Month: March 2021

Taking it to the Streets

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn InspirationLeave a comment

It was the practice of the Hasidic teachers in Judaism to find lessons, Torah, in everyday life. Reminders of the Lord in creation. They learned Torah (instruction), not only from books, but everywhere.

Upon waking, His mercy. Before food, His provision. From rain, His grace. In joy, His Spirit. Walking along the way, His direction. In relationship, His forgiveness. In anger, His justice. In business, His righteousness.

From trains, godliness in punctuality. From clocks, the value of time, and therefore life itself. In trees, rocks, gardens, cities, everywhere the eye could see, they found Torah, a lesson, about God.

Whether in the mountains, the valleys, or on the plains, He is there. He is ever with us, and by faith, we recognize His presence.

When the Bible uses the word “presence,” it is not implying a mystical experience, but a personal one. In Psalm 16:11 we find one expression of this:

שֹׂבַע שְׂמָחוֹת אֶת־פָּנֶיךָ

“In Your presence is full joy,” or “full joy in the presence of Your face.”

Two words in the Hebrew Scriptures are used to express presence. The usual, as in Psalm 16:11, is פָּנִים/panim, face. The other is עַיִן/ayin, eye.

How do you know when you are really present with someone? You are close to their face, and you see into their eyes. There you experience their presence, breath, aroma, and life.

In Isaiah 6:3 the angels declare:

מְלֹא כָל־הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ

“All the earth is full of Your glory,” כָּבוֹד/kavod: glory, weight, presence. Yet, this is impersonal. It is a statement of fact. So what do we learn?

The Hasidic teachers would say that the impersonal, factual reality of the Lord’s presence, kavod, will lead us, if we have eyes to see, to the experience of beholding His face and eyes, His countenance, everywhere as He personally abides with us as Emmanuel – God with, among, within us (Jn. 15:4; cf. Matt. 1:23; Isa. 7:14).

As Paul tells us, creation reveals His invisible qualities (Ro. 1:20), yet we must go deeper, further, personal, and to His face (Gen. 32:30; Ex. 33:11, 18, 19-20; cf. Ex. 24:10-11).

In Messiah we have the assurance of that personal encounter, and promise to see Him everywhere. As Yeshua said in John 12:45, “And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.”

Taking our theology to the streets means, in everyday life, to be mindful that we are, in fact, in His presence, before His face, seeing Him eye to eye. Learning to see His Word and promise in creation, everywhere, putting it into action. Not just an echo of His glory around us, but that personal knowledge of the One we know, and who knows us.

Be well. Shalom.

Passover Meditation #6

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn InspirationLeave a comment

After the blessing to sanctify the day of Passover at the beginning of the Seder, we do the first of two hand-washings, וּרְחַץ/urchatz; which in Aramaic means to lean into or to trust.

We see in the sanctification of the day our holiness In the midst of the holy day: and with the וּרְחַץ/urchatz, we ask ourselves, what have we been trusting in this past year, and what will we trust in during the year to come?

At this point in the Seder we recognize that we are washing, and therefore being cleansed, as וּרְחַץ/urchatz in Hebrew means to wash. However, we do not yet know how to be a blessing with our hands.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה הָ׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדַיִם

“Blessed are you, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us through your commandments and has commanded us concerning the washing of hands.”

Later, just before the elements are taken from the Seder plate, we wash again, this time with the regular blessing for hand-washing. Why?

Having heard the story of the exodus, we have now learned how to be a blessing with our hands. We will now lift them freely to serve the Lord, and the human community; because we have trusted in, leaned on, the Lamb Who cleanses us. On the evening of Passover, Yeshua said:

“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (Jn. 15:3).

Now wash knowing that you have been washed, and prepared to serve those around you with His blessing.

Be well. Shalom.

Passover Meditation #5

On By Bp. Justin ElwellIn InspirationLeave a comment

When we were slaves, in Egypt and to sin, we could not claim home; and in the absence of home, our hearts are prone to wander. Yet, when we are received in Yeshua/Jesus, He prepares a place for us: a home, a permanent residence, from which we will never be moved (Jn. 14:1-4).

In this we find the beauty of Passover, and the glory of the Lamb, to prepare a home for us as a place of rest, peace, and freedom for a family as diverse as humanity itself:

“And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:17-22).

Be well. Shalom.