Saturday Night Theologian
2 April 2006

Jeremiah 31:31-34

As he stood before a U.S. District judge in Miami earlier this week, former lobbyist and political insider Jack Abramoff, having pleaded guilty to fraud, told the court, "In the past few years I have begun the process of becoming a new man." He has publicly admitted his wrongdoing, and he expresses remorse for his illegal actions. Is his repentant attitude genuine or merely an acquiescence to the reality that he faces less jail time if he sounds remorseful and cooperates with authorities? By nature, I'm the sort of person who usually gives people the benefit of the doubt, but only time will tell whether Abramoff's contrition is real or not. Either way, the incident reminds us that no one is beyond redemption. The Bible is full of stories about people whom God redeemed from life's scrapheap. Jacob was a reformed liar, Joseph a reformed braggart, Moses a reformed murderer, Samson a reformed womanizer, David a reformed adulterer, Peter a reformed coward, and Paul a reformed persecutor of the church. Our reading from Jeremiah is set in the final days of Judah's existence as a quasi-independent state. Like other contemporary prophets, Jeremiah had called on the people of Judah to repent, and when they didn't sufficiently change their ways, Jeremiah declared that their end was inevitable. Perhaps because of the personal insults and depredation that he had endured, or maybe because he felt especially close to the common people, the prophet's condemnation of Judah's leaders was especially harsh. Nevertheless, even a nation that had broken their covenant with God had a chance of being redeemed. There is also a probable allusion to the apostasy of Baal worship in verse 32. "Even though I was their husband," God says, "they broke my covenant." Since the Hebrew word used here for "husband" is baal, the implication seems to be that the people of Judah had abandoned their true husband (Yahweh) to marry a false husband (Baal). Even so, God offered forgiveness. Today we, too, often abandon the true ways of God to follow false gods. We seek degraded prosperity by pursuing wealth rather than spiritual prosperity by following God. We seek impotent security in massive weapons systems rather than eternal security found only in God. We seek out the latest diet fads in the vain pursuit of perpetual youth and vigor rather than the moral and emotional health that comes to those who worship God with their whole beings. The good news of Jeremiah, like the good news of the gospel, is that it's not too late. God forgives our shortcomings and failures, no matter how big or longstanding, if we truly repent. If we are willing, God will engrave a new covenant on our hearts, a commitment to go with us through life's journeys, no matter where they lead.

For another discussion of this passage, click here.

Psalm 119:9-16

Psalm 119 is an acrostic psalm that glorifies the Law as God's ideal instructions for all of humanity. In Hebrew, verses 9-16 all begin with the letter beth, so I have composed a paraphrase of the passage, each line of which starts with b.

By what means can youth persevere in purity?
     By letting your word be a hedge around their deeds.
Bottomless is the depth of my affection for your word;
     may it ever show me your commands.
Beautiful is your word to my heart,
     a guard against transgression.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
     teach me all I should know.
Boldly I will speak
     all your instructions to my fellow travelers.
Better than all the riches in the world
     are the words of your mouth.
Before dawn I will rise to meditate on your wisdom,
     and my eyes will see everything in your light.
Boundless is my admiration for your teachings,
     and I will never let them pass from my mind.
Frivolity aside, Christians often talk about the Bible as God's word, but too often we are quite selective about which portions we think are important to follow. Rightly so, to some extent, since certain passages (the command to exterminate the Canaanites, for example) should properly be discarded as morally beneath the dignity of the God revealed in Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, even passages that seem to have little immediate relevance today often, upon further reflection, speak to us in surprising or even profound ways. If we want to hear the voice of God through words that echo down through the centuries, we would do well to heed the example of the psalmist: "I will meditate on your precepts, and fix my eyes on your ways."

Hebrews 5:5-10

Lent is the time of the year when we focus on the life of Jesus, and especially we think of his suffering and death. As Christians, we're trained to think of Jesus' suffering from a standpoint on this side of the empty tomb. Jesus' death was terrible, but ultimately redemptive. Even Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ, with its focus on the terrible pain and gore of the crucifixion, is meant to be viewed as a story about redemptive suffering. Two of the gospels, however, remind us that that perspective is strictly a post-resurrection point of view. In both Matthew and Mark, Jesus' only words from the cross are a cry of despair, "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?" If we can set aside for a moment our usual manner of thinking about Jesus' suffering (i.e., theologically) and instead think in terms of the reality of the time (i.e., historically), we see something that is easily overlooked. In verse 7, the author of Hebrews says, "In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." Look again at what it says, and what it doesn't say. Jesus offered up prayers to the one who was able to save him from death, but didn't. How do we feel about a God who is able to save but doesn't? The child with cancer, the dad in the car wreck, the suicidal teen--why doesn't God always intervene? One of Martin Luther's arguments that the pope didn't have the authority to grant release from Purgatory was that if he really had the authority, he would automatically release everyone, just out of the compassion of his heart. So what do we say about God, whom we believe has the power, yet clearly does not deliver everyone who is deserving? I don't know the answer, but one answer that helps me deal with the question is the fact that God didn't spare Jesus, either. Redemptive value of his death aside, God didn't intervene to spare the life of one who was totally dedicated to do God's will. Some people might hear this story and say, "That proves that God, if God exists, doesn't care about people." I hear the story and say, "God loved Jesus as much as any person who has ever lived and yet allowed him to suffer and die an untimely death. That proves to me that God suffers alongside those who suffer in this life, and God never abandons them, but is there for them as they make the transition to the next life."

For another discussion of this passage, click here.

John 12:20-33

"Reversal is the movement of the Way; weakness is the usage of the Way" (Tao Te Ching 40). Taoist wisdom often consists of pithy paradoxes, statements that appear self-contradictory upon first glance. In this way it is similar to many of the sayings of Jesus in the gospels. "Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life," Jesus says in our reading today from John. Is there anything wrong with loving life? Not at all, in one sense of the phrase. If by loving life we mean living a life filled with happiness, rejoicing in the everyday tasks and events of life, loving one's life is a good thing. However, if loving life means a selfish focus on oneself at the expense of others, than loving life is a bad thing. Jesus was the perfect example of someone who lived his life for others. I think that Jesus did enjoy life, but he didn't see his life as one to be lived for its own sake. Instead, Jesus lived a sacrificial life, caring for others and speaking the truth to power, characteristics that were his ultimate downfall. Can we see value in loss? Does a reversal of fortune ever portend something positive? On March 6, 1836, a group of about 200 men resisted a fierce assault from the Mexican army and died defending an old Spanish mission in San Antonio. Six weeks later, Sam Houston and his band of Texans defeated General Santa Anna in a battle that lasted less than 20 minutes. During the battle, Houston's troops cried out at the top of their lungs, "Remember the Alamo!" A bitter loss on a cold winter's day proved to be an inspiration to dispirited soldiers on the field at San Jacinto. Reversal, retreat, and defeat were all turned around. When evaluating whether our love for life is proper or not, the question we really need to ask ourselves is this: Is our life's primary ambition to make something of ourselves or to do something for others?

For another discussion of this passage, click here.