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7 OF THE MOST DANGEROUS LEADERSHIP MINDSETS I'VE OBSERVED
I’ve seen it so many times.
A leader could even be doing everything else right and one flawed mindset can overshadow — even jeopardize — all the good leadership principles we know.
One constantly repeated action. One trait. One habit. One mindset.
And sadly, many times it’s not even that the person isn’t a good leader — it’s that one mindset that gets them off track. So I believe leaders should constantly be working on bad mindsets that keep them from being as successful as they can be.
Here are 7 of the most dangerous leadership mindsets I’ve observed.
In full disclosure, I’ve been guilty of some of these — sometimes for a season — sometimes until someone helped me discover I had a poor leadership mindset.
Allowing small details to overwhelm a view of the big picture
There will always be details that have to be handled, but the smaller a leader is forced to think, the less he or she can focus on the larger vision ahead. I can get bogged down in minutia that wastes my energy and drains me. Sometimes it’s a systems problem that requires too much of my time and sometimes its a failure to delegate. Interestingly, I have personally found that when I’m free from the responsibility of handling as many details I’m more likely to notice the smaller things that greatly need my attention.
Seeing the glass as half-empty
A negative leader will almost never be successful long-term, simply because people will not care to follow. Some people have this mindset all the time (and I don’t personally think leadership is their thing), but this mindset can also last for a season — especially when there are numerous setbacks around us either in our personal life or where we lead. It could also occur in times of fast change, when the complainers seem to outnumber those offering compliments. If we aren’t careful, we can let negative mindsets carry over into every other area of our life, and start to view our world that way. It’s very difficult to follow a negative-minded leader.
Not enjoying the journey
Never taking time to celebrate. High achieving leaders can often fall into this trap. I get there at times and have to be reminded, either through personal discipline or when others speak into my life. I’m always seeing the next big opportunity ahead and striving for constant improvement. I can fail to recognize current success while continually searching for future potential. The problem is that a constant forward push isn’t sustainable long-term. It burns people out, makes them feel underappreciated, and leads to a very low team morale. People need a break; they need a plateau where they can rest, catch their breath and celebrate the victory already achieved.
Expecting more from others than you’re personally willing to give
I once worked with a leader who had high expectations for everyone, not only in quality of work, but also in how many hours they should be working. The problem was this leader didn’t appear to have high expectations for himself. He would work just enough to bark out a few orders, but then he was gone. And, because he was mostly an absentee leader, even if he was working when he wasn’t around (and I personally knew that he was often working out of the office), no one believed he was. He created a perception of laziness. It was frustrating for everyone trying to follow. They felt used. People following a leader with this mindset mostly stay for a paycheck.
Assuming all the credit
Especially if the leader’s mindset thinks he or she deserves it. There is no success on a team without the efforts of others. When a leader takes all the accolades or rewards for himself, the team becomes employees of a boss rather than followers of a leader. Work becomes a job, not a career. It could be simply in the language of the leader. If “I” did it — if it was all because of “me” — “they” may soon — even if in only in their motivation — let “me” do it on my own. Shared success is paramount for a leader’s long-term success.
Never shutting down
You can’t do it. You can’t. You may think you can always be on — do everything — be everywhere — you can’t. Superman couldn’t. Jesus didn’t. Don’t try. (Someone reading this still thinks they can — okay — you’ve been warned.) And, I have to be honest, this is one of the hardest ones for me. It usually comes when I don’t discipline myself to say no, when I worry too much what people think who expect me to be everywhere or when I haven’t released things I shouldn’t even be doing. Thankfully I’ve matured enough that I won’t let the season go long without an intentional shut-down. (And, for me, that usually involves me getting out of town. There’s always something to do here.)
Isolating yourself from others
The mindset that a leader can’t let others get too close to them is one of the most dangerous I’ve observed. Leadership can be a lonely job. But, it shouldn’t be the job of a loner. We need people. We need accountability. We need community and those who can speak into the dark places of our hearts and lives. And I’ve seen that with so many leadership failures — even with so many pastors. When we become islands to ourselves we are an invitation for the enemy's attacks.
Those are a few dangerous leadership mindsets I’ve observed. Any you’d care to add?
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WHY I CAN NO LONGER DEFEND THE CHURCH
Photo: Flickr
“The name of God is discredited by the Gentiles because of you.” Romans 2:24
I can’t be an apologist for the church any longer.
In the past, when anti-religious folks have said that the world would be better off without religion or without the notion of God, I’ve typically risen to the debate. When they’ve talked about all the wars and killing motivated by religions, I’ve pointed out that the most brutal regimes of our recent history have all professed non-religious or anti-religious ideologies. I’ve talked about the good that religious communities do: Most hospitals and schools in the world have been built by churches. I’ve argued that the assertion that religion is bad for humanity isn’t backed up by any measurable data. I can give you a whole list of talking points and footnotes citing people from William James to Desmond Tutu.
I want to believe Bill Hybels’ claim that the local church is the hope of the world. I long for the church to be the slice of humanity in which God has become incarnate, the physical Body of Christ.
But then I read that American Christians are more likely than non-Christians to support America’s use of torture. The only group likely to oppose torture is the self-identified non-religious. In light of this news, how can we evangelize unchurched people? “Good News! Jesus loves you. And we support torture.”
So much for making the world a better place.
Now, my first impulse is to object, “But we’re not all like that.” Like ancient Israel, I’ve held onto a belief that there is a “righteous remnant” among the apostate people of God, the “true church” that is really trying to follow Jesus among all of the hypocrites.
I recognize the implicit elitism of this line of thinking, that my tribe is more like Jesus than your tribe. But I’m simply pointing out that this objection is insufficient. My objection that “we’re not all like that” falls flat, because the data indicate that both evangelical and liberal mainline protestants support torture by an overwhelming majority.
If the survey had separated out “Progressive Evangelicals,” I hope the results would have been different—but I cannot know. Claiming a minority status within the church doesn’t work if you’re addressing the criticism that religion — your religion — is bad for the world. I struggle with the question, “As an agent of the church and one who believes in evangelism for the Kingdom of God, how can you continue to recruit people to an organization or a belief system that justifies torture?”
