June 21, 2020, Proverbs 8:8-14, 17-21 – ISSL Reflections

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I.
This week our attention will be drawn to some selected verses from Proverbs 8.

Take you time as you read and reread the passage. Who do you hear speaking to you in this passage?

II.
Proverbs 8:8-14 (New Revised Standard Version)

All the words of my mouth are righteous;
there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
They are all straight to one who understands
and right to those who find knowledge.
Take my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold;
for wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.
I, wisdom, live with prudence,
and I attain knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
I have good advice and sound wisdom;
I have insight, I have strength.

Proverbs 8:17-21 (New Revised Standard Version)

I love those who love me,
and those who seek me diligently find me.
Riches and honor are with me,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,
and my yield than choice silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
endowing with wealth those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.

III.
Let’s expand our reading beyond these verses.

Take a moment to read Proverbs 8:1-4.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+8%3A1-4&version=NRSV

Who is portrayed as the speaker in this chapter? The Proverbist?

It seems to be Wisdom is speaking. Not just in a small voice. She is in the middle of streets, at the crossroads of the city, speaking, even crying out to get everyone’s attention.

Does she have your attention?

IV.
What does Wisdom promise for us if we give her our attention? Where will paying attention to her advice and following it lead us? What will it lead us away from?

How valuable does she think her words are for us?

Do you think she gets it right or does she overstate her case?

Is she offering us what can be the foundation of the good life?

Consider her words and we’ll get back together later.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

June 14, 2020, Proverbs 2:1-11 – Post 3 – ISSL Reflections

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You can find this week’s Scripture at –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+2%3A1-11&version=NRSV

  • and here are three other translations,
    https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs%202%3A1-11&version=ESV;NET;MSG

VII.
This week we’ve heard the Proverbist call us to pay attention to his words and heard the encouragement to not be a passive listener or merely to repeat back the words we hear but become active in the seeking of wisdom and enter into a conversation with the Proverbist.

So why? Is there a payoff?

Maybe something on the order of –

then you will
understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
wisdom will come into your heart,
knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
prudence will watch over you;
understanding will guard you.

We are not listening to have the “right answers” when we are asked what we learned.

No, it really seems the “understanding” we will find will show us how to live.

Look at the words used –

righteousness, justice, equity, every good path;

It’s about how to conduct our lives and how to live with others.

It’s a road map on how to walk the Kingdom path.

VIII.
Are you ready to walk along that “good path.”

Do you begin to see how righteousness, justice, equity, prudence and understanding will walk with you?

Sounds to me like a good neighborhood to be in. And we get to help build that neighborhood.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

June 14, 2020, Proverbs 2:1-11 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflections

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You can find this week’s Scripture at –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+2%3A1-11&version=NRSV

and you can very easily look at different translations and even put several translations in parallel, for instance,
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs%202%3A1-11&version=NRSV;NIV;CEB

IV.
The other day I asked,
“What does The Lord call us to do? …. And how does The Lord call on us to pay attention?”

Look at how the passage begins, “My child, if you accept my words, and treasure up my commandments …”

Sometimes when we hear about “commandments,” especially in the context of “… you accept …” we might hear something of the tone a parent has when they say, “… because I said so!”

I’m not claiming the Proverbist had that tone in mind but do you see how certain words might bring about that feeling and maybe a certain defensiveness in us?

V.
As I began thinking about that it came to mind that many times in our congregations, especially in preaching and worship services, much of what goes on is in a monologue. We sit and we listen. Maybe we hear. But it is put to us in the form of a monologue, someone speaks and we listen. We can get very passive in such a setting.

Take a moment and go back to this passage and notice what is expected of those he calls “my child.”

making your ear attentive
inclining your heart to understanding;
cry out for insight,
raise your voice for understanding;
seek it like silver,
search for it as for hidden treasures—

then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.

I don’t hear him calling his hearers to be passive. I hear him calling them to engage with him, to be not only “active” listeners, but also to “cry out,” to “raise your voice.” Is he calling for dialogue and not monologue?

It really seems to me that he is looking for some interaction from his hearers.

VI.
So, I ask again, “…how does The Lord call on us to pay attention?”

Does God want us invested in the process of hearing, learning, and understanding his Word to us? Or is God only interested in us repeating back the words we hear in some monologue in a preaching service?

What do you think?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

June 14, 2020, Proverbs 2:1-11 – ISSL Reflections

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I.
We move on to chapter 2 of Proverbs. We see the Proverbist again calling our attention to the “fear of the Lord.” Maybe this passage will give us some more insight into what that means..

Notice in the passage “if,” “then,” and “for.” Let’s pay attention to those words and see what they offer us for understanding both the book of Proverbs and The Lord’s intention for us.

II.
Proverbs 2:1-11 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

My child,
if you accept my words
and treasure up my commandments within you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;

if you indeed cry out for insight,
and raise your voice for understanding;

if you seek it like silver,
and search for it as for hidden treasures—

then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.

For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,
guarding the paths of justice
and preserving the way of his faithful ones.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;

for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
prudence will watch over you;
and understanding will guard you.

III.
What do you hear?

What does The Lord call us to do?

What results from paying attention to The Lord’s call upon us? And how does The Lord call on us to pay attention?

Do you think it will be as it says, “wisdom will come to your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; prudence will watch over you; and understanding will guard you.”

Do you sense you are guarded?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

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}