Category: Rants

Passionate About the Scriptures

Published by mhelbert on January 13, 2020

I think that I wrote somewhere that I am really passionate about the Biblical text. Studying them rates as one of my all time favorite things to do. Part of why I find these ancient texts fascinating is the significance, for good or ill, that they have had on the cultures of the world. These words are not confined to one specific group of people or particular region. Unlike, say, the Hindu Vedas or Upanishads which are located pretty specifically in South Asia, the Christian Bible has influenced virtually every culture and people group on the planet.
That reason, alone, is enough to cause one to want to know more about it
Who wrote these texts?
To whom were they written?
When were the composed? Compiled? Redacted?
What’s so important about the words in these 66 books, poems, laws, narratives, stories, and myths?

Sadly, these questions, and the subsequent answers, are lost on a vast number of people who say that they reverence these texts. They truly seem to not know the questions to ask. Or, perhaps more concerning, they don’t want to hear the answers.
It’s far easier to let someone else do the hard work. They can then try to follow the path of those others and pretend that they are engaging The Word.
But, that’s a topic for another post.

The reason I’m writing this today is because of the study I had to prepare on this past week’s lections for the Baptism of Jesus.
We looked at Matthew’s take on Jesus trip to see his cousin, John, at the Jordan river. Jesus went there so that John could baptize him.
The story’s pretty straight forward.
John tells the people around him about the person who is coming after him who will baptize with fire. The Coming One is greater than John. In fact John said that he was not worthy to even untie the shoe of the Coming One.

Enter Jesus: stage left.

The two men talked a bit. Jesus indicated that he was there to be baptized.
John, who apparently recognized Jesus as the Coming One, balked at Jesus’ request
He told Jesus, “Whoa! No, no, no! I’m the one who should be baptized by You!”

Well, Jesus prevailed upon John so that John dunked Jesus in the Living Waters of the Jordan.
When John brought Jesus up from the water, the story says that the Heavens opened and the Spirit descended in the form of a dove and lighted on Jesus. A voice from heaven said, “Behold, this is my Son, the Beloved in whom I am well pleased.”

Now, at first blush this looks like a pretty simple story.
Right?

I’m not going to go into any detail here.
You really don’t want me to turn my inner geek loose on you.
It could get real ugly.
Or, at least pretty boring.

What I do want to point out here is that when we start to ask questions about this story, the answers aren’t quite so simple.

Here’s an example:
Why did Jesus need to be baptized by John?
Hmmm….
Did Jesus need to be cleansed from sin?
Most orthodox folks would freak out about even considering that!

As I studied this one question I found no less than 16 different possible answers.
All of them viable. All of them considered by skilled and knowledgeable scholars.
Yet, the answers were all over the place.

If one simple text, straight forward, no big issues with languages or other issues can elicit such wide variations in interpretations, how can we think that any of the other texts can be reduced to simple talking points?

The correct answer for those keeping score is,
They can’t.

That’s why it’s so important to dig and ask and dig some more.

These sacred texts have been used and abused for millennia because people refuse to ask the hard questions. Or, worse, they refuse to listen to all of the possible answers before resorting to actions that, unfortunately, have done much more harm than good in many places.

The other part of why I’m so passionate about the Scriptures is to find the treasures that are life affirming and graciously full of God’s Love that are there for the diligent to find. I hope to show myself diligent in this labor of love that I’ve undertaken.

I hope that I haven’t bored you too much.

But, hey, I’m not really sorry.

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Both/And

Published by mhelbert on December 27, 2019

It’s hard living in a binary world.
On/Off
Black/White
I/O
Right/Wrong

For, in God’s Cosmos there are even more colors than Microsoft’s Millions and Millions.
There is the space between the river above and the river below as water cascades over the stones that divide the two. In that space the water is neither above nor below. It is neither In one or out of the other.
It is Between Space.

Right?
Wrong?
According to whom?
You?
Me?
Someone else?

Yes, some things must fall in one or the other.
Murder?
Wrong!
Rape?
Also, Wrong!
Feed the Poor?
Always Right!
Give a needed hug?
Right, again.

We don’t usually need to make those kinds of choices in our everyday lives, though.
Do we?

No, most of the time we need to decide between strawberry and grape jelly with the peanut butter on the sandwich.
Neither right nor wrong.

Yet, we fight and argue over the color of the bathroom or which gas station to go to.
“No! I want Yellow paint! I’ll pick it up on my way to Get-Go!”
“Forget that! You’ll get Blue paint on your way back from Speedway!”

