Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds, Cal Ripken Sr. and Cal Ripken Jr., Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr.--as the pennant races heat up after the All Star Break, I'm reminded of famous father-son combinations of baseball players whose fathers were good, but whose sons went on to surpass their fathers' achievements. Were the sons better athletes, or did they just happen to play for better teams, or did they get better breaks? There's room for debate, of course, but the fact remains that the sons managed to set records that their fathers did not. Although Saul is considered the first king of Israel in the biblical text, David is the one who really united the tribes of north and south, defeated their common enemies, and established an enduring dynasty. David is widely regarded as the greatest king Israel ever had, the example by which others were measured. Why, then, did Solomon get the privilege of building the temple, which would become the defining architectural structure in Jerusalem for centuries? One possibility is that Solomon enjoyed a reign of peace, whereas David's reign was largely spent establishing that peace, so David had little time and too few resources to build the temple. The Chronicler argued that God prevented David from building the temple because he had shed so much blood in battle, whereas Solomon would have a reign characterized by peace, and thus be a more suitable builder (1 Chronicles 22:8-9). Since most of the building and most of the materials came from Phoenicia, it may have been that Solomon's marriage alliance to the daughter of the king of Tyre made building the temple possible for the first time under Solomon's rule. Whatever the reason, the bottom line is that the time just wasn't right for David to build the temple, even though he would have liked to. Sometimes we have dreams in life that we'd like to accomplish that we just don't seem to be able to get around to. Maybe we lack the time, the opportunity, or the finances necessary. Maybe circumstances completely beyond our control just aren't right. It's easy to get discouraged when we realize that we won't be able to do something we'd really like to do, that we won't get that job, be elected to that office, or write that book. When we feel that way, however, we need to remember that we have children, friends, and colleagues who might be in a better position to do what we'd like to do, and we should encourage them to pursue their dreams, and ours. Life is not just about accomplishment, it's also about intention, and God knows our hearts.
The slaughter in Lebanon continued this week, as Israeli missiles and bombs wreaked havoc in southern Lebanon, killing more than 300 people, while about 30 Israelis died as well. In contrast to the rest of the world, which has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities on both sides, the White House has steadfastly refused to reign in its ally Israel. Many Christians in this country no doubt applaud the aggression, believing as they do that Israel is God's chosen nation in the Middle East, at least until the time of Christ's second coming, which they believe to be in the near future. It does not seem to occur to them that such wanton destruction is contrary to the teachings of Jesus, no matter which nation is involved. A passage like today's reading from Psalms might very well lead one to believe that God had indeed chosen the nation of Israel to triumph militarily over all its enemies in perpetuity, but only if one had no knowledge of history, the biblical record, or theology. God's promise to establish David's line forever was said by the temple prophet who wrote the psalm to be irreversible, but the prophet Jeremiah, for one, certainly didn't see the promise that way. In fact, the failure of a Davidic king to ever regain the throne after the Babylonian exile led many Jews to reinterpret the promise to David as a reference to a future king. However, strictly speaking, the promise did not say that after a long interim the line of David would be reestablished, it said that the line of David would endure forever. In particular, it is important to note that the leaders of the modern state of Israel do not fulfill the requirement of descendants of David sitting on the throne. The early church, of course, understood Jesus to be the messiah, the anointed king of the line of David who fulfilled such prophecies. The majority of Jews, on the other hand, especially after the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in 70 C.E., developed a rabbinic Judaism that emphasized God's promises to the entire community, not in military terms but in spiritual terms. God's promise to David and his people continues to be important today to both Jews and Christians, but it doesn't in any way justify some of the policies of the modern state of Israel, or its chief ally, the United States.
Conflicts within the church have existed from the very beginning. Followers of Peter fought with followers of Paul; Jewish Christians fought with Gentile Christians; Augustinians fought with Pelagians; the Great Church fought with the Donatists; Niceans fought with Arians; Chalcedonians fought with Nestorians; Catholics fought with the Orthodox; Protestants fought with Catholics; Lutherans fought with Calvinists; liberals fought with conservatives; charismatics fought with noncharismatics; the religious right fought with the religious left. In many places the conflict continues today, in opposition to the teaching of this passage in Ephesians, which promotes the church as a place of peace. In Christ God has broken down the barrier that existed at the time between Jews and Gentiles, the author says, but it didn't take long for Christians leaders to rebuild that wall, along with many others. The message of the gospel is reconciliation, with God and with one another. If Christians can't be at peace among themselves, how can they be at peace with God? If Christians can't be at peace with the Jews, after 2000 years of opportunity, how can they be at peace with God? It is a sad fact that much of the impetus toward the end of anti-Semitism in society as a whole came from the Enlightenment rather than the church, and the lingering threads of anti-Semitism in the world today are all too often connected with those who would identify themselves as Christians. Fortunately, the church as a whole has adopted the rejection of anti-Semitism as its own. Many Christians have also embraced the ecumenical movement as well, the push to have all churches in communication and communion with one another. Amazingly, many churches today are proud of their stance against ecumenism, in much the same way that they were once proud of their stances against the abolition of slavery and against the Civil Rights movement. As progressive Christians, we need to be a driving force behind the movement to bring peace within the church, as well as between the church and other religious traditions and the church and the rest of the world. God calls us to bring others near to God in the name of Christ, who is our peace.
For another discussion of this passage, click here.
When I lived in South Africa, my colleagues at the school where I taught were astounded by the fact that Americans typically only got two weeks vacation per year. What one actually said was, "That's shocking! Shocking!" The more common practice there, at least among people with middle class jobs, was four to six weeks of vacation. I have come to agree that two weeks vacation a year just isn't enough. People are less productive at work, are unable to deal effectively with family stress, and eventually burn out with insufficient rest. Of course, the poor around the world often have no vacation, just unpaid time off (if they have jobs), and that's a scandal as well. Jesus, apparently sensing that his disciples were stressed out from the crowds who were constantly around them, told them to come away with him for awhile and rest. Along the way Jesus and the disciples did perform ministry, as people found out where they were, but apparently they had at least some success in getting rest as well. Psychologists and counselors understand the value of rest and will tell their patients that rest is important as a way of relieving stress, of gaining a proper perspective on life, and even of thinking clearly. We are better workers, better family members, better neighbors, better citizens, and better people when we get rest. Our pastor is currently on a two month sabbatical, I believe his first in ten years. One of these days I hope to have the opportunity to have a sabbatical as well. In the meantime, however, I'm trying to learn to value my times of rest, whether on the weekends, between semesters, or even for just a few minutes during the day. That's hard for me, since I tend to be a bit of a workaholic. There's one good place that we all can start to find a little more rest during the day. Jesus noticed that "many were coming and going, and the disciples had no leisure even to eat." If we'll start with one meal a day and not rush through it, but enjoy it with our family, our friends, or even alone, maybe we'll be on the way to getting the rest that we all need.
For another discussion of this passage, click here.