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  • Exodus on bringing about peace

    An image of a door opening as a metaphor for bringing peace as told in the book of Exodus.

    The book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible is a sobering look at the difficulty in bringing about peace. Starting with a new king, to heading into the wilderness, nothing is easy for these ancient people.

    And here we are over 2,000 years later still seeking peace. Maybe walking humbly alongside them in their struggles, we can see more clearly our own.

    What Exodus shows is needed to bring peace

    The Bible reminds us of this simple truth. What one sees and hears changes the possibility of peace. Whether ruler or minion, God or mortal. And Exodus, the first story in the Bible about empire, is a master class.

    There is a new king in Egypt as the book of Exodus opens. And the first thing he does is to tell the Egyptians to see.

    “Look, [says the king to the Egyptians], the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we.” Exodus 1:8

    And this is where the story begins. Not with the miracles or the plagues but with the simple choices we make about what we hear and see.

    Pharaoh tells the Egyptians to see a threat by focusing their sight on the Israelites’ growing numbers. And immediately the Egyptians “set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor.”

    There is fear and violence, not peace.

    Close your eyes and block your ears

    Bringing peace to Egypt will elude the pharaoh. Hope is lost. Fear and violence grow.

    But the Lord, hidden from sight, has heard and seen. And the Lord says to Moses,

    “The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.” Exodus 3:9

    As the story unfolds, you will see what happens when rulers do not rule wisely. Their eyes and ears blocked by the fear of losing power, or, trying to gain it. You will see how difficult it is for their subjects to see and hear for themselves.

    You will also see the Israelite people turn to an unseen power as they sink lower into powerlessness.

    For when you are powerless, miracles and signs that a force unseen is on your side corrects that imbalance of power.* It makes visible the power of the unseen for those who plug their ears and shut their eyes to reality.

    Miracles and signs are utilitarian, amazingly, in order that all God’s people are at the table. Pharaoh and slave.

    Bringing peace is a journey in Exodus

    I did not expect Exodus to so richly tell of bringing peace through the simple acts of seeing and hearing. Nor did I expect to see miracles in a new way. There is so much to experience here. But it needs to be an experience shared.

    Only when people with different world views sit down to speak of what we see and hear can peace come. So come, grab a group of friends to journey through this story of Exodus. You will travel a lot of ground, politically, personally and theologically. So, when you finish Chapter 15, rest for a while. As did the Israelites. For this is still the beginning for those ancients and we moderns. The road to peace is long.

    First though, remember, as the Israelites remembered, of what must happen to bring peace. To listen carefully to the voice of the Lord and do what is right in the Lord’s sight. “For I am the Lord who heals you.”

    In the last verse of the fifteenth chapter of Exodus, we are reminded of the universal desire for peace. We catch a glimpse of the garden in Eden.

    Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water. Exodus 15:27

    We too will catch glimpses of peace, even if briefly before journeying on, when we turn to look towards it together.

    Peace be with you.

    *A loving shout out to a faithful book group discussing Yangsze Choo’s book, The Fox Wife, and the author’s thoughts on writing it. Thank you all for helping me see.

    Postscript: Bringing hope for peace

    Check out More Perfect, a non-profit partnership formed as we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

    It may bring you hope. It did me. Here is their statement.

    “At a moment marked by dysfunction and division, More Perfect – a campaign to align America around a shared vision for democratic renewal – is our reminder that our finest moments come when we set big, bold, long-term goals that capture our imagination and then rally across our differences to achieve them.”

  • The Bible and the act of making: A cautionary tale

    A fresh baked loaf of bread representing the act of making.

    The Bible warns us of the power unleashed in the act of making. So powerful that the New Testament suggests we mortals use extreme caution, with a few exceptions. Like making bread to break together.

    The act of making leads to life

    Making is big in the Hebrew Bible. Of the simple acts most mentioned, it appears to have special status. And why not? It is one of God’s first actions in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, Genesis. The act of making leads to life.

