Gadfly's Muse

"On The Jericho Road"

[image: On The Jericho Road, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Covered Bridge, on Jericho Road connecting Jericho and Jerusalem, Md. North of Kingsville, Md. 

Proverbs 3:13–14 (NKJV)

¹³ Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains under-standing; ¹⁴ For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.  

You can listen to the Old Southern Gospel "On the Jericho Road" HERE.

One of the relatively unappreciated treasures in Maryland is located just a few minutes north of Baltimore.  Known as the "Little Williamsburg", Jerusalem Mills is a well staffed and maintained historic site.  As part of the Gun Powder Falls State Park it is situated on the "little" falls river with easy trails and nice vistas.  The main building dates back to the 1700's but the covered bridge is relatively new, being built as recently as 1860.  They have lots of neat events there throughout the year and it is well worth checking out.

How can you not visit the pleasant places "on the Jericho road?"  I couldn't help humming the old tune as I took a few images of the bridge, river and Mills area.  The theology is a bit shaky (the Jericho Road is not a path that only you and Jesus tred) but you can't help smiling when you sing it.   The Jericho Road, both the physical and spiritual one, is a pleasant path that provides encouragement and refreshment to all who follow its course.

In the Book of Proverbs we are confronted with two voices calling us, that of Wisdom and that of Folly.  The pathway of Wisdom is the Jericho Road and it is narrow and few are found thereon.  The pathway of Folly is wide and leads to perdition, not Jerusalem.  Though Proverbs is not a systematic exposition of the ethics of the Kingdom of God in Christ, yet that is its subject.  "How Then Shall We Live" asked Francis Schaeffer in his justly famous book of that title, and Proverbs provides us with gleams and glimmers of truths to ponder as we consider that question.

How we live matters.  It matters to God and it matters to us and it matters to the world.  There is a distinctly Christian ethic or manner of life, which God has given us as our vocation.  It is not in the more common "rules" of "do this" and "don't do that", as for example, the specific injunctions against murder and for paying workers their wages when they are due, that the Christian distinctiveness is registered.  Rather it is in the comprehensive world view that situates those ethical actions and motivates the believer.  The Proverbs point us to a way of life that promotes healing among men and nations and gives evidence of true human flourishing.

Proverbs teaches us that Christian ethics are the vehicle through which God registers His Kingdom on earth and how it is demarcated, set apart, from the other kingdom, that of Satan, known as Babylon the Great.  It is in this Kingdom that "Wisdom" proves Her value, where Her proceeds are discovered to be "better than the profits of silver and her gain than fine gold."  It is this discovery, the life-nourishing edification and support that is the experience of one walking "The Jericho Road", that Jesus describes as the Pearl of Great Price or the Treasure Hidden in a Field.  It's value is discovered or found, it is experientially registered, in the walking of Christ's "Way."

The ethics of Proverbs embody and register the manifest immanence of Christ through His Holy Spirit in the lives of His people.  As they listen to Wisdom and conform their lives to Her principles, they see His Spirit moving mountains and repairing foundations.  They see that the ethics of "weakness" is actually the "strength of God" that proves the frustration of those who depend only on their own capacities and follow the siren call of Folly.

Wisdom differs from Folly in that it sees all things through the eternal lens, the abiding and perpetual truth, of God's immanent concern for His Creation and how His people live in it.  It requires us to ponder and meditate on the things it proclaims, but not only as abstract principles, but as the outline of a well ordered life to which we strive to conform.  It calls us to Christ's Kingdom, the doorway of which is Christ Himself.  All who are wise will hear His voice and enter.  Folly will turn away and dance in the streets and will discover what it means to be ruined.

 

Preparation For Worship: The Battle Is Being Fought, The Battle is Won

[Image: St. Matthew's United Church, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia

John 19:30 (NKJV)

³⁰ So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.  

Today's topic is "Spiritual Warfare" and the reality of Satan and his hatred of Christians.

St. Matthew's is a gorgeous building.  It's varied history goes back to 1749, the year of Halifax's founding and it has been there ever since.

But is it the same church?  The United Church of Canada is pretty far removed from bible-thumping Protestantism these days.  They boldly claim that everyone is welcome because they believe God can be understood in many different ways.  Quite a bit of latitude is given to life-styles and activities.  The Bible is proclaimed to be useful for hearing God's "Word" in the "words of the older and newer testaments."  You get the general idea.

