The Splendor of the Crucified

The Splendor of the Crucified

            I’ve just recently finished studying the Pentateuch with my two Old Testament Tour classes. They read a lot of passages, weird and/or wonderful, that they probably would have skipped, had I not held homework grades over their heads.

            Exodus 28 maybe fits both categories as it describes the clothing to be created to give “dignity and honor” to the Levitical high priest: A linen robe embellished with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; golden shoulder ornaments boasting engraved onyx stones; a breastplate set with semi-precious jewels; and on it goes. Aaron, the first high priest of Israel, must have been an awe-inspiring sight arrayed in garments designed by God himself. Engraved in gold, the words “Holy to the Lord” adorned his turban when this magnificent priest entered the holiest place in the Tabernacle.

            Fifteen hundred years later, another high priest appeared with “no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2).

            A stripped, bleeding man hung fastened with crude spikes to a rough cross. Sharp thorns, mockingly twisted into a crown, pierced his forehead. His flesh had been bruised and tattered by a scourge. Not awe, but revulsion filled those who saw this man disfigured by torture, “marred beyond human likeness” (Isaiah 52:14).

            Jesus was a high priest like Aaron, entrusted with the dreadful responsibility of gaining forgiveness for the sins of his kinsmen. While Aaron presented the blood of animals, the blood Jesus offered was his own. He took on the ugliness of sin to make us lovely in God’s eyes.

            But that is not the last image of Jesus given to us in scripture. After defeating death, he visited with a number of people over a period of forty days. (Paul lists the people in 1 Corinthians 15.) But even that is not the final image we have of Jesus.

            After ascending to his place of honor at the Father’s right hand, our high priest appeared to John the Apostle in breathtaking splendor, his eyes blazing like fire, his face shining brilliantly like the sun, his voice thundering like rushing water (Revelation 1:12 - 16). Though frighteningly powerful and beautiful, Jesus continues to serve us as a priest.

            “There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf” (Hebrews 7:23 – 25, NLT)

            LIVES FOREVER—did you catch that phrase twice in fifty-one words? (I hope my italics helped.) LIVES FOREVER and pleading for you.

            And me.

            Alleluia.

Saved by the Belle

My weakness for fairy tales began early, probably because most bedtimes found me nestled beneath the covers, listening to my mom begin, “Once upon a time…” Since I have older siblings, it’s reasonable to assume I first heard these words while still in the womb.

If any book in the Bible reads like a fairy tale, it’s the book of Esther, featuring a powerful king, an orphan who became queen, a grand palace, fabulous wealth, and a happily-ever-after ending. But also like a fairy tale, Esther includes sinister and dangerous elements.

Once upon a time, between 483 and 473 B.C., King Ahasuerus—also called Xerxes—ruled Persia, and the Persian Empire controlled all the lands from India to Egypt. King Ahasuerus needed a new queen, having banished the last one for disobedience. Esther’s second chapter reads like a beauty pageant: Beautiful virgins, collected from Persia’s 127 provinces, traveled to the palace in Susa, where a year of pampering in a spa made them even lovelier and more refined.

One of these virgins was Esther, a Jewish orphan raised by her older cousin Mordecai. Their family has been in Persia for about one hundred years; in 586 B.C. the Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem and expelled the Jews. By Esther’s time, some Jews had returned to Jerusalem, but not Esther’s family. So when the virgins were recruited, probably not voluntarily, Esther—described as lovely in form and features—was recruited also.

Esther arrived in a situation not of her own choosing. She didn’t choose for her homeland to be defeated by a foreign enemy. She didn’t desire her grandparents or parents to be taken captive. She didn’t want to belong to a minority population in a foreign nation. She didn’t opt for her parents to die and leave her an orphan. She didn’t prefer to leave her guardian Mordecai and move into the king’s harem.

At first it sounds fabulous—twelve months of beauty treatments and sumptuous dining. Esther would then spend one night impressing the king, and the next morning enter a different section of the harem. She would change from a candidate into a concubine, never to see the king again, unless he requested her. She would never leave the harem. She could enjoy everything she desired materially, but never have a husband, children, or her own home. Like the other virgins, Esther faced a lifetime of incarceration in a posh prison.

Although Esther’s wedding night made her not a concubine, but the queen, her confinement became even more restrictive. She continued to hide her identity as a Jew in a palace of pagans. She used messengers to communicate with her cousin Mordecai, never speaking face-to-face. If asked, “Would you rather be Queen of Persia, or a wife and mother in a humble dwelling with a godly husband,” what would Esther have chosen? But she never had that choice.

