How Long to Sing This Song?

Week 8 (Feb. 17 – 23)

As I mentioned last week (i.e.: yesterday), this car has hit the Old Testament mud: Leviticus. My personal history has me skidding out at this book almost every time I have attempted this epic goal of biblical scholarship (except for that one time I made it through and stalled out in Numbers). I'm a story guy. My brain thrives on narrative and concept – not rules, bullet points and lists. Therefore, I've decided (when necessary) to combine the OT/Psalmverbs sections until we make it through the mud. It’s my blog and I’ll write what I want to. Not this week, though. I also made a few references to beards… this was unintentional, but on my mind as I had a nightmare last night where I shaved.

Old Testament (Leviticus 4–14)

Earlier this weekend, I was talking with Steinface and mentioned that I’d gotten to Leviticus and that this had always been a struggle for me. Juice pointed out that the purpose of the Law was to show the Israelites (and, subsequently, us) the pointlessness of trying to obtain salvation on one’s own. It’d be like if some cynical genius wrote an intentionally cryptic song with no meaning whatsoever to see what intepretation folks would derive from it or if a drunk Irishman or smacked-out American decided to experiment with the written word and ended up with two books heralded as classic works of literature that are nothing more than incoherent ramblings and garbage. OK, ok, I’m not gonna let my dislike of Joyce and Burroughs derail this train  (coo-coo-cajoo) – all I’m saying is that I get the concept, Lord. Is it necessary to spend a month reading about boils and the inherent evils of crawfish?

There were a couple of story points in Leviticus, though, so I pulled them out. The first is when the Israelites go through the motions the very first time and make their first offering to God, resulting in a great big explosion of acceptance. Everyone cheers and everyone’s happy and that’s probably the last time that’s going to happen for a while. I’d be happy too, though. I've written before about how stupid I think the Israelites are for physically seeing the presence of God and doubting him. That said, if bearded Moses started rolling out all these crazy rules and requirements that I need to meet in order to worship God, I’d start questioning, “Is this the same guy that led us out of Egypt or was that guy replaced with another magnificently-bearded hermit when we made that pit-stop at the mountain?” To me, the fiery display God makes when accepting the offering is a sign of validation, both of Moses and of His people. In the same way that we all need a little bit of encouragement to continue the race, I feel like this was God’s way of saying, “Finally, you got something right. Keep up the good work.”

And, in typical Israelite (read: human) fashion, they screw it up the next day. A couple of Aaron’s sons, those ever-loving priests, go into the Tent of Meeting and offer “strange fire” to God, which displeases Him and He strikes them down dead with “strange lightning”. My first thought when I read this passage was that those priests decided to go smoke some of the holy sacrament in the Tent, which didn't make God too happy (because that’s reserved for special occasions!). I kid, of course, but I do think it’s interesting that following this story, Moses tells Aaron that he and his sons aren't allowed to imbibe when they enter the Tent. Call me an addictions counselor, but I can’t help but see a correlation between people doing stupid things and drinking.

New Testament (Mark 3–6)

Firstly, Mark is a fast read. Everything is very factual and brief. Secondly, I've run into the problem I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, where I’m now re-reading stories and concepts that I already wrote about. Oh well.

I can’t remember if I already wrote about the following story (probably not) and I don’t care to go back and look. But since it’s currently the Lenten season, I feel it’s appropriate to address. Some folks ask Jesus why John the Baptist’s disciples fast, but Christ’s do not. Jesus replies saying that, essentially, there’s no point to fasting when you’re in the presence of Jesus. This calls to mind the point of fasting and, to this New Orleans boy, the point of Lent. Now, forgive me if I mess this up because I’m a good Southern Baptist, but from what I understand, the purpose of sacrificing something for Lent is to deepen my relationship with God. If I've given up sweets, whenever I start craving a Mounds bar, I’m supposed to remember the Lord and say a prayer or something. It’s really an exercise to help me remember my dependence upon Him… you know, like a less excruciating, more obvious version of Leviticus. So the disciples, who are in the physical presence of Christ, have no reason to fast because they’re not likely to forget about the bearded prophet healing cripples and casting out yellow-eyed soul-suckers right in front of their faces.

