making mini temples, figuring how to make sacrifices that were not animal sacrifices, a practice that was a180 degree turn from how they had sacrificed at the temple – in doing this they began to understand the true and personal meaning of sacrifice.  Over the course of the seven decades the Jews began to accept the fact of their own complicity that led to their exile and in turn, they began to turn back to God. This was a full immersion into a new, and very personal, way of observing faith, and of knowing God in a much more internal way. While they did not need masks, and of course virtual gatherings were not an option, they learned to have a new perspective, to open their eyes, they gained a willingness to sacrifice their ‘normal’ for themself as well as for others. They became a community of the faithful who were recognizing the forgotten power of community.

Take a moment to grasp this, they had no choice but to spend 7 decades on a journey of relating to the God they had rejected and having to do so in a totally new, and far less comfortable, than they had done since their birth.  This was a lot of ‘normality’ and personal agendas to lay aside in order to truly worship and gather. Although we are just now approaching a year in our loss of ‘normal’ and it has been difficult, we like the Israelites have faced the choice of resist and reject all change, to, instead accepting the reality that sometimes we needed to accept the loss of certain rights, comfort, and normality in order that we could figure out how to navigate change.

Everytime we see God ‘break through’ into our reality, we see requisite change, a change that ends up leaving us in a new place, a new perspective, a new practice, all of which have forced us to give up and to accept a new normal.  Often we attempt to return to the old normal, but the new normal is God’s gift to us for life, not just for ourself, but for others.

When the Israelites did finally returned to Judah, they were quick to return to their old ways and their very distant faith, one in which it was easy to dismiss God.  They set out to rebuild the temple even though the temple, which had always held the significance of holding the presence of God, now could not serve the same purpose. This people had learned that God’s presence was there they were, they had experienced the God could be worshipped where they were.  However, they built anyway. This was not like when God led King Solomon through the details and process of building the first temple, the building of the second temple was primarily a human endeavor. While God gave prophets to continue to guide them in their faith, this mammoth project was still a human project.  They did not have the donations and resources flowing in such as had been the case with the first temple.  Lebanon was no longer eager to give their cedars, nor were the surrounding nations willing to contribute money and laborers. As a result the temple seemed to be an ongoing and never-ending endeavor. At the time of our passage it had been almost fifty years since the Israelites had begun to build.  When this temple was near completion, people were disillusioned and disappointed because it was not as majestic as Solomon’s temple. 

This people who had figured out how to do faith without a temple had quickly returned to their pre exile existence. The result was that non-Jews began to contribute, and, began to have a say in the building of the temple.  The unholy began to have a hand in the establishment of the holy.  Even Herod the great, who order the death of the new born boys in order to solve his ‘Jesus’ problem contributed and glamorized the very simple and basic temple..

So, when the religious officials ask Jesus to prove himself and to justify his actions in the temple, his response is – “destroy this temple and it will be rebuilt in three days.’ God would prove the words of his Son by doing what he said would be done. Jesus, who along with the followers of God, was the temple,  and he would rise to life after destruction. There wold be a resurrection. Today we have 2 lessons.

First Lesson of a Cleansing. Don’t Be Stuck.

The encounter with Jesus inside the Temple is a classic example of ‘Stuck’ thinking. The religious officials, from within the Temple, could only see a structure that was not as good as the past, the project was now half a century later, it was still a process in the making and still not done, there could be no Ark of the Covenant, and there could be no glory of past days.  All they could see was what they no longer saw, which was not Solomon’s temple.

Have you ever sincerely told someone that you liked their new haircut only to receive a response pointing out everything wrong with the cut.  No matter how great you think they look, all they can see is what is not there.  This is what is taking place with the religious officials, all they could see was the past, a past which was no longer visible, present, or real, so, even tough a valid statement is being made by Jesus – it is impossible for the leaders to see or grasp. All they can see is turmoil and tables overturned in the temple square which still has a wall that is unpainted and a door that is barely hanging on one hinge – all they can see is what they have to do, they see no glory, they don’t see that God has broken through, right there in their presence.

