John Tillman - The Park Forum

March 11, 2024March 9, 2024

Inspired Utterance

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 30.1-5
1 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.
This man’s utterance to Ithiel:
“I am weary, God,
but I can prevail.
2 Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
I do not have human understanding.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
Surely you know!
5 “Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Reflection: Inspired Utterance
By John Tillman

We do not know who Agur, Jakeh, or Ithiel are. They are mentioned nowhere else in scripture.

Agur expresses that without God’s wisdom, humans are little better than brute animals. This could be a general description of our culture.

Our culture claims to set us free, allowing our individual hearts, feelings, experiences, and opinions to self-determine truth, right, and wrong, however, this doesn’t set anyone free. “Personal truth” makes every person a dictator who must either enslave the world to their “truth” or be enslaved by the conflicting “truths” of others.

“Follow your hearts” sounds supportive until someone follows their heart to commit adultery, rape, or create pornography. “Do what feels good” sounds fun until someone “feels good” making racist artwork, overdosing on drugs, or defrauding the poor. “Speak your truth” sounds freeing until one person’s truth causes deaths (or war) over a lie.

Agur, whoever he is, must have read Job. His writing reflects Job’s concepts. Agur knows we need a dose of humility. He issues a challenge to himself and to the reader — a challenge for those who think themselves wise. “Have you gone to heaven? Have you gathered the wind, held the waters, set the boundaries of the earth? If you didn’t, surely you know who did!”

If Agur read Job, Jesus seems to have read them both. Jesus echoed Agur when he said, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.” (John 3.11-13) Jesus also expected that those who “study the scriptures diligently” should find, not just wisdom, but testimony about himself. (John 5.39-40) All scripture testifies about Jesus and the wisdom we find there is from him. (Luke 24.27)

We may not know who Agur is, but we know the name of the Holy One he reveres and references — the source of true wisdom. The setter of the boundaries of the earth, the holder of the waters, the gatherer of the wind, and the one who comes down from heaven, is Jesus. He is the flawless Word of God and is a shield to all who take refuge in him.

In his refuge we find wisdom, peace, mercy, and understanding that can change us from brutish beings enslaved to our urges into true humans — images of God upon the earth.

Lord, give to us inspired utterances that reveal you to others as the source of wisdom.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne; love and truth go before your face. — Psalm 89.14

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

Today’s Readings
Proverbs 30 (Listen 3:51)
Psalm 46-47 (Listen 2:15)

Read more about Blessings of the Dispossessed
“Cause I can see a people dispossessed
Broken and brave in the face of so much fear
Driven from their homes by the greed of a nation
Whose treaties were as good as litter
Along the trail of their tears”

Blessings of the Dispossessed

Read more about Honoring The Truth
Seeking the truth is not only a spiritual quest. It is sometimes a civic one. Or a legal one.

Honoring The Truth

March 8, 2024March 6, 2024

Streams of Scripture

Scripture Focus: Psalm 27.1-3
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”

Reflection: Streams of Scripture
By John Tillman

In arid regions, there are rivers and streams that only exist at certain times. These wadis are dry, dead depressions in the landscape for much of the year. Some are little more than ditches. Some are like miniature canyons.

These dusty gulches can go from empty to overflowing in minutes due to rain nearby or rain miles and miles away on higher plains or mountains. When snowmelt or heavy rains rush down from the peaks and the high plains, wadis in the desert flow with water and spring to life.

Wadis can become a source of water but dry up as quickly as they fill up. Animals accustomed to finding water in these places can be in distress when they come to a wadi and find it dry.

The writer of Psalm 27 reflects on the distressed sound of deer in the desert, crying out in thirst. The animal cries out in desperate need searching for signs of water. The psalmist cries out in desperate need searching for God.

Jesus may have had this psalm in mind as he prayed in Gethsemane. Jesus’ words, “overwhelmed with sorrow” (Matthew 26.38) echo the psalmist’s phrase, “Why my soul are you downcast?” In the middle of a garden Jesus experienced a spiritual desert.

Our lives, especially our spiritual lives, can seem like arid regions. One day, the wadi flows and we feel connected to God. Another, it is dry and we long for greater connection. But we can access water from a higher plane, a greater source, that makes streams in the desert.

Psalm 1 says when we delight in the scriptures, they become like water that fills a tree with life and makes it productive, healthy, and full of good fruit. Jesus, in one of his darkest moments, found scripture within his downcast soul. When you know the scriptures inside and out, they get inside you and come out of you. We need scripture hidden in our hearts for our soul’s darkest moments.

