Author: Erin Newton

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Obliterated Exclusions

Links for today’s readings:

Apr 15  Read: Joel 2 Listen: (5:26) Read: Matthew 19 Listen: (4:04)

Scripture Focus: Joel 2.28–29

28 “And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

Reflection: Obliterated Exclusions

By Erin Newton

When I first heard the gospel, I lived on an island in a small town and attended a Baptist church that had (if my memory serves me right) a motorcycle riding Methodist preacher. From the beginning, I saw church as a worldwide community without barriers.

The early years of my Christian life, however, were shaped in another church that had more walls and rules. I was told that while God loved me, some places of ministry were off limits. But as Jeremiah once said, “[God’s] word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20.9). In Acts, the pouring out of the Spirit after the death and resurrection of Jesus descended on the crowd like tongues of fire.

Joel 2 has been the focal point for many discussions on ministry and worship. The verse  answers the who, what, and when questions about God’s people.

What is happening? God will pour out his Spirit. This concept of having God’s spirit come upon you in the Old Testament often described a sense of power or revelation. The Spirit comes upon Ezekiel and he is given a vision of God’s restored temple. The Spirit comes upon Saul and David and through such power (and guidance), they rule Israel.  

Who is it happening to? Sons and daughters. Old and young. Servants, male and female. This spectrum of God’s people obliterates exclusions that were so common in the ancient world.

When is this going to happen? For Joel, it was a future context. For us, that future is now. This is our current status. We all have the Spirit poured out upon us. This grants us the ability to commune with God directly. And most importantly, no one is excluded.

If we desire to live into the promised future that God gave to Joel, we must obliterate the exclusions we construct against our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The more I read the Bible and see how God promised and used young people like Timothy or older people like Sarah, sons like Micah and daughters like Junia, men in servitude like Onesimus and women in servitude like Esther—the more I am compelled to unreservedly take hold of the power of the Spirit already poured out in my life.

Do not build walls in the church when the Spirit has already torn them down.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

The Lord is near to those who call upon him, to all who call upon him faithfully.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and helps them.
The Lord preserves all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked. — Psalm 145.19-21

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Prayer in Relationship

When the Bible says he “placed his hands on them” it isn’t referring to casual pat on the back, but a purposeful, prayerful blessing.

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No matter how dark it gets, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. 

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Flimsy Farce of Faith

Links for today’s readings:

Apr 8  Read: Hosea 9 Listen: (2:52) Read:   Matthew 12 Listen: (6:41)

Scripture Focus: Hosea 9:1

1 Do not rejoice, Israel;
    do not be jubilant like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful to your God;
    you love the wages of a prostitute
    at every threshing floor.

Reflection: Flimsy Farce of Faith

By Erin Newton

In the 2004 movie, Mean Girls, one of the characters yells, “She doesn’t even go here!” in response to a girl taking part in a community apology though she had never actually been part of that community. The scene has become a meme for signaling outsiders. While the scene is comical, what does it mean when your claim to belong to a group is revealed as a lie?

Israel, in the book of Hosea, is criticized for their false worship. They claim to be followers of God yet they “prostitute” themselves by serving other gods. They put on the label of “God-follower,” but their actions do not live up to it. They want the benefits of being in that community—the festivals and feasts—but do not want to live the life a God-follower identity requires.

“Do not rejoice.” God dampens Israel’s festivities and jubilant celebrations. While other nations are happy and exuberant, Israel is chastised for their false identity. God hates celebration when one’s life is a charade.

Many of those who don the title “Christian” see the identity marker as a way to gain clout, to feel more righteous, to gain a sense of belonging, or to utilize it for some other purpose. But claiming to follow God while truly serving other interests (power, wealth, self, status, etc.) is a flimsy farce rejected by God himself.

God desires that our inward identity match our outward identity. If we claim to follow God, we must align our outward actions with inward faith. Matthew 5.23-24 says, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” God rejects outward religious actions without inward righteousness.

If we claim to belong with Christ, we are invited into his celebrations. Hosea’s marriage to an unfaithful partner is an allegory of what it means to say you are a Christian while not truly committing yourself to Christ.

Let us not read this as a call to embrace only a life of non-rejoicing. Jesus proclaims, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10.10). Life and joy are the gifts of following God. But claiming the joys of a life in Christ without living a Christ-like life is hypocrisy.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. — Matthew 5.6

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

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People were inspired to protest. We called them maniacs.

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Let’s Talk about Sex

Links for today’s readings:

Apr 1  Read: Song of Songs 8 Listen: (2:23) Read: Matthew 5 Listen: (6:03)

Scripture Focus: Song of Solomon 8:4

4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:
    Do not arouse or awaken love
    until it so desires.

Reflection: Let’s Talk about Sex

By Erin Newton

Song of Solomon repeats the plea to “refrain from arousing or awakening love until it so desires” in 2:7, 3:5, and 8:4. But what does this phrase mean? 

Admittedly, this phrase had left scholars with more questions than answers. Early church fathers saw the intimate relationship as an allegory for God and the Church. Others and later interpreters read the poetry as a typical human love poem.

Still more troublesome is our culture’s relationship with sex. Everything is over-sexualized from clothing to cologne ads to music to Halloween costumes. Our imago Dei is good and lovely, yet the exploitation of our bodies crosses many moral lines.

Setting aside an allegorical reading of the book, let’s talk about sex.

