Dokler vsi ne pridemo do edinosti vere ... Ef 4,13

“Single? Is there something wrong with you?”

2012-02-01T03:18:00.000-08:00

This is an English translation of our previous post (December 2011) on singleness.
Ta članek je angleški prevod prejšnjega članka (decembra 2011) o samskosti.
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Studying 1 Corinthians 7 (in our church) has led us to think about marriage and singleness. In a recent post in this blog we talked about marriage and now let’s look at the other, even less acceptable state in our culture: singleness.

When reading the Old Testament we can’t help but feel that singleness is an unacceptable way of life. Allegedly the Hebrew language does not know the word ‘single’. After all didn’t God create mankind as male and female, obviously with the purpose for mutual partnership, fruitfulness and headship over the creation under God’s rule (Genesis 1-2)? To willingly remain single was a strange notion for OT writers. Also, didn’t God say “It is not good for the man to be alone?” (Genesis 2:18)? Singleness, whether because of an inability to get married, because of the death of the spouse or other circumstances was a great misery (e.g. Tamara’s story in Genesis 38). Strangers, orphans and those widowed were poor and ‘unfortunate’ because they fell short of God’s promises in Israel and they needed to be cared for by others (Jer 22:3). The book of Ruth is the greatest example of the tragedy for a widow (single and childless), but Ruth was saved by the redeemer – as we will see, our ‘problem’ of singleness is solved by the Redeemer also. The same ‘misfortune’ of the single, widowed and orphaned stretched also to those married, who could not conceive and have children (1 Sam 1:1-2:11). So, in the light of God’s covenants with Adam, Abraham and Moses, to be single, widowed or childless at least meant a very uncomfortable situation, if not even worse, because all the promises (or mandate to mankind) included aspects of offspring and inheritance (land).

And behold, here comes Jesus, unmarried and teaching about some choosing to remain single because of God’s kingdom (Matt 19:12)! It’s not surprising that he adds: ‘The one who can accept this should accept it’, which we usually hear about things which are hard to accept. The Apostle Paul finds himself in this state of desiring singleness in 1 Corinthians 7, where it is very obvious that he thinks that being single is preferable to being married! But let’s also read chapter 7 cautiously and see what he says about singleness and marriage in the light of sexual immorality so we don't make the wrong conclusions. Despite this, do Jesus and Paul turn the ideal of creation (man and woman in marriage) upside-down? Or maybe they look at creation from another, eschatological perspective? When Jesus and Paul talk about singleness they place it in the context of God’s kingdom, when God’s Messiah will rule over his chosen ones. After Jesus’ resurrection from the dead this is exactly what happened (Romans 1:4). Paul talks about new relationships in these last days. He says: ‘From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none...’ (1 Cor 7:29) and ‘on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come’ (1 Cor 10:11). The end of times is the key thing, which affects our view on ethics in general including this topic. From Jesus’ resurrection on, we live in the final days. Eschatological time or the end of times is upon us. Jesus has taken the throne and God by his Spirit is gathering his chosen ones until Jesus comes, so we therefore share in the two eras: old and new creation. Jesus has revealed to us that we do not become whole neither through marriage nor through remaining single.

“The overall story arc of the Bible contains a twist. It doesn’t conclude that we need to marry to become a complete adult human. Neither marriage nor singleness will give us our true selves. We can do singleness or marriage well or badly, but we find our true humanity as we identify with Jesus Christ. It turns out that both marriage and singleness are good, although in different respects.” (Cameron Andrew, Joined-up life – a terrific book on Christian ethics!). My ethics professor Cameron had a great influence on my view about singleness, which changed from the usual pragmatic (that is, singleness is good, because you have more time for e.g. God’s work) to eschatological, where singleness is seen also as a reflection of relationships in heaven. The new reality of God’s Kingdom actually surpasses marital and blood relations, for we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, all one in Christ despite our differences, even gender differences (Gal 3:28). Relationships and promises of God’s Kingdom are of such nature that singleness, widowhood, infertility don’t lack any part of God’s promises, although all these are still a bitter experience and in need of our care and comfort. Being one in Christ means ‘God’s new people’ even from unfertile ground (Is 54 and Gal 4:17; Matt 10: 29-30). After all, the fertile Israelites were not better off with their physical offspring (which turned away from God) but with the offspring by promise. And this offspring, actually the one and only one faithful to God, who is just and holy, is Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16). He himself, although single, and this is irony, had and has numerous offspring (Is 53:10, Jn 1:12-13)!

Singleness, especially intentional singleness, is still stigmatised today as personal failure, hopelessness and a lack of certain pleasures which a ‘normal’ person has and this is done through advertising, the film industry and holidays (e.g. Christmas as a ‘family holiday’). Therefore there is general notion in our culture that there is ‘something wrong’ with you if you are single. Have we heard this before? Let’s keep in mind, that we’re arguing here about singleness in sexual abstention (this is the only singleness Paul has in mind) and not promiscuous or hedonistic singleness. Singleness in the Bible has a purpose and this is so called the gift of singleness (as we see in 1 Cor 7:25-40 or Matt 19:12). This gift is not necessarily once and for all; all single people are free to marry or not. The gospel of Jesus in any case saves singleness from the negative light and gives it meaning and purpose. This does not mean that being single is easy; marital relationships are not easy either. Each state is namely a state which we live in with our own sinful nature in this sinful world. In both cases we find loneliness, feelings of dissatisfaction, unfulfilled cravings for love and sexual intimacy, etc.

All this leads us to some practical steps. For those married with or without children, this means that we should open-heartedly accept single people into our ‘perhaps enclosed’ family circles. Let’s not act, think or say “you’ll find someone”. Not even to those who don’t choose to be single. If we do this we communicate that someone can only be fulfilled with another person. We should instead encourage them to holy living despite the many temptations; we can show and tell them that they are members of God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ. Don’t help with their singleness rather help with their loneliness.

And for single it’s important that we don’t feel paralysed by our feelings because of our circumstances. This is not opportunity to sit and think about our unfortunate fate, for this is not unfortunate. Let’s make a shirt that says ‘Single and normal’ for our own encouragement! Maybe this will be a temporary or permanent state, but let’s look for opportunities how we can serve others, how we can be fathers and mothers to children of others. Paul used his fatherly sense in caring for those to whom he preached the gospel (1 Cor 4:14-17). The relationships which single people have with one another, with those married and their children can resemble relationships we’ll have in heaven, where connection to each other will not be based on family, blood or sexual commitment but we’ll be connected with everyone in the same way by and through Christ (Matt 22:30; Rev 21:3-4).

Singleness is therefore ‘from now on’ also God’s good!

Unity in 1 Corinthians

2012-01-26T02:20:00.000-08:00

Recently we were considering the meals which the church in Corinth had together and Paul's criticism of them (1 Corinthians 11,17-34). The main issues was that their meals created a division between those who had nothing and those who had an abundance. Paul's response was clearly disappointment that they had failed to understand the self-sacrifical death of their Lord Jesus (11,23-25). If we participate in Jesus' death by faith, then our lives must immitate Jesus (11,1).

As I was preparing this passage for Bible study and the Sunday talk, I was struggling to find a way to speak about Paul's concern over the divisions. The focus of the passage is understanding the death of our Lord. One of Paul's applications of correctly understanding Jesus' death is self-examination in the context of the body, that is, the whole church (11,28-29). This is Paul's brief response to the divisions.

Yet I want to say more...

...since I didn't have the opportunity to consider the depths of Paul's concern for divisions in Corinth,

...since we are starting to look at 1 Cor 12-14,

...since our world continually calls for unity and conformity yet fails so miserable at it (for example, consider the current search for a Prime Minister in Slovenia)

So I thought it was worth reflecting for a moment on what Paul says about unity in this letter.Paul often speaks explicitly about unity in his first letterto the Corinthian church. However, it seems it is also an implicit foundationfor many of his responses to the issues discussed in this letter, for example in his concern over divisions created by their meals together.

This is abrief survey of Paul’s understanding of unity in 1 Corinthians.

Unity as an aspect ofPaul’s discussion

Paul uses the idea of unity in numerous issues:

Division over leadership (1 Cor 1-4) – Thedisagreement over leadership had created division, which is the opposite to Paul’sdesire for “unity in the same mind and the same judgement” (1,10). Paul’sanswer to this issue is to focus people on oneman, Jesus Christ (1,30; 2,2), which only the spiritually discerning person canunderstand since they have both God’s Spirit and the mind of Christ (2,14-16).
Sexual immorality within the church (1 Cor 5) –In a negative way, the Corinthians were united in their approval of perversesexual sin by a particular man (5,1-2). Paul tells them as a gathered churchthat they must expel this man from their fellowship (5,3-5).
Lawsuits against Christian brothers (6,1-11) –Paul mentions that the saints will judge the world (6,2). Such final judgementis only possible if we are united to Christ and reign with him (2 Tim 2,12).This unity with Christ seems to be implicit in Paul’s response.
Sexual relationships with prostitutes (6,12-20)– the spiritual unity we have with Christ is corrupted by physically unitingyourself with a prostitute through sex. Paul uses the term ‘body’ several timeshere which could refer to Christ’s church or our physical bodies (depending oncontext).
Marriage (7,1-5) – a married couple is united toone another. This is an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman (7,2).There is agreement between the man and the woman, founded upon self-sacrificeconcern for the other (7,3-4, 34).
Food offered to idols (1 Cor 8-10) – in order toproperly understand idols, Paul speaks of the one God and one LordJesus Christ (8,6). During this discussion Paul uses the illustration of theIsraelites during the Exodus from Egypt, who were united in their experience ofsalvation, yet most of them died in the desert (10,1-5). Likewise, Christiansare united in Christ’s death by their participation in ‘eating the bread anddrinking the cup’ by faith (10,16-17). This serves as a warning not to also beunited to idols through participating in their practises.
Divisions during meals (11,17-34) – TheCorinthians created divisions whenever they ate together between those who hadnothing and those who could provide for themselves (11,18, 21-22). Paul sees abenefit in such divisions as a means for showing genuine Christianity (11,19).Paul uses the story of Jesus’ last Passover meal to teach about the sacrificiallordship of the death of Jesus Christ (11,22-26). Consequently, the Corinthiansmust examine themselves in the light of the rest of the body, that is thechurch. Although Paul does not explicitly state it, the Corinthian’s actionsdisregard the unity of the church. They act out of selfish, individualisticself-glorification, rather than out of concern for others (the whole church).Such an idea is further clarified through Paul’s repetitive use of the ‘comingtogether to eat’ phrase, as such meals must be had together in unity.
Spiritual things (1 Cor 12-14) – the concernover spiritual things again shows the Corinthians were divided in theirpractises and far from understanding God. This is a large section on unity which we'll look at over the next few weeks.

Metaphors

Paul uses several pictures which describe unity:

The building or temple idea (3,9-17) – Christ isthe foundation for the building, which was laid by Paul through his teaching.Other leaders are servants in building upon Paul’s foundation. People who haveGod’s Spirit are the building, which is Christ’s church. The focus of 1 Cor3,9-17 is a warning to leaders so that they consider how they are buildingGod’s temple/building.
The body (6,15; 11,29; 12,12-31) – Paul uses thepicture of a body, which is generally described as Christ’s body and Christiansare the various parts of the body (8,6; 12,12). The picture shows both a unityand diversity in the church.

