Grace and peace,
BMH
Monday, July 15, 2019
#137 Best of Both Worlds
When I have time to myself I really enjoy reading Superman comics. I also really enjoy watching my beloved Milwaukee Brewers. (If you've read my blog in the past, you've likely picked up on those two things.) Doing either of those things makes for a happy Brian. But here's the best thing: I can read comics and watch baseball at the same time. Baseball games have natural lulls between pitches, to say nothing of the commercial breaks at every pitching change and half-inning, so there's lots of little gaps for reading. Most of the comics I read do not have overly complicated plots, so I don't miss much—if anything—by reading in spurts, enabling me to pause to catch all the action in the game. It's beautiful. At the end of the day, it's hard to beat sitting in my La-Z-Boy with a Supes trade paperback in my hands and the Brew Crew on the TV. In those moments I feel that life is good.
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
#136 The Language of Pharaoh
This post has the potential to get controversial, so I'm going to do my best to handle it well. I just started a new sermon series on Exodus. The beginning of Exodus narrates how Pharaoh and the Egyptians force the Israelites into slavery. Pharaoh goes about this by stirring up fear of the Israelites among the Egyptians. Pharaoh cleverly and subtly points out that the Israelites are non-Egyptians, warning his people that the Israelites are already strong and numerous and only growing stronger and more numerous. Pharaoh insinuates that the Israelites have come to undermine and overthrow Egypt. The idea seems to be that the Israelites could take over, taking what rightfully belongs to the Egyptians.
As I was reading and reflecting and studying last week, I kept thinking that I'd heard speeches like Pharaoh's before. I've heard this kind of language here in the U.S. in the 21st century, both from political leaders and ordinary citizens. I've heard some of my fellow Americans worry about strong young male refugees coming to the U.S. from places like Syria, similar to how Pharaoh worried about a future army of Israelite men rising up against him. I've heard some of my fellow Americans talk about recent immigrants needing to go back to their own countries. I've heard some of my fellow Americans describe other people who speak Spanish as if they can't be truly American. I've heard some of my fellow Americans expressing fear that the people seeking asylum at our southern border are going to overrun or ruin "our" country. When I hear statements like this, I hear the language of Pharaoh.
Now the situation in Exodus is not the same as the situation today. I am well aware of that. Our laws and system of immigration are vastly different than how people moved about over 3000 years ago. We have some specific concerns about illegal immigration in the U.S. today that don't have a direct parallel in ancient Egypt. Pharaoh was concerned about Israelites who were already in Egypt, while some of the examples I gave above were about people who could potentially come to the U.S. We don't see open slavery in the U.S. today like there was in ancient Egypt. Pharaoh was oppressing God's chosen people. Today things are more complicated. God's chosen people is the church, which includes people from every nationality, ethnicity, and language. God's people today are on both sides of the examples I gave above. There are Christians who are already here in the U.S.—including some who are seen as genuinely "American" and some who are seen as "other"—and there are Christians among those trying to come to the U.S.
But in spite of those differences, I feel confident in saying that we Christians cannot justify using the language of Pharaoh, and I don't think we should keep silent when we hear such language. The Bible makes it clear that Christ Jesus brings reconciliation between human beings, gathering all types of people into His church. In Jesus God shows His perfect, gracious, and just love, the kind of love He wants us to live out in our relationships with Him and other people. Love does not stir up fear or hatred; in fact, 1 John says that love drives out fear. What's more, underneath the language of Pharaoh there seems to be this assumption that people of some nationalities or ethnicities are somehow worse or more wicked or less than other people. Why else would we be worried about them "taking over our country"? A few weeks ago, my denomination (the Christian Reformed Church) just reiterated that any teaching that claims that God wants people of different races to be separate or that some are better than others is heresy, incompatible with true Christianity. The language of Pharaoh preys on fear and dehumanizes others. It's wrong.
I'm not saying that the U.S. shouldn't have laws about immigration or seeking asylum. I'm certainly not saying that I have all the answers for those debates. But I am saying that, when we speak about and interact with people who live in our country or who are trying to come to our country, when we contact our elected officials who make our laws, we should talk about and act toward those who live in our country or are trying to enter it the way we'd like others to talk about and act toward us. We should think of the people in and trying to come to the U.S. as if they were our own family, as if there wasn't a "them" and an "us" but just "us." In Christ we see that we are no better, no more deserving of love than anyone else. But God loved us, and He calls us to love. Once we were not a people, but now we are the people of God, and anyone can be part of our family through Christ. With God's help let's not live or act or speak like Pharaoh but like God.
Grace and peace,
BMH
As I was reading and reflecting and studying last week, I kept thinking that I'd heard speeches like Pharaoh's before. I've heard this kind of language here in the U.S. in the 21st century, both from political leaders and ordinary citizens. I've heard some of my fellow Americans worry about strong young male refugees coming to the U.S. from places like Syria, similar to how Pharaoh worried about a future army of Israelite men rising up against him. I've heard some of my fellow Americans talk about recent immigrants needing to go back to their own countries. I've heard some of my fellow Americans describe other people who speak Spanish as if they can't be truly American. I've heard some of my fellow Americans expressing fear that the people seeking asylum at our southern border are going to overrun or ruin "our" country. When I hear statements like this, I hear the language of Pharaoh.
