Author: Jay Givens

Professor of Theological Studies Director of Online Christian Studies Programs Wayland Baptist University
Christian living, religion, World Religions

Christian Reflections on Muslim Hospitality

Posted on by Jay Givens

Whenever I have been in an Muslim country, I have always noticed the hospitality offered to me as a traveler.  When I visited Turkey, I assumed it was because I was with a tour group.  In Palestine, it was more obvious. As I entered homes with my Palestinian Baptist friends, we were always greeted by the host (whether Muslim or Christian) with whatever food and drink they had readily available.  This summer, my wife and I were completely unprepared for the generosity we experienced in Morocco visiting one of our former exchange daughters.  Her family was so gracious that we hardly spent any money during our ten day visit as they provided food, accommodations, and entertainment!

Hospitality is an ancient concept.  Both the Hebrew Bible and the Qur’an describe it in the positive, when Abraham welcomed travelers, unaware they were angels (Ge 18:1-8; Qur’an 11:69) and in the negative, when the men of Sodom wished to abuse these same angels disguised as travelers (Ge 19:4-10; Qur’an 11:78-79). It is no wonder, then, that the call to hospitality is found in Jewish, Christian, and Muslims scriptures.  So what can a Christian learn from the Muslim understanding of hospitality? (Ali Zohery’s “Prophet Muhammad: the Hospitable” helped me find the stories of Muhammad in the Hadith.)

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Al-Bukhari tells us that Muhammad taught that one should give “a superior type of food” to a guest (traveler) for a night and a day, then continue to host them for three days with food.  This is the duty of every person.  Beyond that, any continuation of hospitality is an offering, an act of charity, not a duty.  Muhammad also warned it was not permissible for a guest to stay to the point of critically impacting their host’s resources.

Notice how Muhammad emphasized the need to give the best (the “superior”) first.  This is significant, as you are making a good first impression.  His emphasis is not the same as the master of ceremonies at the wedding in Cana, who said people give the best wine first so their guests will not notice when the cheap stuff is served later—after they are inebriated (Jn 2:7-10).  No, Muhammad is saying we give more than expected as a way to honor our guest.  Whether given as charity or as hospitality due a visitor, you are to give your best—not “worthless things . . . you yourselves would only accept with closed eyes” (Qur’an 2:267). It is God’s gift to you, not your possession, so share it freely.

A second thing to notice is that Muhammad viewed going beyond the requirements of the culture or law as a voluntary act of charity.  This charity reflected the mercy and grace of God, but it was not compulsory to do so.  Jesus, however, made going above and beyond compulsory for his followers.  “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Mt 5:40-42).  This was not just to the traveler, but even to the “evil person!” (Mt 5:39) It was a way to “love your enemies” (Mt 5:44) rather than to treat them as they were treating you (“eye for eye”—Mt 5:38).

According to Al-Bukhari, some of Muhammad’s followers once said to him that when they were traveling and entered a home, the hosts did not provide hospitality to them.  They asked him, how should we handle this situation?  If they show you hospitality as a guest should be treated, Muhammad said, accept it.  If they do not provide for your needs, however, you should take “the right of the guest” from them.  (You could forcibly demand hospitality, in other words.) This is a very different response from what Jesus instructed his disciples when he sent them out to the villages of the Galilee.  “As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town” (Mt 10:12-15).  Even before you receive any hospitality, Jesus tells his followers, speak a blessing of peace upon the house.  Then, if hospitality is shown, let the blessing remain.  But if hospitality is not shown, Jesus’ disciples are not to demand it as a right.  Instead, they are to simply to revoke the blessing pronounced on the home, shake the dust from their sandals, and trust God to judge the injustice in his own time.

Finally, Tirmidhi tells us someone asked Muhammad, “If I come to a man who gives me no entertainment or hospitality and he afterwards comes to me, shall I give him entertainment or treat him as he treated me?” Muhammad replied, “No, give him entertainment.” In other words, do not repay evil with evil but honor your duty as a representative of God.  Similarly, Jesus said to do to others as we would want them to do to us (Mt 7:12).  Not only is it the right way to treat those created in the Image of God, but Proverbs tells us, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (Pr 25:21-22). For Paul tells us we can never defeat evil with evil, but evil can only be conquered by good (Rom 12:9-21).  Hospitality can turn an enemy into a friend.

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Family

Memorial Message for Myrtle Lou Brown Givens

Posted on by Jay Givens

“Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’

“‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘They will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.’” (Rev 14:13, NIV)

On August 1, at the age of 85, Lou Givens rested from her labor. It had been a long and difficult road. Around the time of her 56th birthday, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer. I was still working on my Ph.D. and Lucy was expecting our second child. As an encouragement to Mom, Lucy and I decided to name our son after two of our ancestors—“Isaac” (one of Lucy’s great-grandfathers) and “Walker” (my Dad’s Father). Since Isaac means “he laughs,” and Walker implies a journey, we told Mom that Isaac was God’s gift to her promising her there is joy in the journey. Though a difficult fight, Mom embraced this journey.

