Tag Archives: bible_study

Sermon From The Sidelines: A One Minute Message* on Archaic Words.

“He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”

Psalms 126:6 (ESV)

Scripture to meditate upon: Psalms 126:6

It’s getting into the “holiday” season, with Thanksgiving coming next week followed by the whole Christmas thingy. The church I am a member of just started the choir practice for the Christmas service performance. There’s a couple local radio stations that have begun the EOY seasonal music selections and I “discovered” SiriusXM has a Trans Siberian Orchestra channel, so I guess my music choices are being moved off their (more) normal path.

I like music. In the past, having the lowest voice in the churches I went to, it was pretty much understood that I’d be carrying more than my share of the harmony involved in group singing. As a result (or perhaps a cause…hard to remember which came first) I have always been attracted to 4-part harmony and listening to (but not actively participating, sadly…there was not a large enough group in my area to commit to such a practice) both barbershop quartet and gospel quartet music.

The local Christian radio station in my area does a 6 hour “Quartet Time” broadcast on Saturday mornings from 6 AM to noon. As I was out and about last week in the proper time, the radio was on and I was belting out the tunes as I drove down the road (with the windows closed…both because it’s nearly winter time here in central [state redacted] and to prevent causing harm to those around me that might have overheard my singing!). I was basically on autopilot (with the singing, NOT the driving…while controlling your vehicle gets easier after the second million miles of over-the-road action, it’s NEVER going to be truly automatic, so well over half my attention was NOT on the radio) when I was brought up short mid-way through the second (or maybe third) verse. I recognized the song from some of my earliest church days in the late 70’s (and ongoing through at least the next 2 decades). I actually started to think about the words (maybe, no…most likely) for the first time.

The song was “Bringing In The Sheaves” by Knowles Shaw, written in 1874. The word in question was “sheaves”. I’m not a farmer, nor the son of a farmer…or grandson a few times removed. In fact, apart from some VERY minor gardening, I’ve never been involved in the production of foodstuffs in my life. Neither was anyone else that I knew. The part of the state I live in IS a source of crops of various kinds including the wheat most likely mentioned in both the listed verse and the song in question. But, the processing is done with heavy machinery rather than by hand, and the image that’s created in the song is of going out to collect the harvest and bringing it in by hand, in bundles (since that’s what a sheaf is). The modern harvesting machinery around here strips the grain from the stalk and stores it in a hopper, then discharges everything else behind it where it eventually is collected into bales (I HAVE moved a few of those in my days). To handle (or even see) actual sheaves? Nope. Never. (Full disclosure: I guess I have to admit to having SEEN an occasional one is some “harvest” display, but I suspect it’s an item that you can buy already gathered and bundled…the ones available on Amazon for $10 and up seem too small to be what would have been processed in the song, so I’m not counting them….)

I am reasonably sure that there are a few tiny pockets of people in America where they still harvest by hand and bring it in (also by hand), so there must be SOMEONE that can relate to the song. Just not in my area. And so, as the song ended on the radio, my mind continued along the distracted path it took to bring that song out of the archaic terms of a century and a half ago and how it might be sung today. The chorus would go something like this: [AHEM…]

Driving the trac-tor
Driving the trac-tor
We shall come rejoicing
Driving the trac-tor

Just doesn’t have quite the same impact…

Phred the Elder
DC3 Redwood Itinerant Heretic

post 93 of n

(* Disclaimer: 60 Second Sermon guaranteed if you read fast enough)

Sermon From the Sidelines: A One Minute Message on Counting To Three (*)

“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Matthew 12:38-40  KJV

In the beginning (during the 1960’s), we were taught “old” math, usually by doing pages of problems. Ten in a row, 12 rows on a side, both sides with the same function. One day we would do hundreds of addition problems:

\begin{array}{rrrrr} 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & {} \\ \underline{+1} & \underline{+2} & \underline{+3} & \underline{+4} & \cdots \end{array}

The next might be subtraction. Over time, we learned how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers (the “times tables” we learned in ancient history went through 12 x 12 = 144… today I’m not sure they even teach to memory but how to use a calculator, but that’s another rant post).

