It’s hard for me to believe but it’s been almost a decade since my first trip to Israel.  I remember when someone who’d been there learned I was making a trip to the “Holy Land” they would tell me, “You’ll never read the Bible the same way again!” or “You’ll be changed forever!”  These animated statements became so frequent I got tired of hearing them.  I couldn’t believe the hyperbole would actually be true- until I got there.  The most significant moment on that first trip occurred when my study tour reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  As I stood on the shoreline and looked across the water a thought came to me so strong and clear, “Jesus was here!”  It was then that all the enthusiasm made sense, and yes, it also proved to be true!
            The Galilee region is divided into two sections, Upper and Lower Galilee.  The Upper Galilee region is mountainous and windswept.  Although it is not at its center, the Sea of Galilee is definitely the hub of activity in Lower Galilee.  It is approximately 20 miles long and 8 miles wide.  The temperate climate and fertile soil of Lower Galilee make it a wonderful place for agriculture.  Galilee was also a melting pot of people.  Economic and political threats from outsiders had been stopped by Rome and the road systems which cut through it opened up trade with the outside world.  Galilee was hardly the backwater region of peasants and Pharisees as it is often depicted to be.  The broad scope of Greek, Roman and Jewish culture was probably one of the reasons the orthodox Jews of the south despised the people of Galilee and were convinced that no prophet could come out of it (Jn. 1:46; 7:41,52).
            One might think that the Messiah (as a descendent of David) would launch His ministry from Jerusalem the capitol of David’s kingdom but Jesus chose the city of Capernaum in Galilee.  From the hillsides where terrace farms grew grapes, olives, figs and grains, to villages with family-run industries in fishing and masonry to cities like Capernaum and Nazareth where synagogues were at the heart of daily life, Jesus walked through them all and drew upon the daily routines associated with them to teach and proclaim the Good News.  As He interacted with His surroundings He taught the people about both His human and Divine Nature by celebrating weddings (Jn. 2:1-11), feeding thousands (Mt. 14:13-21; Mk. 6:33-44; 8:1-9), healing the sick (Mt. 4:24; 11:5; 12:5; 14:14; 15:30; 19:2; Mk. 7:37; Lk. 7:22; Jn. 9:39), demonstrating His divinity (Mt. 17:1-8; Mk. 9:1-8; Lk. 9:28-36), raising the dead (Lk. 7:11-17; 8:49-56; Jn. 11:1-45) and performing miracles (Mt. 9: 30; 11:4-6; 12:22;14:22-34; Mk. 6:45-52; 7:32-25; Lk. 8:22-25; Jn. 9:1-7; 11:47).
            But why begin in Galilee?  It could be said that Galilee was chosen solely on the basis of God’s sovereignty.  That is to say that He chose this area because He wanted to.  However that would ignore two rather obvious factors concerning Galilee itself.  First, Galilee was chosen because of its geographic location.  The Via Maris (or Coastal Highway), an ancient and well-traveled trade route, ran diagonally through it.  The Via Maris acted as communication central for the ministry of Jesus.  Whatever He did in Galilee, the news of it spread with the merchants, traders and pilgrims who traveled this road as they conducted their business and went to Jerusalem for the holy days.  It is commonly known in business today that “word of mouth is the best advertising” and this was no different for Jesus.  He wisely took advantage of people’s natural tendency to talk about the news of the day.  And Jesus was certainly news!  Secondly, the choice of Galilee fulfilled prophecy (Is. 9:1-2; Mt. 2:19-23; 4:12-16; Mk. 1:14-15; Lk. 4:14-21) which is one of the more important things that Jesus said He came to do (Mt. 5:17-18). 
            While Galilee’s place in fulfilled prophecy is unquestionable, it demonstrates to us an even more important aspect of God’s nature.  He desires to be with us!  From the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:7) to the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:8) and Temple (1 Ki. 8:10-13), Galilee proves that when God said He would once again dwell with His people (Zech. 2:10), He did it in the most intimate way by taking on flesh and walking upon the Galilean soil (Jn. 1:14-18).  Your life is not much different to Him.  He wants to walk with you and you to walk with Him.  Some of His first disciples came from the shores of Galilee.  When He called them, they left what they were doing to follow Him (Mt. 4:18-22; Mk. 1:16-20; 2:14; Lk. 5:1-11, 27-28; Jn. 43-51).  He wants you to do the same.  Will you?
