October 5, 2023 — What IF…?

What if Jael Couldn’t Use a Hammer?

“When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, Sisera called out all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the troops who were with him, from Harosheth-ha-goiim to the Wadi Kishon. Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day on which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. The Lord is indeed going out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand warriors following him. And the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and all his army into a panic before Barak; Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot, while Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-ha-goiim. All the army of Sisera fell by the sword; no one was left. Now Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. Jael came out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. He said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” But Jael wife of Heber took a tent-peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, until it went down into the ground—he was lying fast asleep from weariness—and he died. Then, as Barak came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went into her tent; and there was Sisera lying dead, with the tent-peg in his temple.” Judges 4:12-22

There are a couple of books I have on my shelf in my office that deal with Great Women of the Bible. Jael should be in this book – in fact she may be. Jael is not a “shrinking violet”, as the saying goes. She may have committed murder, but she is blessed by the Prophetess Deborah for her actions. At the time of Jael, the Israelites were once again doing “..what was evil in the sight of the Lord”. In other words, the people were once again being unfaithful to the Lord. They were worshipping other gods and marrying and being given into marriage with people of other faiths. So the Lord was punishing them by allowing King Jabin of Canaan to lord over them. The commander of King Jabin’s army was a man by the name of Sisera. This man had dealt cruelly with the Israelites for twenty years – and Deborah was their prophetess at the time.

When Deborah summons Barak to assemble an army to destroy King Jabin’s army, he hesitates – he will not go unless Deborah goes with him. And so, when Deborah arose with Barak to go out against the armed force of Jabin, G-d intervenes, and unleashes the powers of nature — Jabin’s army is put into disarray. Sisera, captain of the host, and Israel’s cruel oppressor escapes and falls into the hands of a woman – Jael. In this moment, what if Jael cannot or wouldn’t wield her hammer?

When Deborah says, “Blessed above women shall be Jael,” perhaps she is only praising her faith and not her act of murder. Any woman killing the country’s enemy must be the friend of Israel, and so the method of Sisera’s death mattered little to Deborah who doubtless thought that all was fair in time of war. When Sisera comes into the tent of Jael, he assumes that the rules of hospitality will win out over the rules of war. What Jael does is truly horrific. But we must assume that she becomes part of G-d’s plans for the salvation of G-d’s people. Jael had no conception that she was the one person at the opportune moment to render “justice on an enemy of God.”

Is it G-d who gives her the strength to wield the hammer in such a deathly manner, or is it her own personal judgment against an enemy? That is a question for us to argue and debate…..

Pastor Dave

October 3, 2023 — What IF…?

What if Thomas Had No Doubts?

“But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” John 20:24-29

I have preached and preached on the idea of Thomas’ questioning of the events in the Upper Room on the day of the resurrection of Jesus. For whatever reason, Thomas was not with the other disciples. He obviously had another place to be – or he was so afraid that he just could not join the other disciples when they gathered that evening. But his absence puts the church on the path that I would say today has had a significant impact on the church. Our churches today are split on many issues: Baptism, Holy Communion, Biblical interpretation, revelation, and practice of worship to name just a few. One of the more difficult splits, even within my own congregation, is the split between what I call the “Black and White” believers, and the “Grey” believers. The “Black and White” believers are the ones who believe everything they read in the bible because, well, it is in the bible. They do not want statistics and interpretations from archeology, carbon dating, and the like – the bible is the truth directly recorded from the hand of G-d – and there is no room for doubt. The “Black and White” believers stand with the ten disciples in the Upper Room who saw Jesus and celebrated. The “Grey” believers are the ones who read the bible, see the discrepancies that exist, listen to other voices and interpretations, give some space for the advancement of understanding of and in the world around us, and are seeking for more information, because, well they have some doubts. The “Grey” believers stand with Thomas in the Upper Room and say “I want to put my fingers in the nail marks”. What if Thomas didn’t doubt the other ten – believed them when they said they had seen the “Risen Lord”?

Well, if Thomas did not doubt their witness, he may not have been there the next Sunday as well. He may have simply believed their description and moved on with his life. If that were the case, we would not have that wonderful exchange between Thomas and Jesus – where Jesus says “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe”. For you see, Jesus blesses both kinds of believers. He blesses the faith of Thomas who needed more proof, and he blesses those who do not need more information. But the questions of Thomas give the “Grey” believers hope and encouragement that questioning, seeking and doubting are OK. Actually, it has been my experience that having questions and doubts leads people to a deeper faith.

I envy those who simply believe because it is in the book. Jesus blesses those who have not seen, or needed proof, and believe. But my faith journey has been more substantial because my mind does not work that way – like Thomas, I need more. And I feel blessed by the journey and the process.

Pastor Dave

October 4, 2023 — What IF…?

What if Zacchaeus Was Afraid of Heights?

“He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” Luke 19:1-10

“Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a Sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.”

I hope you recognize the children’s Sunday school song. Many of our children have learned the same song. Songs like these are educational and influential because it allows our children to learn scripture without them needing to memorize lines of text. But the song leaves out some really important details – details like Zacchaeus was a chief of the tax collectors, and as such was a wealthy man. And Zacchaeus must have been a spiritual man because he went to great lengths just to “see” Jesus. And, being a short man, Zacchaeus comes to the attention of Jesus – who sees past his disability (we can only assume that his stature is mentioned in the bible because it was debilitating to him) and sees his faith. But, besides the children’s song and the things we read between the lines, what if Zacchaeus was not only short in stature, but Acrophobic as well? In other words, what if Zacchaeus was afraid of heights?

So much about this encounter with Jesus depends on Zacchaeus scurrying up a Sycamore tree so he can see Jesus. I often wonder if people who are “short of stature” are also afraid of heights – that their short stature makes them more secure being closer to the ground. I have no idea if this is true, it is just one of the many thoughts running through my mind as I think of Zacchaeus. If he was Acrophobic, he would have had to find another way to see Jesus, and possibly may have never had the chance. But it wasn’t just seeing Jesus that changed his life, it was the fact that Jesus did not just see a short man in a tree, he saw a man of strong faith. And when he saw him, he said “Today I am coming to your house, Zacchaeus.”

Imagine Jesus coming down the road and saying to you, “Today, I am coming to your house”. It would be like the Pope riding by in his Pope Mobile and stopping in front of your house and saying to you “Can I come in and sit and talk?” It is no wonder that Zacchaeus is profoundly changed by his encounter. But Jesus can have that effect on you and me as well – if we welcome him into our lives through scripture, through involvement in a church community, and through prayer.

Pastor Dave