1 Kings 3 - Wishes and Wisdom

One of my favourite questions to ask people is: What’s your favourite Disney movie? I’ve heard a lot of Lion King’s and Frozen’s and Beauty and the Beast’s over the years, but my personal favourite is probably Aladdin. The songs are fun, the story is interesting, and who doesn’t love Robin Williams as the Genie? The movie’s just super entertaining!

I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have a magic lamp with a genie that grants three wishes. What would you ask for? Would you ask for a million dollars? A fancy trip somewhere? An entire garage full of new bikes? A million more wishes? (That last one has to be cheating!)

Some of us might really like the idea of a genie offering us anything we could ever want on a silver platter. And sure, that idea sounds nice, but I wonder what we would do with all the stuff we might be tempted to ask for.

They say that people who win the lottery don’t end up being happier than they were. Sure, there’s the initial excitement of winning and getting to spend all that money, but eventually you realize having that much cash isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. You quickly realize that money actually can’t buy happiness.

That’s why I think Solomon’s story is so interesting. Solomon was one of Israel’s greatest kings. He was David’s son and took over ruling Israel after David died. He learned from his dad that being a good king meant following God’s commands and having a relationship with Him.

Now, back in the Old Testament, a large part of having a relationship with God meant offering sacrifices. Some sacrifices were done to cover up people’s sins so they could meet with God again, while others were just ways of thanking and praising God for everything He gives us. Thankfully, we don’t have to offer sacrifices anymore because Jesus took care of our sins forever when He died on the cross. And we have other ways of saying thank you to Him – like singing songs, listening to His instructions, reading the Bible, and stuff like that.

But back then, Solomon knew the importance of making sacrifices. The Bible actually talks about one time where Solomon made 1000 sacrifices to God at one of Israel’s altars. 1000 sacrifices! Can you imagine? Only a king would have all the animals and food stuffs needed to make that many sacrifices at once!

But our story really picks up the night after those 1000 sacrifices. The Bible says that while Solomon was asleep that night, God appeared to Solomon in a dream.

Try to picture that for a minute. There you are, sleeping away, dreaming of swimming across the ocean or flying through outer space or climbing a mountain made of Kit-Kat bars when all of a sudden, God appears in your dream. I don’t care that it was only a dream – once I realized it was God in my dream, I’d immediately fall on my face and worship.

But then God said to Solomon, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” (1 Kings 3:5 NLT).

Now this isn’t quite a genie offering three wishes. If anything, it’s even better. The God who made the entire universe and rules over every living thing has just offered you anything you want. Anything.

And I wonder, if we were kings or queens, what would we have asked for? Would we have asked for our kingdoms to be richer than anyone else around us? Would we have asked for success in battle so we could conquer other nations? Or would we have asked for peace on our borders so our people would be protected?

I’m sure all of these things ran through Solomon’s mind. I could do great things with more money! Solomon would have thought. I could build roads, build castles, build temples. I could help the needy and make sure no one ever starves again!

But after all these things ran through his head, Solomon realized there was something that was more important. He thought of his father and how close David had been with God. And he remembered what his dad had taught him – that having a close relationship with God will make you a better king than any money or power or fame ever could.

So Solomon said to God, “Lord, you showed great love and kindness to my dad. You helped him rule well because he was faithful to You. And because he served You, You gave his throne to me so I could rule.”

Then he continued, “Now, O LORD my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” (1 Kings 3:7-9).

Wow. What a thing to ask for! Solomon asked for wisdom. He knew he was young and still had a lot to learn. Sure, money and power would have helped, but wisdom would make the people love and respect him. It would make other nations come to him for advice and help him know how best to rule over Israel with the resources God had given him.

This was an extremely humble and selfless thing to ask for. Solomon was putting the interests of his kingdom before himself. And actually, Solomon showed great wisdom by asking for wisdom. He understood that wisdom begins with knowing God.

God was pleased with this request. He said, “Because you asked for wisdom and not for money or power or long life, I will give you what you asked for. I will give you a wise heart like no one ever before or after you. But not only that, I will give you what you haven’t asked for! You will be rich. You will be famous. No other king in the world will compare with you for the rest of your life! And if you obey me, like your father David did, then that life will be long.”

At that, Solomon woke up. He had to wonder if the whole thing had been just a dream. He probably didn’t feel all the different, rolled over, and went back to bed.

But we do know this – it wasn’t just a dream. Read the next few chapters of 1 Kings, and you’ll realize that Solomon truly was a wise king. In fact, there are stories of rules from countries miles and miles away coming to visit Solomon to hear his wisdom.

And with his wisdom came a great rule. Under Solomon’s leadership, Israel’s borders grew to the biggest they’ve ever been in all of history. And Solomon ruled so well that the country became extremely rich. So rich that “silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day” (1 Kings 10:21). Can you imagine that? Silver being like the change you have in your pockets!

Of course, things didn’t stay perfect with Solomon. He eventually let his wealth and power get the better of him. He stopped focusing on God and used his wisdom to get power and status for himself. And this led him down a dangerous road. He turned away from God and worshipped idols instead. And his decisions had consequences that echoed through Israel’s history for hundreds of years after that.

