October 6, 2019, Deuteronomy 4:1 – 14

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I.
This week we are invited to hear Moses address the Hebrew people with a call to keep in mind the “statutes and ordinances.” First, let’s read this passage and pay attention to how many times he charges the Hebrew people to keep in mind the commandments, how many times he tells them to “head,” “to take care,” “observe.”

II.
Deuteronomy 4:1-14 (New Revised Standard Version)

So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. You have seen for yourselves what the Lord did with regard to the Baal of Peor—how the Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, while those of you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today.

See, just as the Lord my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!” For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children— how you once stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, “Assemble the people for me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me as long as they live on the earth, and may teach their children so”; you approached and stood at the foot of the mountain while the mountain was blazing up to the very heavens, shrouded in dark clouds. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, which he charged you to observe, that is, the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two stone tablets. And the Lord charged me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy.

[In the next to last sentence in the passage where the translators have “ten commandments,” it is literally “ten words.”]

III.
“And the Lord charged me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe…”

I have heard it said that a good way to teach to tell your students what you are going to tell them, to tell them, and to tell them what you told them.

It seems to me that Moses goes beyond this threefold structure.

Why?

Is it the sense of obligation he feels, the call he senses that he is responsible to God to put the commandments before the people so they have the same understanding of its importance that he does?

Is it that he has already seen how easy it is for the people to fail to hold tight to the commandments and keep them?

IV.
We often think of the “law” of the Hebrew Scripture as the “Ten Commandments.” Later Rabbis saw in Scripture 613 commands given by God. Still later, teachers saw a need to add more commands so the people would not come close to breaking the commands. Sometimes we hear the teachers wanted to build a “hedge around the law.” This hedge or fence was to keep the people from coming even close to breaking the commands.

A question or two was even put to Rabbi Jesus about which commands to keep and their importance.

V.
As you spend time with this passage, take time to ask what are the “commands” you know to be important enough in your life that you try to keep. Where do those important commands come from? Maybe from Scripture, maybe from culture, maybe from the home place, maybe from the workplace? Where? What makes them important to you?

We’ll talk later.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 29, 2019, Numbers 14:10b – 20 – Post 3

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X.
The past two weeks we have had before us one episode in the Hebrews’ journey from Egypt to Canaan, the mission to spy out the land and population of Canaan.

Twelve are picked for the task/mission. Could we say God calls these folk to this particular mission?

They go about doing the work they are called to and part of which is to report back to the Heberw encampment what they found. And this “mission group” is split on what to do next. The initial result given the impressions put forth by the majority of spies is to abandon the overarching mission of the Hebews, that of moving to the new home God has called them to. What happens when we want to turn away from God’s call (and calls) to us. Does God cut us off, and move on to others to accomplish God’s work? That is shown in this episode to be a possibility. Or do others still see what can be done and plead with God that the call not be taken back and by way of God’s mercy continue with the ones he called?

XI.
Do we still see this pattern repeated today. Call – Response – Mission – Struggle – Discouragement – Grief – Failure – Mercy – Call ?

It doesn’t take me long to find this kind of pattern in my own life.

Do you find it?

XII.
Let me close with a thought from a certain Rabbi whose entire life was up-ended and turned around by God’s call. You and I remember him by the name, Paul (well, Saul also). These are words from The Message translation of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. Hear them as an offer of hope –

… then he told me,
My grace is enough;
it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that,
I was glad to let it happen.
I quit focusing on the handicap
and began appreciating the gift.
It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness.
Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer,
these limitations that cut me down to size
—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks.
I just let Christ take over!
And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

Charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 29, 2019, Numbers 14:10b – 20 – Post 2

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VII.
“But Moses said to the Lord …. “ (Numbers 14:13-19)

At 14:11 we read, “And the Lord said to Moses, “How long … “”

Should we call this exchange a prayer, a conversation, a dialogue, two monologues?

You might pick one or two ways to describe the scene, but what I most want to call to your attention is Moses. And not just Moses but his passion in speaking with God the way he does here.

VIII.
Is it just here that Moses approaches God with such familiarity and honesty?

In Exodus 3 Moses asks God what is God’s name. In Exodus 4 Moses wonders aloud to God what can he say to the Hebrew people if they question that God has chosen and sent Moses to be an instrument of their deliverance. In Exodus 5 he asks God not only why God has mistreated the people but why he is being sent to the people. In Exodus 32 Moses asks God why he is so willing to display such wrath against the Hebrew people.

