Letting the Shekinah Glory enter

Inicles 7:2 it says, "The priests could not enter into the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house." This happened after Solomon had dedicated the tem

The other week, I was installing a huge window in the front of the new auditorium extension that was being added to a church on Bristol Road. The opening had previously been cover by a thick translucent sheet of plastic. When we finally got the window completed, the workers pulled down the plastic sheet and the light streamed in. Jim, the general contractor, exclaimed to his workers, "Men this is the day we have been waiting for-- the chance to see what this big window is going to look like!"

I said, "This is not a window! It is the entrance for the Shekinah Glory!"

The workmen looked puzzled, but Jim quickly informed them that the Shekinah Glory is the glory of the Lord as He entered Solomon's Temple. I was quite impressed that this fine man would know that so readily. I was not aware of what kind of religious background he might have had. So I went out to the truck and got out a CrossPuzzle and gave it to him.

"Here is a prize for you," I said presenting him with the puzzle. "You won it for knowing what the Shekinah Glory is!"

I explained to him that it is a puzzle that you can't get apart by your own efforts; a statement that always has the hearer raising their eyebrows as if to accept the challenge. But I went on to explain that there is a seal in the instruction sheet that you can break once you become frustrated with trying to get it apart. The instructions inside will provide the keys to opening it.

"Oh yeah," Jim replied doubtfully. "And does it also include the plan of salvation?"

"As a matter of fact, it does!" I answered. "That is how you get the puzzle apart; by following the plan of salvation!"

I considered the conversation to be another opportunity to plant a few spiritual seeds in the midst of the barren, yet fertile landscape of the construction industry. It is interesting that God has put me into the glazing industry whose primary purpose it is to turn holes-in-the-wall into entrances of light! Just as such a large percentage of the Gospel story is not told in the synagogue, but on the street between Sabbaths, I am glad I have the opportunity to make those happy moments between church services, times that I can share the good news and allow the entrance of the Shekinah Glory into my daily life. Or, as a book that I'm rather familiar with refers to these moments -- experiencing Explosions of Joy!

Outside the Echo Chamber

January 5 we were Orlando for a wedding. We got to the beautiful wedding venue about an hour early. It was a lovely southern mansion on the shores of a lake surrounded by cypress trees draped in Spanish moss. I took a stroll down the shoreline and walked out on the fishing pier. I was greeted at the end of the pier by an Afro-American man who had his line cast out between the lily pads on the lake, trying to catch some of the local bass.

He seemed like a friendly chap and eager to chat. He said his name was Julian. He was 39, had several kids but they weren't living with him. He had two degrees. One was in computer languages and one in cognitive thinking. He had gotten in to a bit of trouble as a kid but had left the past behind him and had really wanted to start his own company as a restaurant owner. But he had been reduced to working in a construction labor pool. He knew a lot about all kinds of construction and was a very fast and proficient learner. But they only paid $8.10 and hour. And most of the time he is working way beneath his skill level. Or if he is able to excel at a job, like he did this past week when he did 16 hour of work dismantling a carnival in 12 hours, the manager only wanted to pay him for 11 and then only at $8.35 an hour. 

But despite the obvious justification that he legitimately may have had over the injustice that seemed to be a reflection of his skin color, he said nothing of that. Nor was there the slightest trace of bitterness in his tone. Our conversation was relaxed, friendly and non-judgmental. We were both sincerely trying to understand each others thoughts and perspectives, which, to be quite honest, were quite in contrast to the others. But something held us engaged in this fascinating dialog about each others lives. I think we could have gone on for hours except that the wedding was about to begin as a message on my phone urgently reminded me. 

But as I hurried to the car, I remembered that I still had one more CrossPuzzle left in the trunk. It would be an interesting parting gift for Julian. So I grabbed it and hurried back to the pier and presented it to him. He held in his hand, turning it over and staring at it. Then with moist eyes he looked at me and said, "You will never know how many time when I was discouraged that Jesus was my only comfort. Thank you so much for sharing this with me." We had both reached beyond our echo chambers and had found the common element that had connected us together so quickly in mutual admiration of each others worldviews.