Why do I bring that up? Because Solomon forgot what he knew when he was young. Wisdom begins with knowing God. Proverbs 9:10, something most people think Solomon wrote when he was a younger man, says, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”

This isn’t fear as in, “Ah, a big scary monster is trying to eat me!” No, this kind of fear is more like reverence. That means it is honouring God and being amazed by how great He is. Fearing God means putting Him first and letting Him direct our paths, the wisest thing we can do.

Jesus says something similar in the New Testament. He says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33). Solomon sought God and His wisdom first, and as a result, God gave Solomon everything he could ever want or need. But Solomon lost track of this wisdom at the end of his life, and his relationship with God and his kingdom suffered for it.

Wisdom begins with knowing God. When we know Him, everything else will follow. This means the wisest thing we can do in this life is grow closer to our Lord and Saviour. We don’t even need a genie to do that! We can start right here, right now.

So do the wise thing. Read your Bibles. Get to know God. Let Him teach You about who He is and how much He loves you for who you are. And as we grow closer to Him, He’ll share His wisdom with us each and every day.

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Hey all! Thanks for checking in! Because of the chaos and busyness of life, you may have noticed I'm posting a tad less frequently. Going forward, I'm hoping to maintain a posting schedule of about every three weeks (with the odd exception). That means next time should be March 18, where we'll pick up a little bit later in Solomon's life. Hope to see you all then!

~Brentagious

Matthew 25:14-30 - The Homonym Parable

Who knows what a homonym is? It’s an English grammar term for two words that have the same spelling but mean different things. Think of the word, “duck.” I ducked as the duck flew over my head. The first “duck” means to bend over, while the second is the quacking bird. Or how about “long”? I long for a long pair of long johns. The first “long” means want really badly, the second is the opposite of short, and long johns are full body underwear.

I studied English in school, so things like homonyms get me all giddy inside. But even if you find English and grammar super boring, keep homonyms in mind for today’s story. It’ll help us make sense of some stuff when we’re through.

Our story today is from Matthew 25, and we’re looking at the 2^nd of 3 parables Jesus told just a few days before He was crucified. He told these parables so His disciples would know what the Kingdom of Heaven is going to look like. But He was also telling these parables so they would know how to respond while He was gone.

And I don’t just mean after He was crucified. Jesus didn’t stay dead, but God raised Jesus from the dead three days later. But He didn’t stay here on Earth. 40 days later, Jesus rose to heaven on some clouds, promising that He would come back soon. We don’t know when that will be, but in these 3 parables, He teaches us that we need to always be ready because He could come back at any time!

That means we shouldn’t waste the time God has given us. Jesus wants us to use this time to tell others about Him so they can believe in Him too! Because when Jesus comes back, it will be too late for us to tell others about Him then.

But this second parable – the one we’re going to talk about today – tells us there are other things we shouldn’t waste while Jesus is gone. It begins with a master going away on a long journey. Just before he left, he called over three of his servants and gave them each some money. Or more specifically, “talents.”

In Jesus’ day, talents were like really expensive coins. They didn’t have bills or credit cards, so coins were worth a lot more than a nickel or a quarter (or a toonie for all us Canadians!). It’s hard to know exactly how much a talent would have been worth by today’s standards. Some say it was somewhere between $1,000 and $30,000. Others think that talents were worth close to a million dollars. Can you imagine that? An a million dollar coin!

This is why some translators of the Bible choose to use a different word than “talent” in this story. They might use bags of gold or silver. But I’m going to stick with talents.

 

Anyways, the master called over three servants. He gave one of them 5 talents, one 2 talents, and the last 1 talent. Even the servant who only received one talent must have held that money very carefully. This was a LOT of money their master had just given them. Think of all the stuff they could do! With that kind of money, their families would be well fed for a long time. They could have parties and buy the best donkey in town!

Of course, it wasn’t their money. And though the Bible doesn’t say the master gave his servants any instructions, we can assume he wanted them to take care of the money as if it were their own. In other words, don’t waste it. Keep the money safe and use it well.

We can imagine the master leaving, his servants waving at him as he rode off into the sunset, and then the first servant saying, “Well, time to get to work!”

“What do you mean?” the third servant asked. “Our master’s gone!”

“Well, sure,” the first servant replied, “but I don’t think he’d like it too much if we just sat around in his absence. He gave us this money, so I’m going to use it. I’ll invest a little, maybe use some to buy an extra field, hire some workers, and see if we can’t bring in a bigger harvest than we’ve ever seen! If I play my cards right, these five talents could easily become six or even seven!”

“That’s not a bad idea,” the second servant said, scratching his beard. “I’ve always thought about setting up a little carpentry shop in town. I already make the master’s furniture! If I use this money to buy some supplies, I could easily make some tables and chairs and make him a profit!”

“Are you guys nuts?” the third servant cried. “You’re gonna spend our master’s money? Do you have any idea what he’ll do to you if he finds out? Or if all these big dreams of yours fail and you lose money? He’ll have your hides for sure!”

