Holocaust Remembrance Day

On 27 January 1945, the Red Army liberated the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The anniversary of that liberation is celebrated every year, and this year is the 65th anniversary. A large number of Members of the European Parliament travelled to Poland to remember the victims on the spot. In the Parliament in Brussels, I attended a remembrance event organised by the European Jewish Community Centre and the European Coalition for Israel.

The event featured testimonies from two Holocaust survivors, now in their 80s. Henri Elberg spoke of how he was transferred around 9 different Nazi camps after being deported from Mechelen in Belgium. The vividness which the horrors he lived through was achingly real even after 65 years, with the passion and hint of tears animating his voice as he spoke.

The Chief Rabbi of Russia, Berel Lazar, spoke of the need to look forward to the world of peace that the Messiah would bring in where "the Lord will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore," (Isaiah 2:4). It was the first time I have heard a rabbi speak of the Messiah with real longing. If only the Messiah had already come .... "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

There were prayers of penitence from Christians, citing the example of Daniel in Daniel 9 is repenting of the sins of their fathers and forefathers, and then a moving recital of the kaddish, the key liturgical prayer in Jewish rituals of mourning.

There was also beautiful music on a flute and violin. One piece was entitled "fantasy on a hymn for violin solo", which tool as its theme the melody to which we in church sing Lamentations 3:22-23. Those verses came to me when I emerged into the sunlight after the exhibition of Yad Vashem. Amid all the horror, let us remember the inhumanity that the heart of man can inflict on fellow men. But let us also remember:

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."

Haiti and Compassion

The Mission Interest Group at St Paul's has recommended that 1000 euros be given to the relief effort in Haiti, to be channelled through Compassion international. The collection at St Paul's the Sunday after the earthquake raised nearly a further 2300 euros to the work. You read about the work which our support is helping here and here.

There is also a moving interview with a Compassion International worker, who was pulled out of the rubble of the Hotel Montana some 60 hours after the earthquake. Let us continue to hold up in prayer the people of Haiti, the bereaved, the orphans and those working to help them pick up the pieces and start to rebuild.

Joshua and Genocide

Last night at the ice hockey, Steve Horbaczewski and I were discussing some thoughts that the 90 days exercising was evoking. Steve explained that he found it difficult to get his head round the Israelites wiping out everything as hey conquered the land. He is slightly ahead, so it is in today's passage that we read these stories. There is no Alistair Campbell-esque spinning of this. The Lord commands Israel to show no mercy to the seven tribes living in the Promised Land. No living thing in any of the towns in to be spared.

How does this picture of the character of God square with the usual Christian portrayal of a loving, caring, forgiving God?

There is no easy answer. We know that God is unchanging (Deut 33:27). We also know his character is fogiving (Ex 33:6-7). Paul tells us we were children of wrath (Eph 2:3), yet by his grace, we are saved, and this is not from ourselves, but it is God's gift to us (Eph 2:8-9). We have been saved from this fate by the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and are witnesses to the reality of that rescue.

Deut 29:29 says "the Lord our God has secrets known to noone. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions."

I have no answer to Steve's questions. I just know that I was once a child of wrath, lost and subject to God's fearful justice; now I am adopted as a child of God, a beneficiary of His inexpressable grace, and rescued to everlasting glory.

So long, Moses

So, we are a sixth of the way through and have completed the first 5 books - the Torah. I wonder how many people are still with us. I know there are at least three, but there are probably more.

What am I taking away from the books of Moses? As others have said, the sheer amount of animals required to atone for my sins is humbling. But the impression I took away from Leviticus is of a God who has taken inordinate pains so that his people could know Him. He thinks of so many situations, and sets out a way that they can please Him, and continue to have Him in his midst.

The end of Leviticus shows a God who not only will not forget His covenant promises, but will do everything He can to restore that special relationship, even aftr his people have turned their back on Him and worshipped false Gods.

From Numbers, I see a people very similar to me - moaning, grumbling, ungrateful and quick to forget what God has done for them. The stories there are so remarkable, so hard for our modern rational minds to accept, because we are so stupid that God has to shout to make himself heard.

