June 7, 2020, Proverbs 1 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflections

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VIII.
Now that we’ve looked at this chapter in a couple of different ways, I have a question for today.

What knowledge and wisdom is included in what the Proverbist wants us to hear?

Since this is found in the Bible, maybe we are to think this is to be primarily about spiritual wisdom? Or, are we to expect theological truths?

I took some time and looked at a number of English translations of this chapter to see what words were used for the “wisdom” the writer had in mind. Below is what the writer calls us to seek –

discipline – discernment – equity
fairness – guidance – insight
instruction – integrity – judgment
justice – knowledge – law
learning – maturity – moral instruction
perception – prudence – right
righteousness – shrewdness – skill
skillful living – teaching – understanding
wisdom – wise counsels – wise dealing

That covers a lot of territory. In fact I suspect you could reasonably say the Proverbist wants us to know his instruction pertains to every aspect of our lives.

IX.
In closing for this week, I want to call your attention to the first seven verses of the chapter as they are found The Message translation –

These are the wise sayings of Solomon,
David’s son, Israel’s king—
Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right,
to understand what life means and where it’s going;
A manual for living,
for learning what’s right and just and fair;
To teach the inexperienced the ropes
and give our young people a grasp on reality.
There’s something here also for seasoned men and women,
still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—
Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,
the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.

Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God;
only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

June 7, 2020, Proverbs 1 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflections

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IV.
During our last time together we worked on getting an overview of the first chapter of Proverbs and began to think about one of the essential themes in Proverbs – Wisdom.

Today I want us to zero in on one phrase and see how we might “unpack” it. At Proverbs 1:7a, we read –

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

That is one of the favorite “memory” verses in many children’s Sunday School classes and is often encountered in adult discipleship groups.

Is its meaning self-evident? Does everyone who hears it, immediately recognize it as truth? Maybe, maybe not.

V.
I suspect some folks we encounter will think that the task of gaining knowledge (or call it understanding or wisdom) does not begin by involving God in the quest. In fact, they might say the exact opposite.

Maybe when they (whoever “they” are) picture people who seek knowledge, the “believer,” the God-fearing Christians they have encountered are the last folk that come to mind. Perhaps the church-goers they know of, already have their minds settled on all truth, any talk of scientific reasoning leaves them with a frown on their faces, they aren’t going to entertain any new ideas and are very comfortable with their tightly held opinions.

Maybe you know a few church-goers who fit that description.

Is that what we are to take from this proposition?

VI.
What about “fear of the Lord”?

What does that look like as the beginning of a journey?

Maybe some of those same folks we mentioned earlier have heard enough talk of hell-fire and of a God who condemns people to eternal punishment, that they want no part of such a God or a quest for knowledge or wisdom in that God’s company.

But wait. Maybe the “fear” mentioned here is not the “scared to within an inch of your life kind” but means something along the lines of awe. Folks often stand in awe of the beauty of nature, so maybe to be awestruck when one thinks of God is a natural thing and helps one to seek knowledge and wisdom from a place of humility.

Does that make sense?

VII.
I don’t have “the” answer for these questions, but today, I did have a thought.

In the Gospels we hear Jesus talking about the Kingdom of God often.

He even says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God …”

So he thinks whatever journey you are on, begins by looking for God’s Kingdom?

And then in what we call the Lord’s prayer, we hear him say,

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven….

He mentioned Kingdom again. And the starting place of the prayer is showing respect (awe?) to the God he calls Father.

Do you think that gives us any help in “unpacking” what it might mean when we encounter a phrase like,

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

We’ll talk more later.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

June 7, 2020, Proverbs 1 – ISSL Reflections

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I.
Beginning this week and for the following three weeks we will be reading passages from the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Scripture.

This week we start by reading the first chapter of the book. Many see this first chapter (and most especially the first seven verses) as an introduction to the entire book.

As we begin I am going to break apart these 33 verses into three sections. First, verses 1 – 7 which set the stage for how wisdom in some of its aspects can be considered and the value of such wisdom. Second, verses 8 – 19 which instruct a “child” to consider the instruction and teaching offered by their father and mother. And, third, verses 20 – 33, which personify Wisdom as something of a “street preacher” standing on a busy corner crying out to be heard over the crowd.

I invite you to still yourself for a moment or two and then to slowly read these verses and pay attention to how Wisdom calls to you.

