Monday Morning Music Ministry

5-24-21

One of my favorite passages in the Bible… Wait, I always feel funny when I start a conversation or a lesson that way. Every passage in the Bible ought to be as important, meaningful, and “favorite” as every other. Right? It’s all God’s word! I remember once thinking about those “red letter” Bibles, that every verse, every chapter, every book, should be in red, since it’s all the word of God.

Well, tangents aren’t in red, so I’ll go on. A Bible passage that speaks to me in many special ways is one that has many aspects and nuances and applications, but has become a favorite scene that attracts my attention.

It is the story of Blind Man Bartimaeus, the last (recorded) miracle of healing performed by Jesus, as He passed through Jericho on the way to Jerusalem where He would be arrested, tortured, and crucified. There was a crowd with Him and the Disciples. Luke 18:35-42:

Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying,“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him,saying,“What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said,“Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Then Jesus said to him,“Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”

When I read commentaries on this wonderful account, I am always impressed at the various messages or meanings that people take from it.

Some people relate physical blindness with spiritual blindness, and how Bartimaeus reached out and saw the Truth in his soul as well as his eyes.

Some people note that the term by which Bartimaeus addressed Jesus – “Son of David” – was a significant awareness of Biblical prophecy, and attracted Jesus’s notice.

Some people contrast the helplessness of a blind beggar outside the gate, his status in Jewish society, and the majesty of a King passing by.

Some people bless the modesty of a beggar, who might have pleaded for anything, like raiment of money or food or shelter, but was content to beg for open eyes.

Some people wonder if there is significance that this is the second account of blind eyes being healed by Jesus; or His last miracle recorded; or that Jesus, knowing the need of Bartimaeus, yet asked him to speak it; or how it was that a blind man would know the powers of this miracle-worker who passed by in the midst of a crowd; or…

… or many other lessons. I do not disagree with any meaning one can glean. Like a faceted gem, God’s truths have many messages in them; many applications.

But the meaning that has always seemed specially important to me is one that is seldom discussed. And I think it has special application today, in our lives, our churches, in our culture.

As I picture the scene described in Luke (also in Mark’s gospel) beyond the healing power of Jesus that still can be pleaded, and all the lessons others see, is this detail:

This was a crowd scene before a city gate. Jesus, Disciples, followers, the normal public about their business. Bartimaeus, however, inquired, and knew that Jesus was near. He called out – he acted. He yelled, by necessity, loudly. The Disciples and others tried to shut him up! They “warned” him to be quiet.

I can imagine them saying – even amid the hubbub – “Silence!” Maybe, “Don’t bother the rabbi!” Maybe, “You, down there — be dignified!” Maybe, “Jesus has an agenda. Mind your own business!” (Remember, the Disciples recently had argued about who between them would be “first” and “last” in the coming kingdom.)

Today, would they say, “We’re holding church here! Don’t raise your voice!” Or, “You should have checked with us for permission to call on Jesus!” Or, God forbid, would some say, “Be quiet! Jesus has more important things to do!”

The point is – or the points include – that the persistence of Bartimaeus was honored by Jesus. The “dignity” of the moment, an artifice anyway, was obviously meaningless to the Lord. And the “rules” of the followers – hangers-on, bureaucrats, managerial types – were nothing in the eyes of the Savior. Nor in the “eyes” of the blind man.

Applications today? “All of the above.”

But chief among them – yes, my favorites – are these:

In your personal life, never let tradition nor insecurity nor ignorance prevent you from crying out to the Lord when you need Him.

In your family and church-community life, never let rules and customs keep you from crying out, singing out, laughing, challenging, asking, pleading, confessing, and seeking God’s face. Let no one hush you up! That’s Jesus – and He’s listening for you!

And in your country, what’s left of it – remember Blind Man Bartimaeus as your role model. Speak up. Speak out. Don’t let “officials” tell you to keep quiet. Don’t be quiet!!!

If Bartimaeus had kept quiet, obeyed arbitrary rules, avoided speaking out and speaking up for himself, and missed the opportunity of making contact with holiness in his presence… he would have stayed as one more forgotten blind beggar in the dust. Dignified. Quiet. Polite. And lost.