“So what are you going to do with it?” the first servant replied.

“Bury it, of course!” the third servant said, grinning.

The first stared at him, mouth open. The second just shook his head.

“Think you know better, do you?” the third servant said as the silence dragged on. “Well, we’ll see who’s laughing when our master comes home!”

And so the three servants each went off to their own plans. The first servant bought that field and hired those workers. It was an extremely successful year, and the master’s property brought in more grain than it ever had. So much more that when they sold it all, the servant had enough to buy another field the next year!

The second servant started his little carpentry shop. It was tough slugging, and he was even nervous he would lose his masters money for a while, but by his second year in business, he had a solid group of clients and was making some decent money. He made back his two talents and then some.

The third servant did exactly what he said. He found a spot deep within the master’s fields and buried the money. He continued doing his normal jobs, confident the master would be happy to receive his money back exactly as he left it.

After two years, the master finally returned home. As his wagon approached, the first and second servants talked about their new work and how successful things had been. They compared notes on farming strategies and the best way to fix a crooked table. The third servant stood a few feet off, glaring at them.

They all greeted the master warmly, and he invited them into his home to eat with him. As the cooks were preparing dinner, he asked his servants how they had spent their time while he was gone.

The first servant said, “Master, I’m pleased to report that I’ve bought you two extra fields and hired a number of new workers while you were gone. But don’t you worry, those five talents haven’t been lost. In fact, I have ten talents now!”

The master smiled. “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” (Matthew 25:21 NLT).

Then the second servant spoke up. “Master,” he said, “I’ll admit the last few years have been hard. My skills have always been in carpentry, so I decided to set up a practice while you were gone. There were times I thought I was going to lose those two talents you gave me, but business has been going well lately. Those two talents you gave me have become four!”

Again the master smiled and gave the same blessing. “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” (Matthew 25:23 NLT).

The master then turned to the third servant, who had grown very quiet. He wasn’t so confident anymore. He swallowed, feeling like all the moisture had gone out of his mouth, and said quietly, “Master… I know you can be a hard man, growing angry with waste and harvesting crops you didn’t plant. I didn’t want to lose your money, so I hid it. Look, here’s your talent back.”

The master’s eyes narrowed. He took the talent back and said, “You wicked, lazy servant! If you knew this is how I would react, why didn’t you use the money better? You could have at least put it in the bank! Then it would have made interest! But as it is, you have wasted what I gave you.”

He then turned to the first servant and said, “You may have the talent the third servant wasted.” And he continued, “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29).

Hearing that must have been devastating! The third servant meant well, but he completely misunderstood his master and his instructions. That’s why it’s important we get our instructions right too. The master in this story is Jesus, who has gone on his long “journey” to heaven. In his absence, He wants us to use what He has given us to glorify Him. The worst thing we can do is waste it.

So let’s talk about homonyms. We also have a word “talent” in English that has nothing to do with money. For us, talents are those things we are good at. In our story, the first servant was a great organizer and farmer, while the second was good at carpentry. They used their talents to double the money their master gave them.

God has given us many things. He’s given us time, money, and talents. But He didn’t give us those things so we could simply sit around and enjoy our time here on earth. Sure, it’s fine to have a good time, play some games with our friends or enjoy a meal out or something, but we must be careful not to waste the stuff God has given us. That includes sitting back and not doing anything at all.

Don’t waste anything God gives you. If you have a job or receive an allowance, consider using some of that money to help others. If God has gifted you with the ability to talk easily with others or teach or play soccer, then use those gifts to show and tell the world what it means to be a follower of Christ! And don’t just use your time for yourself, but use it to help build God’s kingdom.

We probably won’t literally double our money or talents when we use those things for the glory of God, but God does promise us a reward – a stronger and closer relationship with Him! And honestly, that worth way more than any talent ever could!

~Brentagious

Luke 19:1-10 - Meeting Jesus

I know Christmas was three weeks ago now, but forgive me for still having it on the brain a little bit. I remember seeing a Christmas play some years back I really enjoyed. It was really more like a bunch of small skits and in one of them, four adults pretended to be kids putting on a Christmas pageant.

The whole thing was super hilarious, but one part of it sticks out in my mind when I think about today’s story. The girl playing Mary had to read the beginning of Luke chapter 2. So she says, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that the whole world should be…” and then she scrunched up her whole face and said in her biggest, meanest, most disgusted voice, “TAXED!”

Some of the older people reading this might feel that way about taxes. We work hard for our money, but then the government takes some to help take care of our cities and repave our roads and pay for schools and stuff. Taxes are important, but no one wants to spend money they don’t have to.

Well, we’re going to be hearing from a guy who collected taxes back in Bible times. His name was Zacchaeus, and he wasn’t liked very much… But we’ll get to that in a minute. For now, sit back and relax as we hear from Zach himself about the day he met Jesus and had his life changed forever!