Now the situation in Exodus is not the same as the situation today. I am well aware of that. Our laws and system of immigration are vastly different than how people moved about over 3000 years ago. We have some specific concerns about illegal immigration in the U.S. today that don't have a direct parallel in ancient Egypt. Pharaoh was concerned about Israelites who were already in Egypt, while some of the examples I gave above were about people who could potentially come to the U.S. We don't see open slavery in the U.S. today like there was in ancient Egypt. Pharaoh was oppressing God's chosen people. Today things are more complicated. God's chosen people is the church, which includes people from every nationality, ethnicity, and language. God's people today are on both sides of the examples I gave above. There are Christians who are already here in the U.S.—including some who are seen as genuinely "American" and some who are seen as "other"—and there are Christians among those trying to come to the U.S.
But in spite of those differences, I feel confident in saying that we Christians cannot justify using the language of Pharaoh, and I don't think we should keep silent when we hear such language. The Bible makes it clear that Christ Jesus brings reconciliation between human beings, gathering all types of people into His church. In Jesus God shows His perfect, gracious, and just love, the kind of love He wants us to live out in our relationships with Him and other people. Love does not stir up fear or hatred; in fact, 1 John says that love drives out fear. What's more, underneath the language of Pharaoh there seems to be this assumption that people of some nationalities or ethnicities are somehow worse or more wicked or less than other people. Why else would we be worried about them "taking over our country"? A few weeks ago, my denomination (the Christian Reformed Church) just reiterated that any teaching that claims that God wants people of different races to be separate or that some are better than others is heresy, incompatible with true Christianity. The language of Pharaoh preys on fear and dehumanizes others. It's wrong.
I'm not saying that the U.S. shouldn't have laws about immigration or seeking asylum. I'm certainly not saying that I have all the answers for those debates. But I am saying that, when we speak about and interact with people who live in our country or who are trying to come to our country, when we contact our elected officials who make our laws, we should talk about and act toward those who live in our country or are trying to enter it the way we'd like others to talk about and act toward us. We should think of the people in and trying to come to the U.S. as if they were our own family, as if there wasn't a "them" and an "us" but just "us." In Christ we see that we are no better, no more deserving of love than anyone else. But God loved us, and He calls us to love. Once we were not a people, but now we are the people of God, and anyone can be part of our family through Christ. With God's help let's not live or act or speak like Pharaoh but like God.
Grace and peace,
BMH
Monday, July 1, 2019
#135 Getting Away from It All
Next to Calvin Theological Seminary is a pretty large pond. There are a lot of weird and wonderful things about the seminary building, but in my opinion, the sem pond is far and away the best part of the seminary's space. You can see a bit of the pond in this picture of Tess and me from my graduation:
Seminary life can often be hectic, stressful, and confusing. The sem pond, however, is usually calm and quiet. I can't say that I frequently visited the sem pond while I was a student at Calvin, but I do have some very good memories of sitting out there on sunny days. On one end of the pond, water gently flows over some rocks and drops into the pool. Near the other end a little green island floats between a couple neat bridges. From time to time ducks rest and swim and play at the pool. As I sit here thinking about the sem pond I can feel myself relaxing. It is a beautiful place.
When I was next door to the seminary at Calvin College for synod (my denomination's annual meeting) a couple weeks ago, I fled to the sem pond for refuge several times during breaks. After hours of meetings and discussion I would feel like my sanity was slipping away. But sitting by the sem pond or strolling back and forth on the island helped me unwind. Here was space away from all the people and busyness. Here I could watch ducklings scurry after their mother and listen to water trickling and babbling down to the pond. Here I could feel the warmth of the sun and breathe deeply as I walked across lush green grass. The sem pond reminded me that life was still going on outside of synod, that the whole world didn't depend on our decisions. By the sem pond God gave me enough peace to get through the week. Just another reason to love the sem pond.
Grace and peace,
BMH
When I was next door to the seminary at Calvin College for synod (my denomination's annual meeting) a couple weeks ago, I fled to the sem pond for refuge several times during breaks. After hours of meetings and discussion I would feel like my sanity was slipping away. But sitting by the sem pond or strolling back and forth on the island helped me unwind. Here was space away from all the people and busyness. Here I could watch ducklings scurry after their mother and listen to water trickling and babbling down to the pond. Here I could feel the warmth of the sun and breathe deeply as I walked across lush green grass. The sem pond reminded me that life was still going on outside of synod, that the whole world didn't depend on our decisions. By the sem pond God gave me enough peace to get through the week. Just another reason to love the sem pond.
Grace and peace,
BMH
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