So, today we are expected to accept that 24 + 24 + 24 = 40.

At least that is how the “Easter” holiday is laid out. You have the death of Christ occurring after the “ninth” hour (Mark 15:34-37). In bible times, the clock did not start at midnight like we use today, but was geared to the sunrise and sunset. The ninth hour of the day (presuming sunrise to be about 7:00 AM) would occur about 4:00 PM, the middle of the afternoon. In Jewish time reckoning, the day started at sundown (see Genesis 1:5, 8, 13 for examples). Then you have the account of the women going early the morning of the first day of the week (Sabbath ended a week week, so Friday night and Saturday day was the last day of the week). Having them arrive about 8:00 AM on Sunday morning would be a reasonable time for the account in Mark 16:2.  Transferring the times to our clock would have 8 hours passing on Friday night (4:00 PM to midnight), 24 hours to cover all of Saturday, and another 8 hours on Sunday morning. 8 hours + 24 hours + 8 hours = 3 days and 3 nights.

Except it doesn’t add up. I learned that (using a day and a night as being 24 hours long) 24 hours + 24 hours + 24 hours = 3 days and 3 nights. 72 total hours. So if we want to use a full accounting of time, we can’t have the church holidays aligning with “Good Friday” through “Easter Sunday” because 40 does not equal 72.

Might I suggest another explanation that allows the math to work out? Our calendar has two kinds of holidays: those driven by a specific DATE (like Independence Day always falling on July 4th) and those driven by a specific DAY (like Thanksgiving taking place the last Thursday in November).

The Jewish calendar marks the Sabbath on Fridays, every one. But in their system of holidays the Passover remembrance is another Sabbath, driven by a specific date on the calendar. Exodus chapter 12 sets the date at the 14th day of the first month of their year. I would suggest there were two Sabbaths this week, the Passover followed by a day of preparation, then the usual Sabbath day. This provides a full 72 hours to elapse between death and discovery.

I would suggest we celebrate “Wonderful Wednesday” and “Resurrection Saturday” for our depiction of the death and rising of Jesus and leave the usual “Easter” event timing to the world.

It’s just as believable as a rabbit laying decorated hard-boiled chicken eggs and jelly beans…

Phred the Elder
DC3 Heretic Laureate

(* Disclaimer: 60 Second Sermon guaranteed if you read fast enough)

Phred

post 26 of n

Sermon From the Sidelines: A One Minute Message on Signal To Noise Ratio (*)

“11 And he said , Go forth , and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by , and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out…”

Scripture to meditate upon: 1 Kings 19: 11-13a

An idea I learned while in the Navy studying electronics was the concept of the “signal to noise ratio” in communications. Basically, the stronger the signal was compared to the level of noise, the better you were able to communicate. A stronger signal or less noise was desired.

The most recent retreat reminded me of this concept while sitting at a meal. I had a hard time following much of the conversation at the table because of the presence of several loud conversations occurring behind me. There was a large noise component, so it was hard to get the info being presented.

In general, if you are doing the transmitting you can control the strength of the signal. If you are the receiver, you (generally) don’t have much control over the signal, but you can mitigate the effects of the noise present. A “speak louder” verses “listen harder” contest. (An example is if you have a hard time hearing a phone conversation you can move to a quieter location or ask others to ‘turn it down’ to reduce the noise level).

And so it goes with seeking the voice of God. We have little (read: none) control of how strong the message is, but we have the ability to control and reduce the noise in our lives. Increasing quietness  is just as effective in making the S/N ratio larger as provoking God to yell at us… and considerably more pleasant!