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Ah, my guests have arrived! Come in, come in, all of you. Please, warm yourselves in my home. There’s always room for another guest here. He taught me that. Who’s He? Why, the Lord Jesus of course! You have heard of Him, haven’t you?

It’s not a bother to tell you about Him. Really, it’s not. I don’t even mind that it brings up my past. I was a different man before I met Jesus. A very different man. I wouldn’t have given two hoots for any of you back then. That’s probably why most people avoided me.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start with who I am. My name is Zacchaeus, and for many years I was a tax collector here in Jericho. It was my job to collect money from people in town, bundle it together, and send it off to people on the other end of the Empire to take care of.

Tax collectors never had the greatest reputation, especially among my people, the Jews. The Jews never quite accepted that the Romans ruled over them. God promised us a nation many years ago, and they didn’t like that Rome has been ruling over us for generations. And they especially didn’t like the idea of paying taxes. We have to pay money to help pay for Roman roads and Roman armies and Roman trade? When we should have our own kingdom? Unacceptable!

But while a lot of us Jews didn’t like the Romans, tax collectors were probably hated even more. Why? Because tax collectors, in my day, were Jewish people who collected money for the Romans! And not only that, but a lot of us would… charge a little extra. We didn’t think much of it at the time. Say a person owed 10 dollars, we would charge them 11. 10 would go to Rome and 1 would stay in our pockets. The Romans knew we were doing this, but they didn’t make a fuss. So long as they got their money, we could do what we wanted.

What we were doing was wrong. We made it sound professional and legitimate, but we were just stealing money from people by making them pay more than they had to. No wonder I didn’t have many friends.

I only say all this because it explains some of what happened that day. You see, we’d been hearing about Jesus for a while now. We knew He was this amazing prophet, wandering the countryside and giving a new message that seemed to fly in the face of what the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders always talked about. Even a hated tax collector like me couldn’t help but imagine what Jesus would do if He came here.

I had been out collecting taxes that morning as usual when I saw people running – literally running – to the other side of town. One of the guys in line asked someone running by what was happening, and all he yelled back was “Jesus.” Half the line took off.

I jumped up on my chair and started yelling for them to come back, but they wouldn’t listen. In fact, before I knew it, the whole line had slipped away. I wanted to be angry, but I found I couldn’t be. Jesus was in town! The rest of my people may not have liked me all that much, but I was still excited to hear that Jesus, this man who was making such a difference, was passing through.

I locked up the tax money, left my post, and scurried over to where Jesus was. It wasn’t hard to figure out. There was a huge crowd of people lining the streets. But that’s when I realized I would have a problem. I couldn’t see.

You see, I’m not exactly a… tall man. Usually when I want to see something important, I make sure I’m there early, but I didn’t have the chance this time. And here I was, this tax collector who could normally make anyone give me whatever money they had in their pockets, and I didn’t have a chance in the world of seeing someone walk down the street.

I politely asked if some people would make room, but nobody budged. I tried to shove my way through, but no luck there other. One guy almost moved, but when he saw who I was, he just grunted and started standing on his tiptoes.

I wanted to plough him one, but I controlled my temper. Think, man, I thought to myself, There must be some way you can see Jesus! I looked up the street a way and that’s when it hit me. The tree!

Honestly, I hadn’t climbed a tree in years, not since I was a boy. But there was this sycamore tree that was perfect. From there, I’d have a perfect view. So off to the tree I went and shimmied up. And let me tell you, I was a lot better at climbing trees as a boy! But after a couple of false starts and some scrapes, I got to the top, looked out, and…

…and there He was. Jesus! I don’t know how to explain it, but I knew something was special about Him just by looking at Him. Nothing stood out about Him appearance-wise, but looking at Him made me feel… peaceful. And a little guilty.

As Jesus came closer, I shied back in the tree a little bit, trying to hide behind some of the leaves. Climbing a tree was one thing, but there was no reason He needed to know I was up there. But maybe about 10 feet before the tree He stopped, looked up, and with a big grin on His face, said, “Zacchaeus! Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today” (Luke 19:5, NLT).

My face went pale, my eyes wide. Me? I thought. He wants to eat with me? At my house? NOBODY eats at my house. But He just stood there, smiling, waiting.

I didn’t want to keep Him waiting, so I immediately climbed down the tree. A couple of people helped me down now that I had Jesus’ attention, but they looked as dazed and confused as I felt. But my uncertainty didn’t last long. Soon I was smiling, laughing. It took everything in me to not grab Him by the hand and drag Him to my house!

The crowds didn’t just disappear at that point. Many people followed after us. And though I was happy to have Jesus as my guest, I couldn’t help but overhear some of them grumbling. “He’s eating with Zacchaeus?” “That seems an odd choice?” “Do they even know each other?” “Why would Jesus eat with a guy like Zacchaeus? He’s a sinner! A tax collector!”

The thing is, as much as I didn’t want to admit it, they were right! I mean, I’m no more a sinner than anyone else – I realize that now – but I certainly wasn’t a kind or giving person. I didn’t deserve to have someone like Jesus come and eat with me. I treated a lot of people poorly and cheated a lot of people out of a lot of money.