And then there’s that part where Jesus tells folks not to hide their lamp under a bushel. While this may make you think of that song we used to sing in children’s church, but it calls to my mind one of the hardest rocking Newsboys jams ever, one that sends chills up my spine whenever that bridge kicks in. This song kicks off their only consistently awesome record (says the man that hasn't listened to a Newsboys record in 10 years), so props to Jesus for making this my jam of the day.

Psalms (36–40) and Proverbs (10:1–12)

I’ll be straight with ya’ll – I don’t get much from the Psalms except reminders of jams. So here’s the ones I pulled this week – with a couple from DCT (of course).

Ps 36:1 - Your Love Oh Lord

Ps 37:14-15 - The Archers Bows Have Broken (I don’t think this song actually has anything to do with this psalm – but David mentioned broken bows and that’s where my head goes)

Ps 37:23-24 - What If I Stumble (This psalm actually answers the question K-Max so earnestly asks in the chorus – “Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?” with the promise that God will uphold those righteous folks with his mighty hand, even if they stumble)

Ps 40 – “40” (Yes, I realize this is a U2 song. But DCT turned this song into a JAM and that wins every time)

Taste and See

Week 7 (Feb. 10 - 16)

This week, I took a Sabbath from writing. I felt it was only appropriate for the seventh week of this project. That, and The Rock dropped the People’s Elbow on my productivity time. All of that said, I was actually a good Christian last week. I read my allotted reading and took my notes… I just didn’t get around to writing it out til now.  So without any further delay, here’s week seven.

Old Testament (Exodus 30:11 – Leviticus 3)

We pick back up where we left off in Exodus, where God is giving every single detail of how to worship Him. I can’t lie – I skimmed this. It’s like when I’m reading Dickens and his characters start discussing their finances and accounts (something Dickens does in every single book)… my eyes just glaze over until the narrative picks back up. The brain God gave me physically can’t process numbers and minutia, so I don’t think he’s gonna hold it against me for skimming this section. I feel like God listed out all of these details, just so at the end he could point out that he provided the people and resources to carry these details out. The artisans to create the designs, the builders and construct the structures, the perfumist to create the incense, etc. It’s like he took the scenic route to point out that we all have our own strengths and weaknesses and that he’s not going to ask us to do anything we’re not capable of doing.

Let’s return to our common theme that the Israelites may be the dumbest people in history. They can physically see the mountain that Moses is on… you know, the one covered in God’s holy smokes and fire – and they decide the golden calf is a good idea. You know what, on second thought, let’s not return there.

Earlier I wrote about how I thought that Abraham’s intervention on behalf of Lot and Sodom & Gomorrah was an opportunity that God gave him, rather than a genuine example of someone changing God’s mind. However, I don’t feel the same way about Moses’ intervention on the Israelites’ behalf following the Golden Calf Incident. In my reading of this, I gathered that Moses legitimately swayed God from giving the Israelites what they justly deserved. I need a Calvinist to explain that one to me.

And that’s about it for the Old Testament this week. Next week we hop into Leviticus and Numbers follows that one, so I’m expecting the Old Testament sections to be extremely short in the coming month or so.

