Tag Archives: Learning from History

Dark Truths

Living in the Spirit

September 23, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
   incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
   I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
   that our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their children;
   we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
   and the wonders that he has done.

The question of what history to teach children has been debated at the state and local level for some time on many subjects.  It has cropped up again at the federal level. The main driving factor for this emergence is the 1619 Project* regarding slavery in the USA.

I enjoy studying history and particularly how it applies to my genealogy. History is recorded subjectively from the eye of the beholder to the scribe of the script. It is also shaped by the translators. When I was in grade school, the indigenous peoples of Mexico and South American were described as regal and smart, while the indigenous peoples in the eastern part of the USA were savages to fear and kill or chase away. Current information indicates that the indigenous tribes in the USA were as advanced as those to the South.  Planting the seeds of curiosity about history in children and youth is probably more important than wasting time trying to whitewash the stories we tell. History is organic, needing to be routinely updated with new findings and understandings of culture. The Psalmist above writes that dark sayings of old are essential to our development and the futures of generations to come.

The Hebrew Bible fits the description of being told and written as influenced by sources, but it does not avoid dark truths. We could have jumped right over Cain killing Abel, Abram telling a ruler his wife was his sister, kings that did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and those who did not, and Elijah’s being ready to give up and run away. These stories provide people of faith the opportunity to learn from their ancestors. We know we do not always apply what we learn from these records. History did and continues to repeat itself even when we know our ancestors’ successes and failures. But imagine what the world would be like if we never had any history from which to learn.

Prayer: Lord, help us learn from history and discern carefully how to apply those lessons to our work of developing your Kingdom. Amen.

*https://pulitzercenter.org/lesson-plan-grouping/1619-project-curriculum

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Decay from Within

Kingdom Building

September 30, 2019

Scripture Reading: Lamentations 1:1-6, 3:19-26

Judah has gone into exile with suffering
   and hard servitude;
she lives now among the nations,
   and finds no resting-place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
   in the midst of her distress.

The roads to Zion mourn,
   for no one comes to the festivals;
all her gates are desolate,
   her priests groan;
her young girls grieve,
   and her lot is bitter. Lamentations 1:3-4

Everyone should have the opportunity to visit the decimated cities of antiquity. These once majestic places, with their tall pillars and ornate carvings and statutes of their gods and leaders they viewed as gods, are now lying in ruin, now bus stops for the tourist industry. A few years ago, as I walked through the ruins of Ephesus, I could almost feel Paul’s presence. I gained a greater respect for the massive mission he undertook to make disciples of all the world one place at a time. Paul traveled there in the mid first century. I wonder if anyone in that grand city had any idea that it would be destroyed in about two hundred years (262 AD) after his visit.

The history of the world is replete with stories of great and mighty empires being destroyed, often from decay from within exposing them to being overthrown by other empires. We do not learn from history. I guess we think we will be different. We do not accept that power corrupts and when unleashed greed multiplies exponentially destroying everything in its wake.

The lamentation above addresses the hardship of Judah when it was overtaken, and its citizens captured. History slices and dices what might have been, but the prophets mince no words as they squarely declare that we must face the consequences of our own actions, particularly those that separate us from God, a lesson that remains valid today.

Prayer: Almighty God, forgive us when we turn from your love and your wisdom and seek the lesser gods of the world. Help us to see you more clearly and let your light shine on the evil in the world that is so enticing to us. Grant us the courage to differentiate your love and power above that which temps us. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

No Magic Wands

Kingdom Building

September 24, 2019

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land. –Jeremiah 32:9-15

There are a lot of innocent people caught in the lust for power and greed rampant in our world. Both are the foundation of much violence. Both we may practice without even being aware of our actions. Much of the Bible tells the stories of such instances. We do not learn from the wisdom of the situations and outcomes the Bible shares. Just as our ancestors in faith did, we too tend to let history repeat itself. There is a better way which Jesus taught us. Learning to love one another and help others have enough would be a good start—enough food, clothing, and shelter, enough education, a living wage. Working to prevent disability, disease, addiction, and unwanted pregnancies would vastly improve the lives of many. Meaningfully addressing climate change is crucial to our survival.

God does not wave a magic wand and make all things right. He created us to do the work of caring for the earth and all that is within it.

Prayer: Lord, guide us away from the distractions of the world and lead us into a deeper understanding of your vision for our world and how we can help in making it a reality. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Inherited Leadership

LeadershipLiving in the Spirit
October 21, 2014

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses. — Deuteronomy 34:9

Before we explore forward, it would seem wise to look back toward from where the Israelites had come. Abraham was actually the one who first received the promise of the land and he faithfully followed God’s guidance in his journey to find it. There are no battles reported; he simply settled on land among the Canaanite people. They all had to deal with famine. Abraham and his company traveled to Egypt to survive. During that travel Abraham was fearful of the strangers so he told the leader there that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. He did use a small militia once to save his nephew Lot. But other than the normal challenges of an agrarian society, his greatest perplexity was establishing his linage. He accomplished that by having two sons, Ishmael, the son of his wife’s slaves, and Isaac, the son of Sarah. Life is always more complicated than the simple reporting of facts. People are humans after all and humans can be drawn into discord when pride and land and power come into question. Ishmael and his mother were sent away and Isaac became the heir apparent.

Isaac’s son Jacob, later to be named Israel, had twelve sons but favored his son Joseph much to the chagrin of the others. The older brothers sold Joseph into slavery and he landed in Egypt, but things worked out well for him there. When Jacob and his sons back in Canaan experienced famine Joseph moved them all to Egypt and provided for them. After Joseph’s death the remaining family, now known as Israelites, were enslaved by the Egyptians where they remained for some 400 years until Moses was called by God to lead them out of Egypt, which he did. In the aftermath of that exodus the Israelites wandered through the wilderness for 40 years until they arrived at the point of today’s scripture.

I review this story to give us a feel for what had happened to these Israelites that brought them to the edge of the river that led into their “Promised Land”. Had they kept the quest for their homeland alive through all those years telling stories of their forefathers around the evening fire? What impact would several generations of slavery and its oppression have had on this population? I have always wondered why they wandered in the desert for so long. The Promised Land was not that far away. Did they need that time to prepare for such a new and different life? And what happened to Ishmael?

Now this is an extremely truncated version of the story but it illustrates well that humans can do some pretty stupid and sometimes even evil things while under the guiding arm of God. It shows that God seeks leaders to clear the paths for God’s people, and as needed turn them around when they wander down the wrong way. It also reminds those of us who have accepted the call to love God through our Lord Jesus Christ from our doorposts to the ends of the earth that our answer to that call has never been more needed. The misuse of power and greed that has spread throughout the earth has caused famine, oppression, war and contagion and all of God’s children are in need of God’s restorative love. In our scripture above, it was Joshua’s turn to inherit the mantel of leadership. Today it is our turn.

This story makes me wonder what the backstory of ISIL is. Radical Islamist, I hear, but what made them that way? Whose sons are they? Who were their grandfathers?

Prayer: Almighty God, may all your children from the east and the west, the north and the south across borders of land and borders of fear and isolation find your peace, hope, and love through our acts of love as taught us by your son Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.