A Touch of Humor - Side of a Barn

What is a teachable moment? How do we recognize one?

Old Erich Proverb - Came Down

When we could not get to God, He came down to us.

A Voice from the Past - Gregory the Great

(Not finding an appropriate quote from Gregory VII, I offer a quote from an earlier Gregory.)

Your Blessedness has also been careful to declare that you do not now make use of proud titles, which have sprung from a root of vanity, in writing to certain persons, and you address me saying, As you have commanded.  This word, command, I beg you to remove from my hearing, since I know who I am, and who you are. For in position you are my brethren, in character my fathers. I did not, then, command, but was desirous of indicating what seemed to be profitable.

Gregory the Great, 540-604 AD, Epistles, Book VIII, Epistle XXX, To Eulogius, Bishop of Alexandria, (translated by Rev. James Barmby, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, T & T Clark and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1997, Second Series, Vol. XII, pp. 240, 241).

How do we avoid taking upon ourselves authority that does not really belong to us? What subtle temptations are there to do so?

Gregory VII - Changing One Tyrant for Another

The Medieval church was in bad shape in the middle of  the Middle Ages. The spiritual and moral situation had seriously degenerated. This came from the control of the church organization by the political rulers. The church organization had become rich and politically powerful. The political leaders saw it as in their vested interest to control such a powerful, influential part of the society. They considered it their right to choose who should fill those positions. Not uncommonly, they would fill the lucrative positions with relatives and cronies. These individuals were often not theologically educated and lacked any spiritual or moral qualifications. There was a point when women from the local political families controlled the office of pope and put their lovers and illegitimate children in the office. These offices were also used to supply income for the political authorities, requiring payment to obtain the office, or resulting in leaving the office vacant and keeping the income for themselves. The leaders would often farm the actual duties out to poor priests on meager wages who were also spiritually and educationally  bankrupt. Any kind of spiritual instruction of the people tended to go by the wayside.

At this time there began a revival of interest in serious Christianity, starting in the monasteries and spreading to the rest of the church. One chief leaders of this movement was a man named Hildebrand, later known as Pope Gregory VII. The instrument he used was the papacy, first being the power behind the throne and then as pope himself. His goals were on the whole good, a leadership that was spiritually and morally concerned and well educated. He did emphasize the idea of clerical celibacy, which was the moral crusade of the day. But it ended up in a power struggle between the pope and the civil authorities. For Gregory realized that as long as the civil authorities had the power to appoint church leadership, any reforms were ineffectual. To carry out this fight, he and his successors greatly magnified the power of the papacy. Gregory and his successors were forced to run from kings, humbled kings, sought to depose kings, and compromised with kings. And in the end they saddled the church with a spiritual tyranny. And the corruption of this tyranny made the tyranny they started out to overthrow pale by comparison. They came up with ways of extorting money from people that made the modern televangelists look like pikers. And they ended up with a leadership as morally, spiritually, and educationally bankrupt as the one they sought to replace. Also, they came up with new structures like the Inquisition to keep people in line. The moral of this is that you cannot effect a spiritual and moral reform simply by force. And vesting people with too much power to fight the enemy can end up making them worse than the enemy. We need to work by instruction and moral persuasion if we really hope to change people's hearts and minds.

Summing Up Fear

Fear can be a good thing. If you are standing on the street and a Mac truck comes careening toward you out of control, the fear that gives you the added motivation to jump out of the way is entirely  reasonable. There is a fear of God which we are told is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7; Job 28:28; Ecclesiastes 12:13). Now I do believe there is here an idea of awe and astonishment at God and His greatness. Even John, who was the disciple the Lord loved (John 13:23), was overwhelmed by Jesus in glory (Revelation 1:17). But I also think there is some value in Martin Luther’s explanation that we start out in fear of God because we realize we are sinners, who fall far short of His holiness (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9). However, then as we come to understand God’s love for us (Romans 5:6-8; John 3:16-18; 1 John 4:9-10) and put our faith in Christ for salvation (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9), we can come to stand in confidence before Him (1 John 4:4:17,18; Hebrews 4:16; Philippians 1:6). And this is the antidote to our other unnecessary fears.

