Godgrown

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  Mark 12:41 pm on November 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  A New Way to Be Human 

  Ever wonder what would happen if the whole world took God’s pleadings for his creation seriously? And by ‘whole world’ I don’t just mean humans.  I’m talking about the entire universe. What would happen if each of us saw our relationship with our Creator as something that had holistic implications for the rest of our lives, and how we interact with our surroundings.  Attuning to the Divine, listening and following the LORD GOD, what would it change about… how you treat your kids, which groceries you’d buy, what clothes you’d wear, how you’d pay your taxes, your views on immigration, your views on war and the  military, the federal deficit, your personal deficit, your competition at work, your marriage, what you do for fun, and who you believe you truly are…

  …to say it another way – what if your pursuit of God actually mattered in EVERYTHING else about your life?

  Isaiah, using prophetic imagination, paints a picture of an entire universe investing in the alternative Way – the Way of knowing and listening to God:

  6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;

  the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.

  The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,

  and a little child will lead them all.

  7 The cow will graze near the bear.

  The cub and the calf will lie down together.

  The lion will eat hay like a cow.

  8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra.

  Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.

  9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,

  for as the waters fill the sea,

  so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. (emphasis mine)

  What will prompt this drastic change in today’s world, obsessed with blood-lust and savage behavior?  It is the coming of a new kind of King, and a new kind of Kingdom.  A fresh expression of humanity – a new way to be human.  There seems to be some sort of syncronicity between people and God, and between animals and all Creation… fear and competition cease, ancient foes become intimate friends…

  What if North Korea and America took these verses seriously?  What if oil companies took this image seriously?  What if I took this seriously??? We can only pray that this day comes sooner rather than later.

  
   

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  Mark 7:37 am on November 22, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Grapes of Wrath 

  Isaiah 5

  Pulling out a lyre or harp, Isaiah appears before his audience like a minstrel, singing about his best friend and his vineyard. The man put incredible amounts of energy and love into preparing a most amazing vineyard.  Picking fertile soil, planting the best vines, preparing the ground and protecting the area from intruders.  It typically took 3 years to prepare a vineyard in Isaiah’s day.  And it was certainly cause for celebration when the grapes could finally harvested!  A wine-press was carved out of the top of a flat rock – you have GOT to love wine to work that hard for it!

  And yet – the grapes were wild. Isaiah’s friend’s disappointment was immeasurable.  He decides to tear down the vineyard.  The audience empathizes with the vinedresser…until they learn that “You are that vineyard!” A convicting moment for many of Isaiah’s hearers.  Using Hebrew wordplays, the prophet declares that the good grapes are justice and righteousness, but the wild grapes grown are bloodshed and crying.

  For the rest of the chapter – Isaiah threatens Judah of their impending doom.  Yahweh will dismantle his vineyard, and invite the wild animals (the Assyrians) to eat the wild grapes.

  Isaiah hopes that getting folks to empathize with Yahweh’s frustration, they’ll see things from his perspective.  A tough thing to do – to get out of your own mind and see things from another point of view.  However, its easier to do so when you know their story – and the story of the vinedresser is God’s story.  Learning to see things from God’s angle, in the case of the Israelites, might just save their lives – will they listen?

  
   
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  Mark 10:49 am on November 15, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Hebrews 11 

  

  This list of ancient heroes in the faith was not uncommon in ancient Jewish literature; and it is a technique used to reinforce a value or characteristic the writer wanted his audience to embody.  For the Hebrews writer – it is “being sure of what they hoped for but do not see.”  This is not some Oxford-Dictionary definition of faith as so many have often proof-texted it to be, but a situational response to pressures from suspicious authorities.

  The refrain, “They did not receive what was promised,” was meant to drive home the idea of persevering one’s entire life, and even if it means waiting beyond death, it will be worth the wait.

  The list begins way back with Noah and Abraham.  It moves through the Judges, the period of the Kings, and the Prophets – each time taking a moment to reflect on important people who spent their lives depending on the invisible. Scary things like “escaping the edge of the sword,” “stopping the mouth of lions” (Daniel), “tortured” (Eleazar in 2 Macc) “stoned…sawed in two,” (the traditional accounts of the deaths of Jeremiah and Isaiah) and more.

  What is most fascinating is that he mentions those who are forced to live in dens and caves. Who is that?  There is evidence of early Christians being forced to hide in caves and worship in caverns.  Could it be that some of the Hebrew audience were being snuck into this chapter of faith? He moves them chronologically from the beginning of God’s Story all the way up to the present day – reminding them that they are connected to a grand Story – that it is worth persevering until the end!

  What makes us think that the chapter should end in 60 AD? Continue to add names of people who you see as depending on the invisible. People throughout history and in your own family. It is encouraging to see people as passing on the torch of trust – in helping each other make it through a life that many times feels like a wilderness…