Summary

From these various issues we observe Paul’s teachingconcerning Christian unity:

This church is united in Christ – due to theirparticipation by faith in the death of Christ, they share in the benefits ofhis death and resurrection (1,2; 15,22). Through God’s Spirit, the church iscreated as they respond in faith to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This unity inChrist is experienced by all churches around the world (1,2).
The world and those who live in opposition toGod are united in their foolishness (2,6-8), and express this through divisionsand sin (3,3-4; 5,1-2)
Unity within the Godhead (8,6; 12,4-7) – Paul speaksof the different persons in the Godhead as ‘one’. They are individuals part ofa complex unity. This unity is not negated by the different levels of headshipwithin God’s created order (11,3).
Unity does not mean uniformity or conformity, but rather interdependance(12,4-20) – there is a great variety of grace gifts which come from the oneSpirit. God determines the different grace gifts in the church through hisSpirit.
Christian unity is expressed in love for others (8,1;11,33; 12,21-14,19) – Understanding Christian unity should lead to the desireof building others through self-sacrificial concern for others

This is obviously not a completely comprehensive list. Furthermore, as Peter and I considered these things together, we pondered if the unity Paul speaks about with this one church can have broader application or implications for the 'church in Slovenia'. It is often said that churches should work together to build unity. Why? It seems reasonable that all churches in Slovenia could come together for a meal (like 1 Cor 11), yet this would have been impossible for all the churches around Asia 2000 years ago. Can we apply our biblical summary in this way?

From your reading and reflection on this letter (especially chapters 12-16 which I have not really considered here), what would you say about the unity we have in Christ?

Pravica do pravic

2012-01-18T03:52:00.000-08:00

Pravica do regresa. Pravica do božičnice. Pravica do otroškega dodatka. Pravica do nadomestila za brezposelnost. Pravica do stanovanja. Pravica do očetovskega dopusta. Pravica do nefotografiranosti. Pravica do umetne oploditve. Pravica do osemurnega delavnika. Odkod človeku vse te pravice? No, potem so tu še pravice živali. Kaj pa pravica rastlin? Ali so že dobile svoje pravice?

Ob pravice smo se spotaknili zaradi velkega izziva apostola Pavla, ko je v 1.Kor 9,12 napisal: "Vendar nismo izkoristili te pravice. Nasprotno, vse prenašamo, da le ne bi povzročili kakšne ovire Kristusovemu evangeliju." K temu se bomo vrnili še kasneje.

Danes o pravicah govorimo drugače kot še pred dobrimi 50imi leti na primer. Zavzemaje za človekove pravice po II. svetovni vojni, s še svežimi spomini prve vojne, je splošna deklaracija človekovih pravic Združenih narodov nastala po strahotni odsotnosti in pomanjkanju pravičnosti. Kar so zapisali lahko preberemo na naslovu našega varuha človekovih pravic http://www.varuh-rs.si/index.php?id=102. Današnji govor o človekovih pravicah pa se je prevesil povsem v drugo smer. Danes povprečen človek razume pravice in svoboščine kot stvari, ki me definirajo kot človeka; mi dajejo smisel in občutek sreče. Kot je zapisal Cameron: Pravice so za nas tisto "kar mislim, da potrebujem, zato da sem." Zatorej velja, če nečesa kar hočem imeti nimam, potem nisem izpolnjen – nisem enakovreden (drugemu) človeku, ampak sem diskriminiran. Deklaracija Združenih narodov o človekovih pravicah je želela in želi zaščititi nemočne in odrinjene, ter zakonodajalcem posredovati moralni okvir. Kljub poskusu upoštevanja teh pravic v t.i. razvitejših in demokratičnih državah, pa vendar pravica enega – močnejšega v kakršnemkoli smislu, še vedno potepta pravice drugega – šibkejšega. Deklaracija sama zagovarja pravico do življenja vseh ljudi – razen, razen še ne rojenih. Nerojeni otroci še niso dobili te pravice! Poglejmo na primer 1.člen Deklaracije, "Vsi judje se rodijo svobodni in imajo enako dostojanstvo in enake pravice." Skratka, tudi po Deklaraciji se pravica do pravice in svobode pridobi šele z rojstvom (načrtovani splav ni tema tega prispevka, ampak si nisem mogel pomagati – sem si vzel to pravico)

Kdo ima pravico do podeljevanja pravic?
Gremo nazaj na razmišljanje o pravici na splošno. Od kod nam torej pravice? Pravice delavcev, Deklaracija in podobna iskanja in definicije pravic. V vsem opazimo, da so nam ljudem pravice dane (od naših nadrejeih v vseh smislih) in pravice so nam dane, potem ko si jih vzamemo sami (če ali ko si jih lahko). Na primer, vse do dvajsetega stoletja, delavci niso ali razmišljali ali pa ni bilo podlage za zahtevanje krajšega delovnega časa. Njihov delavnik je bil odvisen od njihovega delodajalca - gospodarja. Delavci so si preko revolucije izborili to pravico in delodajalci so morali popustiti in jim dati to pravico (sicer bi še vedno tekla tudi kri).

Kot kristjani smo glede pravic morda malo negotovi. Po eni strani govor o pravicah res odseva stvarstveni red (npr. vrednotenje življenja, dostojanstva....), po drugi strani pa je vprašanje pravic ušlo vsem omejitvam. Kaže se, da stvarstveni red ne oblikuje več pravic, temveč osebni interesi in osebne vrednote. Današnje zahteve po pravcah postajajo relativistične, celo bizarne (neka Španka trdi, da ima pravice do Sonca in zahteva plačilo davka na uporabo). Nekaterim takšnim se sicer smejemo, vendar stvari postajajo manj smešne, ko zahteva za določeno pravico posameznika ali skupine vpliva na drugega posameznika ali skupine.

Nobenih pravic – zahtevkov
Glede pravic v Svetem pismu opažamo naslednji dve stvari. Prvič, temeljno gledano, nihče nima pravic do ničesar. Pravice izvirajo iz dolžnosti, za katere smo se sami odločili; predvsem pa, za kakatere se je odločil Bog sam. Z jezikom pravic načeloma ne moremo operirati, tudi ko gre za življenje. Človek si ne more vzeti niti pravice do življenja, saj se ni sam odločil, da bo živel. To pravico so mu dali starši oziroma Bog. In ker sta se stvarnika (pod dano pravico Stvarnika) odločila, da bosta imela otroka in s tem dolžnsst skrbeti za otroka, sta mu dodelila določene pravice. Stvarnik torej podeljuje pravice kolikor je ustvaril in za kar je kaj ustvaril. Drugače rečeno, posamezna pravica je vezana na naravo in namen ustvarjenega. Španski predsednik Foruma družin Benigno Blanco je glede dodeljevana pravic podal takšno analogijo; "Košarkaš ne more zahtevati pravico do igranja z nogo kot to lahko počne nogometaš. Ker ne more igrati z nogo ne pomeni, da je diskriminiran in manj vreden kot nogometaš." Tudi v primeru, da spremenijo pravila potem ne bo več niti eno niti drugo ampak povsem nova šortna igra. No, prav to zamenjevanje pravic in svoboščine s samovoljo povzroča največje zameglevanje pojmu pravic in s tem tudi škodo pravicam, ki se prav tako imenujejo. Adam in Eva sta lahko (sta imela pravico) jedla od vseh dreves v vrtu, le od drevesa spoznanja nista imela pravice jesti. Dovoljenje oziroma pravico jesti in ne jesti jima je dodelil Bog. Nakar sta si pravico jesti od drevesa spoznanja vzela sama in prav v tem sta grešila. Torej govoriti o pravicah pomeni nujno tudi govoriti o moralnosti, o razsojanju med dobrim in zlim. Takšen pomen ima beseda pravičnost (kot legalni pojem). Zato je danes govoriti o pravicah tako realitivstično, ker je moralnost relativistična.

Pravice in samoumevnost
Drugič, pravice nikakor ne pomeni, da je nekaj samoumevno. Spomnimo se, da so pravice dane, podarjene. So torej dar. Problem sodobnem iskanju pravic je tudi v tem, da začenjamo razmišljati o pravicah kot o samoumevni stvari. Tak onas, kot smo rekli na začetku, pravice do katerih smo se dokopali začenjajo definirati kot (zadovoljne) ljudi. Primerjajmo na primer stavko delavcev zaradi neprejete nagrade (ob sicer rednih mesečnih plačah) in stavko delavcev, ki že pol leta niso prejeli plače za svoje delo. Je zahtevanje pravice in je zahtevanje "pravice."

Odpoved pravicam v času zahtevanja pravic?
Pomislimo pa sedaj na nekaj radikalnega. Nekaj prav norega v tem sodobnem iskanju pravic. Pavel v 1. Kor 9 govori o svojih pravicah in svoboščinah kot apostola Jezusa, kot tistega, ki je videl Gospoda Jezusa (1.Kor 9,1). Zaradi zmanjševanja ovir pri razumevanju in sprejemanju evangelija, se je odrekel pravicam, ki mu sicer pripadajo po Božjem ustvarjenem redu (9,12-15). Odpoved pravicam in svoboščinam je pri Pavlu imelo svoj pomemben namen. Preberimo torej:

19 Čeprav sem osvobojen vseh, sem vendar postal služabnik vseh, da bi jih čim več pridobil. 20 Judom sem postal kakor Jud, da bi pridobil Jude; tistim, ki so pod postavo, kakor bi bil pod postavo, čeprav sam nisem pod postavo, da bi pridobil tiste, ki so pod postavo. 21 Tistim, ki so brez postave, kakor bi bil sam brez postave, čeprav nisem brez Božje postave, ampak sem pod Kristusovo postavo, da bi pridobil tiste brez postave. 22 Slabotnim sem postal slaboten, da bi pridobil slabotne. Vsem sem postal vse, da bi jih nekaj zagotovo rešil. 23 Vse delam zaradi evangelija, da bi bil tudi sam deležen njegovih obljub. (1. Kor 9,19-23 SSP)

In vendar je še nekaj bolj radikalnega glede oklepanja svojih pravic – evangelij našega Gospoda Jezusa, katerega vedenje naj bi posnemali:

5 To mislite v sebi, kar je tudi v Kristusu Jezusu. 6 Čeprav je bil namreč v podobi Boga, se ni ljubosumno oklepal svoje enakosti z Bogom, 7 ampak je sam sebe izpraznil tako, da je prevzel podobo služabnika in postal podoben ljudem. Po zunanjosti je bil kakor človek 8 in je sam sebe ponižal tako, da je postal pokoren vse do smrti, in sicer smrti na križu. 9 Zato ga je Bog povzdignil nad vse in mu podaril ime, ki je nad vsakim imenom, 10 da se v Jezusovem imenu pripogne vsako koleno bitij v nebesih, na zemlji in pod zemljo 11 in da vsak jezik izpove, da je Jezus Kristus Gospod, v slavo Boga Očeta (Filipljanom 2,5-11 SSP).

Kaj mislite?

"Samski? Je s tabo kaj narobe?"

2011-12-28T02:37:00.000-08:00

Prebiranje 1. Kor 7 nas je vodilo k razmišljanju o zakonu in samskosti. V prejšnjem prispevku smo opisovali pogled na zakon, sedaj si oglejmo drug, družbeno še manj sprejemljiv stan: samskost.

Po prebiranju zgolj Stare zaveze le te ne moremo zapustiti brez občutka, da samskost ni sprejemljiva oblika bivanja. Menda hebrejski jezik ne pozna besede "samski." Navsezadnje, kaj ni Bog ustvaril človeka kot moškega in žensko, očitno z namenom za vzajemno partnerstvo, rodovitnost in gospodarjenje s stvarstvom pod Božjim okriljem (1.Mz 1-2). Prostovoljna samskost je bila SZ piscem prav čudna stvar. Kaj ni Bog rekel: "ni dobro za človeka, da je sam" (1. Mz 2,18)?. Samskost, bodisi zaradi nezmožnosti za zakon, vdovstva ali drugih okoliščin je bila tedaj za človeka velika nesreča (prim. Tamarina zgodba 1.Mz 38). Tujci, sirote in vdove so bili zaradi primankljaja deleža v Izraelu (kot del Božje obljube) ubogi in poseben razred "nesrečnih" in s tem tudi potrebni oskrbe od drugih (Jer 22,3). Rutina knjiga je takšen vrhunski primer tragedije vdovstva (samskosti in brezpotomstva), ki pa se je na koncu rešila z odkupiteljem – kot bomo videli se tudi naš "problem" samskosti reši z Odkupiteljem. Takšna "nesreča" samskih, vdov in sirot se je raztezala tudi na tiste zakonske pare, ki niso mogli imeti otrok (prim. 1. Sam 1,1-2,11). Torej, biti samski, vdovec ali brez otrok, je v luči Božjih zavez z Adamom, Abrahamom in Mojzesom pomenilo vsaj zelo neugoden položaj, če ne celo kaj hujšega, kajti vse obljube so vključevale potomce in dediščino (zemljo).