The Ultimate Troll

The other Saturday morning at men's group I ran into yet another one of those juxtapositions (I like that word! It has such a unique collection of letters!) that I love to see between a narrative penned 2000 years ago and the events happening in real time around me. In this case, our group of men were again looking at the waves that Jesus was making as he moved around in Palestine as recorded Mark 11 and 12. He was alternately thrilling the populous and irritating the ruling religious elite. He would go right into their inner sanctums, the temple itself, and make himself available for interviews and questions and answers. And it was not some closed, secretive dialog. Everyone around was apparently able to hear the arguments and all had their reactions to the discussions detailed in the report-outs that Mark included in his Gospel. Even in these days before Twitter, his words were reaching a broad segment of the population: the children, the deathly sick, the everyday street people, the foreigners, the Roman ruling class and of course the religious leaders who felt that they alone were able to interpret God's Word to the people. But Jesus, armed with the true knowledge of the will of God, was able to take on all questioners and mete out the kindest words (to the poor widow: she, out of her poverty, gave everything) or the most caustic criticism (to the teachers of the law: you devour widows houses); harsh judgement (to the vindictive teachers of the law: these men will be severely punished) and kindest encouragement (to the honest teacher: you are not far from the Kingdom). In Jesus, we see a man totally purposeful in fulfilling his mission and completely unimpeded by political correctness (although sensitive to it, as can be seen if one explores his use of the "Messianic Secret"). 

Positioned up against these thrilling tableaus of Jesus taking on the establishment, were the words from a Fox News interview that I had been listening to on the way to breakfast that morning. Tammy Bruce was talking about the interview that Trump did with the New York Times reporter in Mara Lago just before New Years. When asked about why Trump would go into enemy territory with a "Failing New York Times" reporter and do an interview with the media that has roughed him up so badly, she says, "Look, he's the world's best troll. I love it when I saw what he said. I laughed out-loud. Since 2016, the media has been out to get him and we have been assessing the impact that the media has had on his success. Clearly what we are finding out is that they are not having any impact on him. He's loving this job, he's committed to it and he's realized that he has been able to get his message out and beyond them and above their heads. So this is really the ultimate trolling in telling the media that, in their obsession with him, they are only hurting themselves, and they are actually helping him by exposing themselves and their bias. So he is accomplishing things on multiple fronts. In addition, he is reminding people that the media is not what they used to be. They used to control the narrative; control what we thought was reality, and those days are over. So I think it is pretty funny and that he is doing a great job in it."

Now, far be it from me to be impious and call Jesus the ultimate troll, but a case could be made that he far surpassed Trump in his ability to stir up the establishment by throwing their hypocrisy back in their faces to the wild delight of the on-lookers (the large crowd listened to him with delight). And he did something that Trump has, as of yet, seemed incapable of doing. In this passage in Mark, and at several other places in the Gospels, it says that Jesus answered the onslaught of attacking interviewers so well that "no one was able to ask him any more questions". That seems like something for Trump to aspire to.

A Dream for the New Year

Rarely do I remember dreams. And rarely does New Years Day happen. (Ok, maybe once a year isn't all that rare!) But when the two things happen in concert, it seems like it might be significant. And since the words of the song that appeared in that dream are still circulating in my head two days later, it is probably something that is worth documenting.

In my dream, I was sitting in the rear pew of a large church, crowded with church-goers. The song leader had us turn to the very first page of the hymn book. It turned out to be a song that had only the title and the words; no music scores. But I realized that I knew the song, the melody, the lyrics, even the bass score. So when the chorister started the song I sang right out. Much to my chagrin, I was one of the only people in the place that seemed to know the song. My valiant efforts were rewarded by the lady in front of me turning around and staring at me! Oh well! But soon others joined in and then my short interval of embarrassment was quickly relieved by my awakening from the dream to the start of New Year's day. But I awoke with a song on my heart and joy in my heart for the start of another year of adventure in following God's watercourse. He has indeed been an ever guiding presence during the year gone by and I trust I can be part of one of those categories noted in the last verse of the hymn, most likely the "aged men" one, who will continue to praise Him through the coming year!

The song, if you are unable to find it on the first page of my dreamt-up hymnal, has the lyrics as follows:

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah,
From the heavens praise His name;
Praise Jehovah in the highest,
All His angels praise proclaim.
All His hosts together praise Him,
Sun, and moon, and stars on high;
Praise Him, O ye heav’n of heavens,
And ye floods above the sky.

Refrain:
Let them praises give Jehovah,
For His name alone is high,
And His glory is exalted,
And His glory is exalted,
And His glory is exalted,
Far above the earth and sky.

Let them praises give Jehovah,
They were made at His command,
Them forever He established;
His decree shall ever stand.
From the earth, oh, praise Jehovah,
All ye floods, ye dragons all;
Fire, and hail, and snow, and vapors,
Stormy winds that hear His call.

All ye fruitful trees and cedars,
All ye hills and mountains high,
Creeping things, and beasts, and cattle,
Birds that in the heavens fly.
Kings of earth, and all ye people,
Princes great, earth’s judges all,
Praise His name, young men and maidens,
Aged men and children small.