Dialog

Is the Bible too familiar? I was practically born in the church. From the time I was a small boy, 

I have always wanted to be a preacher. I loved Sunday school, and sitting through worship was never a chore. Strange, eh? My biggest challenge in Bible study is familiarity. My eyes skip over passages, and I often miss things. That led me to study Greek and Hebrew. The words are foreign and require me to stop and think about each one.

Recently, I was translating Luke 11:1 – 4, “The Lord’s Prayer.” It’s familiar to all of us, but did you notice the context? Jesus was praying, and then the disciples asked him to “teach us to pray.” Doesn’t that seem strange? These 12 disciples were good Jews and had prayed their entire lives. The prayers of Jesus were different from anything they had ever heard. It could be the prayers of Jesus were conversational. After all, Jesus taught us to address God as “Our Father.” Even today, the Jewish people have many, many formal prayers to be said at set times during the day. (Just look up “Jewish Prayers and Blessings” on Wikipedia.) It appears the followers of John the Baptist learned specific set prayers as well: “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples” (verse 1).

In general, American Christians pray extemporaneously. Some churches repeat the Lord’s Prayer, but most of us are uncomfortable with that kind of ritualism.

We believe since Jesus taught us to pray to “Our Father,” our prayers should be conversational rather than liturgical. Even as a child, I was uncomfortable praying the Lord’s Prayer in school along with reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, but have you thought about the value of everyone repeating the same prayer at the same time? It is a show of unity. We aren’t just praying to our Father; we are praying with our family. It’s the same as saying grace together with our brothers and sisters before a meal.

On the other hand, Jesus warned against meaningless repetition. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7). Prayers are not magical incantations that force the Lord to comply!

I recently heard a well-known preacher defending his belief the early Christians continued to pray the set Jewish prayers. His text came from Acts 2:42. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” “The prayers,” he contended, were the set Jewish prayers. I’m not so sure. That interpretation is possible, but not probable. After all, they had been with Jesus, who taught them to pray. The examples of prayers that we read about in Acts and the Epistles were not the traditional Jewish prayers.

The disciples didn’t ask, “Lord teach us what to pray.” They asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus didn’t give his disciples the exact words to use in prayer. He gave them the heart to pray. There is nothing wrong with praying the Lord’s Prayer; just remember to pray with your heart!

Pelicans are funny looking birds. They have long, thick bills with a pouch for catching fish beneath. As they dive for fish, they thrust their heads into the water at the last minute to catch their prey before their whole body follows it with an awkward crash into the sea. On the other hand, nothing is more magnificent than a flight of pelicans skimming together in close-packed formation inches above the waves with their fantastic wings barely moving. They are a familiar bird to Southern Californians, but did you know they were also an early symbol of Christianity?

Most people know the cross is a Christian symbol. Some know the same is true of the simple fish, but starting in the second century, the pelican also became a Christian symbol. They are common in stained glass windows and carved into massive cathedral doors. There is a line in the 12th-century hymn “Humbly we adore Thee” that describes Christ as the “loving pelican divine.” Queen Elizabeth of England chose the pelican as her symbol, and at the top of the title page of the very first King James Bible (1611), there is an etching of a pelican feeding her young.

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We can understand the symbol of the cross — that’s where Jesus died. We understand the symbol of the lamb since the gentle, sacrificial lamb often represents Christ in the Bible. What about the fish? The letters from the Greek word for fish (ichthus) represent the first letters of the Greek phrase for “Jesus Christ God’s Son and Savior,” but how did the pelican come to symbolize Christianity?

For the answer to that question, we need to visit Alexandria, Egypt, in the Second Century. A Christian author penned a book of morals for children. In it, he described various animals, birds, plants, and even stones. He would describe one of these and then its special attributes and encourage children to imitate them. The book is called Physiology. It’s still available. (Although initially written in Greek, it’s been translated into Latin, Syriac, English, and a host of other languages. See Amazon.com.) It’s richly decorated and was very, very popular.

So how does this relate to the pelican becoming a symbol of Christianity? Have you ever watched a pelican at rest? Her beak often lays on her breast, and they characteristically rub it up and down. The Mediterranean pelican’s pouch is blood red during mating season. Thus, the legend was born that a mother pelican will pierce her breast and heroically feed her children on her blood in times of famine. As a result, the pelican came to symbolize the sacrifice of Jesus, who gave his blood that we might live.

It’s hard to imagine the protestant culture in the southern United States from the 1950s today, but my grandparents were very anti-Catholic. When John F. Kennedy (a Catholic) was running for president, he had to make a special speech to Southern Baptist clergy in Houston to dispel rumors he would have a pipeline to the Pope.