Esther only chose how she would act in her unchosen circumstances. She always sought the wisdom of those who knew more than she, whether her cousin Mordecai, or the eunuch in charge of the harem. And now, as Queen of Persia, Esther had one big choice, the biggest of her life.

An evil and powerful man named Haman had duped King Ahasuerus into granting him authority to annihilate the Jewish population of every province in the Persian Empire. Now, Mordecai implored Esther to approach the king—an illegal action even for the queen—identify herself as a Jew, and plead for the lives of her people. How did Esther respond? Did she select Option A (continued safety in the luxurious palace prison) or Option B (the survival of an entire race of people)?

Leave Esther to her decision, and detour 800 miles west to a seemingly unrelated story. Led by Zerubbabel, some of the Jewish exiles had returned to Jerusalem in 538 B.C., about 45 years before Esther’s dilemma. Zerubabbel, who became the governor under Persian authority, may not have still been living when Esther confronted her agonizing choice, but his son or grandson would have been. Haman’s plan of genocide included all Jews in Persia’s 127 provinces from India to Egypt.

Including Jerusalem.

Including Zerubbabel’s offspring.

Esther chose Option B. She would approach the king, whatever the danger. She anointed that decision with a three-day fast by all the Jews in Susa. King Ahasuerus responded favorably, and the Jews were spared annihilation.

Including Jerusalem’s Jews.

Including Zerubbabel’s offspring.

Why is this noteworthy? Travel with me to another story, this time more than 500 years into Esther’s future. Two followers of a traveling rabbi, Jesus of Galilee, recorded his genealogy in the short biographies they wrote. In Matthew’s first chapter and Luke’s third, the name Zerubbabel appears in Jesus’ genealogy. What’s more, the two branches of Jesus’ lineage—one through David’s son Solomon and the other through David’s son Nathan—mysteriously converged in Zerubbabel, then divided again to lead to Joseph and Mary.

When Esther saved the Jewish people, she saved Zerubbabel's descendants 800 miles away. When she saved them, she saved the messianic line. When she saved the messianic line, she saved Jesus, born over 500 years later.

When she saved Jesus, she saved me.

Finding herself in an unchosen circumstance, Esther sought wisdom outside herself and clung to prayer. As children of God, let us imitate her. We have no idea how far reaching the results of our choices will be.

If it’s poetry, why doesn’t it rhyme?

            The students in my Old Testament Tour 2 class are in for a real treat. I don’t mean food, although there are some holidays coming up:  Purim begins March 7 and Passover April 6. Hamentashen first and then charoset. Those are sweet treats. (We won’t mention the parsley dipped in salty water and the horseradish…)

            No, the treat the kids will experience this coming week is my unit on Hebrew poetry. By the time we finish, they will have written their own psalms, specifically laments. I may write a new one myself.

            Academic information rarely excites anyone, but I was amazed at what I learned when I first prepared this unit on Psalms. Although Psalms are poetry, they don’t rely on rhyme or meter like traditional English language poetry.

            Hebrew poetry uses parallelism, where the second line completes or repeats the thought of the first line. Someone—wish I could remember who—said ideas rhyme instead of words.

            Psalm 19:1 displays synonymous parallelism—the second line echoes the first line in similar words, or synonyms.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (NIV)

            As I wondered why God chose this poetic style for his collaboration with human authors, I pondered the difficulties of translating poetry: Words that rhyme in one language usually don’t rhyme in another. Likewise, a two syllable word in one language may translate into a four syllable word in another. So much for meter or rhythm. To truly appreciate a poem, you have to read it in its original language.

            Parallelism avoids these difficulties and translates well. The second line echoes or complete the thought of the first line in any language.

            Then it hit me:  God never meant Psalms to be an obscure poetry anthology for a tiny nation of Hebrew-speaking people who lived three millennia ago. Instead, he planned that any person who understands any language in any location in any era might access the wealth of encouragement, insight, and inspiration in Psalms.

            Now that’s exciting!

            Thank you, God, for your incredible book, written in ages past, transcribed and translated by your faithful servants over the centuries. Now it speaks your voice in my mother tongue. Amen.

Slippery

            The sky is blue. The water is inviting. The drinks are cold. The people are as warm as you remember.

            The television ads are Jamaican me crazy.

            A year ago I was preparing for my third trip to the island. Each time I traveled with high school students and their other chaperones, and we offered our muscle to help churches improve their facilities. We also worshiped in those churches (which included dancing in the aisles), visited orphanages, and most fun of all, took the puppets (including my own Joey Manzoni) to schools and churches.

