Fred Reminder

We meet this Friday to discuss chapters 10 and 11 (pages 54 to 64) in the N. T. Wright book.

See you there!!

Hope

In the past week I’ve been reading in Hebrews 10 about persevering in the faith. Sometimes the circumstances of our lives cause us to wonder, “Is God really there?  If God is really there, is God really there for me?”  There are times that we aren’t sure what faith is or whether we have any.  How do we know?

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is assurance in what we hope for and conviction about what we do not see. Many of us have memorized that verse, but may wonder about “assurance’ and “conviction”.  Those words convey a confidence that we might not have.  But even if assurance and conviction aren’t in reserve, we can always hope. 

What do you hope for?  In what or  in whom do you have confidence?

May the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever.    Heb 13:20-21

Fairy Tales

I’ve always loved fairy tales. Recently, I decided that one of my grandmotherly duties is to share good fairy tales with the little ones in my life.  In the last year, I’ve started collecting big picture books with great illustrations and only slightly adulterated stories.  I don’t want any updated or Disneyfied versions.  I like my fairy tales straight up.

The current favorites at my house are “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”” and “Little Red Riding Hood”.  I started reading the saga of the billy goat brothers to my grandson when he was just a year old. Every Saturday I’d open the book and he would look at me with big eyes, whispering, “Troll….”  After a few months, I added in “Little Red Riding Hood”.  He loved that one as well and seeing the cover always prompted him to say, “Wolf! Wolf!”, but when I tried “The Little Red Hen”, he wasn’t enthused at all. 

A week or so ago, we had company over for a BBQ. There were plenty of adults, but only a few children and they were young ones.  Later in the day, after the kids had very agreeably played with what we had and were getting a little bored and tired, I dragged out the tub of books. I had an audience of two, a younger brother age 2 and an older sister who is not quite 4 years old. 

I held up “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” and asked if they wanted to hear it.  Oh, yes they did.  When we got to the end with the troll floating down the river, they said, “Read it again!”  So I fetched my little toy goats and little toy troll and let them act out the story as I read it a few more times.  Little brother lost interest after the second or third time, but Big Sister couldn’t get enough. 

I held up “The Little Red Hen” and asked if she was interested in hearing that story.  She was.  It’s a beautifully illustrated and pleasantly rhymed book.  Her dad, in a chair nearby, commented on what a nice book it is.  But when we arrived at the last page Big Sister didn’t seem to care if she heard it again.  I could see her looking back at the goat ‘n’ troll story, so I pulled out “Little Red Riding Hood”.  I do like my fairy tales told straight and this version is one of the more gruesome ones with the wicked wolf swallowing both Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother whole before being sliced open by two hunters. It’s easy to forget those details, and as I got further into the story and remembered they were there I felt a little guilty.  Who am I to introduce someone else’s little sweetie to the Big Bad Wolf?

But Big Sister loved it.  And I was proud of her for being able to hear the story. Not because of the gory details, but because she could discern what was important. On the last page, after the wolf’s belly had been opened and Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother emerged unscathed, Grandmother declares that she feels better and Little Red vows to never leave the path again.  Big Sister turned to me and said, “She should have stayed on the path!”  I agreed with her and she asked to hear the story again.

But why would she want to hear about a wicked wolf and and unfortunate little girl?  And why didn’t she want to hear about the Little Red Hen slaving away all by herself to get some baking done?  I think our good stories have wolves and trolls in them. Our not-so-good stories have self-righteous hens who won’t share the bread.  We already know that we should help out.  Or be nice enough to share with others who don’t really deserve it.  But what about predators, like trolls and wolves?  What do we do when one comes to us as we stroll down the path?  If you have a troll preying on you, don’t worry. He’s not very smart. You can trick a troll or distract him pretty easily.  Keep it up until you have grown into a big goat with two long pointy horns and four sharp hooves that can smash bones to bits.  Then you just butt him off the bridge into the river below – kersplash!!