I look at this wonderful building and, in my mind's eye, I see the rubble of warfare, the devastation of an artillery barrage, the sadness of death and despair.

It can get pretty discouraging at times.  The "powers and principalities" are so strong... the surface appearance is that they are everywhere victorious.  Institutions and social orders that once seemed so strongly founded on God's Word and order are crumbling left and right.

But that is only on the surface.  God's Word may come to a nation or people and flourish for a while and then move on.  The recurrent theme of John's Revelation and the witness of the Scriptures as a whole teach the cycle of faith, apostasy, judgment and ruin.  The Church at Ephesus that was so strong in Paul's day now lies in ruin... the lands of Luther, Knox and Calvin struggle to maintain a credible witness.  Their lights are dim in the circle around our Lord.  But that must not be misunderstood or wrongly assessed.

Christ is everywhere victorious now because Christ was victorious on the cross.  His definite atonement and His irresistable grace ensures that of all those who belong to Him, He will in no wise lose any but will raise them up at the last day.  His harvest is reaped in every nation as the Gospel moves in ceaseless advance across the landscape of the world.  Bastions fall and the Gospel is preached and God's elect hear and are glad.

Judgment comes in its due season and it begins with the household of God.  But judgment is not defeat and our Lord has not been overcome.

"It is finished" He cried.... and with that clarion trumpet call, Satan's defeat, once and forever, was proclaimed.

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Delighting in the Sons of Men

[Peggy'sCove, North, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Peggy's Cove, Me.

Proverbs 8:29–31 (NKJV)

²⁹ When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, ³⁰ Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, ³¹ Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my delight was with the sons of men.  

Peggy's Cove is rumored to be the most often photographed spot in Maine.  That's a bit difficult to fully accept since Acadia National Park is a beautiful place.  Perhaps it is only the little town or the lighthouse that might qualify for the superlative, but there is no doubt about its beauty.  And it is just one of many.

This world is full of striking scenes, majestic mountains, crashing waves, gorgeous sunsets, flashing colors as birds streak through the foliage, brilliant contrasts in snow covered trees, etc.  There are infinite combinations of composition and lighting, mood and evocative emotions.  God's Wisdom as celebrated in this beautiful passage in Proverbs was there "with" God, adding His joy to God's as the unfolding miracles were displayed.

But Wisdom's greatest delight was in the sons of men!  Why?  Why is that assigned to us poor stumbling creatures?  Why are we the one's celebrated this way?  We are the ones who trash the planet... we are the ones who pervert the creature and exalt it above the Creator... Why us?

I think it is because Man, as fully comprehended in Jesus of Nazareth but as will be fully completed one day in the gathered saints, is alone in creation able to rejoice in God's beautiful work alongside of Him.  We too can enter into that joy.  Only in halting steps now but one day with that same ecstatic reception that Wisdom displayed at the beginning.

We will walk in continuous wonder... We will participate as did Wisdom in His ongoing magnificence.  I imagine us gasping at nebulas and laughing in delight at atoms.  The intricacies of mathematics will be open to our inspection and the coordinated depths of intricate relationships will provide endless investigation.  This is partially true now but one day, in the culmination, it will be man delighting in God's works as did Wisdom at the beginning.  And that which will delight our God, our Wisdom, our Logos... will be our shared joy with Him.

As it was, so it shall be, His delight will be in the sons of men.

This "n" That: Foolishness At Home and Abroad

[Image: In Line, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Freeport, Me

Proverbs 15:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.  

"That's just a bunch of foolishness!"  That was the kind of dismissive statement that my dad often used when he encountered silly stuff, whether it was people asking money for whimsical little tea-pots (among other things here) or reasons people put forth for why they acted a certain way or why some position should be supported.  Foolishness is often pretty much a subjective evaluation though... there were many things my dad held as sacred which, quite frankly, were foolishness in my opinion (he was a product of his time).  I remember a woman who was convinced that the TV images of the first moon-walk back in the 60's were absolute foolishness... she thought it all a hoax.  

Today's New York Times reports that the Iranian President (Rouhani) is in the middle of a 'storm' because he denounced the "Holocaust."  This would be an amusing bit of foolishness if it wasn't so disgusting.   12 Million people, half of whom were Jews, died in Nazi concentration camps.  I do not see how any adult human being could deny the factuality of those statistics and not be subject to a long stay in a mental hospital, but the Jihadist party-line has previously dictated that stance and now Rouhani is reportedly feeling the pressure.  I have no sympathy for him personally... he most likely deserves a lot more heat than this... but the situation is ludicrous.

