Signs

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Matthew 16:1-4 (NRSV)

The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

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She broke her wishbone and wished for a sign
I told her whispers in my heart were fine

"Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" by PM Dawn featuring a sample from Spandau Ballet from "Of the Heart, Of the Soul, and Of the Cross: The Utopian Experience"

Who doesn't want a sign from the Lord? For one, I would really like to have a glimpse at the master plan so that I mess things up less often. How many times do I seek to do the will of God only to find what I "discern" to be the plan turn to thunder. Well, it's often enough so that the word "discern" should always be in quotation marks. I want to do the right thing, but I want signs to make sure I'm on the right path to the right thing.

The Pharisees and Sadducees all wanted signs so that they could believe. Signs and wonders are all around us, and they wanted a sign of their own. As if it would have done a bit of good. Folks who are skeptical about signs would be skeptical if a tree grew from their noses.

The signs are all around us. They reveal the truth of Jesus every day in every good way. And somehow, the things which are devastating can still be redeemed in the grace and love of the Lord. That's the hard part, even what we would call garbage is used for the glory of God.

So let us go to our prayer closets, our quiet places, and for God's fine whispers in our hearts, and prepare to act on what we receive. Remember, we all seem to want the "burning bush" experience, it's just that fewer of us want the "go to Pharaoh" experience that usually follows it.

All Your Love

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Exodus 34:11-14

Observe what I command you today. See, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or it will become a snare among you. You shall tear down their altars, break their pillars, and cut down their sacred poles (for you shall worship no other god, because the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).

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Gimme all your lovin'
All your hugs and kisses too.
Gimme all your lovin'
Don't let up until we're through.

"Gimme All Your Lovin'" written and recorded by ZZ Top from "Eliminator"

Here's something we don't talk much about anymore, a jealous God. It's scriptural and fashionable to say "God is Love." Shoot, it's so true you will find those very words in this devotional more than once. But it doesn't stop this very ancient truth. The Lord is a jealous God.

We ought to break this down with a touch of history. In the ancient of days, there were many Gods who ran a variety of enterprises. In fact, the word "polytheistic" means "many gods." This is what we generally associate with the ancients. In truth, we should be using the word "pantheistic" instead. This means "all gods." The ancients believed in Gods as a way to look at creation.

Different peoples had different Gods. Each had its own stable of Gods who took care of sun, rain, wind, planting, harvest, love, lust, and on and on. But the Hebrews established something different. One single God, a God Christians know in three persons, who is supreme over all.

This is the Lord who is jealous. This is the Lord who knows that creation prays to gods that are worthless and is jealous. This is the Lord who is sick and tired of others getting the love that the Lord alone deserves.

More than this, this is the Lord is the God who wants these things from us and all creation.

God wants all our love and all of our hugs and kisses too. The Lord who created all things seeks a relationship with all creation. God seeks relationship... with us. So when we run off with idols, it is no wonder the Lord is jealous.

Caution here though, we no longer worship Baal or Zeus or any of the other ancient gods, but there are still other Gods we seek. These include fame and power and wealth. So beware, while our gods may shifted, the Lord is still the only god who deserves our love.

Conjunctions

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Song of Songs 1:5a (NRSV)

I am black and beautiful

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She was black as the night
 Louie was whiter than white

"Brother Louie" by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson and originally recorded by Hot Chocolate. The American hit version of this song was recorded by Stories on their album "About Us".

This song caused a stir in the early 1970's. It's ad must have also caused a stir since it followed the song perfectly. The scene in the ad where the white man and the black woman shared a bite from a cotton candy was probably as close they could get to an interracial kiss in a TV ad in 1973.

The racial issues in this song are as old as eternity. Abraham was told by the Lord not to let his sons take brides from the other tribes he meets along the way. Of course God had reasons. What they were had nothing to do with "ethnic purity," it had to do with worship of the Lord. The Lord did not want Israel to worship other Gods, so staying within the tribe kept them from exposure to other's idols.

In the Song, the woman says to the reader "I am black and beautiful." I imagine at the time, this was a scandal too. So much of a scandal, that many English translations do not say "and beautiful." They say "I am black but beautiful."

One little conjunction makes a ton of difference.

As a text critical issue, the conjunction in Hebrew can be translated either way, but more often than not, it is transalted as "and," not "but." So why the choice?

The first English translation, the King James Version, uses "but" instead of "and." First published in 1611, this was during a time of colonialism. The European slave trade to the Americas wasn't known yet. Still the scandal of the time, placing Solomon with a black woman would have been scandalous. Placing him with one who was confident enough to say she was beautiful would have only increased the scandal. "Make her less confident and it will be better" might have been the logic of the translation.

The scandal exists today. It exists to the point that many pictures of Jesus show him with European features, a remnant of the European icon makers. Jesus was Palestinian. He would not have looked like many pictures we have today. His nose would have been broader and his skin an olive tone. Solomon even more so, and the object of the Song of Solomon probably darker than the woman in "Brother Louie" we imagine today.

As the song goes, "Ain't no difference if you're black or white, Brothers you know what I mean?"

