The Power of God's Word

 

 

Matthew 7:6 (Good News Translation)

Do not give what is holy to dogs—they will only turn and attack you. Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs—they will only trample them underfoot

I have been attending a memoir writing workshop by Rose Monge. For this week she assigned the following prompt: “Select a tangible artifact, prized possession or object that has meaning to you. What and why is this artifact so significant? Write about it.” What follows is my response.

I had been teaching for 5 years at a Christian high school in Tanzania. The seniors, whom they called the Form IVs, finished their external exams on Thursday (November 25 1971) and were scheduled to leave for home on that day. They made a special request to stay another day, “to say goodbye!” I encouraged the principal and the faculty to deny the request. I feared they could be up to some mayhem; however, their request was granted. The other classes didn’t take their final exams until the next week, so we had regular classes Friday. I had Form I mathematics at 7:00 a.m. that day. As usual, the teacher who had the first period class each day was also expected to start off with a ten-minute devotional with the students. I locked the classroom door because I saw some Form IV students walking around outside. I started the class on time. However. the Form IVs, started banging on the windows and door and shouting and making more noise outside the classroom. They continued this raucous behavior for the entire period. It was so loud that I couldn’t lecture. When the period was over, I opened the door and started to leave the classroom. However, the 10 disgruntled seniors were not done yet. They formed a circle around the door, one of them menacingly swinging a rawhide whip. The Form I students crowded around the door behind me, so there was no retreat there, Evidently, they were expecting something to happen. The student with the whip stepped up to me and said, “I hear you have called us dogs!”

I said firmly, “I never called you dogs!” I paused, “but Jesus Christ[1]  did. ‘Do not give what is holy to dogs—they will only turn and attack you. Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs—they will only trample them underfoot’.”

“Where!” demanded the whip kid.

I opened the little Testament pictured above that I carried in my shirt pocket to Matthew 7:6 and handed it to him, “Here!”

He took this proffered Testament, read it in silence, after a moment’s hesitation closed it, handed it back to me, turned on his heels, and stalked away. His fellows followed him. Although it is well worn, I still treasure this little Todays English Version testament with a color striped cover that saved me from a beating that day.

I stepped into my office door, which was right next to the classroom. I turned to lock the door, but my hand was shaking so badly, I had a difficult time. After locking the door, I sat there for a whole class period and praised the Lord. Fortunately, I had a free period at that time, and slowly my shaking stopped.

Meanwhile the disgruntled boys went to the principal’s office. He told me about the encounter afterwards. They demanded that he come out of his office. He saw the whip which the ringleader was waving menacingly. He declined to come out. They still demanded that he come out so they could talk with him. Whether it was the aura of the principal’s office or just the fact that they figured they couldn’t swing the whip effectively in the office that caused them to finally turn around and leave the building.

They still thirsted for blood, so they went over to the vice-principal’s home and pounded on his front door. His wife came to the door, and they demanded to see him. His wife quickly assessed their menacing attitude and said, “Sorry, he’s in the shower!” and closed and locked the door. They stood around waiting for a long time, hoping for him to come out. Finally it became time to catch the bus, and they dashed off.

Thank you Lord, for using such a little thing as this Testament to quell the fury of the disgruntled youth, and saving me from a beating.

 

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[1] Matthew 7:6 GNT

David & Goliath--Armenian

 

[1]

Psalm 151 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

 This psalm is ascribed to David as his own composition (though it is outside the number of 150), after he had fought in single combat with Goliath.

151 I was small among my brothers
    and the youngest in my father’s house;
I tended my father’s sheep.

² My hands made a harp;
    my fingers fashioned a lyre.

³ And who will tell my Lord?
    The Lord himself; it is he who hears.

⁴ It was he who sent his messenger
    and took me from my father’s sheep
    and anointed me with his anointing oil.

⁵ My brothers were handsome and tall,
    but the Lord was not pleased with them.

⁶ I went out to meet the foreigner,
    and he cursed me by his idols.

⁷ But I drew his own sword;
    I beheaded him and removed disgrace from the people of Israel.

 

I ran into this Psalm 151, by accident, when looking something else up in Bible Gateway. Of course, everyone knows that there are 150 Psalms. So, ever curious, I Googled Psalm 151 and found that it is neither in the Testaments nor the Apocrypha, as accepted by the Roman Catholic church. Wikipedia claims that it is accepted by the Orthodox (Coptic, Eastern, and Syrian) and Armenian churches. The Orthodox Church includes it in a liturgy as a prophecy of the coming of Christ It has been included by several modern English translations including in the Common English Bible, Contemporary English Version, English Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Orthodox Study Bible, and  Revised Standard Version, all published since 1977, and also in a number of less popular English translations now in the public domain.