            We saw a side of Jamaica that most tourists don’t. However, we also saw the side advertised on television. Except our cold drinks were some Ting different.

            On my first visit in 2003, I even climbed Dunn’s River Falls in Ochos Rios. To get an idea of how unlikely this is, Google it and see tourists climbing through the rushing water. Try to picture me there. It’s true. I have photographs and video to prove it, and this written account, adapted for my blog:

            I looked up warily at the 600 foot waterfall. Though our Jamaican guide jumped nimbly over the wet rocks, I doubted I would do as well. Following our guide’s directions, our group of 14 American teenagers and their chaperones each grasped the hand of the person before and behind and began to climb through the chilly rushing water.

            The guides had combined our group with a few others. This was especially troubling for one of our girls, who found herself following a portly stranger in a Speedo.

After a few minutes in the waterfall, our boys pranced as sure-footedly as the leader, but I continued to struggle. As I ascended, I grew wetter and colder, while the rocks seemed steeper and more slippery. Our human chain had long ago disintegrated, but my friend Vicky gripped my left hand, and my student Becky clutched my right. In some places they almost carried me up the cascade. With their strong support, the situation became less frightening, and I experienced the thrill of reaching the top.

Pondering this milestone, I’ve concluded that what I face daily feels more threatening than slippery rocks in a waterfall. So I’m thankful for five different Psalms—37, 66, 73, 94, and 121—which tell how God keeps his child’s feet from slipping while climbing through the difficulties and dangers of life. My favorite includes this verse:

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O Lord, supported me. Psalm 94:18, NIV

If I had been on the NIV translation committee, I would have used "screamed" instead of "said," and added multiple exclamation points after "slipping." Maybe we need a Bible paraphrase for overly emotional people who experience life more intensely. But I digress.

Thanks to Vicky and Becky, I cherish a tangible memory of what God’s supporting love feels like. I thank God for his love that keeps me from crashing on the rocks and for the friends he’s given to share the climb.

Are you smarter than a WCA student?

             I got so busy tweaking my midterm exams that I neglected my blog. So I decided to share some actual exam questions with you. And if some actual students see the questions, it's no big deal. There are hundreds more where these came from.

From my Old Testament Tour 2 exam:

_____ 1.  A Hebrew word that means “kinsman-redeemer” or “close relative” is
A) hesed
B) ga’al
C) shophetim
D) torah

_____ 2.  In Ruth 2:12, God is pictured as:
A) a burning bush
B) an angry judge
C) a mother bird
D) a shepherd

_____ 3. A Hebrew word that is translated “judges” is
A) hesed.
B) melech.
C) shophetim.
D) torah.

_____ 4. Fat King Eglon of Moab was killed by
A) Samson.
B) Shamgar the Philly Killer.
C) Ehud “Lefty” Ben Gera.
D) Deborah.

_____ 5. Gideon defeated
A) Ammonites.
B) Mennonites.
C) Midianites.
D) Termites.

From my English exam, a question on The Giver by Lois Lowry.

_____ 1. In the Community, this is how a couple gets children:

         A. Birthmothers produce three children in three years.

         B. Children are created in test tubes.

         C. After three years of marriage, a couple may apply to receive children.

         D. Your biology teacher will explain.

And a question about fiction terminology:

“Though the rest of us had finished eating thirty minutes earlier, Fred revisited the all-you-can-eat-buffet for the ninth time, and returned to our table balancing plates laden with mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, pork chops, meatloaf, hot wings, and a diet Pepsi.”

Is this an example of direct exposition or indirect revelation?

From my Old Testament Tour 1 exam:

_____ 1. If Israel obeyed God’s laws, they would

A. live happily ever after.

B. live long and prosper.

C. have a nice day.

_____ 2. According to Dr. Laura, Israel became a free nation when

A. they received the Ten Commandments.

B. they entered the Promised Land.

C. they escaped slavery in Egypt.

From my Cults & World Religions exam:

1. Muhammad spread Islam by

a. giving alms to the poor.

b. conquering or killing his opponents.

c. teaching the Qur’an to seekers.

d. posting teachings on his blog.

2. What do Wiccans believe about salvation?

    a. It is earned by animal and/or human sacrifice to Satan.

   b. It is earned by good works and white magick.

   c. Since there is no sin, there is no need of salvation.

3. Characterize Brigham Young’s attitude toward African Americans.

a. Loving

b. Racist

c. Tolerant

Are you smarter than a WCA student? Send me your answers and I’ll tell you your grade. Exams start Wednesday.