Old Sandals

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:  A voice was heard in Ramah,  lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.   Matthew 2:16-18

Did anyone besides Rachel weep for her murdered children?  Did the people of Bethlehem go on about their business the very next day?  Who weeps for the murders, the injustices that daily fill the news?  God weeps.  His saints should weep too.

Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.   Matthew 1:10-11

Manasseh was a wicked king, of whom it is said “he seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel!”  And yet, he is mentioned here in the lineage of Joseph, along with the likes of Abraham, David and Jehoshaphat.

Only God could weave a beautiful tapestry from such tattered, even filthy rags.

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven…”   Malachi 4:1

Like so much of the Old Testament, this last chapter of its last book contains things I understand and things I don’t.

I understand that the great day of the Lord is coming.  A day of judgement.  A day that will “burn like an oven.”  And I understand that before that future day of judgement, there is a day of salvation.  A day of mercy.  Today is that day.

I understand that the God of the Universe steps onto the stage only twice in history.  When He did the first time, He was despised and rejected.  Cast out.  “He bore our sins in His own body on the tree.”

When He comes the second time, however, on that great and last day, it will altogether different.  As C.S. Lewis said, “When the Author walks on the stage, the play’s over.”

“They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I make them My jewels.”   Malachi 3:17

When He cometh, when He cometh To make up His jewels
All His jewels, precious jewels, His loved and His own.
Like the stars of the morning, His brightness adorning
They shall shine in their beauty, bright gems for His crown.

Little children, little children, Who love their Redeemer,
Are the jewels, precious jewels, His loved and His own
Like the stars of the morning, His brightness adorning
They shall shine in their beauty, bright gems for His crown.

William Cushing – 1856

“And if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart.”   Malachi 2:2

You do not take it to heart.  This seems to me to be the beginning, the end, and all the middle of a Christian’s life.

The words from an old Stuart Hamblen song are as true today as they were half a century ago, when as a small boy my mother would stand me in front of the church to sing, “How about your heart?  Is it right with God? That’s the thing that counts today.”

“You offer defiled food on My altar, But you say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’ And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you?  Would he accept you favorably?”, says the Lord of hosts.   Malachi 1:7-8

What does it mean to do your best?  To give your best?  “Give of your best to the Master…”  Isn’t going about my Christian life in a half-hearted way a lame sacrifice?  If I give him my best, or try to, I don’t win points with God.  Rather, I become a more authentic follower of Christ.  After all, insincerity and luke-warmness are totally incompatible with Christianity.  Totally.

Then I commanded that the gates of Jerusalem should be shut as darkness fell every Friday evening, not to be opened until the Sabbath ended. I sent some of my own servants to guard the gates so that no merchandise could be brought in on the Sabbath day. The merchants and tradesmen with a variety of wares camped outside Jerusalem once or twice. But I spoke sharply to them and said, “What are you doing out here, camping around the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you!” And that was the last time they came on the Sabbath. Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the gates in order to preserve the holiness of the Sabbath.   Nehemiah 13:19-22

The Levites should not have had to guard the gates so the people would not dishonor the Sabbath by their merchandising.  Even in the Old Testament, it was God’s desire that His law be written on their hearts, on the inside.

The two choirs that were giving thanks then proceeded to the Temple of God, where they took their places. So did I, together with the group of leaders who were with me. We went together with the trumpet-playing priests…and the singers….They played and sang loudly under the direction of Jezrahiah the choir director. Many sacrifices were offered on that joyous day, for God had given the people cause for great joy. The women and children also participated in the celebration, and the joy of the people of Jerusalem could be heard far away. On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the offerings, the first part of the harvest, and the tithes. They were responsible to collect from the fields outside the towns the portions required by the Law for the priests and Levites. For all the people of Judah took joy in the priests and Levites and their work. They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as commanded by David and his son Solomon, and so did the singers and the gatekeepers. The custom of having choir directors to lead the choirs in hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God began long ago in the days of David and Asaph. So now, in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel brought a daily supply of food for the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Levites. The Levites, in turn, gave a portion of what they received to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
Nehemiah 12:40-47

Israel’s history was checkered, to be sure.  But there were bright spots.  This was one of them.

Also Mattaniah son of Mica, son of Zabdi, a descendant of Asaph, [the one who] led in thanksgiving and prayer.   Nehemiah 11:17

All of us are called to have the heart of a priest, the self-discipline of a  monk and the trust of a child.

“In addition, we promise to obey the command to pay the annual Temple tax of one-eighth of an ounce of silver for the care of the Temple of our God. This will provide for the Bread of the Presence; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, the new moon celebrations, and the annual festivals; for the holy offerings; and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel. It will provide for everything necessary for the work of the Temple of our God.”   Nehemiah 10:32, 33

The showbread in the Old Testament, or the Bread of the Presence, refers to the cakes or loaves of bread which were always present on a specially dedicated table, in the Temple in Jerusalem as an offering to God.  In some way it prefigures the bread that is part of the communion celebration in the New Testament.  Christ is the Bread of Life.

I think I see it the way Martin Luther did—that in the Lord’s Supper there is sacramental union of the divine and the earthly, not unlike the sacramental union of two natures in Jesus Christ.  The bread is bread, but it somehow is also Christ’s body.  The juice is juice, but it somehow is also Christ’s blood.

Dear Lord, give me the grace to appreciate holy communion more deeply, even if it is beyond my ability to comprehend fully.