The late Bishop Joseph Coles impressed me during his
episcopal ministry as one who could say a lot with a few words. (I often
wondered if his gift was related to the necessity of him to economize as he
adjusted after a stroke early in his episcopal ministry. Not having
observed his preaching as much beforehand, I did not know.)
I
believe it was a conference teaching session (I’m not sure; memory fails me!)
when I heard him say, “Discipline is
choosing the greater over the lesser. That’ what it is:
choosing the greater over the lesser.”
One
day in devotional time, I heard that theme anew when I read Psalm 119, verse
37, in the Revised Standard Version:
Turn my eyes from
watching what is worthless;
give me life in your
ways.
I
don’t exactly remember why the verse stopped me that day … but it did. It
stopped me and moved me from being “in devotional time” to being “in study
time.” And I began to look up words in English and in Hebrew. I
heard the word “worthless” as two words – “worth less.”
And I heard Bishop Coles’ definition of discipline, and considered the
question, “What is worth more?”
The result was that “study time”
resulted in even greater devotional time … because I wanted to
know and choose those things that were worth more.
The
word “choose” is important – at least, for a few moments. It was
important some days ago when I was challenged to find the right message for a
worship service led by the East Texas Region ushers. Of course, I looked
at Psalms 84, which includes the words, “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the
house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” Yet, the
psalm starts with words descriptive of the pull, the magnetism, the joy, and,
yes, the fullness and the glory of getting into God’s house – “How amiable are
thy tabernacles, O Lord ….” Amiable is from a Hebrew
word that means “lovely, beloved, pleasant.”
Then
I saw that the words translated “I would rather be” (a doorkeeper …) in verse
10 of Psalm 84 are from the word, babar, which can mean, “choosing,
distinguishing, proving, trying, selecting.” Thus, the psalmist is
saying, out of a culture where the “tent of God’s presence” existed among other
“tents” in Israel’s camp: “I choose to be in God’s tent rather that in
the tents of wicked folk!” The word “choose” is important; it is
highlighted by our conscious actions.
But
those of us who have been disciples just a little while know that we don’t
always choose what is good, or what is better, or what is worth more rather
than what is worth less. And so, like the psalmist in Psalms 119:37, we pray
for God’s help, asking God:
Turn my eyes from watching what is worthless;
give me life in your ways.
In this prayer, a key word is turn (rather
than choose). The Hebrew translated “turn”
is abar, and it means, “to move beyond,” or “to move from
here to there,” or “to transfer.” And so the psalmist is praying (and
when we recite the psalm, we can also be praying), “Move me, Lord; move me
beyond this to that. Move me beyond what is worth less to that which is
worth more”:
-move me from focusing on
things that are lesser;
-move me from focusing on
things that have little value;
-set my sights on greater
things,
-and give me life through
your direction.
Lent
is an important personal time. For some of us,
it is “taking off”: “What will you give up?” we ask. But I am
wondering if we might also learn to “take on.” This becomes my new Lenten
question: “What will you … and what will I … take on for Christ?”
- Senior Bishop Lawrence Reddick
- Presiding Bishop of The Eighth Episcopal District of
- The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Bishop Lawrence L. Reddick III, the 51st bishop elected in the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, has been presiding bishop of the Eighth Episcopal District since July 2014.
ww.thecmechurch.org/collegeofbishops/bishoplawrencereddick.htm
