Eight years ago I was teaching Bible at a small Christian School just outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania.  Every Fall the High School volunteered their services at nearby camps.  We cleaned and painted cabins, cleared trails, and helped with some minor construction projects.  Apparently I made quite an impression on the students the first time I was able to participate in Service Week.  It seemed logical to me that since the students were there to paint and work on projects, that I too was there to paint and work on projects.  During one of the work sessions one of the students made a comment about my involvement with the job at hand.  “What do you mean?” I asked.  “Well,” she said, “The other teachers don’t usually help.  They just watch us work and tell us what to do.  We really like it that you work too.”  The students were not necessarily critical of the teachers who didn’t join in, they just liked it that I did.  It was one of those moments when I realized how much I loved my job and how my actions as a teacher taught lessons I wasn’t even aware of.
            The best teachers are always the ones who demonstrate what they teach.  In John 13:12-17, Jesus becomes a living example of what He wants His disciples to be.  The exchange takes place during the course of a Passover meal.  The disciples had gathered around the table and were ready to eat.  But first each one of them had to ritually cleanse their hands.  A bowl with water would be passed around, hands were dipped into the water to wash off the dirt, and a towel was passed afterwards to dry off the hands.  But Jesus, instead of merely sending around a bowl and towel, stands and prepares Himself to wash their feet, a custom usually done when guests entered the home.  The foot washing, especially at this point in the meal, was an amazing action.  Long a tradition performed by slaves (Gen. 43:24; 1 Sam. 25:41), rabbinic sources tell us it was considered too menial for a Jew to perform.  But it wasn’t for Jesus.
            The foot washing is one of several instances where Jesus, the Master-Teacher used a visual demonstration to underscore what He was trying to teach.  He had said to them many times that a servant was not greater than his master (Jn. 13:16, 20; 15:20; Mt. 10:24; Mk. 10:45; Lk. 6:40; 22:27) and places of honor were highly sought after (Mt. 10:42-45; Js. 2:1-9).  That Jesus, the Man whom they understood was like no other man, reversed His teaching and became a servant must have been quite shocking.  It should surprise us as well.  After all, this event occurs right before Jesus’ final discourse spoken hours before His crucifixion.  That means that Jesus washes the feet of the disciples BEFORE Judas leaves to betray Him and subsequently when the rest of the disciples desert Him.  Would you behave this way toward someone you knew was about to betray you?  Yet, because He knew His time had come (Jn. 12:23) and because He loved His own (Jn. 13:1), Jesus has no status issues (Phil. 2:6).  One author wrote, “In this, the foot washing ceremony becomes an acted parable of great theological significance, that is the Incarnation” (Jn. 1:14; Col. 2:9).
            While actions may speak louder than words, sometimes explanations help! “Do you know what I’ve done for you?” Jesus asks His disciples.  Like many rabbinic teachers of His day whose goal was to transform their students’ way of thinking and living, Jesus wanted this object lesson to have an impact on His disciples, so He explains it.  Jesus begins by emphasizing their correct understanding of His role as their teacher (v. 13).  Of the 48 times this word appears in the Gospels, 41 times are directed toward Jesus with honor and respect.  Jesus is also Lord (v. 13), another title with respect.  Jesus tells the disciples He has washed their feet as an example (Jn. 13:15).  The Greek word here implies that His example is to be imitated with a similar action.  Andreas Kostenberger put it this way, “The understanding of this lesson was not to inaugurate foot washing ceremonies in churches…”washing one another’s feet” should be taken rather as an emblem of lowering oneself to meet another’s needs whatever that need happens to be at a particular moment”.  Practicing this lesson involves being aware of what those needs are (Phil. 2:3-4; Js. 2).
            It is popular to call Jesus a “Good Teacher” these days.  But we tend to define that role as someone who merely imparts knowledge (as in a list of facts).  Jesus the Master Teacher is not interested in you knowing a fact or two.  He says that if you know of His example, you will follow His example.  Are you willing to serve as Jesus did?  That is serve those you know will disappoint you and possibly hurt you in spite of their short comings?  If Jesus is your Teacher and Lord, you will follow His example and imitate Him.  And Jesus says you will be blessed when you do (Jn. 13:17)!