If Jesus experienced dry times, we will, too. During dry days, we can search our souls for streams of scripture. Like animals in the wilderness, calling out in need, we can call on the Holy Spirit to fill our dry depressions. The dusty canyons of our souls can be filled with the living water that Jesus gives, becoming a fountain within us, overflowing with life.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Small Verse
Let me seek the Lord while he may still be found. I will call upon his name; while he is near.

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

Today’s Readings
Proverbs 27 (Listen 2:43)
Psalms 42-43 (Listen 2:31)

This Weekend’s Readings
Proverbs 28 (Listen 3:07), Psalm 44 (Listen 2:44)
Proverbs 29 (Listen 2:44 ), Psalm 45 (Listen 2:17 )

Read more about Sluggish Grief
Emotional experience is like traveling across mountains…the bright ascent to the peak…But…we must descend into the valley, the dark woods.

Sluggish Grief

Read more about Be With Me
The weight of our sadness reflects the hope of a beautiful life that has been tragically altered.
But we are not alone. God is near to the brokenhearted…

Be With Me

March 7, 2024March 5, 2024

Answering Fools

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 26.4-5, 9, 12
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you yourself will be just like him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.

9 Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand
is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

12 Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for them.

Reflection: Answering Fools
By John Tillman

Answer a fool. Don’t answer a fool. This famous mirrored pair of proverbs is almost a metaphor for the entire collection. Alone, either one of them makes sense. Together they seem absurd. Surely they can’t both be right? Surely neither of them can be wrong?

Firstly, we shouldn’t become fools.

Being wise isn’t as easy as just quoting a proverb or even putting it into practice. Even wise words can cause harm when foolish people quote them. Proverbs’ vivid picture of this is a drunken man, wildly swinging a thornbush. The man, anyone around him, and anyone trying to help are likely to be harmed.

We need wisdom to know how to use wisdom. When we quote aphorisms without regard to the situation, we are like that drunken thornbush-waving fool. “Pray more.” “Have a little faith.” “Is there sin in your life?” All three of these statements are scripturally valid and, at the right time, could be wise things to say. They will also wound someone who is suffering if we wave them around wildly. To a mother whose child is sick, any of the above statements are likely to feel like an attack.

Secondly, we should pursue wisdom humbly.

Proverbs is a book of hope for fools. It calls to us to become wise and warns of something worse than being a fool — being wise in our own eyes. We all start foolish and simple. Lady Wisdom invites us to wisdom. Lady Folly whispers a lie that we’ve already arrived. Can we prevent others from falling into this trap? Can we prevent ourselves from doing so?

Do we answer fools or not? Do we try to remove the thornbush from the drunkard’s hand?

Frustratingly, I think the answer is, “sometimes.” Sometimes, perhaps we can help fools stumble toward true wisdom. Sometimes the best thing we can do is help others avoid the thornbush-waving fools. In either case, we should take care and be humble. We can’t save everyone from their own foolishness, especially when we are still at risk of it ourselves.

Whatever we can do to prevent ourselves and those around us from becoming wise in our own eyes is probably worth the risk. We may be scratched by the thorns, but so was our savior. And he endured them to save fools like us.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Send forth your strength, O God; establish, O God, what you have wrought for us. — Psalm 68.28

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

Today’s Readings
Proverbs 26 (Listen 2:37)
Mark 16 (Listen 5:34)

Read more about Destiny of Grass vs Cedars
There are purposes for the flourishing of the wicked and one of them is that one day the world will see them fall.

Destiny of Grass vs Cedars

Read more about RSVP to Wisdom or Folly
Two hostesses beckon. Which banquet will you enter? Who gets your RSVP?

RSVP to Wisdom or Folly

March 4, 2024March 4, 2024

Whose Table Are Your Feet Under?

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 23.1-3, 6-8
1 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.

6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;
7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.

Psalm 141.2-3
3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies.

Reflection: Whose Table Are Your Feet Under?
By John Tillman

In certain parts of the South, a family member who comes home after a long absence might say as they sit down to supper, “I’m glad to have my feet under your table.” Having your feet under someone’s table represents presence and connection. It can also mean giving approval or being deceived. One might warn a friend about an untrustworthy person, saying, “Don’t set your feet under their table.”

Ancient cultures had similar views. Eating together was a form of public affection, approval, and even intimacy.

A ceremonial meal was part of worship in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Most sacrifices only burned a portion, which was God’s. The family or individual shared the remainder with the priests. This holy meal in the Lord’s presence represented a restored relationship—cleansed sinners putting their feet under the Lord’s table.

