Be glad
Commentary
Object:
At the founding of our country, George Washington issued a presidential proclamation establishing Thursday, November, 26, 1789, as a national day of thanksgiving. It began: "Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God... to be grateful for his benefits...." Then, it continues to specify God's care and protection over the Colonial Era, the manifold mercies during the War of Independence, the rational manner in writing the Constitution, and the civil and religious liberties enjoyed. How is it possible to be thankful "in everything" (as Paul states in Philippians 4:6)? When there is devastation, when we are anxious, when we are oppressed, what does it mean to "fear not... be glad"? What distinguishes Christian gratitude from a Pollyanna attitude? Let it not be said of us what Hamlet said: "Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks."!
Joel 2:21-27
It is hard to imagine farmers finding much to rejoice in when insects invade the fields, whether that be grasshoppers in the wheat or corn borers in the maize. But that is exactly what the prophet Joel urges the people to do. While other prophets interpret the invasion of armies, whether Assyrian or Babylonian, Joel is the interpreter of insects. Apparently there had been a plague of locusts that had devastated the crops in the fields. Joel sees this as a warning to the people to repent of their sins and "return to the Lord, your God" (2:13). Joel also writes of "a great and powerful people" (2:2) that descend upon the land; but it is hard to know if he is now referring to warring armies, like Isaiah and Jeremiah do, or if he is personifying the army of bugs whose teeth are just as fearsome as the swords of the soldier. Either way, this is a precursor to the coming day of the Lord, which "is great and very terrible; who can endure it?" (2:12). Therefore, repent and turn toward God, who does great things!
A promise is given in the midst of the devastation. God, who is able to send the locust, will send blessings upon his people. The warp and woof of life is that "the Lord is God" (the meaning of the name Joel). Just as real as the plague has been, so real are the promises of favor that God offers his people. "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied... and my people shall never again be put to shame." Of course, such a promise has an eschatological reality to it. The people can certainly hold onto it in faith and hope, but they will need to do so in the troubling times ahead. Whether this writing is dated pre- or post-exilic, there is still the shameful reality of "the abomination of desolation" (Antioches Epiphanes) and the destruction of Jerusalem (Titus) to come. God's promises always have a "yet to be" aspect to them, even when there are momentary signs of fulfillment "already." This is true even for the work of Jesus, the Messiah.
Still, because "I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no one else" (2:27), the people can "fear not... [but] be glad." This theme is resounded throughout the history of God's people, whether they are gathered at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13), before the city of Ai (Joshua 8:1), living in exile (Jeremiah 46:27), at an empty tomb on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:5), or standing before Caesar (Acts 27:24). No wonder the Psalmist in a timeless way expresses, "The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1).
1 Timothy 2:1-7
It really is quite remarkable that Paul would have the kind of thankful attitude expressed in these verses. He recalls "far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death" (2 Corinthians 11:23). This, in addition to being whipped and stoned! His fellow Jews, the Gentiles, and government officials were responsible for these indignities. Yet Paul urges prayer be made on their behalf -- with thanksgiving. Is Paul here speaking like a madman, rather than when he tabulated his credentials over against his Jewish Christian critics? How could Paul even suggest such a charitable response to those who under any other circumstance would be classified as his enemy?
He answers these questions himself. The attitude of thanksgiving and the behavior of prayer is motivated by the knowledge that God "desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2:4). Because Christ Jesus "gave himself a ransom for all" (2:6), Paul feels sent ("apostle" means "one who is sent") to the very ones who are rejecting him and persecuting him -- and through him, Christ. Therefore, Paul needs to and wants to pray over his charges -- even with thanksgiving -- for the Lord has given them to him so that he might verify his calling to preach and manifest his discipleship in their midst. Paul will relate positively to all, because God has related positively wonderfully to the world by sending Jesus to mediate between God and all humankind.
Paul recognizes that all authority comes from God, even the governmental authority (Romans 13:1) that is persecuting him. Jesus confirms this when he stood before Pilate and said that Pilate's power comes from the office that God himself instituted. Thus, it makes perfect sense to bring to God in prayer those empowered by God to order civil life.
