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.”