Some have read the phrase to refer to abstinence from sex altogether. Since the phrase is repeated twice before chapter 8, the two have already been intimate so that cannot be the meaning here.

Sheila Gregoire, author and founder of Bare Marriage, speaks regularly about Christians’ (mis)understanding about sex. In her blog post about this phrase, she notes that for many Christian women who grew up in the 90s-00s, “we’re taught that we are responsible both for our own purity and for his.” It was this verse that was used to support not arousing him until it was time. 

The problem with this concept was that the onus fell on women. “Boys can’t stop” was the mantra. Failure to refrain meant the female in the relationship was the cause of both of their failures to follow this scriptural admonition. This is untrue.

Shame that often followed has added to many Christian couples’ struggles in bed. 

What can we learn from this phrase? Sexual desire is good and inevitable, but don’t underestimate its power (for both men and women). There is wisdom in timing. The better “purity teaching” would highlight how waiting is meant to benefit couples, protecting from heartache, unplanned pregnancies, or abandonment.

For many Christians, the admonition might be far too late to heed. There is so much more to this topic, more than we can fit in our short reflections here at The Park Forum. But I think Sheila concludes it well:

“Please know, even if love was awakened too early, you can still re-awaken it. I think that’s what God loves to do—restore that which was broken. All of creation is broken, but Jesus is always working towards wholeness.”

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling;

That I may go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy and gladness; and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God. — Psalm 43.3-4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

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Suffering Servant Psalm

Links for today’s readings:

Mar 25 Read:  Song of Songs 1 Listen: (2:16) Read: Psalm 69 Listen: (4:04)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 69:7-12

7 For I endure scorn for your sake,
    and shame covers my face.
8 I am a foreigner to my own family,
    a stranger to my own mother’s children;
9 for zeal for your house consumes me,
    and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10 When I weep and fast,
    I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth,
    people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate mock me,
    and I am the song of the drunkards.

Reflection: Suffering Servant Psalm

By Erin Newton

Of the many names and epithets given to Jesus, the title “Suffering Servant” is one of most cherished. We often think about the community’s rejection of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah:

13 See, my servant will act wisely;
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand. (Isa 52:13–15)

We also reflect on his suffering:

4 Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53:4–6)

Likewise, much of Psalm 69 sounds familiar to the Gospels’ depiction of Christ. This psalm is a lengthy petition to God with a series of verses (vv. 7-12) that can be categorized as those of a “suffering servant.”

On the cross, Jesus was scorned, disgraced, and shamed. While on the cross, “they … gave me vinegar for my thirst” (Ps 69:21). The eagerness for God’s household is echoed by Jesus.

Though many similarities are found between Psalm 69, Isaiah’s Suffering Servant passages, and the Gospels’ depiction of Jesus, this is more than just a psalm about Jesus. Because of the suffering of Christ, we rest assured that he sympathizes with our own suffering. This psalm seems to foretell of Jesus’s complex grief and hardship, but it also resonates with our own.  

While we recognize Christ throughout the psalms and see how all God’s word points to him, we also understand that being made in God’s image and Jesus being incarnated to share in our humanity means that we can apply these psalms to our own lives. We grieve like Christ grieves. We weep; we cry out; and we hope just as the psalmist and Christ did.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

And yet my people did not hear my voice, and Israel would not obey me. — Psalm 84.11

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

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God’s Lachrymatory

Links for today’s readings:

Mar 18 Read:  Ecclesiastes 6 Listen: (1:44) Read: Psalms 56-57 Listen: (3:11)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 56:8

8 Record my misery;
    list my tears on your scroll—
    are they not in your record?

Reflection: God’s Lachrymatory

By Erin Newton

According to some accounts, ancient Roman mourners would collect their tears in small vials and bury them with their deceased loved ones. These little “tear jars” or lachrymatories were filled with tears, and their evaporation would parallel the end of mourning. As the bottle dried out, so would one’s eyes.

While the validity of such assumptions is questionable, Psalm 56 highlights the value of keeping a record of grief. As a lament and prayer to God in a time of trouble, the psalmist exposes their grief and asks God to take it into account.

There are many psalms that ask God to remove grief or misery. The Lord’s prayer asks that God lead us not into temptation. Paul begged God to remove the thorn in his flesh. Here, the psalmist embraces the fullness of misery. It is as if to say, “Don’t let my tears be wasted.”

Contrary to much of our impulses (or cultural conditioning), the psalmist doesn’t shy away from crying. Crying is a given. Crying might even be desired. And at least, crying won’t be for nothing.

Like the ancient mourners, God is thought to collect the tears of his beloved children and record them in his scroll. Like a divine accountant of pain and sadness, God sees, notes, and validates the psalmist’s tears.

The Bible is full of criers. Genesis 21:17 says, “God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.’ ” God heard another woman crying, “In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly” (1 Sam 1:10), and granted her desire to have a child. Even the prophets were known for their weeping: “Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed” (Lam 3:48).

Have you ever considered your tears as a sort of spiritual currency? I surely have not. I have been taught (and fully agree) that tears are not only a meaningful expression but also a regulatory experience. Tears are often necessary and can lead to emotional stabilization. Despite the dread of “having to cry it out,” we are reassured here that they are not ignored.

Crying is not a weakness. The Man of Sorrows joins in our misery by relating to our emotions, acknowledging our pain, and ensuring that grief is never wasted.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding, according to your word.
Let my supplication come before you; deliver me, according to your promise. — Psalm 119.169-170

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

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