EXCEPTION?

This décor saying I spotted at a local crafts store—“Be the exception”--reminded me of how word meanings can change in a generation. I grew up in times when “being the exception” usually meant flaunting school rules and social conventions. It described kids who got sent to the principal’s office for being negative or rebellious. But a similar word, exceptional, had a more positive spin. It described gifted or hard-working students. One year behind me in high school there was an exceptional teen who, every day after school, practiced the piano for several hours before doing her homework. She became a concert pianist and professor of piano at a large public university. Focused. A good steward of natural abilities she developed with hard work.

So here’s my dilemma. I want to be exceptional, in the sense of wisely developing and using the gifts and abilities God gave me. But I also want to be the exception that doesn’t practice my culture’s negative ways of dealing with discord and stress. Even though two millennia old, the advice that the apostle Peter gave about behavior is still a good measuring rod. He urged the early Christians to be the exception from the godless world around them, and to seek being positively “exceptional” in one’s daily words and actions: “Rid yourself of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind” (1 Peter 2:1).

These aren’t new problems. Nor is the stain of rebellion. It was one of the things that seemed to most grieve the aging, battle-worn apostle Paul as he neared the end of this life. Knowing he’d probably be executed by the Romans, Paul wrote this warning to Timothy, then nurturing the church in Ephesus:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

What a discouraging list. More discouraging, it describes our times. I take note of these words at the beginning of that quote: “Terrible times in the last days.” And there hasn’t been much improvement over centuries. But Paul suggests a road through this mess, advising believers:

*To pursue purpose, faith, patience, love and endurance such as Paul showed in his sufferings and persecution (3:10-11).

*To expect persecution if you endeavor to live a godly life in Christ Jesus (3:12).

*To trust God to equip you, through His Word, for all life’s negative challenges (3:16-17)

*To endure hardship (4:5)

*To long for Christ’s coming again (4:8).

In other words, to be the exception, as God defines things. It’s the true way to go.

DOES GOOD=GOOD?

I wasn’t sure I entirely agreed with this décor sign for sale at my local crafts store:

Do good and good will come to you.

I remembered the similar thought in Proverbs 16:7: When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies to live at peace with him.

One of my former pastors used that verse when preaching from Genesis 33 about the feud between Jacob and Esau. After many years in exile, Jacob had come home and was about to have a dreaded reunion with his twin, Esau, whom he had deceived out of the birthright. The meeting could result in his and his family’s deaths or enslavement. It could have been a rated “R” Hollywood moment with lots of violence. But they met amicably. Enemies at peace.

Few of us will face such a tense moment, but I’ve had my unwanted share of encounters with angry people. Proverbs 16:7 is generally true, but not always. I try to be a person of peace—to do good. But I’ve nursed wounds from emotionally broken people.That’s why I’m glad the apostle Peter wrote such practical letters to new churches. They, too, needed advice on getting along in an angry world. In sharing the wisdom he learned at the feet of Jesus, Peter addressed living with grace.

Good people suffer hard times, Peter wrote, “so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:7). In other words, the end of the story hasn’t been published yet. Plus, he adds, persecution should prompt some self-examination: “Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind” (2:1). It’s all part of the process of being made fit for God’s kingdom. And even when I’ve examined my heart, sought to make peace with those who oppose me, but am discouraged by their ongoing negatives—I need to remember Christ’s sufferings. The end of the story isn’t yet written.

That comforts me in my interactions with difficult people. I may do good and not get “good” in return. But coals can become diamonds, and Christ-honoring actions won’t go unrewarded. Thus Peter reminded these Christians (and me!) to keep trying to “do good”—to live as representing Christ—so that people “may see your good works and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 4:12b).

Which is another, fuller, way of saying, don’t expect instant, wonderful results to your “good works.” It’s not a matter of being good so good can come to you. Rather, it’s walking with Christ in faith, doing “good” in reflecting His character, and trusting Him in this journey to eternity.

SONGSTERS

I hear them before I see them, the quail chirping “Rebecca” as they walk across the narrow wooden fence about four feet away from my office window. Sometimes it’s a Mama Quail with four or five half-grown quail following. “Rebecca, rebecca,” she warns as they teeter. Polite and skittish, their parade makes me smile. Then there are noisy birds, and to encounter them I only need to walk a block and a half to a home where someone has gone all out with bird houses and yard art. It doesn’t photograph well because of the shade, but trust me: I tried counting and gave up at over fifty birdhouses and feeders. In one yard! And the noise! Its nesting tenants are the more vociferous of winged critters.