In glej, potem se pojavi Jezus, sam neporočen in uči v pozitivni luči, da so nekateri izbrali samskost zaradi Božjega kraljestva (Mt 19,12). Ni čudno, da na to izjavo reče: "kdor more doumeti, naj doume," kar ponavadi slišimo pri stvareh, ki so težko doumljive. V tem Jezusovem sprejemanju samskosti kot zaželenemu stanu zaradi Božjega kraljestva, se najde tudi apostol Pavel v 1.Kor 7, kjer je več kot očitno, da misli, da je samskost in ne zakon zaželjena izbira. Seveda pozorno berimo sedmo poglavje in poglejmo kaj pravi glede samskosti in zakona v luči spolne moralnosti. Vendar kljub temu, ali Jezus in Pavel stvarjenski ideal postavljata na glavo? Morda pa na človeštvo gledata še z druge, eshatološke perspektive.
Tako Jezus kot Pavel, ko govorita o samskosti, omenjata okoliščine Božjega kraljestva, ko bo Božji Mesija zavladal nad svojimi izvoljenimi. Po Jezusovemu vstajenju od mrtvih se je prav to zgodilo (Rim 1,4). Zato Pavel, medtem ko govori o novih odnosih tega poslednjega časa, tudi pravi: "Odslej naj bodo tisti, ki imajo žene, kakor da jih ne bi imeli...." (1. Kor 7,29) in "nad katere je prišel konec vekov" (1. kor 10,11). Konec vekov ali poslednji čas je ključna stvar, ki vpliva na etiko nasloh, torej tudi na našo temo. Od Jezusovega vstajenja naprej namreč živimo v poslednjem času.Eshatološki čas, ali konec vekov se je zgrnil na nas. Jezus je po vstajenju od mrtvih zakraljeval in Bog po svojem Duhu zbira svoje izvoljene do prihoda Jezusa in tako sedaj do te dovrštive zremo v dve obdobji, staro in novo stvarstvo. Jezus nam je razodel, da (po)polna osebnost ne postanemo niti z zakonom (partnerjem) niti s tem, da smo samski. "Našo pravo človeškost najdemo le v identifikaciji s Kristusom. Izkaže se, da sta tako zakon kot samskost dobra, čeprav vsak v svojem smislu" (Cameron Andrew, Joined up Life – izvrstna knjiga o krščanski etiki!). Mojemu profesorju etike Cameron, je imel velik vpliv na moj pogled na samskost, ki se je spremenil od običajno pragmatičnega (t.j. samskost je dobra, ker imaš več časa za ... na primer Božje delo) do eshatološkega, kjer je samskost videna tudi kot slika odnosov v nebesih. Nova realnost Božjega kraljestva namreč presega zakonske in krvne odnose, saj smo v Kristusu vsi bratje in sestre, vsi eden v Kristusu kljub medsebojnim, celo spolnim, razlikam (Gal 3,28). Odnosi in obljube Božjega kraljestva so takšne narave, da samskost, vdovstvo, neplodnost niso več primankljaji v deleštvu Božjih obljub, čeprav je so vsi ti sedaj še vedno bridka izkušnja in zahtevajo vso našo pozornost, skrb in tolažbo. Enost v Kristusu pomeni novo Božje ljudstvo, celo iz nerodovitne osnove (Iz 54 in Gal 4,17; Mt 10,29-30). Rodovitnemu Izraelskemu ljudstvu navsezadnje ni pomagalo fizično potomstvo (ki se je odvrnilo od Boga), ampak potomstvo po obljubi. In to potomstvo, pravzaprav edini potomec, Bogu zvest, pravičen in svet, je Jezus Kristus (Gal 3,16). On sam, čeprav samski, in v tem je ironija potomstva, je imel in ima mnogoštevilno potomstvo (Iz 53,10; Jn 1,12-13)!

Samskost, še posebej prostovoljna samskost, je še danes prek oglasov, filmske industrije, praznikov (npr. Božiča kot "družinskega praznika") in v družinah stigmatizirana kot osebni neuspeh, jalovost, brezupnost in primankljaj nekega užitka, ki ga ima "normalen" človek. Zato je s takim človekom "nekaj narobe." Ali smo to že slišali kdaj? Ne pozabimo omeniti, da govorimo o samskosti v spolni vzdržnosti (le takšno samskost ima Pavel v mislih) in ne promiskuitetno ali hedonsitično samskost (primer http://www.davidwygant.com/blog/being-single-means-no-bitching-allowed/7280/). Samskost v Svetem pismu ima svoj namen in v tem je t.i. dar samskosti (kot vidimo v 1.Kor 7,25-40 ali Mt 19,12). Ta dar ni nujno enkrat za vselej; vsak samski ima svobodo, da se poroči ali pa ne. Jezusov evangelij pa v vsakem primeru samskost reši iz prej omenjene negativne luči in ji daje smisel in namen. To ne pomeni, da je samskost enostavna; tudi zakonski odnosi niso enostavni. Vsak stan je namreč stan, ki ga živimo v svoji lastni grešni naravi in grešnem svetu. V obeh primerih najdemo osamljenost, občutek neizpolnjenosti, ljubezenske in spolne nepotešenosti itn.

Vse povedano nas vodi k nekaterim praktičnim korakom. Za tiste poročene z ali brez otrok to pomeni, da sprejemajmo samske odprtih rok v svoje "morebitno zaprte" družinske kroge. Do samskih se ne obnašajmo pokroviteljsko, tako, da rečemo/mislimo "no saj se bo že našla kakšna zate." Tudi do tistih ne, ki to niso prostovoljno. S tem sporočamo, da je lahko oseba izpolnjena le z drugo osebo. Samske pa spodbujamo k svetemu življenju kljub mnogim preizkušnjam; kažemo in govorimo jim, da so po veri v Jezusa člani Božje družine. Ne pomagajmo njihovi samskosti ampak osamljenosti.
Za samske pa prej povedano pomeni, da naj se ne počutimo paralizirane v svojem počutju in delovanju zaradi svojih okoliščin. To ni priložnost, da sedimo na kavču in razmišljamo o svoji nesrečni usodi, kajti to ni nesreča. Za spodbudo si naredimo majico z napisom: "Samski in normalen." Naj bo to trenutno ali trajno stanje, iščimo priložnosti kako lahko služimo drugim, kako smo lahko očetje in mame, ne da bi imeli otroke. Pavel svojega očetovskega čuta ni zavrgel, ker ni imel otrok, ampak ga je preusmeril v skrb za tiste, ki jim je oznanil evangelij (1. Kor 4,14-17).Odnosi, ki jih imamo samski ljudje drug z drugim, s poročenimi in njihovimi otroki je lahko že sedaj primer odnosov, kot jih bomo izkusili v nebesih, kjer zavezanost drug drugemu ne bo temeljila na sorodstveni, krvni in spolni za/navezanosti, temveč bomo zavezani in navezani na vse ljudi enako po in v Kristusu (Mt 22,30; Raz 21,3-4).
Samskost je "odlsej" torej tudi Božje dobro.

Popoln zakon zanj in zanjo

2011-12-16T01:25:00.000-08:00

Nekaj tednov smo v REC-u prebirali sedmo poglavje 1.pismaKorinčanov in se pogovarjali o zakonu in samskosti. V tem članku bomo spregovorili še malo več o popolnem zakonu.

V času, ko so pragmatični argumenti zelo aktualni, se mordacelo kristjani sprašujemo, kako in zakaj bi nekoga prepričevali za zakon.Navsezadnje, saj izgleda, da ima zunajzakonska skupnost prav vse kot zakonska, le papirjane. V mnogih je več ljubezni, razumevanja in sreče kot v prenekaterih zakonih,ki se povrh vsega še pogostokrat razdirajo in prinašajo bolečino in težavouradne ločitve. Kot pravim, so to pragmatičn argumenti, ki bi jih z ustreznostatistiko lahko ovrgli. Kristjane pa naj ne bi toliko zanimalo le to, kaj deluje inkaj ne. Oziroma rečeno drugače, statistiske ne naredijo nečesa prav ali narobe. Vemo, da je Božje stvarstvo bilo narejeno dobro, z dobrim namenom in v dobro vseh ljudi in ostalega stvarstva. Hočem reči, da kristjani, po pričevanju Svetega pisma, zzakonom pravzaprav zagovarjamo ista hrepenenja kot jih imajo vsi ljudje, tuditisti, ki podcenjujejo uveljavitev zakonske zveze; ko govorimo o zakonu govorimo in spodbujamo k zvestobi, brezpogojniljubezni (je biti deležen in jo izkazovati), varnemu zavetju za odprto intimnost,varnemu zavetju za sprejemanje in vzgojo otrok, ter deljenju življenskih radosti,žalosti in ustvarjalnosti.

Nenavadno je, da nekateri mislijo, da zakon vse to uniči oziroma, da je izvenzakonska skupnost boljša metoda za doseganje teh pozitivnih človeških hrepenenj. Le kako bi "en papir" uničil vse to, če je zgoraj našteto res obstajalo, se sprašujem. Vendar dvomSlovencev v zakon nenehno narašča. Leta 1965 je prvič sklenilo zakon13011 parov, leta 2010 pa 5459, kar je približno 58% padec (kjer je od leta1980 zaznan nenaden upad pod 10000 z doslednjim upadanjem števila proti 5000 dodanes). Zanimivo pa je, da se razveze vse od leta 1965 do danes enakomernogibljejo okoli številke 2000 z +/-25% nihanjem. Torej sklenitve zakona so zelo padle, razveze so več ali manj enake, kar ne govori v prid zakonu. Pri tem razveze parov z otrokiostajajo skoraj nespremenjene, od leta 2000 pa se povečujejo razveze parov brezotrok! (vir: www.stat.si) Statistikesklenitve in razveze zunajzakonskih skupnosti seveda ni (oz. je nisem našel),razen podatka, da "zunajzakonske skupnosti že predstavljajo 10,8 %vseh družin v Sloveniji (v letu 2002 je bilo takih družin 7,6 %)"vir: - http://www.stat.si/novica_prikazi.aspx?id=4029).

V tem letu, sem ob diskusijah sprejetja novega Družinskega zakona poslušal argumente, da je neka stvar etično pravilna, ker jo potrjuje (ali ovrže) statistika. Pragmatika statistik, čeprav včasih zanimiva, za kristjane (naj) ne bo referenčna točka pri etičnem razmišljanju. Sola scriptura velja tudi pri etičnem kodeksu, ne le pri nauku o opravičenju. Morda je pri vprašanju zakona vendarle toliko megle z vseh strani, da so nekatere reakcije razumljive. Še sam sem nekoč mislil, da je zakon veljaven le, če se poročiš v cerkvi. Če ni presenečenje, naj poudarm, skupaj s skeptiki zakona,da prstan res ne naredi zakona, papir ne naredi zakona, spolni odnos ne naredi zakona,cerkev ne naredi zakona in navsezadnje ga ne naredim niti jaz. Jaz ubogi, se še za zakonnisem mogel odločiti, ker sem pač potreboval privoljenje moje drage. Ali bomsklenil zakon z njo, je bilo, kar se mene tiče, odvisno popolnoma od nje.