From politics to religion to whether Spam is actually food, we disparage one another.
“It’s my way or the highway!” we shout.

But, what if it’s not?

Rather than Either This or That,
What if life is actually filled with

Both/And?

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Look! Oh, Breath of God!

Published by mhelbert on December 18, 2019

Look!
The breakers pound the shoreline into submission,
Creating sand that a child forms into a castle,
Complete with ramparts and towers where archers
Fire their arrows and bolts at the advancing enemy.

Look!
The hungry person takes bread from the baker!
No money exchanged, the baker raises the alarm.
Stop! Thief!
The hungry person cast into chains and taken
From family, friends, life.

Look!
The rich person snaps fingers and servant scurries.
The rich person nods and gold moves from one rich person to another.
The rich person pays the officer who scatters the poor who hold hands out.
The rich person closes the curtains.
Cheers!

Look…
Ancient stories tell of the Breath of God
Hovering over the deep,
Settling above the chaos.
Order from disorder; life from emptiness.

Look…
See where the Comforter hides
For we cannot see this One anywhere.
Where is the Breath of God?
Chaos reigns in the depths of human hearts.

Look!
O Breath!
See the ruins!
Behold the smoke and fires burning!

When…
Will You calm the chaos that reigns?
Will You breathe new life into these bones of death?
Will You comfort?

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Little Boxes

Published by mhelbert on December 17, 2019

This morning as I sat in the quiet of my office, candles casting a soft luminance across my desk, shadows quietly dancing to the movement of the flames, an image formed in my mind.
The image was of a man wearing a robe with gold woven into it. He was leading a procession down a street.
There were some others wearing similar robes. Someone carried a banner like a flag.
Many people followed in the train of these men.
They appeared to be full of joy, singing together.

I wondered at this for a moment.

Then, I realized that I recognized these people.
They were walking away from a church that had at one time been a place where the Holy Spirit was alive and active.

But, something happened to change that.

The people created boxes.
They were pretty boxes.
There were green ones and red ones. Some purple and still others yellow and blue.
The people I saw marching down the street each held one of the boxes.

“What’s in those boxes?” I asked.

“Why, God, of course,” came the reply.

My forehead furrowed as I looked on, perplexed.
“Those boxes are awfully small,” I said. “How did they get God into those?”

The answer surprised me.

“All of those people shrunk God so that God would fit!” the voice said. The tone was like a person stating something so obvious that the question was just silly.
“They have each imagined God as a small, parochial deity that can only do certain small things.
The God of their imagination cannot accept anyone who has not prayed a certain prayer in a very certain way. This God is not capable of loving the many and diverse people and creatures of the Cosmos. Only people who look like them are acceptable to their God. These people have very strict rules about what their God is allowed to do. God must be able to fit inside of their small imagination. So, naturally, this God must be small enough to fit in the boxes!”

As I sat there considering what I had just seen and heard, I could not help feeling sorry for those people. They had created a god that fit their own idea of what a god was. This god is impotent. It is incapable of expressing divine love because it is constructed out of the paper mache of the human mind. It really is sad.

I can understand it a little, though.
If we allow God to exist outside of our little boxes then God might just do something we don’t expect. God might surprise us with the vastness and ferociousness of Divine Love. We might even find ourselves changed! Our hearts and imaginations might become vast and ferocious as well. We might find that we are compelled to Love Others. If we’re not careful we may find ourselves caring about the Cosmos like it was our very own backyard.

We can’t have that kind of stuff happening…

Can we?

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Advent: A Season of Expectation

Published by mhelbert on December 10, 2019

Advent is that time before Christmas that the Church set aside in order to Prepare for the Arrival of Messiah.
In history, that Messiah is recognized as Jesus of Nazareth.
In our time we prepare for the return of Messiah Jesus in Glory.

The people of ancient Israel had their own expectations about the Messiah.
Their prophets told stories about the coming King of Israel.
The Psalmists sang about how God would restore the fortunes of Israel through a King like David. David, a mighty warrior and leader who fought to deliver God’s people from the perils of their enemies.
The “Idea” of Messiah grew into mythic proportions by the time that Jesus was born.
Messiah would be a great military leader who would rally Israel against her tormentors and enemies from Rome. This would establish Israel as the leading military power in the known world.
The Messiah would judge Israel in all righteousness and justice. The poor would be cared for and succor given to the widow and orphan. Foreigners would flock to Jerusalem to hear the Word of God and receive justice.