I’m very aware that in my context, I’m already in a theological and political minority. I’ve rationalized my leadership in an institution that discriminates against LGBTQ persons. I’m part of an Annual Conference that voted to support the War in Iraq in 2006. But the torture issue throws this cultural conflict into sharp relief. For many Christians, and a majority of my clergy colleagues, their opinion on America’s use of torture is irrelevant to their belief in Jesus Christ. It will never be mentioned from the pulpit among sermon series on Improving Your Marriage and the Gospel According to A Recent Hit Movie.
Photo by Tyler Norman / Flickr
But for me, this issue stands near the heart of the gospel and is illustrated by the cross: God is on the side of the tortured and unjustly executed. Jesus, the “king of the Jews,” was executed because he was a potential threat to Rome and the religious power structure. “We were afraid of another terrorist attack” or “it is better for one to die for the good of the many” was exactly the logic used to undergird crucifixion of Jesus (John 11:50).
We should be shaking in our boots whenever was say the Apostle’s Creed, because we confess that we believe in Christ’s return to judge the living and the dead. I imagine Jesus on Judgment Day, turning to a crowd of our formerly-executed and now-resurrected brothers and sisters and asking, “Well, martyrs and saints, what should we do with the torturers and those who supported them?” The unjustly-executed ones look at the great pit of fire, and then they look at us, and for several painful moments — or maybe it’s an eternity — we stand there wondering which we fear more: the searing flames of hell, or their forgiveness.
But that grim metaphor is of a hypothetical future, and I’m more concerned with the present. Once again, in order to preserve my calling and sense of mission, I have to draw a boundary line. I have to modify my belief that the church is the best hope of the world: It is only the best hope of the world insofar as it proclaims the Lordship of the Tortured and Unjustly Executed One.
It still feels like a defeat. I’m basically forced to concede that religion is bad for the world, but that Jesus is not, that the American church is bad for the world, by MY church is not. I wind up making distinctions between the organizational, physical, political church that everyone can observe, and the abstract, spiritual, Universal Church that I claim is embodied in my particular church. This argument requires a nuanced ecclesiology, which means it is not a convincing argument among the unchurched.
Now, most people I know decry American Christianity or “the church today” for a number of reasons: We’re not missional enough, or evangelistic enough, or compassionate enough. But all of those criticisms are weak compared to this basic fact: Most American Christians support torture.
Tortured Christ, have mercy on us.
Dave Barnhart is the pastor of Saint Junia UMC in Birmingham, Ala. He blogs at DaveBarnhart.net.
FORGET SANTA CLAUS, VIRGINIA. WAS THERE A JESUS CHRIST?
A mosaic of Jesus found in Istanbul. Photo: Chris Brown / Flickr
(RNS) As another Christmas approaches and the usual holiday laments are unpacked like so many old ornaments — too much commercialism and too little faith, too much food and too little time — there has always been one reassuring constant: The reason for the season is the birth of Jesus some 2,000 years ago.
Sure, you can debate exactly what year he was born, or whether it was December 25 or some other date, and if his crib was a manger or even if he was born in Bethlehem or another city. Fleshing out the scant biographical details of the historical Jesus has been a popular parlor game for centuries.
In the end, whatever version you believed, or disbelieved, Christmas — and Christianity — remained a fact of life because Christ was a real person.
Or was he?
An increasingly persistent line of argument is taking the quest for the historical Jesus in a whole different direction and claiming that we actually don’t know much about Jesus himself because, in fact, Jesus never existed.
Or, say the debunkers, even if there was a Jesus of Nazareth, he was an ordinary rabbi whose identity was essentially hijacked after his death to invent a divine messiah, Jesus Christ.
“There are clearly good reasons to doubt Jesus’ historical existence — if not to think it outright improbable,” Raphael Lataster, a lecturer in religious studies at the University of Sydney, wrote in a column published Friday (Dec. 19) in The Washington Post.
Lataster is the author of “There Was No Jesus, There Is No God,” one of a growing number of books and blog posts by Jesus “mythicists” who question the very existence of the man from Galilee.
“Jesus of Nazareth was nothing more than an urban (or desert) legend, likely an agglomeration of several evangelic and deluded rabbis who might have existed,” Michael B. Paulkovich, author of “No Meek Messiah,” wrote in an article last June in Free Inquiry magazine titled, “The Fable of the Christ.”
Other books in this genre include “Christ’s Ventriloquists” by Eric Zuesse (2012); “Proving History: Bayes’s Theorem and the Quest for the Historical Jesus” by Richard Carrier (2012); “Nailed: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed at All” by David Fitzgerald (2010); “The Jesus Mysteries: Was the ‘Original Jesus’ a Pagan God?” by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy (2001); and “Deconstructing Jesus” by Robert Price (2000).
Their thesis generally includes a number of arguments:
• The Gospels were written decades after Jesus supposedly lived.
• They are unreliable because they were written by promoters of the Christian myth.
• The Gospel accounts are suspiciously incomplete, with few details of Jesus’ life.
• Many elements of the Gospels conflict or contradict each other.
• There are no contemporary references to Jesus from non-Christian sources.
• The death and resurrection of Jesus mirrors other pagan myths of the time.
• They are unreliable because they were written by promoters of the Christian myth.
• The Gospel accounts are suspiciously incomplete, with few details of Jesus’ life.
• Many elements of the Gospels conflict or contradict each other.
• There are no contemporary references to Jesus from non-Christian sources.
• The death and resurrection of Jesus mirrors other pagan myths of the time.
Needless to say, the vast majority of Bible scholars disagree with these arguments, whatever they think about Jesus as a religious figure. Yet the Jesus-as-myth meme is so persistent that many of them are publicly pushing back in order to debunk the debunkers.
Purdue University scholar Lawrence Mykytiuk, for example, has a lengthy feature story in the January/February 2015 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review that examines the extra-biblical sources — contemporary writers outside the New Testament — who attest to the existence of Jesus.