Zakon je naredil, postavil in definiral Bog (Mt 19,4-5 Jezusov povzetek starozaveznega odlomka iz 1. Mz 2). To pomeni, da zakon ni človeški podvig ali projekt nakaterega se dva podata, da bi ga s časom, morda po 20, 30 ali 50ih izpopolnila. Zakon je dober,celo popoln že od samega trenutka, ko se moški in ženska z obljubo zavežeta kvzajemni doživljenjski partnerski in spolni zvestobi. Moški in ženska torej vstopitav zakon-zavezo. Puf. Od takrat naprej sta zakonca in vezana drug na drugegapred Bogom z vso vzajemno odgovornostjo. Zakonu tako lahko rečemo tudi zaveza,saj ima enake karakteristike odnosa med Bogom in človekom (človeštvom). Saj poznamo mnogokatere "zaveze" v Svetem pismu: zaveza z Noetom, zaveza z Abrahamom, pa Mojzesom oziroma Izraelom, pa nova zaveza...Takšnazaveza, zakon ali skupnost med moškim in žensko je že sama po sebi ustvarjena z namenom za dobrodrug drugega ter otrok. "Ni dobro za Adama, da je sam; naredil mu bompomoč, ki mu bo primerna," je pri stvarjenju nenadoma rekel Bog potem, koje bilo vse, kar je ustvaril dobro. Le to ni bilo dobro, da je Adam (človek)sam v tem, kar mu je Bog zaupal (smislenost samskosti nam odkrije šeleevangelij s svojih estahotoškim pogledom na nebeško kraljestvo Mt 19,12 in1.Kor 7,29-35 – o tem drugič).

No, ta prej omenjeni "puf" zakonske zveze se nezgodi v vakuumu. Ljudje (običajno-ne bomo govorili o samotnem paru, ki živi na samotnem otoku) živimo v skupnosti, v družinski, vaški,mestni in imamo do nje tudi svoje odgovornosti. Nekoč, ampak res nekoč (1.Mz 24) je bila ožja družina tista, ki jeprepoznala, še več, določila kdo se je s kom sklenil zakon. V Sloveniji ta običaj pravzaprav ni bil nekoč - pred malo več kot 100 leti, predvsem v kmečkih družinah. "Vmešavanje"cerkve v sklepanje zakonske zveze (in še to se je dogajalo pred vrati cerkve!)se je pojavilo šele v 12. stoletju našega štetja, kot je meni znano. Simboličnapotrditev vstopa v zakon oziroma medsebojne zaveze pred skupnostjo družine, prijateljev in države - naj bo to nauradu ali v cerkvi ali oboje - daje odnosu odgovornost drug drugemu in sicer predto skupnostjo. Ali je morda ravno strah pred to odgovornostjo razlog zaživljenje na žitaricah?

"No ja," je odgovoril fant, ko sta šla s punconarazen, "saj sploh nikoli nisva bila resna. Saj nisva bila poročena," medtem ko je ona ves čas upala in želela, da bi bila resna inda bi jo poročil. "Moški smo drugačni, ženske tudi," pravi znani psiholog dr. Gray in ravno v tem je problem "tihih" dogovorov, hrepenenj in pričakovanj po zvestemu in trajnemu odnosu.

Ves čas smo pravzaprav govorili le o zakonu, ne poroki.Morda je prav misel na poroko, na vse tiste ceremonije tu in tam, ter vsestroške in koga vse povabit, da se ne boš komu zameril; mogoče so prav tekomplikacije mnogim odveč, da bi sklenili zakon. No, sklenitev zakona jepravzaprav na voljo že za ceno ene pice. Vsaj tako je bilo v mojem času. Sedaj,po novem zakonu vam država plača celo poroko!

Popoln zakon ne naredi zakonca popolna. V vsakem odnosu je prostor za rast. Zavedajmo pa se, da je popolnost v zakono tisto, kar je Bog v njem in z njim nameraval storiti dobro nam in našim otrokom.

Paul's version of the Village People song "Macho Man"

2011-11-28T02:13:00.001-08:00

Many years ago The Muppets did a fabulous version of the song "Macho Man" featuring Link and Gonzo (a Youtube posting of the Muppets' song). It featured on The Muppet Show television program as well as on a casette tape I received for Christmas when I was a young boy. To be honest, I still find it hilarious.

If only I had understood the lyrics.

The Muppets had obviously censored the main verses of the song for the benefit of their childhood audience. Their video showed two tough (or 'mucho') gangs or pigs and chickens, fighting across the top of two blocks of flats. The original song was composed for the late 1970's disco group Village People. Although this group was accepted by a wide audience, its roots were actually in the American homosexual community. And therefore, when we read the original lyrics of "Macho Man", we might be surprised how the song glorifies a self-centred and perverse view of the body. The song praised an extremely muscular male body, which had joyfully been scultpured by weights in a gym. Before the first verse we start with...

Body...wanna feel my body?
Body...such a thrill my body
Body...wanna touch my body?
Body...it's too much my body
Check it out my body, body.
Don't you doubt my body, body.
Talkin' bout my body, body,
Check it out my body.

As we have worked through chapters 5 and 6 of Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, we have seen the apostle Paul has a very different approach to considering the body. He starts with understanding Jesus Christ. Paul continually reminds his readers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how Jesus' death and resurrection should transform our understanding of the bodies (5,7; 6,14. 20). Jesus Christ was a man who died, was raised, and is now glorified, sitting in heaven with a glorfied, physical body. Paul elaborates on the nature of this resurrected and glorified body in chapter 15.

How does this relate to us? A foundation for Paul's arguments in these chapters is that Christians are 'united to Christ'. Paul uses this idea to speak about the relationship between Christians and Jesus. If Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, then we are united to him. To explore in more depth this idea, I want to encourage you to read The Briefing article 'Union with Christ' by Rory Shiner (Issue 939, June 2011, pg.9-16). Rory does an excellent job at summarising the biblical material and shows what this means for us as Christians.

So if Jesus still has a physical body, what does this mean for us? Paul shows us that since we are united to Christ, we too will have glorified, physical bodies for all eternity. Yet we do not glorify our bodies in the same way the Village People suggests 'Mucho Men' should. Paul shows us in these chapters that our bodies have been freed from slavery to sin, and so we must not return to a worldly perspective of our bodies (6,12-15). Rather we glorify God with our bodies (6,20). That is, we use our bodies in a manner which satisfies our new Master (6,19b).

And so what do we do with our bodies, that satisfies our new Master? We may be tempted here to say body piercing, tattoos, being overweight or too fit, and any other dissatisfying aspect of our bodies is sin. In chapter 6, Paul shows that sexually misusing our bodies is certainly sin (6,15-17). Such use of the body is a distortion of God's idea for marriage (1 Mz 2,24). But what about these other things? Again I want to refer you to another series of Briefing articles by Michael Jensen (Issues 309-11, June-August 2004), in which Michael considers various aspects of the body from a Christian perspective.

Again, I think Paul's use of the slave market image is an excellent one for us to consider how we view our bodies:

Ne pripadate sebi, saj ste bili odkupljeni za visoko ceno. Zato poveličujte Boga v svojem telesu. (1 Kor 6,19b-20 SSP)

Pavel vs. Jezus

2011-11-16T01:42:00.001-08:00

To razmišljanje je nadaljevanje nedeljskega razmišljanja o cerkveni discipliniiz 1. Kor 5,1-13, tukaj v pisni obliki.

Iz tega odlomka vidimo, kakšno stališče naj zavzame cerkev vprimeru neskesanega, stalnega in javnega nemoralnega življenja kristjana.Pavlovi napotki so bili naslednji: Bodite žalostni zaradi takšnega načinaživljenja in tega izločite iz svoje srede, ne družite se z njim, celo ne jejtez njim. Ti ukrepi v današnji družbi kar kričijo od nestrpnosti.

Pavel vs. Jezus

Ali morda v tem primeru skozi Pavla, še vedno pronica tistafarizejska žilica v kateri je bil vzgojen in ki je tolikokrat prišla v navzkrižz Jezusom? Ali je mroda Pavel strožji v svoji moralni presoji od Jezusa?Ali si morda celo nasprotujeta?

Ali ni Jezus sam rekel, "ne sodite, da ne bostesojeni" in "izvleci najprej hlod izsvojega očesa in šele potem trsko in očesa svojega bližnjega" (Mt 7,1-5)? Alipa, ko je dejal farizejem, ki so želeli kamenjati ženo, ki je skočila čezograjo oz. plot (včasih so temu rekli prešuštvo): "Kdor je brez greha najprvi vrže kamen," ženi pa je rekel: "Tudi jaz te ne obsojam" (Jn 8,1-11). In povrh vsega, se je Jezus družil in jedel z nečistniki (Mt 9,9-13).

Kaj pa če gre pri Jezusu in Pavlu za primer "goodcop/bad cop." Saj veste, v filmu en policaj pretirava v zasliševanjuosumljenca, drugi pa ga miri, oba skupaj pa sta le uigran par, da bi izvabilainformacije iz osumljenca. Več o tem v enciklopediji.

O Pavlu smo torej že govorili. Kaj je potem Jezus mislil ssvojimi izjavami in zakaj se zdi, da je bolj popustljiv?

Volkovi željni krvi

Jezus je imel pogosto opraviti s farizeji, ki so debatiraliz njim ne zavoljo spoznanja resnice temveč zato, da bi ga ujeli v besedi intako lahko zatožili in ubili. Farizeji so bili krvi željni volkovi, predvsemJezusove krvi.

V primeru žene (Jn 8,1-11), ki so jo pripeljali k Jezusu soga vprašali: »Učitelj, tole ženo smo zasačili v prešuštvovanju. Mojzes nam je vpostavi ukazal take kamnati. Kaj pa ti praviš?« K temu Janez pripomne: "To so govorili, ker so ga preizkušali, da biga mogli tožiti." Farizeji, ki sebe niso imeli za grešne in krivične, kiso bili zavzeti za izpolnjevanje zakona so nekako pozabili na moškega, s katerimje ta žena prešuštvovala. Mojzes pravi, naj oba prešuštnika, moški in ženskaumreta v primeru prešuštva (3. Mz 20,10 in 5. Mz 22,22). Jezus je imel opravkas takimi, ki so želeli Jezusa stisniti v kot, da bi morda rekel kaj protiMojzesovemu zakonu in tako bi lahko kamenjali njega. Jezusov odgovor je torejprav na mestu. Medtem ko ženi reče: "Kje so, žena? Te ni nihčeobsodil?...Tudi jaz te ne obsojam. Pojdi in odslej ne greši več." Obsojativ tem primeru pomeni obsojati na smrt! Ne spreglejmo pa dodatka k temu:"Odslej ne greši več." Ji da torej še eno možnost? In kaj bi sledilopotem?

Samopravični hinavci

O zelo podobnih stvareh govori Jezus v Mt 7,1-5, ki je delgovora na gori. Znameniti govor na gori je njegov odziv na popačeno razumevanjeMojzesove postave. Ko govori o miloščini, molitvi, postu in drugih stvareh vteh poglavjih, Jezus pogosto kritizira ravnanje hinavcev (spet farizejev inpismoukov). Torej tistih, ki so sebe imeli za bolj pravične pred Bogom kotdruge, tistih, ki so radi kazali koliko se postijo, koliko dajejo v tempelj inkažejo na druge, kako so grešni. Jezus zaradi vpliva takšnih samopravičnihhinavcev torej pravi: "Ne sodite da ne boste sojeni" kajti vsi bomoprejeli premosorazmerno sodbo. Torej Jezus seveda govori tistemu, ki utegnesoditi, naj dobro premisli o svojim motivih in stališču samega sebe do Boga.Nikakor pa ne govori tistemu, ki greši, da ne bi razumeli naj izraz "ne sodite, da ne boste sojeni"uporabimo za obrambo in izgovor, da se ne pokesamo.