Ann H. LeFevre      
Week of 10/29/2017

            Jeff and I do not share the same taste in TV shows which we consider relaxing.  Where I prefer something innocuous and fluffy, he prefers something more analytical and based on reality hence his liking for the show called Forensic Files.  In this series real crimes are solved by the use of scientific technology which most often connects DNA evidence with the person who committed the crime.  Once in a while the DNA evidence is used to free a person who has been wrongly convicted.  I recall one case where a man spent 16 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.  Discarded evidence, deceased witnesses, a similar appearance to the person who actually did commit the crime and political expediency all stacked the case against him.  But there was enough doubt for one investigator to keep pursuing the case until a breakthrough in forensic technology was finally and unequivocally able to reveal he was not the man who belonged behind bars.
            Mary Magdelene may not need forensics to prove her innocence in a crime, but with some Scriptural forensics we can prove two things about her (Mt. 27:55-61; 28:1-10; Mk. 15:40-47; 16:1-19; Lk. 8:1-3; 24:1-10; Jn. 19:23-25; 20:1-18).  The first, and perhaps most humorous, misconception concerning Mary is her “last name” which is not a last name at all but a word which identifies her hometown.  Magdala was known for its dye works and textile factories in the days of Jesus and was one of the wealthier towns on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  Mary may have been associated with one of these wealthier families for it was not uncommon for women of means to patronize rabbis by supplying food and other necessities.  Mary along with several other prominent women are mentioned as doing the same for Jesus (Mt. 27:55-56; Lk. 8:2-3; Mk. 15:40-41).  But we really know nothing of her family background or her source of income because it is never mentioned.  What we can assume is that with no known family ties she was free to devote herself to Jesus’ ministry.
            The second inaccurate assumption concerning Mary is concerns her past.  One author noted, “The wide acceptance of the tradition that she was a former prostitute is utterly baseless”.  As stated earlier a close look at all the verses which mention her by name proves this to be true.  But while Mary was not a woman of ill-repute, she was a woman who suffered.  Although she may have been of high standing and raised in comfortable circumstances the Gospel writers note that she suffered from demonic oppression, literally form seven evil spirits.  The number seven is sometimes symbolic for completeness meaning that whether literally or symbolically, when the evil spirits dominated Mary, the suffering was extremely severe.
            What weaknesses Mary may have had, making it easy for the demons to enter and torment her, we are not told.  But her deliverance resulted in utter devotion and service to Jesus.  That devotion showed itself in her generosity as she ministered out of her own substance.  She is often mentioned within a list of women who did this, usually appearing toward the front meaning she occupied a place ahead of the other godly females serving Jesus (Lk. 8:1-3).  However Mary’s greatest honor is that she was the first person to see the Resurrected Lord thus becoming the initial herald of the Good News (Mt. 28:1-10; Mk. 16:1-11; Lk. 24:1-18; Jn. 20:1-10).  It is the last official glimpse we see of her in Scripture, but we can be fairly certain that she remained with the other believers in the Upper Room after Christ’s ascension and witnessed the miraculous outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2.
            While it is good to take note of Mary’s devotion and to extol her virtues as a follower of Christ, we must realize that her story is not there just so we can say, “Oh how nice!” and leave it at that.  Perhaps the most obvious lesson from her life is that Mary recognized how much the Lord had given to her and therefore she gave the same in return.  Are we doing the same?  Are we loving Jesus and serving Him with everything we have as she did?  Or are we more like the Church at Ephesus who forgot its First Love and let their service to the Lord go cold (Rev. 2:1-7, see v. 4)?  Someone recently said to me when recognizing the challenges of serving Christ, “Ministry is inconvenient, but it’s what we’re called to do.”  I know that if I find myself reacting selfishly when a need presents itself rather than serving, one thought of Christ’s willingness to suffer on the cross (the ultimate inconvenience if you ask me!) and my attitude gets adjusted rather quickly.  Mary Magdelene’s life reminds us that all that we have, and all that we are should be given in full measure to Jesus in response to the gift of salvation which He gave so selflessly gave to us.  Like Mary we have been given much.  What are we giving in return (Lk. 12:41-48)?
