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Shema Yisrael

5/31/2017

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
-Deuteronomy 6:4-9

This passage is known in Hebrew as the Shema, sometimes referred to as Shema Yisrael (“Hear, O Israel”). It was and is an integral part of Jewish daily prayer services and religious holidays, often combined with the Vehayah (Deuteronomy 11:13-21) and the Vaiyomer (Numbers 15:37-41). Clearly, these words were spoken specifically to Israel—to the Jews—and not to the Church. But I suggest Christians would do well to make this passage a central part of our lives as well seeing as how its main thrust—a proclamation of faith in and love for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—is one that is applicable to us today. In a day and age where people conflate the God of the Bible with Allah, the Great Spirit, or any number of other false gods, it is vital that we understand and recognize who God is and Who alone is God. In fact, as Christians we hold a different belief as to the nature of God than does an Orthodox Jew who daily recites this same passage. Orthodox Jews do not recognize Jesus as their Messiah. Christ repeatedly claimed unity with God,[1] meaning the phrase “the Lord is one,” includes Him. As Paul wrote, “for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”[2] That was and is blasphemy to Orthodox Jews, as evidenced by their attempts to kill Jesus and rejection of Him to this day. So even though Christians have much in common—in terms of origins of faith, up to and including this passage—with Orthodox Jews, we disagree as to the nature of God because they missed the One they were—and sadly still are—waiting for.

As key as our understanding of God is, it was the second part of the Shema that Jesus quoted when asked which was the greatest commandment: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”[3] However, it is of note that Mark’s Gospel records Jesus also quoting the beginning of the Shema: “‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.’” [4] Whether or not this passage exists in the Old Testament and whether or not it was/is significant in Jewish religious practice, it is of vital significance because Jesus issued it as a directive, and furthermore, He cited this as the greatest commandment, upon which all the others were based. We would be remiss if we did not pause for a moment to consider what is meant by loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength. It is not a call to halfhearted commitment nor to mere lip service. Rather, God is to be the focal point of all we do. And that hasn’t changed since these words were initially given to Moses. Clearly, then, we would be wise to follow the commands in the Shema.

So naturally, that raises the question of how? Judaism, as too often was the case, took God’s commands and followed them incredibly literally—if not actually. The Pharisees, for example, “ma[d]e their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long.”[5] A phylactery was a small box containing Scripture verses and that was worn around the forehead. They literally bound God’s commands to their foreheads, but as our Lord’s rebukes repeatedly pointed out, they failed to obey those commands. Even the incorporation of the Shema into twice daily rituals can become nothing more than a mumbled recitation done to technically fulfill a command. Is that what God wants, a mere functional observance or procedural obedience? If I recite a few words on schedule or slap a Bible verse above my front door, am I good?

No, of course not. Instead, I think the model for practicing the Shema is given to us throughout the New Testament. Paul wrote to “set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”[6] He instructed us to “be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.”[7] We’re told to “pray continually.”[8] The theme here, and throughout the Bible, is that our Christian faith is not supposed to be a one-hour, once-a-week obligation. Faith isn’t something we do; it is supposed to be who we are. We’re to “clothe [y]ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.”[9] Fathers are taught to “bring [children] up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”[10] And we’re all to use Scripture “for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,”[11] as Paul wrote to the church in Colossae: “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom . . .”[12] The essence of the Shema is that our faith is supposed to be a part of everything we do.

We need to be intimately familiar with God’s commands—we need to know them but we also need to practice them. We should meditate on them—not with an emptying of the mind as has become the connotation of meditation, but by fixing our thoughts on God and His Word. We should think deeply, ponder and reflect, let Scripture infuse our minds. We cannot be passive in raising our children or teaching them to follow God. Their souls are at stake! We must daily guide and direct them in the ways of the Lord. And not just at “Bible time” or during “family devotions” but throughout the day, when hanging out together, when walking along the road through God’s creation, or when resting in Him as we lay down to rest at night. We should get past football scores and weather predictions and “how’s work?” conversations with our Christian brothers and sisters and contemplate the Word of God with each other, formally and informally. It is not that we are to physically affix God’s commands to our bodies and our homes, but that they should be as good as bound there because they are with us wherever we go.