Zdravnik bolnih

Zadnji primer se dotika Jezusovega druženja z nečistniki (Mt9,9-13). Tudi v tem primeru, že spet, ima Jezus opraviti z ugovorom farizejev (tehkrvi željnih in samopravičnih hinavcih). Jezus svojo nalogo in vzrok prihodapojasni s tem, da je zdravnik bolnih - grešnih. Če takšnih ne bi bilo, potem musploh ne bi bilo treba priti in umreti. Jezus je prišel, da greh odvzame inprevzame, Bog je nanj položil grehe vsega sveta. Druženje z nekaj nečistniki,kaj pa je to kaj takega zanj? Z Božjega stališča so vsi ljudje nečisti (zaradigreha ločeni od Boga), razlikovanje med pravičnimi in nečistimi v evangelijihje bila stvar farizejev. Sploh pa se Jezus ni družil z njimi, da utrdi njihovgrešni način življenja, temveč da jim oznani naj se spreobrnejo in verujejoevangeliju.

Jezus ni bil "good cop" v tem smislu, da je grehprezrl in zamižal pred njim. Bil je "good cop" s tem, da je greh prevzel nase,s tem pa tudi kazen, ki bi sicer morala zadeti nas.

Pa vendar, kdor se ne pokesa grehov in ne sprejme odrešenikaJezusa, tega vendarle še vedno kazen doleti. Zato tudi Pavel ni "badcop" v smislu, da pretirava glede ukrepov zoper greh. Jezus je govoril inravnal s pogledom naprej na križ; Pavel pa s pogledom nazaj na križ.

Lady Gaga ne gaga v prazno

2011-11-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Velikonočna pesem iz slovenske
protestantske pesmarice
iz leta 1584.

"Jezus ta je od smrti vstal,
vragu je to glavo steptal.
Zato se veselimo in Boga hvalimo..."

Zadnja dva tedna, ko sem prebiral stališčanekaterih reformatorjev (Luthra, Zwinglija, Calvina in Trubarja) o krščanskempetju in glasbi sem še bolj osupel, kako daleč od reformatorskih načel (samo Kristus, samo Biblija, samo vera in samo milost), skaterimi se načeloma evangelijske cerkve identificiramo/jo, so zašle mnogedanašnje t.i. evangelijske pesmi. Bodisi, da so prazne v svojemsporočilu, so človekocentrične ali pa se tista edina kitica, ki jo pesempremore, pri petju ponavlja tako dolgo, da že skoraj omedlimo.

To slednje sem nedavno doživel sam, ko smona nekem srečanju peli pesem: "Dobro je zaupati v Gospoda, dobro zatekatise k njemu" (ne vem ali se ena vrstica lahko kvalificira kot pesem??)

V tem primeru ni sicer nič narobe s samimbesedilom, vendar kaj potem ponavljanje besedila v pesmi znova in znova sploh pomeni?Je to zato, da si besedilo zapomnimo? To bi bil dober razlog, vendar v cerkvenem petju to ponavadi ni razlog. Bolj kot ne, se mi zdi podobno mantri, ki je meditativni mističen zlog ali pesem. Mantra ima namreč to lastnost, pravijovzhodne religije, da nam ponavljanje ene takšne pesmi, usmeri misli in s tem totudi uresniči (postaneš ali doživiš to kar poješ). Nič drugače torej od mističnega razumevanja petja srednjega veka, kateremu so se reformatorji tako določno uprli.

"Ko mislijo, da bodo zaradi veliko besed uslišani"

Trubarnas v svojem uvodu v pesmarico iz leta 1574 glede petja nagovoritakole:

"In Kristus sam pravi (Mt 6), datakšne molitve, ki se opirajo na izgled in hvalo ter se na veliko, dolgo, gosto(?) in glasno mrmra, Bog ne usliši. Prav tako petje, glasno vpitje brez vere,občutka, brez razumevanja in brez pokore nič ne velja pred Bogom,... Zato, čehočemo prav peti ali moliti, da bomo uslišani in da s tem Boga častimo, hvalimoin njemu služimo, moramo tako z vero, v pokori in z razumevanjem peti inmoliti, in ne le gledati na melodijo in mrmrati, temveč (gledati) kaj besededrže v sebi, kam kažejo, o čem govore, za kaj prosimo ali hvalimo Boga."

Dolgo petje, mrmranje in povrh vsega šenerazumevanje tega, kar se poje, je po besedah, ne le reformatorjev, ampakpredvsem besedah Svetega pisma prazna religija del, ki nima nič skupnega spetjem Božjih ljudi. Mislim na petje krščanske skupnosti, ne mrmranje ob glasbi, ko likamo perilo. Saj res. Kako pa so Božji ljudje peli nekoč? Kaj ni Mojzesskupaj s celo skupnostjo, ko so bili rešeni pred Egipčani, pel pesem (2.Mz 15)?In Debora ter Barak, po zmagi nad Kanaanci (Sod 5)? Ali pa Ana, ko je povilasvojega prvega otroka, potem ko je bila razglašena za nerodovitno (1. Sam 2)?Pa cela knjiga Psalmov in seveda Marija, ki je hvalila Božjo zvestobo njegovim obljubam,ko je izvedela, da bo rodila Mesija (Lk 1,46-55). Ali niso vse te pesmi inhvalnice po svoji vsebini pričevanje o Božji zvestobi, moči in vsemogočnosti,milosti in seveda rešitvi? Pričujejo o tem, kot pravi Marija, kako velike rečije storil Mogočni (Lk 1,49) in sicer v zgodovini naroda in osebe. Njihovavsebina izraža evangelij, vse od Mojzesa od Marije, pa vse do verujočih v nebesih, ki Bogu pojejo novopesem (Raz 5,6-10).

In krščansko-evangelijsko petje danes?

Evangelij Lady Gaga

Iz vseh teh svetopisemskih pesmi ni težkorazbrati njihovih učinkov in funkcij, ko so se le te pele v skupnosti Božjih ljudi. Od tega, da oznanjajoBožje odlike, vlivajo vero in upanje tistim, ki pojejo in poslušajo pa vse dotega, da oznanjajo/učijo nauke Boga.

Zdi se, da Lady Gaga ne gaga v prazno, ko s svojim poznanimstilom življenja zapoje pesem: "I was born this way." Mladim in starim bolje prenaša svoje poglede na življenje kot pa mnoge krščanskih pesmi (in seveda v tem ni edina). Reformatorji so se zavedali, da sopesmi, poleg tega da so spodbudne za nas in naše bližnje, tudi oznanilo drugim,kaj je storil za nas Bog po svojem sinu Jezusu. Molimo za pozornost pri petjuin izbiri pesmi, spodbujajmo druge kristjane k petju pesmi, ki odražajo Božjo besedo in njegova dela ter molimo za vse, ki pesmi pišejo, da njihove vsebine ne bi razredčilido te mere, da bi izgubile vsakršen okus po evangeliju.

Poskusite tudi sami, če imate v sebi kaj pesniškega talenta, skovati pesem o tem, kaj je vam in vsem nam storil Gospod.

Trije prašički in Pavel

2011-10-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

Vse bolj se mi dozdeva, da je angleška ljudska pravljica iz 19. stoletja o treh prašičkih dobila svoj navdih iz Pavlovega odlomka Svetega pisma (1. pisma Korinčanom 3,10-15).

Če ste pozabili zgodbo o teh treh prašičkih v kateri nastopa tudi volk, si jo lahko ogledate v naslednjih dveh starejših različicah in jo seveda primerjajte s 1.Kor 3,10-15.

Walt Disney različica iz leta 1933 –Silly symphony.

Warner Brothers različica iz leta 1943 – Pigs in a polka, na glasbo iz Bhramsovih sinfonij "Madžarskih plesov"

Kakšna je torej podobnost med prašički in Pavlom? V pomembnosti gradbenega materiala za hišo.

Pavel - več kot le dober material naše hiše

Pavla seveda še najmanj zanima s kakšnim materialom je zgrajena naša hiša ali stanovanje. V 1.Kor 3,5-9 Pavel uporablja prispodobo služabnikov in delavcev, ko govori o sebi in drugih krščanskih voditeljih in učiteljih (katere so Korinčani imeli za zvezdnike in zaradi katerih so se prepirali . gl. 1. Kor 3,3-4). Krščanski učitelji so, pravi, sodelavci v služenju Bogu s tem, da posredujejo Božje sporočilo o Jezusu. So kot delavci in gradbeniki, ki bodo prejeli svoje plačilo. Stavba, katero gradijo, pa so ljudje – cerkev. Torej, stavba katero gradijo ni čudovita gotska ali baročna katedrala, temveč ljudje, ki vzverujejo v Jezusa kot odrešenika in ki rastejo v spoznavanju njega in življenja, ki je njemu všeč. "Božja sodelavca sva, vi pa ste Božja njiva in Božja zgradba" je zapisal v v.9. Kdo bo veroval in rastel v veri pa je povsem odvisno od Boga, zatorej gre hvala in slava le Bogu in naš ponos je le v njem (1.Kor 1,31). Pavlova logika je torej naslednja: Učitelji so gradbeniki in delavci, Bog pa daje rast stavbi.

Vsak naj gleda, kako gradi naprej

Prispodoba o gradbenikih pa se tu ne konča. Sedaj pridemo do našega ključnega vprašanja o ustreznih materialih gradnje. Od 1.Kor 3,10 naprej Pavel piše, da je položil edini pravi temelj tej zgradbi in ta temelj je Jezus, vsak pa naj potem gleda, kako zida naprej. Da ni vseeno kakšen material uporabljamo pri izgrajevanju cerkve – skupnosti kristjanov, nam pove konec tega odlomka:

"Delo vsakega bo postalo vidno. Razkril ga bo namreč dan, ker se bo razodel z ognjem, in ogenj bo preizkusil, kakšno je delo tega ali onega. Kdor bo gradil na temelju, bo prejel plačilo, če bo njegovo delo zdržalo. Tisti pa, čigar delo bo zgorelo, bo trpel škodo. Sam se bo sicer rešil, vendar kakor skozi ogenj." (1. Kor 3,13-15)

Predstavljamo si lahko, kakšen vpliv ima ogenj na slamo in les. Pavel sicer govori o dnevu preizkusa v prihodnjiku – o dnevu ob koncu časa. Hrati pa tudi pravi, naj gledamo na to kako gradimo. Kako lahko torej presodimo že sedaj, ali smo modri gradbeniki?

Na enega od takšnih primerov preizkusa gradnje, sem prišel ob branju knjige The trellis and the vine, kjer avtorja knjigo posvečata prav modri gradnji cerkve. Ta (gotovo) šokanten primer navajata iz analize ene mega cerkve v ZDA, Willow Creek Community Church, ki je bila vodilna v t.i. gibanju za cerkveno rast v 80ih letih prejšnjega stoletja, ki so povzemale metode vodenja in delovanja cerkve na modelih iz poslovnega sveta. Avtorja navajata rezultat njihove lastne analize 20-letnega delovanja. In kaj so ugotovili? Cerkev, ki je imela vrhunsko glasbo in pevski zbor, skupine za vse mogoče interesne dejavnosti, skratka vse da se bodo ljudje prijetno počutili, da ne rečem zabavali, je ugotovila, da med člani osebne duhovne rasti, kot Jezusovih učencev ni bilo! In to so ugotovili po lastni analizi.

