Faces

 It took many experts several decades to develop facial recognition software. But a few days after birth a baby instantly recognises the face of its mother. Face recognition is "system 1 thinking" in the words of Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman. Such thinking is instinctive and very fast.

The question arises as to how much "body language" is exhibited by our faces. In his book Talking to Strangers Malcolm Gladwell maintains that what we read in a person's face is dependent on the cultures of the speaker and of the hearer.

Unfortunately much of what we read in facial expressions is fake. I refer to the movies we look at. Even at live performances celebrities often put on their "game faces". In any case, one may ask how authentic the body language is of a face that has been surgically reconstructed.

The Bible records a number of instances when faces took on an extraordinary complexion. Moses' face shone when he came down Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments. Jesus' face shone like the sun while on the Mount of Transfiguration. When Stephen was facing his accusers his face became like the "face of and angel". The icons of saints in the early church were painted with halos. Were these painters trying to portray shining faces?

There is no guarantee that a face will be recognised for the innocence and benevolence of its owner. The most loving, honest and upright person who ever lived elicited hatred from religious leaders who felt threatened by him. And the prophet wrote about him that he was not extraordinarily attractive (Isaiah 53:2). Yet he was the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

The devil said to God about Job that he would "curse you to your face" if God would stop blessing him (Job 1:11). Was he talking from experience? Is Isaiah 14:14 an account of satan looking into the face of the Son of God and saying "who do you think you are?" Did the snake then trick Eve into enticing her husband to fall into the same trap, namely to arrogantly usurp the position reserved for the Christ? It would seem as if the face of God was not threatening enough to stop Adam from doing just that. We know that Jesus had exactly the opposite attitude (Philippians 2:6-8). And if we are honest enough to admit it, there is something in every human heart urging us to know better than God.

But Psalmists urge us to seek the face of God (Psalm 27:8; 105:4) and blessings are promised to those who do (2 Chronicles 7:14). The blessing the priests spoke over the Israelites includes a plea to God to make his face shine on them (Numbers 6:25).

How do we seek God's face? Do we see his face reflected in the faces of fellow believers? Paul said we are changed into his image when we look at the glory of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). Jesus said the righteous will "shine like the sun" in the Kingdom of their Father (Matthew 13:43).

The Pentecostal distinctive

 A lot has been written about the inerrancy of the Bible. On the one hand there are those who emphasise the fact that the 66 books of the Bible were written by fallible humans. On the other hand some say every word was inspired by God.

If my source is correct, Muslims believe that the Quran was dictated directly to Muhammad word for word by an angel. That would be why only the Arabic text is regarded as perfectly reliable. Bob Dylan claimed to have written the anthemic protest song ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ in a matter of minutes. When asked by Ed Bradley in 2004 how he wrote the song he said it was from “that wellspring of creativity”.

All of us who regularly pray in a language unknown to ourselves know that at such a time our minds are “unfruitful”, in the words of Paul (1 Corinthians 14:14). We also know that when we prophesy, our minds are not completely unfruitful. That is the reason why Paul said prophesies need to be judged. When our brains are engaged we are prone to making mistakes.

Peter said the prophets of old tried “to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing” and that  “it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you” (1 Peter 1:11-12). Clearly, those prophets did not understand everything they received from the Holy Spirit. A typical example would be David's words “they cast lots for my garment” (Psalm 22:18).

But Luke wrote his gospel after he had “carefully investigated everything from the beginning” (Luke 1:3). His mind was obviously very engaged in his endeavour  “to write an orderly account”. We have to conclude that there is a spectrum of possibilities when one speaks for God. In the Bible the human and the divine cannot always be distinguished.

I do think most Pentecostals and Charismatics will agree that the process by which the Canon of the Bible was compiled was inspired by God. There were and still are many books that have an element of inspiration, for example the apocrypha. I believe this very article I am now writing is inspired by the Almighty. But the 66 books we regard as final authority will not change.