New Testament (Matthew 26:47 – Mark 2:12)

One topic I’ve discussed in a few groups recently is the self-fulfilling prophecy. Essentially, I live what I believe and if I truly believe I’m going to die by thirty or help eliminate AIDS, I’m going to make decisions in my life and take actions that will allow this prophecy to come true. Obviously, this applies to my clients because if they truly believe that staying sober is impossible or that no one will ever love them or whatever, they’ll take action to make that come true. I was reminded of this by Jesus’ statement that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. You may remember Metallica paraphrasing Christ’s words in their “hit” single, Frantic: “My lifestyle determines my deathstyle.”… No? You don’t remember Frantic? You don’t remember St. Anger at all? Yeah, I wish I could forget it too…

I love the way Jesus chastises his captors for bringing weapons to his arrest – “I’ve been teaching you about peace and gentleness, but you thought it was necessary to bring swords and clubs? You really don’t get it, do you?” I’m reminded of my Values Studies class at LC with Dr. Heard, where he classified the different levels of selflessness a person can attain (if that’s not exactly how it went, forgive me. I didn’t value that class). All that I really remembered was that Jesus, MLK and Ghandi were in the same category, where they valued the lives of others and peace and all that crap over their own lives, hence the non-violence. I guess what I’m getting at is that this scene reminds me of MLK’s “Why We Can’t Wait.”

And with that, I’ll save the rest of the passion/resurrection story for when we get to John, so I’ll actually have something to write about when we get there. You know, unless something during Matthew’s description of the passion really jumps out at me… LIKE JESUS RAISING THE LIVING DEAD!? (Matt 27:52) WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA……

Psalms (32 – 35:28) & Proverbs (8:27- 9:18)

I usually reference The Tell Tale Heart when I talk about the weight of sin and guilt (or when I’m talking about a fifth step and catharsis). Psalm reminded me of this.

We also got to the Psalm that inspired Petra to write my favorite Audio Adrenaline jam.

Finally, I can’t help but think of Andy from Parks and Rec every time David references “the pit”… which is quite often. 

Joy Comes in the Morning

Week 6 (February 3 – 9)

I didn't bother to write a weekly wrap-up last week, so I’ll try and make up for it here. These past two weeks have been a struggle. I've found myself waiting until the last minute on my reading and playing catch-up on the day I write these things. That’s really not the way I intended this goal to go down – but I’m not gonna beat myself up too much because it’s still getting done. I also had a thought as I was writing up my notes on the New Testament. I’m still in Matthew, which is the first of the synoptic Gospels (there are three – Mark and Luke). Being that this is the first of the three, and a lot of the stories and things written about in Matthew are also written in the other Gospels, I’m worried that I might punch myself out – i.e, write about all my observations for these stories now and have nothing left when they crop up again. That said, these New Testament sections might run a little shorter in the future.

Old Testament (Exodus 17:8 – 30:10)

When Jethro (Moses’ father-in-law and Jed's nephew) pops up, I instantly expected him to try and swindle Moses the same way Laban screwed over Jacob. However, he provides wisdom and encouragement to the guy. This caused me to examine something I’d never thought about before – Moses doesn't know his father. I mean, we know the story – he gets put in a basket by his moms and raised by Pharoah's daughter, but a father-figure is never mentioned. All of a sudden, Moses’ whole dynamic changes to me – I see why Jethro is necessary, to act as a surrogate, earthly father to this guy. His questioning of God early on makes a little bit more sense now because Moses has no paternal history to base his ideas on God upon. I've been fortunate enough to have been blessed with an extremely wise and loving earthly father, but Moses didn't have that. This also allows me to see how Moses can be a very appealing character to the children of the fatherless, many of my clients included.
Jethro's wisdom reminds me of something my supervisor reminds me of on a regular basis – that I can't do this all on my own, there’s no shame in delegation. I think that Moses’ response (“These people come to get answers from God and I am his messenger”) to Jethro exposes a character defect that we both share – pride. Many times I find that I’m hesitant to ask for help or admit that I’m drowning because I tell myself and others that I, like Lil Brudder, can do it on my own. Finally, Jethro tells Moses to consult with God before he actually puts any of his wisdom to action – something we’ll hit on later in the New Testament section.

