Author: Jon Partlow

Posted on

God’s Day In Court: When YHWH Brought Charges Against His People

People love a good courtroom drama. From Perry Mason to Law & Order and from Atticus Finch to the gripping trial of Casey Anthony, we’re drawn to the courtroom as we sit on the edge of our seats in anticipation of the verdict. We hope that justice will be served and all the wrongs committed will somehow be made right. Sometimes they are, sometimes they’re not and other times we’re left wondering what happened?

The prophet Micah orchestrated a courtroom drama unlike ever witnessed by Israel. Micah oversaw significant and unprecedented history as he watched Samaria fall and then predicted Jerusalem’s doom. Sure, the people of Judah clearly understood why Samaria deserved such punishment, but the plank was too thick and heavy for any introspective on their part. Samaria was evil and fell from grace. Judah, on the other hand, was home to Jerusalem, the temple and the reign of David’s dynasty. God’s Name was in there, and with his covenant, he wouldn’t allow anything to happen to the City of David. Would he? So they glossed over their own sins and charged God’s rule with incompetence. So God counter sues them and gets his day in court.

The drama in Micah 6 unfolds in four movements. A summons is called as God sends out for his creation to gather as witnesses against Israel (Mic. 6:1-2). Once the court is in session, God, acting as the plaintiff, turns to the defendant and questions their charges against him. The evidence God produces is the salvation history of Israel. He rescued them from slavery and sent Moses to lead them. With so many marvelous works God performed for Israel, he shares just enough to shame and to quiet Israel (Mic. 6:3-5). They have no case against God.

Knowing they’re defeated, and to settle the suit quickly and quietly, Israel seeks to know what God really wants in recompense. Burnt offerings of a one year old calf? Sacrifices of a thousand rams with ten thousand rivers of oil? Is he wanting their firstborn (Mic. 6:6-7)? While Micah may be using hyperbole to make his point, it’s clear that Israel believes more ritual will satisfy God’s anger and atone for their sins. More ritual.

But God doesn’t want more offerings. No more empty rituals. In fact, he might be sick of their sacrifices.+ Instead, God calls Israel to model his own behavior. What God really wants from his people is found in three settlement requirements (Mic. 6:8).

* Seek Justice > not only are God’s people called to stand against sin and corruption (and to stop our own participation in it), but we’re called to defend and/or speak on behalf of those who are weaker and vulnerable in our society. So when individuals or groups are marginalized, exploited and/or abused, God’s people are called to bring balance to justice.

* Love Mercy > far from simply a call for compassion, mercy extends to action. Take that feeling and turn it into deeds. Here the Hebrew word, hesed, is the same word used to describe God’s Covenant Love he made with Israel. God’s people are to be committed to each other modeling God’s commitment to his people. Loving mercy is a stronger way of saying to follow the second greatest command: love your neighbor as yourself. 

* Walk Humbly > while many may view this as a “I come to the garden alone” moment, Micah saw this requirement as a combination of the first two, so that “seeking justice” and “loving mercy” is walking humbling with God. As the Apostle John might say, our love for God is in direct proportion to loving each other (see 1 Jn. 4:7-12).

People love a good courtroom drama, unless they’re at the center of the case. No doubt Israel was feeling uncomfortable being called into the courtroom by God, and even more so by turning a deaf ear to his settlement requirements. To be honest, so do we. How comfortable is it to ignore the need for justice and mercy, or worse to point fingers. We have a choice: we can take a risk “to walk humbly with God” as Micah defines it, or we can ignore our calling and simply wait for the day we’re summoned to appear in God’s courtroom.  

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)

+The prophet Amos was a contemporary with Micah and he not only believes God hated their sacrifices, but he also called for justice as well (see Amos 5:21-24).

Posted on

My Name Is “5”

In 1963 Schulz introduced a new character to his Peanuts Gang, and his name was “5.” He had twin sisters named “3” and “4” respectfully (you can spot them in the famous dance scene of “A Charlie Brown Christmas”). Five’s full name was 555 95742, which was also his family’s zip code (placing him in Rancho Cordova, CA outside of Sacramento). His father, in naming his children numbers instead of names, was protesting, or at least surrendering, to the system of reducing human lives to numbers and statistics. Thus, the commentary Schulz might have been giving is that you’re more than just a number! 

As a child, Schulz’s humor often evaded me: what did Snoopy mean when he said, “I’m bad with names. Did he say ‘5’ or ‘V’?” As an adult trying to keep up with house numbers, phone numbers, bank numbers, insurance numbers, social security numbers, passwords, etc., Schultz’s humor is alive while his commentary is poignant. Note that his character was introduced during the sixties, when Social Security numbers were not assigned at birth. If anything, the numbering system has worsened in the past fifty plus years, and we tend to forget that people, faces, and lives stand behind the statistics and numbers society forces upon us. 