Just before we got to my house, I stopped dead in my tracks. The whole crowd rippled as they were forced to halt too. Jesus simply turned, looking at me with a hint of a question on His face.

I looked back at the crowd for a moment, nodded, and then looked right at Jesus. “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord,” I said, “and if I have cheated people on their taxes,” (and there were lots of people I had cheated), “I will give them back four times as much!” (Luke 19:8)

That questioning look on Jesus’ face broke into a grin. “Salvation has come to this home today!” Jesus said, proudly. And I do mean proudly. I had learned that my money was far less important than how I treat others or how I treat God. He wants us to be kind, compassionate, and listen to His instructions. By choosing to give up money and pay people back what I had stolen from them and more, it was a sign that I wasn’t just going to meet with Jesus once and forget about Him. Meeting Jesus changed me – giving the money away was just the result!

For me, the issue was money, but all of us have something that gets us down. Maybe we like to pick on others, maybe we know we can boss our siblings around, maybe we even like to take things from people or stores when nobody’s watching. But when you meet with Jesus... That’s when everything changes. 

I did exactly what I said. I paid those people I had cheated back, and I sold a bunch of my stuff to help the poor. I never met Jesus face to face again, but that one meeting changed my life. I knew that His way was better, and I’ve lived that way the rest of my life.

I hope you will too. It won’t always be easy or fun. Living the way Jesus wants will test you, and not everybody will understand why you do it. But take it from me – Meeting Jesus always changes us for the better! Because I know Him, I’m a better person for it. And I can never say thank you to Him enough!

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So there you have it! The day Zacchaeus met Jesus. It was a normal, ordinary day, but it changed everything about him. Who knows? Today might be that ordinary day for you too! All it takes to be changed by Jesus is to believe in Him, to ask Him to forgive you, and to thank Him for dying and rising again so you can be saved! That’s it. At the beginning of this year, there’s nothing more important you can do than meet Jesus for the first time!

Now for the boring stuff (so you can tune out here if you want). If you’re a regular reader, you may notice I’ve shifted from the NIrV to the NLT. Trying something new to start the year – we’ll see how that goes. This month is also crazy hectic for me, so I probably won’t be getting a new post up until early February. Not sure what that will be on yet, but probably not a Second Sunday Switch-Up.

Otherwise, Happy New Year all. Can’t wait to see where else this adventure in shedding our Sunday School Glasses takes us!

~Brentagious

Luke 2:8-20 - An Ordinary Night

Merry Christmas everyone! I know I’m a day early, but I still think it’s safe to look into the Christmas story. And hoo boy, there’s a whole bunch of things we could look at. We could talk about the wise men and where they came from. We could talk about Mary and Joseph and how they found themselves on their way to Bethlehem. We could talk about there being no room at any inn, but how a kind innkeeper let Mary and Joseph stay in his stable.

We could talk about all of this, but then my word count would be through the roof. I’m sure you’ll all be hearing the Christmas story a bunch over the next few days (if you haven’t already), but I want to focus our attention on the shepherds. Or more specifically, the sheep.

So sit back with a nice cup of hot chocolate as we hear from a fuzzy little friend about what he experienced the day the Saviour of the world was born!

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I know what you’re thinking. This looks just like any old hill. But I gotta tell you… I’ve been over these hills and everywhere and I’m positive that this spot right here has the best grass in all of Israel. I know it’s late and I should be sleeping right now, but I just had to have a little late night snack.

Hi! My name’s Beth. I’m named after a little town just down the road called Bethlehem. I’m part of Shepherd Morgan’s flock. Well, Shepherd Morgan and a few others. There’s Shepherd Dave and Shepherd Thomas and Shepherd Tracey. They’re good people these shepherds. They found us this grass. I hope we stay here a while.

We’re not a big flock. There’s maybe 20 of us, but I don’t mind. More grass for me this way. But with only 20 of us, it’s not like a whole lot of stuff happens. It can actually get kind of boring. Us 20 ordinary sheep with our ordinary old shepherds. I’m not saying I want a wolf to attack us or anything – heavens no! – but it’d be nice if maybe we met up with another flock soon. It’s always exciting when 2 flocks meet. Too bad Shepherd Morgan doesn’t like other people all that much…

Anyways, I probably shouldn’t keep you. I’m getting pretty full and should probably go back to bed, and….

WOAH!!! What’s that?

What do you mean what’s that? That bright shiny thing over there? It’s… I don’t know how to describe it… It’s beautiful and terrifying and…

Huh? Wh-why are my legs shaking? Well, what do you think?!? It’s night time! There isn’t supposed to be bright lights in the sky with people inside them! At least, I think it’s a person… It looks kind of like a person, but totally different. It has wings and…

And for that matter, what about the shepherds? What do you mean what do I mean? Look at them! They’re terrified. They’re all clumped together and holding on to each other. I’ve seen them take on bears before without this much fear. What in the world is happening?!?!?

Wait… I hear words… Is the light… speaking?