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
Week of 1/31/2016

            My grandson Sam and I sat down at the table and he spilled out the contents of his colorful Lego box.  “What should we make?” I asked him.  “We’re going to make a…construction tower,” he replied.  It is fun to watch the imagination wheels in a child’s mind turn as they create something.  Although Sam made up the name of our building, he knew exactly what pieces he would use to build it.  And in his childish way, he had in mind what it would look like before we actually completed it, hence the order of colors we were to use: first the red ones; next the blue ones, and so on.  “Wow Sam!  That is an excellent construction tower!” I said when we’d finished.  The smile on his face was priceless.
            My boys were the same when they were growing up.  Both loved to build things with Legos and make mountains of pebbles and dirt in the yard.  And whether you’re a boy or girl, when that special grown-up tells you you’ve made something wonderful, it feels good to be acknowledged for what you’ve made.  On a grander scale the Scriptures “take pride” in giving credit to God frequently, especially in terms of the created world.  Psalm 95:6 however gives credit to God the Creator in a different way- that is as the Creator of a people in the name “The Lord Our Maker”, Yahweh Ashenu, (pronounced Yah-way Ah-shay-new).
            The first part of the psalm is a hymn of praise encouraging God’s people to worship Him (Ps. 95:1-7a).  The reason for this is because He has “made them”.  The verb “asah” means to “make, accomplish, and to complete with a goal in mind”.  It describes the act of performing an action with a distinct purpose, a moral obligation or a goal in view as in Gen. 11:6 or as in the creation of the earth (Prov. 8:26).  Since God literally “spoke” everything in to being (Gen. 1: 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 14, 20, 22, 24, 26; 2:3), or literally voiced us into being, we are to respond with our voices in praise of Him.
            The process of God’s creative abilities is emphasized by the words of the psalmist.  God “forms” the dry land.  The verb here is “yah-sar” which means “to form or fashion; to shape” in the way a potter shapes the clay and brings to mind the way God shaped man from the earth (Gen. 2:7; Is. 29:16; 45:9).  Just as a potter uses his hands to shape the clay, God also uses His hands to shape the world He created (Ps. 95:4-5) and His people (Ps. 95:7).  While the psalm acknowledges there is a physical process which God applied in creating the world, it also illustrates that this took an incredible amount of strength.  One author has noted, “In Psalm 95 the word “hand” appears to be a combination of metaphorical attributes, that is God’s action of shaping the world with “His hands” and the strength and power it took to do that”.
            While forming the world was a monumental task (which required a day of rest at its completion!  Gen. 2:2), shaping His people is perhaps even more demanding.  The second part of the psalm (Ps. 95:7b-11) is a warning to listen to God’s voice and obey it. Verses 8-9 remind the people that in the past their disobedience and grumbling have had disastrous results.  When God’s people are unrepentant, God will discipline them.  One cannot help but think of Hebrews 12:4-11 when reading this passage.  If you are a parent this is quite understandable.  Disciplining children and shaping them into responsible and productive members of society is a lengthy process.  But the stressful moments when you must reprimand them are usually done with a good outcome in mind and comes from the love you have for them so that they will be the best they can be.
            There is only one response the people shaped by God’s hands should have when they recognize God’s activity in making them into a people in the first place (vv. 6-7).  They are to shout joyfully (the winning touch-down of the Super Bowl kind of shouting), offer thanksgiving (think “I’d like to thank the Academy for this award…” kind of speech), kneel before (as in the classic courtesy before the queen kind of greeting) and worship Him (that is recognize in this relationship He is the superior and His people are merely sheep).  Although Psalm 95 is part of Israel’s songbook and the “people” of this psalm are the nation of Israel, believers today are still part of God’s workmanship (Eph. 2:1-10), so our response to Him should not be any different.  It’s not uncommon these days to see a sign declaring “Men at Work” when driving along the road.  I wonder what people would think if we wore little signs declaring, “God at Work” when we recognize that God is shaping us and molding us into the image of His Son?  But, if we did, wouldn’t that be a great reminder to us in regards to our relationship with “The Lord Our Maker”?  Think about it!  How often do you thank God and worship Him for the times when He molds you into the image of His Son?  As the Hebrews passage reminds us, it’s a sign of His love for us.
