[image: Couple, 2007, JA Van Devender] Location: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Korea
2 Th 2:14–15
15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
I doubt that the couple were royalty or descended from royalty, but that did not detract from their obvious delight in being married within the walls of a palace whose walls, in its day, I doubt they could have entered at all.
Surrounded by ancient splendor, more less carefully maintained through the centuries, dressed in colors and apparel that would no longer be "at home" in down town Seoul, they posed to begin their life together, fixing their marriage intentions firmly within the living traditions that still are so much a part of Korean culture, whether displaced to other lands or here in their own country. There's something to be said for that.
The Bible speaks both warmly and harshly about "tradition." The "traditions of men" are seen as obstacles that the Gospel has to overcome in Jesus' teaching. Paul commends his own "tradition" carefully passed down to his disciples and condemns the Colossian propensity toward philosophical "traditions" that could not coexist with his message. It seems somehow appropriate to think about "traditions" today as we stand at the cusp of another year and consider how to distinguish their good and ill effects.
Celebrating "New Year's" is itself a tradition, whether it is understood as simply another excuse for hedonistic abandon or as a time of reflection and "resolving". The mere fact that it is noticed at all proves the power of tradition as a shaper of human endeavor. The concept itself is not evil though those deluded souls whose idea of "freedom" is to fly in the face of anything that tends toward collective thought, aspire only to radical individuality. I have never known one of these folks who was not an arrogant snob and of whom it could easily be said, with absolute truthfulness, "Sir, you are no gentleman."
Traditions contribute to identity, even when mindlessly observed. Increasingly I notice young people who have only the vaguest idea about Valley Forge and what it represents... but virtually none who do not observe the Fourth of July. Somehow they know that to be an American one just has to have hot dogs and watch the fireworks on that day. It could be observed better... with more good effect if there was some attempt to rehearse the historical events that the 4th represents but whether or no, it has some influence.
Christians should embrace the concept of tradition but only with understanding.
The "tradition" of going to Church on Sundays is very worthwhile even though, in many quarters, especially among those in the Emerging Church, it is pictured as "zombie" like motions. Yes, mere attendance at a service does not equate to true worship in the process. But training in the liturgical functions is not without good effects. If the Holy Spirit is present, and that is not a fore-gone conclusion at all since many "churches" have little in common with Biblical truth, then there will be shaping influences on those who attend even if they are not regenerate and to some extent, even if they are non-elect.
The same can be said for other Christian "traditions." The "city on a hill", "light on a lampstand" phenomenon is part of the witness of God's presence in any social order. The distinctiveness of the Christian witness is not just confined to what they proclaim but rather is in its first order of importance in what is observed in them. And what people notice are "distinctive traditions" and how they are perpetuated and how they are treasured with true affection by those who display them.
It is in this sense that we should understand Paul's words above. Christianity is a lifestyle formed on and embodying propositional truth. It is practice as well as principle and, with all my heart, I believe it is distinctive. I believe it is distinct across cultures, across geographical boundaries, across generational divides. There is and there must be a certain "sameness" that unifies our diversity and that means the holding of certain core distinctives in ethics as well as in doctrine.
Perhaps it ought to be part of our New Year's tradition, to recommit and refortify our intent to immerse ourselves deeply in the teaching of God's Word and the study of those traditions that have grown out previous centuries' study with an eye toward embodying and perpetuating them in our own age. Like the young couple, we should be dressed in the linen of centuries freshly made in the present. Our colors should be brilliant and not faded, but, there is a sense, in which they should be the same colors as were worn before us.
Away with the idea that only that which is "new" is true... or exciting... or enlivening. Perhaps we might discover why the Puritans, on the whole, were such a jolly bunch and why their laughter was the same as that of Jesus feasting with His disciples.
Tradition is a straight jacket only for the insane. For those with some sense, it is a tuxedo.
Something's Not Right....
[image: Incongruities, 2013, JA Van Devender]
Location: Fairport, ME
Proverbs 30:7–9 (NKJV)
7 Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die):
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; 9 Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.