    In fact, look at the stories about making in the life of Jesus and you will find simple truths. Here is what I found.

    Don’t assume you have it right

    In the only instance in the gospels where God speaks directly to the disciples, Peter speaks up.

    And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Matthew 17:4 English Standard Version (ESV)

    Whoa. God doesn’t even let him finish! From a cloud God interrupts, saying: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.”

    Then the disciples (Peter, James and John) fall on their faces in fear and Jesus comes closer. He touches them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” That’s the end of Peter’s grand plans. Indeed, they are never mentioned again.

    There is another gospel story where we humans get our making wrong.

    Then he [Jesus] entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there, and he said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” Luke 19:45 – 46

    This is a well known story where we usually focus on Jesus and his anger. It is out of character we like to say. Still, there is more for us to consider here. After all, it is our act of making that this rare display of Jesus’ anger is a response to.

    We have trouble getting it right on our own. But now, what about Jesus?

    Who’s right about what Jesus makes?

    Now this is where it gets really interesting. Because what Jesus makes depends on who you are talking to.

    If you ask the people following him, then he makes water into wine, makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. He makes people whole. He is also reported to have made mud. More on that later.

    However, if you ask the authorities, Jesus made himself the Son of God, equal to God, and a king. And if you ask Jesus, the only act of making he says he does is to make fishers of men.

    Just by focusing on the actions of the Bible, us simple folk can see the simple truths. Jesus’ actions are powerful because people saw him bringing life through his acts of making.

    The authorities saw Jesus as a threat. So they accuse him of making himself a person of political power and therefore to be feared. In fact, it is this accusation that leads to his murder.

    And Jesus? He hid himself when people wanted to make him a king. In his parables and his teachings, he turned to God as the maker.

    The Bible, humanity and the simple act of making

    The gospels seem to be telling us that making each other comfortable and fed is the power in making we get right.

    Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself. John 18:18

    This is why I love following the action words in the Bible. Otherwise I would totally have missed this wonderful story about keeping people warm. Not surprising, it is the slaves, the lowest rung of Roman society and the police, the agent of Jesus’ arrest, who make the fire. But what is surprising is the generosity of the Bible in telling this story.

    Bible stories raise up the lowly and despised. Of course in other places in the Bible this simple truth is spelled out. But here, a master storyteller gently puts it into time and space. It happens then and now if we take time to see.

    And then there is the making of a supper.

    And Levi made him a great feast in his own house. Luke 5:29 King James Version (KJV)

    In this simple act of humanity, Jesus comes to the table. In fact, Jesus himself is often the one suggesting a good meal. This is the act of making where mortals can throw caution to the wind, joyfully unleashing the power of life.

    I don’t believe the Bible is saying we limit ourselves to this talent for making life through nourishment and care. But I think it does say that when we go beyond that simple, lovely, powerful making, we must use caution. Turning first towards truth. And then being humble and giving credit where credit is due.

    The act of making mud in the Bible

    For me, the best story about making is about making mud.

    But they kept asking him [the beggar born blind], “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” John 9:10 – 11

    Notably, leading up to this healing Jesus’ disciples were questioning him about the source of this beggar’s blindness. So here is what I think. Jesus, hearing their doubts about God’s making a good world, made mud. Much like God taking the dust of the ground to form the first human.

    Jesus makes the mud, spreads it on the man’s eyes and after washing in the river, the man sees for the first time. Because of this action, the disciples also see that the true power of making comes from beyond humanity.

    Journeys worth taking have caution signs

    To be sure, I’m just dropping crumbs here. I’m hoping to inspire you to take your own look at the powerful act of making in the Bible. Its dangers and its joys. And of course my mantra: Gather friends of varying world views to tell your thoughts and to hear their’s.

    But be warned. If done truthfully this will not be an easy conversation. So don’t forget your super power and make bread to break together.