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news. It will bring great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. Here is how you will know I am telling you the truth. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:11-12 NIrV).

A baby? One of those little humans? What’s He doing in a manger? That’s where cows eat! And what does the light mean, “Town of David?” The only town near here is Bethlehem! And this baby’s the Messiah? I’ve heard that word before. The shepherds have been waiting for some great king to save them. That king is a baby in a manger? Why isn’t He in a palace?

GAH!!! The light! It’s so bright I can’t even open my eyes. There must be hundreds of those bright things in the sky now!

“May glory be given to God in the highest heaven! And may peace be given to those h\He is pleased with on earth!” (Luke 2:14).

God? Those bright things are from God? They must be angels! I’ve heard the shepherds talk about angels before. They’re God’s special messengers, but I never expected to see one!

Wait… The light went away. Oh… It seems so dark, so empty without them around. I never realized how little light a campfire gave off. But for one moment there… It was like all of heaven was rejoicing over… something… Something wonderful!

Look! The shepherds are finally getting up. And they aren’t terrified anymore. They look… happy. Really happy!

“Those were angels!”

“The Messiah’s been born!”

“Down in Bethlehem? That’s just over there!”

“We have to go find him! Quick, gather the sheep. Let’s go to Bethlehem!

Gather the sheep, huh? How you gonna do that in the middle of the night? Oh… Wait… the light woke them all up… Aaaand everyone looks terrified! I gotta help the shepherds calm them down! Don’t worry everyone, it’s okay! There’s no fire, the world’s not ending! God has sent a Saviour. And we get to go to Bethlehem to see Him! Quickly now, follow the shepherds, quickly now!

Okay good… Everybody’s getting up and getting in line. But I still can’t believe it. Why would God appear to us? I know I wanted something out of the ordinary, but I never expected this! Oh, we’re moving now! I gotta catch up with my friends. See you down there!

________________________

Okay… Now I’m getting tired… That’s like the 50^th stable we’ve stopped at tonight and we still haven’t found the baby the angels told us about. I get He’s important, but I really hope we find Him soon!

Wait... Is that Johnston’s baa? It is! Johnston found Him! I gotta get over there! Ooh, I hope the shepherds get the message. Sometimes I think they can’t understand us at all!... Okay good, they’re following.

I can’t wait to see the Messiah. I bet He has a crown and beautiful robes and servants all around him. The stable thing is weird – never heard of a king being born in a stable – but it must be one nice looking stable. I bet it’s a gold manger! I’m coming Johnston, I’m coming!

There it is. The stable… Alright, deep breathes now Beth. I know I’ve never been before royalty, but I’ll try to make a good impression. Just be cool...

Wait, this can’t be right… There’s no gold. There’s no servants. This is just an ordinary stable! Actually, it’s not even all that well put together. I think that’s a hole in the wall back there. I could probably sneak through it if I tried! Well, maybe if my wool was a little thinner. But still! Why would God let His Messiah be born here?

But this is exactly what the angels said. We would find a baby wrapped up in cloth and lying in a manger. From the looks of Shepherd Morgan’s face, we’re in the right spot. He can’t stop staring at the child. Wait, he’s about to say something to the baby’s mother…

“Is this… Him? Is this the newborn Messiah?” 

“Yes. This is Jesus. He will save our people from our sins. One day, at least. But how did you hear of Him? How did you know where to find us?

“There were these angels!” (Shepherd Tracey this time) “We were out in the fields when a whole bunch of them appeared in the sky and told us to find a child wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger.”

“Praise God!” (that’s the mother again!).

“I don’t know why He chose us, though.” (Shepherd Morgan again). “We’re nobodies. Why would God tell us?”

“Ha! Look around you!” (the mom again) “Does any of this seem ordinary? A baby born in a stable? Angels appearing in the sky? No… No matter how normal things may look around us, God did not choose a normal way to send our Saviour to the world!”

“No, that He didn’t.” (Shepherd Dave) “But I for one can’t just stand here looking any longer. The angels said this is great news, and they weren’t kidding. We have to tell somebody, anybody… Anyone who will listen! We have to tell them the Saviour’s been born!”

“You’re right…” (Shepherd Morgan) “But what about the sheep?”

“Leave them here” (Shepherd Thomas). “At least, for now. We have some good news to spread tonight. We can come back for them in the morning! Besides, I think they realize something special has happened too.”

What does Shepherd Thomas mean? Oh… Well, would you look at that? Everyone else has gathered around the manger. I think they’re waiting for me. So if you’ll excuse me…

…What are we going to do? What, did you think you humans are the only ones who can worship their Creator?  I know we’re just ordinary sheep, but the least we can do is sing Him a lullaby.

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The thing that always gets me about the Christmas story is how everything is so ordinary and so extraordinary at the same time. God chose normal people to give birth to His Son. Jesus was born in a normal stable and met by normal shepherds. Jesus is anything but normal – He is the King of the universe! – but He came to earth in such a simple way. I like to think God did it this way so we could more easily relate to our Saviour.

