Dan's Marinations

As I write this our national leaders are debating armed intervention in the ongoing civil war in Syria, a conflict that has already produced vast numbers of civilian casualties and most recently has seen the use of chemical weapons that killed an additional 1,500 people.  The debate that now rages nationally brings with it the underlying question, when, if ever, is war justified?  Most, but not all, Christians understand that under certain circumstances war is justified.  It should be equally clear that as believers we should not just make the blanket assumption that because our country is contemplating war that it is just.  Assuming that there are occasions when war is justified, how do we objectively evaluate a scenario so that we aren't assuming that it's just simply because our country or our favorite president is undertaking it? The ethics of war and peace are never easy, because even a war that may be considered just can result in hundreds of thousands or millions of de

The key to getting the right answer is asking the right question.  Though a truism for life, it is particularly true when one comes to understanding a passage of scripture.  Any wrestling with scripture needs to include asking some serious questions of the text.  Some of these may be matters that can be answered with a little research.  Some are matters of intent and motive that cannot be answered with certainty.  With these the  answer to the question is itself an interpretation. This week at my church I'll be tackling the fifth in a series of eight sermons on the ministries of Elijah and Elisha.  On the docket for the week is the first part of 1 Kings 19, which describes Elijah's flight from Israel down to Beersheba and thence into the desert and eventually to Mt. Horeb where he encountered the Almighty who speaks to him in "a still small voice."  As a small teaser for this week- I'd like to toss out a few questions that seem to scream for an answer. First,

In two weeks I'll be preaching a series of eight sermons drawn from the stories of Elijah and Elisha in Kings. The Elijah and Elisha narratives are located in the last few chapters of 1st Kings and first few chapters of 2nd   Kings.  In context they provide a rather dramatic break from the usual pattern.  Much of what we find in these two books (actually 1st and 2nd Kings are one book in the Hebrew scriptures) follows a very predictable pattern.  "King _______ reigned for 14 years in Israel.  His mother's name was ________ and he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.  Then he slept with his fathers and was buried."  With such a pattern the writer(s) of Kings goes through the lineage of all the various kings of Israel and Judah.  One of the good cues to identifying something important in scripture is to look for where a pattern breaks down.  The pattern breaks down between 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 13. This long body of material is devoted to the ministry of two o

My wife and I have probably watched the movie "The Princess Bride" a dozen times.  We've seen it enough that we almost know the lines by heart and say them along with the cast.  At the climax of the movie the evil Prince Humperdink challenges the hero, a young man named Westley played by Cary Elwes, to a duel to the death.  Westley's response was "No! to the pain!"  In my previous post, I recalled the Kiawah Marathon of 2006.  Feeling strong at mile 20, I picked up the pace for a strong finish.  I felt strong.  I was strong.  Then came mile 23.  First the hips went, then the ankles, then the knees.  Elizabeth met me about mile 24 on a bike she had rented and rode along beside me.  The only thing I said was, "to the pain!" "to the pain!"  The pain continued and I continued the semi-chant, "to the pain!"  Finally, a turn to the left and I knew I was there, the finish line and I summoned up my last energy for a final push.  In real

Jesus' disciples have followed him now for some three years.  The last stretch of the journey has been particularly difficult for them.  The synoptic gospels are unanimous that in this home stretch toward Jerusalem and the celebration of the Passover, that Jesus had foretold his own death three times.  These statements, though clear to us, were certainly enigmatic and confusing to them.  At the same time, as the gospels portray it, Jesus began to emphasize more and more the costliness of discipleship.  On top of that, the last leg of the road to Jerusalem is physically demanding, being steeply uphill. A little over six years ago I ran my fifth marathon- the Kiawah Marathon down near Charleston.  I was well-trained and felt good for most of the run.  I had told myself that I wanted to keep an even pace and do the first twenty miles as efficiently as I could.  At mile 20 I would assess things and if I was still feeling good would push the pace and go for a good finish time.  I reme

"Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you,"  I Kings 19:7 In my previous post, I made the admittedly crude parallel between running a marathon and Lenten discipline. I'll stretch that connection a little more now.  Marathons have built in water and aid stations.  Every 2 or 3 miles there's be a water station, and there will normally be several water stops that also have first aid available for the inevitable runners who get injured.  Brief, but regular opportunities to replenish are essential. The journey is too great to complete without them. I can't help but think of the great prophet Elijah, who must be the patron saint of runners.  He had outrun King Ahab's chariot from Mt. Carmel to Jezreel.  Then, when confronted by Jezebel's threats to lop off his head, he ran again.  From Jezreel in the very northern part of the northern kingdom of Israel he ran all the way to Beersheba, near the southernmost part of southern kingdom of Judah.  Leavi

On Wednesday night, many of us will gather in our churches for an Ash Wednesday service.  We will leave with ash smudges on our foreheads and solemn (not so solemn vows) of what we will give up for Lent.  Then during these six+ weeks of Lent we will have more somber music in worship.  The sermons in church may in one way or another deal with very serious weighty matters.  We will be a little on edge because of the missing chocolate, caffeine, soda, etc. that we have given up for Lent.  The other disciplines of lent can be a real burden.  But to what purpose is all of this?  This strange ritual with the ashes is only the beginning of a journey, a journey that always has as its ending the darkness of the cross of Christ. Recently I have also been thinking that I've been running now a little over twenty years.  The fall of 2013 will mark the 20th anniversary of my first marathon.  In Oct. 1993 I completed the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., my first ever.  Since then I&