Lou was approved for an experimental study at MD Anderson. We always thought the study was a Godsend, since she went into remission and we had 29 more years with her. Only a decade or so later did she learn that she was the only survivor from the study. She was such a fighter that she not only outlived her fellow patients but even the doctors who conducted the study! In her final decade, she had a number of setbacks followed by recoveries. Through it all, she was a fighter. Starting in February this year, she was in and out of the hospital, rehab, and skilled nursing units. Her last trip to the hospital was at the beginning of July after a mild stroke.

As we consider the struggle of her final years, we recall Paul’s words to the Corinthians, “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor 4:16-18, NIV) What Lou Givens went through these final years and months is “light” and “momentary” compared to the weightiness of what awaits her.

Lou was released from the hospital on July 30. I had been out of the state the entire month of July, so Lucy and I were excited to come see her the first weekend of August. We drove partway down on Thursday so we could spend more time with her. We got to Beaumont and took her and Dad to lunch. She raved about the meal and we had a great visit. She told us how blessed she had been that her stroke was not severe. We got into the car and started toward home. On the way, however, God called her instead to a different home–her eternal home. After all her struggles, God mercifully took her quickly and painlessly after a very good day.

As she said that last day, she was blessed that last month after her stroke. She was able to have final visits with family, even when we didn’t realize they were the last ones. But she was blessed far beyond that. She was given 29 years after her cancer diagnosis, time to travel with Jimmy; time to watch Christian, Isaac, Seth, Grace, Levi, and Lizzie grow—four of them into adulthood! She even lived to see Jill and I become older than the age she was when she was first diagnosed with cancer. Proverbs tells us that, “Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.” (Prov 17:6, NIV)

Lou was a blessing to many who came into her life. Friends from her childhood and early adult years posted on Facebook that she was a great friend. Neighbors and church members from Orange said she was one of their favorite people. One of Jill’s friends said she couldn’t imagine growing up at North Orange Baptist without her. Another said she was one of the best parts about growing up and still remembered the advice Lou gave her in high school—“marry a nerd!” . Several people talked about her being one of the first people they met in Orange when she sold them their home and how they later became friends. One even said, “God used her to bring us to Him when she was our realtor” and we were “moving to Orange.”

Lou found a way to help others even during those final 29 years, reflecting Paul’s statement in Romans 12, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves . . . Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Rom 12:10, 12, NIV) For many years, she volunteered to drive cancer patients to appointments. She would also offer encouragement and counsel to them. One person told me, “She was a good friend and encouraging voice to my mom when she battled cancer.” Another said, “She was so sweet to my mom after dad passed away and was always checking on her. All who knew her were blessed.” Even as her health impacted her ability to travel or get out of her retirement community, so many people—both her age and our age—said she kept up with them and their families on Facebook. Two particular comments best captured the thoughts of many:

  • “Your mother was looking after mom and dad from a distance these last few years, which is remarkable knowing how hard she was fighting. I love your mother very much.”
  • “Although she was initially my mom’s friend and my friend’s mom, she became my cherished friend as I grew into adulthood. Her genuine interest in my life and family meant so much to me. She kept up with my growing children as they ventured into adulthood. Her kindness and warmth touched me, and you could always count on her to tell it like it is, no sugar coating. I will cherish the friendship we shared.”

A year or so ago, Mom asked me what I thought of cremation. We talked about why she was considering it over burial. She wanted to know how cremation might fit within the Bible’s teaching about resurrection. For example, Paul said in Romans that, “we . . . groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.” (Rom 8:23-24, NIV; emphasis mine) Or in 2 Corinthians, he said, “We know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile, we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.” (2 Cor 5:1-3, NIV) The eternal house in heaven is the risen Jesus, ascended to the right hand of God. The redemption of the bodies of which Paul speaks, while it is heavenly and not subject to corruption, is still a redemption of our physical bodies.

Charles Spurgeon, reflecting on the 2 Corinthians passage, noted that Paul also said that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He said,

Surely that which is the temple of the Holy Ghost shall not be ultimately destroyed. It may be taken down, as the tabernacle in the wilderness, but taken down to be put up again: or, to use another form of the same figure, the tabernacle may go, but only that the temple may follow. “We know that if this earthly house of our tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, external in the heavens.” My brethren, it would not be a complete victory over sin and Satan, if the Savior left a part of his people in the grave; it would not look as if he had destroyed all the works of the devil if he only emancipated their spirits.” (Great Sermons on the Resurrection, pp. 88-89)

So I emphasized to Mom that it doesn’t matter if the body is destroyed in a fire, lost at sea, buried in the ground, or cremated. When Christ returns, God can raise us up no matter what condition the old body is in. As Paul says in Romans, “if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (Rom 8:11, NIV)

There have been some tears shed. Like Jesus weeping at the grave of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35), it is a natural part of the grieving process to weep at the impact of death and how it cuts us off from the one we love. But as Christians, our sorrow is always centered in the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus was raised to life, so death will not have the final word for those who believe in him. Paul told the Thessalonians that Christians should not

grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who [like Lou] have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thess 4:13-18, NIV; emphasis mine)

We have hope in a savior who conquered death. We are encouraged by the belief that Christ will return, and when Christ appears, Lou—along with all Christians, both dead and living—“shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2, NIV) Lou will be raised in a resurrected body to live in a renewed creation—liberated from sin and suffering. She will breathe deeply for the first time in years.