But that’s the thing I hope we take away from today. Jesus makes ordinary things into something extraordinary! And that’s not just the case at Christmas. When we believe in Him, He takes our ordinary lives and makes them incredible. How? He gives us His Holy Spirit so we can do His work and love others like He does.

Jesus makes ordinary things into something extraordinary. He does it every single day, but it all started one night in a manger. So may we remember that extraordinary, ordinary night and celebrate our extraordinary King!

~Brentagious

SSS: Recontextualize, or Why Modernize the Bible?

One thing I miss about the church I go to now is having a church library. When I was younger, my parents and I attended an Alliance church. I could honestly have cared less about the books, something the English major in me cringes over now, but I loved the media section. Our church library had Veggietales DVDs, McGee and Me! videos, and my personal favourite – Adventures in Odyssey tapes.

There were a few years where I swear those were all we played in our car. We’d hear the stories of Whit, Connie, Eugene, and everyone else in the little town of Odyssey. I always wanted to have a Whit’s End or Imagination Station near me but had to settle for the Tim Hortons down the road. I get that apple fritters and Roll Up the Rim is exciting, but it was never quite the same as a phone booth that let you experience what life was like in Bible times. (Side note: I think I just realized where my obsession with Doctor Who started!)

Anyways, after exhausting our church library, my parents bought me a few of the Odyssey CD collections. I still have them packed away with a bunch of my other CDs. But one story in particular has always stood out to me, and I decided to give it a fresh listen for this post. Needless to say, I enjoyed it just as much now as I did as a kid.

SSSG has been covering Gideon the last couple of months, and I’ve mentioned that his story is my favourite Bible story. And honestly, a large part of that is because of how Odyssey told it. Instead of just telling the story or letting us experience it through a trip in the Imagination Station, “Passages” took a very different approach.

Judges in the Wild West

Odyssey has this character named Tom Riley. His son, Timmy, passed away as a child, but this story is about an adventure Timmy and his friend Alice had before he died. They were transported to another world, to the country of Marus, where they led a revolution against the Adrians.

The world they arrive is like something out of a western. The first thing they see are horse riders burning a farm. After escaping, they come to realize that Alice’s eyes are different than normal. They are normally brown, but in this world, one is blue and the other is green.

They make their way to a log cabin where they meet a guy name Fletcher. Somehow, inexplicably, Alice already knows his name. Then we get some background. Characters talk about how they have turned against the Unseen One – “the creator of all things, the ruler of our people, the judge of our thoughts, the lover of our hearts” – by choosing to worship the gods of the Adrians instead.

It’s then discovered that in this world, Alice is some sort of prophet. She can’t cook worth beans (or cook beans for that matter), but somehow a feast has appeared on Fletcher’s table. She tells Fletcher that the Unseen One has called him, a simple mountain man, to lead a rebellion against the Adrians. His first task is to burn down the town hall, which the Adrians have turned into a temple for their gods.

If you’ve been tuning in the last few months, this should sound sort of familiar. A messenger from God, an angel, appeared to tell Gideon to tear down some Midianite idols. He was hesitant at first, but willing to obey what God had called him to.

From here, the story unfolds along the same lines as Gideon’s. Fletcher rallies the Marusians to rise up against the Adrians. They gather a huge army, but they’re pretty scared at first. So Fletcher asks Alice for a sign from the Unseen One, and he gets one that involves a piece of paper instead of a sheep’s fleece.

Fletcher then sends anyone home who doubts that they can win (like Gideon), but he senses something is still wrong. Alice tells them to bring in a barrel of water. Again, like with Gideon, anyone who cupped the water to their mouth is sent home, but the people who drank from a shared cup (instead of lapping like a dog with Gideon) gets to stick around.

And then comes the battle. Fletcher’s 300 man army gathers as many torches, lamps, cowbells (because it’s a western) and trumpets as they can. They surround the city, light them all at once, and then charge in. Like in Judges, the combination of lights and sounds made it seem like there were thousands upon thousands, and the Adrians (like the Midianites) fled immediately!

Now Odyssey doesn’t go into detail about Succoth and the golden ephod. I get it – those aren’t really stories we normally tell kids. But they do talk about Fletcher refusing to be made king. He places the focus back on the Unseen One, like Gideon did with God. I can respect that. It’s a show for kids, and they’re trying to focus on the lesson about faith and trusting God even in the darkest of circumstances.

As the story closes, a grown up Alice recounts, “Maybe we were allowed to experience Marus so we could understand faith in God better in this world.” This is a lot like something C.S. Lewis says at the end of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (which I’ve mentioned before). He writes that the whole reason Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace (and technically us as readers) were allowed to visit Narnia and meet Aslan was so they could get to know God better in our world.

The Danger of Familiarity

On the “For Parents” section of the “Passages” series’ website, it says, “All of the ‘Passages’ stories are based squarely on key episodes of scriptural history. The names have been changed, the details have been altered, and the setting has been moved to an exciting land of Marus. As you listen to the story, you may recognize the basic outlines, key characters, and scriptural lessons from the Bible stories. We used this fictional device because familiarity can sometimes dull the impact of an oft-told tale” (http://www.whitsend.org/passages/forparents/).

