Shattering the Memory Verse ...

When I was still a very young child, my church thought it prudent to teach me what they called a “memory verse”.  In practice it was nothing more than a verse or two from the Bible from various authors, or stories, or words of Jesus etc.  Each week I was taught a new one, until at the end of a quarter, I would attempt to recite all 13 of them to test my memory, to my mom’s great delight.  Because our church believes so strongly that the Bible is the sole word of God, helping me learn it piece by piece was thought to be an integral part of my education, and perhaps more important than anything else they could do for me in that regard.  It turns out, my mother did me one better (perhaps quite by accident).  My mother taught me to read from the Bible.  From the King James Version, which as you may have noticed remains my favorite version to this day.  Reading from scripture is not supposed to be “easy” for folks at any age, there is a lot in it that perplexes even the most advanced minds of our age.  So you would not figure the mind of a young child to grasp anything they read.  Just getting the pronunciations right is challenging enough, let alone the deeper meanings contained within those memory verses strung together in a wider context to tell a full story (instead of just a partial point here and there).  But the reading of scripture with an open mind is not limited to the number in your IQ, or any objective assessment of your intellect, or vocabulary.  It is revealed to you by the Holy Spirit as you trust in Jesus Christ.  That experience, that education, is priceless – and can never be taken away.

Yet the concept of memory verses remains in my church; and remains a big part of how we teach our kids the Word from week to week.  I won’t debate the merits of memorizing the Bible, perhaps memorization is good for us in this way.  But the repetition of words in a particular order is not as valuable as understanding the content and context of those same words.  For example, we recite the pledge of allegiance in our country, pledging ourselves to the flag, and the republic for which it stands.  I wonder if any of us ever take the time to ponder that pledge we make as adults, and were compelled to make as children.  Our flag, and our republic, and the lines we draw on a map to segregate our nation from all other nations is about our way of life, our choice of how we wish to be governed.  It is not meant to be an invisible wall between ourselves and other peoples of the world.  We are not supposed to be cutting ourselves off from humanity.  Only stating that our belief in self-government, in representative government is something we hold dear, and as compared with other methods, we would wish never to lose how we do it.  There is always room for improvement.  But it was never supposed to be a point of pride in ourselves that would enable us to look down on others, because they have been unable to equal our evolution in matters of social justice.  But then, do these thoughts even enter the mind as we recite the pledge of allegiance, or do we just think “ra ra America” now lets get this sporting event started already.

It can be the same in scripture, we learn the words in a memory verse, but have no concept of what they really mean, or why we should care about them.  We lose the context, we lose the wider story or the point the author was trying to convey – and all we have left is words we remember, with no reason for remembering them, than that they were drilled into our heads until we did.  It might better for us all if we dug back into the Word and read the chapters surrounding those memory verses we learned as children.  Maybe then we could pick up the wider points Jesus is longing to open our minds to.  A memory verse set in its native context is worth so much more than just a series of words set in a particular order that we know, but don’t know why we know them.  When we recite verses over and over in unison they tend to become tradition.  Those traditions become harder and harder to break over time.  There is perhaps no better example of this than the Lord’s Prayer.  How many churches have congregational readings or recitations of the Lord’s Prayer?  The words make us feel better.  But is that all?  Perhaps it is time to shatter the memory verse and embrace the core love that drives them in the first place.  Luke was perhaps our pioneer in that regard.

In chapter eleven of his gospel letter to his friend Theophilus, Luke relays the story of the Lord’s Prayer, albeit not exactly like all the other versions of this prayer.  Luke was obviously more focused on what those words meant, than on their exact reenactment.  He begins in verse 1 saying … “And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”  So let’s talk about prayer in general for a minute.  How often are your prayers a ditto copy of each other?  At meals you offer a blessing.  But it does not take long for that blessing over the food to degenerate into the same words spoken in the same order, even the same tone, from one prayer of blessing to the next.  Can you imagine how that reads for our God in heaven to see us say the same things, the same way, even in the same tone of voice, because we have some trigger such as mealtime?  But it’s not just meals.  It’s everything.  Someone gets sick, we say the same things for them.  Someone needs a job, we pray the same prayer.  We start developing habits for how we pray.  And our habits are nothing new.

