"It is a land the Lord your God looks after, which the Lord your God always has his eyes on, from the year's beginning to the year's end." Deuteronomy 11:12
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Jerusalem Wedding
Here is some footage of a wedding I attended that overlooked the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Laden with imagery and tradition it was by far the best wedding ceremony I have attended.
Christmas in Bethlehem
I spent a few hours in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve afternoon. Here are some videos of the atmosphere there.
Manager Square by the Church of the Nativity during a clerical procession.
Manager Square by the Church of the Nativity during a clerical procession.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Liquid Chaos
Have you ever stood on a beach overlooking the vast expanse of the ocean with its transparent blue waters? It is a beautiful sight to behold without dipping your toe in the water. However, the ocean's limitless waters hide exquisite scenery beneath its depths. Wading in the shallow end offers only a marginal view of what really lies beneath the surface. Full fledged submersion with scuba gear opens up an entirely new world full of adventure, new discoveries, and a changed outlook on aquatic life.
The Bible is like the ocean in many ways. A superficial (I mean that in the nicest way) glance at the stories are a gem in and of themselves; they stand alone. But when we plunge into the depths of this sacred text, new things come alive and we begin to see colors, shapes, and life we had never before laid our eyes. When we come up for air, we are changed.
I have come to learn an absolutely astounding insight about water, mainly through ancient near east (ANE) theology...and it doesn't start with the Bible.
Many archaic creation stories center around the concept of chaos. Two prominent themes tie into ANE creation accounts: naming things after separating chaotic matter and spawning order out of it To the ancient mind, chaos is represented by water. Personified in this idea is the mythical god Yam who rules over the sea and is considered impetuous, restless, violent, and erratic; much like the ocean. Egyptian accounts depict a pyramid rising up out of separated water. The Sea of Reeds we read about in Exodus in Hebrew is Yam Suf. The Hebrew mind associated bodies of water with the god Yam.
We also see this imagery in the creation story. God separates the waters (tohu v'vohu which essentially means nothingness or chaos shmeaos), light and dark, day and night, sun and the moon, etc and names them, thereby giving them purpose. He also gathers the waters into one place. This sounds awfully reminiscent of a mikveh, a ritual bath used by Jews before entering into a holy place.
Water plays a prominent role in Biblical narratives. An enslaved Israel crosses through the separated waters of the Sea of Reeds and becomes an independent nation; a nation birthed through the canals of water into freedom. God works through Moses to split the sea with dry ground underneath, recapitulating the creation account of God dividing the waters to make dry land. Joshua leads Israel through the Jordan River in order to possess the land God has granted them. Jacob crossed the Jabbok River and came out the other side with a name change and a hip injury. Jesus goes through water and is transformed.
Significant Biblical characters become new creations and are assigned new purpose when water is involved. By all accounts, Jesus was an ordinary guy doing mundane things before he is baptized. He was a fix-it man from Capernaum who built infrastructure and relationships with people through his occupation. But after his baptism, something changes. Not only does he continue with his work as a builder, he is commissioned with a new assignment and is effectively inaugurated as the Son of God. Prior to this, there are no accounts of any miraculous interventions, although it is possible there were some that remained unwritten.
Jesus' baptism is more than a symbolic gesture of spiritual cleansing. It is pragmatic in every sense of the word. Jesus enters the chaotic waters and emerges as a new being with a mission to enter the chaos of individual lives and the world at large in order to bring shalom. From this point forward, we see Jesus engage with others who have encountered bedlam in their life and he extends shalom through healing and presence.
Jesus' baptism is a microcosm of the creation account when God brings order, serenity, and tranquility out of a tempestuous system. And when we are baptized, this is the charge we have been given. We don't sit on the sidelines and bask in the glory of our own renewed sense of spirituality. It's more than a public declaration of a synonymous identity with Jesus. It is more than an emblematic act of cleansing of sin. It is a transformative catalyst with a social ultimatum. It is a reorientation from the old path to a new one. It is imitation of Jesus by entering into the chaos of peoples lives to establish shalom. We are dispatched as new creations to bring healing to turbulent circumstances through our words and presence.
Baptism is less about theology and more reestablishing what should already be. It is a continual act in commemoration of creation and Jesus who is the model for healing. We carry the story of creation within us and as we enter into the disarray of this world and individual lives we make it real again in the lives of others.
The Bible is like the ocean in many ways. A superficial (I mean that in the nicest way) glance at the stories are a gem in and of themselves; they stand alone. But when we plunge into the depths of this sacred text, new things come alive and we begin to see colors, shapes, and life we had never before laid our eyes. When we come up for air, we are changed.
I have come to learn an absolutely astounding insight about water, mainly through ancient near east (ANE) theology...and it doesn't start with the Bible.
Many archaic creation stories center around the concept of chaos. Two prominent themes tie into ANE creation accounts: naming things after separating chaotic matter and spawning order out of it To the ancient mind, chaos is represented by water. Personified in this idea is the mythical god Yam who rules over the sea and is considered impetuous, restless, violent, and erratic; much like the ocean. Egyptian accounts depict a pyramid rising up out of separated water. The Sea of Reeds we read about in Exodus in Hebrew is Yam Suf. The Hebrew mind associated bodies of water with the god Yam.
We also see this imagery in the creation story. God separates the waters (tohu v'vohu which essentially means nothingness or chaos shmeaos), light and dark, day and night, sun and the moon, etc and names them, thereby giving them purpose. He also gathers the waters into one place. This sounds awfully reminiscent of a mikveh, a ritual bath used by Jews before entering into a holy place.
Water plays a prominent role in Biblical narratives. An enslaved Israel crosses through the separated waters of the Sea of Reeds and becomes an independent nation; a nation birthed through the canals of water into freedom. God works through Moses to split the sea with dry ground underneath, recapitulating the creation account of God dividing the waters to make dry land. Joshua leads Israel through the Jordan River in order to possess the land God has granted them. Jacob crossed the Jabbok River and came out the other side with a name change and a hip injury. Jesus goes through water and is transformed.
Significant Biblical characters become new creations and are assigned new purpose when water is involved. By all accounts, Jesus was an ordinary guy doing mundane things before he is baptized. He was a fix-it man from Capernaum who built infrastructure and relationships with people through his occupation. But after his baptism, something changes. Not only does he continue with his work as a builder, he is commissioned with a new assignment and is effectively inaugurated as the Son of God. Prior to this, there are no accounts of any miraculous interventions, although it is possible there were some that remained unwritten.
Jesus' baptism is more than a symbolic gesture of spiritual cleansing. It is pragmatic in every sense of the word. Jesus enters the chaotic waters and emerges as a new being with a mission to enter the chaos of individual lives and the world at large in order to bring shalom. From this point forward, we see Jesus engage with others who have encountered bedlam in their life and he extends shalom through healing and presence.
Jesus' baptism is a microcosm of the creation account when God brings order, serenity, and tranquility out of a tempestuous system. And when we are baptized, this is the charge we have been given. We don't sit on the sidelines and bask in the glory of our own renewed sense of spirituality. It's more than a public declaration of a synonymous identity with Jesus. It is more than an emblematic act of cleansing of sin. It is a transformative catalyst with a social ultimatum. It is a reorientation from the old path to a new one. It is imitation of Jesus by entering into the chaos of peoples lives to establish shalom. We are dispatched as new creations to bring healing to turbulent circumstances through our words and presence.
Baptism is less about theology and more reestablishing what should already be. It is a continual act in commemoration of creation and Jesus who is the model for healing. We carry the story of creation within us and as we enter into the disarray of this world and individual lives we make it real again in the lives of others.
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