Matthew 6:25-33
Paul Tillich used a method of correlation to explicate the gospels in conjunction with the vital issue of the day. He posited that the first-century issue was death; the sixteenth-century issue, guilt; and the twentieth-century issue, anxiety. The gospel message can be expressed within each context but in a way that shapes the gospel words. Jesus addressed anxiety as a vital issue also in his day. The antidote for anxiety is trust in God, who clothes the lilies of the fields.
The people surely had reasons for being anxious. The foreign legions of Rome occupied the land. Every season was a guess regarding the crops. In fact, later in the century there was a severe famine, such that the poor congregations of Macedonia and the church in Corinth had to help out the saints in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8-9). There was concern in the Jewish community about keeping racial and religious purity, namely intermarriage with neighboring groups and theological differences with Samaritan cousins and factions within Judaism itself. Of course, there was also the ever-present, life-and-death dilemma over how one can stand righteous before God. There were indeed many reasons for feeling anxious in Jesus' day, even apart from the issue of death.
Anxiety is a dissipating condition. It usually stretches one in several directions, with neither the ability to identify priorities nor the energy to accomplish a purpose in any one of those directions. Jesus cuts right to the heart of the matter and focuses attention on the one true goal of all of life: the kingdom of God. There is nothing more important in life than our relationship with God. When one recognizes that and becomes "alive to God" (Romans 6:11), then the rest of life falls into place. "All these things shall be given you as well" (6:33).
Elsewhere in the Bible there is a similar note. The Old Testament prophet Joel expresses a pastoral word to a floundering people when he says, "Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful" (Joel 2:13). The New Testament prophet John, in his book of Revelation, warns the church at Ephesus about having "abandoned the love you had at first" (Revelation 2:4). There will always be anxiety, with its companions confusion and fear, when one does not "strive first for the kingdom of God" (6:33).
Application
Every spring on the first Thursday in May, there is a National Day of Prayer. Earlier this month our nation held an election for president, along with other positions of government on local, state, and national levels. It is vital for the church to be about the business of prayer with thanksgiving for public officials who take on the burdens of government. Recognizing that none of us is perfect, how can we build up the good in our leaders and the actions they take? How can we help our people appreciate what we do have, rather than be so greedily focused on what we are lacking for a more affluent life? How can we bring civility back into our public discourse over issues that are important to discuss and resolve? The church can model a response to these questions through its practice of prayer with thanksgiving and its proclamation that Jesus is the one mediator who gave his life for all, who must now discover how to live life under the aegis of the kingdom of God.
Yet, even as we do this, we must be wary of a self-righteous attitude that can infect our perspective. America is prone to this disease, the witness of which is the dark side of "manifest destiny," which justified the conquest of Native Americans. Earlier in our history the yoke of slavery was endorsed as the means to build the wealth and strength of our country, especially in the agricultural South. Today, we promote capitalism and our free market with a religious fervor to establish an economic empire with global ramifications -- like foreign policies and wars to protect our "national interests," while at the same time imposing our will upon another society. Even the rape of the land due to timber, mining, and agricultural interests is supported by the conviction that everything is here to serve our needs the way we perceive them, and we will determine what to do with it all. Self-righteousness basically puts the self at the center with judicial powers over all matters. This is the essential sin of which we need to repent. Perhaps we, like Joel, should see in the countervailing movements (natural, political, or cultural) against our goals not some evil force that needs to be overcome, but a sign from God that "your ways are not my ways, says the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8). We are dealing with one God after all, not two. Judgment and mercy come from the same hand (Deuteronomy 32:39). Wisdom comes in learning to discern just how God is acting in and upon our lives at any given time and then to respond appropriately. For this wisdom too prayer needs to be offered with thanksgiving, "for all his works are right" (Daniel 4:37).
One final note on the temptation to self-righteousness: the fall is much easier when we are not grounded in God. The American Indian was suspicious of the white man when it was seen that he always wore shoes. There was something necessary for a person to be in physical contact with the earth, according to an American Indian perspective. The soul is distanced from its source by the sole of the shoe. Today, we are even more distanced from the rhythms of God's presence in our lives, as we toy in the artificial worlds of the computer and the stock market -- worlds of our creation. In these realms it is so easy to lose the spirit of thanksgiving, for to whom do we turn but ourselves, the creators? And in whom do we find refuge when our world crashes or when the bottom falls out -- anxious moments, for sure? Not ourselves, for we are too busy putting our foot through the monitor or jumping out the window.