Foolishness abounds and it is not confined to criminal willful ignorance as with the Iranian political situation.

The proverb says that the "mouth of fools feed on foolishness" and tautology aside, it is self-evidently true.  The degree to which people will go to explain uncomfortable facts is an example.  Our nation is awash in blood.  More people have died in just one of our large cities than our military has lost in the same ten years of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan (4683).  Yet this outrageous situation is tolerated because the cost of sufficient law-enforcement man-power and policies to bring some degree of safety to the streets is deemed too high.  The money is rather spent on social policies that are aimed at the "roots" of crime, a position as statistically indefensible as Iran denying the Holocaust.  The restoration of order precedes and conditions social progress in economics and contentment.  Is it anything other than "foolishness" to deny this basic reality?

Yet it is proposed that legislation will "move us forward."  It is argued that more laws are needed to address things like "gun-control" so that the access to weapons is diminished.  This is foolishness.  It is further argued that we are filling the jails with too many criminals and so we should shorten the sentences of those convicted of "lesser crimes" so that we can incarcerate the "real" criminals for longer sentences.  Along the way the same basic idea is applied to the courts and their case loads.  This too is foolishness. It denies the reality that lesser crimes are the training ground for greater ones... that slaps on the wrist encourage rather than discourage further crime.  It is statistically certain that in our major crime centers that a life of crime really does pay rather than otherwise.  The rate of conviction and sentencing of criminals is well below the level in which true deterrence is attained.  Crime in our cities is "big-business" and it is international in its scope.  There is a separate, alien, hostile culture with its own laws and enforcement at work.  It is long past the time when individual crimes can be narrowly addressed as such.  A declaration of war is required along with the attendent funding and political will that it will require to pursue it.  To me it is foolishness to cling to some lesser course.

The mouths of fools feed on such foolishness though and many of them are in positions of great power and influence.  Corruption is not absent from the mix though it does not explain the whole picture.  Mostly it seems to me that a mass delusion is at work, much the same as that which promotes the lies that radical jihadists continue to shout.

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The Noble Pursuit Of Windmill Tilting: Thoughts on Cruz & Rubio

[Image: Jameson Tavern, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Freeport, ME

Jeremiah 9:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.  

Sometimes the pleasantest places are those which reek of history.

The main bar and dining area of this casual but fine restaurant, is in the original building constructed in 1779.  The tavern/home has been in virtually continuous use since then.  Famous people have found lodging here because Freeport was a prosperous city connecting the upper reaches of the colonies to the rest.  Originally Maine was part of Massachusetts and it was here, around a corner table in the tavern area, that the details of separation and division of the territory were negotiated.  Jameson Tavern lays claim to the title "Birthplace of Maine."

Those early years of the Nation prior to the War Between the States were times of high excitement and trepidation.  Contrary to popular conception ( I think) it was pretty confusing.  No one really knew or had a handle on where the country was headed.  There were endless possibilities for how it was all going to turn out and not all scenarios were pleasing.  The War of 1812 raised the significant concern that a return to foreign domination was distinctly possible.  The role of the central government and the distribution of powers to the virtually sovereign states was another source of tension.  There were furious debates... fist-fights on the floor of Congress (somewhat regularly)... at one point in 1850, Democrat Henry Foote drew a pistol and pointed it at Democrat Thomas Benton.  The outcome is recorded as "At that point the Senate adjourned for the day."  Passions ran high because the stakes were higher.  The shape, texture and purpose of the nation hung in the balance.

That same idea crossed my mind this morning, at 6am, as I blearily drove to work.  On impulse I turned on the radio and was startled to hear Marco Rubio speaking live on the Senate floor.  He was relieving Ted Cruz and giving him a chance, I suppose, to attend to some desperately needed personal business before resuming his own speech.  What amazed me for the fifteen minutes that I listened was the clarity, power and sense he was making.  At 6AM!  I doubt that there were more than 5 other senators even conscious at that hour, much less present in the Senate Chamber.  Yet Rubio was talking about the middle class... its increasing anxiety... its sense of betrayal... its mounting debt, increased unemployment and stifled initiative.  He was describing people I know and love.  He was accurately expressing the simmering discontent that, I believe, is the most prevalent mood among what's left of the "center" in the American social order.  