I think this is why Gideon’s story has stuck with me all these years. I have no idea anymore whether I had heard Gideon’s story before, but how Odyssey told it made me fall in love with it. Hearing it through a different, somewhat more familiar lens, is what made the story memorable.

Now the question could be asked whether this is right. Scripture is the Word of God after all, and what right do we have to change or adapt the words of Scripture to tell a story through a new lens? Should we not simply be satisfied with reading the actual story to kids? After all, if God is going to convict them, He can do so just as easily through His Word than through some reinterpretation of it.

But at the risk of sounding heretical, I’m going to suggest that there is value in forgoing the physical words of Scripture in favour of the spirit behind its stories and its messages. I’m not saying throw the Bible away, but I am saying that sometimes the truths of Scripture will actually stand out more when we place them in a context kids, teens, or adults today will better resonate with.

There’s a reason we act stories out with kids during Sunday School. Or paraphrase the more difficult or gruesome bits. Adapting the story to make it more kid friendly or memorable is not necessarily wrong so long as we do not lose the truth in the adaptation.

I remember sitting through a hermeneutics class back in my undergrad (hermeneutics being a fancy word for the method(s) we use to interpret Scripture) where my professor told us a story that I’m going to try to repeat now with my own little spin.

It’s Sunday morning in a small town. A man hopped in his car and started driving to the next town over, about 30 minutes away, where his church was. About halfway there, he heard a loud popping noise. Oh no, not now! he thought. That’s my second flat this month, and I haven’t had time to pick up a spare!

The man quickly pulled over, got out of his car, and assessed the damage. The hole wasn’t huge, but his tire was deflating pretty quickly. His hand went to his pocket, only to realize he had forgotten his cell phone at home! So there he was, stuck between two towns, with no idea how to fix his tire.

He started pacing, hoping someone would pass by soon to help. Looking at his watch, he calculated that if God sent a tire from heaven this instant, he would probably just make it to church on time. That’s when he saw a car off in the distance. And when he saw who’s car, he said a little prayer of thanksgiving. It was the pastor’s car! If anyone was going to make sure our hero got to church on time, it was the pastor.

Or so the man thought as the pastor drove right by him. Don’t get me wrong. The pastor saw his churchgoing friend on the side of the road and even had the common courtesy to feel bad for him, but as we've already said, church time was approaching. If he stopped to help our hero, then the pastor would be late, and how could they possibly have church without him? It was missions Sunday after all, and he had to be there to remind his congregants of the mission field around them. So, absentmindedly saying a quick prayer that God would send someone to help him, the pastor drove on by.

The man was shocked, but he didn’t have too much time to dwell on it because suddenly another car appeared off in the distance. This time, it was the church treasurer. But like the pastor, the treasurer was also afraid of not making it to church on time. After all, who was going to pass out the offering plates if she wasn’t there? She felt bad, but she knew her duty to the church was more important than making sure one regular old churchgoer made it that day. And that’s what left our hero standing on the side of the road, mouth wide, not sure what to do next. If pastors or church treasurers weren’t going to stop to help him, who would?

See where this is going?

At this point, a third car appeared off in the distance. And in this car was the once conservative Christian turned atheist. Or if I can exaggerate, a terrorist. Or someone part of any other group Christians tend to marginalize or villainize. This person who had felt the brunt of overly religious Christianity pulled over, apologized he had no spare tire of his own to offer, but used his cellphone to call a tow truck. He followed after the truck to the local mechanic, stayed until the entire job was done, and then footed the bill himself.

To adapt Jesus’ words, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who had the flat tire?”

You see, a lot of us have probably heard the parable of the good Samaritan so many times that we’ve grown desensitized to what actually makes this story so amazing. We might have heard in a sermon that the Jews and the Samaritans didn’t get along, but to truly understand what this parable meant to Jesus’ listeners, we need to understand that Jews and Samaritans HATED each other.

The Jews thought the Samaritans had sacrificed all that was good and holy about them, giving up their inheritance as God’s chosen people to worship other gods. The Samaritans were the scum of the earth, but it was a Samaritan – not the priest or Levite who you would expect would be helpful – who came to the aid of the beaten up Jew.

Now please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not trying to correlate Jewish-Samaritan relations with how Christians interact with atheists or groups that disagree with our beliefs. But if we’re honest, a lot of us Christians don’t treat certain groups all that well. And that’s why I think this retelling is so effective.

There is absolutely value in Scripture. The Bible is the first and most obvious way God speaks to us, and we should never allow modernized takes like Narnia or Odyssey to replace the real thing. But there is something about Fletcher’s rebellion or the Parable of the Flat Tire that resonates with us and makes the truths of Scripture come alive in fresh ways.

In short, take advantage of the opportunity to recontextualize Bible stories in your ministries. Feel free to enjoy the odd retelling or a familiar story. But always always always encourage returning to the source material. After hearing the original and modernized versions together, you might be amazed at what truths God will open up to you.