In summertime, especially, I think of the relationship with nature enjoyed some eight hundred years ago by a simple man we know as St. Francis of Assisi.  He wrote the lyrics to “All Creatures of Our God in King” sometime in the 1200s (yes, 800 years ago) and it was first published in a hymnal in 1623 (yes, nearly 400 years ago). Yet it continues to place high on lists of the world’s most beloved hymns.

Francis was born to a wealthy Italian family in 1182, converting to Christianity at a young age. He served as a soldier in his early years and endured a year as a prisoner of war in central Italy. After a time of personal turmoil, he renounced his earlier life of ease to become an itinerant evangelist to peasants throughout the Mediterranean lands. At 28, he founded the Franciscan Order of Friars, known for adopting his religious beliefs and simple lifestyle that kept him near nature. This was memorialized in a painting by the Italian artist Giotto, showing Francis feeding birds. Francis is said to have written sixty hymns of praise and worship in his desire to encourage church music.

There are many legends associated with his life, including supernatural behavior of animals. In one legend, one day while on a hike he came across a flock of birds.  When they didn’t fly away, he decided to preach them a little sermon about praising their Creator for His protection and provision. Sermon over, they flew away happily. How true this is, we don’t know, but we do have Psalm 148, which tells all creation—the heavenly bodies, the weather, the landscapes, and all living things, to praise the Lord. We now know that scientists have catalogued 5,400 species of singing animals. Francis is also credited with setting up the first Christmas live nativity scene.

The year before he died, Francis was very ill and his vision was failing. It was at this time that he wrote the lyrics to “All Creatures of our God and King,” based on Psalm 148. At his deathbed he requested that Psalm 142 be read to him.  It includes this verse: “When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who knows my way.”

Our paraphrased English version of this hymn came out about 120 years ago through the efforts of a village rector in England, who prepared it for a children’s choir festival. It was forgotten for a time, then reappeared in an English hymnal in 1906 as a canon arrangement.  

As we continue through the challenges and discouragements of the pandemic, it’s always good to shift gears and sing praises to God.  St. Francis’s hymn would be a good start. Then consider two others about nature:  “All Things Bright and Beautiful” (1848, by the wife of an Anglican bishop in Ireland) and “For the Beauty of the Earth” (1864, by an English scholar).

Even better—get out and take a walk, best in early morning when the birds sing their hearts out.  And just listen.
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Sing along with this "You Tube" presentation with lyrics, featuring pipe organ and congregational singing at the large Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdfTekZcgGM

THE LOWDOWN ON LINEN

"What’s linen from?” asked a friend who’d read in the Old Testament about priestly garments of linen. I knew it’s made from flax, but had questions myself!  I learned it’s a flowering grass with white or delicate blue blossoms that grows in about three months to three or four feet high. Today it’s valued for its seeds, fiber, and oils (linseed oil, used as a wood preservative).

In ancient times, the stalks were uprooted and left in the field to dry in the sun. Then they were immersed in water and crushed to beat out fibers which were pulled and twisted into thread. Finally, they were woven into a cloth comfortable in hot and humid climates.

The modern linen I saw at a local fabric store had been blended with cotton to cut down on wrinkles. As I fingered it, I thought of the remarkable ancient craftsmanship that transformed a grass into everyday products.  One source said that besides regular clothing and priestly garments, it was used for nets and measuring lines. At life’s end, linen strips wrapped corpses.

The linen used for priestly garments was sun-bleached as white as possible. The basic garment was a tunic (Lev. 8:7), then came robes dyed in brilliant colors, a turban and extras like bells and breastplates. Each had a symbolic purpose. 

Clerical attire has certainly changed since Bible times, although ministers in some denominations with centuries-old roots still wear special robes to lead worship. Growing up in a liturgical church, I didn’t question how “Sunday-best” was the dress code. It was a matter of respect in coming before a holy God. Similarly in Old Testament times, the Levitical dress-code beginning with a white linen tunic expressed their respect in coming before a holy God.