  • Governing the world

    A microscopic image of a Tardigrade, a microscopic animal, making up the world that we seek to govern.
    Credit: Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa, Corinna Schulze & Ricardo Neves / Nikon Small World.* Image from Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Ocean Find Your Blue website. This image of a marine tardigrade (or “water bear”), taken at 40x zoom, was named an Image of Distinction in the Nikon Small World 2013 photomicrography competition.

    There’s a lot of talk about governing the world. And what it takes to govern. And who should be doing it. So let’s go back to the beginning and explore a primer on sovereignty, the Bible. In particular the Books of Samuel where as the great Hebrew Bible translator, Robert Alter, says,

    “…the anonymous Hebrew writer [of the Samuel books], drawing on what he knew or thought he knew of the portentous historical events, has created this most searching story of men and women in the rapid and dangerous current of history that still speaks to us, three thousand years later.” p. 176 The Hebrew Bible, Vol. 2

    “All together now”

    Recognize the fella in the photo above? I didn’t but lots of people do. It is an extraordinary animal, the Tardigrade, because of its ability to survive in extreme environments. Most no bigger than one millimeter long, living in our waters in almost every habitat on earth.

    But why lead with a photo of a Tardigrade if talking about governing the world? Because we are silly, and need reminding of what really the world is.

    We are silly to think that imaginary lines, the borders between countries, these human-made squiggles, are the world. And that because we thought them up we can redraw, undraw them and call that “governing the world.” Silly.

    The world is everything in it. Somehow working together, starting with the very, very small. From the Tardigrade to the volcano. From the earth to the stars we see in the sky. And beyond.

    We moderns look ever deeper with our microscopes and telescopes seeing whole new worlds, and so all the more humbled by the wondrous workings of the universe. Or at least we should be humbled.

    But let’s get back to our little blue planet.

    Where do we start?

    The story in the First and Second Books of Samuel takes a fabulous romp through the ups and downs of governing. There’s the weak priest Eli with corrupt sons, gods fighting in the secrecy of darkness, Samuel the king maker, and of course David. Flawed and larger than life, slaying the giant Goliath, the cat and mouse chase with King Saul, the deep love of Saul’s son Jonathan, a dancing David and pissed off wife Micah. Donkeys, oxen, a cow. And then Bathsheba, lots of battles, strategies, avenges and alliances. Ending with King David’s reckoning with God. All that and more in less than 60 pages.

    And it all begins with a woman. A woman and a loving husband unable to have a child together. The woman is Hannah. Her husband’s name is Elkanah.

    No amount of force, strength or power will bring them a child. We cannot say, “I want a child” and know a child will be given to us. Hannah knew this just as we do.

    The Bible as a primer on governing

    To govern, according to Merriam-Webster, is “to exercise continuous sovereign authority over.” This we do not have over life. So Hannah prays. Her prayer is not about magical thinking. It is about knowing, because she is living it, that we do not govern life.

    Following the birth of their son Samuel, Hannah again prays. In this prayer she is no longer asking but telling. She knows that the real world is upside down from what she is told is reality. She names that upside down-ness in her prayer, most succinctly said in verse 2:9 in 1 Samuel:

    “…for not by might does one prevail.”

    So, this story of Samuel’s begins at the beginning of ordinary lives where it is all too obvious that authority does not come by power over another. With that truth established, the books go on from there, “searching” as Alter says.

    Searching not by means of a rule book, but instead, a storyteller with a carpetbag that spills from it the most marvelous characters in the most fabulous circumstances. All for the sake of looking for someone to govern wisely.

    Talk on governing the world

    Strength, force, power. Leaders often say these are needed to govern.Three thousand years ago as now. Here is Stephen Miller, a policy adviser to the United States President recently talking to Jake Tapper of CNN about governing.

    “We live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world that have existed since the beginning of time.”

    Poppycock. We have the two books of Samuel in front of us to explore together what the real world is and what happens when leaders think they have authority over it. When they are not humble in the face of reality.

    I would love to have Jake and Stephen and you and I sit down and read these books of the Bible together. But short of that, go and have a Samuel Night with your friends. Let the books of Samuel speak to you. I recommend serving Humble Pie to set the right mood.

