Tiger Woods: Caring for him as a person, not as a brand...

Read the article about Tiger Woods written by Gaye Jones on her blog.  What an eye opener, reminding us of how we are called to repond as Christians, rather than as media hungry consumers.

Bible Study - Micah 5:1-6 - 11-4-2009

We had a wonderful discussion this morning of Micah 5:1-6.  This is a passage cited in Matthew 2:6, naming Jesus as the one who fulfilled the prophecy.  Note, however, that Jesus did not fulfill the prophecy in the manner expected by the whole passage.  Micah writes of one who will be a mighty king over Israel who will be a shepherd for Israel and conquer those who would destroy Israel, specifically the Assyrians.  He, with other rulers of Israel will rule the Assyrians with the sword (Micah 5:5b-6).

Verse four and the first half of verse 5, however, states that this great king shall be "the one of peace":

(4)And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth;
(5)and he shall be the one of peace.

Obviously, Jesus did not fulfill the part of the prophecy stating that he would rule the Assyrians with the sword, and many feel he didn't fulfill the part of the prophecy written above.  As Christians, we believe what the earliest followers of Jesus believed, that he is the one spoken of in the prophecy and that he has and will be the one of peace.  The final consummation of that peace has not yet occurred, but his reign has begun.

Jesus preached and lived peace.  He was not a military ruler who conquered other nations.  Rather, he gave up his life, offering us grace and forgiveness.  By his life, teaching, death, and resurrection, Jesus was and is "the one of peace", teaching his disciples to bless those who curse them and not return evil for evil, offering grace and forgiveness.

As we discussed Micah, we turned to the cycle of violence throughout the Bible and throughout human history.  A nation or people (individuals, groups, etc.) is oppressed or conquered by others.  A remnant remains.  That remnant seeks justice or vengeance upon their former oppressors.

How can we end the cycle of violence?  Grace and Forgiveness.

Bible Study - Micah 3:5-12 - 10-7-2009

In Micah 3:5-12, the prophet continues his indictment against the leaders of Israel, specifically against the corrupt prophets of Israel who gave prophecies of blessing to those who paid well and prophecies of doom to those who could not pay.  Additionally, the leaders gave judgment for a bribe and the priests taught only for money.  Again, we find Micah preaching against injustice, corruption, wicked rulers oppressing the poor, etc.

In our discussion this morning, we turned first to the news media and press, noting that with President Obama's trip to Copenhagen to support Chicago's bid for the Olympics, we heard a lot of talk about whether or not this was a good political strategy for him, but we didn't hear much talk about whether or not it was a good thing to do.  The reporting seemed to be about political posturing and folks angling situations for their own good.  We felt this reporting was lacking and that it somehow echoed the problems Micah was addressing.

Corruption of leaders has been with us for a long time:  in Micah's time, in Jesus' time, right now, and every time in between.  Looking with some charity, we noted that many corrupt leaders might at least be starting from a place of good.  By wanting to serve, by wanting to make positive changes in the world, leaders may end up doing bad things in order to try to bring about positive change. 

Bible Study (9-30-2009) - Micah 3:1-4

These four verses are part of Micah's rebuke of Judah's leaders, their injustice, cruelty, and monstrous behavior.  Verses 2-3 could be largely metaphor (tearing flesh off bones), and these verses could also be pointing to some of the cult practices* under King Ahaz of Judah (2 Kings 16:1-4).  In any case, Micah promises that God's judgment will come upon those wicked rulers; "they will cry to the Lord, [and] he will not answer them."

* As an interesting side note, some of the cult practices of Ahaz may have been sacrificing humans to the god Molech (2 Kings 23:10).  This was done in the valley of Hennom, just outside Jerusalem  In Hebrew the valley of Hennom, "Ge-Hennom" is the name from which "Gehanna" comes, translated as "hell" in the NRSV (Mark 9:42-28).

Our discussion began with wondering how people could do such horrible things to each other as described in Micah 3:3.  We remembered then, how often such atrocities still occur (the Holocaust, the Spanish Inquisition, genocides in the Sudan, Cambodia, etc.).  We further thought about practices by some in authority which may metaphorically strip the flesh off people's bones (unjust laws, oppressive governments, even individuals who will lie, cheat, and steal to get their way).