Phred the Elder
DC3 Heretic Laureate

(* Disclaimer: 60 Second Sermon guaranteed if you read fast enough)

[Original posting to e-mail 1/30/2015]

Sermon From the Sidelines: A One Minute Message on Reinstituting Blue Laws (*)

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates”

Scripture to meditate upon: Nehemiah 13:15-22

The other day I was in the kitchen doing a batch of dishes with the TV tuned to the classic rock channel on cable. I was mindlessly singing along with the music (and mindlessly doing the dishes…the proper state of mind for this kind of activity, but I digress) when the lyrics slowly sunk into my awareness. Lionel Richie was singing “… that’s why I’m easy … easy like Sunday morning …”

So much for mindless dish washing. I began to wonder about what exactly there was about Sunday that would lead to this phrase showing up in a song. I can’t date the song exactly, but it would appear to come from the mid-70s and so a history lesson is in order for people blessed with limited experience from the dark ages of the 20th century.

Once upon a time, there were generally accepted standards of behavior for people in a society. These were usually understood and instilled by tradition and were passed down as a part of a child’s upbringing. Communities were fairly closed groups and bonded together often of necessity due to the hazards and perils of living in general. Over time, with advances in technology (fire, wheels, betamax and 3-g networks) people became more likely to migrate away from their established groups and mingle with the “heathen” in the next valley. With sweeping licentious and immoral behavior (like spending the day doing “anything” else than going to church) becoming rampant, regulations were created to enforce “socially acceptable” behavior. Sunday laws or Blue laws were set up to regulate travel, trade, recreation, and other activities. In short, go to church and honor God on Sunday.

When I was little (early in the decade of the 60s) I remember you couldn’t buy much of anything on Sunday, because nothing was open. No Meijers, no 7-11s, or Starbucks. Gas stations were closed except maybe for an occasional rebel on the major highway. Want to eat? Go home, because the restaurants were closed (no Ronald Mac’s either).

Fast forward to high school (early in 70’s). Still some holdouts closed half of the weekend, but you can now travel, purchase food (both prepared and basic staples from a grocery store…packaged in brown paper bags that rarely failed and made great landing zones for cookies coming hot out of the oven), and pretty much live a “normal” life.

So how to interpret the lyrics in question? I guess the idea being promoted is because Sunday morning was no longer a period of time restricted to preparing for meeting the creator God of the universe and spending a period of introspection and soul-searching. That you could spend the day essentially doing exactly what you wanted to do, not what you “had” to (like go to work/school during the week). So, since M-F was work, and Saturday was the time you had to use to do the things you “had” to do at home, that left Sunday for slack.

I guess…..

Today, it must seem bizarre to consider the idea of spending a whole day without commerce or the trappings of technology. Time communing with family and friends, of seeking silence and the still small voice of God. Going to church, gathering together with like-minded believers and experiencing the Kingdom up close and personal. Then spending the rest of the day meditating on the experience.

Rather than a round of golf at dawn, tailgating the game in the afternoon, and grabbing a burger on the way home to crash in time to drag out of bed Monday morning to go back to the 9 to 5 grind.

There ought to be a law….oh, wait! There IS one…(ten, actually).

Phred the Elder
DC3 Fireside Heretic Laureate

(* Disclaimer: 60 Second Sermon guaranteed if you read fast enough)

[Original posting to e-mail 3/9/2010]

Sermon From the Sidelines: A One Minute Message on Lint For Lent (*)

“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance …” Matthew 6:16a

Scripture to meditate upon: Matthew 6:16-18; Matthew 4:1-2

One of the guys I race with (board game racing) came in with a couple of pizzas last race night and offered them to us. When asked about toppings he explained “his” was a double cheese and the other was a supreme (ham, sausage, onion, green pepper). Then he said if we didn’t eat it he would probably just throw it away because it was Lent.