This Messiah would be, in fact, a King of Kings.

This concept of a Messiah King was ingrained in the cultural fabric of the people of Israel.
Jesus’ own disciples held tightly to the hope of a military and political Messiah.
Throughout the time that Jesus walked with them they questioned Jesus about such things as, “Who’s the greatest among us?” or, “Who will get to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus when he sits on his throne?” or again, “Shall we now call down fire on these unrepentant Samaritans?”
They asked Jesus when his reign as Messiah King would begin. They queried Jesus about times and events that, to their minds, would easily be recognized as the beginning of Jesus’ reign of power on earth.
I can just imagine the hope that arose in them as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we now celebrate as Palm Sunday.
“Yes!” I can hear James and John saying. “It’s happening!!! Finally, the King has returned!”

Expectations of empire.
Expectations of earthly power.
Expectations of God vindicating God’s self on all those “Others” out there who stand against Israel.

You know, it doesn’t seem as though expectations have changed all that much in 2,000 years.

Oh, by the way…
They were wrong then, too.

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Priorities: What Idols Do We Bow Before?

Published by mhelbert on December 3, 2019

Yesterday I ranted a bit about how desire for more ‘stuff’ seems to be the driving force behind the current news cycle as well as virtually all advertising across all media platforms.
It is disheartening.
We place such a premium on our comfort and status that we have lost sight of our obligations in human society.
Yeah, I said Obligations.

That whole concept is foreign to our Western mind.
I remember my Dad telling me one morning as we drove to work together that I needed to make sure and watch out for “Number ONE” because no one else will.
Number ONE in that context was Self.

That one phrase is damning on different levels.

First, it raises ME to the pinnacle of of importance.
“Look at me! I’m the most biggest, importantest Person EVER!”
(Loud applause!!!)
This, alone, creates a problem when Everyone considers themselves Number One.
I mean, the last time I checked there could only be 1 Number One.

While that idea must lead to conflict, there is another part of what Dad said that may be even more damning.

I must look out for my own interests Because NO. ONE. ELSE. WILL.

Really?

Has our society really come to the point where we can count on no one to have our backs?

If you listen to the news and advertisers the answer must be a resounding YES!
The whole world revolves around what I want and to hell with whatever you want.
Did anyone see images of Black Friday shopping?

By definition, an idol is “an object or picture that is worshiped as god.”

In the case that my Dad made, then Number One is an idol.
I am the focus of time, talent, attention, and adulation.

Then, of course, there’s the other idol that comes along with that.
(I bet you didn’t no that we were polytheistic, did you?)
That idol is a picture of a little, green guy named George.
During the 1992 presidential campaign one of the candidates, in attempting to illuminate the most pressing issue on Everyone’s mind coined the phrase, “The Economy, Stupid”!
For the last three decades our culture has taken that to heart and created a god of the economy. A god that needs to be fed with our lust and greed. This god has an insatiable appetite.
This god destroys everything that tries to stand against it.

But, there is Another.

This Other is humble and meek.
He considers the needs of others before His own.
Make no mistake, He is also quite powerful.
He can stand against the idols of Self and George.

During this Advent season, why don’t we stop and listen to that Other.
Let the sound of our heart beating for someone other than Number One drown out the noise and clamor and the demands of those other false gods. For, false they are.

I don’t know.
Just a thought.

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Here Comes Santa Claus

Published by mhelbert on December 2, 2019

Ready or not, Here He Comes!
Hoppin’ and a-Boppin’ right down Santa Claus Lane.

I remember way back when the Sears catalog was the biggest thing in the world. I had no idea where this magical book came from. But, when it arrived I grabbed it and ran! That’s because in the middle of that blessed catalog were page after page of glorious toys!
Everything that a kid could possibly desire could be found in those pages.
I would go to the kitchen to ‘that’ drawer by the phone where the pencils lived and find one with a nice, sharp point.
Then, in my little corner of the world, I would circle all of the full-color pictures of the toys that I would ask that jolly, old Elf to bring me.

I had no idea that my mom would take that catalog later and see what I had circled so that she could make her shopping list.
All I knew was that the stuff that I circled, those things that I then asked every Santa’s Helper in every store we went to, somehow magically appeared under our Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

Hallelujah!

Those were the days! Right?

Simple faith in what appeared in a book.

It wasn’t until I was maybe 7 or 8 years old that I heard that Christmas was really all about celebrating the birthday of someone named Jesus.
And, even when I did hear about that, I really had no clue who this Jesus fella was or why we would celebrate his birthday.