It seems it is ingrained in Moses’ character to ask questions. To even ask questions of God. It seems to be his character to defend folks who might deserve a better break, even if he is defending them against God.

IX.
Take a few moments to review your typical prayers.

Do they have something of the same passion that Moses’ approach to God shows time and time again in Scripture?

What might we learn about the kind of honesty we could pray with?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 29, 2019, Numbers 14:10b – 20

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I.
Last week we read of the spies trip into Canaan, their return to the Hebrew encampment, and the problems and divisions, and threats of death which resulted from their reports.

This week we read of God’s appearing to the Hebrews … and it does not start well for them.

Read over the passage, maybe a couple of times, paying attention to God’s initial reaction, Moses’ exchanges with the God and what comes of the dialogue.

II.

Numbers 14:10b – 20

Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for in your might you brought up this people from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people; for you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go in front of them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people all at one time, then the nations who have heard about you will say, ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them that he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ And now, therefore, let the power of the Lord be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying,

‘The Lord is slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love,
forgiving iniquity and transgression,
but by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children
to the third and the fourth generation.’

Forgive the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now.”

Then the Lord said, “I do forgive, just as you have asked;”

III.
What do the Hebrews deserve given their cry for blood? Given their turning their backs on God and God’s call into a land of promise? Given their turning away from Moses and desire to have another “captain.” (Numbers 14:1-4).

What should Moses do? Side with God’s call for judgement? Or argue with God?

What should God do? Pronounce judgement on the people? Visit judgment on them? Destroy them? Or … Listen to Moses’ intercession and offer the people another opportunity for a future living into His calling for them.

IV.
“Then the Lord said, ‘I do forgive, just as you have asked;’”

It appears God remembers his own promise of steadfast love for the people and continues to stand with the Hebrews.

But, wait a moment. Did you notice that as Moses reminds God of his promise of steadfast love he also acknowledges (to God? to himself? to the Hebrew encampment) that God “by no means [clears] the guilty.”?

The reading we have before us ends with a semicolon and not a period, and following the semicolon is the foreboding “nevertheless.” (Numbers 14:21 – 23)

V.
Yes, they are forgiven and God’s grace does not depart from them, their threats and actions do have consequences.

While God (and Moses) will stand with them, they will face a future that has been limited by what they have done.

Do we (yes, you and I) escape the consequences of our decisions because of God’s forgiveness. Yes and No? No and Yes? How long does it take to work through or work past the consequences of bad choices? 40 years? 40 is one of those numbers that appears again and again in Scripture. It often seems to suggest a “complete” period of time. That is to say, 40 days or 40 years is how long it took to completely accomplish something.

VI.
How long will it take for God’s grace to accomplish God’s work in you. When will you and I arrive at the perfection/maturity God calls us to?

How far along that road are you today?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 22, 2019, Numbers 13; 14:1-10a – Post 3

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IX.
Before we move on to the activities of the weekend, let me put one more thought before you.

I have often thought of approaching Scripture with different lens (or templates) that might help us draw out the meanings and implications in a passage. It’s true that we often apply all sorts of lens to Scripture that can impose interpretations on a passage and that is not what I envision. Rather the lens we would bring to the passage would help us look into the passage, the scene(s), the individuals we encounter there and provoke us to ask questions that would take us deeper into the passage and its meaning.

Want to give it a try with our Scripture for this week?

X.
The lens I suggest you bring to this passage is “Community.”

What communities do you see here? What groups of people? How many different and differing communities do you see? Three? Four? You know, a community could be made up of just two people.

How do people act and behave as a member of that community? How do the communities interact with one another? Positively? Negatively?

What interaction does an individual have with a community in which they are a member? Or, a community they stand on the outside of?

XI.
What do you think?

Does this open any insights for you?

Or, have I just confused you with this?

Let’s talk about it …..

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 22, 2019, Numbers 13; 14:1-10a – Post 2

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VIII.

Do you think the remarks from Monday on “practice” were too thin or unsatisfying?  I still wonder about that.

Yesterday, on the drive to work, I heard a selection from Oswald Chambers that in my mind connected with what I was trying to get at when I mentioned “practice.”  These paragraphs are from the January 14 reading in “My Utmost for His Highest.” Why not read it over slowly and let me know if you see a connection …..