So then God descends on Mount Sinai in an awesome description, including smoke, lightning and a volcano! Then He tells them the Ten Commandments and the Israelites crap their pants and tell Moses that, from here on out, they’d rather him speak to God and hear His words secondhand from Moses because they’re scared of Him. Moses tells them to not be afraid, that God is reaching out to them to instill a reverence, but still, they’d still rather shirk this relationship and put it on Moses. I notice that, once the Israelites shrink back into their shells, God throws down a ton more rules – which makes me wonder if these rules would have been necessary had the Israelites taken God’s hand instead of hiding behind Moses. I've face-palmed because of these guys over and over again, seeing what God has physically shown them and promised them and their continued response to him. It defies all common sense, until I realize that I do the same thing every day, whether it’s cursing at the slow driver on my commute or skipping church on Sunday because I’d rather stay up late Saturday night watching shows. So I guess it’s time to put down that magnifying glass and pick up that mirror.

The last thing I've got for the Old Testament this week came during a wrap-up of one of the chapters – it factually states that Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain, in God’s presence, as he received the law. I got to thinking about how I’d spent the past 40 days (exactly!) reading the Word and the benefits that came from that. I also started wondering about how intense that experience must have been. I mean, the most intense, close-to-God worship experience I ever had lasted for less than an hour (Voodoofest 2008; don’t hate) – I couldn't imagine keeping up that kind of intensity for 40 straight days. Guess I've got some prepping to do before dying.

New Testament (Matthew 22:34 – 26:46)

This week’s reading found us in the middle of a tongue-lashing of the Pharisees, courtesy of our Lord. Notably, Jesus points out that the people should listen to what the Pharisees have to say, since they’re educated in the Law and know what they should do, but to avoid following in their footsteps because they don’t practice what they preach. He also points out that, instead of giving the people God’s word in a digestible, appealing fashion, they present it as a bundle of rules and then sit back and smile as the people stumble and struggle to follow them. I was telling someone recently that, when I try to explain my faith, I try and explain why I like my faith, what makes it important to me, rather than just why they need to have it too. I mean, if I wanted you to experience the beauty of Norma Jean, I wouldn't just toss Bless the Martyr at you and tell you, “If you don’t like this, you don’t understand music,” right? I’d explain to you, with passion, why I love that record and why it’s worth sacrificing your time and some hearing. Why should we treat the Gospel any differently?

I had a hard (read: impossible) time reading Christ’s description of the end times without picturing specific scenes and characters from Left Behind. Some friends came over the other night and one of them commented on the fact that I own, and proudly display, the original series (the first 12 books – everything afterwards is just lagniappe). Those books may have been completely ridiculous and theologically holey, but for a 14-yr old with a ton of spare time and a library card, they were very entertaining. Granted, I now cannot listen to Plumb without thinking of that series (and vice versa), they hold a special place. That said, I think it’s important to note that Jesus points out that no one will know or expect his return – so sorry Nick Cage and Kirk Cameron, you’re gonna have to keep guessing.

Finally, let’s look at the story where the chick anoints Christ’s feet with the Chanel No. 5 and wipes it down with her hair. The disciples get all upset and start saying, “She shoulda sold that stuff and given the money to the poor!”, when Jesus cuts them off and essentially says, she’s anointing me for my burial to come. This got me to thinking about how I've seen others and myself jump all over folks for doing this or that, without considering why they’re doing it. In this story, for example, this woman has been moved by the presence of the Messiah and feels led by God to anoint him. Earlier, we saw Jethro advise Moses on ways to delegate his responsibilities if God led him to do so. One word I tell my clients that I hate over and over again, so much so that I've all but eliminated it from my own vocabulary is the word “should,” primarily because every time I use it, it’s in reference to something I want someone else to do. If God leads someone to tithe to Carman or take a prayer walk or sue Obama, who am I to say differently? I wasn't led to do that – but I’m not the only person God talks to.

And there was this too.