My parents, like many other folks in the late 50s and through the 60s, wanted to live up to a standard of life that told everyone, “Look at us! We made it!”
So, they made sure that we had the requisite Stuff that affluent middle-class folks had. Stuff from the Sears catalog, for instance.

The reason I’m bringing this up today is because I think that my parents, and all those other parent from that era, taught their children well.
We do like us some ‘stuff.’
We enjoy the comfort that our status provides.
There’s something ‘nice’ about having kept up with the Jones’s all of these years.

But, it’s really kinda sad.

Every day I hear on the news, usually as the lead story, how Americans spent more than 7 billion dollars on stuff on Black Friday.
So-called experts expect today’s Cyber Monday sales to set all kinds of records.
People are spending freely in order to snag their SWAG.

Yeah. Top story.
Biggest EVER!

While somewhere later in the show, or below the fold in the newspaper, the story of the teenager who was shot and killed over the weekend is reported.
Near the end we get to find out that dozens died in this or that conflict somewhere in the world.
Poverty and disease don’t even make the final edits.
The fact that millions will go hungry this season doesn’t register.
Oh, but, the last story will be that ‘feel good’ one about a church feeding 1,200 people on the holiday.

We need a feel good story, don’t we?

Because all of the time and money we spend engorging ourselves on stuff that we neither really want nor need makes us feel a bit guilty.
Well, maybe for a minute or two.

Yeah. We caught up to the Jones’s. And, the Smith’s and Clark’s.
But, at what cost?
Our soul?

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Thanksgiving: Some Thoughts

Published by mhelbert on November 27, 2019

Yesterday I shared a bit about the stress and anxiety that I experience during the holiday season. Like I said, I try to take steps to mitigate those things. I try to get necessary rest, take vitamins and other meds, use a Happy Light, and try to focus my thoughts and energy on things that may redeem this season and create a positive from the negative.

I have to admit, Advent and Christmas are much easier for me to grasp the redemption stories. They are all about Christ and the preparation for us to receive Him.

Thanksgiving, however, poses a bit of a conundrum.

After all, the holiday seems to be an homage to gluttony and self-serving individualism.
A far cry from the ideal that we say we celebrate.
And, I think we may be hard pressed to find too many Native Americans who are thankful that their land and cultures were invaded and destroyed as a result of that first meal.

What, then, can we take from this particular holiday that brings life and blessing for everyone.

Let’s take a look at what we consider the first celebration with the Wampanoag and the Puritans. Maybe there are a couple take aways that can help make this holiday more meaningful.

One of the first things that jumps out at me is the contrast of how that feast was celebrated.
Today, we usually gather with our own family. When I was growing up that included the extended family on my Mom’s side. We usually had about 20 or so. That is, until we kids grew up and started adding to the count with kids of our own.
The point, though, was that we were isolated in our own, comfortable familial cocoon.
Contrast that to how our forebears celebrated.
Theirs was a community feast where everyone gathered to celebrate a successful harvest. They shared whatever they had with the everyone in both the Puritan community and the Native American community.
Theirs reached beyond the doors of their houses and touched the lives of everyone.
Each brought to the table what they had. There were most likely the Three Sisters of Maize, Squash, and Beans. The hunters supplied meat. Those who plied the waters brought fish.

The point is, it was a communal celebration, not a private one.
Perhaps we may find something redemptive in that kind of sharing.

The were welcoming of the “Other.”
This may be the biggest redemptive act of the entire holiday.
As I was looking for something to help me wrap my head around this holiday, I got out my Book of Common Prayer and read the prayer for Thanksgiving.
Part of that prayer is,

” Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name.”

Notice that the prayer asks God to make us Faithful Stewards in order to provide for our own needs as well as those of All Who Are In Need.
The Native Americans did that very thing.
For reasons of their own, they chose to help these “Others” who had sailed across the sea and landed in their backyard. The Native Americans were Faithful Stewards of Creator’s bounty.
Note that the reason for this stewardship and sharing is to bring Glory to the Name of God.

Perhaps we, too, can not only be mindful of our stewardship of the resources we have been graced with, but can find ways to welcome and support those people who are looked upon as “Other” in our culture.

Maybe, just maybe, this holiday has some merit besides over-eating and falling asleep with a football game on the tube. Perhaps there is hope that God’s Good Grace may use this day for God’s Glory and our continued metamorphosis into the Image of God in Christ.