“As far as we know, no ancient person ever seriously argued that Jesus did not exist,” Mykytiuk writes, and he cites pagan and Jewish writers of the time who did affirm Jesus’ existence.
University of North Carolina’s Bart Ehrman, a leading New Testament scholar — and an evangelical-turned-agnostic who has no Christian ax to grind — grew so exasperated by the Jesus-hoax arguments that he wrote a detailed refutation in his 2012 book called “Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth.”
Believers and skeptics can argue with each other, and among themselves, about exactly who Jesus was and what he meant, Ehrman said in an interview. But arguing that Jesus did not exist “is such a ridiculous proposition.”
Ehrman said beyond the non-Christian references to Jesus from the era, scholars can plausibly trace elements in the Gospels to shortly after the time Jesus was killed. That fact, and the historical details in the Gospels, have convinced “virtually every scholar … in the Western world” that Jesus existed.
He also noted that while the Apostle Paul never met Jesus in the flesh — a point the Jesus deniers often make — in his many New Testament writings Paul mentions that he does know Jesus’ brother, James. “If Jesus didn’t exist, you’d think his brother would know about it!” Ehrman said with a laugh.
But to Ehrman, the most convincing argument that Jesus was a real person is that it would have made no sense to invent a crucified messiah because that is the opposite of what everyone was expecting at the time. In other words, it wasn’t a good sales pitch.
Besides, if Jesus was the product of a conspiracy, one would think that the conspirators would have gotten their stories straight and not have left lots of conflicting details.
Moreover, Ehrman said — contrary to the claims of the mythicists — there is no analogy in the pagan world of the time to a human being who was killed and rose from the dead and then exalted as a divine being.
So why do arguments that Jesus was a hoax persist?
For one thing, Ehrman said, “there are a lot of people who love conspiracy theories, and this is a brilliant one.”
The broader context, however, is the emergence of the assertive “New Atheists” who are both vocal and visible in seeking to criticize and undermine religion and to fight back against the culture warriors of the religious right.
A subset of those neo-atheists, as they are sometimes called, seems to want to take a shortcut in the fight against Christianity by arguing that Christ did not exist, thereby kicking the legs out from under the whole enterprise.
“I think the people who are taking that view are really shooting themselves in the foot,” Ehrman said. “If what they want to do is to counter Christianity, then they really ought to do it on some intellectually solid basis rather than arguing something that’s downright silly.”
IRRATIONAL HOPE
Gerard van Honthorst 1622
I’ve heard faith described as, “hope in things unseen,” which suggests that hope is faith’s active agent. It makes sense. Hope is the expectation of possibility. To be hopeful is to surround yourself with improbable anticipation. In Advent we light the candle of hope to remember Christ’s improbable birth and to worship a God whose identity can be described as “Possibility” itself.
Often I’ve been asked, “Why does this or that happen?” My first answer is usually, “It is astounding that anything happens at all.” Meditating on Christ’s mysterious birth is an invitation into an awareness of the miracles happening all around us. Yes, it breaks the laws of reason that “a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,” but there’s no good reason for laughter either; yet periodically it is the only thing that makes the world palatable.
Not only is hope the expectation of possibility, it is an action that always looks to the future. It is quite a waste of time to hope for something which has already occurred. It’s like hoping for ice cream yesterday, but here we are hoping for a Messiah who has already come in the person of Jesus Christ. I guess the root of an Advent hope is the desire that Christ’s birth matters. Will the incarnation finally transform hate into love, war into peace, sadness into joy? If hope is expectation of the possible, and faith is hope in things unseen, then I will pray for an undeniable love to overshadow even my faith.
Matt Rawle blogs at MattRawle.com.
LIVING ‘THE DREAM’
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Washington D.C. / Photo: Bigstock
As a mixed guy (half black/half white) I was essentially born into an intentional conversation about race. I've never had the opportunity to recuse myself from it, as I've had to navigate stereotypes, misconceptions and their implications on both sides of my own family. As a result, the idea of racial reconciliation has been an area of passion for me. I've spent a lot of time thinking, writing and speaking about these issues. My hope is, and has been, to be a "bridge builder." My life has been further enriched as I now have a wife of Mexican decent and a triracial son!
A few years back, I was having a conversation with someone about the idea of racial reconciliation. We talked about what it would truly mean for us to attempt to enter into one another's stories and seek to understand their perspectives on race. It was such a meaningful dialogue, and it affected us deeply to this day. Birthed out of conversation and life experience, I wrote a song as an attempt to express the experience and emotion of being subject to racism and the hope for true connection and restoration.
1. Stereotypes they continually follow me.
The looks you're giving me continually hollow me.They make me feel like I'm regretting my birth,I come into this earth without a position of worth andMaking it worse, I'm feeling like my life is a curseLike the only move I'll make will be in back of a hearseFeeling a thirst for something, the way the beat is bumpinI can feel my heart in my chest, my blood is steady pumpin.Automatically you put me in a class,No knowledge of my future or a drop about my past.Free at last, well that's what it's supposed to be.I'm here to tell you that you'll never get the most of me.You're close to me but yet you feel so far away,You tell me that I'm welcome but you don't want me to stay.I'm out in this world just trying to make a living,There ain't nothin I can do about the skin that I've been given.
2. The issue at hand is not so much the color of man,
It's about the principalities and where do we stand, and see,By us ignoring that the problem exists,It strengthens the insecurities that put us at risk.And we continue being naive...And we're only disrespecting all the people we grieveFor giving their life and helping us to live in the free, home of the brave,It's kinda hard for me to believe, for me to relay,The topic of us coming together,Only gets us shrugging our shoulders and saying, "whatever",They just give us education they picked up off the ground,We simply open our mouths and we swallow it down,Without even a second thought of checkin the math,We got all these other people thinking on our behalf.I don't want to be another statistic,That thinks that understanding isn't even realistic.