Joel 2:21-27
It is hard to imagine farmers finding much to rejoice in when insects invade the fields, whether that be grasshoppers in the wheat or corn borers in the maize. But that is exactly what the prophet Joel urges the people to do. While other prophets interpret the invasion of armies, whether Assyrian or Babylonian, Joel is the interpreter of insects. Apparently there had been a plague of locusts that had devastated the crops in the fields. Joel sees this as a warning to the people to repent of their sins and "return to the Lord, your God" (2:13). Joel also writes of "a great and powerful people" (2:2) that descend upon the land; but it is hard to know if he is now referring to warring armies, like Isaiah and Jeremiah do, or if he is personifying the army of bugs whose teeth are just as fearsome as the swords of the soldier. Either way, this is a precursor to the coming day of the Lord, which "is great and very terrible; who can endure it?" (2:12). Therefore, repent and turn toward God, who does great things!
A promise is given in the midst of the devastation. God, who is able to send the locust, will send blessings upon his people. The warp and woof of life is that "the Lord is God" (the meaning of the name Joel). Just as real as the plague has been, so real are the promises of favor that God offers his people. "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied... and my people shall never again be put to shame." Of course, such a promise has an eschatological reality to it. The people can certainly hold onto it in faith and hope, but they will need to do so in the troubling times ahead. Whether this writing is dated pre- or post-exilic, there is still the shameful reality of "the abomination of desolation" (Antioches Epiphanes) and the destruction of Jerusalem (Titus) to come. God's promises always have a "yet to be" aspect to them, even when there are momentary signs of fulfillment "already." This is true even for the work of Jesus, the Messiah.
Still, because "I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no one else" (2:27), the people can "fear not... [but] be glad." This theme is resounded throughout the history of God's people, whether they are gathered at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13), before the city of Ai (Joshua 8:1), living in exile (Jeremiah 46:27), at an empty tomb on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:5), or standing before Caesar (Acts 27:24). No wonder the Psalmist in a timeless way expresses, "The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1).
1 Timothy 2:1-7
It really is quite remarkable that Paul would have the kind of thankful attitude expressed in these verses. He recalls "far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death" (2 Corinthians 11:23). This, in addition to being whipped and stoned! His fellow Jews, the Gentiles, and government officials were responsible for these indignities. Yet Paul urges prayer be made on their behalf -- with thanksgiving. Is Paul here speaking like a madman, rather than when he tabulated his credentials over against his Jewish Christian critics? How could Paul even suggest such a charitable response to those who under any other circumstance would be classified as his enemy?
He answers these questions himself. The attitude of thanksgiving and the behavior of prayer is motivated by the knowledge that God "desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2:4). Because Christ Jesus "gave himself a ransom for all" (2:6), Paul feels sent ("apostle" means "one who is sent") to the very ones who are rejecting him and persecuting him -- and through him, Christ. Therefore, Paul needs to and wants to pray over his charges -- even with thanksgiving -- for the Lord has given them to him so that he might verify his calling to preach and manifest his discipleship in their midst. Paul will relate positively to all, because God has related positively wonderfully to the world by sending Jesus to mediate between God and all humankind.
Paul recognizes that all authority comes from God, even the governmental authority (Romans 13:1) that is persecuting him. Jesus confirms this when he stood before Pilate and said that Pilate's power comes from the office that God himself instituted. Thus, it makes perfect sense to bring to God in prayer those empowered by God to order civil life.
Matthew 6:25-33
Paul Tillich used a method of correlation to explicate the gospels in conjunction with the vital issue of the day. He posited that the first-century issue was death; the sixteenth-century issue, guilt; and the twentieth-century issue, anxiety. The gospel message can be expressed within each context but in a way that shapes the gospel words. Jesus addressed anxiety as a vital issue also in his day. The antidote for anxiety is trust in God, who clothes the lilies of the fields.