You and you

English grammar distinguishes itself from other European languages by using "you" for both the singular and plural second pronouns. In some parts of the USA this deficiency is addressed by using "y'all" when addressing more than one person. And now some are advocating for the use of "they" for the third person singular as well as plural. The reason for this is to avoid using "he" or "she" since these pronouns have become controversial.

However, if students had to write sentences like the ones found in Genesis 1:26-27 the teacher would probably call them illiterate. For the sake of clarity I write the original Hebrew words in parentheses, plural words in bold and underline singular words:

1:26 And God (Elohim) said, Let us make man (Adam) in our image ...

1:27 So God (Elohim) created man (Adam) in His own image; in the image of God (Elohim) He created him; male (zakar) and female (neqebah) He created them.

I believe the verses contain hints about the nature of God. (1) He is a plurality of persons - hence Elohim, not El; (2) His image in mankind was incomplete before the creation of the female. (3) Humans are created to be in a community.

Light can be cast on the subject by looking at the more detailed account of man's creation in Genesis 2:15-23.

2:15 Then the Lord God (YHWH Elohim) took the man (Adam) and put him in the garden of Eden ...

2:16-18 And the Lord God (YHWH Elohim) commanded the man (Adam), saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die". 18 And the Lord God (YHWH Elohim) said, “It is not good that man (Adam) should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

2:20 So Adam gave names to all cattle ...

2:22-23 Then the rib which the Lord God (YHWH Elohim) had taken from man (Adam) He made into a woman (isha), and He brought her to the man (Adam). And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman (Isha), because she was taken out of Man (Ish).”

In these verses God is identified by his NAME, the so-called Tetragrammaton YHWH which pious Jews don't pronounce. It is the name by which God identified himself to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). One conclusion I draw from this is that there was a one-on-one personal relationship between the Creator and Adam whom he had made in his image.

Every believer can be sure that God wants to relate to him/her personally as well as in community. I cannot elaborate on this better than CS Lewis's who, commenting on Revelation 2:17, wrote:

What can be more a man's own that this new name which even in eternity remains a secret between God and him?  And what shall we take this secrecy to mean?  Surely, that each of the redeemed shall forever know and praise some one aspect of the divine beauty better than any other creature can.  Why else were individuals created, but that God, loving all infinitely, should love each differently?  And this difference, so far from impairing, floods with meaning the love of all blessed creatures from one another, the communion of the saints.  If all experienced God in the same way and returned Him an identical worship, the song of the Church triumphant would have no symphony, it would be like an orchestra in which all the instruments played the same note...

Angry at God

 Jonah thought he had reason to be angry with God. The Assyrians were a cruel nation who raided the Northern Israelites and eventually exiled them from their homeland. The British museum houses some Assyrian art which includes appalling images of savagery.

Jonah did not appreciate the mercy the Almighty showed these sadistic brutes. His own people had been at the receiving end of their inhumanity. He would have loved to see them get their just desert. And why did the Lord berate the Israelites and threaten to punish them? In his opinion their sins were of a much less serious nature.

The elder brother in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son had much the same attitude. His father forgave the squanderer without any preconditions. His irresponsible self-indulgent brother was accepted as if he had never done anything wrong.

Another parable of Jesus conveys a similar message. In Matthew 20:1-16 he likened the Kingdom of Heaven to a landowner who hired workers at different times of the day. At the end of the day he paid them all the same wage, beginning with those who had worked the shortest period. This caused those who had worked through the heat of the day to grumble. It clashed with their sense if fairness.

There are many people today who would like to impose onto the rest of humanity what they regard as fair. But the landowner in the parable had the right to do with his money as he pleased. He did not renege on his agreements with any of the workers. In the same way God has the right to be merciful to whomsoever he pleases. Some people live recklessly and without regard for others for most of their lives. Then, later in life, they have their sins forgiven and even become mouthpieces for God.

