I wonder why God seems
to create opportunities for people to try to replace conversation with stuff. Deuteronomy
6:8-9 is a case in point. With the directive to bind God's commands on the
hand, make them to be frontlets between the eyes, and write them on the posts
and gates of their houses, he seems to have set Israel up for the Pharisaical, symbolic elitism in Jesus’ day.
With no specific
directions, descriptions, and precedents, the Jewish
leaders of later centuries developed elaborate amulets (phylacteries) of
varying kinds and sizes in which were tucked copies of the commands of
Deuteronomy 6. These were strapped to their arms and their foreheads. More
copies were placed in boxes and fastened to their doors (mezuzahs) and touched
when entering the house.
What happened to these
directives is a God-given warning against associating faith and obedience with
any particular methodology or trappings not explicitly described and given precedent
in Scripture. These
can become methods of self-promotion, self-deception and self-righteous one-up-manship. Want to know how close I am to God? Count the plaques on my walls.
Many traditions are not bad in and of themselves. They can even be beneficial for the memory; but none should be institutionalized as divinely mandated signs or substitutes for spiritual relationships. We do well to remember, the “stuff” of worship and celebration can become more hallowed than it ought. The church has only two absolutely prescribed ordinances (baptism and the Lord’s table), and even those have become encrusted with elaborate rituals, trappings, and superstitions with no warrant whatsoever from Scripture.
Many traditions are not bad in and of themselves. They can even be beneficial for the memory; but none should be institutionalized as divinely mandated signs or substitutes for spiritual relationships. We do well to remember, the “stuff” of worship and celebration can become more hallowed than it ought. The church has only two absolutely prescribed ordinances (baptism and the Lord’s table), and even those have become encrusted with elaborate rituals, trappings, and superstitions with no warrant whatsoever from Scripture.
My guess is there were things in Jesus' childhood home which reminded the family of God's Word. Perhaps some were etched on a wall. But I also suspect they may have been modest and unpretentious. In these devotional thoughts I continue to stress my thought that central to his home would have been the character and content of its conversation. If we
fail to understand the conversational weight intended in the Deuteronomy directives, our decor may be falsified by our conduct. "Spiritual" plaques and pictures will not do our talking for us...or in spite of us.
NEXT DEVOTIONAL: OF HANDS AND EYES AND GATES AND DOORS
NEXT DEVOTIONAL: OF HANDS AND EYES AND GATES AND DOORS
I have lots of pictures on my walls; mostly of my grandchildren and other family members, including a baby picture of myself.... :) Not items of worship just for memories...
ReplyDeleteThey make the walls live don't they. Enjoy them. Thank you for sharing that.
ReplyDelete