In the times of Christ, prayer even then was often habitual.  The leaders of the temple taught the people what to say, and how to say it.  Few people could read.  So they needed help on what to say.  They thought they needed some kind of magic formula of wording in order for it work.  The disciples of John wanted something more, something new.  So they asked John how they should pray.  You can bet “repentance” would have been a big part of that.  But John was not from the Temple.  He knew the scriptures and was the son of a priest, but not a priest himself.  Instead he was moved by the Holy Spirit, and the people saw the Spirit in his words and his sermons.  He had a fire in him.  Others could see it.  It was hard to avoid.  So asking John how to pray was getting a completely different take on what to say.  In this case, it was Jesus they would ask about what to say in prayer.  The danger there is that whatever Jesus says, we begin repeating that, over and over, until it becomes an empty pledge we think no more about.  Luke did not want that to happen.

He continues in verse 2 saying … “And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”  Our God is in heaven, and His name is sacred (even though we don’t know what that name is).  For our purposes it might have been better to ask Jesus the follow-up question “what is God’s name? which one should we hallow?”.  Our God’s kingdom is coming.  The first one in the person of Jesus Christ already here.  And the second one in the city of heaven and final redemption of all the saved of Jesus Christ.  We wish both should come.  We should wish the will of God to be done.  When the will of God is done, it is everyone who benefits.  Following that will should become our number, that is the one driving motivation of our life.  Straying from it looks a lot like the story of Jonah.  We run, and we wind up in ugly places, most we put ourselves in, because we stray in the first place. 

But Luke begins his alteration right then.  “As in heaven” … “So in earth”.  These are not the exact words of the other versions of the Lord’s prayer.  They are different, similar, but different.  Why?  Luke does not want rote memorization, but he does want to convey the thought, and the love that drives it.  If we allow our prayers to degenerate into nothing more than habits we repeat, we lose the meaning behind the words.  Luke wants us to “want” to see the will of God done here in earth, as much as the angels of heaven “want” to see the will of God done in his other kingdom.  We are too obsessed with our own “will”.  We want to do, what we want to do.  What God wants is sometimes an afterthought, or worse never even considered at all.  We seldom ask.  So we seldom know.  That is something Luke wants us to reconsider, and change.  He words this differently so we cannot just get caught up in rote memorization, but instead are forced to consider the concept of what is being said and begin to really embrace it.

Luke continues in verse 3 saying … “Give us day by day our daily bread.”  Luke does it again.  This passage is worded just slightly different than the others.  Is that accident?  I think not.  Instead of “this” day, Luke expands the request to “day by day”.  The point is the same.  But the words are different in order to teach us to think about what we say.  We rely upon God for that food we sometimes thank Him for.  And we are not supposed to worry about what we will be eating tomorrow, until tomorrow.  We need not fear for the future, only to look to God as our needs arise.  Even such a fundamental need as eating.  Your prayers of thanks might become a lot more sincere if you missed more than a few meals (especially in a row).  But that is what Luke is trying to get us to think about.  God meets our needs everyday, including today.  And today is all we need to look to God for.  Luke wants us to think about more than the words but what they say, what they mean, and why we should really care.