The author of Psalm 73:3 said "I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked". Job lived a most exemplary life but experienced extreme intense suffering. But after God had spoken to him out of the storm Job said: "I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer" (Job 40:2-5).

Those of us who have been forgiven for all the wrongs we have ever done, and who appreciate what it cost our Creator to save us, will not grumble when the worst of sinners get saved.

God and the empires

The first mention in the Bible of a socialistic state is Egypt. The mastermind behind it was Joseph (Genesis 47:13-26). But after the godly Joseph had died there came Pharaohs who were corrupted by the power they had over the people. When they became absolutely corrupted by their absolute power, they enslaved the Israelites (Exodus 1:8-11). God dealt with them by bringing plagues until they freed the Hebrews (Exodus 5:1-12:51).

The Israelites ruled themselves for a few centuries but eventually became more wicked and ungodly than the nations around them (Ezekiel 5:6). God was not going to have his name associated with the pagan religious practices which were instituted by Solomon (1 Kings 11:4-6) and reached their extreme during the reign of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:11). These customs included child sacrifices and prostitution. The Jews first became vassals of Egypt (2 Kings 23:33) and then Babylon. But when they acted treacherously against Nebuchadnezzar he destroyed the illustrious temple Solomon had built and deported the people.

The godly Israelites in Babylon rose to power, like Joseph in Egypt, and exercised considerable influence over the affairs of the empire. Among them were Daniel and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. When the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians Daniel remained in office. Other Jews who became prominent in the Persian empire include Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther and Mordecai. God did not abandon his people in captivity but made even their enemies to treat them kindly (Psalm 106:45-46) and allow them to go back to their land and rebuild the temple (Ezra 6:14).

Of course the devil was not sleeping during this time. In the land of Israel he had inspired Jezebel to kill God’s prophets (1 Kings 18:4). In Babylonia satan caused Daniel to be thrown to the lions and his friends to be cast into an oven. When Esther was queen of Persia she was able to avert the massacre of all the Jews.

After Alexander conquered the Persians, many Jews took on Greek as their first language. This was still the case during and after the lifetime of Jesus (Acts 6:1). There was a concerted effort by Alexander’s successors in Syria to “Hellenise” the world. The Old Testament was translated into Greek and was no doubt read by Greek intellectuals. (Even before this time Plato may have learned from Moses: https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/did-plato-get-his-ideas-bible/.)

Before the era of the Maccabees the Seleucid empire in Damascus imposed Greek culture and religion on the Jews. The faithful Jews revolted and managed to throw off the yoke of the oppressor Antiochus IV. For a brief period the Israelites could rule themselves again and worship in the temple which had been rebuilt during the time of Ezra a few centuries earlier. But they had constant power struggles among themselves. Their infighting gave the Romans, who had in the meantime replaced the Seleucids in Syria, the opportunity to occupy and rule them.

Soon after that a Jew was born who influenced and is still influencing all empires. We should have no fear that God has absconded. He invaded the Roman empire which caused them to adopt Christianity as the official religion of the state. He is still caring for the faithful followers of Jesus. He also watches over the Israelis and the Jews who constitute the remnant of his ancient people and he will not renege on his covenant with Abraham.

Loving God privately and publicly

 Many people are familiar with the story of Job. It would seem as if God accepted satan's challenge. "He only fears you because of what you do for him. If you let him suffer severely he will curse you" (Job 1:9-12; 2:3-6). The phrase 'cupboard love' derives from the way a cat shows superficial love for a person who feeds it, or for the cupboard that holds its food.

When Jesus challenged the twelve's loyalty by asking if they wanted to leave, Peter's answer indicated that he knew eternal life was to be found only in Jesus (John 6:68). It would be foolish to give that up for anything else in the world. But this conviction was not enough to keep him faithful when he was presented with an extreme test of his loyalty (Luke 22:31-34).

Do I love Jesus just for what he has done for me or does it go deeper? Do I love him because he is the embodiment of pure goodness? After his resurrection Jesus challenged Peter about his love. Will he, like Job, love Jesus even if he had to suffer for it? Jesus said he would (John 21:18-19).