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. . . . I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21:1-4, NIV)

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Bible, sermon, Uncategorized

Nunc Coepi (Now I Begin!)

Posted on by Jay Givens

Judges 13-16

Philip Rivers was an eight-time Pro Bowl Quarterback who primarily played for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers. A Roman Catholic, Rivers frequently referenced a phrase he attributed to a nineteenth century priest: Nunc Coepi, which roughly translates as, “Now, I begin.” Rivers said this phrase helped him do his best. Whether he had a bad play or a good play, he would say, “Nunc Coepi!” (I must begin again.) Whether he threw a touchdown or an interception, he had to begin again. Nunc Coepi! He applied this to his work, to his faith, to his relationships, and to his life. So can we.

In the book of Judges, Samson is the person most discussed—four chapters. Jdg 13:2-5 begins with a great promise. Though his mother was barren and childless, the angel told her she would have a son. Nunc Coepi–she must begin again! This child was to be set apart as a Nazirite from birth. If a Hebrew took a Nazirite vow, they set themselves apart until the vow was fulfilled. Samson, however, was to be a Nazirite even from his mother’s womb. This meant he was never to drink wine or any fermented drink; he was never to touch anything dead; and he was never to cut his hair. (Normally, Hebrews would cut their hair at the fulfilment of their vow.) Samson had a divine call on his life. He was set apart to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines.

Yet throughout the chapters detailing the events of his life, we find that Samson denied his divine call. Instead of leading the fight against the Philistines, we always read about him being with the Philistines, especially Philistine women (his wife, a prostitute, Delilah). Slowly through the story, he violated his set apart status, cavalierly flaunting the rules given to him from birth. Though we are not explicitly told he drinks wine, the town of the woman he fell in love with is specifically said to have vineyards (Jdg 14:5). A few verses later, we read about what sounds like a bachelor party for his impending wedding (Jdg 14:10-11). In many other places in the Bible, we are told that feasting included drinking. It is hard to imagine this feast didn’t also include Samson drinking.

He joked and even bragged about touching dead things! He found bees making honey in the mouth of a lion carcass he had killed earlier. He ate some without telling his parents (obviously knowing they would rebuke him), thus touching an unclean dead body. But then he joked about it during the wedding feast in the form of a riddle to outwit his Philistine companions. Later, when the Philistines were attempting to kill him, he picked up a fresh donkey jawbone and used it as a club to kill a thousand Philistines. He then bragged about this feat by composing a verse and naming the place Jawbone Hill (Jdg 15:15-17)!

Finally, to get Delilah to quit nagging him, he told her the truth about his hair, the one remaining thing that set him apart as a Nazirite. If his hair was cut, he would be like any other man (Jdg 16:16-20). Sometimes, people think his hair was the key to his great strength, but it was only the final surrender of the things that set him apart to the Lord. His strength was from Lord (Jdg 16:20) through the empowering of the Holy Spirit (Jdg 13:25).

And so, Samson squandered his great promise. The Lord left him. The Philistines subdued him and gouged out his eyes. They turned him into a blind slave who worked for them. They would bring him out for entertainment in order to mock and insult him.

Samson’s story was intended by the author of Judges as a cautionary tale for the Israelites. Like Samson, they were born of great promise. The opening of Sarah’s womb was like the opening of Samson’s mother’s womb. The Exodus story was about the sudden birth of a new people of God who would enter a land promised to their ancestors. The Israelites were also set apart. Samson was to be a Nazirite. The Hebrews were rescued by God from slavery to be his treasured possession. As the Nazirite vow had rules to obey, so the Israelites were to obey the covenant to show their thankfulness to God for redeeming them from slavery (Exod 19:4-6). Like Samson, they violated the covenant (eventually losing their set apart status in the exile). They also had a divine calling. They were to be a kingdom of priests and a holy (set apart) nation. Through their communal life, they were to bless all the nations of the earth (Gen 22:18). Yet over and again, they wanted to be like all the other nations (1Sa 8:19-20).

Samson’s story is also a warning to the church! We were birthed in great promise through Christ Jesus’ defeat of death in his crucifixion and resurrection and his outpouring of life through the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:22-24; Rom 8:9-11). We are set apart through the filling of his Holy Spirit to love one another and to live as one body (2Cor 5:5; 1Jn 3:23-24; Eph 3:6). We have a divine calling to be his witnesses, to make disciples, and to labor for his kingdom (Acts 1:8; Mt 28:18-20; 1Tim 4:10). We must remember the great promise, maintain our set apart status, and live into our divine calling.

But even if we fail, hope remains. We are told in Judges 16:22 that Samson’s hair began to grow again. The hair is not magical or embued with power. It is simply a sign that he can reclaim his Nazirite status. Finally, at the end of his life, we read that Samson for the first time prays to God! It is never too late to turn back to God or call out to him (Jdg 16:28)! “Nunc Coepi!,” Samson thought. “Now I begin!” He placed his hands on the pillars of the temple filled with mocking Philistine crowds, pushed with all the might God bestowed upon him, and we are told his attempt to fulfill God’s call was greater in his death than it had been throughout his life (Jdg 16:29-30). So his tragic life ended in a tragic, though victorious, death.