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
Week of 1/24/2016

            Tricia could hear the whispers as she walked into the cafeteria.  It was going to be another long and lonely lunch period.  In some ways she understood her classmates’ misjudgment.  Even she was repulsed by the ugly rash that covered most of her body when she looked in the mirror.  Her doctor said it was the worst case he’d ever seen.  That didn’t matter to her though.  The way she was ostracized and avoided hurt more than anything and when she was at her lowest she often wondered why God had made her this way.  As she fought back the tears and stared at her lunch tray, movement across the table made her look up.  “Hi,” the girl said with a friendly smile, “Mind if I sit here?” 
            In Biblical times when catastrophic illness or prolonged health issues came into a person’s life, three possibilities were assumed as the cause.  The first and least likely was that illness happened by chance; that there was no rhyme or reason as to why it happened, but it did.  The second was that illness was caused by the devil; an attack of a demon against one of God’s people in order to thwart God Himself.  This too was considered unlikely.  The third and most prominent explanation was that God was meting out judgment against some hidden sin within that person or that person’s parents.  Such is the case with the blind man that Jesus heals in John 9.  In fact a whole discussion ensues from the start with the question, “Who sinned?  This man or his parents?” as the disciples were certain the common explanation for his blindness was THE explanation for his blindness.  Jesus surprises them with a fourth reason that none had ever considered before.  “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (Jn. 9:3).
            It is difficult for us to imagine in the 21st century the emotional distress an illness (such as leprosy) or disability (such as this man’s blindness) added to the already painful condition of the one who was suffering.  Our culture is truly based on individualism.  Many of us are self-sufficient (at least we think we are!) and we firmly cling to our self-reliance when a difficulty or trial sets in.  But the Biblical world was all about community and reliance on one another.  So when a person was cut-off from that community it was devastating.  In some cases, the illness passed and relationships were restored after an examination by a priest determined that a person could return to the community (Lev. 14:1-32; Mt. 8:1-4; Mk. 1:40-45; Lk. 15:12-16; 17:11-19), but before that could take place, one can imagine the gossip and whispering which occurred behind the afflicted person’s back because we still do that today!
            This is the plight of the psalmist in Psalm 38.  As he cries out to God in his distress he describes this very situation.  Could God be punishing him (vv. 1-8)?  If so his heart, both physical and spiritual as indicated by the word used here, has lost its reason to beat and the strength he once had to get through the day has utterly abandoned him leaving him with no will to move on (vv. 9-10).  Adding to the distress of this situation is the fact that both friends and family have distanced themselves from him and are now talking about him and against him (vv.11-12) as if they were his enemies.  While we would understandably expect the psalmist to completely give up, his words remind us that even within our deepest struggles and trials there is a glimmer of hope (v. 15).  The psalmist’s prayer is first and foremost that this catastrophe would not ruin his reputation (vv. 13-16, 19-20) and that if there is sin in his life that God would forgive him of it (vv. 17-18).  He then calls upon the Lord to not forsake him as his friends and family have done, but to come to his rescue as “The Lord My Salvation” (v. 22).
            With this title and through Biblical examples such as the blind man in John 9, we learn of one God’s most important attributes.  He is Adonai T’shuah- the Lord who helps.  This title is not based on something the Lord will do, but because it is something the Lord already does.  It also reveals that God never desires for people to be sick or struggle with debilitating physical conditions.  Sadly we live in a fallen world and illness great or small is a result of that condition.  Yet for many who suffer, knowing that whether in this world or someday in heaven, the restoration of their bodies will be used to manifest God’s glory is reassuring.  Having suffered so much here, they will perhaps enjoy their glorified body more than some of us who’ve not suffered here will.
            No matter what form of suffering you may face, there will be a moment when “The Lord my Salvation” will step into that experience and help you.  He may sit down across from you at the lunch table when others will not.  He made spit into the dirt and make a clay poultice to put on your eyes and lift off the scales that blind you.  Or He may walk alongside you in your infirmity with His hand tightly holding yours until you enter into His presence in glory and the infirmity is gone.  But for now you must join with the psalmist in proclaiming, “For I hope in you The Lord my Salvation, and I know You will answer, O Lord my God” (Ps. 37:39; 40:16; 51:14; 71:15).