The people surely had reasons for being anxious. The foreign legions of Rome occupied the land. Every season was a guess regarding the crops. In fact, later in the century there was a severe famine, such that the poor congregations of Macedonia and the church in Corinth had to help out the saints in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8-9). There was concern in the Jewish community about keeping racial and religious purity, namely intermarriage with neighboring groups and theological differences with Samaritan cousins and factions within Judaism itself. Of course, there was also the ever-present, life-and-death dilemma over how one can stand righteous before God. There were indeed many reasons for feeling anxious in Jesus' day, even apart from the issue of death.
Anxiety is a dissipating condition. It usually stretches one in several directions, with neither the ability to identify priorities nor the energy to accomplish a purpose in any one of those directions. Jesus cuts right to the heart of the matter and focuses attention on the one true goal of all of life: the kingdom of God. There is nothing more important in life than our relationship with God. When one recognizes that and becomes "alive to God" (Romans 6:11), then the rest of life falls into place. "All these things shall be given you as well" (6:33).
Elsewhere in the Bible there is a similar note. The Old Testament prophet Joel expresses a pastoral word to a floundering people when he says, "Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful" (Joel 2:13). The New Testament prophet John, in his book of Revelation, warns the church at Ephesus about having "abandoned the love you had at first" (Revelation 2:4). There will always be anxiety, with its companions confusion and fear, when one does not "strive first for the kingdom of God" (6:33).
Application
Every spring on the first Thursday in May, there is a National Day of Prayer. Earlier this month our nation held an election for president, along with other positions of government on local, state, and national levels. It is vital for the church to be about the business of prayer with thanksgiving for public officials who take on the burdens of government. Recognizing that none of us is perfect, how can we build up the good in our leaders and the actions they take? How can we help our people appreciate what we do have, rather than be so greedily focused on what we are lacking for a more affluent life? How can we bring civility back into our public discourse over issues that are important to discuss and resolve? The church can model a response to these questions through its practice of prayer with thanksgiving and its proclamation that Jesus is the one mediator who gave his life for all, who must now discover how to live life under the aegis of the kingdom of God.
Yet, even as we do this, we must be wary of a self-righteous attitude that can infect our perspective. America is prone to this disease, the witness of which is the dark side of "manifest destiny," which justified the conquest of Native Americans. Earlier in our history the yoke of slavery was endorsed as the means to build the wealth and strength of our country, especially in the agricultural South. Today, we promote capitalism and our free market with a religious fervor to establish an economic empire with global ramifications -- like foreign policies and wars to protect our "national interests," while at the same time imposing our will upon another society. Even the rape of the land due to timber, mining, and agricultural interests is supported by the conviction that everything is here to serve our needs the way we perceive them, and we will determine what to do with it all. Self-righteousness basically puts the self at the center with judicial powers over all matters. This is the essential sin of which we need to repent. Perhaps we, like Joel, should see in the countervailing movements (natural, political, or cultural) against our goals not some evil force that needs to be overcome, but a sign from God that "your ways are not my ways, says the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8). We are dealing with one God after all, not two. Judgment and mercy come from the same hand (Deuteronomy 32:39). Wisdom comes in learning to discern just how God is acting in and upon our lives at any given time and then to respond appropriately. For this wisdom too prayer needs to be offered with thanksgiving, "for all his works are right" (Daniel 4:37).
One final note on the temptation to self-righteousness: the fall is much easier when we are not grounded in God. The American Indian was suspicious of the white man when it was seen that he always wore shoes. There was something necessary for a person to be in physical contact with the earth, according to an American Indian perspective. The soul is distanced from its source by the sole of the shoe. Today, we are even more distanced from the rhythms of God's presence in our lives, as we toy in the artificial worlds of the computer and the stock market -- worlds of our creation. In these realms it is so easy to lose the spirit of thanksgiving, for to whom do we turn but ourselves, the creators? And in whom do we find refuge when our world crashes or when the bottom falls out -- anxious moments, for sure? Not ourselves, for we are too busy putting our foot through the monitor or jumping out the window.