Luke continues in verse 4 saying … “And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”  Luke ends the prayer early here.  He ends it focused on the ideas of forgiveness, but also of reform.  These are the core blessings of salvation.  They are the most important ideas we need to consider, and reconsider, learn, and relearn, in practice every day.  We forgive those who wrong us.  Not because God’s forgiveness is conditional.  But because our forgiveness us frees us to love, our forgiveness frees us to heal.  When we do not forgive, we cause our own lives to be bitter without need.  Forgiveness of others wrongdoing is a gift … to us.  But to forgive is never enough for the true follower of Jesus Christ.  Forgiveness is only the beginning.  What comes next, what comes after forgiveness is reform, it is re-creation of who we are.  It is the change in our behavior where we no longer do the things that wrong others and wrong our God.  That is where we want our God to lead us.  To lead us to no longer desire what is wrong in our lives.  For Luke this is the most important thing.  He words it slightly differently, and omits the power and glory of God, as Luke finds that in the forgiveness and reform our God offers.

I believe it is time to shatter the memory verse, and rote recitations, and embrace the ideas behind our verses and the love that should be driving them; and driving what we do in our lives every day.  When I talk to God, I talk about what needs I see, not in my life, but in the lives of those I see.  It helps me try to keep the focus off of me, and on those who need God more, and have greater need.  It begins to change my thinking from just need identification, to need fulfillment (i.e. what can I do for you, that could help meet your need).  When I thank God I try to thank Him for that something unique that presents itself.  I find myself thanking God so often for giving me more than just my daily bread, but for my daily pizza and meals with wonderful trimmings, so much more than just the bare necessities, but for something truly spectacular.  God makes a habit out of spoiling me with His love.  I will never be able to thank Him like He deserves.  So perhaps it is better to try to channel my thanks in the form of actions others can benefit from.  Maybe to truly thank God for my meal, I should be sharing my food with someone else.  His love is matchless.  Let’s try and emulate that, and use the memory verses we know, in the practice of showing love to each other.  Let us not depend on failing memories of what we once knew, but instead let us depend on His love reflected through us to others, and thus begin to see the broader Word in action.  It is in this giving of ourselves to others, that we just may see the “will of God” done in earth, as in heaven.

 

To Bury the Lead ...

If you were to recount to me, the story of two of your friends, two sisters in fact, of their lives and their memories and things that may have been important to them and to me; I would expect you to tell me their story with the biggest events in it deserving the most attention.  To focus on only one small story and leave the great big one untold, seems unusual.  Maybe it is just a matter of perspective.  Or maybe it is just too difficult for you to believe the great big one as true.  Or maybe nobody ever told it to you, so you are unable to relay it to me.  Many reasons may account for it.  But in today’s language we call that “burying the lead”.  This is what our gospel friend writer Luke did in his letter to Theophilus.  None of us can be certain as to why.  Perhaps the big story would have been just too much for Theophilus to hear at the time Luke penned his letter to him.  Perhaps that was a sore point in Theo’s mind or heart.  But Luke does not omit the characters of Mary and Martha (the two sisters of Lazarus) in his gospel letter.  He does however not ever mention Lazarus as being their brother.  So no recounting of the resurrection of Lazarus in his gospel.  That my friends, would have been the lead story.  Luke focuses on another one.

And what, you may ask, could have been more important to Luke than the retelling of a resurrection in the house of the friends of Jesus in Bethany?  A story for the women (or men) of that age and any other age.  A story about what matters, and what matters more.  Let us take a second look at this story and to learn from it, let us ignore the lead we know has been retold in other gospels, and focus here only on what Luke is trying to retell to us.  The story itself is one of context, of back story.  It begins in chapter ten of Luke’s gospel, the last story of that chapter, down in verse 38 it begins … “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.”  Luke had been telling the stories of the trip of Jesus He made towards Jerusalem.  Jesus was received in some homes and villages along the way, in others He was rejected.  But in Bethany (Luke does not recall the name of it), Jesus is received by a family He has come to know well.  Perhaps this was His first encounter with them.  Perhaps this was one in a long list of them.  But in any case, Jesus (and His companions) were to be received here by Martha, presumably the older sister of the home.