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
Week of 10/22/2017

            Do you remember the old Sesame Street song that stated, “One of these things is not like the other; one of these things just doesn’t belong”?  Children were then asked to identify the object that did not match.  For the adults in the room the answer was usually quite obvious, but for the children it was fun way to figure out (usually by the process of elimination) which object was out of place. 
            Jonah is the odd man out among the prophets.  Lined up against Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and the rest, he would easily stand out as “not like the others”.  His book is not a collection of oracles or symbolic actions; it is a didactic narrative.  It is not a sympathetic portrayal either.  Instead the book of Jonah is a satire about a man who was neither an obedient nor a compassionate prophet.  Unlike the others who carried out some of the unusual commands of the Lord (see: Jer. 27:1-3; Eze. 5:1-4; Hos. 1:1-3) he was disobedient, judgmental, biased, and sour.  In fact, unlike his peers he was not even sent to Israel; he was sent to Nineveh the persecuting pagans of his day.
            To discover the point of why such an inept candidate for the office of prophet has even wound up in the Bible, we're going to look at the book of Jonah from a literary perspective today.  First we must define the difference between a narrative and a story because although it is comfortable to say, the “story of Jonah” the literary pieces of this book make it more than that.  A story is fictional (sometimes we say something is a "true story", but stories don't necessarily have to be true).  When we use the term "narrative", especially in association with the Bible, we mean not only is it true, but there is Truth in the account.  Biblical narratives are not only entertaining as far as a “story” goes; they also contain Truth concerning God, Truth concerning humankind, Truth concerning history... and so on.  Like a good story, a narrative has elements which drive it forward and teach us that Truth.
            What makes for a good "story"?  I think we are all familiar with these components: plot, conflict, danger, interesting characters, climax, suspense... etc.  All of these elements are in the book of Jonah, but with a few ironic twists.  The narrative unfolds as follows: 1:1-3   Jonah's call and disobedience; 1:4-6   God's response and the sailors' peril; 1:7-10  The culprit is identified; 1:11-16  The solution and its unexpected consequences; 1:17-2:10  A strange prayer from the belly of a fish; 3:1-3  The second call and Jonah's obedience; 3:4-5  Instant success in Nineveh; 3:6-9  The royal response; 3:10   The Divine response; 4:1-4  Jonah's outburst; and 4:5-11 An ironic instruction in Divine pity (from Jonah by F. W. Golka).  When reading Jonah take careful note of repeated words, the geographical movement of Jonah, the contrasts of the characters (Jonah’s behavior as compared to the Ninevites’ actions for example), and the catalysts that move one scene on to the next.  The literary elements of this book force us to look at Jonah not God, a surprising twist since so many of his fellow prophets do exactly the opposite.  This becomes even more glaring when we try to find Jonah’s message to the great city of Nineveh.  It’s barely identifiable because it’s so brief!  So the focus of Jonah is definitely not on the message, nor the Message Maker, but the messenger.
            Looking at some of the literary highlights makes this quite clear.  In chapter 1 size and movement take precedence.  Nineveh is a “great” city and Jonah is swallowed by a “great” fish.  Jonah is told to go east and he takes a ship west.  Most importantly the pagans seem to fear God more than Jonah does!   The highlights of chapter 2 include Jonah’s “fish story” and the prayer of his repentance.  Although eloquent, it still has a touch of pride (See how good I am Lord?  I’m repenting!).  Chapter 3 includes more movement after the Lord gives Jonah a second chance, the ever so brief prophetic sermon and the remarkable (although historically brief) success of Jonah’s ministry.  In chapter 4 Jonah becomes the pouting prophet and in an ironic twist God uses a plant to show Jonah his lack of compassion (Jonah is more concerned about a plant, than people).  Jonah’s biggest problem was not so much that the Ninevites repented, although that did bother him, it was that God accepted them when they repented!  He wasn’t supposed to do that- THEY were NOT the CHOSEN PEOPLE.
            So what is the main point of this prophetic narrative?  It is not just to illustrate God’s compassion for all people.  It is not to teach us that it is better to obey God than to disobey Him.  And many preachers and teachers take it to one of those conclusions.  But the point of Jonah is not either of those altruistic exhortations.  It is to make us take a good look at ourselves, our immediate surroundings and the people we can have an impact on and ask, “Am I acting like Jonah?”