Psalm 96, which addresses worship, continually mentions "ascribing" to God His worship-worthy attributes, such as His splendor, glory, majesty and strength. Verse 9 remarks, "Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness." Of this verse, the late theologian Dr. William McDonald remarked: “The mention of holy garments reminds us that even the clothes we wear when we worship the Lord should be appropriate to the occasion. While it may be true that reverence is primarily a matter of the heart, it is also true that we can express our reverence by our attire.” (1)

The analogy doesn’t end there. The apostle Paul explained that God clothes the repentant sinner with His righteousness—as symbolized by the white linen (2 Corinthians 5:21). When Christ comes again, He will clothe His people with garments of glory: “By the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).

The book of Revelation tells of white-robed saints in heaven. Will those robes be made of linen? I don’t think so, because Heaven will be a new and different realm. Yet God saw fit to provide us “earthlings” with a crop—a product of the land—that suggests far more than something to clothe us. The process of making thread to be woven into fabric, requires being crushed and beaten. And that takes me to the Lord Jesus:  “He was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 52:7).

God doesn’t waste a thing, and that includes the still-to-be-discovered truths symbolized by a simple crop: flax, made into linen.

1. Dr. William McDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary (Nelson, 1985), p.696.

PANDEMIC PANCAKES

Our just-for-grandchildren bookshelf has several “visiting grandma/grandpa” books with pasted-in headshots of the grandparents and grandchild. The fiction boy goes fishing with his grandpa and plants flowers and makes cookies with his grandma.  Not at our house! Grandpa scoops up ice cream cones and Grandma cooks Norwegian sour cream pancakes. The recipe honors the heritage of my grandfather, who died just months after I was born. The pancakes also royally feed the grands when we’re called to their home for early-morning kid-care when their dad’s gone to work and the mom has early morning staff meetings. 

Covid-19 concerns had cut her in-person staff meetings, so we hadn’t done the early breakfast duty at their home for months until one recent week. This time, she needed to shut herself away in a quiet room at a time when the boys—ages 2, 5, and 6—would be up and ready for breakfast. Oops. I had a long-overdue dental appointment in the middle of that time slot, and my husband was to meet somebody who wanted to buy a bike. But we’d make it work.

When we arrived with pancakes at 7 a.m., two were up and ready to eat as their dad slipped out to go to work and their mom went upstairs for her virtual conference. So far, so good. I left for the dentist at 7:45, and got back at 8:15 as Grandpa left. Just then, the oldest hollered, “The cat vomited on the rug!”  That crisis past, I checked the remainder of the pancake pile and decided the still-sleeping boy would have enough to eat.  Which he did—at 10 a.m., when he woke up just as his mom finished her virtual meeting. Whew! After a full morning of waitressing, entertaining, and settling spats, this seventy-something Nana was ready for her afternoon nap, a few hours early!

I’m glad the grandsons like pancakes! When little kids can be so fussy about menus, it’s a sure thing. I’m also glad that my “Bible-menu” over the years has included scripture portions that nourish and energize me. When I read my Bible in the morning and evening, I keep coming across reminders that God is in control, even in the most difficult circumstances. Like this: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7). 

This worldwide time of illness, suffering and death hasn’t caught God by surprise. It can be our opportunity to show the world what faith can do. Peter also said, “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11)

I like “for ever and ever.” The means beyond Covid-19. Beyond my earthly life. Beyond the last pancake I will flip for my growing grandsons.  When the dreary drone of disaster on the daily news drags me down, this promise lifts me up.

BETTER TOGETHER

“We’re better together”—throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve repeatedly heard this phrase. I even thought of it one day an errand took us to a wooded area and I noticed a wildflower that illustrated the power of “together.”  I’m guessing this is yarrow. I snapped photos of “loner” yarrow blooms, but the mature plants with clumped flowers were “prettier together.” On the way home, I thought how we're also encouraged to be more "alone" in practicing "safety distance" to prevent spread of the coronavirus. Yet that comes with an emotional price. We’re “better together” when we have “community.”

As Ecclesiastes 4:9-10* put it: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” Yes, “better together.”  Reaching back further in human history, when God gave Adam a help-mate, Eve, He created the first community—two who became three and more, and billions through history.

Sadly, sin messed up the concept. But God’s original “better together” (and better with Him as the binding material) never ceased to be...better.

Probably like anyone reading this blog, I struggle with the truth that sometimes we’re better apart. When persistent sin darkens a personality, we may be better “apart” until that person makes a 180-degree turn in his or her life and faith and seeks reconciliation.  We can’t be truly “better together” until our goals and relationships conform to God’s original plan of harmony. Peter put it in a nutshell in his letter to ancient churches:

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called. (1 Peter 3:8-9)

These are powerful words in light of the “evil with evil” and “insult with insult” that burned across our country in recent weeks.

