Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

Home Archives for 2015

Archives for 2015

Good news . . . bad news

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Amazing GraceI have some really good news and some (sort of) bad news.

The good news is that I have seen the play “Amazing Grace” and it is very much worth seeing. It is playing now at the Nederlander Theatre in New York City.

The play is a musical which tells the story of John Newton, the writer of the hymn Amazing Grace.

I am not a drama critic, nor am I frequent attender of Broadway plays. But from my limited exposure to such, I think that Amazing Grace is well done. The acting, music, sets and staging are all top notch.

The bad news is that the play is closing on October 25th. Why? That is an interesting question.

I have been told that when it played in Connecticut, it was a success. When it played in Chicago, it was also a success. For some reason, New Yorkers have not taken to seeing the play in sufficient numbers to allow the production to continue in that city (I’m not making a judgment of New Yorkers here, I’m just trying to state the facts).

The play presents the Gospel in the beauty of changed lives and presents the power of God to influence culture in a positive way. Unlike some other Christian media endeavors, it does not do so in a heavy handed way. The story itself is a demonstration of the Gospel lived out. The Gospel message flows from the story.

My understanding is that the producers will take the play on the road, which is good news for the cities in which it will be produced. So, if it comes anywhere near where you live, I heartily encourage you to see it.

So, if New York is an option for you to get to, I strongly urge you to see the play before it closes. If it is not, then watch to see if it comes to a city near you. You will not be disappointed if you go.

Joseph the Grinder

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RumorIn sports, a player who is not spectacular but always gets his job done is sometimes called a “grinder.” The grinder can be counted on to do the right thing.

In reading about Joseph in Matthew 1 this morning, the term “grinder” is what came to mind. Joseph could be counted on to do the right thing.

First, when he found out that Mary was pregnant, rather than make a spectacle of her to clear his name, he looked to get the matter resolved privately. (Matthew 1:19)

Second, when the angel explained what really happened, Joseph did what the angel told him to do. He followed through and took Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:24)

One aspect of small town living is that people know what is happening in their neighbors’ lives. It would have been no different for Joseph and Mary.

If Joseph knew that Mary was pregnant, it would not have been long before the rest of the town would have figured it out. Mary was pregnant before their marriage had been finalized. This was a scandal that would have tongues working overtime sharing the sordid details of what must have happened. Rumors of what had happened would have worked their way through the entire community.

When Joseph decided to do the right thing and marry Mary, he was taking on a lifetime of people whispering behind his back about the timing of Jesus’ birth. Therefore, Joseph became Mary’s husband and Jesus’ father at some personal cost. He willingly bore the stigma of the timing of events surrounding his marriage and Jesus’ birth. The birth would continually have had the stigma of illegitimacy attached to it.

To readers in 2015, this may seem like less of a big deal than it really was. Our culture has a flexible view of marriage and what is permissible before marriage. So we need to work a little to understand how scandalous this really was.

My big takeaway this morning is that Joseph did the right thing in the right way even when no-one else knew or acknowledged that it was the right thing. Joseph was a grinder, getting the job done even when it is not glamorous.

Paul tells us that we are all called to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). This means that we are called to do the right thing even when it may cost us something or if it goes against the grain of our culture.

As I consider Joseph this morning, I am encouraged by his example. Are you? Please take a moment and share your thoughts below.

 

A prayer for today

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Daniel PrayingI recently read Daniel 9 and it struck me that Daniel’s prayer for the Nation of Israel is a good prayer for any nation.

Here is his prayer as recorded in Daniel 9:4-19:

4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. 14 Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

The people of Israel were a lot like us. They did not automatically do the right thing, nor were they very keen on obeying the word of God. They rebelled and reaped the consequences of their immoral behavior.

We can learn a lesson from Daniel’s prayer. Daniel earnestly interceded on behalf of his people and asked God to intervene and do something about it. God has provided the ultimate response by sending Jesus.

Jesus came to begin to repair the damage that has been done throughout the ages. We have been in rebellion since the declaration of war which took place in the Garden of Eden. Jesus has been correcting the damage done by our rebellion; he has done so, is doing so, and will do so by changing individual hearts.

In all my years of church attendance, I’ve not heard anyone offer a prayer like this for his church or his nation. But now would be a good time to start praying in this way.

In watching or reading the news, it is not hard to figure out that my country needs it, I assume that yours does also.

 

Yancey’s Three Questions

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3 QuestionsI am not sure out of which Philip Yancey book I gleaned these. As I am reading, I sometimes make notes in Evernote on my phone or tablet to jog my memory for future use. I recorded the following questions listed in a such a note entitled “Yancey’s Three Questions.”

Here they are:

  1. Why is there something rather than nothing?
  2. Why is that something so beautiful and orderly?
  3. How ought we to conduct ourselves in such a world?

What I like about these three questions is that the answers get to the core of the answerer’s world view.

I cannot speak for everyone who has had a public education, but either I did not pay attention (not at all unlikely) or these questions were never raised or answered.

The evolutionary science that I was taught purported to explain how the world we see came to be, but does nothing to answer the question “why?” “It just is,” is not a satisfactory answer, no matter how many mathematical formulas are used to prove it.

Why do we have an innate sense of beauty and order? Why do we have an innate sense of right and wrong?

“Why?” is a much harder and a more important question.

Yet behind the three questions stands a person who claims to have the explanation and the answer to these questions.

Jesus claimed to predate Abraham (John 8:58), He claimed unity with a Creator God (John 10:30). He claimed to be the way to eternal life (John 14:6). He made some radical claims that bring cohesive answers to these questions. Jesus claimed to be the answer.

These questions are worth pondering. If you are open to it, please examine the claims of Jesus Christ in answer to these questions. You might find something of eternal value as a result.

 

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