“This wasn’t a normal campaign stop. Kennedy was Catholic and, at the time, only the second Catholic presidential candidate in U.S. history after Al Smith’s unsuccessful run in 1928. And for a Catholic candidate from New England, a conference of Southern Baptist ministers was considered the ‘lion’s den,’ ground zero for anti-Catholic political rhetoric and even outright bigotry.” (Downloaded from History.com, https://www.history.com/news/jfk-catholic-president, December 15, 2020.)

JFK said, ““[C]ontrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”

Still, I can remember my grandfather driving me by the Catholic church to see “the man in a black dress” (the priest) standing outside after Mass. The Anti-Christ had come to Oklahoma City. My grandmother was especially adamant about Christmas. “Christ – Mass, Johnny,” she would explain. “It’s a Catholic holiday!” Mee-maw wasn’t against the holiday, just the religious part of it, so she always signed her holiday cards, “Merry X-mas.”

Please don’t misunderstand. I am not defending the Roman Catholic Church – far from it! I’ll talk about the difference between a cross and a crucifix tomorrow, but Mee-maw didn’t know Greek and didn’t understand one of the very earliest symbols of the faith is the “X,” the Greek letter chi, the first letter in the word “Christ.”

In ancient times, writing materials were very expensive, and so to save space, Christians used many abbreviations, including the letter chi with a line over it for “Christ.” Today, in some high churches, you may see the Chi-Rho used as a decoration, or a priest might be carrying a staff topped with this symbol:

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It is called the “Chi Rho” symbol. Those are the first two Greek letters in the word “Christ.” The rho (“r”) is placed over the chi (“X”). It is closely connected with the Roman Emperor Constantine, who had a vision before the Battle of Milvian Bridge (312 A.D.) outside Rome. In his dream, the emperor was told, “by this sign, you will conquer!” He had the sign of Christ put on his soldiers’ shields and later created his “labarum,” a standard incorporating the Chi-Rho.

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So, Mee-maw, long before your grandson became a Greek scholar, you were using ancient Greek in your Christmas cards. Merry X-mas, everyone!

Christians have a long history of persecution. They lost their jobs and their homes and were forced to flee. Can you imagine escaping to a new city in a new country and not knowing who to trust? One of the earliest symbols of Christianity was the fish. It was a simple design: two arcs intersecting.

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It served as a sign and a countersign. If you encountered a stranger but suspected he might be a Christian, you could take your walking stick and casually scribe an arc in the dust. If the stranger smiled and drew another arc over yours – making the fish – you breathed a sigh of relief and rejoiced to have found the family. The symbol was also put-on buildings that served a secret purpose as a meeting place for Christians and marking Christian graves.

But why a fish? Like doves and lambs, fish have long served as a Christian symbol. Do you remember when Jesus called his disciples to become “fishers of men” (Mark 1:16 – 18)? Likewise, the Lord multiplied loaves and fish to feed the hungry (twice!) He told parables about catching fish (Matthew 13:47 – 50) and performed two miracles of miraculous catches of fish. In Matthew 17, Jesus tells Peter to catch a fish, and the apostle found a coin in its mouth to pay their taxes. 

The best explanation of the symbol is found in the Greek word for fish: ichthus. (ἸΧΘΥϹ See the Third Century Funerary stele below.) Like news (north – east – west – south), radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging), or NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), ichthus is an acrostic (in Greek):

• Iota (i), Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς), “Jesus”
• Chi (ch), Christos (Χριστός), “anointed”
• Theta (th), Theou (Θεοῦ), “God’s,” the genitive singular of Θεóς, Theos, “God”
• Upsilon (y or u), (h)yios[8] (Yἱός), “Son”
• Sigma (s), sōtēr (Σωτήρ), “Savior”

— Wikipedia

In the early 1970s, the fish symbol became popular for Christians once more. Sadly, you see it most often on the bumpers of cars blasting by you on the freeway.

^{1 Corinthians 1:18} For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Boys can be cruel, and such was the case 1,800 years ago on the Palatine Hill in Rome. Alexamenos was a Christian at a school for imperial pages. We don’t know more about his story except some poorly educated bully scratched this crude image into one of the plaster walls: 

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It shows Alexamenos blowing a kiss towards a crucified man with a donkey’s head. The words on the drawing read, “Alexamenos worships his god.”[1] The picture was intended to be a cruel taunt in two ways. First, a cross was an instrument of execution. In modern imagery, it would be like picturing someone with a hangman’s noose around his neck. The man must be a common criminal. The second and most challenging image for us to understand is the man with a donkey’s head.

Do you remember, in the Temple in Jerusalem, there was the Holy Place (where the altar of incense, the lampstand, and the Table of Showbread were) and the Holy of Holies. A curtain separated them. Except for the High Priest, no one passed through the curtain into the Holy of Holies (and then only once a year). 