Takšna slamnata gradnja, ki se je, hvala Bogu, pokazala že prej kot pred sodnim dnem, je vsem nam v premislek, da ni vseeno kako gradimo in da lahko, vsaj do določene mere, že sedaj presojamo med slamo, lesom in kamenjem pri naši gradnji. Zgronji primer se nahaja v prej omenjeni knjigi v poglavju z naslovom: "Zakaj so nedeljske pridige (oz. srečanja) potrebna a niso dovolj" kjer namigujeta,da je slamnata gradnja tista, ki usmerja vse svoje napore le na nedeljska srečanja, ne pa na izgrajevanje kristjanov z Božjo besedo tudi v drugih okoliščinah (na primer skupine za proučevanje, eden na enega, usposabljanje...). Skratka, če se resno spoprimemo z Božjo besedo - oziroma nas le-ta nagovori le enkrat na teden in tak način kot voditelji tudi zagovarjamo, potem se zdi, da imamo opravka s slamo ali lesom. Kaj mislite?

Če ponovno pomislimo na tri prašičke, lahko priznamo, da je lažje in hitreje graditi s slamo in lesom kot pa s kamenjem in opeko. Medtem, ko tretji prašiček počasi gradi svojo hiško, sta prva dva že zdavnaj končala in se zabavata ob igranju gosli in piščali.

Če bi vedela, da prihaja volk, bi morda ravnala drugače, ali pač?

Pismo pa nam pravi, da bo delo vsakega postalo očitno, ker ga bo razkril dan, ki prihaja.

p.s. Nekdo je dejal: "Podobnost med volkom in Bogom je zgolj naključna" :)

A month with Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2011-10-12T03:55:00.000-07:00

Bonhoffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010) by Eric Metaxas

The subtitle of this book, 'A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich', is a good summary of this huge biography (about 540 pages plus notes and references). The brilliance of this book is not only the biography of Bonhoeffer, but a good overview of historical events in Germany during his lifetime. For example, Metaxas helps us understand what was happening in theology faculties around Germany while Bonhoeffer was studying. He looks at both the people involved as well as their theories. Likewise throughout the book we are given insights into the events surrounding Adolf Hitler, his rise to power, the people and activities of the Third Reich, and their ideology.

At times I certainly desired for Dietrich Bonhoeffer to single handedly taking on the Third Reich and win. By the end of the book I really wanted a Hollywood ending. However this was not to be. In fact I am really glad it was not the case. For the brilliance of Bonhoeffer's life is that he demonstrates the true cost of discipleship - a faithful servant of Jesus Christ, who was throughly biblical in his devotion to Christ, extremely practical in the outworking of his theology, and so he was willing to suffer for Christ's sake.

There are a few areas of Bonhoeffer's life which stood out to me. Firstly, he was very close to his family. All the Bonhoeffers seemed to be extremely intelligent. For example, his father was a prominent psychiatrist and one of Dietrich's brothers worked as a phycisist with Einstein. Throughout his life, the whole Bonhoeffer family would regularly gather together in the family home to sing and enjoy each other's company. It seems that the Christian influences came from his mother's family, yet only a few of Dietrich's siblings shared his Christian faith, but they still respected him very much. Ultimately through his family connections, Dietrich would be asked to negotiate with foreign nations on behalf of those opposed to Hitler.

Karl Barth

Secondly, Bonhoeffer was thoroughly engrossed with the Bible. It is amazing to think that he had finished a doctorate in theology by the age of 21. He did this at the University of Berlin under key scholars of text critical methods which was the foundation of liberal theology (which basically means the Bible was approached using very rational and scientific methods - the reader becomes the authority over the text, and so many liberal theologians would toss out irrational things like the miracles of Jesus). Despite the teachings of these scholars, Bonhoeffer held to an orthodox understanding of the Bible as the revealed Word of God. Eventually Bonhoeffer would meet Karl Barth, who would become an ally against such liberal teaching.

Bonhoeffer's love for Scripture was seen in how he later trained younger men for full time ministry. It was his practise, which he would teach these men, to read a passage of Scripture and meditate on it until he could understand it and know what God was saying to him. He read Scripture and brought it to bare on his life. During his travels in America, Bonhoeffer would also search for churches which explained the Bible, even attending a negro church in Harlem which he thought was doing a better job than the huge, modern church linked to Union Theological Seminary where he was studying.

Thirdly, from this rich foundation of Scripture, Bonhoeffer desired to be a faithful disciple of Christ. When he did the devotions at a conference (in Denmark?), people remarked as his Scriptural teaching which stood in contrast to the wide-spead liberal theology. It seems he also taught and trained future pastors as a co-worker in the gospel, coming alongside them and being an example of faithfulness to them. At many times Bonhoeffer seemed to be years ahead of everyone else in his thinking. He perceived the German treatment of Jews as poor through his observations of how the Americans treatment negroes, and this was at a time well before Hitler had come to power. As the Third Reich started to influence the German church, Bonhoeffer was calling pastors and churches to leave the national church because he could already perceive their false gospel. Unfortunately he was proven right too late.

Bonhoeffer also met with other key Christian leaders throughout Europe out of a concern for God's world-wide church. In a sense, Bonhoeffer has redeemed the term 'ecumenicalism' for me, by reminding me that it is possible to meet with other gospel focussed Christians in order to care for Christ's church. Bonhoeffer was able to share the plight of the German church with other Christians in Europe, explaining the danger and false teaching of Hilter's Third Reich (long before World War 2 started, he was actually privileged to inside information about the atrocities by the Third Reich through his brother-in-law Dohnanyi) and the persecution of the church leaders who stood up against Hitler. At the core of this ecumenical movement (not to be confused with the discussions between Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church which water down the different understandings of the gospel of Jesus Christ) was a desire to understand the issues of the gospel in various church contexts, seeking to provide aid to churches (for example, the English churches were caring for many German refugees before the war), and of course support through prayer.

For the final few years of the war, Bonhoeffer spent time in prison. I found reading the prison correspondance between Bonhoeffer and his fiance Maria rather hard, for it was obvious she was struggling to come to terms with his imprisonment and I knew that eventually Bonhoeffer would be executed. As the biography comes to its conclusion it is sad to think that Bonhoeffer was hung on the gallows a few weeks before the end of the war because of his association with the German resistance against Hitler. However in the context of the events in Germany, Bonhoeffer was convicted of just how evil Hitler and the Third Reich was. And it was clear from his writings that he knew that as a Christian he needed to take a stand against it, even if that meant being involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler.

At a funeral service held in England shortly after the war, Matthew 10 was read out. It seems very appropriate when thinking about Bonhoeffer's work against the Third Reich:

»Glejte, pošiljam vas kakor ovce med volkove. Bodite torej preudarni kakor kače in nepokvarjeni kakor golobje. 17 Varujte pa se ljudi, ker vas bodo izdajali sodiščem in bičali po svojih shodnicah. 18 Pred oblastnike in kralje vas bodo vlačili zaradi mene, v pričevanje njim in poganom. 19 Kadar pa vas izročijo, ne skrbite, kako in kaj bi govorili, kajti tisto uro vam bo dano, kaj naj bi govorili. 20 Ne boste namreč govorili vi, temveč Duh vašega Očeta bo govoril v vas. 21 Izdajal pa bo v smrt brat brata in oče sina. Otroci bodo vstajali zoper starše in jih izročali v smrt. 22 Vsi vas bodo sovražili zaradi mojega imena; toda kdor bo vztrajal do konca, bo rešen. 23 Kadar vas bodo preganjali v enem mestu, bežite v drugo. Resnično, povem vam: Ne boste obhodili Izraelovih mest, dokler ne pride Sin človekov. (Mt 10,16-23 SSP)

After reading this biography, I will again watch the 2004 DVD by Bonhoeffer's best friend Eberhard Bethge (Vito has a copy). I am certainly insipired to continue reading God's Word redularly, and to read it in a manner where I actively seek to hear what God has to say to me. Bonhoeffer wrote several books which I will try to find as well. Certainly he is a great example of a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ who suffered and died because of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

P.S. I still can't get it out of my head that he looks and sounds exactly like David Shead.

Doživljenska garancija

2011-09-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

Preden preberete ta prispevek naprej do konca, naredite eno stvar. Odprite svoj internetni brskljalnik in pod slikami "poguglajte" besedi "Sveti Duh." Oglejte si nekaj strani in potem pridite nazaj na ta prispevek.

Ste že nazaj? (če sploh niste odšli, še enkrat preberite prvi odstavek) Kaj ste videli? To kar ste pričakovali? Verjetno. To je ena izmed upodobitev Duha in verjetno se nam zdi malo smešna.

Zdaj pa vtipkajmo Pismo Titu 3,3-7 in preberimo kaj pravi.

Ali ste pričakovali to? Namreč to, da je nas neumne, nepokorne, zablodele, nagonsko vodene, hudobne, nevoščljive in sovražne Bog prerodil in prenovil po Svetem Duhu.

Še več. Ali smo pričakovali to, da je Bog storil vse to, ne zaradi naših pravičnih del, ampak zaradi svojega usmiljenja zaradi smrti Jezusa?

Opravičeni po Božji milosti smo postali dediči večnega življenja katerega pričakujemo in Sveti Duh, ki nam je bil dan, je doživljenska garancija.

Ali smo pričakovali to? Verjetno ne, kajti to je neverjetno. Mnogim ljudem se zdi smešno, da bi nas Bog brez naših dobrih (pravičnih) del vzel za svoje otroke - kar tako. Pa vendar tega ni storil "na lepe oči." Sploh ne naše. To je storil na prijetno samodaritev Jezusa na križu namesto nas. Torej vse to je prav verjetno – to pomeni, teh obljub smo deležni, ko zaupamo v Jezusa našega odrešenika.

O Svetem Duhu smo se več pogovarjali na letošnjem REC kampu in spodaj si lahko prenesete predavanja in proučevanja. Predvsem zato, da se "ne pustite, da vam vzame nagrado tak, ki se vdaja samoponiževanju in čaščenju angelov, ko vrta v svoja domnevna videnja in se brez vzroka napihuje v svojem mesenem umu, ne drži pa se glave, iz katere se po sklepnih vezeh hrani in povezuje celotno telo in tako uspeva v Božji rasti." Kološanom 2,18-19.

(pri kliku na spodnje povezave, se vam odpre nov spletni dnevnik)
1. Oseba, narava in delo Duha. Priloga temu predavanju so nekatere krščanske veroizpovedi.
2. Življenje v Duhu.
3. Proučevanja različnih vprašanj o Duhu.

How would you promote gospel work in Slovenia?

2011-09-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

We shared on Sunday (18th Sept) at REC about our working in raising support for God's work in Slovenia using PowerPoint presentations, videos, talks, and running Bible studies. Below is the small collection of videos we made for our 2011 CMS deputation, with a brief explanation of why we made them.

How Long O Lord?

This video started as a biblical reflection upon the timing of God's work in Slovenia. As we consider what God is doing and how long it is taking him to complete his work, it might appear nothing is actually happening. However as Christians we come to God in prayer, asking him to work hard. Likewise we are learning to trust God.

We asked churches which we were going to visit to show it the week before we arrived. It is a basic introduction of ourselves, REC and some issues Christians face in Slovenia.

How Long, O Lord? - Mark and Rochelle Groombridge in Slovenia from CMS NSW & ACT on Vimeo.

Challenges Christians Face

This video shares some of the challenges Christians face in Slovenia. We mainly used it in Bible study groups to help people understand that Christians all around the world have struggles. It also introduces some aspects of our service here.

Challenges Christians Face - Mark and Rochelle Groombridge in Slovenia from CMS NSW & ACT on Vimeo.

Obstacles to proclaiming the gospel

This video was made for Bible study groups (slightly longer at 5 mins in length). It shares some of the cultural and personal obstacles we face (atheism, catholicism, church influences, etc), and how REC is working to proclaim Jesus Christ in Slovenia. Australian Christians found it hard to believe the amount of snow Rochelle and the kids were going through at the end of the video.

Obstacles to proclaiming the gospel - Mark and Rochelle Groombridge in Slovenia from CMS NSW & ACT on Vimeo.

Thank you

We always like to leave churches and Bible study groups with a positive understanding of their contribution to God's work in Slovenia.

Thank you - Mark and Rochelle Groombridge in Slovenia from CMS NSW & ACT on Vimeo.

