Prophet, priest, and king

In Ezra 5, we have references to two prophets - Haggai and Zechariah. Zerubbabel, I guess, is a close to a king as the Jews were allowed, and Ezra himself was a priest. Scope for interesting thoughts about leadership.

I have enjoyed recent readings focusing on this period of Jewish history. It has a more modern feel than, for example, the Exodus. To-day's reading describes a bureaucracy we would be proud of to-day. Who had authorised the rebuilding of Jerusalem?

Worship

Have started reading Ezra, and have been told that worship was one of the two core practices which he championed (the other was obedience to scripture). Many times, I have heard that worship is really 'worth-ship', but what does it mean that we have to do?

Principally, in my experience, worship is what we do when we sing hymns in church. Simplistic? Unfortunately, as a result, our view of worship, and whether or not it is a satisfactory experience (for us - I wonder what God thinks), gets tied up with whether or not we relate to the style of music.

And hymns acquire baggage. Sunday's sermon included a lovely illustration, of a bairn in Primary 1 making a mess of his painting and going up to the teacher and asking for another sheet of paper. As the minister commented, life isn't like that. His message, however, was that by his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection, Jesus enables us to start again. What I am having difficulty holding together are the undoubted theological truth of this message, and at the same time the practical truth of life, that we are prisoners of history. Especially conscious of this now, as I find myself contemplating joining the parish church of a small(-ish) community, remembering the last time that I belonged to the parish church of a small community.

Belief

If only it were this simple.

Choices

I've been reading the story of what happened when the religious authorities finally got hold of Jesus, and how they then put it to Pontius Pilate that the man should be crucified. And I've been thinking about the choices which people made. The religious leaders had clearly decided that Jesus needed to be got rid of. There was no question of acknowledging him. The phrases 'king of the Jews', and 'son of God' had become accusations. Other people were also faced with making choices. Pontius Pilate could, in theory, have stood up to the mob, and set Jesus free. Peter, in the high priest's courtyard, decided that it would be simpler if he didn't own up to being one of Jesus' followers.

I find choosing difficult.

Challenge

Proverbs 31:9; nothing to add, really.

Testimony

Proverbs 30 starts with a challenge. The atheist says that, since there is no God, he (the atheist) can do what he likes. But the believer counter claims. This argument can sometimes be internal. A part of me says - there is no God, why do you waste your time praying? But there is a reply - I prayed about that issue, and look what happened!

Interpretation

This morning I read Proverbs 29:1 (I should have read the whole of Proverbs 29, but neither time nor my spiritual digestion would permit). Yesterday, I read this in TractorGirl's wiblog. Right now I have an awful feeling of life closing in, of being on the verge of breaking. This proverb doesn't help, particularly. Perhaps Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish builders gives a more balanced view.

Instead

I should be blogging Proverbs 28, but I thought that you'd rather look at one of Dave Walker's cartoons:

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

I should say that the gentleman in this cartoon could easily be me. I would much rather put my feelings somewhere nobody can see them than express them (to some extent, I have arrived at this state through bitter experience). Blogging is nice, because I can tell the whole world, but nobody I rub shoulders with on a daily basis ever reads what I write.

Cause and effect

Haggai's thesis seems to be that the people of Jerusalem have missed out on blessing, because of their lack of enthusiasm when it came to rebuilding the temple. He makes the connection clear - chapter 2, verses 15-17 indicate that little effort on God's house means poor crops, while verses 18 and 19 paint a happier picture - work hard on restoring the temple, and your crops will do well.

Is it really that simple?

Harsh

Things were better then. Even in my lifetime, were things better then than they are now? I don't really think so. But it is difficult to avoid an all-pervading sense of depression. Though we are, in theory, materially well-off, we, in a sense, struggle to survive. We work, not to improve our lot, but to prevent ourselves from sinking back into the mire. We seem to have little control.

Yes, get to work! For I am with you. I'm afraid that sounds a bit like the taskmaster berating his donkey - yes, you're with me, answers the donkey, but I seem to be the one who's carrying the load.

Assessment

Having discovered that this blog is ranked 864,509th in the world on Technorati, I don't know whether to celebrate or be disappointed. But it doesn't do any harm to do a bit of self-assessment.

Except that what are my options? Start liking parsnips?

Too extreme

I think that it would be truer to say that:


Image by Dave Walker.

Sacrifice

As Good Friday approaches, Zechariah reminds us of the impending sacrifice. I am inescapably conscious just now of having to deal with stress, which seems to comprise a number of issues each contributing its layer of angst, rather than a single identifiable cause. And it becomes difficult to subscribe to the view that becoming a Christian will consign all of your problems to history.

Lay your burdens at the cross - it would be nice - if only I could dump this Huge Bag of Worries on the grass, towered over by a wooden edifice - but I guess that, confronted by the sight of Jesus' suffering, I would be more shocked and in awe - perhaps I would forget what I was carrying on my back.

Actually, the verse I meant to link to was this one.

And, just in case anyone is in any doubt:


Image by Dave Walker.

Somebody is trying to tell me something

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

And another prophecy - familiar sounding - but interesting that recognition only happens when the spirit has been poured out. We're often told that it is God's Spirit who opens people's eyes to the truth, but we usually behave as if it is our own efforts.

I guess that this speaks for itself

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

A question

Should we give up chocolate for Lent? God's answer seems to be, "Who are you doing it for?" And he goes on to say (and I hope that Eugene Peterson doesn't mind me quoting directly; this is Zechariah 7:9b,10 The Message):

Treat one another justly.
Love your neighbors.
Be compassionate with each other.
Don't take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor.
Don't plot and scheme against one another -- that's evil.

I think that this is a message which we're familiar with from Isaiah.

And, good news at last!

A prophecy

Who could this be?

Floundering

My dentist put in a filling this morning - my brain has turned to mush. And it isn't helping that to-day's passage - Zechariah 5 seems to me somewhat opaque. OK, God doesn't like thieves and liars. Jesus told a story about a man who knew that God doesn't like thieves and liars. And the BBC reckons that exposing estate agents as thieves and liars makes a good story. A little sad, though, when you read the story to the end, to find out that the people who suffered as a result of the BBC's story were the individuals whom the companies scapegoated, and who, presumably, didn't have the advantage of a second job as a TV reporter to fall back on.

The bottom line is that we all find ourselves in situations where it is extremely difficult to do the right thing. We are all, to some extent, thieves and liars. And Zechariah chapter 5 doesn't offer us much hope.

Oft-quoted

Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings?

Springtime is the time of hope. Snowdrops bravely showing their white bells; crocuses spiking through the snow; soon there'll be daffodils, and tulips. I love snowdrops. One of the images stored in my brain is of a bank covered with them, which I saw one year when there wasn't much else to rejoice about.

But does life cycle like this? Or do we settle into a mud-and-water-filled rut, going nowhere, desperately trying to survive? No, I don't despise small beginnings - small beginnings would be better than no beginnings at all.

A quote

Aslan is on the move!