In one way, the healthcare in America is an example of how the numbers become more important than person they are servicing. When I sat in the examination room talking to my internal medicine doctor, an epiphany came to him and I told him, “You need to write book.” He looked at me with a puzzlement. He was beyond the age of retirement, but his body appearance was much younger. He walks with a bounce, and joy emanates from him. He’s a good doctor, and very good at his job. He’s wanted to walk away from medicine and into the less stressful life of retirement, but the hospital knows the value in having a good physician. For years they allowed him to reduce his work schedule and responsibilities in order for them to have the best doctor on staff. He looked at me and inquired, “What kind of book?” I responded, “I bet you made house calls as a young doctor, didn’t you?” He laughed and confirmed what I suspected. I continued, “You’ve see so much change in healthcare and, no doubt, you have stories. Never mind the advancement in curing diseases. You remember a time when the patient was a person you visited in their home, instead of running patients through your office doors like cattle to maximize the number of people you see.” 

There was a time when numbers were far less prevalent than today. Banks offered loans to customers based on loyal friendship, and less on a bottom line. Stores kept a tab knowing that customers, who were also their neighbors, would make good on payment when the crops came in. And doctors made house calls, in part to keep contagious diseases isolated, and in part because of the personal relationship doctors had with their patients. 

As Schulz seemed to have foreshadowed, our society is driven by numbers. Churches are far from immune. When consumers are reduced to a number, customer service erodes. When churches reduce membership to a number, or a ministry to a project, (i.e. the bottom line) the church devolves into a machine cranking out another product for the consumers to consume, use up, and then discard like a piece of junk. Serving one another erodes in the process.

Statistics are present everywhere, and even surface in the Bible. However, tension exists when the Bible addresses these statistics and numbers. Paul refuses to keep track of how many he baptizes (1 Cor. 1:16), while Luke freely records the number of those baptized (Act. 1:15; 2:41; 4:4). David sins when he instructs Joab to count his fighting men (1 Chron. 21:1-7), while the book of Numbers is dedicated to determining the number of people in Israel, especially the fighting men. While 5000 men present was far too many to feed, one boy’s lunch ended up being more than enough food for Jesus to feed, with twelve basketfuls for left-overs later (John 6:1-13). Some sort of balance must be reached in working with people; real people with real lives are behind the numbers often posted. 

Numbers aren’t everything, but numbers mean something. Churches track their numbers through attendance and contribution. Spotting trends, and knowing the ebb and flow of people’s decision to attend the assembly and to give their offering, are important for the leadership of the church. Growing churches usually realize that the larger the church grows, the smaller it must intentionally become, in part to avoid reducing individual members to a mere number. But when numbers become the defining moment for decisions, then we run into two moments of crisis. First, when decisions are made with numbers being the bottom line, then where is faith? Isn’t that the issue the disciples faced when Jesus fed the 5000? They saw the numbers, but Jesus challenged them to work out the problem beyond the number (Mark 6:37a). They failed. Could it be that Jesus was challenging the numbers mentality, and pointing them (or us) to act in faith beyond the numbers?

Secondly, when churches make numbers the bottom line, we’re simply mimicking society’s system of reducing human lives to impersonal numbers and statistics, instead of an active counter-culture approach to the numbers. The message sent is that we don’t care, and people no longer matter as a person. We just need to fill the auditorium or make the program a success. As one person reminded me once, “If church members don’t speak to me outside of the church building, then I know they don’t care about me.” 

I’m not sure if Mr. Schultz foreshadowed something or even foresaw the future. I’m pretty sure he was making social commentary on current events. That said, by introducing his readers to quirky kid named, “5,” by telling us his father was rebelling against the use of numbers, he was warning us about something. At least maybe in the church, people need to be prioritized over numbers. If not, we might as well assign a numerical value to each individual, and I’m not sure if we want to go down that road. 

bonum dolar!
(i.e., Good Grief!)

Posted on

Filled with the Spirit: Evidence that God Is Working in Your Life

The Holy Spirit is an active presence of God within the Church, and Acts witnesses to the role of the Spirit. When the 120 were gathered in the upper room, the Spirit came upon them like tongues of fire (Act. 2:1-4). When Peter met with Cornelius, he found the same Pentecost experience on the gentile (Act. 10:44-46). When the crowds asked Peter what they must do to be saved, Peter told them to repent and be baptized while God will forgive and offer his Spirit to them (Act. 2:28) which fulfills Joel 2:38-32 (e.g. Act. 2:17-21). Even a casual reading through Acts reveals that Luke is more concerned with the movements of the Spirit than he is about the movements of the Apostles.