“Called Of God

“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. — Isaiah 6:8

“God did not address the call to Isaiah; Isaiah overheard God saying — “Who will go for us?” The call of God is not for the special few, it is for everyone. Whether or not I hear God’s call depends upon the state of my ears; and what I hear depends upon my disposition. “Many are called but few are chosen” that is, few prove themselves the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped, and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time — “Who will go for us?” It is not a question of God singling out a man and saying, “Now, you go.” God did not lay a strong compulsion on Isaiah; Isaiah was in the presence of God and he overheard the call, and realized that there was nothing else for him but to say, in conscious freedom — “Here am I, send me.”

“Get out of your mind the idea of expecting God to come with compulsions and pleadings. When our Lord called His disciples there was no irresistible compulsion from outside. The quiet passionate insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men with every power wide awake. If we let the Spirit of God bring us face to face with God, we too shall hear something akin to what Isaiah heard, the still small voice of God; and in perfect freedom will say — “Here am I; send me.” “

https://utmost.org/classic/called-of-god-classic/

Did you notice – 

“… Isaiah overheard God saying …”

“… Whether or not I hear God’s call depends upon the state of my ears …”

“… what I hear depends on my disposition …”

“… come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped, and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time …”

When you look over Chambers final paragraph in the reading, what do you notice about disposition and practice?

charles

{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 22, 2019, Numbers 13; 14:1-10a

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I.

We are going to spend two weeks considering this episode in the Israelites trek to Canaan. This week we will take Numbers 13 and Numbers 14 through the first half of verse 10, and next week we take up with the second half of Numbers 14:10 through verse 20.  

I have often been frustrated by Scripture studies in which a writer or editor leaves out what to me seems important in our seeing the full setting of a passage.  Just ask some of the members of our Sunday School class how I object. And here we are asked to take Numbers 14:10a one week and wait a week to pick up with 10b.

But, I have to admit as I read through these chapters, I do see wisdom in this division.  I find a natural break in verse 10 that justifies this structure for these lessons.

It is also helpful to recall that the chapter and verse division of Scripture did not occur until the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries.  While the verse numbering might be helpful in finding specific passages, it can get in the way of letting the Scripture speak for itself without these artificial breaks.

II.

Let’s read about the adventure of the 12 spies in Canaan.

Notice what they saw in the land, what they brought back to the camp of the Israelites, and report what they found.  Then we can turn our attention to the response of the people to the report.

And, please don’t get bogged down in the list of spies and tribes.  It is more important to try to walk with them into Canaan, notice what they saw and experienced, how they processed that and what they all had to say when they got back. 

III.

Numbers 13 (New Revised Standard Version)

The Lord said to Moses,  “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites; from each of their ancestral tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”  So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them leading men among the Israelites. These were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;  from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;  from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.  These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses changed the name of Hoshea son of Nun to Joshua.

Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up there into the Negeb, and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many,  and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the towns that they live in are unwalled or fortified, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be bold, and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now it was the season of the first ripe grapes.

So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.  They went up into the Negeb, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the Anakites, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)  And they came to the Wadi Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Wadi Eshcol,[a] because of the cluster that the Israelites cut down from there.

At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land.  And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.  And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

But Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”  Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we.” So they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land that we have gone through as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are of great size.  There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

Numbers 14:1-10 

Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt.”

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites. And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the Israelites, “The land that we went through as spies is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only, do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they are no more than bread for us; their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” But the whole congregation threatened to stone them.

IV.

So who should the Israelites listen to?

No one seems to doubt the land is good, rich, and a good place for someone to live.

But who?  Is it the place for the Israelites to move to, or is it best for them to leave it alone.

Should they take a vote?  Does majority rule? Many important decisions have been made by the vote of a majority.

Does that guarantee a decision is right? Or, Is the best course for those involved?

Who wins the day?  The vote of the 10 or the vote of the 2?  Do we count the votes of Moses and Aaron?

V.

“Then all the congregation raised a loud voice … and wept … and complained … and said ‘Let us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt.’”

Seems the vote of the 10 spies carried the day.  They are ready to turn around and go back to … slavery in Egypt?  We they don’t say they want to go back to slavery only that they want to got back to Egypt.

But then two raise their voices and tell the Israelites to go on, “… the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”

And … “the whole congregation threatened to stone them.”

VI.

What those folks, like Joshua and Caleb, the ability in the face of opposition to say “do not fear … have faith … trust God … go on”?

What did they have that the rest of the folks did not have?

It’s easy to say, “Well, they trusted God.  They had faith.”

Easy to say, but only always easy to do that?

How do you and I leave to trust the call we hear from God?  How do we get beyond the fears we may have? How do we know who to listen to and who to ignore?

I don’t have a quick and easy answer for myself or for you.  

The best I can offer is – Practice.