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It’s the Hap-Happiest Time of the Year! (Well, Maybe Not)

Published by mhelbert on November 26, 2019

Here we are, folks!
The holiday season is upon us.
Turkeys will be roasting.
Families and friends will gather for Feasting, Fun, and Fellowship.
Soon, the holiday lights and Christmas trees will appear in lawns and windows.
Cookies will be baked. (Some might even last long enough to be decorated!)
Carols and hymns will be sung.
Gifts will be exchanged.

Yippee!

Did I ever happen to tell you that I really, really hate this time of the year?
And, no, Hate is not too strong of a word.
I, and many, many others like me struggle every year at this time.
Anxiety keeps me awake at night.
I have to watch that anger doesn’t leak out and splash on everyone.
My wife asked what I hoped to see happen this holiday season.
I told her that I would really like to go to sleep on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and wake up on January 2.
Of course, that was blown off with a “Bah humbug” response.

But, for a lot of us, this season isn’t something that can be easily blown off with light platitudes. The anxiety is real. Many of us also struggle with S.A.D. every year. That just adds to the mess that our hearts and minds become.

We do try to put on our holiday game face. “Joy to the World” and all of that. My desire to hibernate through the season hasn’t worked yet. So, I must play the part as best as I can. Keep the peace and all of that.

I’m sure that I’ll get through this year, just like I have every other year. January will come eventually and I can get my life back a little.

But, when you see me, or anyone else like me who struggles with this season, please don’t tell us to just get over it. Don’t mumble something like “Bah humbug” that only adds shame to our already full plate.

Give us space.
We’ll get through this with or without your help.
We always do.

In fact, we don’t want your advice.
We’ve heard it.
At least, I know that I’m taking steps to work through this time.
So, thanks, but no thanks to the ‘helpful hints.’

Just try to understand a little.

Please.

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What is Justice?

Published by mhelbert on November 20, 2019

If God is not a Cosmic Don Corleone like the Calvinists claim,

then, who is God…Really?

Is it possible that God could actually be the loving Being that so many believe?

If so, what does that do to some of our very favorite pet theologies?

You know, like Original Sin and Hell?

People seem to really like the idea of Hell. That’s HELL, as in an ‘Eternal Conscious Punishment’ kinda hell.

Why?

No, really…why would anyone who has an ounce of compassion wish that on anyone?

According to the folks who accept this idea, the answer is Justice.

Hell is necessary because of all of the Evil Evilness that is at the core of Humanity because of that thing called Original Sin.
Our ancient forebears, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God. So now, the entire Cosmos is steeped in that Original Sin.
Apparently, in order for things to be put back in order, then, the Cosmos, the Whole Shebang, must be destroyed and rebuilt. And, all of humanity must be cast into the Burning Trash Heap called Hell.

That is, except for a chosen few who follow a prescribed formula that will safeguard them from that particular doom.

So, we can’t have all of those evil people receiving any kind of respite or reward. That wouldn’t be fair. Plus, God is a Just God. So, God is compelled to punish evil people because, well, JUSTICE, Dammit!

For those of you who were not a part of this culture of Retributive Justice, what I’m sharing might sound strange. After all, doesn’t the Bible say something about God loving the whole Cosmos so much that God’s own Son gave himself up to death in order to save it?

Well, yeah it does.

But, what about Justice?
Is there a case to be made in support of some kind of payment due for those who follow an evil path in life?

WHAT ABOUT HITLER, DAMMIT?!

Ok. What about Hitler?
Or Stalin or Attila or Nero or Fill in Name of Favorite Villain_______.

Honestly?

I haven’t a clue.

Oh, and neither do you.

God’s justice falls in that space that’s way above our pay grade.
We don’t get to make that call.

Ever.

We don’t get to treat anyone as if they fall outside of God’s love and grace.

And, we certainly don’t get to decide who, if anyone, will find themselves in some kind of Hell.

Oh, that means that we don’t get to give people a choice.
Heaven or Hell?
Repeat this incantation and you will miraculously be granted the former and spared the latter.

No.

We are called, no, Commanded to Love.
Period.

Does that kind of love mean that we must warn people about some pending eternal doom?

No. Sorry, that’s not love.
That’s rendering a judgement.
Not our job.

“But, what if they reject our love?”

What if they do?
We love them anyway.

Anything beyond that can be construed as missing the mark.
Or, Sin.

Don’t miss the mark.

Choose to love.

Leave Justice to God.

Please.

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