Finally, from Deuteronomy, we see Moses lay on with a trowel, repeatedly, how faithful God is, and how fickle his people are. He stresses that they were not called because they were anything special. Indeed, they were a weak nation of slaves, yet He chose them to live among and bless. All this is from God, and all He asks is their obedience. They do not know all of God's plans - He has ideas for the Amalekites, Edomites and various others - but His people have no excuse. Their task is to obey Him and serve Him wholeheartedly (Deut 29:29).

Their task is our task today - love the Lord your God with all your heart, sould, strength and mind.

A song for my funeral

I have been in a strangely contemplative mood today, and driving home I came across a song that I would like to have played at my funeral. What is the relevance to today? Today we have been looking at the sacrificial system, and see that in order for atonement to be made, blood must be shed. This system persisted for over a millennium, until a one-and-for-all perfect sacrifice was made. At the moment of Jesus' death on the cross, the curtain in the temple was torn in two, and God and all mankind could be joined in union for ever. There truly is power in the blood.

Andrew Peterson - Lay Me Down

I suppose you could lay me down to die in Illinois
Bury me beneath the rows of corn
Or in-between the maple trees I climbed on as a boy
Where in the Land of Lincoln I was born

Oh, and I recall
We rode the combines in the fall
And there comes a time
For gathering the harvest after all

So when you lay me down to die
I’ll miss my boys, I’ll miss my girls
Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world
You can lay me anywhere
But just remember this
When you lay me down to die
You lay me down to live
Well I asked a girl to marry me on a dock out on the lake
Our babies came to life in Tennessee
And the music of the mountains is still keeping me awake
Yeah, but everything that rises falls asleep

We are not alone
We are more than flesh and bone
What is seen will pass away
What is not is going home

When you lay me down to die
I’ll miss my boys, I’ll miss my girls
Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world
You can lay me anywhere
But just remember this
When you lay me down to die

I’ll open up my eyes on the skies I’ve never known
In the place where I belong
And I’ll realize His love is just another word for Home

I believe in the holy shores of uncreated light
I believe there is power in the blood
And all of the death that ever was,
If you set it next to life
I believe it would barely fill a cup
‘Cause I believe there’s power in the blood

When you lay me down to die
So long, boys, so long, girls
Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world
You can lay me anywhere
But just remember this
When you lay me down to die
You lay me down to live

End of week 1

So we have arrived at the end of week 1, and have covered both Genesis and Exodus. What are my impressions this time through?

- Patience is such a big theme. There is such a long period of time between some of God's promises and their fulfilment. How did Abraham keep going without losing his faith that God would keep his promises? The reaction of the people who build a golden calf when Moses disappears up the mountain is so much more typical of my response.

- Moses appreciates that what makes the people special is not anything they have, but the fact that God is with them - "if you do go with us, everyone will know that you are pleased with your people and with me. That way, we will be different from the rest of the people on earth" (Ex 33:16).

- I am struck by something very obvious, but which I all too often ignore. God is holy and not to be taken lightly. The priests had to purify themselves every time they came into the tent (tabernacle), only Moses could go into the tent of meeting, noone can see God and live, and even Moses could only see God's back.

- God is a personal God. In Ex 33, God tells Moses, "I am your friend". Elsewhere we read that Moses talked to God face-to-face. God, even though He is holy , is knowable.

Ex 40:38 - "No matter where the people tracelled, the Lord was with them."

Footnote: I will update the list of promises when I have time. I agree that the categories of promises I started with is not necessarily clear cut or ideal.

Promises, promises!

Having devised a complicated scheme for highlighting different themes previously, this time I have decided just to focus on God's promises this time.