But turning to God or rededicating yourself to him doesn’t have to have a tragic end. King Josiah found a scroll announcing the destruction of his nation. He was told by a prophetess that what was written there would only happen after his death, because he had repented on hearing the words. Did Josiah say (like King Hezekiah before him), “at least it won’t happen in my day!”? No. He said, “Nunc Coepi! Now I begin!” and started a massive reform movement throughout the land, attempting to change God’s mind! Though he wasn’t successful in stopping God’s destruction of Judah, he did delay it. And we are told that there was never a king before or after him who turned to the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength (2Ki 23:25)! In the New Testament, Saul persecuted the early Christians, arresting many and standing in support of their death. One day, Jesus called him. Saul could have followed Jesus in a quiet manner but allowing his past actions to hold him back from service. But Paul instead said, “Nunc Coepi! Now I begin!” He became the most influential of the apostles, writing thirteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament.

In church history, just two examples more will suffice. Ignatius of Loyola was a military soldier known for womanizing and living a worldly life. A cannonball shattered his leg during one campaign. While convalescing, he began to read the lives of the saints and to reflect on the image of Jesus on the crucifix hanging on his bedroom wall. Suddenly, he said, “Nunc Coepi! Now I begin!” He not only became a committed follower of Christ but young men began to gather around him to learn from him of his way of devotion. This group eventually became the Society of Jesus (aka, Jesuits), which launched the first truly global missionary movement. John Newton was an English slave trader. After many years, he became a Christian. He said, “Nunc Coepi! Now I begin!” and studied to become an Anglican priest. He also an active abolitionist, helping to end the slavery in England. He is probably best known for writing the words to the hymn “Amazing Grace.”

Whether in your own life, your relationships with family or friends, your church, or your community, it is never too late to start something new. The venerable Bruno Lateri was the nineteeth century Roman Catholic priest Philip Rivers so often quoted. His full statement was, “If I should fall even a thousand times a day, I will with peace in my heart turn to God, ask his forgiveness, and begin again.”

Nunc Coepi! Now I begin!

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Advent

Surrender to the God of the Possible

Posted on by Jay Givens

Tim Allen starred in two very different Christmas movies.  In The Santa Clause, he plays Scott Calvin.  A messenger tells Scott he must become the new Santa Claus.  Scott has 11 months to get his affairs in order before reporting for duty to the North Pole.  During this time, he comes to terms with the responsibility thrust upon him, ultimately surrendering—even embracing!—the call.  Ten years later, Allen starred in Christmas with the Kranks.  Luther Krank spends most of the movie resisting cultural expectations for the Christmas season, enduring the gossip and scorn of his neighbors because of his choices.

These two characters relate in different ways to the story of Mary.  She is called in Luke 1:26-38 to surrender to a life that will be filled with limitless love, wonder, and grace (like Scott Calvin), yet also darkened by rumors, gossip, and misunderstandings (like Luther Krank).  Mary asks the question the gossips will ask throughout her life: how can a virgin bear a child?  Do not be afraid, is Gabriel’s encouragement.  You have found the Lord’s favor.  With God, nothing is impossible.

In the presence of God there is always an element of danger, like being in the middle of a violent thunderstorm.  Out in the bare elements, the raw energy and power of the storm can be fearful, even deadly.  From the safety of our home, however, that same raw power fills us not with fear but with awe at the beauty of the lightening and roar of the thunder.  In the same way, those who abide in God’s grace are safe within the dangerous presence of the living God.  Mary humbly accepts the call to serve God, even though she cannot imagine the path it will take.  Will you?

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Bible, Christian living, current-events

Whose Land Is It, Anyway?

Posted on by Jay Givens

I recently saw a meme floating around social media: “Israel doesn’t occupy the land.  They OWN it. Gen 15:18-21.” There were multiple amens attached.  Certainly, the intent was to show support for Israel in response to the horrific attack on civilians by Hamas last October.  While there is a promise made in Genesis 15, it is curious that a verse referencing “everlasting” was not used, such as Genesis 13:15.  “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”  This promise to Abraham was restated to him (Gen 17:8), then confirmed to Isaac (Gen 26:3) and Jacob (Gen 35:12). 

The main problem with the meme, however, is that it assumes God’s promise was without condition.  That’s certainly the response of many to the meme: “God does not break his covenants;” “Truth!” “Of course!” “I stand with Israel.”  Yet the Bible itself does not support the idea that God gifted the land to Abraham’s descendants in perpetuity without condition.

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Before we consider these conditions, however, we must first address the wording of the meme.  God’s promises to the Patriarchs does not mean Israel “owns” the land.  God explicitly rejects such a concept in Leviticus 25:23.  “The land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers.”  God is the only owner of the land.