3. What about the skin that you reside in, tell me, is it something that you hide in?
There's simply information that you're not providing.I need somebody to be real about this,I need to know how you feel about this,It's like, secret society is trying me, calling my bluffI need to keep an open mind but it's never enough,There must be some initiation added to the litigationBut we need participation in this reconciliation.
♦ In the chorus, I simply asked, "Are you living 'The Dream'", referencing the one Dr. King shared on August 28th, 1963. I'm not the greatest writer, but this was my feeble attempt to share some of my life experience, using music. (Remember, this was a few years back, so give me grace!) It wasn't comprehensive and it CERTAINLY wasn't perfect but it helped me to think through and express some things that I had been pondering. It also gave me a venue to share with someone that wanted to know what it was like to see things through my life lenses.
I've heard it said that it is best to prepare in times of peace for the times of unrest. It is easy to see now how difficult it is to communicate in the heat of passion. In the current state of unrest in our country, our strong emotional responses are understandable. I hope that we see the necessity to continue to dialogue and realize the true connection and positivity that can result from it. We all know that racial issues transcend black and white, and it's important for us all to engage in communication. We shouldn't want to just "move on" past the tension, because that isn't healthy or realistic. We should, however, want to be thoughtful and intentional in our engagement in dialogue.
There have been some brilliant and thought-provoking pieces written in light of the most recent tragic events in our culture by folks far more capable than me. My hope for today is to simply encourage us to find methods of introspection and processing (music, writing, art, running, etc) which will prayerfully lead to some healthy conversation and understanding.
There is Hope. Be encouraged.
Curtis Zackery blogs at whoisCZ.com.
5 REASONS LEADERS NEED TO FAST
If leaders today want to raise their effectiveness for the kingdom, we can’t ignore the power of food. Or more specifically, the power of fasting. (Yep, that’s when you don’t eat.)
Jesus said there are some acts of God that require prayer and fasting. Sometimes prayer alone is not enough (Mark 9:29 KJV). Think about that stunning idea for a moment.
So what is fasting anyway?
Fasting is when you set aside the physical things (food) to tap into the spiritual realm. Fasting is a form of prayer, turbo-charged prayer. Fasting throws kerosene on the fire to flame up the prayers, taking them from Level 1 to Level 2, 3 and beyond.
If prayer is measured in ounces, fasting makes prayers felt in pounds. However prayer intensity is measured by God, fasting raises to a greater power.
Five reasons I fast to maximize my leadership
1. I fast because I’m a husband and a father. This alone makes me a leader. The responsibility of managing a godly household is a daunting one. Sure, I could wing it (and I’ve done that at times). But I don’t trust (nor do I like) the results that come from my own efforts. The enemy wants my marriage to suffer and for my kids to fall prey to the trappings of the world. Perhaps the greatest way to attack my ministry is to attack my family. I need a greater power for favor and protection. I need fasting.
2. I fast to keep my emotions in check. For Christian leaders, pride and insecurity are constant demons. When God blesses the fruit of my labor, I can tend to feel good about myself. When my work seems fruitless and in vain, I question my calling.
Fasting strips away the noise and puts me in position to focus on God — and him alone. Fasting puts me in position to see ministry success for what it is … the work of God; and to see silence for what it is, too … the waiting of God. By denying my flesh in most basic ways, I’m letting God know that the results are for him to determine. My job is to be faithful.
3. I fast to tear down (and rebuild) my platform. Fasting is about building my platform with God. Often I become distracted by seemingly important leadership ideas, like growing my tribe, organizing my growth, expanding my influence. Sometimes I need to set aside my ministry platform goals in order to give attention to my walk with God. Ironically, when I focus on my platform with God, he seems to take care of my platform with others.
4. I fast to seek God’s anointing on my life. Fasting strips me down when I need it. My sin becomes more noticeable, my thoughts more centered, my heart more open, my soul more hungry. Fasting puts me in a more moldable condition for God to shape me however he sees fit for leadership.
5. I fast because I want to be a disciple. The Pharisees peppered Jesus with questions like, “why don’t your disciples fast?” Jesus said they didn’t need to fast. After all, the disciples were already with him. But he said that when they were away from him, they would fast. And when Jesus ascended to heaven, they did fast.
I want to be a disciple too. And while Jesus is away from me physically, I will practice fasting. Fasting is mysterious. I don’t always know how it works. But like with prayer, I trust that God’s attention shines brightly on my life when I fast and that my prayers shout a bit louder.
Take some steps
Perhaps you’ve had past experience with fasting and this post is a reminder for you. Or maybe you’ve never fasted before and your heart is leaning in with curiosity. If so, I encourage you to take some steps.
BEFORE PRONOUNCING FIDO IN HEAVEN, LET’S CONSIDER HUMAN CREATURES
(RNS) People of all ages delighted last week when media all over the world reported that Pope Francis told a distraught boy whose dog died, “Paradise is open to all God’s creatures.”
When the story proved to be false, it hardly deterred animal lovers from nurturing the hope that they will be reunited with their furry friends in the hereafter.
While I claim no special knowledge of what happens when we die, I bristle when, in this life, people put animal welfare on the same ethical plane as human welfare. I am also judgmental of people whose affections for their dogs and cats exceed their bonds with other humans.
Call it a pet peeve.
I recently unleashed a harsh judgment along these lines in the presence of my in-laws, who had only days before made the decision to have their ailing old dog euthanized.
While my wife’s parents were quick to forgive my flippant judgment, I know my words stung.
Left to ponder the source(s) of my insensitivity, I realized it stems from a propensity to dismiss rather than engage important theological and ethical questions about nonhuman animals.
I did not grow up with pets and maybe that’s why I have a serious blind spot in my worldview.
I have lately found myself nodding along with conservatives who worry that young people delay and forgo parenting in order to be “parents” to pets.
From luxury apartment buildings that woo childless millennials with amenities like pet washing stations to the increased prevalence of battles over pet custody in divorce proceedings, I am sympathetic to the view that a great nation should raise children, not domesticated animals.
To me, the decadence of Paris Hilton and her pathetic imitators carrying designer dogs around in designer handbags symbolizes much of what is wrong with our society.