I have always been interested in what writings are included in the sacred canon and what are omitted. The Jewish and Septuagint versions omit the New Testament. The Septuagint includes much of the Apocrypha, which the Hebrew versions tend to omit. The Christian church assembled the New Testament by the end of the fourth century AD. There were a number of other New Testament era gospel and epistle contenders that are rejected almost uniformly by all branches of Christianity.

I regard the question of what we regard as inspired text in the Bible as an important question. In John 5:39 Christ point out, ³ “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that testify on my behalf.” He recognized that His life was the very fulfillment of scripture.

After doing much research, I think I am willing to accept the Protestant Scriptures as the ones sufficient to teach me about Christ. However, I choose to remain open to this discussion.

Lord, thank You for giving us the Scriptures and encouraging us to search them since they surely testify about You. 

 

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[1] Armenian Scriptures 1666 https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/images/library/special_collections/armbible.jpg

God Does Answer Prayer

[1]

2 Corinthians 9:2 Good News Translation

Your eagerness has stirred up most of them.

 

Have you ever attended a “high church?” I’m thinking of a Catholic, Episcopal, or Lutheran church that has a liturgy that the members and officiants follow reverently and slavishly. We have a liturgical church service in our church. It typically has about 20 members who show up faithfully every week. Twenty members is roughly the size of the Iowa City Church we attended for five years while I was in graduate school. We loved that little church and its members. Twenty members seems insignificant in our current church that must seat at least 2,000 people easily.

For the music parts, organists play the pipe organ.  I love to close my eyes and feel the chords flow through my body in grand style. We have an eight-page liturgy printed in large type on tranquil green paper. The type is in both normal and bold letters. Bold indicates that everyone should read in unison. It also contains four significant passages of scripture, one from the Old Testament, one from the Psalms read responsively, one from the New Testament epistles and one from the Gospels. At times they all have a unifying theme. At other times they seem to have been randomly chosen. The choices of what to read all tend to follow the Common Lectionary of the Episcopal Church.

Usually once a month I am given a liturgy to read. During the prayer portion of the liturgy, we include a list of prayer requests submitted to the church during the preceding week. Never have I heard mention of answered prayers. I have felt that, just to bolster our own faith, it would be well for us to mention how at least some of the prayers have been answered. So last Sabbath when the theme was Mountain Top Experiences, and I was liturgist, I included the following:

“We don’t often hear about answers to prayer. I started treatment for prostate cancer 17 years ago. At my oncologist’s insistence, I quit taking my cancer meds since my stroke last October but continued hydrotherapy. The last blood work my oncologist did the beginning of this month indicated that my PSA is undetectable—PSA is a measure of the amount of cancer in my body. Please join me in praising the Lord for answering your prayers and my prayers.

“I invite you to kneel as we pray.”

Many of the 20 in attendance thanked me personally for including my experience in the liturgy. I do indeed thank and praise God for keeping me alive for the 17 years since I was first diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Thank You, Lord, that You do hear and answer our prayers. Forgive us for not thanking and praising You more often.

 

 

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[1] Looking through the field of poppies overlooking our home February 3, 2023

Fellowship or Communion?

 

 

 [1]

2 Corinthians 13:14

King James Version

¹⁴ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

 

I looked up this text in a number of English translations. The vast majority of the translations of the Greek word koinonia use “fellowship” where the King James uses the word “communion”. I asked myself what the difference between fellowship and communion is. Obviously, fellowship comes from the word “fellow” which indicates a person, in particular a friend, a companion. On the other hand, communion comes from “union” which indicates a much more personal, intimate, relationship.

When we think of Jesus Christ, the New Testament writers want us to think of a human being, so He would be a friend in a very real sense. In 1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,” the word fellowship is translated from koinonia because Jesus Christ is indeed our friend or brother.

When we think of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, we do not think of Him as a human being, but rather as a spirit. As such He would not be a fellow or a human friend, so His relationship with us is much more intimate, much more that of a true union. Paul is hoping that He will become a part of us. Therefore, the King James version probably captures Paul’s intention more accurately than the rather mechanical substitution of the majority of translations that I consulted.

Dear Lord, may Your grace and love and communion be mine today. Amen.

 

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[1] http://goministries.net/koinonia/