What are we to do in the face of such atrocities?

Bible Study - Micah 2:8-13 - 9-23-2009

In today's study of Micah 2:8-13, we found Micah continuing his indictment of the people of Israel.  In the previous section, Micah had denounced the social evils and injustices done, and this leads Micah to discuss some of the effects of those injustices. 
The women were driven out of the homes, and God's glory was taken away from the young children. (2:9)
The people still don't want to hear his message, and he tells them the kind of preaching to which they would listen - "I will preach to you of wine and strong drink" (2:11)
Chapter 2 ends with a promise of God's restoration of the people, that God will lead them like a shepherd (2:12-13)

Our discussion began with a question:  "What are some of the false prophets of today?"  Some answers given were:  Television stations and programming, beer commercials, music, movies.  People often hear the messages given by these avenues, and they take the messages or stories as good ways to live.
Younger impressionable people, especially, may see the stories and images of TV, movies, commercials, etc., and take those messages as good ways to live or believe those presentations are the way the world is.

Is Disrespect Now Praised in Our Society?

What follows is a letter I wrote to National Public Radio regarding a story they aired on on September 11, 2009. The story was called "The Economics of Misbehaving in School." You can hear the story at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112739889&ft=1&f=94427042

Dear NPR & the Planet Money Team.

I was both shocked and in no way surprised when, during the Plant Money story, “The Economics of Misbehaving in School”, I heard a student being praised as “efficient” for being disrespectful to his school principal. He interrupted her presentation, asking when it would be over, and we, the listening audience, were told that from an economist’s point of view, his behavior was golden. He “efficiently” told the other students that he was “brave” and a “risk taker”.

I wonder why Senator Wilson was not given such praise for his “You lie!” comment to president Obama. Rather than being disrespectful, was he not merely telling folks efficiently where he stood on the issue of health care and his trust of the president? Planet Money should applaud him for his brave, risk-taking efficiency. Perhaps he should be given an apology by NPR for any negative comments made about his outburst. After all, he was practicing golden economics, or at least he would have been if people cared as little about his disrespect as you did about the young high school student’s.

Letting go of anger...

As I listen to the news during the day, I find my anger at various companies, institutions, and people continually coming to the surface. There is, after all, a lot about which to be angry. The trouble is, such anger has never proved helpful for me.
Even when such anger is justified, being angry or seeking retribution will not reverse history, nor will it help bring about a change to the problem which caused my anger. Problems in our world will continue. People (including me) will continue to make decisions with which we disagree. People will continue being hurtful (intentionally or unintentionally). None of us know what will be the outcome of this life, nor of those who cause people harm (including ourselves).
Growing angry over harm in this world and then acting or speaking out of that anger will only add more hurt to the world. The only helpful course is to look with charity upon those who have caused hurt, those who have to make difficult decisions, and upon those who are most immediately affected by those harmful acts or difficult decisions, to let go of our anger and fear, and to seek peace within ourselves before we seek to understand those around us. Only when we are at peace and looking on others with charity are we able to provide constructive responses to our world.

Faith Without Works?

I’ve been reading James lately for a couple of Bible studies I’m leading, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what he says in his letter, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17) Non-Christians realize this truth when they see some Christians saying one thing and doing another. Christians are often thought of as hypocrites for this very reason. Perhaps more sinister, however, is the problem we run into when we have faith, pray on Sunday or at certain times of the day, but then spend most of our days unconscious of our faith. We have faith, but we may lack an ever-present awareness of our faith so that our faith does not influence our daily actions. I think James’ words again hold true, that faith which doesn’t influence our daily actions and decisions is also a dead faith. Consider the life of your faith. Is your faith alive and well, or is it possibly on life support? Does your faith influence your life at school, at home, with your friends? If not, then be bold with your faith. Get it off life support and allow it to breathe life into you. Live your faith in action, hour by hour, minute by minute. Seek guidance from Jesus, and let his love show through you.