Now receiving Jesus (and crew) implied a certain set of tasks for the women of that household.  In those days, the men worked and provided income and means to maintain a family.  But the maintenance of that family fell to the women (and children, if they had any) to actually perform.  So if I invited a guest to my home back then, presumably I would have provided grocery monies to my wife, but she would have done all the shopping, cooking, serving, and then cleaning that went along with having company at our house.  In addition, Jewish families had traditions of special cleanings they did before meals.  Foot washing was one of those for example, a logical practice given the most prevalent way people moved (by foot).  They also had ceremonial hand cleanings with special water set aside for it, kept in special containers, etc.  All of that had to be maintained as well as a good supply of clean towels to wipe with.  If the time of our meal was anywhere near the end of the day, candles had to be set out, or lamps trimmed with oil, to provide light for us to see with.  Flowers might have been set out to help insure a pleasant smell while we socialized.  All of this work done without indoor plumbing in most homes.  Water needed for any or all of it required a trip to the nearest well to gather it and carry it back to the home.  So as you can imagine to receive Jesus and crew meant that the women of this home in Bethany had quite a lot to do to insure a pleasant experience for any guest, much less the Lord of the Universe and Messiah to Israel they believed Him to be and at least 12 or more of His companions.

Luke continues in verse 39 saying … “And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.”  We presume Mary to be the younger sister, but there is no documenting of this I am aware of.  Mary was likely also the more passionate sister, at least passionate for the Word of Jesus.  I am certain both sisters had traveled to hear Jesus speak at other events.  They knew Him.  They had come to believe in Him.  They had come to love Him.  And again how could they not?  Especially after the bringing back of their brother which Luke does not mention.  That entire story reveals more about the personalities and reactions of these two sisters where it comes to Jesus.  In any case whether this event was pre-text to that one, or happened long after it, Mary had developed an extreme fondness for hearing the words of Jesus.  They were the living water of which He had eluded to with the Samaritan woman back at the well.  They were living water to Mary.  When she heard them, she felt at peace, she felt saved.  As would any of us.  So Mary was eagerly sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to whatever He would say.  Instead of doing the thousand chores a woman was supposed to do to receive a guest in those days.

Luke continues in verse 40 saying … “But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.”  And here is where this story has meaning for us.  It is a battle of priorities.  Martha knows a pleasant meal does not happen by accident, or little elves descending into the kitchen to help.  It happens by hard, diligent work, she is eager and grateful to perform.  But that workload is not inconsequential.  It is massive.  And it would go much better if she had help.  You are not supposed to ask your guests to do it.  That is a no-no.  But your sister knows the drill.  And she is supposed to already be helping you, and furthermore, she is supposed to be grateful to help.  And before any of us get critical of Martha, she is trying to serve the Lord, the best way she knows how.  Are we any different?  We hear a sermon at church, or read something that moves us, and we set about trying to “do something” for Jesus.  It may not have been exactly what Jesus would have asked us to do, but we volunteer to do it because we wanted to.  This was Martha.  She found fulfillment in serving.  She has the heart of a servant.  And she has come to know extreme joy in the serving.  But she is also pragmatic and worried that without help, instead of being a pleasant meal, this meal may become a Jewish disaster in the minds of those attending.  No good traditions ready, no good food, or cleansing water, etc.  She is freaking out.  So she comes to Jesus and asks for Mary to get back to her responsibilities.  Get that – Mary has responsibilities (things she is supposed to do) – that she is NOT doing, in favor of listening to what God says.  If we could only get that lesson ourselves.

Luke continues in verse 41 saying … “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: [verse 42] But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”  And here is where Jesus asks women to have faith that they can have it all.  Or rather, understand that serving as important as that is, must be secondary to loving the word of God, and the author of those words Himself.  If our ideas of serving God, create so much work for us to do, that we are only focused on the work, instead of the God, we have taken on too much.  Serving guests will always be a wonder and a blessing.  And it will be with them until they die of ripe old ages.  But Jesus will only be with them for a short while more.  Listening to Him is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so it is more important.  Mary knew she should be helping to serve, but she is unable to tear herself away from the living water Jesus is proclaiming.  Those words speak to her soul.  They nourish her in a way that will provide her strength to serve others for many years to come.  But to leave now, would deprive her soul of much needed nourishment that comes only from the mouth of God Himself.  Jesus asks Martha, don’t take that away from her, in fact, come and join her.