They are stuck in a nightmare building project and cannot see an ongoing abusive system that has managed to be reestablished, a system which should not have been in place ever before, even in the first temple. 

We saw this a year ago, as we were called to sacrifice for the safety of ourselves and others. Many people of faith, especially the Christian faith, began to scream out that they were being denied their freedom to practice their faith, lawsuits were filed and political recalls were instituted. At the same time, we saw other faith communities recognize the opportunities and began to formulate new ways to practice and observe their faith, to redefine worship and sacrifice, to get unstuck. Being Stuck causes us to miss the curve in our path on which God  is letting us travel to see something amazing and life transforming. 

Second Lesson of a Cleansing. Look for Glimmers of Light.

A couple of months ago I was working from home at a desk I had pushed against a window. It was an unusual winter morning, especially for this odd year, it was warm outside but a little too cool to actually work outside so I did what made the most sense, I opened the window as I worked.  Pretty soon, a small finch landed on the windowsill and began to ponder taking a step past the usual barrier of glass, a step that was going to put the finch inside the house. I sat as still as I could be, I was about to become Mary Poppins, it was really cool and I attempted to not move or even blink while watching God’s creation closer than the length of my arm.  While I sat there, my excitement moved from how cool this was to all the things that could go wrong.  Our house is not a Sam’s warehouse where a bird can fly around overhead and do so unnoticed.  I realize the door of the room was open meaning that this finch would probably wreck havoc on the rest of the house.  As I moved from wander to distraction, I moved, the finch realized that it was a human sitting there and not a post to sit to – in an instant the little creature flew away and I was left with only a story an no possibility of a finch on my finger joining me in a song. I missed a moment because I forgot to look for the glimmer of light.

Jesus stood in the open space of the temple witnessing something that few even recognized anymore.  He had surely, as an adolescent, been there as his own parents had to over pay what they did not have in the first place, he had seen the downtrodden look on his father’s face as the money changers over charged him, he saw the abuse even as the leaders walked around caught up in their ‘work of God’ missing this miserable aspect of the human existence.  So, on this day, Jesus stood in the temple again, and again, he noticed that the the pilgrims who had already sacrificed much just to be at the temple, were now asked to unjustifiably sacrifice even more.  Jesus knew the it was not a holy sacrifice, it was an act of abuse by those who saw an opportunity to abuse others in order to get for themself.  Jesus also saw that this abuse caused those who came to worship to be so distracted they forgot there was a beautiful finch sitting on the windowsill to remind them that light was right in front of them, God was reflected in his creation yet all of creation was no longer visible.  

Jesus, who adhered to the greatest commandments of God, to love God and to love others, and this same Jesus, who came to give full life, and this same Jesus, who saw the misery and oppression of the people and sought to address it wherever he went, this Jesus could not help but act there in the temple.  He confronted the situation, he overturned tables, he yelled at the abusers, he disrupted, he vandalized, he did what he could do there in that time, and at that moment, to be a glimmer of light exposing injustice and suffering.

That is one of the things we Christians do with this story, we focus on the aggressive actions and the loudness and tone of his voice.  We question, ‘could Jesus really be angry, or worse yet, could he be mad?’  We argue if it is possible to react in the most human of human ways.  Jesus actions are an essential element of this story but not for those reasons, it is not a question of ‘can Jesus be angry/“ but it must be a question of ‘WHY would Jesus be angry in this moment?’