II.
Proverbs 1 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Proverbs 1:1-7

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

For learning about wisdom and instruction,
for understanding words of insight,

for gaining instruction in wise dealing,
righteousness, justice, and equity;

to teach shrewdness to the simple,
knowledge and prudence to the young—

let the wise also hear and gain in learning,
and the discerning acquire skill,

to understand a proverb and a figure,
the words of the wise and their riddles.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:8-19

Hear, my child, your father’s instruction,
and do not reject your mother’s teaching;

for they are a fair garland for your head,
and pendants for your neck.

My child, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.

If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us wantonly ambush the innocent;

like Sheol let us swallow them alive
and whole, like those who go down to the Pit.

We shall find all kinds of costly things;
we shall fill our houses with booty.

Throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—

my child, do not walk in their way,
keep your foot from their paths;

for their feet run to evil,
and they hurry to shed blood.

For in vain is the net baited
while the bird is looking on;

yet they lie in wait—to kill themselves!
and set an ambush—for their own lives!

Such is the end of all who are greedy for gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.

Proverbs 1:20-33

Wisdom cries out in the street;
in the squares she raises her voice.

At the busiest corner she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?

Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.

Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,

and because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,

I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,

when panic strikes you like a storm,
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.

Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.

Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,

would have none of my counsel,
and despised all my reproof,

therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way
and be sated with their own devices.

For waywardness kills the simple,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;

but those who listen to me will be secure
and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.”

III.
How is wisdom described in this passage? What constitutes Wisdom? By how many different names or aspects is Wisdom referenced?

One section of the chapter speaks in the voice of a father and mother offering instruction for their child. Who has offered you Wisdom, instruction and teaching? Probably others in addition to a father or mother? Who has been your instructor and mentor? Who do you now trust to mentor you?

And what about this description of Wisdom crying out on the street corner? What do you make of that? Is this the proper place for Wisdom to offer advice? Does Wisdom get a hearing in such places?

Mull over the passage a while, turn over these questions in your mind and spirit and we’ll get back together later.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

May 31, 2020, Hosea 11 & 12 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflections

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You can find this week’s Scripture passage at –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hosea+11%2C+12&version=NRSV

VII.
So what have you noticed after spending time with this passage from Hosea?

Read through the passage again and if you made some notes regarding the four things I encouraged you to pay attention for, read over those.

From your readings of the passage what do you think God spent most effort with?

Maybe another way of asking that is, what outcome for the people did God desire and how did he seek to bring about that outcome?

VIII.
How did the people spend most of their time and effort?

Were they responding to God’s actions or was there something else motivating them?

Did you see any way or ways the people mentioned in the passage intentionally sought out God? If so, how?

IX.
What do you see as God’s overarching intention for the people?

Between you and me, it seems Hosea describes God as again and again seeking the people despite people’s failure to see God moving toward them.

Does that ring true for you?

Do you find God that way in your experience?

I fear that while some experience God that way, others do not. I wonder what might be our role in this drama? How do we cooperate with God’s movement in love toward people?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

May 31, 2020, Hosea 11 & 12 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflections

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You can find this week’s Scripture passage at –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hosea+11%2C+12&version=NRSV

IV.
Let’s take time today and tomorrow to read through this passage a couple of times and I’ll suggest four things for you to look for. It would be good to make some notes as you read the Scripture. Maybe you want to make four columns on a sheet of paper or maybe it works better for you to divide the sheet into four boxes and make notes. Others of you might be accustomed to making such notes using different colored pens or pencils or highlighters.

V.
First, pay attention to how God seeks to bring redemption to the people.

Second, notice what the people do to move towards God’s redemptive actions.

Third, notice the ways in which the people are moving away from God’s efforts at redemption.

Fourth, what do see as God’s response to their moving away from his coming to them in redemptive love?

VI.
Let’s spend some time looking through those lenses at this passage.

What do you notice?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Dues ibi est}

May 31, 2020, Hosea 11 & 12 – ISSL Reflections

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I.
Does two chapters seem like a bit too much for this week? I will admit, when I first paid attention to this week’s reading I wondered if we should cut it down some. But the more I read it over, the more it seemed best to put the entire two chapters before us.

Let’s start our reflection by reading over the words from Hosea a couple of times. If it seems to go in somewhat of a circle at times, just let that be; we all, at times, circle around a point or two we want to make.

II.
Hosea 11 (New Revised Standard Version)

When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.

The more I called them,
the more they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
and offering incense to idols.

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them up in my arms;
but they did not know that I healed them.

I led them with cords of human kindness,
with bands of love.
I was to them like those
who lift infants to their cheeks.
I bent down to them and fed them.

They shall return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.

The sword rages in their cities,
it consumes their oracle-priests,
and devours because of their schemes.

My people are bent on turning away from me.
To the Most High they call,
but he does not raise them up at all.

How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.