    Governing the real world

    Before sitting down to consider the real forces that make this world thrive, which of course is the purpose of all governing, watch this short video of life in a drop of water. (Sorry, no Tardigrades but there is another tiny invertebrate who shows up – Rotofers.)

    The Bible often sets up a teaching moment by placing the story in a real life setting. For this discussion of governing the world, what better place for us moderns than dropping into the world of water through a microscope. Immerse yourselves. This is where life on earth begins.

    Reading further

    For all you parents of young children out there, consider a recent picture book about Tardigrades, The Three Little Tardigrades. And for adults – I just started reading Christopher Brown’s new book, A Natural History of Empty Lots. So very pertinent to this discussion and so delightful to read.

  • The Bible from the barber’s chair

    A close-up of hair styling to reflect the theme of the Bible in the work of the barber and stylist.

    The Bible from the barber’s chair. Sitting in the barber’s chair ministered to by a barber. Is there a parable here? Have you ever considered your hair stylist holy?

    It certainly had never occurred to me. But it did this past week after my last visit when my stylist and I got into a discussion about reading the Bible. It started with a discussion about dogs misbehaving.

    The Bible rooted in everyday things

    We often forget of the rootedness of the Bible. Consider this from Isaiah 10:28.

    He [God] has gone up from Samaria;
         he has come to Aiath;
    he has passed through Migron;
        at Michmash he stores his
              baggage;

    God taking baggage on a trip? Why? Because, I think, that by giving us that detail, we can place ourselves with God on a long journey. Not unlike a journey we might take. God, and all the ways to address that which is beyond our understanding, is of this world. Our world of ordinary things, including getting our hair cut and lamenting misbehaving dogs.

    Also and maybe even more important, not only does this detail place God in our world but it also places our ordinary lives in God’s world of the preciousness of life. An ordinary hair cut can take on something more.

    Coming to the barber’s chair

    When I sit down in that barber’s chair, I’m filled with hope. Hope that the stylist will change me from ordinary to stunning. That somehow my nose will look smaller, my hair thicker. Then she is done with her magic and I do feel better and look my best with amazing hair, but stunning? Nope. If I’m honest, when she hands me the mirror, I see something short of what I hoped for when I sat down. Is this not similar to what we expect from life?

    And the stylist? They know from the start that the person heading for their chair is ordinary. Nothing is perfect about this person. But that doesn’t stop them from offering you their chair and getting to work with the reality before them. Finding the best in what they are given to work with and ending by placing a mirror into the hands of the person to check back in with reality. “See for yourself what wonder happened here!” Is this not what we really, deep down hope for?

    And that is not all the barber does. They listen. For that time they have you in their chair, they are all yours. Is this not a holy person? Is this not a parable of our lives of hope and love and reality?

    The Bible from the barber’s chair

    Did you know before reading this that the Bible has God storing baggage? If you did, would it mean anything to you but how odd. How irreverent. How naive.

    You may have only heard of the laws, judgements and sins of the Bible. But this is not the Bible from the barber’s chair.

    That Bible places us in the real world, with real people, none perfect in their loving. Less than perfect writing about less than perfect people. All that beside our desire to catch a glimmer of what is beyond us.

    It is not woo-woo stuff. It is hard work in reality stuff. What better way for Isaiah to remind us that what God does is what we do, what we do is what God does, than to have God lug baggage around? Making the idea come down to earth and our messy, very real lives. I’ll never look at my luggage the same way again. Or my stylist.

    Have a wonderful holiday season that makes space for all of life.

  • Hearing the Bible by the book

    An image of a campfire against a black background, the fantasy setting for hearing a book of the Bible.
    A campfire on the Oregon coast

    We all have our fantasies. Here is one of mine. There is a campfire and I’m sitting around it with friends. It’s dark and quiet except for a single voice reading aloud to us. We are hearing read a book from the Bible.