One of the periphery glimmer of lights that God we witnessed this past year was the Black Lives Matter uprisings. We that have sat in privilege cannot genuinely attempt to imagine what it is like to be afraid to let a child go out after dark, we cannot grasp the experience of watching a spouse drive away knowing that the very act of driving on the street or walking on the sidewalk might cause their death.  We sit in our own paradigm and say that we are not racists, or that racism does not exist in our community, or in our neighborhood, or in our government. As God gave us a glimmer of light through the testimonies of so many parents and loved ones this summer, those with different pigmentation and cultural backgrounds, expressed, in a very real way, their pain. Since we can’t fathom this reality we chose to dismiss it, or even to attempt to discredit it.  We saw the riots, some even acknowledged that something needed to be done, we began to hesitantly accept the reality of the problem. However, our first response was to say ‘well, they should vandalize, they shouldn’t be so aggressive, they should’nt disrupt, destroy, they shouldn’t turn over the tables, they shouldn’t be so lourd, they shouldn’t call so much attention to themselves.’ Recent poll results publicized this past week show that the majority of Americans have forgotten their own concern and outrage from this last summer, that we have largely forgotten the still present pain and suffering that exists for many Americans.  They just remembered that tables were overturned and that someone had to clean up the mess – but went back to noticing that the temple needs another room, a nicer facade, that it needs to be like it used to be. Much like our response toward Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling stance during the national anthem, we choose to be dismayed instead of thinking if this is something we need to think and pray about, if this is a moment we need to consider the why of this action.

Jesus, in his unacceptable confrontative attitude, was a glimmer of light the day in the temple, a glimmer that was quickly dismissed, a glimmer that was  too radical, too uncomfortable, too difficult to look at.

Early 20th century philosopher George Santayana wrote

‘There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.’

We live this earthly existence in OUR interval, reconciled to knowing little of our ‘before’, and holding only to hope for our ‘ahead’. We choose to settle in and just survive when God is calling us to flourish while we nurture. We choose to navigate change or, instead, to ferociously fight it, we can try to hold our tongue in the midst of injustice, or we can add our voice to the injustice inflicted on others.  We can learn from our own past as well the history of others, or, instead we repeat those mistakes in our attempts to re-experience past successes. Sometimes our interval takes forever, and sometimes it seems to pass in a blink of an eye,. Our interval journey can be tough but nevertheless, Jesus calls us to live it to its fullest and to be a reflection of the light for others to do the same. To be a light that shines light on God’s truth, God’s mercy, God’s compassion, God’s Love, that accurately reveals God.

Jesus stood in the temple square and saw the same thing he had seen everytime he entered the holy space, only this time he could not just stand there. This time he had to do the unacceptable, he had to turn over some table, to run out those abusers and the selfish profiteers, to loudly speak truth to the authority, to be an emissary of God, telling and living truth. He chose to use this interval to make a difference.

Jesus intentionally lived out his interval, how is God calling you to live your interval?

Walk Behind Me

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I had a very dear friend died this past week. Jim Barnette was diagnosed with a very rare brain disease several months ago.  It only took months for the disease to eat away at his brain and finally his body could no longer support life.  I say he was a very dear friend, but truth is that we worked and lived together for a couple of months as part of a ministerial team in 1984.  During that time I I was there when he shared with me that he was smitten with Deanna, another member of our team. I was there as he courted this young lady, now understand, he was the kind of guy who would use words like court and smitten. Since then we have hardly seen or talked with each other. I went to Louisville, to be in his wedding, and then Andrea and I stopped in  Birmingham, AL, the summer of 2010 to see him and his family. Otherwise, the descriptors of our relationship greatly changed over the 37 years. Even though the relationship changed I still, even this week feel as though I have lost a very dear friend.

Relationship are strange, they can change with the seasons of life, yet somewhere in our brain, and our heart, there will always be a small piece  remaining that defined the relationship as it once was.  

In a way, Andrea and I, like many of you, have had to navigate the changes in our relationship with our own kids.  The boundaries have changed, they are no longer under our authority, they are no longer in our house, they have grown up and taken the next steps on their paths. We are now figuring out the terms of those old, but now new, relationships.