Paul is no stranger to the place and role of the Spirit in the life of the Church or in the lives of Christians. While most are familiar with his Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), his less known, but far from less important exhortation to embrace the Spirit, is found in Ephesians 5:18-22.

The structure is a contrast. On one side Paul encourages his readers to avoid a destructive and disorderly life of drunkenness and debauchery. Excessive and unhealthy indulgence in sensual pleasures leads to a harmful and detrimental end. Relationships, not only with each other but also with God, are ruined by investing in such behavior. On the other side, as an alternative, he encourages the Ephesians to ‘be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Of course the language is stronger than a simple encouragment, as the force is stated in the imperative.

What happens next is that Paul offers four ways where the Spirit is evident in the Church’s/Christians’ life. He does so with four participles (e.g., words ending in “ing”) with the force of commands. A Spirit filled life will produce the following.  

● Speaking to One Another . . . out of the gate, Paul looks at the horizontal role the Spirit plays among God’s people. Sure we sing, and we sing all kinds of songs, but we sing to each other. No doubt Paul has in mind the assembly in a home as song is used to bring everyone together and we engage each other in those closer quarters. In those moments our songs say something to each other (e.g., Col. 3:16).

● Singing & Making Music . . . building on the theme of song, the Spirit points us upward in praising God. No longer are we exhorting one another while we sing, we turn heavenward and through song extol God the greatness he deserves and demands. With the plucking of the heartstrings, not only are our voices accentuated, but our singing invests our entire being. We throw ourselves into singing.

● Always Giving Thanks . . . when November rolls around, we usually pause for a time of thanksgiving, but Paul wasn‘t talking about holidays. When the Spirit is activated in our lives we are a thankful people. We’re not only thankful for salvation, but for a salvation that continues to shape and define our living. We are appreciative and grateful for people and events that come our way.

● Submitting to One Another . . . before Paul addresses the relationship between husbands and wives (v. 22ff), he expresses the relationship within the Church and between Christians through mutual submission. When the Spirit fills people, no one demands their own way as my will now defers to others. Paul says elsewhere, “do nothing out of vain conceit . . . consider others better than yourself” (Phil. 2:3).

The Holy Spirit is an active presence of God with the Church and his witness is realized when God’s people are singing, greatly appreciative and willing to submit to each other. So turn the music up a little louder, look for reasons to be grateful and allow others to have their way. Who knows, but it may be the Spirit overflowing in your life.

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)

Posted on

The Peanuts Gang: A Little Bit of Comics; A Little Bit Like Church

For 50 years Charles M. Schulz sat at his drawing table, and from his imagination to his pen, flowed a world the comic reader stepped into every day. The time it took to write and draw by hand the panel for publication must have been measured in hours. The time it took to read a four panel strip was moments. The impact from reading one of his strips was unmeasurable.

Who didn’t identify with Charlie Brown, his yellow shirt with the black zigzag stripe, and his seemingly failure at life? He was always likable, but never liked. Who didn’t have their own Lucy, who held all the answers (even if they were wrong), but lacked some compassion? She was always bossy, and sometimes even a bully. Who didn’t want their own security blanket like Linus? Yes, he’s smart and very philosophical about life, but something in him needed reassurance. Who doesn’t know someone with an obsessive passion like Schroeder has with the piano? Who didn’t want a dog like Snoopy? I could go on for hours about these beloved characters, who were written two-dimensionally, but whose personalities were clearly deeper and stronger than just comics. 

One of Schulz’s strengths – and he had many strengths – was his ability to incorporate such a wide variety of characters into his strip, and each character had a specific purpose, role, and quirk that moved his story forward. Lucy is bossy. Linus is the sole relentless believer in the Great Pumpkin. Sally resents her big brother and is love-struck by Linus. Schroeder is a child prodigy musician who plays Beethoven on a toy piano (the black keys were painted onto the white ones). Peppermint Patty is an athletic tomboy, being raised by a single dad. Pig Pen needs a bath. Marcy is book smart, but lacks many social skills. Snoopy is a dog, well sort of. Somehow, despite their differences, failures and egocentric personalities, they managed to stay friends, deal with issues, and entertain us every day for 50 years. 

The diversity Schulz locked into helped drive his comic strip (he even introduced the person of color, Franklin, to the gang at the height of the Civil Rights Movement in 1968). Diversity in a comic strip makes sense. The more characters, the more varied the characters, the more fodder present to draw humor. Even more so, the more diverse the characters are, the more room is made for tension and conflict. All of which is made for a great daily comic strip. 