I don't have any great hope that Cruz and Rubio will actually attain their goal of defunding the deceptively named "Affordable Care Act."  They are Don Juans tilting at windmills, or so they appear.  And I cannot say, actually, that this particular tactic is one that I think wise.  But I admire what they are doing... I admire their willingness to take the heat... I admire the perhaps naive idea they both possess, that if an argument makes sense, people will listen and turn things around.  It didn't work for Jeremiah in his day and this country is too far gone down the road to self-destruction for there to be much hope of reversal.

But the nostalgic stirrings that they evoke take me back to those early days, when big issues were hashed out in important discussions and when, perhaps over-romantically I admit, it appears to me that base-line principles were more important than short-term utilitarian band-aids.

The stakes are just as high now as they have ever been in this country's history.   I wonder if anyone is really listening to what is being said when sincere arguments are being advanced.  

Maybe what we need is to have more gatherings at a local tavern.... to speak and, most importantly, to listen.

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Lord, Keep Me Off Those Rocks....

[image: Old Lighthouse, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Harbor, Freeport, ME

Isaiah 9:1–2 (NKJV)

9......, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. ² The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.  

An image has to be absolutely, precisely sharp to stand up to the extreme cropping that was required for this one.  Having only 140mm of focal length available, only a monopod to stabilize the shot and standing on a vibrating, slightly moving ship's deck, that level of sharpness was most likely impossible.  But that old light house was too interesting to pass up.  To make up for the original image I have recast it into a stylized version reminiscent of a water-colored painting.  Maybe you will judge it at least passable.

The demanding reality of the harbor makes it very clear why a light-house was needed here.  Look at those rocks... put yourself in the mind of a long-ago mariner, standing on a much smaller ship.  Imagine the waves easily towering over him when he dips into the trough such that the dim light that winked occasionally from the rain obscured horizon was only possible when he perched momentarily on the crests.  It was hard to read the charts in those conditions, with only the dim light of an oil lamp to illumine it and they weren't all that reliable anyway.  That light was all he had.  He knew if he approached it on a certain bearing then he would be "in the channel" and those scary rock outcroppings would slush by without harming him or his ship.  But if that magnetic compass was off by a few degrees... or he lost sight of that light for very long... that he was trying to thread a needle while blind-folded.  That light was his only hope... his only salvation... It was the object of his total focus.

How many desperate souls were saved by that light?  How many did it guide into the calmer waters of the inner harbor?  How many thanked God for its beams as they moored their vessel in safety as they finally were able to collapse into their "rack" (a sailor's term for his bed) and try to settle his hyper-excited nerves?  There is no question that not everyone made it.  The potential for disaster was just too great even if the light was visible.  But if the light had not shown no one seeking that harbor could have been saved from those terrible waves and pounding surf.  The people sailing in great darkness saw a great light.

This passage from Isaiah is directly applied by Matthew to the Lord Jesus Christ as He began His ministry in Galilee.  His preaching and teaching and His very Person were that light shining in the darkness and storm clouds of hopelessness and oppression of His people.  He came as the Child that was born to them... the One on whose shoulders the government would rest... He was their Wonderful Counselor, their Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.  He was the King who was to sit on the throne of David and over his Kingdom forever and ever.  He was the one who would guide them into safe harbor and who would heal the pain in their souls and settle the fears in their hearts.  It was the zeal of the Lord to establish this.  

And what was true for those in Galilee of the Gentiles is yet true today.  Unlike the rusting remains of that old light in the harbor, His light still shines brightly... He still remains the central focus of His people as they fix their eyes on Him and take the bearings on their lives in reference to Him.  And all who place their hope in Him are never disappointed... their hope is vindicated... their perseverance is rewarded in that they will find their resting place and security.  

This is the Light that shines in the darkness and shows us the way home.

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Singing The Blues....

[Image: Singing the Blues, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Freeport, ME, 2013

Psalm 6:3 (NKJV)

³ My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O Lord—how long?  

YOU DON'T KNOW MY MIND, sung by Hugh Laurie (here)

She won't cook my dinner, won't wash my clothes
Won't do nothing but walk the road
Baby you don't know, you don't know my mind
When you see me laughing, I'm laughing just to keep from crying...