Usually grateful when celebrities headline fundraisers for cancer research or relief efforts following natural disasters, I was less impressed when Fox aired a star-studded telethon Thanksgiving night to raise money for the homeless dogs and cats among us.
There are more than a million animal species on earth. It seems silly to speculate about whether they are saved by their faith or good works, but it is an honest question that points to the absurdity of the notion that they relate to God the same way we do.
Yet we err when we forget that we, too, are creatures. The Hebrew Bible teaches that God gave us dominion over the other animals (Genesis 1:28). Psalm 8, a song of praise to God for creation, says of mankind: “Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.”
The question then, is what our dominion requires.
My appetite and bank account have profited from my aversion to applying even the most basic ethical scrutiny to decisions about the meat I buy and eat.
I am not sure whether a Christian ethic forbids me from eating animals. But I am increasingly convinced that we should not torture animals, even if we eventually slaughter them.
It is at the supermarket, not the pearly gates, where we grapple with pressing ethical and theological dilemmas about nonhuman animals.
We must be careful not to allow abstract, unknowable questions like whether our pets go to heaven distract us from alleviating human (and nonhuman) suffering here and now.
And we must weigh our compassion for animals against our greater compassion for humans who are, after all, the only creatures who bear the image of God.
A robust humanism — Christian or otherwise — places these considerations in their proper perspective. Imagining heaven as an eternal trip to the dog park contradicts much Christian teaching. But well-considered animal ethics can point us, individually and collectively, toward better human ethics as well.
‘TONIGHT, I'M NOT HOMELESS’
St. Batholomew's Church in Manhattan / Photo by: Robert Schroeder / Flickr
Have you ever sat down for dinner with a complete stranger? Better yet, have you ever paid a lot of money to eat with someone vastly different from you? At one hundred dollars a plate, that’s exactly what happened at a Manhattan church event designed to bring benefactors and homeless to the same table. Catered by The New York Palace and The Waldorf-Astoria hotels, guests enjoyed fine candlelit dining, along with formally dressed servers and the soft sounds of piano and saxophone.
The power of fellowship
One noteworthy guest, sportswriter Peter King, sat with a man who’s been homeless for ten years. At one point, while eating his fourth piece of turkey, the man announced, “Tonight, I’m not homeless.” What a moment—a beautiful glimpse into the power of fellowship in a setting of equality and dignity! With nearly five hundred patrons, the meal brought a bit of heaven to earth. “Artie Stone, 58, another guest, said: ‘The idea of well-to-do and struggling people side-by-side is like having the lion and the lamb lay down together.’” Indeed, experiencing this event must have brought the kind of joy that is a gift from our Creator.
The power of God
Sadly, that’s almost never what we experience through our encounters with the poor. Often times, when we are confronted by the needy, we are caught off-guard and unable to respond or even look the person in the eye. We find it easier to turn and look the other direction, as if the person does not exist. Following Christ means responding differently. God asks us to love our neighbor and care for the poor, the stranger, and those in need. Just imagine what it would be like if you knew the names of most of the poor living in your area. What a joy to be able to engage in conversation, to offer friendship simply through the dignity of acknowledgement, and possibly even pray for one another, remembering that we all are equal in God’s eyes.
Question of the day: Do you have relationships with those living in chronic poverty?
Focal Scriptures: Matthew 8:19-20; John 12:1-8; Isaiah 65:23-25
Matthew 8: Your Business Is Life, Not Death
18-19 When Jesus saw that a curious crowd was growing by the minute, he told his disciples to get him out of there to the other side of the lake. As they left, a religion scholar asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.
20 Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”
John 12: Anointing His Feet
1-3 Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living. Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus’ feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house.
4-6 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, “Why wasn’t this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces.” He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them.
7-8 Jesus said, “Let her alone. She’s anticipating and honoring the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you. You don’t always have me.”
Isaiah 65: New Heavens and a New Earth
17-25 “Pay close attention now:
I’m creating new heavens and a new earth.
All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain
are things of the past, to be forgotten.
Look ahead with joy.
Anticipate what I’m creating:
I’ll create Jerusalem as sheer joy,
create my people as pure delight.
I’ll take joy in Jerusalem,
take delight in my people:
No more sounds of weeping in the city,
no cries of anguish;
No more babies dying in the cradle,
or old people who don’t enjoy a full lifetime;
One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal—
anything less will seem like a cheat.
They’ll build houses
and move in.
They’ll plant fields
and eat what they grow.
No more building a house
that some outsider takes over,
No more planting fields
that some enemy confiscates,
For my people will be as long-lived as trees,
my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work.
They won’t work and have nothing come of it,
they won’t have children snatched out from under them.
For they themselves are plantings blessed by God,
with their children and grandchildren likewise God-blessed.
Before they call out, I’ll answer.
Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.
Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow,
lion and ox eat straw from the same trough,
but snakes—they’ll get a diet of dirt!
Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill
anywhere on my Holy Mountain,” says God.
For a complete lesson on this topic visit LinC.
FORGIVENESS AND FAITH
The difficulty of forgiveness
In her book “My Grandfather’s Blessings,” Rachel Naomi Remen tells about going to a Yom Kippur service at which the rabbi was to speak about forgiveness. Before he spoke, he walked into the congregation where his wife was sitting, picked up their daughter into his arms, and carried her up to the podium. The adorable little girl, about a year old, smiled at the congregation and won their hearts. They watched as she patted her father on the cheek, and he beamed at her.
Then the rabbi began his sermon about the meaning of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. When the little girl realized that her father’s attention was no longer on her, she grabbed his nose. He gently removed her hand and continued his sermon. Then she reached for his tie and put it in her mouth. The congregation laughed softly as he retrieved his tie. Then she hugged his neck. Looking over her head, the rabbi said to the congregation, “Think about it. Is there anything she could do that you could not forgive her for?” Of course, the congregation thought about their own children and grandchildren. Then the little girl reached up and grabbed her father’s glasses. The congregation laughed again and so did the rabbi as he took back his glasses. Waiting until there was silence, he asked, “And when does that stop? When does it get hard to forgive? At three? At seven? At fourteen? At thirty-five? How old does someone have to be before you forget that everyone is a child of God?”