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
Week of 1/17/2016

            I once had a job working in a public library.  I divided my time between the circulation desk and the children’s library, shelving books, helping with story hours and decorating the huge bulletin board near the front entrance of the library.  One “perk” the staff was able to take advantage of was attending the National Library Association convention when it came to NYC.  While it was fun to walk through the convention hall picking up freebies and getting autographs, the most significant moment for me was meeting the author Madeline L’Engle.  When I shook her hand and told her how much I admired her work, her humble thank you went right through me.  I felt as if I’d known her a long, long time but the reality was we’d just met!  Her deep faith was evident in her demeanor and I wished I could get to know her even better.
            While my desire to know Madeline L’Engle better was never fulfilled (with no regrets I might add as we did not run in the same cirlces!), there is Another whom I desire to know even more, and He has made the opportunity to know Him completely possible by revealing Himself to me in the words of Scripture.  Of course I am talking about God who introduces us to Himself in the very first verse of Genesis by the name Elohim (pronounced Ellow- like yellow without the y – and heem).  Nathan Stone wrote, “The knowledge of God is more essential for the Christian, and indeed for all the world, than the knowledge of anything else- yes all things together”.  He continues to illustrate this by recognizing that Jesus desired the same for His disciples (Jn. 17:3) and that it was Paul’s “great goal” in life as well (Phil. 3:10).  As Scripture progresses God reveals many things about Himself through the names ascribed to Him, so it is interesting to note the attributes of the name He is first introduced by.  Elohim appearing in the first verse of Scripture is therefore foundational in helping us to understand Who God is and what He is like.
            Elohim is one of the predominant names assigned to God in the Bible.  It appears 2,570 times in Scripture with 32 of those citations appearing in the first chapter of Genesis!  There is some discussion about the origin of the word.  Some scholars feel that Elohim is derived from a shorter root word El which means “mighty, strong, or prominent”.  This shorter form appears 250 times in Scripture and is often presented in conjunction with stories that feature God’s great power (It is Elohim who promises that Sarah will bear Abraham a son when it was physically impossible- Gen. 17:15-19 for example).  This interpretation certainly agrees with Genesis 1 where God’s greatness and glory creates the entire universe “ex nihlo” (out of nothing).  When an earthly artist creates there is always something they start with- a lump of clay, a blank page or empty canvas, a block of wood, a mineral or gem, but when Elohim first created, there was nothing to start with.  He created everything through the sheer force of Himself by speaking it all into being (Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26; Heb.11:3).  Thus we see in this name the grand attribute of God’s omnipotence (i. e. He is all-powerful).  Another possible root word also emphasizes God’s creative power and is closely related to the idea of nurturing and tending to a garden (i. e. cultivating).  This too causes us to look at Elohim as the One who “births” a crop and sustains it by caring for it.  In this sense Elohim is both the Creator and Sustainer, a role aptly described by God Himself when He rebukes Job for questioning God and the way He goes about things (Job 40:6-41:34).
            Perhaps the most peculiar, but extremely important, aspect of this name is its construction.  While El the root is singular, him, the ending is plural!  English would never allow this in a single word- but Hebrew takes it all in stride.  The Trinity may not be as obviously seen in the Old Testament as it is in the New, but here in the name Elohim, we see God’s singular/plural nature illustrated by His name.  This becomes particularly significant when Jesus Christ displays the same control over the creation as Elohim, an attribute His disciples readily recognized (Mt. 14:22-33; Lk. 8:22-25, etc.) as being divine. 
            Why then is it important to know God by this name?  Because it is the name by which
God first introduces Himself to us, therefore, it is first and foremost what He wants us to know about Him.  The trend today is to perceive God as our “buddy” and some even go so far as to portray Him as some sort of Heavenly Pez Dispenser, who like Santa passes out goodies when we behave well.  That is NOT Elohim!  Elohim is the God who can take what you feel is nothing and create something out of it.  Elohim is the God Who has both created you and sustains you when everything else in life fails (even though you may not acknowledge for doing so.).  In the name Elohim, God has introduced Himself to you.  Don’t walk away from Him without getting to know Him better!
