Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during January 2023]

“Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into!” Aficionados of early twentieth century cinematic comedy will no double recognise the catch-phrase that Stan Laurel borrowed from ‘The Mikado’ and used to great effect in his partnership with Oliver Hardy. It was a key part of the relationship between the two that Hardy took the blame for the mess whilst Laurel always came across as the innocent victim of Hardy’s incompetence.

Do we like to blame something or someone else when we find ourselves in a mess? Is the kitchen in a mess? – blame the incontinent kitten. Is the bedroom in a mess? – blame the kids. Is the garden in a mess? – blame the neighbours. Is the country in a mess? Well, we all have our own ideas of who to blame for that.

What is a mess? How do we define it? One online dictionary definition includes the following: a dirty or untidy condition; a person or thing that is dirty, untidy, or disordered; a state of confusion; an unpleasant or difficult situation. To that we can add strained relationships, finances in disarray, challenges at work and all sorts of other problems that seem insurmountable.

Of course, ‘mess’ can also be subjective; one man’s mess is another man’s logic: I know where everything is – don’t touch it! We can be happy in our mess, we can even be too closely involved to recognise it as a potential problem.

The Bible gives a number of examples of people who were in a mess.
Sarah knew that God had promised that her husband would have a son but she was now too old for child-bearing and she ruled herself out. However, she thought she could give God a helping hand by co-opting a surrogate mother and in doing so she created a mess that persists to this day.
It is difficult to think of anywhere more messy than the stomach of a fish. Jonah was there because he wanted to thwart God’s plans for the people of Nineveh, God allowed him to get into that mess in order to teach him obedience.
Nebuchadnezzar had acquired all that his vast empire could offer him, riches, power, palaces, no doubt even a barber and a manicurist. Despite several dramatic demonstrations of God’s power that he dismissed, God decided to teach him a lesson about pride.

He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. Daniel 4:33 [NIVUK]

These three people had no one else to blame for their circumstances but God included them in his plans. We can argue that times have changed, that social pressures are more intense, that economic factors carry heavier demands. We have limits on our time and money which mean that addressing the mess is a low priority.

Living our lives in a mess is not a good witness to our family, our friends and our community. God is willing to help you reassess your priorities but you have to start the conversation. Let’s look again at Becky’s words on Sunday morning:

I messed up, I gave up
I looked up, God showed up.

Looks like life could be on the up and up.

Resources:
[1]

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during January 2023]

Living languages are, of necessity, dynamic; vocabulary evolves over time. Words are concocted, contextualised, corrupted and then, in due course, consigned to history. For an example we can look at Spurgeon’s “Morning and Evening” published in 1866. His still-popular collection of daily devotional reflections contains words that have radically different meanings from what was intended when originally written. Going back further, we can look at the works by Shakespeare – it’s English but not as we know it.

Social and geographical factors also have an impact; one only has to consider how English is used (or misused) in different parts of the world. A word that, in Australia, identifies a style of footwear is used for a type of undergarment elsewhere. Similarly, an American talking about a flat is unlikely to be referring to an apartment. If we add in the multiplicity of languages that the Bible has been translated into then the potential for diversity in understanding it is compounded.

A third aspect is that of technology. As new ideas become common so terminology evolves to describe them. Those men who originally committed Scripture to writing were doing so under the influence of the Holy Spirit but they were constrained by the vocabulary of their time. The ‘clay and iron’ mix in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue could well be describing reinforced concrete, but such a concept would not have been understood at that time. It is ironic – or perhaps an indication of God’s sense of humour – that the empire usually associated with that part of the statue is also the one accredited with the invention of cement.

In addition to the limits of vocabulary there is also the concept of ‘need to know’. What did Jesus do between the ages of 12 and 30? There were 12 apostles (14 if you count Matthias and Paul) but the Bible recounts the activities of only a few of them – what did the others do after the events recorded in Acts 2? These gaps in the records allow opportunities for speculation and for the development of traditions that may or may not have some foundation in actuality.

Allied with ‘need to know’ is ‘need to be told’ or ‘it goes without saying’. The Biblical accounts and apostolic letters were written with particular people in mind, people whose circumstances and customs were common knowledge and did not need to be spelt out. Without this common knowledge the context of what has been written is lost, with a consequent risk of misunderstanding the message.

Those of us who cannot read the Bible text in its original languages have to trust that the translators did their work diligently. Nevertheless, how can we have any confidence in the words that we read in our modern Bibles? Do we share the doubts of the character in the Gershwin brothers’ opera ‘Porgy and Bess’ who was sceptical about what he read in the Bible?^[1] The apostle Paul addressed this question when writing to his protege Timothy:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness 2 Timothy 3:16 [NIVUK]

Can we trust Paul’s opinion? Some people who heard Paul preach in Berea were sceptical about what he said so they searched the scriptures to verify Paul’s words.^[2] Are we sufficiently familiar with the scriptures to copy that example? Do we need to echo the psalmist’s prayer:

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Ps 119 v18 [NIVUK]

That prayer cannot be answered if our Bibles remain closed.

