cucumber fields
The ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) sends out a daily Bible reading email based on the lectionary cycle to interested subscribers. Yesterday's reading was Jeremiah 10:1-16, and I've been musing upon it with some amusement ever since. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to preach, and I offered some thoughts on the parent-like qualities Jesus demonstrated in the story of Jesus calming the storm. Now, here's Jeremiah speaking God's word about the idols that had God's people so nervous (and so very, very tempted): "...a tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan; people deck it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails to that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor is it in them to do good." (Jeremiah 10:3b-5)
God, via Jeremiah, sounds just like a parent trying to convince a child that the neighbor's Halloween decorations really won't come alive in the night. We needn't fear that which has no real power. Those idols are simply wood and metal. (Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field... once again our Lord demonstrates a vaguely sarcastic sense of humor. Love that.)
We typically regard ourselves as more sophisticated than children -- and I suspect most of us also consider ourselves more sophisticated than those Israelites bumbling around the Levant worshiping gods of wood and metal. We, too, though, have our idols. We invest them with power; they make us nervous and they tempt us... oh, they tempt us. Fame... money... status... hierarchy... false humility... the list grows long very quickly. They are scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot do evil without us, nor is it in them to do good. God-via-Jeremiah's admonition is beneficial for our ears, as well.
God, via Jeremiah, sounds just like a parent trying to convince a child that the neighbor's Halloween decorations really won't come alive in the night. We needn't fear that which has no real power. Those idols are simply wood and metal. (Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field... once again our Lord demonstrates a vaguely sarcastic sense of humor. Love that.)
We typically regard ourselves as more sophisticated than children -- and I suspect most of us also consider ourselves more sophisticated than those Israelites bumbling around the Levant worshiping gods of wood and metal. We, too, though, have our idols. We invest them with power; they make us nervous and they tempt us... oh, they tempt us. Fame... money... status... hierarchy... false humility... the list grows long very quickly. They are scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot do evil without us, nor is it in them to do good. God-via-Jeremiah's admonition is beneficial for our ears, as well.
I honestly believe that ELCA is not interested in God's word, the Bible, and readily ignores scriptural verses which are not in agreement with the denomination's social policies and activist politics.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry you have felt that to be your experience. My own experience has been one of deep engagement with God's Word. Our sincere efforts might bring us to some differing conclusions as we seek Truth with our limited human powers of comprehension. I am thankful our Creator understands that we are all, in the words of my mother, "sinners trying to do better."
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