Why? I am doing this because I know how feckless, fickle and inconstant I can be, but the God we worship is faithful and keeps his promises. So I have decided to highlight them, and categorise them as best I can. I am sure that I will get some of my categories wrong, and others are open to debate, but here goes:

Promises of blessing for everyone:

Gen 1:26 - "they will be like us"

Gen 1:29-30

Gen 8:21-22

Gen 9:3

Gen 9:9-17

Gen 12:3

Specific promises of blessing to one person or group:

Gen 12:2-3

Gen 12:7
Gen 13:14-17

Specific promises of judgement to one person or group:

Gen 2:17

Gen 3:14

Gen 6:18

Gen 9:24

Gen 11:7

Gen 15:1

Gen 15:4-5

Gen 15:13 - "Abram, you will live to an old age and die in peace" (CEV, but I can't find it in the NIV)

Gen 15:13-16

Gen 15:17-21

Gen 16:10-11

Promises of judgement for everyone:

Gen 2:17

Gen 3:15-18

Gen 4:10

Gen 6:3

Gen 11:7

Gen 16:12

Messianic promises:

Gen 3:15

Day 1 - a new start, a new bible and fresh eyes

This is my 4th time doing the 90 days, each with a different bible.

The first time, I used the NIV with the daily sections clearly marked off. The second time, I changed translation to the New Living Translation, and had a complication colour scheme with which I marked up the whole bible from start to finish. Two weeks after we finished, that bible was among our bags which were stolen and I never saw it again. Last year, I used a different NLT, but this time I am using a Bible I picked up from the Bible Society at Spring Harvest called "the poverty and justice bible," in the Contemporary English Version.

Why change versions? For someone lazy like me, if I change the translation the temptation to skip passages because they are too familiar will hopefully be diminished. I also wanted an excuse to look at this bible, with its various notes and "2000+ verses highlighted to wake us up to issues of poverty and justice".

Early impressions are that this is indeed a very different translation. A couple of times I have had to check with an NIV or NLT to see what the version with which I am familiar is. One example is in Gen 10:13, where the CEV says "Egypt was the ancestor of Ludim ...", whereas every other version I have seen has this rendered as Mizraim. I recall from passover meals when growing up that Mizraim was Egypt or Egyptians, but there was no footnote in the CEV.

My initial impression is that this is a very readable version, but it has a very distinct editorial policy that risks diluting the impact of the passage or changing the meaning. Two examples - Gen 1:26 says "God said, "Now we will make humans, and they will be like us." The NIV has "Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness." This is close enough to be capable of conveying the same meaning. Gen 2:24 in the CEV says "That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person." The NIV on the other hand says, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." This reference to one flesh is referred to in their teaching by both Jesus (Matt 19:5, Mk 10:8) and Paul (1 Cor 6:16 and Eph 5:31), and I wonder whether how much depth is lost to that treatment.

I also wonder how Gen 6:2 got through the editorial committee, and I would love to know how they arrived at their preferred solution. The NIV says "When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose." The CEV says, "more and more people were born, until finally they spread all over the earth. Some of their daughters were so beautiful that supernatural beings came down and married the ones they wanted."!!!!! This was a question raised by Jane McBride last time.

In its defence, the CEV does give an excellent translation of chapter 16, which really conveys the bitterness of the recriminations in Abram's household. Miriam and I listened to an excellent podcast on this part over Christmas, which you can get hold of here.

Another year - another run through

So here we go again. This is the third time we have decided to read through the Bible from cover to cover in 90 days. In the previous years, not every one who has started has finished in the time scale, and yet more have done so than thought they would be able to.

So what are my expectations this time?

I am looking forward to doing this with hope, expectation and dread. The dread comes from my natural laziness and lack of self-discipline, as I know that this will require a significant sacrifice on my part. At weekends in particular, I shall have to get up earlier, and during the week, I shall have to be much more disciplined in my time in the morning than I have grown accustomed to.

But form past experience, I know this to be a worthwhile sacrifice. I have felt the Holy Spirit lift me and give me energy throughout the months I have done the reading, proof that his word is living and active. I am looking forward to experiencing the effect that the more I read of his word, the more I want to read it. It really is an appetite that grows with feeding and shrivels with starvation.

The year at St Paul's has started with Chris talking to us from Romans 12. The challenge that I have felt strongly is the call not to be conformed to the pattern of the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. With the 90-day exercise, I see a means to carry out part of that daily offering of myself as a living sacrifice, which is an act of spiritual worship.

So please feel free to join us as we start on this journey again. This blog is available to all, and all the posts from a previous time are readily available in the blog's archive.

In the words of Galatians 6:9-10, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."