The Gospel According to Leonard Cohen

REFLECTIONS
November 22, 2009

Do you ever have the experience of reading something and hearing it as song? Better still have you looked at something and then realize in the visual, something which made the experience more rich? Several months ago while choosing scripture for worship, I read I Samuel 1:4-20. It is the story of Hannah going to the Temple at Shiloh to pray that God might give her relief from her barrenness. The priest of the temple, Eli, who upon witnessing her immersed in prayer assumes she is a drunken prostitute, and confronts her. Hannah protests and begins to explain her petition, however, the Priest either in mercy or perhaps it was embarrassment tells her that the prayer is answered. She leaves the burden lifted, the double blessing is in the next chapter, her pregnancy and birth of her son, Samuel, is told through a song she sings in chapter 2:1-10. This song of Hannah is one which Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew by heart and she would use this as the pattern for her own song about the birth of her Son, recorded in the first chapter of Luke’s gospel.

When I read the exchange between Hannah and the Priest Eli, the words became as music. Not a traditional hymn or lite lyrical piece, rather I heard the words as a Leonard Cohen song. If you think you don’t know his work, you are probably wrong. He is a prolific songwriter and many artists have recorded his music. His voice for some may be an acquired taste, however, I find his style moving and deeply spiritual. He writes and sings with a precision and edge which explores life fully, and freely exposes its flaws and quirks.

Hannah is the barren yet favored wife of Elkanah. His other wife Peninnah belittles and badgers Hannah making her life miserable. Hannah has come to the temple seeking relief from the torment and if a miracle is possible, a son to call her own. The priest is a doofus (a technical theological term) but not without power as God’s agent in Shiloh. When Hannah leaves that temple, she knows something is different but is not aware of exactly what transpired. Which brings me that question of seeing and not fully experiencing.

A while back Sue and I were having coffee at an outdoor mall. While talking, we took notice as a young family came out onto the patio. A mom, dad, perhaps an uncle and two little girls perhaps three and five years old. The girls began dancing immediately. They heard the music I had been deaf to or at least ignoring. Sue and I looked at each other and laughed as they danced with wild abandon, emitting a freedom I simply don’t recall.

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601

Salvation Is Not An Equation, But A Process

REFLECTIONS
November 8, 2009

A past L. A. Times article told of a football player’s struggles to balance a new marriage, along with school work and sports. The part of this story that is unique was how he came to play football. Having grown to early adolescence in a country where football was not played, he tried out for a soccer team and knew something was different when he was given a helmet. How he came to the United States in the first place was quite unusual, along with what his family left behind.

His father was a successful businessman in Egypt, but fearing his children would be at a disadvantage in choices for schools and jobs, he brought his family to America. Christianity is a minority religion in Egypt and its adherents are at a marked disadvantage when applying to colleges and seeking employment.

The father had money and position, but he knew his children would not have an equal opportunity, so he left his homeland bringing only what little they could carry and very little money. Since coming to the U. S., he has supported his family by working fifty hours a week in a gas station for minimum wage. Instead of enjoying the fruits of his labor, he sacrificed his wealth and in some measure his health for his children.

In terms of fiscal management this story is a disaster. For a middle-aged man to leave a successful business and money in the bank for an uncertain future seems silly at best. On the other hand, from a standpoint of spiritual management, this story is awesome. In the story, the son spoke of how overwhelmed he is by the generosity of his dad. He is committed to doing his best in school and in sports not because he hopes to become a professional football player, but because he desires to live toward the gift he has been given.

We come now to the end of another financial campaign. Letters have been written, words of encouragement given, each intended to inspire and enliven our sense of stewardship. The questions ever before us, in terms of stewardship, is what does generous giving look like? For some it is easy, generosity has to do with decimal points and the number of zeros following. For others, it has to do with human care and commitment, the kind having been paid by the saints of history. In this body of believers many, and many more unknown, have risked greatly in terms of dollars and faith for us to be where we are now.

In the story just shared about the football playing Egyptian, one thing is fair to assume. If asked what generosity looked like, the son would say, “just like my dad.” Long ago a pledge was written in a language we don’t understand by Someone whose motives confused the world and overwhelm us still. How silly are we to think we can cover that generosity with what we have in the bank.

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601

Rest When You're Dead, Do Something Now

Reflections
November 1, 2009

Under the guise of scholarship, thoughtful individuals seek to know and explain the mysteries of life. Therefore, we know the why of rainbows involve ambient moisture and refracted light. Moreover, the Biblical concept becomes interesting upon finding the creation story is tied to a tradition five thousand years old and the earth is several billion years old. How then do we reconcile a six day creation?

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels because in tone, text, and tenor they have much in common. The Gospel of John however stands apart. John offers no birth narrative or manger scene. The Jesus in this Gospel is said to have been with God at creation. John uses imagery to describe Jesus. We are told Jesus is Word, Flesh, and Light. John shares the power of Jesus' ministry in teaching and through miracles, but especially in the stories of healing. Without equivocation or regard to status Jesus heals. Insider or outcast it makes no difference. The Sabbath or not, John tells us Jesus has no concern about convention, his care is for the hearts and souls of the people.

In Chapter 11:1-45 Jesus is called to heal his friend Lazarus of Bethany. He is the brother of Mary and Martha and they have sent word of need. Yet before Jesus arrives Lazarus dies. Mary and Martha alternate between chastising Jesus for coming too late to heal their brother, and celebrating what they assume is the final resurrection when Jesus tells them Lazarus will be raised.

The power of the story is found first in the depth of emotion Jesus shows when told of the death of his friend. Scholars can discern this because the word used for those who week with Mary in verse 32, and the words used for Jesus weeping in verse 35 are different. The first having to do with a public kind of expression the second having to do with personal sorrow. Secondly, the true power of this passing is seen not in the raising of Lazarus, but in the expectation Jesus shares and John records. Jesus expects believers to find life in him, and to share that life with others. The love of God intends for us to be engaged in a life that begets a loving creation.

So do things need to be explained? As a young man an incident happened that caused me to think I needed to explain it in detail to some people close to me. I sought the advice of my dad and he said never explain yourself to those who care about you because they don't need it, and those who don't care about you have already made up their mind. Speaking of my dad, he loved rainbows; as a child when I asked him where they came from, he said the Bible. They are a visual promise of God's presence with us. It should come as no mystery that each and every time I see a rainbow, my father, thought dead since 1985, is very much alive in my heart.

Where we get stuck as modern people is with the notion of resurrection. We want empirical evidence, and seek to unravel the mystery of how and why? John's Gospel does not explain; it simply tells the story. Lazarus slept. Jesus wept. The crowd unbound and wondered.

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church, 4832 Tujunga Ave.,
No.Ho., CA 91601