Psalms (27 – 31:24) & Proverbs (6:27 – 8:26)

In proverbs, Solomon drops some common sense on me, essentially saying, “Can a guy play with fire and not get burnt? (IGNORE MOSES) So how can you expect to sin and not suffer the consequences?” I can’t read Proverbs 7 without thinking of my clients – being in places where you’re setting yourself up for failure, the allure of temptation and the eventual disastrous consequences. Maybe this weighs heavy on my heart this week because I received the news on Saturday that a former client had relapsed and died of an overdose. I told a coworker that that’s the urgency of this field – if I’m counseling couples, the average worst-case-scenario involves them getting divorced; but with addiction, the worst-case consequences are so much more dire. I certainly don’t blame myself or my coworkers for the choices that this client made – but it does instill in me a renewed sense of that urgency and diligence to be the best counselor I can be for these guys.

And, to end on a happy note, some Stavesacre (culled from Psalm 30:5). “Weeping is cast for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

I Want the Things You Just Can't Give Me

Week 5 (January 27 - February 2)
Old Testament (Exodus 4 - 17:7)

Let’s just get this out of the way first and foremost – for a guy who says he’s garbage at talking, Moses sure whines a lot. Maybe it’s no coincidence that we’re introduced to Moses when he’s a baby because it seems like this guy never quits crying about something. But it’s not just limited to Moses – it’s a family affair. These Israelites cry in Egypt, they cry in the desert, they cry on the mountaintop and they cry on the seabed. Ray Lewis has caught a lot of flak in the past 2 weeks because of his emotional postgame interviews and his out-of-context Scripture quotations, but I truly believe that Ray Lewis is a child of God because he cries like one. And I’m not the only one that this bothers – God essentially debunks every excuse Moses has (and then some). God tells Moses that the patriarchs only knew him as “the Strong God”, but that the Israelites will know him as Yahweh – they will experience his presence and know him much more intimately than those old patriarchs did (especially Isaac. Stupid Isaac). And yet, still Moses tries to weasel out of his duties and act like he knows the Egyptian/Israelite-relations situation better than God does.

Not only does God continually assure Moses that, “yes, I do know what I’m talking about,” but he has to treat these stupid Israelites with pillowhands! He holds their hand as a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire in the dark, so they’ll know which way to walk. He specifically leads them down a path where they won’t encounter any enemies because he’s worried if they have to fight a war they will bail back to Egypt. You stupid Israelites just saw the freaking Angel of Death and 9 other fun plagues and you still think bailing is a good idea? You have a pillar of freaking fire, God’s freaking presence, leading you along the road and bailing is an option? You know, if these are God’s chosen people, I’d really hate to know how stupid my Gentile face is on a day-to-day basis.

Let’s talk about these plagues. So God goes ahead and tells Moses from the start that he’s going to harden Pharaoh’s heart. Rather than explain why now, God explains his reasoning 9 plagues in – he wants to spread his reputation throughout the world and Egypt is receiving his wrath because they’ve built their empire on the backs of his people. God’s hardened Pharaoh’s heart because he wants to demonstrate his power and who better to demonstrate your strength with than mighty Egypt? This reminds me of a monologue by one Augustus Hill of Oz (CAUTION: LANGUAGE, MOM!). Let’s also look at some of these plagues in detail: So pharaoh’s magicians are able to recreate blood and frogs, but let’s be real – they’re just making more frogs! How is that helping anyone? I also love the fact that it emphasizes that God killed all the frogs – they didn’t just disappear. I grew up in the hills (of suburban Birmingham) and let me tell you that dead frogs stank! So call that half a plague. At gnats, the magicians become completely useless and at flies, the Israelites are set apart and don’t receive any of the plagues… and yet they still thought it was appropriate to whine during the exodus.

Here’s my question for the week: in Exodus 4:26, God is on the brink of killing Moses until his wife quickly circumcises their son and rubs the bloody foreskin on Moses, sparing his life (I’m not being gross, this is in the Bible). The question… WHAT THE HECK!?