These questions reflect our struggle with forgiveness — our difficulty with practicing forgiveness and our forgetfulness that the person who hurts or harms us is also a child of God — and they evoke other questions. How do we forgive those who have hurt us? How do we forgive ourselves? Does forgiving mean going back to the way things were before we were hurt? Is the maxim “forgive and forget” either possible or wise? How is forgiveness possible in cases of spousal abuse, child abuse, rape, and murder? What does forgiveness mean in cases of systemic (corporate) sin, evil embedded in the very fabric of a society, such as racism, genocide, corporate greed, and various kinds of complicity in upholding structures and policies that harm other people?
Confession and pardon
Forgiveness plays a central role in the Bible and in Christian theology and practice. That centrality is evidenced in the service of Holy Communion, which includes a confession as well as the assurance that we are forgiven. In the context of worship, these words offer promise to contemporary Christians in their struggles to forgive and to be forgiven — there can be fresh beginnings, new life, and restored relationships because of who God is.
The presence of a prayer of confession and words of pardon indicates that worship requires more than our praise and thanksgiving, as essential as they are. As Don Saliers writes in “Worship as Theology,” all “modes of prayer must be brought to the test of truthfulness and honesty in the experience of our ongoing life together.” Confession provides opportunity for facing the truth about who we are before God.
“True confession of sin before God is not an indulging of our guilt or a massaging of our feelings of sorrow,” writes Saliers. “Rather, it is directed toward amendment of life. This is why confessing is always in mutual relation to reconciliation and forgiveness.”
Forgiveness in the Bible
A central Old Testament teaching is that God, who makes and keeps covenant with us, is merciful and forgiving. God makes covenants with Noah, Moses, David, and the people of Israel. Throughout the Old Testament, when people break these covenants, God continues to be forgiving and stands ready to restore the relationship. God is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6, NRSV).
In the New Testament, forgiveness is embodied in the life and ministry of Jesus, who offers forgiveness of sin and healing to the broken. In Mark 2:1-12, we find the story of Jesus forgiving the sins of a paralytic and healing him, actions that incense some of the scribes when they see that Jesus has the power and authority to forgive sins.
God’s offer of forgiveness does not negate our being accountable for our failures, but it reminds us that the nature of God is always to have mercy. We see this mercy illustrated in Luke 15 in the parables of the lost sleep, the lost coin, and the lost son. However, though God’s offer of forgiveness stands, human beings are called to repent. The Hebrew word for “repent” means to turn or to return to God. The Greek word for “repent” means to think differently or to reconsider. Through this turning to God, through this reconsidering what God wants us to be, we accept God’s gift of forgiveness.
Human forgiveness is another matter. Do we have to forgive in order for God to forgive?
Thoughtful Christians disagree about this subject. Some would say yes and cite the Lord’s Prayer as an example: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12, NRSV). Others, like Pamela Cooper-White, point out that this verse is an analogy; it asks that God forgive us just as we forgive the debts of those who owe us money.
Forgiveness in Christian theology
God calls us to be in right relationship with other people, with communities, with God, and with all of creation. God’s intention for us is that we live in relationships that are characterized by love, justice, and honesty, but we fail. In theological terms, we sin against our neighbors and stand in need of forgiveness and, where possible, restored relationships. Our sin is sometimes corporate in that we participate in systems that harm others. Examples are sexism, racism, and mechanisms in society that promote a growing gap between the very rich and the poor, consumerism, and degradation of the environment.
Into the morass of our failures and brokenness, God graciously offers forgiveness. What does God intend through offering forgiveness? Joretta Marshall writes in “How Can I Forgive?” that the Christian tradition makes three theological claims that help us understand the process of forgiveness. First, we are called to be in right relationship with God, ourselves, other people, and all of creation. Second, we break relationships through individual and corporate sin. Third, God intends that our relationships be characterized by justice, reconciliation, and wholeness. Marshall writes, “As we move through the process of forgiveness, we find ways to restore and reclaim God’s intentions for the world.”
The process of forgiveness
Marshall contends that “forgiveness is the process into which God invites us as we seek to restore our relationships with one another, with ourselves, with our communities, with the world, and ultimately with God.” This definition challenges some popular notions about forgiveness: that it can happen quickly, that it is entirely a personal endeavor, and that it is only about getting rid of anger and pain.
Marshall describes the movements in the process of forgiveness. After harm or injustice has occurred, it is recognized and named. The person harmed has an emotional response to the pain. Ideally, the next step is that there is mutual movement to repentance, change, and restitution. Then change occurs in the dynamics of multiple relationships, not just in the relationship of the forgiver and perpetrator. Then there are possible movements toward reconciliation, although reconciliation may never be reached.
The goal of the process is healthier relationships with others and with God. Marshall says, “What we hope for in the process of forgiveness is that the honesty of naming our hurts, pains, sins, and injustices will lead us not only to a deeper awareness of God’s grace but will also lead us to embrace the fullness and abundance of our relationships with one another and with ourselves.”
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups.
POPE FRANCIS CHALLENGES MUSLIMS TO CONDEMN VIOLENCE IN THE NAME OF GOD
Afternoon prayer at the St. George Church in the historic Assyrian Christian town of Alqosh in the Nineveh Plain of Iraqi Kurdistan. The town was nearly overrun by Islamic fighters earlier this summer, when Peshmerga forces withdrew their forces, abandoning the Christian town. Photo by Jodi Hilton
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis on Tuesday (Dec. 23) challenged Muslim religious leaders to “unanimously” condemn the violent persecution of Christians in the Middle East, as well as killing in the name of God.
In an open Christmas letter to beleaguered Christians in the region, the pope called on Muslims to push a “more authentic image of Islam, as so many of them desire.”
“Islam is a religion of peace, one which is compatible with respect for human rights and peaceful coexistence,” the pope said.
