Hearing the Music

Here We Stand

Many of you are familiar with the story of Martin Luther. He recounts his early days as a monk in the following way: “When I was a monk, I wearied myself greatly for almost fifteen years with the daily sacrifice, tortured myself with fasting, vigils, prayers, and other very rigorous works. I earnestly thought to acquire righteousness by my works.”

God delivered him to a place of rest in his meditation on Rom 1: 17. Through that text, Luther came to realize that salvation was a gift for the guilty, not a reward for the righteous. Man is not saved by his good works but by trusting the finished work of Christ. In other words Luther had a brush with the heart of God as made manifest in the Gospel.  

Luther's Gospel experience was to spark a reformation and upset the halls of power in the Catholic church.  Luther was eventually called to trial for his beliefs and was demanded to recant or face excommunication, possibly even death. When forced to renounce his teachings, Luther faced his inquisitors and famously said, “I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen."

I share this with you because, as we begin a study of 2 Timothy, we see Paul taking his stand on these very same Gospel truths. For Paul, in prison at the end of his life, it seemed that "‘Christianity trembled, humanly speaking, on the verge of annihilation’. Who, then, would do battle for the truth when Paul had laid down his life? This was the question which dominated and vexed his mind as he lay in chains, and to which he addressed himself in this letter. Already in his first letter he had pleaded with Timothy to keep safe the deposit: ‘Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care’ (1 Tim. 6:20). But since then the situation had worsened. So the apostle’s appeal became more urgent. He reminded Timothy that the precious Gospel was now committed to him, and that it was now his turn to assume responsibility for it, to preach and teach it, to defend it against attack and against falsification, and to ensure its accurate transmission to the generations yet to come" (John Stott).

As we move into the fall, it is both an earnest responsibility and a deep privilege to immerse ourselves in these Gospel truths yet again. They are the center of our life together and we dare not move off that center.  Like Paul, like Luther, here we stand.

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

IYKYK

IYKYK. I’ve pondered these letters on my friends' and family’s social media posts and in my news feeds. DO I know what they’re talking about? Do I want to know?

According to artificial intelligence, “IYKYK is an abbreviation for if you know, you know. It's a slang term that's often used in social media posts and as a hashtag to reference an inside joke or shared experience for a specific group, like a fandom.” It projects feelings of exclusivity and makes it obvious who is in or out of the joke/experience/knowledge base.

I experience this with my friends at work–the bonds that are formed as we navigate hours spent alongside each other, for better or worse. How we seem to relish the stories of the absurd, stressful, outrageous, and hilarious things we have gone through together. Just this week, for reasons not clear to me, we completed a personality quiz that informed us of what kind of vegetable we are. IYKYK

Sometimes I get to assist in leading worship. Getting together on a Tuesday evening, singing and playing and praying. Practicing the songs throughout the week. Feeling the sleep in our eyes as we gather at 7:30 on Sunday morning. The songs become stamped in our minds and hearts. IYKYK

Last week, Andrew spoke about David and his band of brothers. I imagine they had their share of stories around the campfire. “Remember when we crossed enemy lines to get the king a drink of water?” “Remember when Eleazar took out the Philistines and his hand was so tired he couldn't let go of his sword?” “Remember when JB took out 800 at one time? IYKYK

As we have come to understand through the stories of King David, we are part of a larger story that is both precious and expansive. We are invited in closer to come to know the things we do not know. We are never left out as outsiders. We are invited to know THE king. To understand and believe. To share the stories of our humiliating losses and hard-won gains. We will be granted courage by the most courageous one. That’s reassuring to me because sometimes I feel really scared.

The Lord Brought About a Great Victory

As we come to the end of 2nd Samuel (just 2 more weeks!), we pick up where Michael left off last week in chapter 23:8. However, rather than a continuation of David's farewell speech, we come to the annals of the exploits of David's mighty men. In some ways, it is a little jarring to find these exploits recorded in scripture. Does scripture celebrate war and killing? Are these the types of exploits that are required to qualify as a "mighty man"? The answer to those questions is no and no. While scripture does recount the exploits of war, it does so in the context of a story about good and evil. It is a story about a King and his struggle to regain his kingdom from tyrants. It is a story where the King will sacrifice his own life in order to save his subjects. We must be careful not to discuss concepts such as war and killing apart from their context in the greater story that the Bible is telling.

As far as the Bible's characterization of what qualifies as a "mighty man", we must maintain the same level of nuance that the scripture does. The men of  these annals gathered initially to David as weak outcasts who could not find a home. 1 Sam 22 puts it this way, "And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him." These were men who were equally marked by weakness as strength. David himself was a man of valor having destroyed the giant, Goliath. But he was also the sweet Psalm singer of Israel, as comfortable with a harp as with a sword. David was also a man deeply in touch with his emotions and is known as a man after God's heart largely for his ability to confess his sin and seek repentance. The Bible's portrayal of a "mighty man" is complex.

Perhaps more than anything, the annals of the mighty men in David's retinue remind us that though we are often called to deeds of valor and hearts of loyalty, it is always God working through us to achieve great victories (cf 2 Sam 23:10,12). In the end, as we have seen week by week, David is the recipient of the God's promise and is the king, but he is not THE KING that our hearts ultimately long for.  

Photo by Ricardo Cruz on Unsplash