Practice seeking the way of God?  Practice looking for it? Practice asking for it?  Does practice make perfect. Probably not always. But the more we practice seeking God and seeking the things of God and the way of walking with God, the more likely we are to see it.

VII.

Does that make sense to you?

Is that too easy to say and too vague to be profitable?

Or, should we start practicing today?

Let’s talk later,

charles

{uib caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 15, 2019, Exodus 16:1-8, 13-15 – Post 2

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VII.
Did you notice my statement in Monday’s post, “ Hindsight can be a great instructor at times.”

Does that sounds a lot like, “Hindsight is 20/20.”

But, I think we know that is not always true.

The Scripture passage for our reflection this week gives evidence that hindsight can lead us to poor judgement about a current situation.

We do need to be able to review the past and “see” the moments of grace. Perhaps this kind of “seeing” is conditioned by a kind of insight that is birthed by faith and by an openness to grace.

VIII.
What do you think?

What helps you, when you review the past day, past week, or even past years, to open your mind and heart to find the graced moments?

How do you get past current problems, hurts and pains, so you can look back for grace and not be blinded by current stresses?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 15, 2019, Exodus 16:1-8, 13-15

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I.

The theme for these several months of lessons (September – November) is “Responding to God’s Grace.”

First, in Genesis 19, we focused on how Lot and his family responded to an offer of escape from life in a place of destruction; then in 1 Samuel 1 we listened to an anguished prayer and saw the tears of one who was bold enough to offer all their pain, hopelessness, and hope to God.  Did we see grace in those accounts? Did we notice how hard it is at times for grace to be seen and even accepted? Let alone, acted upon?  

This week we come to a passage in Exodus 16 and encounter ….  Well, let’s read it and notice the emotions and questions there.

II.

Exodus 16:1-8, 13-15 (New Revised Standard Version)

The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim; and Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.  The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.  On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt,  and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.”

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.  When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

III.

Do you know folks who seem to always find something to complain about?  No matter what is going on, they can offer a complaint about it. I am not suggesting things are always great or that we should never protest or complain.  But what happens after the complaint is offered? And what happens when remedy is offered or pointed out?

IV.

As the Israelites saw their situation in the wilderness, they found a reason to be discouraged and to complain to Moses and Aaron.  They were hungry. They looked back on the days in Egypt and it seems their memory did not take them back to what it was to be slaves but they remembered not being hungry, “… ate our fill of bread.”  It does not matter if that memory was not fully accurate, if some days they did not have the bread they wanted. For the moment only the memory of having bread to eat in Egypt and now, in the wilderness, not having the bread they craved.

V.

“I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day.”

They are promised “bread from heaven.”  They are promised enough for each day.

And it happens.

And what do they say – “What is it?”

“Manna” is the Hebrew word.  We even still might speak of “manna from heaven.”

But to speak of “manna from heaven” without the recognition that “manna” is a way of saying “What is it?” is to miss something important.

We complain, we pray, we even “see” the response, the answer, right in front of us and still we ask, “What is it?”

Was it only the Israelites who might ask “What is it?” while looking at, even holding in their hands,  the bread for the evening meal.

How easy is it to miss the bread, the grace, in front of us?  Are we so expecting the “answer” to come in the form we want, expect, demand, that when it is offered in any other way we don’t see it?  We keep complaining at times even when we might be holding the bread in our hands?

VI.

Pause for a moment.

Take a deep breath.

Look back over times in your life when you might have been looking for an “answer” to some issue and it was only later, maybe much later, that you realized you completely missed the “answer” when it came.  Hindsight can be a great instructor at times.

What can you and I learn from those experiences that equips us to more readily recognize grace when it crosses our paths.

What do you see?

We’ll talk later,

charles

{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 8, 2019, 1 Samuel 1:9-20 – Post 2

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VIII.

Last week one of the mailings I received was from the Red Letter Christians’ email list “Red Letter Wake Up”, and there Rev. Katey Zeh remarked on this same passage.  She wrote, 

“Hannah’s display of raw grief while praying in the temple is alarming to Eli, the priest on call who wrongly accuses her of drunkenness. But Hannah does not cower in the face of this accusation, nor does she apologize for her weeping. Instead she claims her rightful place in the temple and the appropriateness of her vulnerability before God in prayer….   Tears are sacred. Embrace that which causes you grief, and remember that God can hold it all.”

There is little doubt Hannah brought her grief and pain fully to God.

What griefs, pains, passions, joys do you need to honestly and fully put before God? Do you believe “God can hold it all”?

charles

{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}