God set conditions that the people must not sin but obey his commands in order to remain in the land (Deut 4:1; 5:33; 11:8-9; Josh 23:16; 2Chr 7:19-22; 33:7-9; Jer 11:5; 32:21-23).  Abraham, though a foreigner at the time, was told by God that the land was an everlasting possession for him and his descendants, and they must keep God’s covenant (Gen 17:8-9).  As Abraham was a foreigner in the land he possessed, so his later descendants were also foreigners.  Before entering the land, God warned Israel that if they did not keep his commands, the land would vomit them out as it did the Canaanites (Lev 18:25-28; 20:22).  By the monarchy’s end, God tells them, “You came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable” (Jer 2:7).  These detestable acts included idolatry (Deut 4:25-27; 11:16-17; 30:17-18, Josh 23:16; 1Ki 14:15-16; Jer 16:13-15) and unethical treatment of their fellow human beings.

If Israel wanted to remain in the land, they were to follow the way of justice, treating people fairly and without partiality (Deut 16:18-20).  They were not to mistreat the foreigner living among them, but were to treat them as native-born.  “Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt,” God commands (Lev 19:33-34).  Israel was driven from the land because of violence and bloodshed (Ezek 7:23-25), because they did not care for the orphan and the poor (Jer 5:28). 

Many American Christians think they are called to unwavering support of Israel, regardless of the civilian casualty count.  Some even believe Israel is entitled to the whole land, to expel the Palestinians.  This, however, contradicts the statements above (love the foreigner, care for the orphan and poor).  I believe it also misreads the biblical story, as the New Testament authors continuously spiritualized the return to the land and the restoration of Israel, reading these as the gathering of Jews and Gentiles in Christ.  For instance, the writer to the Hebrews says we don’t look toward the earthly Jerusalem (Heb 12:22; 13:11-14), but join with the Hebrew faithful, who lived as foreigners and strangers on the earth . . . longing for a better country to come (Heb 11:13-16).  Remember, he’s writing to Hebraic Jews, saying the land and temple are no longer important.

Now God can give the land to whomever he wants, whether Israeli or Palestinian.  That is up to God.  But as Christians, we should not turn a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians—both Christian and Muslim—who did not take part in nor condone October 7.  We should not encourage Israel to violate the command of God, to limit retribution to no more than an eye for an eye (Exod 21:23-25).  1,200 died in Israel that day; why is it okay for 35,000 civilians to die in Gaza? (Even if these deaths have been overreported by 90%, that is still 3 “eyes” to 1!)

Even if the restoration texts apply to the modern state of Israel, they are not living by these texts.  The return described by the prophets were of a people with the law written on their hearts (Jer 31:31-34) of flesh, filled with God’s Spirit to obey the commands (Ezek 11:14-21; 36:22-32), and wholeheartedly fearing the Lord (Jer 32:36-41).  Isaiah says, strangers would be united to those returning (Isa 14:1-2).  Ezekiel adds that they would treat the foreigner residing in the land as a native-born and give them an inheritance in the land in whatever tribe they resided (Ezek 47:21-23).  God the shepherd would gathers his lost sheep, caring for the weak and injured but destroying the sleek and strong (Ezek 34:15-16).  It would seem Israel should strive to find a way to leave in peace with their Palestinian neighbors, not take their land nor prosper at their expense, lest they themselves be destroyed. 

The modern secular state of Israel does not live the righteous life described within the Hebrew Bible.  In many ways, their response is far more like the people of Ezekiel’s own day than his vision of the future people of God.  Just after Jerusalem’s fall to Babylon, the attacked people say to themselves: “Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land.  But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession” (Ezek 33:24).  Yet God tells them they violated his commands, worshiped idols, shed the blood of the innocent, defiled their neighbor’s wives, and relied on their own sword rather than on him.  “Should you then possess the land?” (Ezek 33:25-26) asks the God who was, and is, and is to come (Rev 1:8).

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Bible, Christian living, Jesus

When the Prodigal Son Met Esau and Cain

Posted on by Jay Givens

Luke 15; Genesis 4:1-16; 32:3-33:17

In Luke 15, Jesus tells a parable to the Pharisees and scribes, who were complaining that he hung out too much with tax collectors and sinners. Although many modern translations add subtitles to imply this chapter contains three distinct parables, Jesus really tells a single parable composed of three stanzas—a parable that ends without resolution. Jesus stops short of telling us the older son’s response to his father’s admonition, forcing the hearer/reader to reflect on what his or her own response would be in similar circumstances.

The repetitive framing of the parable suggests what the proper response should be.  A shepherd, who loses one sheep, will leave the ninety-nine until he finds that one, after which he throws a party to celebrate with friends.  A woman who loses one of ten valuable coins searches for it until she finds it, after which she throws a party to celebrate with friends.  Jesus ends both stories by comparing these earthly celebrations with the rejoicing of the angels in heaven when one sinner returns to God.

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In the final story of the parable, however, Jesus adds a sudden twist, breaking this frame of reference. Instead of ending with heaven rejoicing, Jesus creates a new scenario: “meanwhile, the other son . . .” The older brother represents Jesus’ critics, who have a choice. Will they be an older son like Adam’s older son Cain or like Isaac’s older son Esau? You see, Jesus embedded allusions to these two stories about rival siblings, which his religious critics would surely have noticed.