What would you say to Australian Christians about God's work here, the role of missionaries and how they support the church in Slovenia?

New (School) Year Resolutions - Part 2

2011-09-09T02:10:00.000-07:00

Another challenge I have set myself this year is to read a quality Christian book each month. Admittedly, this isn't really a challenge, since I am constantly reading for sermon/Bible study preparation or personal interest. Often I will start reading a book, get half-way through it, then I will be distracted by another interesting book. I suppose I am taking the new school year as an opportunity to be more intentional about reading through entire books for personal spiritual growth.

I haven't yet compiled a complete list of books to read, but the range of Christian literature I would like to cover will certainly include:

Classic books which I will have already read - this is an opportunity to be reminded of great Christian truths. For example, I have often re-read Graeme Goldsworthy's Gospel and Kingdom to remind me of the large picture Biblical themes and centrality of the gospel. This year I am planning to read J.I. Packer's Fundamentalism and the Word of God.
Christian biographies - this is an opportunity to find encouragement from understanding the situations and issues other faithful Christians have faced throughout the ages. Last year I read The Roots of Endurance by John Piper, which outlines the lives of John Newtown, Charles Simeon and William Wilberforce. I knew Newtown's song "Amazing Grace", and I had read half-way through another biography of William Wilberforce before, however I still found great insights from this book. Biographies are gereally easy to read, but immensely encouraging. My favourite biography is still Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson by Don Carson.
Christian serving and spiritual growth - this is that broad area of books which teach and train us as Christians. I hope to read a few books which will help me serve others better, like in teaching God's Word, encouraging others, prayer, etc. Last Christmas Rochelle and I were given a few books by a Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. He seems to be a cultural critic with a very good gospel focus. So I will read a few of his books.There are a few other books by John Piper (Desiring God and When I Don't Desire God) and Jerry Bridges (The Discipline of Grace - I may re-read The Pursuit of Holiness beforehand), which I have on my shelves and I would like to work through.

I have started this year's reading plan with a biography about Dietrich Bonhoeffer called Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas. At 542 pages it is extremely long compared to most (non-reference) Christian books. Length isn't a problem though. I find I struggle more with not trying to think about David Shead as I read about Bonhoeffer's life - extreme intelligence, clarity in thinking and expressions, a strong Biblical centred faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and so on. They also look the same!

Joking aside, I am already enjoying reading about Bonfoeffer's early years. This biography is well written, inserting interesting historical points, like the rise of the Nazi party, while focussing on the formation of Bonhoeffer's thinking compared to the influences around him. I'll write a full review after I have finished the book.

Both Peter and I have huge libraries which you are free to borrow books from. Miha has also offered many of his books for loan. I am sure Živa can provide you with a list of other good quality books in Sloven, like books by C.S. Lewis.

I certainly believe that reading good Christian literature is a helpful compliment to reading the Bible regularly. Maybe you can leave a comment below about Christian books which you have found encouraging?

What would the Bible be like without 1 & 2 Kings?

2011-09-06T05:21:00.000-07:00

The other day I thought I would count how many books and chapters we had in each section of the REC Vodnik. To my surprise we were missing 2 books - only 64 of the 66 books in the Bible were accounted for! After checking several times, I realised we were missing 1 & 2 Kings.

So what would the Bible be like if we didn't have 1 & 2 Kings to read?

Here are some initial thoughts I had after skimming through these books:

We would not have a clear understanding of the Davidic kingship after David
We would not understand Solomon, know the glory of his temple, or be able to see both his wisdom and failings
We would not groan at the youthful failings of Rehoboam
We would not slap our foreheads as Israel divides into two kingdoms with other centres of worship than Jerusalem
We would not know the sins and failings of the various Messiahs, nor of the many reforms by some of them
We would miss the prophetic service of Elijah (how about that marathon in 1 Kr 19) and Elisha
Our understanding of God's disppointment with Israel and Judah and his anger at idolatry would be less clear, since we would not understand the pain and agony God goes through in bringing about his covenant curses on his own treasured possession

Could we glean such information from other historical records like 1 & 2 Chronicles or the prophetic books?

Putting this question in a slightly different way: Why has God given us this book?

I look forward to reading this book in more detail over the coming month as I write the missing guides for the Vodnik What book of the Bible would you miss if we didn't have it?

New (School) Year Resolutions - Part 1

2011-09-02T02:06:00.000-07:00

As I was considering how much of the Bible we could read each day/week/month/year, it occured to me that I haven't set such standards for myself. Usually I read through a book of the Bible chapter by chapter, unless it is a narrative which I might read several chapters. You might say, I have a casual approach to working through the Bible.

This week I have been working on the Vodnik - our guide to helping us read God's Word regularly. In particular I working on a guide considering how to get into a routine of reading the Bible and how to wisely decide how much of the Bible to read. I am hopeing that this year we will see the Vodnik completed, published and put to good use. But 'put to good use' by whom?

Because of the way the Vodnik is structured (four sections containing a varied selection of books with approximately the same number of chapters in each section), it seems you can be more intentional about the time it might take you to read through each section. So I decided to figure it out for myself. If I planned to read the Bible for 15-20mins each day from Monday to Friday, how many chapters do I need to read in order to read through the entire Bible in a year?

Before I tell you the answer, you should know that I have not read through the entire Bible in a year since 1997/98. In fact, that was the only time I managed to do it, and I think I crammed more reading into the last few weeks of that year than through regular reading throughout that year. In 1998/99 when I tried to read the whole Bible in a year again, I only got through about half of it. So if I was going to be intentional about setting goals, I have to be realistic about time and activites which make our lives busy.

So this year I have resolved to read through the whole Bible in a year using the Vodnik as a guide to the order of which books of the Bible I will read. How many verses and chapters each day do I need to read to achieve this? It is 119 verses each day, which seems to be about 4-5 chapters. As per the guide I have started with 1 Mozes knjiga (Genesis) and it has only taken 20 minutes to read 4 chapters and a Psalm. I have also set aside 10 minutes to pray.

Please feel free to keep me accountable to this. It will be inevitable that such grand intentions will be occasionally forgotten!

Obisk Avstralije IV - Zadnji teden

2011-08-14T02:36:00.000-07:00

North Rocks
Prejšnji teden od nedelje naprej se je začel obisk zadnje cerkve. Precej ljudi nas tam pozna in podpira, med njimi sta tudi Max in Olive Wills (starša Bronwyn Shead). V nedeljo, kjer sva bila na obisku cerkve zjutraj in zvečer so imeli posebni srečanji s hrano, kot zaključek štiritedenskega razlaganja osnov krščanske vere.

Med tednom sva obiskovala male skupine po domovih, kjer smo brali Jakob 1 in se pogovarjali o izzivih vere tako za avstralske kot slovenske kristjane. Veseli so bili, da so naju lahko osebno videli in slišali kako nam gre v Sloveniji in v REC-u. Ponovno sva bila spodbujena z njihovo nenehno molitvijo za vse nas.
Andrew in Monique, ki sta lansko leto bila tudi pri nas v Sloveniji sta veliko organizirala za naju tukaj in pomagala pri mnogih praktičnih stvareh našega življenja tukaj.

Veliki finale - slovenski večer

Konec tedna je, vsaj za nas, pomenil veliki finale (kajti dva dni za tem odhajamo), ko smo se zbrali Boxovi, Groombridgevi in Novakovi skupaj z mnogimi podporniki na Moore Collegu. Vsak od nas je predstavil svojo vlogo v delu za evangelij v Sloveniji, vse skupaj pa je z Božjo besedo nagovoril David Shead iz pisma Timoteju, kjer smo slišali da Pavel, četudi je sedel na smrtni klopi zaradi evangelija, ni niti za hip pomislil, da je šel predaleč s svojim oznanjevanjem, da mu je kaj žal zaradi njegovega vztrajanja z Jezusom itn. Večer smo zaključili s poslovitvijo nas in Groombridgevih ter molitvijo za vse družine ter napredek evangelija v Sloveniji.

Slike in letaki o Sloveniji

Poziv k dolgoročni podpori in vztrajanju pri evangeliju Gospoda Jezusa

Boxovi opisujejo njihovo vlogo v Mariboru...

...Groombridgevi v REC-u...

... in Peter o skrbi za Marka :)

Odhod
Po sedmih tednih se poslavljamo od Avstralije. V ponedeljek 15. avgusta letimo nazaj in se spet snidemo z vami v torek ob 11.30 oziroma kasneje, kjer bomo z veseljem povedali še veliko več, kot smo lahko napisali. Prosimo molite za našo pot. Zelo smo hvaležni in veseli v našem Gospodu Jezusu, da smo lahko videli naše partnerje v evangeliju v Avstraliji in veseli smo tudi, da se vrnemo med vas.

Obisk Avstralije III - Lidijina doživetja

2011-08-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

Drage dame in ostali v REC-u

Več kot pol poti je zdaj že za nami in naj še jaz kaj napišem o našem času tukaj. Konec julija smo bili na 10-dnevnih počitnicah v hiši, ki sta nama jo posodila Philip in Sue Griffin 3 ure vožnje južno od Sydneya. Bilo je lepo, sproščujoče in dober počitek, le nenehen dež nam je nagajal 6 dni od 10ih. Prvih nekaj dni smo bili tam s Philipom in Sue in njunima mlajšima otrokoma. Njuna 7 letna hčerka Laura je uživala v družbi naših otrok, saj je po navadi tam sama. Obe nedelji, ko smo bili tam smo šli v cerkev, ki podpira Groombridgeve. Čisto po naključju so oni bili dogovorjeni za obisk tam ob istem času, tako da je bilo zelo posebno za člane cerkve videti njih in nas, ki skupaj delamo v REC-u, tam skupaj:) Vsi smo bili pri pastorjevi družini na kosilu po cerkvi. Dobila sem nekaj knjig, ki bodo koristile pri pripravah za učenje naših otrok:))

Cerkev, kjer smo bili z Groombridgevimi

Ko smo prišli nazaj s počitnic in stopili v našo hišo v Sydneyu, je Karis rekla "Aja, pozabila sem, da zdaj tukaj živimo. Nisem se spomnila te hiše!" No, ampak hvaležna sem Bogu, da otroci spremembe, potovanja, obiske kar dobro prenašajo. Najtežje je z Laro zvečer, če čez dan nima možnosti spati. To pa je kar pogosto.

Pred enim tednom smo se dobili s Sheadovimi v parku na pikniku. Nathaniela in Joumane do takrat še nismo videli. Bilo nam je zelo lepo in uživali smo v sproščenem in igrivem vzdušju. Otrosi tisti dan niso šli v šolo, da so se lahko dobili z nami:)

V parku s Sheadovimi

Prejšnji vikend sem bila na ženski konferenci. Bilo je prečudovito! Veliko več, kot sem pričakovala. Sporočila iz Biblije so bila zelo spodbudna, posebej namenjena ženam pastorjev in drugih delavcev v misiji za Boga. Bila sem tudi na dveh zelo dobrih seminarjih. Srečala sem veliko prijateljic s teološke šole in zelo uživala v pogovorih. Cela dva dni sem ali poslušala ali pa govorila:) Čisto po mojem okusu:)) Zelo sem bila ohrabrena, osvežena, ganjena, izzvana... Hvaležna sem Gospodu!!

Ženska konferenca

Nekatere prijateljice z Moore Collega na konferenci

Od prejšnje nedelje že hodimo na obisk v cerkev kjer služita Philip in Sue Griffin, katera tudi podpira REC. V nedeljo smo bili tam na treh srečanjih, na kosilu pri Philipu, med tednom pa je Peter vsaki večer hodil tja na preučevanja 'growth groups', jaz pa bom šla na žensko skupino jutri zjutraj.