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This is an old and rough video from a few decades ago, but a great example of worship services when Jesus passes by.

Click: Hymn Medley

(For readers with hand-held devices, copy and paste the following link in your browser: )

https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=SIIrwtST8QM

2-15-21

Of the many things that change before our eyes these days – or while our eyes are turned away –words are being picked from our pockets the fastest. Words and phrases of our language are not being eliminated as much as re-defined.

I risk whiplash, trying to be careful about new meanings, or giving offense when none was meant. Political correctness, mostly. “Gay,” of course, is one kidnapped word. A hundred years ago “holocaust” was not branded by a single event. “Oriental,” “black” and it antecedents, “blind,” “crippled,” “lady,” and “fat” can invite rebukes from half the he, she, and its on the landscape.

Aside from mirroring the culture of self-righteousness and without delving into the branch of linguistics called semantics, we see what’s happening. The hijacking of meanings and the psychological superiority sought by using exclusive, “approved” definitions are the new Rules for Radicals.

For instance, triangulated within mantras, goals, and ironclad standards is the word “Unity.” We hear it these days almost as much as “welcoming,” “inclusive,” and “accepting” (for another discussion – or “conversation,” grrr). Such new meanings demand fealty, at the cost of ostracism from the society of “caring” “folks.”

“Unity” is a typical member of the Newspeak dictionary that sounds warm and fuzzy, but is either imprecise or harmful in its effects. Why? How?

You will hear it in the news, or mumbled by a masked politician, which would be several times an hour. In practice it means “you must agree with me.” Delivered thus, it does not mean “understanding”; it means more than “agreeing”; it translates to “joining,” but not voluntarily. The PC Police virtually will judge you, and drag you to the approved belief-system court.

“Unity,” the mantra of the current crop of politicians, really mean “uniformity.”
“Unity” suggests, but does not mean, compromise. Today’s politicians employ coercion, shame, and intimidation to populate their tribe, to make sure people march to their drums and drumbeats. In… unity.

“Uniformity” suggests, and DOES mean, subscribing to prescribed beliefs and attitudes. It means sharing the prejudices of the Group. “Prejudice”? Yes, today’s cultural elites are as prejudiced as any dominant class in our history.

A growing number of Christians and conservatives, and others, can attest to the fact that – like walls closing in – we are being discriminated against… censored… marginalized… ridiculed… ostracized… “un-friended”… “jailed”… fired… made unwelcome… losing jobs… dropped from applicants’ pools and promotion lists… “Canceled”… in the name of being “woke,” at the altar of “Unity.”

We are in danger as a culture, and as independent people within our spiritual and philosophical heritage, to suffer yet worse at the hands of the new totalitarians. It has happened before, uncountable times in world history, and multiple times, in the West, in the last century. This is all a taste of the Tribulation.

“Unity” is a false god. You can comb the Bible and find many pleas for unity – but never the type of unity that means uniformity, as I have noted. Christians can be together, even closely knit, without having to be the same.

We all have spiritual gifts, but the Bible actually makes a long list of our many, many differences.

God wants us to be “imitators of Christ,” not clones of each other… or some secular leader.

“The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ the Lord,” but martyrs allowed different peoples to find the one Savior in ways that blessed them according to their needs.

In the same way Thomas Jefferson remarked that the Tree of Liberty was best watered by the blood of patriots every generation. That necessity would be obviated if uniform views (masquerading as “Unity”) were imposed on every generation.

Do you agree with me about the subtle difference between unity and uniformity… and how dangerous it is to be seduced by the “new” meaning of Unity? You must agree!!! Um… no. Even in true unity, we should have differences among ourselves, arriving by different paths.

St Paul wrote to the young church at Philippi that he prayed they would be “one in spirit, and of one mind”… having the same love. But he urged them to be “like-minded” – NOT same-minded.

Such distinctions are why we must be wary of prattling about “Unity.”