The younger son demands his inheritance and leaves for a far country, echoing the story of Jacob. Jacob stole his brother’s birthright and blessing, making Esau so angry with Jacob that the younger sibling had to flee for his mother’s homeland to avoid death. Jacob prospered in that foreign land, not (as he supposed) because of his many schemes, but because of God’s grace. In contrast to Jacob’s prospering, the prodigal threw wild parties until he sunk into abject poverty. When his hunger became so great he thought of eating with the unclean pigs he was tending, the prodigal suddenly realized his father’s servants were well fed and cared for, without having to do such humiliating work. When the prodigal left home, he had arrogantly demanded his rights as a son. Perhaps if he returned home renouncing those “rights,” his father would accept him as a servant. Knowing he deserved nothing, he humbly returned home with the hope his father would show mercy.

Jacob, on the other hand, returned home content with his wealth and family . . . until he heard his older brother Esau was coming with a large force of men. In terror, Jacob prayed, acknowledging for the first time that he was nothing more than God’s servant, unworthy of all the blessings he had received. The next day, when he went to face Esau, he fearfully and humbly bowed to the ground seven times as he approached. Fear motivated Jacob’s approach. Hope motivated the prodigal. As he journeyed, he rehearsed a speech over and over to himself: I am not worthy to be called a son. No doubt there was a little fear that his father would not accept him, but the prodigal’s hope persisted. We are told that, while the prodigal was still a long way off, the father responded to him just like Esau responded to his younger brother Jacob. Both ran to the one who had formerly affronted them. Both threw their arms around the returning wanderer and kissed them. Both rejoiced because, at last, they were reconciled. We are not told the father wept as Esau did, but likely this was part of the compassion that filled him upon seeing his son returning to him on that dusty road.

And then there is the older son in the prodigal story. When Jesus introduces him, he says that he was “in the field.”  Jesus wants us to think immediately of Cain, who took his younger brother out into the field in order to murder him.  Both Cain and the prodigal’s older brother lose face in relationship to their younger brothers.  For Cain, it was when God looked favorably on Abel’s sacrifice of the fat portions of the firstborn of his flock, but did not look favorably on his own offering of some of his produce.  In Jesus’ parable, instead of the younger son offering his heavenly father the fattened animal, Jesus says the prodigal’s father ordered the fatted calf to be killed so everyone could celebrate the younger son’s safe return.  The older son believed the father was dishonoring him through this misplaced celebration. Like the Pharisees and scribes, who thought Jesus was squandering his time with the riffraff, Cain wanted God’s attention and did not think his younger brother deserved what should rightly go to the older son.

Just as Cain became very angry over God’s response to Abel, the prodigal’s older brother became angry and refused to enter the house to attend the party.  Yet the older son is not exiled like Cain.  Instead, the father “exiles” himself from the party in order to plead with the older son to come into the house. He is like the shepherd, leaving the ninety-nine to find the one.  The older son refers to his daily duties at his father’s home as “slavery.”  Where are the blessings of sonship he deserves? Where is the party thrown in his honor for “never disobeying” the father’s “orders!”  The older son’s insistence on his right to be honored as a (slaving!) son is the opposite attitude of his younger brother, who wanted to be accepted only as a servant because he believed he no longer deserved to be called “son.”  The older son was like the servants in a later teaching of Jesus. He wanted to be praised, rather than saying what Jesus told us all to say: “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty” (Lk 17:7-10).  Like Abel, the younger brother was honored because he came with a better gift.

So the question for the Pharisees and scribes was what type of older brother would they be to these tax collectors and sinners?  Would they be like the father, who followed the example of older brother Esau?  Both lost material wealth to the younger son, but ultimately both valued restoration of relationship far more than earthly treasures.  Neither accepted the returning one’s offer to become a servant; both restored the returning brother’s status as sons and heirs.  Or would the Pharisees and scribes be like the older brother, who patterned his response after Cain?  Both felt God/the father didn’t honor their firstborn status.  Both thought their service deserved more praise than it received.  The question Jesus leaves hanging is whether we (not just the Pharisees and scribes long ago) will respond like Esau—rejoicing that the lost one has been found and restored—or like Cain—angry at the other and prideful about our own self-worth.  Even if we don’t murder these younger brothers and sisters, do we sin against them in our heart (Mt 5:21-24)?

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Painting: The Return of the Prodigal by Pompeo Batoni (1773), public domain, accessed 4 January 2024 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Prodigal_Son#/media/File:Pompeo_Batoni_003.jpg

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Advent, Jesus

The Light Has Come

Posted on by Jay Givens

Gen 1:1-4; John 1:9-14; 8:12

The Gospel of John tells us that the Word with God from the beginning was the life and light of all humans (1:1-4, 9).  This light became flesh (1:14), shining in the darkness as Jesus touched the lives of those in Galilee (Matt 4:16).  This light, however, caused some to flee back into the darkness because they loved their evil deeds (John 3:19-20).  Ultimately, those who loved darkness sought to snuff out the light by crucifying Jesus, yet the darkness was unable to overcome the light (John 1:5).  Not only did the Light of the World shine forth again on the third day, but he promised his followers that they would never walk in darkness (John 8:12).  So even if we walk through the valley of the shadow of death (Ps 23:4), we go forth boldly because Jesus has walked that path before us and lights the path for us.  We do not have to face suffering or enter death as those who have no hope (1 Thess 4:13).  At Christmas, we celebrate the coming of the Light of the World.  Rejoice for your light has come! (Isa 60:1-5)

C.S. Lewis once said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else (The Weight of Glory).  As an atheist, he doubted Christianity.  But as various Christians talked to him about their faith and as he read more about Jesus, he realized that the world made more sense through the Light of the World.  Ultimately, he stepped into the light so others could see that what he did was done by God (John 3:21).  Have you stepped into the light?  Rejoice, for your light has come!