Notice that on both occasions Jesus addressed Peter by his 'private' name Simon and not his 'stage' name Peter. For a leader or a famous person it can be difficult to be authentic in public because of the pressure of followers and or fans. Peter found out the hard way that commitments made when 'on the stage' are not easy to carry out when the fans or followers have disappeared.

Image of God

 God is love. From eternity, before the creation, the members of the Trinity were in a loving interconnection with one another. To me true love seems impossible unless more than one person is involved. Also, each person must have a free will, otherwise the relationship is somehow forced or manipulated.

God decided to invite more persons into their relationship. First they created Adam. But he was the only member who was flesh and blood; God is spirit. So Eve was created to be Adam's companion. Out of the intimate union of Adam and Eve many more humans were to be created in the image of God.

The image we reflect is essential to God when he spends time with us. He needs to see his own image in us. When our first parents sinned that image was damaged: "in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17).  One could think of a mirror which is very badly scratched. They did die relationally when they ate of the forbidden fruit. After that God connected with them in rituals which included the shedding of blood of an innocent animal. Maybe he could "see" his image in them by looking ahead to "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). We, the descendants of Adam and Eve, also inherit a damaged image of God. That is why we sin.

When God connects with us he does so through the mediation of the "Son of man", the words Jesus used when he referred to himself. "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9). He sees the image of his dear Son when he relates to believers. To those who accept him he gives the right to become children of God (John 1:12). Jesus represents mankind before the throne.

Since the Fall humans have had the tendency to avoid God, just like Adam and Eve. But the Father's plan was to restore us. First our sin is taken away when we trust in Jesus' sacrifice. Then we have to "grow in godliness" (2 Peter 1:5-7). The new I, the born-again me, must be a "little Christ". We sell ourselves short if we have lower expectations. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). God loves the image of his Son in us. The sinful nature I inherited from Adam will forever be gone when I die. Thankfully Jesus showed us how keen the Father is to live with us, even now while we are still struggling to do his will. He also sent the Holy Spirit to represent Jesus while Jesus intercedes for us at the right hand of God. 

Memorial service of Jesus

 When someone dies a memorial service is normally held in honour of the deceased. It usually takes place at the time when the body is disposed of. This is a custom throughout the world. I am not aware of a culture in which the death of a member is simply ignored.

The word "closure" is often used when referring to a memorial. People also talk of "last respects". I suppose the idea is that one cannot communicate with the dead person anymore and must make peace with that. Maybe that is why the song The Living Years by Mike + The Mechanics is so popular. They urge us to say kind things to our loved ones "in the living years".

As a rule a memorial service is only done once. Some people do go to the grave of a loved one on the anniversary of his/her death. But this is ordinarily a very private affair and not something celebrated. I don't know of famous people of whom the day of their death is commemorated; that is anyone other than Jesus. I don't think the anniversary of the death of Confucius, Buddha or Mohammed is observed. In our day the birthday of Martin Luther King was made into a public holiday, not the day on which he was assassinated.

But every year on Good Friday the death of Jesus Christ is celebrated. It is called a good day because millions of people have found meaning through his death. This kind of behaviour by intelligent people would be highly unlikely if they did not believe he was alive. For us there is no closure with respect to Jesus. We remember him until he comes again. Not only once a year but every time we celebrate the eucharist, take communion, break bread or what ever your tradition calls the memorial of the last supper.

Easter is a tradition which predates Good Friday and even Passover. It is a celebration of new life as represented by easter eggs. Before Christianity took the world by storm Easter went together with disgusting fertility rites and idolatry as symbolised by bunnies. It coincided with springtime in the Northern Hemisphere when new life was making its appearance in plants and animals. The Church thought it good to "highjack" this day and put it to good use, remembering the resurrection of Jesus. Let us thank God for governments which still observe public holidays over Easter. It is the most important period on the Christian calendar.