Setting aside the obvious question (why buy it in the first place!?) I was reminded of growing up in a Catholic house. Mac and cheese and/or fish every Friday and giving “something” up for 40 days. I never understood how not chewing gum for a month made me more spiritual (still don’t understand) but that was the “usual” sacrifice to the greater glory of god. (Truth was uglier…usually cut down on consumption rather than abstain in total…but then again, that was what the Saturday confession was for anyway, eh!)

Flash forward 45 years. Seems like few people are as actively involved in the ritual of Lent today. Perhaps it’s because I circulate in a different crowd (Shiawassee county had a large population from central European countries and devoutly Catholic), but I suspect it has more to do with the global increase in cynicism. Not that many people visibly participating in the marathon (Gee, only 38 more days to go….).

And yet, we still mark the event on our calendars. Paczki and Marti Gras for the heathen, Ash Wednesday and Lent for the devout, the time leading up to Easter is supposed to provide an opportunity (or excuse) for lifestyle changes, at least for a little while. We “remember” Christ’s sacrifices in the wilderness by giving up something we like for 6 weeks. And so we feel satisfaction if we succeed or guilt (in theory) if we fail. And then we continue on with our lives after dinner on Easter afternoon.

But have you ever REALLY considered the implications of Lent? Christ spent His 40 days in the wilderness, fasting and being tried (tested) by the devil. I don’t think it is fair to envision the Lord giving up a hamburger one day a week or eliminating a petty pleasure (lint pickers) that doesn’t really have any significance and thinking that God the Father would be really impressed. The reality was no bed and breakfast, no Starbucks (Biggby around here) or Mac Gag’s drive throughs, no blueray, DVDs, CDs, Dish Network or Comcast. No soap (I thought about giving up personal hygiene for Lent, but didn’t think those closest —  down wind – to me were ready to make that big of a sacrifice) or Fabreeze, Downy, Clorox or any other under the counter goodies (better living through chemistry). No internet. No signal (talk about a blank coverage map). No social network, local area network, traffic network. .

In essence, no anything. Just the created world and an opportunity to draw closer to God without the trappings (distractions) of “life”. Spending a month living with scorpions, sun, sand, and solitude.

How shallow our petty promises of self-denial appear next to what our Lord embraced. Let us then try something harder and closer to the ideal. May I suggest we give up self delusion for Lent and really allow God to conform us to the image of His Son. Without moping around and enjoying the pity party held in our behalf.

Or we can do that hygiene thing……

Phred the Elder
DC3 Fireside Heretic Laureate

(* Disclaimer: 60 Second Sermon guaranteed if you read fast enough)

[Original posting to e-mail 3/1/2010]

Sermon From the Sidelines: A One Minute Message on the Duty of a Watchman (*)

“So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman …” Ezekiel 33:7a

Scripture to meditate upon: Ezekiel 33:1 – 9

As we were wrapping up the group discussion on witnessing this week, the leader pointed out how hard it is to “pull the trigger” and ask for a commitment to Christ and His kingdom. Because it is easier and less threatening to dodge the “are you ready to choose” than to face the flack that might come up, we tend to play it safe and wait for a better time.

On the ride home, I remembered an illustration from earlier training classes: the burning building example. Just this year the news reported a story where a neighbor saw the house next door on fire and ran into the kitchen and started yelling for the people to leave the building. A mother and her children were awakened and fled to safety as a result. In a similar way, the lost world around us are asleep in a building destined to destruction by fire.

Consider this: accepting the Lordship of Christ and His kingdom comes with a view. Think of yourself sitting on the lifeguard tower at the beach, looking out over the multitudes splashing about and oblivious to danger. In the background is the sound of a cello (dum dum dum dum….) and in the distance is a grey dorsal fin….

SHARK!!!!!!!!!

Phred the Elder
DC3 Fireside Heretic Laureate

(* Disclaimer: 60 Second Sermon guaranteed if you read fast enough)

[Originally posted as e-mail on 2/22/2010]