Cerkev, kjer služita Philip in Sue Griffin (prvo srečanje od treh)

Kar veliko se dogaja, spodbujeni smo, okoli nas so ljudje, ki zvesto molijo za REC in naše delo za evangelij, ki nas želijo še naprej finančno podpirati in ostati tesni partnerji za širjenje Božjega kraljestva. Prav ganjena sem in neizmerno hvaležna Bogu! Spodbujena sem, ko vidim njihovo požrtvovalnost pri služenju Kristusovi Cerkvi tukaj in drugod z vsem, kar imajo! Samo Božje kraljestvo bo obstalo, vse ostalo je minljivo!! Kako velikokrat se moram tega spomniti!

Za konec pa še utrinek s plaže:)

Pogrešam vas in komaj čakam, da vas vse spet vidim in služim z vami za slavo Vsemogočnemu Bogu!

Lidija

Obisk Avstralije II – Figtree cerkev, Wollongong

2011-07-13T03:51:00.000-07:00

Zadnjo nedeljo smo obiskali prvo cerkev po našem programu. Cerkev po imenu Figtree Anglican Church (http://www.figtreeanglican.org.au/je) je cerkev, v kateri je odraščala Rochelle in katera je nam (REC-u) letos poslala dar za prevod in izdajo krščanskih knjig. Tokrat smo imeli priložnost se še osebno zahvaliti za njihov dar in oni sami so bili spodbujeni, ko so slišali o naših načrtih, da sredstva porabimo za oznanjevanje evangelija v Sloveniji. Jaz (Peter) sem ob 8ih obiskal prvo jutranje srečanje, ki je bolj tradicionalno, kasneje ob 10ih pa so se mi pridružili - iz postelje:) še ostali moji. To drugo srečanje je „družinsko“ bogoslužje in oba z Lidijo je moj nekdanji sošolec Stuart intervjuval. Mesec dni pred nami so bili tam že ne obisku Groombridgevi in mnogo članov nam je povedalo, da molijo za našo cerkev in redno spremljajo dogajanja v Sloveniji.

Desna stran dvorane

Leva stran dvorane

Cerkev je za naše razmere neverjetno velika. Jutranji srečanji ponavadi gostita po 80 in 300 članov, večerno, pretežno mladinsko srečanje tudi 200 članov. Priložene slike povedo nekaj o njihovi organiziranosti za boljše počutje obiskovalcev. Sicer pa imajo še dve podružnični cerkvi.

Indijski pastor mednarodne cerkve - ta na desni

Spoznal in pogovarjal sem se z Indijskim pastorjem ene izmed podružnih cerkva, ki deluje med mednarodnimi študenti. Molimo lahko tudi za njih, je povedal pastor John, ko navezujejo stike s temi prehodnimi študenti, jim oznanijo evangelij, postanejo kristjani po Božji milosti in se vrnejo spet nazaj domov, prenovljeni z upanjem evangelija in „oboroženi“ s sporočilom odrešitve.

Philip, Stuart in jaz

Na tem obisku sta nas ves čas spremljala in gostila Philip in Ane (Rochellina starša) in smo zanju Bogu zelo hvaležni.

Nekateri iz cerkve so bili celo že v Sloveniji med drugim tudi Bernard in Phylis Tibbs, ki pošiljata pozdrave Hribarjevim. Pravita, da se dobro spominjata srečanja z vami.

Mislimo na vas vse pogosto in molimo, da Bog čuva vaše misli in življenja v Gospodu Jezusu. Lep pozdrav vsem, Novakovi.

Obisk Avstralije I - Orientacija

2011-07-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

V četrtek, 30. junija smo prispeli v zimski Sydney, kar v tukajšnih razmerah pravzaprav pomeni 10-20oC podnevi. Gostoljubni bratje in sestre v Jezusu so nam napolnili hladilnik in omare ter pripravili hišo za bivanje ter prinesli nekaj skuhanih kosil, kar je zelo olajšalo naš zaspan in utrujen začetek.

Že naslednji dan sta nas obiskala David and Bronwyn Shead. Zelo lepo ju je bilo spet videti in poklepetati. Kmalu se spet vidimo, ko bomo odšli mimo njih v "gore" na konferenco za misijonarje (8.-9.julij). K njim gremo na kosilo in potem na konferenco.

V nedeljo smo obiskali cerkev North Rocks (http://www.northrocksanglican.com.au/), kjer nas in REC zelo dobro poznajo. Pri njih bomo gostovali cel teden v avgustu, zato bomo več o tem pisali kasneje. Zanimvo je bilo, da se lahko dobivajo v dvorani osnovne šole - izgleda, da za razliko od slovenske, njihove šole nimajo nič proti dodatnim prihodkom od najemnin tudi če te prihajajo od verskih skupnosti - čeprav sta tudi tukaj država in cerkev ločeni:)

Koala park

Družina, pri katerih smo bili na kosilu, nas je popoldne peljala v manjši živalski vrt kjer so se otroci zelo razveselili srečanja - prav od blizu - z nekaj znamenitih avstralskih živali.

Moore College - Newtown

Sicer pa smo že obiskali naše prej poznano okolje Newtown, kjer smo živeli in študirali štiri leta. Nepričakovano (ker je bila sobota) smo na fakulteti (www.moore.edu.au) srečali mnogo znanih obrazov. Potem, ko smo Eriku pokazali kje se je rodil in živel svojih prvih osem mesecev, sem seveda moral iti na kavo - najboljšo kavo v Sydneyu (http://www.camposcoffe.com/).

V ponedeljek smo se srečali z osebjem misijonarjske organizacije CMS. Pogovarjali smo se o načrtu našega obiska, vseh sestankih in izpolnjevanju formularjev. Naredili bodo majhen letak o našem delu v Sloveniji, da bi lahko po avstralskih cerkvah ljudje še naprej molili za vse nas v REC-u ter za vse ostale, ki se trudijo v Gospodu Jezusu. Šefi vv CMS-u so tudi potrdili, da bodo pokrili naše stroške bivanja tukaj - super novica.

Hvaležni smo Bogu za vse vaše molitve, da smo dobro prispeli in se nastanili. Spodbujeni smo v Bogu, da mnogi tukaj navdušeno spremljajo dogajanje v Sloveniji v molitvi in finančni podpori že vrsto let. Molimo še naprej, da bi se globoko zavedali, da smo na obeh kontinentih kristjani partnerji v Gospodovem delu, da se pred njim pripogne vsako slovensko in avstrlasko koleno.

Lep pozdrav vsem v Gospodu Jezusu do naslednjega javljanja. Peter

Za konec pa še zimski utrinek s plaže

Defining Slovene culture

2011-06-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

Zivjo iz Australije!

We are over half-way through our deputation time here, and we are thankful that we have also visited the majority of our 'link churches' (we have 7 churches who are supporting us - they have 'linked' with us in mission). The children enjoy the regular visits by grandparents and other relatives. Yet we have all found it hard being at a different church each week, and we all look forward to seeing you again soon.

During our church visits, we are often asked how Slovene people respond to hearing about Jesus Christ. As we reflect back on our 6 years in Slovenia and our experiences, such as the response to Nick Vujicic's mission, we see that there are obstacles in people's lives to having open ears.

We have thought about four events throughout Slovenian history which have shaped people's hearts:

1. Communism
2. Roman Catholism
3. The Reformation
4. The European Union

Why are family networks they main relational networks in Slovenian society? We assume that Communism has played some part in this. It has influenced Slovene culture in other ways too - Slovenes work hard, distrust of outsiders, atheism, etc.

Roman Catholicism and the Reformation have also probably influenced people's lives. If there was such a thing as a 'default spirituality', Slovenes would probably say that this is 'belonging to the Roman Catholic church'. I would be interested to know the statistics between 'belonging' and 'attendance' amongst Roman Catholics. From the Reformation Day celebrations each year, it seems that people really appreciate the literary and educational benefits of this period. Do people know what motivated Trubar?

As the current youth generation gets older, we'll see the increasing influence of the EU. It seems the interests and struggles of young people are the same the world over - Facebook, phones, movies, fashion, etc. All these things continue to shape younger generations.

Such cultural influences, as distant in history or general as they seem, continue to shape Slovene lives. And at the end of the day, it seems that Slovenes are far from God's glory and slaves to sin (Rim 3,23). We have been asking churches in Australia to continue praying for Slovenes, that God will work powerfully in their hearts by his Spirit, so that they will be convicted of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Kajti naš evangelij ni prišel med vas samo z besedo, ampak tudi z močjo in Svetim Duhom ter s popolno zanesljivostjo. (1 Thes 1,5 SSP)

What influences do you see shaping Slovene culture and people's lives? How are these things making people deaf to the good news about Jesus Christ?

Esterine gostije

2011-06-07T04:47:00.000-07:00

Ena izmed zelo opaznih stvari v Esterini knjigi so gostije. Morda je to čisto običajno, glede na to, da se zgodba odvija na najbolj razkošnem dvoru tistega časa in kraja – palači Perzijskega kraljestva, ki se je raztezalo od Indije do Etiopije. V knjigi se skoraj vse vrti okrog gostij. Knjiga se začne z gostijo, ki jo v razkazovanju svojega veličastva priredi kralj Ahasver (1,4) in knjiga se konča z gostijo gostijo Judov, ki so slavili rešitev pred skorajšnjim genocidom (9,18) - razkazovanje Božjega veličastva morda.

Koliko je vseh gostij prepuščam vaši raziskvalni žilici, da knjigo preberete in jih naštejete. Opazimo pa lahko, da so te gostije pomembne za zgodbo. V prvem poglavju kraljica Vašti odkloni priti na gostijo, da bi jo kralj razkazoval in tako naredi prostor za prihod nove kraljice - Estere. Kasneje Estera prav na gostiji odkrije kralju zaroto proti Judov in ta odstrani zarotnika. Skratka gostije so pomembna priložnost za slavje. Po ensi strain za slavje sovražnikov Božjega ljudstva ter razkazovanje njihove trenutne slave ter po drugi strani za slavje zmage oziroma rešitve majhnega Božjega ljudstva.

Nekatere gostije v Svetem pismu so tudi zelo pomenske. Že v Izaiji beremo o gostiji, ki jo bo priredil sam Bog ob koncu časa za vse njegove odrešene (prim. Izaija 25,6-10). Takšna gostija se imenuje tudi Mesijanska gostija, zato ni naključje, da je tudi Jezus sam mnogokrat uporabljal prispodobe o gostiji, ko je govoril o Božjem kraljestvu (prim. Mt 8,10-11; 9,15; 14,19-21; 22,1-14; 25,6; Lk 5,29; 14,13). Ena izmed bolj znanih Jezusovih tem v povezavi z gostijami je bila svadba oziroma gostija ženina in neveste. Ženin je seveda prispodoba za Mesijo, nevesta pa za njegovo izbranko (Božje ljudstvo, cerkev, kristjane). Tako tudi v Raz 19,5-10 beremo o gostiji vseh gostij v nebesih – Jagnjetova poročna gostija. Vsaka gostija, piknik ali večerja, skratka kjer se okrepča naše telo je lahko gosposka gostija (1. Kor 20-22), ki nas spominja kako je Jezus podaril samega sebe za nas, njegovo nevesto. Vabljeni torej vsi na Jagnjetovo poročno gostijo. Vstopnina = vera v Gospoda Jezusa.

Testna objava prvega besedila

2011-06-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

Velikokrat mi je žal, da se kakšna serija pridig prehitro konča, da vseh misli in vsega prebranega ne morem stlačit v 30min pridige ali proučevanja. Zakaj bi vpoglede prebrane knjige, članka, konference in podobnega ne delil z drugimi, vsemi vami? Le zakaj ne.
S tem blogom bo to najbolj enostavno, saj bo dostopen vsem, ki vas to zanima. Da bi bili na tekočem z vsako novo objavo, pa se prijavite s svojim e-naslovom v desnem stolpcu bloga.
Peter N.