Likewise, there were no pictures of the Lord. Idolatry was strictly forbidden. This seemed so strange to the pagans. The Jews (and consequently the Christians) must be ashamed of their God, the pagans concluded. So, a rumor circulated that the Jews worshipped a donkey! (There is a word for that: onolatry.) This was so embarrassing; the Jews had to hide His image behind the curtain.

Now let’s return to the page’s school in Rome. That insulting image shows us Alexamenos worshipping a donkey-man – the God-Man! Today, Christians believe Jesus was wholly God and wholly man. So did young Alexamenos in Rome around 200 A.D.!

I can hardly wait to meet this young Christian and learn the rest of his story!

  [1] There are two Greek words we translate “worship” in English: proskuneo (προσκυνέω) and sebo (σέβω). The first means “to kiss towards.” That describes Alexamenos’ gesture in the drawing. The second means “to worship in gestures and rituals.” That is the word used in the graffiti. (Do you see the inscription “CEBETE” in the second line from the bottom? C = S in the ancient script. The ETE ending is 2nd person plural. It should be EIS, 2nd person singular, so either the boy making fun of Alexamenos was a lousy speller, or he included all Christians in his insult.) The original inscription is preserved in the Palatine Museum in Rome.

In Galilee, they met Jesus on a mountaintop. Perhaps this was the same place where Peter, James, and John had seen Jesus transfigured talking with Moses and Elijah, but now, all eleven surviving apostles were there. For a little over a month, they had wrestled with what they had seen. Jesus had been crucified. He died. They were certain of that, but dead men don’t live again. Here on the mountain, they saw Jesus.

It was awesome. It was overwhelming, and Matthew tells us: “When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted” (28:17). Did you notice that last phrase: “some doubted.” Worship, even for the apostles, wasn’t monolithic. Their faith was at different levels. As we worship today, the same is also true. Some believers will revel in their relationship with God. Others are just beginning to experience God’s love, and most of us will fall somewhere between the two extremes. Today, I would like for us to think about the relationship between fellowship and worship.

Yesterday, I asked us to think about what the Lord has done for us individually. His gifts are two-fold: forgiveness – lifting the burden of guilt – and empowerment – the gifts of growth such as hope and contentment. Today, consider what God has done for us, all of us together.

Fellowship is one of the catalysts of worship. My eyes are opened as I see the Lord from your perspective. “I never thought of it that way!” “How did the Father help you through what I am experiencing?” and, most importantly, “You too?”

All too often, we are told to close our eyes and bow our heads when we should be confessing, praying, laughing, crying, and singing together! When Jesus died, Thomas separated himself from the others and missed seeing the resurrected Lord. He was forced to wait a week. Why didn’t Jesus just make a special appearance to him? Because we see Jesus best, we worship best in the company of the committed!

This past week, covid-19 has exploded in my little hometown. Overnight we went from 3 cases to 15! That may not seem like many for those of you living in a big city, but in our rural, south-central Kansas community, it’s huge. As a result, we’ve had to close the church building doors (again) and rely on the internet for broadcasting our classes and worship.

While I’m glad we have those technological solutions, it’s just not the same. An “air hug” will never replace the real thing. Zoom will never replace a good old-fashioned potluck. Fellowship is the heart of the Christian community, and we are all suffering.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to different ways we can stay in touch. Of course, there is the phone, but we need to make sure to reach out to everyone in the congregation. That means calling people you might be uncomfortable talking with – or calling people you don’t know very well. Could it be this is an opportunity to make new friends? Don’t be shy; just say, “Hi.” (Hmm, could that be a bumper sticker?)

Recently, my family got together on Zoom. We are scattered from Ireland to Hawaii, but we could laugh and tell stories and see how we’ve changed. Imagine how difficult it would have been to have an in-person family reunion! There was a blessing.

One youth minister I know has started decorating sugar cookies. He and his daughter drive to people’s houses, leave the cookies on the porch and ring the doorbell. (Nothing says “I care” like homemade cookies.)

Many people are visiting folks in the nursing home – from outside the building. They get on their cell phones and talk through the window! One man even used a cherry picker to talk to his mom through a second-story window.

Texting is nice. You’re not interrupting since the recipient can read your message at their leisure, but all of us have some extra time on our hands. Why not write an old-fashioned letter and mail it? My mother-in-law, Dixie, is sending out beautiful homemade cards that people treasure. She was recently blessed when some children sent her a card in return. The cards were covered in crayons and stickers and wrapped in love. How precious!

I’m glad to say; fellowship is alive even when we are apart. Reach out and touch someone today! Well, don’t touch their hands. Touch their hearts!

One of the most poignant scenes in the Gospels is when John the Baptist sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one?” (Matthew 11). Imagine this fiery prophet – a modern Elijah – languishing in Herod’s prison. Beside the Jordan, John boldly declared, “Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 1), but now he begins to doubt. I can imagine John asking, “If Jesus is the Messiah, why doesn’t he rescue me?”