Jesus was called a glutton and drunkard for eating with outcasts and sinners. Jesus also ate with wealthy and powerful rulers. Rulers often treated him like an outcast. Simon the Pharisee neglected to greet Jesus with a kiss, wash his feet, or offer oil for his head. (Luke 7.36-50) It was the outcast, sinful woman who showed Jesus appropriate respect.

There is wisdom in not closely associating with those who would deceive us or tempt us with “delicacies.” We certainly should avoid situations in which we may be drawn into sin. However, scripture warns more strongly against eating with wealthy rulers than with the outcasts. Proverbs 23.3 and 6 say the delicacies on a ruler’s table are deceptive, and those of a begrudging host will cost you. Psalm 141.4 describes being drawn to what is evil, taking part in wicked deeds, going along with evildoers, and finally, enjoying their delicacies.

What delicacies tempt you? Power? Recognition? Pleasure? Proverbs 23.2 says to put a knife to your throat when deceptive delicacies are on the table. Psalm 141.3 asks the Lord to put a guard over one’s mouth and lips. Severe self-limitation and calling on the Spirit’s assistance are wise when temptations are near.

Let us be drawn to Christ, frequently putting our feet under his table and inviting others to join us. With the freedom of Christ, we can dine at other tables, whether as outcasts or family. When tempted by deceptive delicacies, may Jesus set a guard over our lips and our hearts.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm
Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, not lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
Their delight is in the law of the Lord, and they meditate on his law day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; everything they do shall prosper.
It is not so with the wicked; they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed. — Psalm 1

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

Today’s Readings
Proverbs 23 (Listen 3:39)
Mark 13 (Listen 4:32)

Read more about The Undeserved Banquet of the Gospel
Meals during Christ’s earthly life were an important cultural ritual. They were more than just fraternity, but pedagogy.

The Undeserved Banquet of the Gospel

Read more about Sitting with Sinners
Jesus sat and ate with sinners…Despite the judgmental attitudes of those who did not approve of his behavior

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March 1, 2024February 28, 2024

Hot-Button Conundrums

Scripture Focus: Mark 10.4-10
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Reflection: Hot-Button Conundrums
By John Tillman

Like all the religious leaders’ traps, this question posed a theological issue but was really a political maneuver.

Divorce was a hot-button issue because of a controversial national political figure with multiple divorces and sexual scandals. Some Jews loved him. They appreciated him restoring the Temple and wanted him to use Rome’s power to punish their enemies. Other Jews hated him. His gross ineptitude, pride, and lack of morality disgusted them. This ruler also had a violent history which included imprisoning the last prophet who spoke out about his marital controversy and having him beheaded.

In addition to potentially alienating female disciples and supporters, Jesus’ answer to this question could have gotten him killed. “Perhaps,” the leaders must have thought, “Herod will do our dirty work for us.”

Beyond the political, the Pharisees’ question about “lawful” divorce was about the man’s rights. They wanted to know if a man could divorce his wife and “send her away.” What happened to the woman was unimportant.

Their form of patriarchy often considered wives little better than servants or employees to be disposed of without guilt or cause. “Your services are no longer required. Clear out your desk for your replacement.”

Even when they were not trying to get him killed, the religious leaders often hoped Jesus would lose support by choosing a side in their debates. They presented problems that pitted God against Caesar, mercy against justice, and the weak against the strong. Jesus wasn’t having it.

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
“Let any without sin throw the first stone at her.”
“What God has joined, let no one separate.”

Jesus refused to compromise truth because powerful people might be upset or followers might leave. Jesus also refused to weaponize laws to crush the weak or stroke self-righteous egos.

The right answer to difficult issues is not always in “the middle.” But Jesus stands in the center of God’s will. Stand with him. The right way is not always a “third way” or a fourth or fifth. Jesus’ way is the only way. Follow his way.

Well-meaning people will try to trap us with hot-button issues and conundrums in hopes we will compromise the gospel to be loved by the world or by them. To the best of our ability, let us resist entrapment. Hold both truth and compassion; refuse to compromise either.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. — Psalm 85.10

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

Today’s Readings
Proverbs 20 (Listen 3:19)
Mark 10 (Listen 6:42)

This Weekend’s Readings
Proverbs 21 (Listen 3:12) Mark 11 (Listen 3:59)
Proverbs 22 (Listen 2:59) Mark 12 (Listen 6:10)

Read more about The Catch All Commandment
Each one acquires as much as he can; the other may fare as best he can. And yet we pretend to be godly…

The Catch All Commandment :: Throwback Thursday

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