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
Week of 1/10/2016

            Stephen Covey published his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effectie People in 1989 and it remains a popular self-help guide in many circles today.  The second habit “Begin with the End in View” commences with a challenge to imagine yourself attending your own funeral.  Four people have been chosen to speak about you: a family member, a close friend, a co-worker and someone from your church or an organization you are a member of.  What would you want them to say about you?  What stories would they tell to illustrate who you were and what was important to you?  Covey says that knowing how you want your life to be remembered will help shape the way you get there.  This is the time of year when most people set goals for themselves in the year ahead.  Only time will tell if those goals are achieved, but beginning with “the end in view” is an admirable and helpful way to accomplish them.
            Likewise when we begin a new year in light of our walk with the Lord, our thoughts often turn to spiritual habits.  This year I found myself drawn to getting to know the Lord better through the many names which are ascribed to Him in the Bible.  So I have assembled a list and will spend time each week contemplating on the significance of those names in their Scriptural context and to me as a believer; and as per Covey’s second habit, what better place to start than with “the end in view”?
            Revelation is perhaps the most grand and glorious book of the Bible (perhaps rivaled only by Daniel’s visions (Dan. 7-12), Isaiah’s awe-inspiring visit to God’s throne room (Is. 6) or Ezekiel’s spectacular description of the Heavenly (Eze. 40) temple.  Right from the start we are transported with John into the Presence of God Himself who is introduced as “The Alpha and Omega” (Rev. 1:8).  As the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet alpha and omega paint a grammatical picture of the start and finish of something.  This convention of using letters to describe deity is not new to John but his style is different from his pagan contemporaries. While the Greeks sometimes used symbolic letters to describe their deities, John is using actual letters.    John’s descriptive is similar to those of Jewish scholars who also used aleph and tav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet when they wrote or spoke about the Lord.  Nor is this method limited to extra-Biblical writing.  The Lord is described this way in several passages in Isaiah (Is. 41:4, 44:6, 48:12).  In these passages it is particularly important to note that like the Revelation passage, it is how God describes Himself.
            What does it mean to describe something this way, especially the Lord?   When the Jewish historian Josephus used this term concerning God he went a step further and called Him “the first, the last and the middle” (Apion 2. 190) making the description even stronger.  One commentator wrote, “The Lord’s name of Alpha and Omega is part of a passage which affirms that all of history is in God’s hands and because of that His people do not need to be afraid that something will happen to them that is not a part of God’s plan.   This name encapsulates God’s eternality.”  Simply put all of history, from the beginning to the end is the same to God.  While we are prone to distinguish a point in time where something starts and a separate point where it ends, God sees time in a distinctly different manner.  I think it could be put it in this way:  humankind plots life in a straight line; God draws a circle.
            Craig S. Keener wrote, “Remembering that God is the Lord of history puts our lives in perspective.  No situation we encounter takes God by surprise.”  Pagan deities being that they are man-made are just as human as the rest of us.  Reading Greek or Roman myths will easily prove that.  False gods are mocked in the Bible because they are weak, inept and totally fabricated (Dt. 4:28; 1 Ki. 18:25-29; Ps. 115:1-8; Is. 2:7-8, 44:10-20; Jer. 10:1-5; Ac. 19:26; 1 Cor. 8:4).  The Biblical perspective of God as Alpha and Omega points our attention to the fact that everything is completely in His hands and that He works all things for good (Rom. 8:28).  But it is not just God the Father Who is described this way.  Rev. 21:6 uses this name to describe Jesus as well.  Tightly connected with Rev. 1:4, Jesus is also the One Who Is, Who Was, and Who is Coming.  He is the definitive explanation and literal visage of God the Father (Jn. 1:18; Col. 1:15).  God’s goal in history has come to its conclusion in Him.  By reiterating the name Alpha and Omega in regards to Christ, we who read John’s words are reminded that God has accomplished all He set out to do (i.e. restore His creation to its original state of communion with Him- Gen. 3:15) through His Son.
            Begin this year with the end in view.  Keep in mind the glorious completion of God’s plan for history as it is set forth in the Book of Revelation.  And remember that the Alpha and Omega has you in His hands today, tomorrow and always.
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div. 
Week of 1/3/2016