New Testament (Matthew 18 - 22:33)

A common theme throughout Jesus’ teachings this week was the difficulty of entering the kingdom of heaven (on one’s own). Twice this week, Christ pointed out the kids and told us that, in order to enter heaven, we needed to be more like them. For a long time, I’d read these passages and interpret them to mean that we are to simplify our lives, unburden ourselves with knowledge and over-complication. I would have included this week’s drama at LC in this category. I was trying to explain the situation to my Hindu co-worker and the best I could come up with (after explaining denominations) was, “10% of Southern Baptists are Calvinists, 10% are Armenian and everyone else couldn't care less. And the people running my school are really stupid.” This reading of the scripture, however, revealed to me a new layer – Jesus doesn't just want us to simplify our lives, he also wants us to realize our dependence upon God (Totally the first 3 Steps - I can’t; He can; I’ll let Him). There’s no way we could ever earn our way into Heaven, but accepting my birthright as a child of God punches my ticket. This revelation was like that image of the duck-rabbit, where once it hit me I thought, “How the heck did I not see that before!?”

And now we have the Rich Young Ruler. This fella can get what he wants with a little cash and clean-living and asks Jesus what he’s gotta do to get into heaven. After telling this fella to keep the commandments, Jesus looks at his terrycloth robe and Rainbow sandals and tells him to give all his stuff away and follow Him and the fella walks away sad because he’s got so many things he’s not ready to give up yet. Naturally, this idea of surrender (coupled with what I read about Pharaoh this week) makes me think about my clients and the recovery concept of reservations. In recoveryspeak, a reservation is that thing I’m holding onto that’s keeping me from devoting myself fully to sobriety. It might be my friends, town, or lifestyle or might just be that “last” bender ima go on once I get outta rehab. Whatever it is, the fact that I continually hold this reservation keeps me from completely converting my old life over to my new life and, subsequently sees me relapsing over and over again. So often, my clients want to surrender their lives over to their Higher Power on their terms (“Alright, God… I’ll quit using, but you gotta give me one last hurrah to go out on!”) and the truth is – GOD, not they, (or I!) dictates the terms. This is the lesson that we learned from Egypt – God is big and can do what He wants, when He wants, and doesn't need (or want) my approval to do it. The surrender of my life to God is an unconditional surrender – I don’t get to dictate terms to him, I have to give it all over.

Also this has nothing to do with the actual scripture it takes it’s title from, but I can’t help but think of Brand New when I read the phrase “Seventy Times Seven.” To Jesse Lacey’s credit he did forgive the guys in Taking Back Sunday for stealing his girlfriend (or whatever happened) and sings this song onstage with them.

Psalms (22:19 - 27:6) and Proverbs (5:15 - 6:26)

We recognize the beginning of Psalm 22. Jesus quoted it on the cross and System of a Down lifted it for my favorite song of 2001. Still, it’s very cool to know that, despite the pain and anguish running through Jesus’ body at the time of his death, he had the clarity of mind to drop a Scripture prophesying this very event and the redemption of God’s Kingdom. Very cool. This is followed by another famous Psalm (23), focusing on the comfort one finds in the Lord. I've gotta praise God on his editing skills here; it’s essentially the Transatlanticism/Passenger Seat of the Bible – a one-two punch of intensity, followed by serenity and calm.

Also found in the Psalms this week were the scriptures that inspired a magnificent Third Day jam and a youth-choir Third Day jam, as well as one of my favorite car jams as a kid.

Speaking of when I was a kid, I remember citing Proverbs 6:6 as my favorite scripture for years. Solomon chiding his audience for being lazy and not ant-like made me laugh and also hit home that I was incredibly lazy myself. Of course, since Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull came out, I haven’t been able to think of ants without dying inside a little bit, so this scripture will most definitely not make my Top 10.