“The tragic situation faced by our Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq, as well as the Yazidi and members of other religious and ethnic communities, demands that all religious leaders clearly speak out to condemn these crimes unanimously and unambiguously.”
The pope stopped short of naming the self-declared militant Islamic State, but expressed his closeness to Christians suffering in the region, including the thousands of refugees and victims of kidnapping and violence.
He urged the international community to not only help the many Christians in need but to increase humanitarian aid and end the violence.
“I write to you just before Christmas, knowing that for many of you the music of your Christmas hymns will be accompanied by tears and sighs,” he said.
It’s not the first time that Francis has urged Muslim leaders to take a stronger stand against Christian persecution and condemn terrorism carried out in the name of Islam, particularly in Iraq and Syria. He previously called for greater support on his return flight from Turkey in November, saying a “global condemnation” of the violence would help the majority of Muslims dispel this stereotype.
In a 2006 speech, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI set off global protests after a scholarly address about the interplay of faith and reason. He wanted to show how reason untethered from faith leads to fanaticism and violence. Instead, many Muslims heard him say that Islam is inherently violent.
Benedict referenced an obscure 14th-century dialogue between a long-forgotten Byzantine Christian emperor, Manuel II Paleologus, and a Persian scholar, about the concept of violence in Islam. The passage that caught attention was when Benedict quoted Paleologus’ description of Islam as “evil and inhuman” and having been “spread by the sword.”
EXECUTIONS DROP TO LOWEST LEVEL IN TWO DECADES
Photo: Flickr / Creative Commons
WASHINGTON (RNS) Driven in part by continuing legal disputes related to lethal injection drugs and state moratoriums on the death penalty, the 35 people executed in the U.S. this year marks the fewest in two decades, according to a year-end report by the Death Penalty Information Center.
The center, which opposes capital punishment, also found that the 72 death sentences issued in 2014 represents the fewest in 40 years.
“What’s going on here is that we are seeing capital punishment slipping into irrelevance as a criminal justice tool,” said Richard Dieter, the center’s executive director. “The country is re-thinking this as an effective remedy.”
The declining numbers come as several states and the federal government are locked in disputes over their use of lethal injection drugs. The state of Oklahoma halted executions for the remainder of 2014 after a botched execution in April. The federal government, involved in a legal challenge to its lethal injection protocol, has not used its execution chamber since 2003.
Perhaps most striking about the 2014 report, Dieter said, was that Texas — the nation’s perennial leader in carrying out the death penalty — was no longer alone at the top after 17 years. It tied with Missouri for the most executions, with 10. Meanwhile, the seven states that carried out executions this year marked the lowest number in 25 years.
Connecticut state Rep. David Labriola, a Republican who helped lead an unsuccessful fight to maintain capital punishment in that state, believes there is strong national support for the death penalty, as long as it is applied fairly and efficiently.
But Labriola said there has been public “frustration” with an often protracted appeal process and the costs associated with supporting the legal challenges of the condemned.
“It can take more than 20 years to resolve some of these cases,” Labriola said. “I continue to support the death penalty because I believe there are some crimes so heinous, that is the only appropriate punishment. Had Adam Lanza not turned the gun on himself (after killing 26 in the 2012 Newtown, Conn., school massacre), he would have surely qualified for the death penalty.”
“If you are going to have the death penalty,” Labriola said, “it has to be a working death penalty.”
This Sunday, 28 December 2014 |
Lectionary Scriptures:
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Psalm 148
Galatians 4:4-7
Luke 2:22-40
Isaiah 61:10-11 I will sing for joy in God,
explode in praise from deep in my soul!
He dressed me up in a suit of salvation,
he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo
and a bride a jeweled tiara.
For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers,
and as a garden cascades with blossoms,
So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom
and puts praise on display before the nations.
Look, Your Savior Comes!
62:1-5 Regarding Zion, I can’t keep my mouth shut,
regarding Jerusalem, I can’t hold my tongue,
Until her righteousness blazes down like the sun
and her salvation flames up like a torch.
Foreign countries will see your righteousness,
and world leaders your glory.
You’ll get a brand-new name
straight from the mouth of God.
You’ll be a stunning crown in the palm of God’s hand,
a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God.
No more will anyone call you Rejected,
and your country will no more be called Ruined.
You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight),
and your land Beulah (Married),
Because God delights in you
and your land will be like a wedding celebration.
For as a young man marries his virgin bride,
so your builder marries you,
And as a bridegroom is happy in his bride,
so your God is happy with you.
Psalm 148:1-5 Hallelujah!
Praise God from heaven,
praise him from the mountaintops;
Praise him, all you his angels,
praise him, all you his warriors,
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, you morning stars;
Praise him, high heaven,
praise him, heavenly rain clouds;
Praise, oh let them praise the name of God—
he spoke the word, and there they were!
6 He set them in place
from all time to eternity;
He gave his orders,
and that’s it!
7-12 Praise God from earth,
you sea dragons, you fathomless ocean deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and ice,
hurricanes obeying his orders;
Mountains and all hills,
apple orchards and cedar forests;
Wild beasts and herds of cattle,
snakes, and birds in flight;
Earth’s kings and all races,
leaders and important people,
Robust men and women in their prime,
and yes, graybeards and little children.
13-14 Let them praise the name of God—
it’s the only Name worth praising.
His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky;
he’s built a monument—his very own people!
Praise from all who love God!
Israel’s children, intimate friends of God.
Hallelujah!
Galatians 4:4-7 But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.
Luke 2:22-24 Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God’s Law: “Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God,” and also to sacrifice the “pair of doves or two young pigeons” prescribed in God’s Law.
25-32 In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:
God, you can now release your servant;
release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
and of glory for your people Israel.
33-35 Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,
This child marks both the failure and
the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty,
as God reveals who they really are.
36-38 Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.
39-40 When they finished everything required by God in the Law, they returned to Galilee and their own town, Nazareth. There the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit. And the grace of God was on him.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary:
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Verse 10
[10] I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
I will — This is spoken in the person of the church.