Yet even with restricted public contact, “better together” is possible. Bless in creative ways, like a note or E-mail. One day when I was feeling a bit blue, two lifter-upper notes came by mail. (God has great timing in moving people to do something!) Or call somebody and say, “I’ve just been thinking about you and want to tell you how much you’re appreciated.”  Thank workers who must work. Even a little bloom of encouragement here and there can clump together in a beautiful bouquet. Like that forest yarrow—okay alone, better together.


(*Post script--a humorous aside on the Ecclesiastes verse.  Many years ago I attended a church in Fullerton, Calif., where I sang in a large, wonderful church choir. We practiced for months to present a sacred concert for hundreds of people. Our conductor at that time was losing weight, and constantly hiking up his trousers during rehearsals. Before the concert, we presented him with a gift: a pair of suspenders, and a card with that verse suggesting two suspenders were better than none. Oh, church humor. Forgive us.)

EVERY KINDRED

Yes, this hymn has a violin connection in its history. Read to the end.

Most folks have heard of Charles and John Wesley, the preachers and hymnists of the early Methodist movement. But they had an associate whose name is often overlooked, and that is Edward Perronet.  Some have called his hymn, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” the “National Anthem of Christendom.”  It was first published in 1779 in a gospel magazine edited by Augustus Toplady, a composer known for his hymn “Rock of Ages.” It would eventually be translated into languages all over the world for the way it communicates the human spiritual need.

So who was this man? Born in England in 1726, Perronet’s family roots included French Huguenots who fled to Switzerland and later England to escape religious persecution in France. His father was a pastor in England’s state church but sympathized with the evangelical movements of the Wesleys and George Whitfield. Son Edward grew up to be an Anglican minister but was critical of things the church believed and did. Once he wrote: “I was born and I am likely to die in the tottering communion of the Church of England, but I despise her nonsense.”

Not surprisingly, sometime after that he broke away from the church and got deeply involved with the Wesleys and their endeavors. This took courage as the Wesleys were not popular, suffering even violence from those who disagreed with them. In his diary, John Wesley noted this of one preaching time:

From Rockdale we went to Bolton, and soon found that the Rockdale lions were lambs in comparison with those of Bolton. Edward Perronet was thrown down and rolled in mud and mire.  Stones were hurled and windows broken.

Perronet was 18 years younger than John Wesley and had always refused to preach in the elder evangelist’s presence. That posed a problem one day when Wesley announced to the congregation that Perronet would preach at the next service. When that time came, Perronet mounted the pulpit, said he hadn’t consented to preach, but would deliver the greatest sermon ever preached. With that, he opened his Bible and read Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” Then he sat down without comment.

Eventually Perronet and the Wesleys parted ways, a big issue being their disagreement over whether evangelists could administer the sacraments. Perronet went on to become the pastor of an independent church in Canterbury, and that is where he wrote this hymn

Perronet would write many hymns and sacred poems, but they were published anonymously, and this is the only one to survive.  It has been matched to several hymn tunes, one composed by an English layman and another a Massachusetts carpenter, self-taught musician and respected singing-school teacher.

Perronet’s last words at his death in 1792 were reported to be these:
Glory to God in the height of His divinity!
Glory to God in the depth of His humanity!
Glory to God in His all-sufficiency!
Into His hands I commend my Spirit.

Over the years, some amazing stories were told in connection with this hymn. One concerned a pioneer missionary to India who one day encountered a band of tribesman closing in on him with spears. He had a violin in his baggage and took it out, then began playing and singing this hymn. When he came to the third stanza that begins, “Let every kindred, every tribe,” he saw them lower their spears. Many were also crying. The missionary spent the next two years ministering God’s love and redemption to this tribe.

Ready to sing? Try these inspiring YouTube videos.

An a capella arrangement with words and scenic backgrounds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyPT3lVSpmo



A more contemporary arrangement with the Maranatha! Singers:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=%22All+Hail+the+Power+of+Jesus+Name%22+You+tube&docid=608030870662021285&mid=50B7EFF3CC54ECC1AC7B50B7EFF3CC54ECC1AC7B&view=detail&FORM=VIRE