Today's image is intentionally juxtaposed with the yesterday's. Each incorporates a similar scene of a rather decrepit, littered street/alley outside of which there is astonishing wealth. In each there are individuals who seem simply over whelmed by the perplexity of it all. Yesterday a man (on the right in that scene) was sitting at a table... just sitting there. Here a similar figure sits on the left, appearing hopeless of changing his circumstances in contrast to the couple who seem poised to "get out of Dodge" to his right. These are challenging times. They challenge us across the board with questions of hope, possibility and meaning. Many live fast-paced lives of stressful materialism. Many live in quiet desperation. Many just exist.
All about us the question is asked... "What's the use of trying?"
A good friend from many years (Walker) sent me a fairly depressing summary status of the current economic and political situation in our country. I have not verified the numbers in his email but if they are true or even approximately true then consider just these particular points. (1) An all time high of 102 million working age Americans are without income producing work. Now, let's suppose that perhaps 1/3 of this number are married to spouses who have sufficient income to support the family, that still leaves 60 or 70 million people who truly need a job and are without one. Now couple that with the following: (2) 49.2% of all Americans are receiving direct benefits from at least one government program each month. Now, I do not know what this number includes so it may actually reflect Social Security benefits, Government retirement pay, etc. In the actual email it interprets this number as an indicator of poverty spreading like wild-fire. It probably does support that conclusion to some extent but retirement "benefits" are not identical to poverty nor is Medicare. What it does say, clearly though, is that the well being of one half of the population of this country is directly underwritten to some extent by government funding. That is a scary thought.
In engineering design there is something called a "single point failure" node. When designing something it is desirable or necessary, depending on what is at risk, for the thing to not have single point failure nodes. If that node, whatever it is, fails, then the entire system is negated. If it is a bridge or balcony, such a failure means death. If it is an engine design, then when that aspect fails, the engine stops running or self-destructs. Having "single point failure" nodes is bad engineering practice. The current situation in this country is that there is a huge "single point failure node" precariously close to failing. The US economy, as it is currently functioning (?), draws its life blood from the Federal Government. Do not think, in response to this, that it has always been such. It has not. There was a time when "big business" in this country was larger, economically, with more reserves of capital, than the Federal government. When "big business" fell, the economy fell with them. Today, in a conscious effort to prevent that kind of thing happening again, the Federal government has intentionally shifted that failure node to itself.
Now, the problem is, doing so left us without any back up nodes. When Big Business fell, it didn't take down the government with it. When the government falls, Big Business goes with it. We saw this in spades when the Federal government "bailed out" those banks that were "too big to fail." There is no institution to back up the Federal government in the role it has arrogated to itself of being the lynch pin supporting the economic system of this country.
It might have worked if the government was not run by politicians. It is and therefore it has not worked. The great ax that is hanging over our head is debt. Sooner or later the interest on debt is going to exceed the ability of this government to pay that interest if something is not done. Foolish people believe that somehow our economy will "turn around", that we will magically cease to be a debtor nation apart from dramatic restructuring of expectations and quality of life. Politicians get re-elected by perpetuating that lie.
Sooner or later the "piper" must be paid. It's enough to cause a man to simply sit down and stare at the street as the litter blows along because no one is being paid to pick it up.
The sheer immensity of the problem is depressing.
We Christians need to see the hand of judgment in this as God is rebuking the foolish and the misguided in our land. What we must be prepared to do is be the back bone of a new economy built on prudence, simplicity and austerity. "Give me neither poverty or riches" should be our cry as it was for our brother who wrote it so many years ago. We need to recognize the dangers of each and long to avoid the pitfalls present in wealth and deep need. We must be prepared to direct our efforts, not only for ourselves and our families, in accord with this basic strategy but also to influence others, help others, encourage others, support others in line with it also.
The only way forward, that I can see, is for a generally pervasive re-ordering of our social consciousness toward the idea that "less is better" and "work is good, no matter what it pays" will bring us out of this hole we are in. The problem is, that there are too many people who are with us in this hole that keep digging it deeper.
Posted by Gadfly on December 21, 2013 at 11:47 AM in Commentary, Culture, Movies, etc. | Permalink | Comments (0)
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