Ninth Day of Lent - King David

Le Roi David with the Artist, by Mark Chagall

King David was exceptional.  He had been trained in the desert with his sheep and his relationship with his Creator.  He learned to cope under pressure.  Sometimes we experience this strange form of training, preparing us for some other grander role.

We all know that David was not perfect.  The temptations for those with royal power are seen in failed celebrities everywhere.  We read that David knew that his Lord was with him, and above him.  Israel flourished under a just king, just as all countries do.  That's what you need, but the two rarely sit together.  

21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ Acts 13

PRAYER:  Under stress, I turn to you immediately.  Better to be with you before things get tough. 

Eight Day of Lent - Kings and Rulers

The Throne of Charlemagne
Aachen Cathedral
Credit: Mediastorehouse.com

It is my take that the Creator intended us  to live a life fully intergraded in the Spirit of the Creator.  Everyday we would have walked hand in hand with the author of all things, with access to all knowledge, wisdom, understanding and love.  But we found that difficult.  We are like someone who has a billion pounds in the bank, and forgets. 

So now we live our lives in a fog, with an awareness of the Creator, but no certainty (for the majority).  We crave the other comforts; pleasure, irresponsibility and control/power over others. If this were not so, we would solve all the problems of the world almost instantly.  There is no real reason why we cannot.

And so the people of Israel rejected the idea that the Creator would be their supreme king, and opted instead for Saul.  They were warned that they were choosing subjugation, and they chose that.

We too have this choice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” 1 Samuel 8

PRAYER:  You are my God and my King.  I worship you alone.

Seventh Day of Lent - The Law

Moses and the Tablets- Marc Chagall
Erica Meyerovich Gallery, San Francisco

The word 'Law' does not excite.  It feels cold and controlling.   But the Psalmist (119) says, "I delight in your laws, I write them on my heart."

Clarity and boundaries in relationships are also both healthy and liberating.  Young children, where the boundaries are unclear, appearing and disappearing, become insecure.  They carry 'floating anxiety', and this affects their behaviour and mood.  Relationships where there is jealousy and suspicion absorb negative energy and stress, leading to great unhappiness.   

Our Creator has given us clear boundaries.  The do's and don'ts. 

These were famously summarised (attributed to St Augustine) as "Love God and do as you please."

This is the beautiful law that sets us free, rather than constrains us.

20 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.  4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.  8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.” 18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

PRAYER:  I love your laws and have written then in my heart.

Sixth Day of Lent - Salvation from Slavery

St Augustine in the Slave Market in Rome.

 
The concept of slavery is abhorrent.  Yet humans seem to be doing this to each other for thousands of years.  Even today many people are restricted, controlled and lack access to justice.  How could a county like Britain condone and justify slavery?  It is an irony that the myth of England goes that it was in seeing slaves from Angle-land that St Augustine's heart was softened and this persuaded him to send missionaries to our God-forsaken cold damp corner of Western Europe. 

The story of the bible is one of 'being lead out of slavery'.  There is physical slavery, and there is spiritual slavery.  Which is more significant?  Jesus understood this and compared it to bread and water.  There is bread you will eat, and you will then be hungry again.  There is water that will refresh you, but only for a time.  There is spiritual bread, and water, that will fill you forever.  This is what we really need. Then all things are possible.

3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. 4 Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving. 5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey Exodus 13

PRAYER:  You have set me free, and all freedom emanates from this.  Thank you.

Fifth day of Lent - The Nation

 

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model

What is a Nation?  What has it been over the millennia?  It is part of  'the onion' of our lives.  In this model, we live at the centre, surrounded by family, community, nation, continent, and the world.  But which ring has the strongest ring for you? I remember when the European Union attempted to build up a sense of regional identity over national identify as a subterfuge to nationalism.   We were in Burgundy at the time.  It was not particularly successful.  The 'Nation' is a shared concept in our collective heads.  But every head is different.

The nation of Israel has been significant to us in Europe for over a thousand years.  The bible speaks of the Creator relating to this people as a nation.  There is a special relationship with this community.  Small county church have ancient stain glass and painting attempting to depict the Holyland.

In the West we emphasis the power and unique qualities of the individual.  In the South and East, it is the community which is the starting point.  Both are important and significant.  They coexist. 

24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”  But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”  27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”  “Jacob,” he answered.  28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”  29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”  Genesis 32

PRAYER:  May the nation of which I am a part see its need to acknowledge your authority and accept the salvation you offer, and turn from it's wicked ways, and worship you.

First Sunday in the Feast of Lent - Listen

 

The Wilderness - Israel

Jesus went into the wilderness on his own to be close to the Creator.  He was away from distractions.  But he was there with himself, his inner thoughts - spiritual influences, both the presence of the Creator, but also of the malevolent force we called 'the Devil'. 

PRAYER:  I acknowledge the powers around me.  Powers to bless and build up, and powers to destroy and humiliate. Come close to me, as I come close to you, and save me. 

Fourth day of Lent - The Flood

 

Alex Honnold free climbs Taipei 101
Credit: Taipei Times

We all know the story of the great flood that wipes out many civilisations.  Almost all cultures have this tale set deep within their past.  It speaks of the frailty of life; like "a candle in the wind."

The curious thing about our world is that it is full of wonder, beauty and plenty, juxtaposed with harsh heartless brutality.  

Yesterday I heard Robert Alain, the French spiderman, talking about a recent 'free climb' of the building called Taipei 101.  He was asked how one copes with the risk of imminent death.  What Alain didn't say is that we all undertake similar acts of bravery every day.  Just walking along a pavement next to a busy road, or traveling inside the car on the motorway... Life is full of risk.

I think that the flood story tells us that we are noticed.  we are not alone.  There is method in the madness.  If we look, the signs of hope are about us, and we will arrive on solid land. 

It may feel bleak, but Salvation is in the air.

 8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. Genesis 9

PRAYER:  You have told me the story.  You know how it ends.  My trust is in you.