There is a word for that in the Hebrew, it is the word ‘brit’, an agreement of relationship. While this, in our lives, is usually unspoken – sometimes developing an understanding and agreement of the relationship is a big deal.  This is the same idea as ‘treaties’ where one nation, or group, enters into an agreement and terms of coexistence.  In the English, this word is interpreted as the word ‘covenant’ but in the Hebrew language it is ‘Brit’.

Especially in the Old Testament, there are a handful of these covenants that define the relationship between God and man. Most Jewish, Christian, and even Islamic scholars say that the first covenant between God and humans was Abraham and Sarah, it was with these two individuals that God gave the promise and hope of and for all of humanity. However, these were not the first humans, nor did they have the first story about humanity. So, we are faced with the very real question, ‘why does it take 12 chapters in the book of Genesis, our origins account, for us to meet Sarah and Abraham the central characters in the development of our faiths.

Rabbi Eli Freedman explains it this way, ‘The authors and editors of the Torah were making an important point by telling a series of pre-stories before our progenitors arrive on the scene. The first four stories in the Torah all end poorly. Adam and Eve get expelled from the Garden, Cain kills his brother Abel, God destroys the entire world with a flood, and, in the Tower of Babel, God confounds our languages and scatters us across the world.’

Rabbi Freedman then refers to a Rabbi Zoob who continues this explanation by adding, ‘these first four stories of Genesis teach us that the pre-Abraham and Sarah world could not function properly because it was missing the covenantal relationship between God and people. Although God spoke to Adam and Eve, and even walked with Noah, the world was not complete because it lacked brit – covenant.’

We are created to live and survive in community, in relationship, to be together.  That community, relationship, togetherness, is an always evolving union, one with differing boundaries which are different from our other unions, and even more different than the unions that we are not a part of. Marriage, family, work, play, and all types of defining words categorize those grouping within which there is a constant give and take process of establishing and reestablishing those relationships.  We are in a constant state of defining and redefining our covenants with each other, our ‘brits’.

This initial covenant relationship of humanity, between God, Abraham, and Sarah was one that was fairly defined from the beginning but it took decades for the 2 humans parties of the covenant to understand and grasp.  

The Brit, the Covenant, that Sarah and Abraham entered into with God was one were the primary obligation on the part of the humans was faith.  A faith that led to a trust in God. A belief that God will hold to, and come through on, his Brit responsibilities.

The primary reason for the extended period of time taken to understand the Brit was the human frailty of insecurities.  While we see this in both humans, Sarah and Abraham, we have very specific moments of insecurity where we are allowed to witness their lives and faith in God. Let’s just look at Abraham, his problem, which is the fragility for most of us, was Insecurity.

  1. An insecurity that presents as Fear and Self Centeredness.  Abraham was afraid for his own safety so he detoured from a covenant of respect and loyalty to his wife to a self centered safe yourself philosophy. He threw his wife under the bus to protect his own life.
  2. An insecurity that presents as Doubt.  Abraham could only see his own failings and weaknesses, he could seldom see anything else,  therefore. seeing God’s promise of a descendant was a no starter. His doubt about self blinded him from recognizing that God’s part of the Brit had nothing to do with Abraham, or Sarah’s, abilities.
  3. An insecurity that presents as Impatience.  God seemed to be taking too long so Abraham took charge to make sure God’s part of the Brit was fulfilled. Remember, time is a element of our human existence, it is not a factor in eternity.

Fear, Self Centeredness, Doubt, and Impatience were all blockades that keep these 2 humans, and often us, from recognizing that this Brit was made with God.  God would be and was faithful. So, on the third discussion between God and Abraham regarding the Brit, God says, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.’

‘Walk before me and be blameless,’ What an interesting instruction.  ‘Walk before me and be blameless.’