Sometimes God doesn’t behave like we expect Him to. Who hasn’t asked, “Why is the Lord letting this happen to me?” That’s the story of Job. I don’t find Job very satisfying. It seems to declare, “God has His reasons.” Yes, but does He understand what I’m feeling? The New Testament answer is Jesus. Jesus left heaven and became a man. The Hebrew writer tells us he experienced everything we do – perhaps even that same feeling. After all, on the cross, he cried, “My Lord, My Lord, why have you forsaken me?”

If you’re feeling like that (especially in these days of isolation during the pandemic), consider this scripture. It’s a promise from God (and the Lord always keeps His promises!)

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38 – 39)

Cleopatra’s seductions enslaved Mark Antony, and as the two of them traveled through Syria, she conspired to use Antony to gain control of the whole region. In one example, she accused King Lysanias of Abilene of working with the Parthians – the mortal enemy of Rome. Therefore, Antony put Lysanias to death about 35 B.C. (See Josephus Antiquities 15.88 ff.)

In the last of the list of men Luke uses to date the ministries of Jesus and John is Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene:

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness (Luke 3:1, 2).

However, if Mark Antony killed Lysanias about 35 B.C., how could he be alive some 60 years later “in the fifteenth year of Tiberius”? Skeptics have used this “mistake” to cast doubt on Luke’s truthfulness.

The Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire bordered each other. In the period between the Old and New Testaments, the lands of the Bible served as a buffer between these two giants. 

To the north of Mount Hermon, neighboring the city of Damascus, was the country of Abilene. Although, after killing Lysanias, Antony gave Abilene to Cleopatra, apparently, she allowed the son of Lysanias, Zenodorus, to lease the kingdom from her. A few years later, Abilene was given to Herod the Great. When Herod died, parts of Abilene were given to Herod’s son Philip and the rest was granted to a second Lysanias, possibly the grandson of the slain king. The existence of this second Lysanias was merely hypothetical until modern times.

Two inscriptions were discovered in Abila, the capital of Abilene. The first was found in 1737 by the famous English traveler Dr. Richard Pocock, and a second was discovered in 1912. They refer to Lysanias the tetrarch (not king) and are dated in the reign of Tiberias.

Besides being a historical sidebar, why is this important? Can we trust the Bible? If it is truly the “Holy Bible,” it is different from every other book. One of the simple tests is the Bible’s truthfulness. For years the veracity of Luke’s history has been questioned.^[1] The story of Lysanias is just another warning about rushing Luke to judgment. I trust my Bible!

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^[1] Just two other examples include the census of Quirinius (Luke 2:2) and calling the city fathers of Thessalonica “politarchs” (“city authorities, Acts 17:6). Quirinius actually served twice as the governor of Syria, and now there is ample archaeological evidence supporting the term politarchs in Thessalonica.

As I prepare for my lessons, there is always far more material than I can use, and it makes me sad just to put the information away in a file somewhere. For example, this week, I am preaching on one of my favorite characters, John the Baptist. Mark tells us:

Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6).

The prophet Elijah wore a camel’s hair coat with a leather belt (2 Kings 1:8). By his distinctive garb, John told everyone he was a prophet following in Elijah’s footsteps. His diet is another matter.

As I began digging into Entomophagy (the practice of eating insects for food), I discovered a whole new subculture complete with gourmet recipes (See the Eat a Bug Cookbook or Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects.) You can even order “Salted Locusts” (15-gram packages for $12.95 on Amazon). Wikipedia reports, “At the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners baseball team, grasshoppers are a popular novelty snack, selling in high volumes since they were introduced to concession stands in 2017.”

Eating bugs sounds repulsive to most Americans, but they are commonly consumed around the world. In fact, four different kinds of locusts are kosher (see Leviticus 11:22). One chef in Jerusalem is taking advantage of the recent plague to add locusts to his menu. Chef Moshe Basson says, “Locust has a taste reminiscent of quail, somehow. And sunflower seeds. Those familiar with the taste of shrimp will recognize that flavor, also.” He adds, “They’re more appetizing if you pull off the head, the short legs, and wings. The long legs are relatively plump, like chicken legs.” [1] He suggests, “Drop them into a boiling broth, clean them off, and roll in a mixture of flour, coriander seeds, garlic, and chili powder. Then deep-fry them. Pan-frying is another good option, and they are “crunchy, tasty and sweet,” says Basson, when mixed with caramel and sprinkled into a meringue.[2]

I doubt that is how John the Baptist prepared them, but it makes you think.

[1] https://www.greenprophet.com/2013/03/feasting-on-locusts-a-recipe-from-moshe-bassons-kitchen/

[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21847517