He wasn't up there with the Rev. Gary Davis, Muddy Waters, The Allman Bros, W. C. Handy, B. B. King, Eric Clapton or more recently, even Hugh Laurie.... but he wasn't bad.  The picking was clean and the voice carried that impossible to define quality of abuse which alone distinguishes a true blues singer from the "wannabees".  There were plenty of bad decisons, hard luck and plain old foolish stubbornness filtering into the intonations and the guitar riffs.  I put a couple of bucks in his hat, sat and listened for a while and asked if I could take a couple of photos.  True to his genre, that was no problem.   He could have just as easily have been sitting in Memphis... or Chicago... or New Orleans although his appearance was still "too white" to have won ready acceptance in those places.  Touristy Freeport, Me, with its picturesque vistas, clean streets and well maintained buildings was a bit of a clash.  The blues' natural habitat are run down shacks or decrepit, depressing store-front buildings with cracked windows and trash in the streets.  But, and I suppose that is the point... the blues are sung everywhere.

David was singing the blues back in the day.  Everyone appeared to be against him... the "workers of iniquity" were causing him grief on every side... he was having trouble sleeping because of the sweeping emotions and fears that plagued his bed time hours... he was too upset to even desire to die... he didn't want his enemies to have the satisfaction.  A king he may have been but the blues were his song.

I suppose that general idea is why the blues still resonate with us even in the midst of such great prosperity and wealth.  The words are often silly ... see above... and by definition, the basic chords are as simple as you can get.  But man how evocative of our human condition they can be, especially when sung and played by those who know what it's all about.  Sometimes our sadness is dispersed by playful and humorous self-parody as we recognize that what we are celebrating is mostly self-pity.  But even there, it is conditioned by the fact that though it is self-pity, yet it was working on us and the blues were having their day.  There are other times though... when we wonder if hope is an illusion and when the difficulties of life appear insurmountable and our hearts are just not up to the fight anymore, that singing the blues communicates what pure self-description and analysis can never articulate.  

There are groanings just too deep for words.  Those are the times when the reality of our frailty, the wideness of our problems, the insignificance of our being all come together in one big joy flattening crush.  Here is fallen mankind and there is no joy to be found there.  If it is to be discovered it has to come from somewhere else.  That's the real foundation for every true blues song ever sung.

Of course the gospel is that joy is available... and the truth that it is not be be found in fallen human efforts and potential does not limit it.  But the joy of the gospel only truly is comprehended and appreciated by that one who has first sung the blues... and meant it.

Sing on brother... and may God shine His grace on you and give you peace and a reason to sing a new song with all the angels in heaven as back-up.

 

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Let's Go For A Walk In The Garden....

[Image: Peace, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Bar Harbor, ME

Philippians 4:6–7 (NKJV)

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  

Although not as expensive as other cities and ports, yet Bar Harbor is not lacking homes that only the very well-to-do can afford.  Many have been converted to Bed & Breakfast use or completely transformed into quaint and inviting hostels.  All retain that charm and inviting atmosphere that was the goal for home design in 19th century architecture.  The Victorian era, with all its faults, may have been the most civilized era in human history, if one restricts the observation to the commended lifestyle and aspirations of individual men and women.  Perhaps nothing so embodies those sentiments as the garden.

A house without a garden simply was not complete and, metaphorically, implied a shortened and deficient lifestyle.  Lacking a garden the home was just a place for sleeping, eating and hiding from the pressures of the world.  No matter how expansive, the building would sooner or later stifle man's yearnings and hinder his breath.   But, having a garden to walk in, a  place to stretch and breathe deeply of the frangrant flowers and salty breezes whispering in the pines, one felt complete.  One felt..... civilized.... again.

The garden was not a refuge from the problems of the world, it was a solution for them.  When anxiety, pressures, worries, threatened to overwhelm the senses and incite a man to panic, the garden was his solution.  There he could settle his soul and understand his world better and regain a due perspective on things.  Its healing ambience swept away the "tyranny of the urgent" and enabled him to recharge his spent batteries.  That is why the 'garden' was associated with pleasing melodies, Classical or Baroque chamber music, and not raucous Jazz.  Symmetry and order, splashes of color, space to walk... were understood as essential.

Thus a garden represented "peace" and by implication, "rest".  It is the physical metaphor for the Sabbath which, in and of itself, is a metaphor for God Himself.  Yes, I know that this is an idealized portrayal which in any given instance was probably never fully realized.  But, as I said, it was the aspiration of the culture not, necessarily, its attainment.