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
Week of 10/15/2017

           The little house that Alice Wells lived in looked like it would fall apart at any moment even though it was solidly built.  It tilted slightly and there was a little gap between the front step and the threshold which probably occurred as the house settled over the years.  It had no basement and the attic was more like a closet.  By today’s standards her house wouldn’t even be a “fixer-upper”.  But Alice loved it because her husband had built it.  And since she was now widowed, the tiny little home gave her great satisfaction because she could maintain it.  Widowhood can be lonely but it is no longer as fearful as it used to be.  Unless a widow was surrounded by family in Biblical times it could become life-threatening.  That was certainly the case for a widow in the town of Zaraphath.
            Zaraphath was located in Phoenicia which was steeped in Baal worship.  Baal was the god of rain, thunder and lightning, and in the Phoenicians’ eyes the dependence of living things on water linked Baal to the control of life itself.  Elijah came to this region during a drought just after spending some time in the wilderness of Kerith (1 Ki. 17:1-24).  Interestingly, Elijah’s sojourn in the wilderness could have led to the end of his life, but instead God demonstrated His control over life and death by providing food and water for the prophet.  As Elijah heads into a territory where Baal is considered to be in charge of these matters gives God even more opportunity to demonstrate His superiority over Baal where Baal is expected to excel.  However, Baal had not been able to overcome the drought, even on his home turf, and because of that a widow and her son are about to die.
            Elijah’s interaction with the widow begins as he enters the city.  Seeing the widow, he asks her for water, a seemingly absurd question in light of the drought, but her response is to set off and find some.  While she is leaving, Elijah tacks on a request for bread as well.  One would think that if she were to find either of these items in drought conditions she would first give them to her son.  In fact she admits that she is about to prepare their last meal (1 Ki. 17:12).  The widow may have had more means to live by in earlier days as it is noted in v. 19 that the home had a second story, something only wealthier families had.  But now she has run out of funds and food.  Even though her response to Elijah appears less than faith-filled, there is enough faith to make her obedient to God’s command, and Elijah’s request (1 Ki. 17:9).  She dutifully prepares the food as a household manager would, and serves her guest as hospitality dictates.  Perhaps as she was kneading the last lump of dough Elijah’s words and God’s promise ran through her mind and that flicker of faith grew into a small flame (1 Ki. 17:13-14).
            Her faith, in spite of its inauspicious beginning, is rewarded.  The narrator notes again in 1 Ki. 17: 15-16 that “she and her household ate for many days.  The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty”.   Human nature being what it is, and being a mother myself, I can imagine the widow wishing there was a little more than a day’s worth of food available during this time.  But like the manna which fell from heaven on a daily basis, this is how God chose to provide for them (Ex. 16:4, 35).  Jesus taught us to pray for daily bread, not weekly or monthly (Mt. 6:11; Lk. 11:3).  There is something refreshingly satisfying about having what you need for the moment and not having to worry about anything else (Mt. 6:25-34).  If the widow had seen wealthier days, this was a new experience for her.  Living on excess never tries one’s faith.  Living on a shoestring forges faith, like heat forges steel.   The Hebrew of verse 16 literally states that God fed them “day by day by day by day...”, and each of those days proved continually that the Lord, not Baal held the course of their lives in His hands.  Elijah’s presence in the midst of this household acted like an anchor.  As long as he was there, the widow perceived that his God would provide.  And He did.
            I have seen a lot of Christians become consumed with planning for the future.  They worry about pension plans, life insurance, investments and social security.  While I don’t think one should throw caution to the wind and view God as a Pez dispenser that will spit out whatever is needed as life goes on, I do wonder sometimes if our culture has shifted our focus off of Who ultimately cares for us and gives us life.  I think we have placed the security of our future on paper and programs that can easily disappear when the financial world is shaken by politics and greed.  We have forgotten to enjoy the simplicity of  being thankful for our daily bread and being content with what we have (Phil. 4:11-13).  Like Alice Wells, the widow of Zaraphath recognized the source of her blessings (1 Ki. 17:24).  My goal will be the same as I look to the future.  How about you?
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.  
Week of 10/8/2017