I will not execute my fierce anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and no mortal,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.

They shall go after the Lord,
who roars like a lion;
when he roars,
his children shall come trembling from the west.

They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,
and like doves from the land of Assyria;
and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.

Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
and the house of Israel with deceit;
but Judah still walks with God,
and is faithful to the Holy One.

Hosea 12 (New Revised Standard Version)

Ephraim herds the wind,
and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
they make a treaty with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.

The Lord has an indictment against Judah,
and will punish Jacob according to his ways,
and repay him according to his deeds.

In the womb he tried to supplant his brother,
and in his manhood he strove with God.

He strove with the angel and prevailed,
he wept and sought his favor;
he met him at Bethel,
and there he spoke with him.

The Lord the God of hosts,
the Lord is his name!

But as for you, return to your God,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.

A trader, in whose hands are false balances,
he loves to oppress.

Ephraim has said, “Ah, I am rich,
I have gained wealth for myself;
in all of my gain
no offense has been found in me
that would be sin.”

I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the days of the appointed festival.

I spoke to the prophets;
it was I who multiplied visions,
and through the prophets I will bring destruction.

In Gilead there is iniquity,
they shall surely come to nothing.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
so their altars shall be like stone heaps
on the furrows of the field.

Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
there Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he guarded sheep.

By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was guarded.

Ephraim has given bitter offense,
so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him
and pay him back for his insults.

III.
Let’s first notice this is something of a history lesson for Hosea’s hearers.

He doesn’t give us dates but he mentions events and places of significance for the people.

Why?

What would recalling the past do for these folk? Or for that matter, what might recalling the past do for us?

Maybe it depends on how and why they/we recall it?

I have been in groups where one of the first things we did was share our “spiritual autobiographies.” Is that something Hosea wants the people to consider? He puts before them the spiritual history of their nation. It’s ups and downs, it’s successes and failures.

Take some time to notice the history Hosea recounts.

What draws your attention? Are there constants in this history lesson? What stands out to you as the main point of Hosea’s history lesson? Maybe two or even three overarching things to hold in mind?

We’ll talk more later.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

May 24, 2020, Jeremiah 22:1-10 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflections

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You can find this week’s Scripture here –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+22%3A1-10&version=NRSV

VII.
What have you heard from Jeremiah this week?

Did you hear his call to justice and righteousness?

Did you hear who he calls the King and Kingdom to act with justice and righteousness toward?

Do you feel called to live as a citizen of such a Kingdom?

Or maybe you look for that kind of Kingdom to dwell in? If so, how do you journey toward it and recognize it?

VIII.
Or maybe what captures your attention is Jermeiah’s delivery of words of judgement.

He sees what can be a Kingdom of justice and righteousness, but tells those who listen that it can become a place of desolation, a desert, cut down and uninhabited.

And if that is not enough, he sees people, “… who go away … [and] shall return no more to see their native land” (Jeremiah 22:10).

IX.
Do you have a vision of that native land? A land where justice and righteousness abide? Or do you count yourself among those Jeremiah counsels us to weep for?

Yet, Jeremiah gives us hope for even in speaking of judgement, he tells us desolation comes, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.” (Jeremiah 22:9)

WIth those words, Jeremiah points the way for us to move away from desolation. He points us toward serving the God who is the God of justice and righteousness and life and not a god of death and destruction.

Again and again Scripture reminds us we have a choice to make. Are we to seek the Kingdom of God Jesus spoke of, or another?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

May 24, 2020, Jeremiah 22:1-10 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflections

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You can this week’s Scripture here –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+22%3A1-10&version=NRSV

IV.
A couple of things particularly caught my attention this week.

In last week’s reading Jeremiah told the King “… deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed…” (Jeremiah 21:12). This week we hear him speaking not just to the King –

Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. (Jeremiah 22:1-2)

He calls “… the King … your servants, and your people who enter these gates” to pay attention to how they live out the call to justice.

And speaking of that call to justice and righteousness, last week we heard mentioned those who are robbed and this week we hear –

Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. (Jeremiah 22:3)

V.
Notice he calls attention to “the alien, the orphan, and the widow.”

Does that sound familiar? If you did a search in Scripture for where those three are mentioned together you would find our attention called to them in several of the prophets, in Deuteronomy and in Psalms.

Who are they? Certainly we take this to mean literally The Lord calls for the protection of anyone who falls into one or another of those groups.

But might it be taken even more broadly than that?