Resources:
[1] ‘Porgy and Bess’, George and Ira Gershwin, 1935
[2] Acts 17 v11

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during January 2023]

Once again it is time to bin the old calendar. Not long ago it was new and represented the hopes and fears of a year about to unfold. Now, those pictures that we admired during the past twelve months have had their time and will be replaced by new ones. The pages of the old calendar can invoke memories, both good and bad, successes, failures, lessons learnt, shared joys or pain endured – will we discard them as well?

Did the past year drag by slowly or do we share the sentiment expressed by Tevye, the Jewish milkman in the musical ‘Fiddler on the Roof’:

Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, swiftly fly the years,
One season following another, laden with happiness and tears.

The original story on which the musical is based was set in a village in Ukraine which, in 1905, was in an area under Russian domination. Now, nearly 120 years later, that area is once again under threat from Russian forces.

Tevye was about to lose his livelihood and his home. He would become a refugee yet he was still able to recognise that his situation contained both happiness and tears. What was it that sustained Tevye during this difficult period? He relied on his trust in God and his community’s traditions. As we look back on the past year do we too recognise both happiness and tears? New arrivals as well as departures, relaxation as well as stress, laughter as well as sorrow, income as well as expenditure?

The book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon, a man who was disillusioned by his successes in life; he had nothing further to look forward to.^[1] The book itself is often seen as an over-indulgence of hyperbole and cynical observations but much of what it contains can be thought-provoking. Solomon wrote “The end of a matter is better than its beginning”^[2] but do we agree? Some might argue that the best thing about 2022 is that it is now history. Perhaps a more positive response would be to replicate the example of the prophet Samuel at a time when his nation was being attacked:

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us. 1 Samuel 7 v12 [NIVUK]

Do you have a memento of God’s help during the past year?

We might not share all the details of Tevye’s beliefs but we too can trust in God and build on our collective experience of his faithfulness. Those who have gone before often leave valuable advice such as these lines from one of Johnson Oatman’s hymns:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

The start of a new year is not just retrospective; it is an opportunity to look forwards, to make changes, to dream up some resolutions which we might actually keep. However, the festivities that mark the arrival of the new year often mask an anxiety about what it will bring. We enter 2023 with a king on the British throne and a war raging in Europe. In similar circumstances in 1939 the then British king addressed the nation, quoting these words from Minnie Louise Haskins (1875-1957)

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

It is sound advice for us too.

References:
[1] Ecclesiastes 1 v12-14
[2] Ecclesiastes 7 v8

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during December 2022]

And so, Christmas is a wrap, as they say in the film industry. At the north pole the frenetic activity of the past few weeks has ceased. The elves have been shelved and the reindeer returned to their pastures in Lapland. Santa has resumed his retirement after a few days attempting to distribute happiness around the world. Even the disruptions to the postal services will, no doubt, ease just in time to deliver the bills.

Was Christmas all that you expected? Did those elves get it wrong again? Did you get humbugs when you wanted Mint Imperials? If you got something at Christmas that you didn’t expect then you are in good company – certain shepherds and a few wise men had the same experience. So did Herod and the chief priests but they were not so happy about it.

Was there peace on earth – if so, where? Was it a silent night in Kharkiv or Kherson? Did they know it was Christmas in Kabul or in Tehran? There may have been goodwill towards all men in Buenos Aires, but what about in Beijing, Pyongyang or Minsk, or even in royal David’s city?

In the ecclesiastical calendar the period of Advent is not just a prelude to Christmas; it should also remind us that Jesus promised to return.

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14 v2-3 [NIVUK]

Some people have tried to argue that this return may have already happened and we missed it. The investigative writer Luke recorded two occasions which describe an event that could not be mistaken:

At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.^[1]

Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.^[2]

That was some 2,000 years ago; it is a common belief that if it has not happened yet then it is unlikely to do so, but the counter argument is that we are now 2,000 years closer to the event. The apostle Peter wrote:

With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3 v8-9 [NKJV]

In 1758 Charles Wesley published a collection of hymns, including one that contains an appropriate reminder of that second aspect of Advent:

Lo! He comes with clouds descending, once for ev’ry sinner slain;
thousand, thousand saints attending swell the triumph of his train:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Christ reveals his endless reign.

The publication date for this reflection is 27th December. That means that there are only 363 shopping days until Christmas – do we anticipate a repeat of the same old routine or are we looking forward to a different form of celebration?

References:
[1] Luke 21 v27
[2] Acts 1 v11

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.