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Bible, Christian living, creation care

Wildflowers in the Field (Earth Day 2023)

Posted on by Jay Givens

Originally written as a devotional for Creation Care Week 2023 at Wayland Baptist University.

Jesus said . . . “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. . . .  Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!”

Luke 12:22, 27-28, NIV

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Easter weekend, as I drove through Central Texas, I marveled at the fields of bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush.  I took some time to stop and photograph along the drive. The experience reminded me of this passage in Luke. 

Jesus taught his disciples to trust God and not worry about the needs of life.  If God is a gracious and good Father, why would he not care for his children?  God cares for all of his creation.  Just look out in the fields, Jesus said.  God lovingly decorates the grasses of the fields with wildflowers, so that they are more wondrous than a king’s finest robes.  God does this even though the grass and wildflowers are only here a short time.  The grass is “here today and tomorrow is thrown into the clibanos,” an earthen vessel used for baking bread (translated as “fire” in NIV).  God cares for the most commonplace elements of his creation, something so mundane that humans gather it as fuel to make their bread.  Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread.  Here we learn that God royally clothes the very things we take for granted while cooking that bread.  If today he clothes the grass that is gone tomorrow, how much more will he care for our needs?

Just as God cares for his creation, he calls us to join him in caring for creation and for one another.  This is part of what it means to be created in his image.  Lady Bird Johnson heard this call in the 1965.  Inspired by the wildflower seeding program of the Texas Highway Department, she convinced her husband to push for the Highway Beautification Act.  Known as “Lady Bird’s Bill,” it included a provision to plant wildflowers across the nation’s Interstate highways.  Lee Clippard, director of communications at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, described her care for creation.  “People wanted to see beautiful flowers and beautiful landscapes, but she saw it as a way to heal the land.  She knew it was a way to improve the lives of people.  She always saw landscapes and people together.” (Texas Highways, 7 April 2019).

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Bible, Christian living, Jesus

Reflections on a Donkey, Crying Stones, and Jesus’ Tears

Posted on by Jay Givens

A Rebuke of Culture Wars and Religious Nationalism

Each year, Christians celebrate Palm Sunday, Jesus’ so-called “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem.  The gospels do depict the crowds celebrating triumphantly, but what if Jesus himself was rebuking his own followers? What if he did not agree with their hopes for the Messiah? What do Jesus’ actions and words really say in Luke 19:28-44, if we have ears to hear?

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A Donkey

Jesus excited his disciples’ imagination by taking the route of Joshua toward Jerusalem (crossing the Jordan into Jericho).  Then he sent two disciples on a secret mission. Was this not the same number of spies Joshua sent to prepare the Conquest? Maybe they were scouting out Jerusalem’s defenses! Instead, they return with a donkey. Readers have wondered how Jesus knew this donkey would be tied up. Some think the owner has great faith to surrender his animal to unknown people simply because, “the Lord needs it!” Yet it is far more likely Jesus pre-arranged this with the owner.  He would tie up his donkey on this day and recognize Jesus’ men if they used the correct passphrase. Perhaps this is why John abbreviates the entire story: “Jesus found a young donkey.” John and Matthew quote this event as a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, but they do not mean it was a series of divine coincidences. Jesus intentional acted out this prophecy as a proclamation he was Messiah, and what he understood this to mean.

Many Jews believed Zech 9:9 was part of a prophecy that Messiah would bring peace for the Jews through a war against the nations.  Their response to Jesus riding a donkey fits this common Jewish hope.  People threw cloaks down before Jesus’ path, just like Jehu’s men when Elisha anointed him to become King of Israel.  Interestingly, there was already a King of Israel! Jehu became Messiah to assassinate King Joram. People also waved palm branches and threw them down before Jesus, just as Jews did a century earlier during the Maccabean Revolt. Simon was greeted by cheering crowds and palm branches after his army liberated Jerusalem from Syrian occupation and cleansed the temple. Finally, Matthew, Mark, and John tell us the crowds shouted out Hosanna! Save us! The people had nationalistic dreams Jesus would successfully lead a rebellion against the Romans.

Crying Stones

Luke makes it clear this is how the Pharisees interpreted these events since they tell Jesus to quiet his disciples. No doubt they were eyeing the Roman soldiers standing watch on Jerusalem’s walls, fearing they might become agitated and move to put down this apparent protest movement calling for rebellion. Instead of quieting his disciples, however, Jesus replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Perhaps Jesus’ disciples thought he was referencing Habakkuk 2:10, where the stones of the walls would cry out against the injustices they bore witness to within the city. After all, Luke emphasizes the crowd is descending into the Kidron Valley.  Across the valley, they could all see the massive stones of Jerusalem’s walls.