God will provide for our physical needs (Matthew 6:25-24; Philippians 4:19; 1 Timothy 6:6-8).  He promises to hear and answer our prayers (Philippians 4:6,7; 1 John 5:14,15; 1 Peter 5:7). Now this does not mean we will not have troubles in this world; in fact, we are told we will (John 16:33; Acts 14:22; 2 Corinthians 12:10). But God is in control of this world and is working even the bad things out to serve His purpose (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20; Ephesians 1:11). So we need to realize that even when things seem to be falling apart (Psalm 46:1-3; 18:4-15; 37:1,2), we can trust God (Psalm 46:10; Proverbs 3:5,6; Psalm  37:3-6).

God also provides for our spiritual needs (2 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 1:13; Colossians 2:10). He is at work in us to transform us (2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 1:29). Also, He has forgiven us if we have put our faith in Christ (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 2:13,14; 1 Peter 2:24,25), and He promises to cleanse and restore us if we confess our current sins (1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13; Psalm 51:1-4). Therefore, we can put our sins behind us and go on with Him (Philippians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Romans 8:33,34).

He also provides for our ultimate needs, that we may be with Him forever (John 14:1-3; Revelation 21:3-5; Philippians 3;20,21). And we can have assurance that He will bring us through (1 John 5:11-13; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:38,39). This puts in perspective the trials of this present life (2 Corinthians 4:17,18; Romans 8:18; 5:1-5). But God has promised we will ultimately be victorious (Romans 8:35-37; 2 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57).  Therefore, if we understand who God is and what He has done for us, and particularly that He loves us, it puts the fears we face in proper perspective.

Bible Reading

We need to read our Bibles. The Bible is God’s message to us, and we need to know what it says to know about Him and how to follow Him (2 Timothy 3:16,17; John 17:17; Colossians 3:16). There is no better way to become familiar with its content than reading it (or listening to it being read if this is more practical). And Scripture is the standard by which everything which claims to speak for God must be measured (Galatians 1:8,9; Isaiah 8:20; Jude 3). So why is it we do not read  it? Sometimes we see it as an explanation  of things we need  to do rather than a record of God’s great love for us (John 3:16-18; Romans 5:6-8; 1 John 4:9,10). But the Bible does say that if we know about God’s love, we will love and serve Him in return (Romans 12:1,2; 1 John 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15). So maybe we are afraid that if we really know and love God, it will upset our nice, safe life. This may not be a bad thing (Galatians 2:20; Matthew 16:25; Romans 6:12-14).

Now this can result in turning Scripture reading into one more duty we have to perform. There is a certain amount of discipline involved in regularly reading God’s Word. But if we regard it as nothing but a duty, we are setting  ourselves up for failure. Now one of the biggest objections to regular Bible reading is that we have no time for it. There is no doubt that we in modern times live a hectic lifestyle. Yet in spite of that, we seem to find time for things we truly consider important. But not for just one more duty.

Also,  I would like to make some practical suggestions. Get a Bible translation you can understand. If you are used to and understand the King James Version, use it. But the Bible was not written in Elizabethan English, and knowing this should not be a requirement to read it. You should be aware that a more paraphrastic  translation has a little bit more of the translator’s interpretation in it, but it is not necessarily bad for reading if you check out anything that looks questionable. An audio recording of the Bible may be a good thing if you are not much of a reader or do not have your hands free. While it is good to challenge yourself, pick a section  of reasonable length. Remember that the one chapter you do read is better than the four chapters you never get to. And if you have never done it before, start in one of the easier books to understand (like John or Romans) and work to the harder books. But most of all, do not give up. If you miss times, start over again. If you bog down, say in Leviticus, start somewhere else and come back to it. Remember, you are trying to learn about the God who loves you and what He has to say to you, not fulfill a duty.

A Touch of Humor - Taxing Issue

Is it possible to misinterpret ancient writings by interpreting them based on our time? How can we avoid this?