I’ll reiterate, as Christians, we would do well to make the Shema a vital part of our lives. Recognize and remember who our God is, make Him the center of our lives, and make His Word essential to our everyday life—particularly when it comes to leading the next generation of disciples to Jesus.

[1] John 5:17-18, 8:12-58, 10:30, 14:6-11, 17:20-22
[2] I Corinthians 8:6; see also Ephesians 4:4-6
[3] Matthew 22:37-40
[4] Mark 12:29
[5] Matthew 23:5
[6] Colossians 3:1
[7] Ephesians 5:18-19
[8] I Thessalonians 5:17
[9] Romans 13:14
[10] Ephesians 6:4
[11] II Timothy 3:16
[12] Colossians 3:16

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The Big D

5/20/2017

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The son of a respected psychiatrist once famously said the following: “There’s no way out of it. You’re going to die. I’m going to die. It’s going to happen. And what difference does it make if it’s tomorrow or in eighty years?”[1] Death is a reality we all face sooner or later. As Switchfoot sings, “This skin and bones is a rental / And no one makes it out alive.”[2] We all know death is looming—whether we bravely face it head on, try to ignore it and direct our focus elsewhere, or sublimate our fear toward odd fascinations with the ghoulish and ghastly. (Why else would we celebrate ghosts and goblins and skeletons and the like each October 31?) “You’re going to die. I’m going to die. It’s going to happen.”

For my family, that reality has hit particularly close to home lately. We have stared down that ugly monster, with all the pain, stress, chaos, and confusion it entails. And it’s gotten me thinking about a Bible verse I’m sure we’re all familiar with, if for no other reason than its brevity. In John 11:35 we read simply, “Jesus wept.” The immediate context explains Christ’s display of emotions—He was at the graveside of Lazarus, described as “the one you love.”[3] But the extended context perhaps confuses us a little. Just a few verses later, Jesus commanded those present to “take away the stone”[4] and called, “Lazarus, come out!”[5] And he did just that, the grave clothes were removed, and Lazarus went back—presumably—to life as normal. If we back up to the beginning of the chapter, we see Jesus hearing of Lazarus’s sickness and responding, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s son may be glorified through it.”[6] Jesus didn’t say the sickness would not result in death, but that it would not end in death. Then He waited two days before departing, at which time He told the disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”[7] The disciples thought Jesus was speaking of regular sleep, but John informs us “Jesus had been speaking of his death.”[8] Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead and be glorified through it. So why, when he arrived at the tomb, did He weep?

It could be that Jesus, being fully human, was simply stirred by seeing others weeping. However, I once heard another explanation—and I can’t recall from where, so I can’t give proper credit—that I think makes more sense. Jesus didn’t shed tears at His own personal loss, because He knew it wasn’t a net loss—He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. And while He may have shed tears of sympathy at seeing the grief of His friends, I suggest to you His grief went deeper. I think He wept because of death in general. I think He wept because He knew the scene before Him would play out millions upon millions of times throughout history—just as has recently for my family—and this was not the plan. Death was never supposed to be a part of creation. Paul tells us that “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”[9] God’s intent was for man to exist in perfect, eternal fellowship with Him. But the first man and woman rebelled—as we all do—and one of the results of that breaking of fellowship—of sin—is death.[10]

Jesus knew that—it was, after all, the reason He came to earth. He knew the agony of parents forced to bury a child. He knew the empty heartache of a spouse losing a lifelong partner. He knew vacancy left behind by the death of a parent. He knew the pain and suffering that accompany death. And in that moment, standing outside the tomb, I think He wept for all of humanity, for its numbing grief and paralyzing pain, for the consequences of sin and of living in a fallen world. The author of Hebrews tells us, “he too shared in their humanity” and “he had to be made like them, fully human in every way.”[11] Having entered His creation, I believe He joined us in “[groaning] inwardly as we wait eagerly for . . . the redemption of our bodies.”[12]

But weeping is not the end of the story. As mentioned, Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb. Lazarus is recorded in the next chapter eating with Jesus and visiting with people as if he had never died. And Jesus’ choice of language is telling. Speaking to His disciples, He didn’t say that Lazarus was dead, but used the metaphor, “Lazarus has fallen asleep.” Paul also used this sleeping imagery to refer to death:

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do 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 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 one another with these words.[13]

Indeed, before visiting the grave, Jesus spoke to Martha. He told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”[14] The death described in the Bible as “the wages of sin” is not just a physical death, although as seen above, that is clearly part of it. Rather, it is an eternal separation from God.[15] Given the gravity of death, it is all the more reason why Jesus would be “deeply moved in spirit and troubled.”[16] It is also why Jesus “[gave] himself as a ransom for many,”[17] that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”[18]

Death is hideous. I hate it. I hate every aspect of it. I hate it even more given the fact that eternity is at stake. I believe Jesus hated it too. And yet, as Lazarus was a type of “sleeping” and “waking,” we have hope beyond this life. For those who have faith in Christ, death is still heinous, horrible, and repulsive. It is painful, stressful, chaotic—a nightmare. But it is only a veil. I again quote the Apostle Paul:

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[19]

It was also Paul who wrote “to live is Christ and to die is gain.”[20] What’s more, he quoted these words from Hosea: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”[21] Paul was able to taunt death. He looked the black ghoul in the face with confidence. Why? “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”[22]

Jesus wept over the pain of death. But He also walked to the cross and stomped on death’s repugnant face. He took the horror and ugliness of that crude implement of death and “made a public spectacle”[23] of it. Then, he once and for all defeated death by rising from the grave, as pointed to in the “type” of Lazarus, which is what enabled Him to tell Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

You’re going to die.
I’m going to die.
It’s going to happen.

But the one who believes in Jesus will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Him will never die.

Do you believe this?

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SERiABqsmyA
[2] Switchfoot. “Where I Belong.” Vice Verses, Atlantic Records, 2011.
[3] John 11:3
[4] John 11:39
[5] John 11:43
[6] John 11:4
[7] John 11:11
[8] John 11:12
[9] Romans 5:12; see also Genesis 3:14-19
[10] See Romans 3:23, 6:23
[11] Hebrews 2:14, 17
[12] Romans 8:23
[13] I Thessalonians 4:13-18
[14] John 11:25-26
[15] See Revelation 20:12-15; II Thessalonians 1:8-9; II Peter 2:9
[16] John 11:33
[17] Matthew 20:28
[18] John 3:16
[19] I Corinthians 15:51-54
[20] Philippians 1:21, emphasis added
[21] I Corinthians 15:55, quoting Hosea 13:14
[22] I Corinthians 15:57
[23] See Colossians 2:13-15

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Considering Joy

5/6/2017

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When I first started this blog, my intent was to write about passages of Scripture that I especially liked (using various definitions of “like”). Today, however, I am going to examine a passage I particularly dislike—and thus a passage that is probably most pertinent to my life. James writes in his epistle, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”[1] What? Come again? Consider trials to be joy? This seems absurd, and indeed it is if not for A) the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, B) a proper definition of joy, and C) the rest of the passage. We’ll examine joy in detail in a moment, but first let’s see what else James tells us. We are to “consider it pure joy” when we face trials, “because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”[2] There is, then, an end game in mind, a thought we’ll examine more as we move on.

Back to the definition of joy. The world uses the words joy and happiness interchangeably. I often thought that happiness was based on circumstance whereas joy was not. But after studying the various passages of Scripture that talk about joy, I think there’s a little more nuance to it. Before we go deeper, let’s wrap our minds around what this three-letter word truly means. What is joy? Webster defines it thusly:

JOY, noun
1. The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good; that excitement of pleasurable feelings which is caused by success, good fortune, the gratification of desire or some good possessed, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exultation; exhilaration of spirits.
JOY is a delight of the mind, from the consideration of the present or assured approaching possession of a good.[3]

I think that last statement hits the nail squarely on the head. “Joy is a delight of mind, from the consideration of the present or assured approaching possession of a good.” In other words, joy is based on circumstances, just not necessarily present circumstances. Let’s flesh that out a little more by digging into Scripture.