We had heard something similar but with an intentional difference when the relationship between God and Noah was described, ‘Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.’ For Noah, this was a no-brainer, it was the very core of who he was, he didn’t need to be told to do this. For some reason, he did not have to have the terms of his Brit with God negotiated – he WAS blameless.  But the logistical terms of their Brit was different, we are told that Noah walked with God. The Hebrew preposition significant in this relationship was the word ‘eth’ which meant that Noah was walking beside God.  They were not equals but when God was present Noah walked before him. This same word ‘eth’ can also connote that the two were connected, they belonged together, much like Peanut butter and Jelly, there was a very comfortable and natural relationship between the two.

With Abraham, however, the relationship does not have the same automatic natural presentation.  Whether it was the insecurities that held Abraham back, or even just his background, personality, and human make up, Abraham needed to be told his stance in the Brit.  ‘Walk before me and be blameless,’  The word here is ‘lə·p̄ā·nay’ (lafanay), carrying the logistical designation of ‘in front of’, and a more expansive understanding of ‘in the presence of’.

I was driving in a very small car, packed with many other people, on a one lane highway from Ketchum, ID to our project in the Sawtooth mountains. We were running late and did not have time for any delays so we were singularly focused on our destination. As we drove around a curve of the road taking us deeper into the Sawtooth National Forest we were quickly confronted with an obstacle leaving us no choice but to put the car in park and remain still.  For all we could see ahead and around us was a sea of sheep walking on the road and as far to our left and right as we could see.  The sheep were headed in our direction and soon we were engulfed by these animals that are by no means as  gentle and cute looking when they are knocking against you window and were rocking our car as they squeezed through. At one point a rather ambitious large sheep got on our hood of our car with the obvious plan to walk over us instead of fighting for a position in the mob going around us. So, we just sat there looking around locked into a situation that we had never experienced before, and would probably never again.  We began to marvel at the flow of the sheep and the control of those attempting to corral them.  We could see cowboys in the distance on their horses and the dog nipping at the heals of the sheep, but as we watched these were giving very little direction, mainly they were just present. However, as we began to see the end of this sea of sheep it became obvious that this entire mob was being driven by one person, on a horse, masterfully using his presence to lead from behind.  He was in the position where he could see what his helpers and the dogs were doing and where they needed to be, but also, he had a clear eye on all the sheep.  They were directly in his presence, where he could guide and protect. It was amazing to watch even if we were now running extremely late.

Abraham needed to be in God’s presence, he needed God to see him fully and completely, nothing hidden, nothing withheld. In that place, God could guide and encourage him in regard to the command to be blameless.  Abraham had a history of acting out of impatience, fear, and doubt, as we all do. Being in front he would be in a position where God could masterfully woo him back onto the path.

Jesus was a ‘from behind’ leader, Jesus was a ‘in the ‘presence leader’. Even though his disciples were called followers, he was directing, protecting, and leading from behind often. Their presence in front of him enabled his to lead while developing them into leaders they would need to be.  Jesus sent his disciples in front of him to go into the crowd as they were tasked with feeding 5,000 people.  He watched from behind as he sent them out to heal, cure, and deliver a hopeless and suffering people. He was present as he knelt down before the woman accused of adultery and then he was present with her accusers as he stood and asked ‘Who is truly qualified to stone this woman?’ He was present at a distance as he stood on the beach and called out to his disciples in their boat.  He was present when woman touched the hem of his garment to be healed.  Jesus’ presence was alway a reality, his ability to see everything in our story, and as we timidly, or even arrogantly attempt to approach him unnoticed.  He was there, in the garden, seeing everything as Adam and Eve thought they could go unnoticed.  He is there for us, not against us, he is there to guide us, not to judge us, he is there because he loves us.