Sometimes the church wants a two dimensional faith when our calling is to hold onto a three dimensional faith. The differences between two dimensional faith and three dimensional faith are significant. Two dimensional faith demands uniformity, while three dimensional faith seeks unity. Two dimensional tends to be cliquish and refuses new people into their circles, while three dimensional keeps expanding their circle of friends. The first one only seeks people who looks, acts, and talks like them, while the latter one enjoys the perspective brought by others of diverse backgrounds and culture. The first ones usually demands a restricted and regimented worship service, while the other realizes that others have tastes and needs different from themselves. The first one is simply a caricature of the church’s reality, while the other strives to become the church of God’s intent. 

The easiest way for a church to grow and to maintain unity is for the number of similarities to overshadow the differences. Everyone has the same background, from the same region, is the same color, uses the same translation, has the same educational experiences, the same political platform, and generally from the same gene pool. The hardest way for a church to grow and to maintain unity is for the church to accept and embrace the varied differences that exist among people. Ultimately, the only unifying factor that really matters is Jesus. 

While Paul often speaks of the need for church unity within his writings, the passage in Ephesians is poignant,

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (4:4-6).

Paul recognized the difficulty the church has in insuring its unity is secure. Corinth and Galatia were hotbeds of division, and are we certain Philippi was a haven of unity? While we don’t know the specifics of Paul’s letter to Ephesus, we do know that in order for unity to solidify within diversity, it’s going to take work and effort on our part. Lots of forgiveness. Lots of understanding. Lots of grace. 

So Christ distributes the different graces to each member, as he determines it (v. 7). Thus, not all graces will look alike, but all the graces serve the same purpose. They encourage one another in the hopes that the church may experience unity (v. 12-13), and those in leadership take the lead in insuring the steps for unity are made. Celebrate differences.  Celebrate each other’s individual grace. Celebrate the uniqueness of the individual as he/she comes to the body. 

Schulz was able to maintain the diversity and tension in his strip because he was behind the characters’ thoughts and actions; they said and did nothing without him drawing them first. We don’t have that luxury. We do have one luxury though. We have a God, and he’s not just pulling our strings, he’s pulling at our heart strings for unity. 

bonum dolor!
(e.g., Good Grief!)

Posted on

The Wilderness: Somewhere Between Egypt and Canaan

As Israel journeyed through the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula, they were hit with two sides of reality. On one side, they were no longer slaves in Egypt. They were liberated while humiliating their opponents as they left town. After 400 years in bondage, freedom felt like a cold drink of water on a hot muggy day. On the other side, they were a long way from their destination, the Promised Land. Sure it was only a ten day journey, but God had other plans. Their stop off was a two year layover at Mt. Sinai. And as we know, their two year stop turned into 40 years of character building.

Forty years is a longtime to find yourself in the wilderness. You’re not bound to slavery, but you’re not home, either. The wilderness is unbearably hot during the daylight hours with little protection from the sun’s heat. But then when the sun sets the heat escapes the sand and it gets cold, really cold at night. Water is scarce as oasis appear as frequently as a gas station on a highway in the open plains of South Dakota. And then there’s the sand itself. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like Canaan where everything is soft and smooth.

We’ve often experienced the wilderness. It’s that in between time. The teenage years define the wilderness as the youth is not a child but not quite an adult. You’ve quit your job but you won’t start your next employment opportunity for another month. By placing the ring on her finger means you’ve redefined the relationship for you’re no longer in a dating relationship, but you’re not married either. Our time on earth holds a wilderness feel to it. We live between Jesus’ appearances on earth. We don’t live at the time of his Incarnation, while we long for him to return and claim his own.

Wilderness time is a needed respite. It’s a time to slow down, recharge the soul’s batteries and refocus our priorities. When Israel entered the wilderness, God needed to take a loosely collected family and begin the process of giving them an identity. More importantly, they needed an identity tied to him. So he led them to Mt. Sinai to give them the Law and to establish his covenant with them.

But the wilderness can wear on you. For Israel, they kept looking back at what they left behind instead of focusing on where they were headed. They glossed over the slavery part of Egypt while fixating on the homes they left and the (bad) food they ate. Instead of anticipating the land flowing of milk and honey and living in homes they would not build, they settled for the past. So consumed with returning to Egypt, they staged a coupe before God intervened (Num. 14).

Most of 2020 has been spent in the wilderness. It’s been difficult, lonely and filled with mixed messages. We’ve left behind a life we knew and a life of familiarity. Since then we’ve been staggering, almost feeling like we’re lost. We want to go back. We want things to return to normal. I miss dinner with friends. I miss sporting events. I miss hugs. I miss a building filled with people in worship and fellowship.

But life is always about moving forward, not stepping back. Life drives us to the future, not to the past. God always leads us to the Promised Land, not to Egypt. What will that be like when we get through this wilderness to reach the Promised Land? I can’t say. Will there be a semblance of the life we’ve left? Maybe. I hope so. But what I know is that we need to hear and see more faith from those like Joshua and Caleb, who trust God to move us into the future with him, who reminds us to trust him too.

Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)