Repentance

In the King James version the well-known chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, starts with the words: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity ... ". The newer English translations use "love" instead of "charity". Charity has changed its meaning in the English language.

Similarly, many evangelists use the word "repent" to mean something different from what Jesus meant when he said: "Repent and believe the good news" (Mark 1:15). Some preachers are not satisfied with a person's repentance if it is not accompanied by tears and deep sorrow. The majority of dictionaries have the same interpretation (https://www.google.com/search?q=repent+meaning). Of course, there are occasions in the Bible when repentance was preceded by people being "cut to the heart". This was the case when Peter told the Jews who had gathered on the day of Pentecost that they had just killed their Messiah (Acts 2:37).

The Greek word in Matthew 4:17 and Mark 1:15 is "metanoio". It literally means to change one's mind. The fact that Jesus combines repentance with the phrase "the kingdom of heaven has come near" indicates that he was referring to himself as the king. The same deduction can be made from Luke 17:20-22 where Jesus identified the kingdom with "the days of the Son of man". The messianic kingdom they were expecting was near, right in their midst. The Jews needed a "paradigm shift" in their thinking. Although Jesus did not say so, he implied that the Roman Empire would be dealt with later. First the prospective citizens of the kingdom of heaven had to get their hearts in the right place. They needed to accept its king and swear allegiance to him.

For a more complete explanation of "repentance" see https://cmmorrison.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/repentance/

Truth?

 Imagine a boy, who is scared of his parents, being asked to look after his younger brother for the morning while they go out. He gets told that if he does well they would reward him with some ice cream from the fridge. When the parents get home they find the ice cream tub is empty.

They ask the boy who ate it, he or his brother. If he says he did, they may take money off his allowance. If he says it was his brother, they could ground him for a period. He doesn't know which is worse, so he says: "I don't know".

This is about how the chief priests and the elders answered Jesus' question about the baptism of John. If they said John had a mandate from heaven, Jesus would ask them why they didn't get baptised. If they said it was of human origin they could get themselves stoned because the people were persuaded that John the Baptist was a prophet. So they answered: "We don't know" (Luke 20:3-5).

In neither of these cases were those who answered interested in telling the truth. To them the truth was irrelevant. They may not even have believed there was such a thing as truth. Jesus told Pilate that everyone who cares for truth, who is interested in the truth, recognises his voice. Pilate's answer "What is truth" indicates that he probably did not have any feeling for the truth either (John 18:37-38).

In today's news media the same attitude to truth prevails. Each news channel has an agenda which is prescribed by the preference of the owners and its popularity among the viewers/listeners. The motive is profit, not truth. Any news reflecting negatively on the broadcaster's agenda is ignored. It's like they're saying: "We didn't know".

Jesus the mensch

 Last Friday I learned something about myself. Over the last few years I have not cried much. My emotions are never at an even keel but grief is not something I experienced much lately.

My mother-in-law, whose home was with us for the last 33 years, died 6 weeks ago, one month before her 95th birthday. She was quite blind and deaf and had been wanting to go to her eternal home for months. Her daughter and I cared for her while in a coma for 2 of the most stressful days of our lives. When we saw on the morning of the 3rd day that she had passed away our overwhelming emotion was relief.

When I was bullied as a child I tried not to cry. It did not always work. Once my bottom lip started quivering it was all over, to the bully's delight. But last Friday was different when I watched a funeral online. The only member of the family whom I know well was his younger son. However, when the elder son started crying during his eulogy I could not hold back the tears.

It reminded me of Jesus on his way to raise Lazarus from the dead. He knew what he was going to do and the joy it would bring. Nevertheless, when he found himself in the midst of the crying grievers he burst into tears (John 11:32-35). Why did he cry? I can only think that he experienced the same emotion that overtook me last Friday. It tells us that he was (and still is) what the Jews call a "mensch". No wonder his favourite way of referring to himself was "The Son of Man".