    Why a book of the Bible

    Why not chapter and verse? Because this night is different. Usually we only get a nibble when the Bible is spoken to us. Maybe a few chapters supporting a sermon, a verse to provide comfort, or a few verses supporting a belief. This seems to feed us so we don’t ask for more.

    But maybe we don’t ask for more not because we are full, but because the Bible is too full. Full of things we don’t know or care to know. Places no longer on the map, ancient customs, foreign histories and unpronounceable names. We want to just cut to the chase and are grateful to the preachers and scholars who filter out “the unnecessary.”

    But what are we losing when we only nibble?

    Much. Ponder for a few minutes snacking versus sitting down to a Thanksgiving dinner. A snack is straightforward. One eater and a thing to eat. It is not about bounty. Neither is the time given to it bountiful. Think power bar.

    Then think of the mess of a Thanksgiving dinner. From the messy relationships around the table to the mess to clean up afterwards. Daunting, and yet how glorious!

    Maybe we nibble with our verses and chapters because a whole book of the Bible is too bountiful for us. A feast we are not prepared to attend.

    Snacking is economics. Feasting is life. So too with nibbling versus feasting on the Bible.

    Hearing the Bible alongside others

    So what are the reasons for wanting the messy mingling of people when hearing a book of the Bible?

    To begin with, a people wrote the books of the Bible. It is a record of one family, then a tribe, and finally a nation, sovereign and then dispersed. Struggling over several thousand years to be a people of God. The Hebrews.

    Another reason in gathering to read the Bible, these stories of the Hebrew people, is the improbability of it spreading to other peoples far and wide. We have this ancient collection of books written down two thousand years ago, not sitting encased in a museum but on the shelves in our homes. How is that possible? And why not celebrate this improbability by reading it aloud together.

    But the best reason. We are still struggling to be a people. The Bible speaks of war, sacrifice, laws, peace and blessings. These we still have with us. So let’s hear it together.

    What’s with the campfire

    You don’t often here the word “sensual” in the same breath as a Bible reading but why not? Sometimes when I’m reading the Bible, the language and the image compel me to read aloud, even if to myself. It’s language and message so fill the senses.

    Whether it is the image of God walking in the garden of Eden, “at the time of the evening breeze,”

    or the Beloved in Song of Songs asking their Lover to “sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.”

    Or this tender image of Jesus in Mark. “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.”

    Or this stark image of us at our worst in the book of Judges. “Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into Eglon’s belly; the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly, and the dirt came out.”

    I want darkness around this small, vulnerable group of people. Clothing us in mystery as is only fitting. The fire crackling and dancing with its ethereal light at the center. Percussion and stage to the solo voice carried to each of us as we sit close together hearing a book of the Bible. Sensual.

    Why stop now

    Okay, so we may be open to hearing a whole book of the Bible but what about hearing the whole Bible. In under three hours. Well now, that is a fantasy. In the real world it would take at least 70 hours to read aloud.

    So how is it possible to hear the whole Bible in under three hours without resorting to chapter and verse? Or someone else’s summary of key points. Easier than you might think with a little creative license.

    Tucked in amongst the hefty and standard length books like Exodus, Isaiah and Matthew there are a few small books. Smaller than the typical Biblical book, but no less complete, complex and compelling.

    By selecting just the creation stories from Genesis and then smaller books from throughout the Bible you could, in less then three hours, get a good, graspable, first hand feel of what the Bible is about.

    Hebrew Bible
    Genesis 1 – 210 min*Creation myth
    Ruth15 min*Literature
    Habakkak10 min*Prophetic
    New Testament
    Mark85 min*Narrative
    Philemon5 min*Letter
    Total Time125 minutes*

    *Approximate times only

    Let’s go feasting

    Think about making real this fantasy. Consider using it to bring people together who read the Bible very differently. Letting the words flow over, under and around all differences in beliefs. Not to erase or dilute this rich diversity but to join it together for the work ahead of us.