As Paul so beautifully captures it, the "peace of God... surpasses all understanding."  It directly answers the pressures which cares and anxieties of this world pour out on our souls.  When our core being is threatened with withering, when our essential humanity is at risk, when we are on the verge of sheer animal reactions, when hope is nearly extinguished and the possibility of a "flourishing" life is nearly drowned in cynicism, we need to walk in the garden.  We need to flee to the sanctuary God provides and rest in His Presence.  The refreshing Breeze is His Spirit, the Beautiful Order is His Logos, the Peace which descends on us is God Himself.  

We can flee to our garden while sitting at our desks.  We can pull off the highway and stop our cars on an off-ramp or the shoulder.  We can shut out the world of worry and pressure that screams for our attention and we can be quiet and know that He is God.  In that calming moment we can cast our cares on Him and make our requests known.  Not in panic... not as a last resort when all else has failed... but as an act of hope... as an act of faith... believing that He who cares for the bird in the air and the flower of the field will certainly hear us and, in hearing, speed an answer on its way.  Beauty is there to be appreciated and praised.  Peace is there to nurture our souls.   We can walk in our garden for as long as it takes to settle our soul.

That garden is always an intrinsic part of the house of faith.... and therefore peace which transcends all rational explanation but is experientially known, is ours to embrace.

 

 

 

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Teamwork.....

[Image(s): Teamwork, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Bar Harbor, Me

2 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?  

The two Lab "mixes" were brother and sister and it was obvious that they liked nothing better than a romp on the beach.  The female had decided hesitations when it came to leaving the beach though.  If the stick was tossed out into the water she would go out just so far and then wait for her brother to bring it back to where she was and then she would "help" carry it back to their master.  I suppose that indicated the difference in the proportion of Lab in their individual genetic structures because I've never seen a Labrador that didn't love the water.

That gets me thinking about "teamwork" and "fellowship."  In the Scriptures those words could be used pretty interchangeably.  The general Greek word that is often translated as "fellowship" is "koinonia" and the sense of "teamwork" or "camaraderie" in the pursuit of a common mission or objective is very much near the heart of it.

Paul's injunction against being "unequally yoked" naturally flows from this idea.  In our mutual relations, especially in those that make such a large difference in our everyday equilibrium, direction, sense of priorities and goals, it is almost essential that we carry the load together, in the same direction, for the same purpose.  

These dogs would have ruined their outing if they snarled and tried to pull the stick away from the other.  But the delight that they had together and the smile that they brought to their master's face was when they trotted along with it in both their mouths, head held high and tail wagging joyfully was grounded in the fellowship in teamwork.  There were no cross-purposes... no pulling against each other... they had the same primary purpose,.... the same comfort in each other... and though the stick posed no real challenge to their lifting ability, the capacity to do more because they shared the load.  Except for actually getting in the water ....  that is.

I think we North American Christians, on the whole, ordinarily just don't "get it" when it comes to "koinonia." We are so steeped in individualism that, for the most part, "teamwork" is thought of as having people around me to encourage me to do my job... or to make my day brighter... or to help me achieve MY goals.  People are tools... helps... even in our spiritual life.  Our Christian walk is pictured as essentially a solitary journey with Jesus walking alongside us as we move from one life stage to another.  The focus is on us as individuals and the goal of the journey is our own ultimate blessing in salvation.

How different the Christian life is understood when it is pictured as a group carrying a really big stick.  

One of the enduring images of military life is that of having men march, to near exhaustion, carrying a boat or a large railroad tie, or something similar.  Some men are stronger than others, of course, but especially in a competition, it requires every man to carry as much of the load as he can, commensurate with distribution, in order for the entire team to get to the end of the course of to finish ahead of the others.  This is "teamwork"... this is "koinonia."  It's not about us as individuals, it is about carrying the burden Jesus gives us to the end of the course He has laid out for us and we can't do it alone.  

The analogy breaks down in that there is not just one log or stick to carry in our Christian service, unless one abstracts Christian ministry to its extreme truth of "bringing glory to God."  In reality, the diverse ministries that we all are given are more like intelocking gears.  But, for each of our ministry callings (in the home, in vocations, in the functioning of our structural churches, etc.) we can see that there, specifically it does hold.  And what we must have, in each of those areas, is a sense of common purpose with our team-mates.  We must not be unequally yoked... we must each be pulling in the same direction... we must be mutually carrying our own share of the load.  And we must not stop at the water's edge and let others go into the deep on their own.  Especially when there are tough times or challenges facing us, that is when we have to swim together... lift together... and not hold back.