So how does the meal get served if Martha joins Mary at the feet of Christ?  Now all of the sudden we need Martha to keep working, and slug it out, so that Mary can stay at the feet of the Master and we can still eat as the guests.  This is the same question we often ask ourselves.  What will happen if I stop doing what I do, or fail to perform what I believe is needed?  But like in Martha’s situation the truth is not the either / or we have made it out to be.  What puts Martha and Mary in this contest of priorities for how to serve?  The same thing that impacts us today.  We assume we know what needs to be done, and worse, how exactly it needs to be done.  Martha was slave to tradition not to workload.  The crew Jesus was with, both men and women, could have easily jumped in and provided Martha with not just a set of two more hands, but a set of twelve plus hands, with many women more beyond that.  It was the false pride of Martha to some extent, combined with the traditions and the culture of the day, that prevented her from asking, let alone, expecting the crew of Jesus would help serve.  But Jesus was raising a culture of service in His crew, then and now.  Joining the servant team, was to be the highest aspiration any of them or us could encounter.  Being served was a gift.  But doing the serving was a higher gift and honor.  Martha felt constrained by her own ideas of limitations to make sure everything comes out alright.  She felt like it all depends upon her, and perhaps her alone.  Just like we do.  Instead of having faith that whatever takes place is OK with Jesus.  Jesus is not looking for perfect bread from the oven.  He is looking for the soul of Mary and Martha to be nourished from His words.  Is it so unthinkable to have the crew serve in Martha’s house?  Will Martha’s pride allow it?  Will Peter’s?  Will Mary Magdalene’s?

Just like in our day.  We volunteer to take on roles of service that culture and tradition predefine.  We have set expectations about what must be done, in what order, and by who, in order to be effective.  Why?  That is not what God is asking.  In fact, He may be asking something radically different from us.  Something else He has equipped us to do, instead of the thing we think we are best suited for.  God may be asking us to do some work for Him that requires us to depend upon Him for the skill and knowledge and strength to get it done, instead of thinking we have it handled.  And do our ego’s prevent us from asking for help?  Especially from those we are not supposed to be asking help from, or from those we are attempting to serve?  You may not know it, but the person you ask help from, may be longing to help you, to feel worthy of serving too, even if they are only able to do such a little bit.  Today’s church has not developed a culture of asking for help, but instead of trying like Martha, to show everyone we have it handled all ourselves.  That is the point, we trust, even in an act of service to others, to do it all ourselves.  We do not rely on Jesus to see it done, nor do we ask our fellow servants for help, nor do we break with expectations and ask those we serve to lend a hand as well.  We seem too proud to ask anyone.  Instead we like Martha seek out the ones we expect to do the chores we expect of them, and become so focused on the chores, we lose all sight of the beauty, and of a shared experience.

The story of Lazarus (the brother of Mary and Martha) being raised may well be the lead of other gospels.  But Luke here focuses on the serving lives of Mary and Martha and all women of his day and ours.  Luke tells this story and ends it with and invitation from Jesus not to let even the cares of service outweigh the craving of the soul for the Words of God.  Let us not be bound by traditions and culture and other false ideas that constrain us and bind us to “how” a thing gets done.  Let us instead, lose our pride, and ask for help from those who can provide it, even those we serve, in order to develop a culture of shared service among us all.  Let us not be too proud to accept help even when it comes from places we did not expect.  Even when that help is small, and perhaps not up to our standards, or done by clumsy old men like myself who probably creates more work to redo than it would be to ignore in the first place.  But that is the point isn’t it?  To accept service, such as it us, from all, is to create a team of servants, used to serving, and giving the highest gift we can give to each other – to join our Master in serving others.  Not at the exclusion of the Word, but because of it.