    Rolling up our sleeves to do the messy work of the world.

    Check out this blog on the book of Judges. There are some tips on overcoming the difficulties in reading the Bible.

  • Truth in scientific and biblical stories

    A stack of books, both biblical and scientific to illustrate the need to find the truths held in both.

    We’re having a difficult time with truth. Particularly truth as told in scientific or biblical stories.

    Philip Pullman, a master storyteller, in an essay entitled,The Origin of the Universe,* contrasts God stories from the stories of science. He says that God stories tell you what to believe. Whereas science stories ask you what do you see.

    Pullman goes on to say that scientific stories “depend on our contribution, on our making the effort to understand and concur.” And that,”It’s only through honesty and courage that science can work at all.”

    Our world will blossom when we see that this call for honesty, effort and courage, this demand to look and see the truth, applies equally to our engagement with biblical stories as with the scientific.

    Looking for truth

    Truth is such a beautiful word. To say, and to seek. But especially to see because we do have to see it to believe it. And that can be difficult.

    We may have lenses clouding our ability to see it. We may be using the wrong tools in our search. Analyzing rather than weaving for example.

    “Thus the art of weaving, of tying together, will soon replace the disjunctive and divisive methods of analysis.” Michel Serres

    Weaving scientific and biblical stories to seek the truth. You may hold the warp and I might hold the weft. Apart from each other the single threads are limp, barely visible, and useless.

    But if you come towards me and join your thread with mine, these threads weave together to become cloth. Made by two threads at 90 degrees to each other. Stronger for that.

    Finding truth in scientific stories

    Science has a distinct advantage over biblical in seeing truth. It has terrific tools that keep getting better and better, helping science research to see further and deeper into the physical stuff of life. But there is a downside to this in seeking truth.

    As scientific stories go further and deeper, using bigger and ever more expensive tools, you and I, and most of humanity, are sidelined. Because you and I can no longer see ourselves the truth, revealed by instruments we cannot possess.

    As a consequence, what we typically think of as applying only to biblical stories, believing the stories of science require more and more faith on our part. Faith that the truth as revealed by science is true.

    It also means that as the tools get better, the scientific stories change. What was true today may not be true in the future. This is not a problem for biblical stories.

    Finding truth in biblical stories

    Bringing your calculator, your calendar, your telescope will not help you find biblical truths. If you’re measuring time or space in the Bible, you’re off track. Those are tools finding scientific truths.

    Biblical stories reveal truths using only one instrument – our bodies in action. Our eyes for seeing, our ears for hearing, our lips for speaking and telling, our hands for giving and healing, our feet for going and turning, and our whole being for knowing and making. Only we can breath life into biblical truths.

    Unlike scientific truths awaiting discovery through observation and documentation, biblical truths are awaiting our actions to reveal them. There are no metrics or definitive photographic images in biblical truths. This is no fancy equipment. No advanced degree necessary. There is only the grand experiment of the everyday life of a human being. You and me.

    The weaving of scientific and biblical truth

    So there is much that separates scientific from biblical stories. But while what these stories bring to the cloth are at 90 degrees to each other, they have as their purpose the same thing. To embrace life. Scientific truths in understanding life, biblical truths in bringing life.

    Even so, let us not leave this discussion in black and white. Life is more complicated than that. As biblical stories can help us understand life, science can help us engage. Pullman’s dichotomy of science and god stories – flip it. Science stories tell you what to believe and biblical stories ask you what do you see. Is it two sides of the same cloth? Hence the “art of weaving.” A foundation of life proven true by scientific and biblical stories.

    So let’s weave our world together using truth found in scientific and biblical stories. Taking our desire for understanding, and engagement, to weave ourselves a strong fabric that supports life.

    A close up of a basket weave to illustrate the use of weaving in finding truth in scientific and biblical stories.

    ____________

    *First appeared in Exon, the Exeter College Magazine college magazine in 2006 and now in the book, Daemon Voices, a collection of Philip Pullman’s essays.