Garments, … — With salvation as with a garment, and with righteousness as with a robe.
Verse 11
[11] For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Righteousness — His great work of salvation shall break out and appear.
Praise — As the natural product, and fruit of it.
Verse 1
[1] For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
Zion's sake — Zion and Jerusalem are both put for the church, Hebrews 12:22.
My peace — These seem to be the words of the prophet strongly resolving, notwithstanding all difficulties, to solicit God for the church's happiness, and constantly excite to the belief of it by his preaching, though it were long before it came, for Isaiah lived near two hundred years before this was accomplished.
Righteousness — With reference to the Babylonians, understand it of the righteousness of God, who hath promised his people deliverance, and he must be righteous, and so understand salvation before; or rather, the vindicating of his people's cause in the eyes of the nations by the ruin of the Babylonians; he will shew that his people have a righteous cause.
Lamp — And to that purpose is set up where it may be seen continually, to signify how eminently conspicuous this prosperous estate of the church should be among the nations, and as it may particularly relate to revealing of Christ unto the world.
Verse 2
[2] And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
A new name — The church shall be more renowned than ever, both in respect of her condition, and so called Hephzi-bah, and of her relation, and so called Beulah, and this new name the Lord gives them accordingly, verse 4.
Verse 3
[3] Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
Crown of glory — An expression to set forth the dignity of her state.
In the hand — Preserved and defended by God's hand.
Royal diadem — The same thing with the former for substance. Or, the royal priesthood, whereof the apostle speaks, 1 Peter 2:9.
Psalm 148
Verse 4
[4] Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
Heavens of heavens — Ye highest heavens, the place of God's throne.
Waters — Ye clouds which are above a part of the heavens.
Verse 6
[6] He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
Established — He hath made them constant and incorruptible, not changeable, as the things of the lower world.
A decree — Concerning their continuance.
Verse 7
[7] Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
Dragons — Either serpents, which hide in the deep caverns of the earth; or whales, and other sea-monsters, which dwell in the depths of the sea.
Verse 8
[8] Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
Fire — Lightnings and other fireworks of the air.
Vapour — Or, fumes: hot exhalations.
Fulfilling his word — Executing his commands, either for the comfort or punishment of the inhabitants of the earth.
Verse 13
[13] Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
Above — Above all the glories which are in earth and in heaven.
Verse 14
[14] He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
The horn — In scripture commonly denotes strength, victory, glory, and felicity.
Galatians 4:4-7
Verse 4
[4] But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
But when the fulness of the time — Appointed by the Father, Galatians 4:2.
Was come, God sent forth — From his own bosom. His Son, miraculously made of the substance of a woman - A virgin, without the concurrence of a man.
Made under the law — Both under the precept, and under the curse, of it.
Verse 5
[5] To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
To redeem those under the law — From the curse of it, and from that low, servile state.
That we — Jews who believe.
Might receive the adoption — All the privileges of adult sons.
Verse 6
[6] And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
And because ye — Gentiles who believe, are also thus made his adult sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts likewise, crying, Abba, Father - Enabling you to call upon God both with the confidence, and the tempers, of dutiful children. The Hebrew and Greek word are joined together, to express the joint cry of the Jews and gentiles.
Verse 7
[7] Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Wherefore thou — Who believest in Christ.
Art no more a servant — Like those who are under the law.
But a son — Of mature age. And if a son, then an heir of all the promises, and of the all-sufficient God himself.
Luke 2:22-40
Verse 22
[22] And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
The days — The forty days prescribed, Leviticus 12:2,4.
Verse 23
[23] (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
Exodus 13:2.
Verse 24
[24] And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
A pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons — This offering sufficed for the poor. Leviticus 12:8.
Verse 25
[25] And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
The consolation of Israel — A common phrase for the Messiah, who was to be the everlasting consolation of the Israel of God.
The Holy Ghost was upon him — That is, he was a prophet.
Verse 27
[27] And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
By the Spirit — By a particular revelation or impulse from him.
Verse 30
[30] For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Thy salvation — Thy Christ, thy Saviour.
Verse 32
[32] A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
And the glory of thy people Israel — For after the Gentiles are enlightened, all Israel shall be saved.
Verse 33
[33] And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken — For they did not thoroughly understand them.
Verse 34
[34] And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
Simeon blessed them — Joseph and Mary.
This child is set for the fall and rising again of many — That is, he will be a savour of death to some, to unbelievers: a savour of life to others, to believers: and for a sign which shall be spoken against - A sign from God, yet rejected of men: but the time for declaring this at large was not yet come: that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed - The event will be, that by means of that contradiction, the inmost thoughts of many, whether good or bad, will be made manifest.
Verse 35
[35] (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
A sword shall pierce through thy own soul — So it did, when he suffered: particularly at his crucifixion.
Verse 37
[37] And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
Fourscore and four years — These were the years of her life, not her widowhood only.
Who departed not from the temple — Who attended there at all the stated hours of prayer.
But served God with fastings and prayers — Even at that age.
Night and day — That is, spending therein a considerable part of the night, as well as of the day.
Verse 38
[38] And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
To all that were waiting for redemption — The sceptre flow appeared to he departing from Judah, though it was not actually gone: Daniel's weeks were plainly near their period. And the revival of the spirit of prophecy, together with the memorable occurrences relating to the birth of John the Baptist, and of Jesus, could not but encourage and quicken the expectation of pious persons at this time. Let the example of these aged saints animate those, whose hoary heads, like theirs, are a crown of glory, being found in the way of righteousness. Let those venerable lips, so soon to be silent in the grave, be now employed in the praises of their Redeemer. Let them labour to leave those behind, to whom Christ will be as precious as he has been to them; and who will be waiting for God's salvation, when they are gone to enjoy it.
Verse 40
[40] And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
And the child grew — In bodily strength and stature; and waxed strong in spirit - The powers of his human mind daily improved; filled with wisdom - By the light of the indwelling Spirit, which gradually opened itself in his soul; and the grace of God was upon him - That is, the peculiar favour of God rested upon him, even as man.
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