But what did Little Red Riding Hood do wrong?  Big Sister had noticed that at the end of the book, Little Red vowed to never leave the path again.  And when we began the second reading she heard how Little Red’s mother instructed her to stay on the path.  So she paid close attention to see where Little Red’s journey to Grandmother’s house took a wrong turn.  In the book, after befriending Little Red and learning that she was on her way to Grandmother’s house, the wicked wolf suggests she picks some flowers to give to her grandmother.  This is what causes Little Red to leave the path. 

 “Why is she picking flowers?” Big Sister asked.

“She wants to give them to her grandmother.”  I answered.

Big Sister knew this was a critical point in the story, but wasn’t exactly sure what about this scene made everything go wrong.

“What’s a bouquet?” she asked suspiciously. Perhaps a bouquet had the power to make wolves swallow little girls and their grandmothers.

I explained bouquets, secretly delighted that she could tell that Little Red had not handled her encounter with the wolf skillfully, even if she wasn’t yet able to pinpoint the problem.

What I hope Big Sister somehow heard in the rest of the story is this:  when we let the predator lure us off our path we can lose our sight.  Even if we find our way back on the path, our vision can become so cloudy that we can’t discern between the big bad wolf and our own sweet grandmother.  It is at this point that we are in danger of being consumed.  But even if we find ourselves swallowed whole, all is not lost.

There are rescuers, like the astute hunters in “Little Red Riding Hood”.  The hunters decide to check on the grandmother and find a bloated, sleepy wolf.  Putting down their rifles, they take out their knives, slice open the wolf and release Little Red and her grandmother. The little girl and the old woman emerge unharmed from the wolf’s belly.

So it is possible to return to the world whole.  Like Grandmother, we feel better.  Like Little Red, we vow to stay on the path next time.  Like Big Sister, we want to hear the story again because we know a good story has a predator that will end up sliced open or floating down the river while we become bigger, stronger and all the wiser for having met him.

Fridays are for Fred 2

We'll meet next on Friday, September 21.  Here's what we'll cover:

N. T. Wright - Chapter 10: Come To Worship.  Don't delay in starting this one.  Wright sees chapter 10 as a point where several different threads in the book of Hebrews are drawn together.  We will face the warnings in verses 26-31.  What do they mean?

N. T. Wright - Chapter 11:  What Faith Really Means.  Chapter 11 is often called the "Hall of Faith". In this chapter the writer of Hebrews presents remarkable men and women of the Old Testament to encourage and challenge us today.  Do you have a favorite hero on the list?

The Priestly Blessing

The Priestly Blessing, also known as the Aaronic Blessing, is probably my favorite. This comes from Numbers 6 and is the blessing God directs Moses to give to Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelite people.   I love the idea of God making his face shine upon me. 


The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord lift up his face to you and grant you peace.


As you travel through this day, may your face reflect God's to all you encounter.

Fridays are for Fred

Since we will cover 2 chapters the next time we get together I thought I’d give a bit of a summary of what we’ll discuss.

The writer of Hebrews is presenting Christ as the better way.  He is better than the angels (chpts.1 & 2), he is better than Moses (chpt. 3), he is the promised and better rest (chpt. 4), although Jesus was not of the priestly line, he is a priest like Melchizedek, who was greater than Abraham (chpt. 7).  Jesus is our High Priest, whose ministry is greater than the old priesthood, mediating a better covenant (chpt 8).

In chapter 9 we learn that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.  The old system used the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer to cleanse the people’s bodies, but the once for all sacrifice of Christ will purify our consciences so that we can worship the living God.   

In chapter 10, the writer of Hebrews will continue to present Christ as the mediator of a new covenant superior to the old covenant.  God’s people are made holy by the one time sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, which gives us permission to enter heaven’s Most Holy Place.  The presence of our great High Priest ruling over God’s house gives us confidence to enter with a clean conscience.

The book of Hebrews encourages us to continue in the faith, preferring Christ and seeing Him as the superior way to reconciliation and true worship of God.  Have you been encouraged during this study?