“Joy” or some derivative of it is used 242 times in the NIV. Many times, joy is a result of something good happening—as a result of God’s blessing.[4] God told the Israelites to “celebrate the festival to the Lord your God” and that “[He] will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.”[5] The Book of Esther records the Jews avenging themselves against their enemies, killing seventy-five thousand of them, and “on the fourteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.”[6] Even the women who discovered the empty tomb and the disciples were filled with joy after the resurrection and the ascension.[7] In all these instances, joy and happiness are synonymous.

However, many other times in Scripture we see joy occurring or being commanded apart from happy circumstances. Consider the words of Habakkuk: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”[8] Or consider the Thessalonians, who “welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.”[9] How about the recipients of Hebrews, who “suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of [their] property, because [they] knew that [they themselves] had better and lasting possessions.”[10] We’re starting to get a glimpse of where this joy comes from and in what—or I should say Whom—it is rooted. But our best example is Jesus. Also in Hebrews, we read “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”[11] Think about that for a moment. Think about the horrors of the cross, about the loneliness of being abandoned by God, about the overwhelming weight of bearing the sin of the world. What must be the joy that could counterbalance that burden and make it worthwhile? What “joy set before him” could offset such agony? On a similar vein, Paul asked (and answered), “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.”[12]

The biblical picture of joy, then, is one that is motivated by circumstances. But, as in Webster’s definition, those circumstances may not be current. Instead, we have “delight of mind” by faith. Paul told the Romans to be “joyful in hope.”[13] Biblical hope is not wishful thinking, as in “I hope things all turn out all right in the end.” If it were, we would have no basis for being joyful. That would be like telling a sports fan to be happy, your team might win. No, I’ll be happy if and when they win. But what if the outcome was guaranteed, if victory was assured before the game was completed? That is biblical hope, the “anchor for the soul” referenced in Hebrews 6:19.

Peter wrote, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”[14] Also, “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”[15] Isaiah foresaw this culmination: “They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”[16] Indeed, so did the angel who appeared to the shepherds and said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”[17]

There is a lot more that could be said about joy, and I’ve included links[18] to some more verses that address the subject. But let me conclude by bringing us back to James 1. Note that the author does not say, “Have joy whenever you face trials of many kinds.” He says “Consider it pure joy.” This is an action word. The Greek is hégeomai, which carries the connotation of making something (joy) the foremost or primary thought. As we observed, sometimes joy will spring from present circumstances, and it comes naturally. But when the joy-inducing circumstances—our eternal deliverance and salvation—are far off, being joyful requires actively contemplating and weighing the eternal and the temporal—as did Jesus when it came to the cross. Doing so enables us to “Rejoice in the Lord always”[19] and even “when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil,” because “great is your reward in heaven.”[20] Focusing on the eternal, and the joy it gives us, enables us to endure even the worst circumstances because we recognize they are temporal—and temporary—and “are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”[21]

Considering it pure joy is admittedly far easier said than done, and I write this as one who struggles to be joyful in the present reality for a future promises. Discipline is involved in considering it pure joy. As Paul prayed for the Romans, so now I close by praying for you and me, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”[22]

[1] James 1:2
[2] James 1:3-4
[3] American Dictionary of the English Language, “joy,” accessed April 25, 2017, http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/joy
[4] See I Kings 8:65-66; II Chronicles 30:26; Psalm 92:4, 126:3;
[5] Deuteronomy 16:15, emphasis added
[6] Esther 9:17, emphasis added
[7] See Matthew 28:8; Luke 24:52
[8] Habakkuk 3:17-18
[9] I Thessalonians 1:6
[10] Hebrews 10:34
[11] Hebrews 12:2
[12] I Thessalonians 2:19-20
[13] Romans 12:12
[14] I Peter 1:8-9, emphasis added
[15] I Peter 1:13
[16] Isaiah 35:10
[17] Luke 2:10-11
[18] See also Psalm 5:11, 19:8; Isaiah 26:19; Jeremiah 15:16; John 15:10-11, 16:20-24; Philemon 1:7; Colossians 1:12; and Jude 24-25
[19] Philippians 4:4
[20] Luke 6:22-23
[21] II Corinthians 4:17
[22] Romans 15:13, emphasis added

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Shema Yisrael

The Big D

Considering Joy

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