I was hiking out of the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas after a week and a half of outdoor training. Because of previous scheduled engagements, I, and one other person had to pack out early.  I had very obviously failed to become a master backpacker during the time in training so I know that our trainer was overjoyed that I would not be making the trek alone.  I would be traveling with a guy who came into the training a weathered outdoorsman, and backpacker. He would not only carry his heavy pack, but he could also identify danger, and, in this instance, he could successfully navigate a topographical map.  As we began to walk I volunteered to walk behind and have him lead, but he declined and took the back position helping to guide me on the paths and turns we needed to make to arrive timely and safely at our pick up destination.  A couple of hours into the hike I felt my pack tug abruptly and then I was silently pulled back.  As I realized that it was my hiking partner who had stopped me – he gave me the signal to be still and be quiet.  He we walked a little ways off the path and picked up a fallen branch.  Then, as he carefully walked to a position a few steps in front of me he gently took the branch and used it to scoop up a rattlesnake on the path directly in front of me. When he had moved the snake I understood the value of having him in the back, where he was able to have my back.

God stays behind because he too, has our back.

How do we stand in front so Jesus can have an all encompassing view of us.

  1. We must genuinely decide, a heart and mind positioning, that we are willing to be that visible and exposed.
  2. We must deliberately put ourself, again, in a genuine heart and mind place of being seen.  This means asking ourselves, ‘Is there anything that I am purposely keeping off limits to God?’
  3. We must accept the fact that being ‘in front’ of God means that we are also ‘in front’ of others.
  4. We must make the deliberate move to be in the front of God, to be continually in his presence.

In the end, we are not really able to hide from God, Adam and Eve, discovered this, in fact, their thoughts and weaknesses in regard to what they could not have were very visible to God. Problem was, they were not in front of God,  their deceit before God deafened them from God’s guidance from behind.

God was present in garden, in the field with Cain and Able, in the flood, at Babel, and with Abraham, Jesus was present with the disciples when he asked  them, ‘Who do people say that I am?’  And he was present when Peter boldly identified Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. And, moments later, Jesus was also there, as he said to Peter, ‘Get behind me Satan!’

God walked beside Noah. God walked behind Abraham. God told Satan to get behind Jesus. Next to, in front of, and behind. Two of these options involve being in the presence of God, the third, being behind, blocks Satan’s sight and power – God does not need to see, watch over, or even watch out for Satan.  His end has already been decided, primarily by Satan himself.  God has already dealt with Satan, now he walks next to us, behind us, and he is always present with us.

There was a very human characteristic of that huge herd of sheep. None of the sheep displayed any attempts to get out of the herd, and out of the view of the shepherd.  In fact, the only ones that were ever moved out of the flow was due to being pushed out by the crowd, not by choice.  If they did find themself out of the flow of the herd, regardless of their size or age, they began the struggle, to battle, to get back in the flow with the  herd.  None wanted to be away from the flock – they had just descended from the mountain, where, I am sure, they experienced the presence of the protection and care of the shepherd.

When Jesus left the wilderness following the time of temptation, scripture tells us that Satan left with the intention to come back to Jesus when the time was opportune.  There was an opportune time time in the temple with the man filled with a demon began to proclaim who Jesus was. This moment with Peter was another opportune moment.  Peter was not seeking to be a tool of Satan, he was only expressing a desire that Jesus be received in the same positive light that Peter himself had originally seen Jesus.  Also, Peter did not want an unhappy and hopeless end of this story.  Jesus, however, came to give life, a life for eternity that begins now, not after death, not after suffering.  Jesus came to lead us, from behind, to a full life. His mission to confront injustice, to cure disease, and to heal sickness, could not be interrupted or even sidetracked, he would not be detoured.  So, Jesus called Satan out, in the midst of this opportune moment and said ‘get behind me!’  Jesus would continue on his mission even though it would mean going through the cross.

Notice the placement of Satan, his order when relegated to being behind Jesus, Jesus who was behind the followers.  Now, Jesus was blocking the view of Satan. Sure Satan could still lure those in front of Jesus away, but it would be as much a choice of the humans as it was an effort of Satan.  Now Jesus could see the followers, and now, even more than before, he could see if Satan was engaging in an unwelcome manner that needed to be confronted.

So, what do we do with this? What does it change in our life and how does it move us in our proximity to God? Where are we standing? Where are you standing?