Jesus’ Tears

Then, Jesus wept as he looked across at Jerusalem. He mourned that the people did not grasp the true meaning of peace. He wept because his people’s desire to defeat the cultural intrusion of Rome through physical force would result in the loss of all the institutions they held dear. He shed tears because his beloved people loved the power and glory of Jerusalem, the temple, and the land of Israel. They hoped Jesus was the strong man they needed to make Israel great once again through a violent expulsion of the Romans.

The Rebuke of a Prophetic Act

Jesus, however, had a very different vision for the Kingdom and his role as Messiah. Riding a donkey was not a message of conquest. The “triumphal entry” surrounding him was just Satan’s latest temptation to lure Jesus to desire the very power structures he had rejected since the voice from heaven told him his role as Messiah was to be a suffering servant.  Jesus intentionally acted out Zechariah 9:9 rather than some other messianic prophecy precisely because of his rejection of Messiah as conquering king. Zechariah was the only Israelite prophet who emphasized another aside from the king who was also anointed with oil—the chief priest. Jesus riding a donkey was pointing us to reflect on the entire book of Zechariah.  Zechariah 4 speaks of two trees pouring out oil into a single lampstand.  They are called two Messiahs (king and priest). Zechariah 6 then orders a crown to be placed on the chief priest, who will rule from his throne and bring “harmony between the two” (king and priest). Zechariah shifts the focus from the king to the priest.  Jesus proclaimed himself to be a priest-king.  He would serve his people’s spiritual needs rather than rule with might to enforce his people’s desire for power and prestige. John understood Jesus to be priest-king.  John has Jesus quote Zech 6:13 (rebuild the temple) as justification for cleansing the temple (John 2:19) and Pilate quote Zech 6:12 (here is the man) as he presents Jesus before the crowd in purple robe and crown of thorns (John 19:7).

Not only was the donkey Jesus’ rebuke of violent revolution, but his statement that the stones would cry out was not about the stones of Jerusalem’s walls. As noted before, Luke emphasizes the crowd was going down the Mount of Olives into the Kidron Valley. This area, both then and now, was a vast Jewish graveyard. There were stones everywhere: in front of tombs as well as atop crypts. The stones themselves would not be crying out, Hosanna! Save us! Rather, it would be the dead behind those stones shouting out for Jesus to remember them when he came into his Kingdom. In Zechariah, there is a promise from God attached to the one who rides the donkey: “because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit” (9:11). Jesus’ decision to be a priest-king, to sacrifice his life, would result in the salvation of those who were in the grave (the waterless pit) as well as those of us who have yet to die. This Prophet like Moses would not liberate the people from slavery to an occupying force.  His exodus would lead people out of the grave!  This Messiah had not come to defeat the Romans.  He would destroy the common enemy of all people (whether Jew or Roman): death itself.

Jesus wept because he knew many there that day rejoicing in his enactment of a messianic claim would ultimately reject his servant priest-king conception of what it meant to be Messiah. They would instead follow after various revolutionaries who rose up before and after him, until the Romans eventually had enough and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70.  As with this “triumphal entry,” Jesus’ whole life was a repudiation of power politics and cultural wars. Jesus foresaw the exaltation of religious nationalism as the destruction of his people . . . and he wept. When will American Christians put off the power dynamics of Cain and put on the servant righteousness of Jesus the Messiah?

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Reflections on a Donkey, Crying Stones, and Jesus’ Tears

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Advent, Christian living, Jesus

The Peace of Divine Purpose (Advent 2022)

Posted on by Jay Givens

Matthew 1:18-21; Matthew 2:1-15; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 2:17-18

Paul told his young assistant Timothy that God’s Spirit does not make us timid.  Instead, it emboldens us to live a life of love and self-discipline.  Paul wrote this from prison awaiting execution.  Clearly, there is a peace about living in God’s will, even when the way is unclear or involves suffering.

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In the Christmas story, we find many people who discovered peace in the midst of suffering and confusing situations because they placed their faith in God.  They believed he had a plan and trusted him to guide them through the darkness into light.  Mary had an unplanned pregnancy.  Joseph was confused how his girl could cheat on him and what to do about it.  The magi thought they knew where God was taking them, yet they ended up in the wrong city!  They almost became political pawns in the process.  Joseph, Mary, and Jesus found themselves on the run from authorities.  Eventually, they became political refugees living as immigrants in Egypt, wondering when they could return home.  They had to live in a culture not their own, learn a new language that was foreign to them.  Many they encountered day after day probably hated them because of their foreignness! 

This was just in the first few years of Jesus’ life!  No wonder the writer of Hebrews tells us Jesus was made like us.  He was human in every way.  He understands our needs because he has suffered as we have.  Jesus came into our Egypt, our captivity, our exile.  He did not break sins’ shackles from the comfort of heaven.  He was “born into shit and straw” (to quote the ever-colorful Bono from U2).  This helpless babe had to trust not only his heavenly Father, but also his parents to protect him and love him.  Jesus suffered as we suffer.  He was tempted as we are tempted.  Through it all, he trusted his Father’s plan and walked in accordance with the Spirit of God.  This is what made him the Prince of Peace.  This is how he was able to save us from our sins.

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