Further, calls to “compromise” – in the name of Unity, of course – inherently can be just as poisonous. In today’s world, in a diverse society, in an ideologically “blended” culture, in (sadly) a secular environment… It is difficult to avoid compromise.

But we must do what we can, where we are, with what we have. Reason enough to stay in prayer, to read Scripture, to seek guidance – to avoid compromise. Compromising with evil is… allying oneself with evil. Compromising with error… hastens disaster. Compromising with enemies of our faith and our nation… is surrender, even bit by bit by bit. God forbid!

Seek true Unity, not as the world packages it.

Seek God’s checklist, not the world’s. “Did you feed Me? Did you clothe Me? Did you visit Me in prison?” Uniformity is letting the government do these things… or obeying the government’s Compassion Commands.

But joining others where you are, how you can, with what you have… for the same goals, is true unity.

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Click: Getting Used To the Family of God

7-6-20

Another thought? Gee, haven’t we discussed it enough with the protests and riots?Haven’t we put it into context with all the rules about confronting the virus? Isn’t the Fourth of July over? Are we going to debate these things endlessly? Don’t we have freedom? Didn’t we end slavery?

Well, no; yes; no; yes… not so fast!!!

Whatever views have been weaponized in these recent controversies – offensive and defensive – at the end of the day it is a good thing that citizens consider the value of freedom. Even if opponents characterize each other as using freedom to destroy, or freedom to suppress (the middle ground of debates has been abandoned), freedom is the essential matter at hand.

For those us who might confuse the terms – most of all us, at times – and to save yourself from registering for three or four college courses, a problem with contemporary society is that we have lost the distinction between freedom and liberty. Basically, freedom is an internal matter of the mind, a gift from God that is a matter of the heart. We are free from… fill in the blank; sin, for instance. And we are free to… fill in the blank; worship, assemble, speak, and publish, for instance.

Liberties are what we do with freedom. The Enlightenment thinker Rousseau mistakenly thought that freedoms were bestowed by the state (and not by God) and ten years after his death, the French Revolution erupted, defacing monuments and churches, massacring and beheading people. Significantly, the Revolution’s slogan was “Liberty (not Freedom), Equality, Fraternity.”

The Bill of Rights – the first 10 Amendments to the United States Constitution – carefully recognized and guaranteed freedoms in America. Since then, and no doubt into the future, liberties have been debated, granted, modified, withdrawn. When slaves were freed, they became at liberty – subject to further efforts and guarantees – to exercise that freedom.

It is a distinction with an enormous and consequential difference. In times like these crazy days, we are reminded that Jefferson said that the Tree of Liberty needs to be watered with the blood of patriots every generation. How that blood is shed, or for what causes, are dispositive questions we ask of Mr Jefferson, yet the willingness to rebel ought to be cherished.

Whether Christians and patriots are as willing to fight for things they believe in, as nihilists are willing to fight for things they don’t believe in, is the question that confronts history right now.

Who the Son sets free is free indeed.

John 8:36 records that promise. It is one of those wonderful Bible verses that is short in words but unlimited in meaning. Simple but profound. Every word should be parsed. “Who”? – a notice to all, without restriction. “Sets free” – as we discussed, all manner of things we might be free from… and we can joyfully consider all we are freed to! “Indeed” – God puts a period on the sentence; an emphasis; a promise of totality; no reservation.

“Free at last, free at last; thank God Almighty, free at last!” Dr King said. Carefully. Free… to enjoy liberties. History is littered with societies that have confused liberty with license.

Jefferson, seduced somewhat by some of Europe’s philosophers, did insert “liberty” in the Declaration of Independence’s famous passage, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Brilliantly crafted needle-threading: Rights including liberty are secured by governments supported by the people… in order to guarantee God-given rights… fulfilling Natural Law… and our Creator’s will.

And “Equality,” unlike a mere slogan and goal of the French Revolution, is addressed as something that is.

Next – as it always has been – is the question of what a free people will do with their liberty.

We know what anarchists, subversives, and nihilists do with it. What will Christian patriots do?

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Click: I’m Free