A couple of days ago as I was reading the notes in The New English Translation, I came across this –

These were classes of people who had no one to look out for their rights. The laws of Israel, however, were careful to see that their rights were guarded (cf. Deut 10:18) and that provision was made for meeting their needs (cf. Deut 24:19-21). The Lord promised to protect them (cf. Psalms 146:9), and a curse was called down on any who deprived them of justice (cf. Deut 27:19) (NET Bible: Full Study Notes Edition, p 1428)

VI.
“People who had no one to look out for their rights”

We might think of them as folks who had lost their support system, they were cut off from the people who recognized them and counted them as family, they were “displaced,” that is, no longer on “home ground” and were in the midst of people who talked and acted in ways that were not familiar to them.

Can you think of times when you might have felt “displaced” and cut off from what is familiar and makes you feel secure?

What did you need? What might you pray for? Who did you look for? How would you want people to treat you?

Turn over those questions for a while and see where it takes you.

We’ll get back together later.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

May 24, 2020, Jeremiah 22:1-10 – ISSL Reflections

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I.
We continue this week listening to the Prophet Jeremiah. We’ll start this week as we do most weeks, placing this week’s passage in front of us, reading it slowly and with care so we hear the words of the Prophet as best we can.

As you’re taking time with the passage, open your mind so you notice anything that sounds familiar.

II.
Jeremiah 22:1-10 (New Revised Standard Version)

Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then through the gates of this house shall enter kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their servants, and their people. But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

You are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of Lebanon;
but I swear that I will make you a desert,
an uninhabited city.[a]
I will prepare destroyers against you,
all with their weapons;
they shall cut down your choicest cedars
and cast them into the fire.

And many nations will pass by this city, and all of them will say one to another, “Why has the Lord dealt in this way with that great city?” And they will answer, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.”

Do not weep for him who is dead,
nor bemoan him;
weep rather for him who goes away,
for he shall return no more
to see his native land.

III.
What did you hear that you have heard before. Maybe even this past week.

You can find last week’s reading, Jeremiah 21:8-14, here –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jeremiah+21.8-14&version=NRSV

… and this week’s reading here –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+22%3A1-10&version=NRSV

You could open them side-by-side online or in your Bible and notice what is repeated and what is expanded.

Who is the audience? How is justice described? Who is asked/commanded to act justly? What kind of future(s) might await those to whom the Prophet is speaking? When will judgement come and how?

Spend time paying attention to Prophet Jeremiah noticing what he speaks both in an ancient time and what he still speaks to us.

We’ll talk later,

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

May 17, 2020, Jeremiah 21:8-14 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflections

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You can find Jeremiah 21:8-14 here –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+21%3A8-14&version=NRSV

VII.
Let’s see, what was the second question –
How do we know what in a Scripture passage is time/place specific and what should be universalized as we understand our lives lived as God’s people?

We might ask that in another way – “What applies to me today, in my daily walk, in my communities, in how I conduct my life?”

Some matters in our passage this week may be easy to discern.

First, let’s notice some things that I suspect we are pretty quick to pick up on.

For one – “the way of life and the way of death” (Jeremiah 21:8)

A theme in Scripture we see repeated.

What follows that, that is, what specifically is the life path and what specifically is the death path may change from context to context but the overarching theme is the same – God’s desire for us is to live with God, come near to God and allow God’s kind of life/living to inhabit us and be lived out through us. Can you buy into that?

Sometimes we may be presented with hard choices on how to live that in a specific situation but the goal is always the same.

A few sentences later the Prophet tells the King, “Execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed …” (Jeremiah 21:12)

Don’t you think we can recognize this path is not just for the King or rulers or those in leadership but for all of us?

So we probably already can draw some universally applicable principles from this passage.

VIII.
Second, there is at least a hint if not an obvious clue in the question and answer exchange between the King and the Prophet as how to apply this to our lives.

The King hoped to draw a conclusion from the past as to how his confrontation with the Caldeans would work out, that is, God comes to the rescue in the imminent battle.

The Prophet said “No!”

I also hear the Prophet saying, God will rescue, there is life after this, but not in the way you hope and expect, but a life that God leads you toward.

Do you think that promise is contained in the Prophet’s words?

If that is so, it suggests to me that we pay attention to the past, notice how God has accompanied us in our lives and then trust (ok, big word, hard to do sometimes, especially in the middle of difficult situations) – trust God is still present, and as we seek the Kingdom, God can lead.

Maybe not a “1-2-3 steps” method for us or a “do it this way every time” rule, but a way forward, maybe even a light on the path.

What do you think?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

PS –
Often I spend most of our time together asking questions, today, I have offered a more specific take on the passage. I trust I have not been to “preachy” and even in my thoughts and interpretations, I hope I provoke you to examine the passage for yourself and talk it over with God.