The Names of God

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Isaiah 9:6 (NRSV)

For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah
Some call me the gangster of love
Some people call me Maurice
'Cause I speak of the pompitous of love

"The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band, 1973

What do you call God? The Presbyterian Church (USA) put out a report a few years ago about what we call God. There's a lot of good biblical rationale for their report and a lot of good pastoral concern to create such a report. But this is the kind of question that people go to war over, especially from the first age of the church well beyond the reformation.

Hundreds of years before his birth, Isaiah gave the world these names for the baby who would be born to Mary. Isaiah is the first to call the Lord Prince of Peace, and he reserved this title for the Christ-child.

Today, there are many names used for the Lord, just like The Joker was called by various names. Frankly, we may not understand them all either. "Pompitous" is a made-up word, it's a creation of Steve Miller's imagination. So what does it mean, well, one day the truth may be known.

Today, we still say Jesus is Lord. What that means to us is still being revealed every day by the Holy Spirit. He is now and always will be the ultimate Space Cowboy--I bet you weren't ready for that. Now that's good news.

Magic?

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Acts 8:9-24

Now a certain man named Simon had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great. All of them, from the least to the greatest, listened to him eagerly, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they listened eagerly to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed. After being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip and was amazed when he saw the signs and great miracles that took place.

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness.” Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.”

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Cold late night so long ago
When I was not so strong, you know
A pretty man came to me
Never seen eyes so blue
You know I could not run away, it seemed
We'd seen each other in a dream
Seemed like he knew me
He looked right through me
Yeah

"Magic Man" by Ann and Nancy Wilson from "Dreamboat Annie" by Heart

The man in the song "Magic Man" seems to be a lot like Simon the magician, often called Simon Magnus. He's a charming man. He's a man with power and a bit of authority. He likes using his power to his own purposes. We will never know whether Simon wanted his power for good or evil, but Magic Man we know. The Magic Man of this song was a seducer of girls on the edge of becoming young women. He was dangerous.

Simon Magnus was a man who wanted the adoration of the masses. From the greatest to the least, the people say "This man is the power of God that is called Great." Upon his baptism, he knew that there was wonder and power and glory beyond his own. He knew this was in the person and the power of Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us so. Simon actually knew there was power greater than his and maybe he even knew this joyfully. Still, it is easy to imagine it bothered him to discover he was no longer the top dog in the mystical kennel.

Then when Peter and John came to town and baptized the community in the name of the Holy Spirit, more wonderful and glorious things began to happen. What a wonder and what a joy. And what a source of grief for Simon Magnus, he was not only no longer top dog, he wasn't even a player in the pack anymore.

So he offered cash. Make me like you, he begs. “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Why did he want this power? Was it to spread the word of God or was it to regain his old glory. It looks like personal glory, at least that's how Peter and John responded to the request.

Momma is worried that her daughter is being swept off her feet by the Magic Man. Is he wooing the girl to be his bride and start a family? Or is he seducing her to take her body and use it like playground equipment? Momma has a right to be worried. So does her daughter. The Magic Man wants what is magic for his own purposes, his own agenda. He does not want her for what is good for her, what he wants is what's good for him.

Beware of the Magic Man, but also remember when he is called what he is, and when his silver is called to rot, when his charms are called the manipulations they are, they are unarmed. They are sent off. Beware, and be bold.

The Ties that Bind

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Matthew 19:16-22 (NRSV)

Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

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I realize I don't want to be a miser
Confide wisely you'll be the wiser
Young blood is the lovin' upriser
How come everybody wanna keep it like the kaiser?

"Give It Away," written by John Frusciante and Flea, recorded by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, from Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik


The horror of the story of the rich, young ruler is that he is torn between two lovers. He wants to be faithful to the Lord our God and he wants to keep his stuff. He wants both things so very badly that when confronted by both the wealth of the future and the wealth of the present he really doesn't make a decision.

Matthew's gospel tells us that the rich young ruler went away grieving. It doesn't say he told Jesus to buzz off, got into his big fancy car and went home to his hot tub and servants. He went away grieving. He wanted to go with the Lord, but at that moment he couldn't bring himself to leave his stuff. And scripture doesn't tell us whether or not he returned to his stuff satisfied that he made the right decision. Scripture says he grieved as he went away.

While scripture says he went away, it doesn't say the Lord left him. The Lord is steadfast.

To paraphrase the Peppers, the young man knew he didn't to be a miser. He confided wisely, but unfortunately he did not choose to be the wiser; at least not at that moment. He wanted to follow Jesus, but he couldn't pull the trigger and give it away.

But there is an open door, the rich young ruler may not have done as Jesus asked at that moment, but maybe--just maybe--later--he did.

He was drawn to the Lord, and he grieved when he faced the ties that bound him to his wealth, but I wonder if he didn't choose to do as the Lord demanded later. It is written that on that day, the rich young ruler did not have the faith to move mountains and trade current wealth for the treasure of heaven. But let us not lose faith that he did not give it away later.

Everyday we are faced with choices just like the ones the rich young ruler faced; in some of them we choose well, in others, not so much. Sure, like the rich young ruler we do the right things on the whole, but we aren't doing everything our Lord wants us to do.

Beware of the things that tie us to our current lives because these are the ties that bind us in ways that are neither to our advantage nor what God wants for our lives. Whether they be wealth or attitudes.

We can always hope the rich young man became wiser, chose better, and cut the ties that bound him. And we can always hope the same for us.