What a difference it makes in our lives when this sense of "shared" ministry permeates our entire span of endeavor.  How beautiful it appears and how greatly it accentuates the Lord's meaning when He said that "my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Our confidence in our own and our fellow team-mates' ultimate completion of the course is so improved.  Optimism and hope springs up and expectation of victory and of hearing our Master's words - "well done' - become the norm rather than just a passing wish.

The only real hindrance to this well-being in any North American Christian's life is simply their own prior cultural conditioning.  It requires an open-ness to the idea and a willingness to leave the beach and swim with others and that goes against our culture's grain.  But, as with the parable of the hidden treasure, once discovered... Christian teamwork... koinonia... is truly a Pearl of Great Price.

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They That Build Ships....

[Image: Grandeur of the Seas, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Bar Harbor, Me.

Isaiah 2:16–17 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Upon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all the beautiful sloops. ¹⁷ The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,  

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face and a grey dawn breaking. [from Masefield's "I Must Go Down To The Sea"]

I can easily imagine that "ships" were the first integrated system projects that man undertook and accomplished.  As opposed to floating on a piece of driftwood, a ship represents a coordinated endeavor directed by single "mind" in which man was able to deal with a three-dimensional hostile environment with some degree of confidence and profit.  On land, even as the storm rages, the ground is solid underneath.  In an earthquake, man can find solid ground to grab and there is usually nothing coming at him from the sky.  At sea it comes at you from all sides.  Waves, large sea-creatures, gale force winds, famine and thirst are all potential threats.  For man to deal with those things, it requires a "system" effort... a man/machine integration that works together or not very well at all.  A ship is a metaphor for civilization.

As man increased in technical skills and knowledge it was reflected in his architecture and art and many other ways.  Perhaps I am prejudiced but I think it was in the ships that he built that we see the distillation of those things to their purest form.  (Airplanes came later.)  Roman, Viking and Elizabethan ships readily document the status of man's wisdom and abilities.  It is easy to look at a cruise ship in the harbor and be impressed with what those sleek lines and inviting promise contain.  It is a floating city... a rich city... even a decadent city, but it is also a wonderful technical achievement.

It is easy to see why Isaiah is told that the "haughtiness of men" was symbolized by the "beautiful sloops" of Tarshish. ( Sloops are commonly single masted sail-boats with a fore-jib however the term is flexible historically and we are not absolutely certain what Tarshish's boats were.  What is usually true though is that "sloops" are very swift and elegant crafts.)  If ships distill the very best of man's abilities into a concrete representation, they also represent the temptation to pride that comes from man's over-reaching estimate of his own potential.  If you can tame the waves, it is often tempting to think that man can fix anything.

It is not against man's undertakings that God stands in opposition, but in his arrogant refusal to give God the glory in them.  God is the Creator God... man, in His image, is to undertake... must undertake... to bring God's world into even greater harmony and to develop it latent, potential beauty.   To do this man must work as a team... there must be integration... there must be unity of final purpose but diversity in talents and skills.  As man multiplies and fills the earth, his potential increases and the great chasms that once seemed so daunting and impossible fall, one by one, before his advancing abilities.  This, in and of itself, is not only not sinful... it is our purpose.  But when all those abilites are directed only at man's increased sense of self-congratulation, or to the end of debilitating indolence (which is a real possibility on a cruise liner), then man has lost his vision and has been blinded by his own potential.  At that point God will remind him of Who is really in charge and Who is the One Who is to get the glory.

There is no ship that the wind and the waves cannot destroy.  There is no city that man can build whose towering buildings will reach to heaven.  There are no space-ships that can comprehend the universe.  There is no computer than can define God and predict His will.

When Roman "heroes" returned to the city and were honored with a "Triumph" procession, it was customary for a slave to ride in the chariot with the general or Caesar or whoever it was.  As the crowds showered him with praise and lavish rewards were presented for his service, it was the duty of the slave to whisper in his ear... over and over again... "Remember, thou art but a man."  Those pagans knew of what I am speaking.

God sets His face against the haughty, both individually and as a race.  We must expend our best efforts to face whatever challenge may confront us and pursue it with confidence that, in time, we shall over come it.  But, as we pursue it and especially when we triumph, then we must remember... It was by the glory of God expressed in His image that we bear, that we gained the victory and it is to His glory that it is to be understood and applied.

Remember the ships of Tarshish.