miracle

"There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle."

Albert Einstein

Attentiveness

“One of those who heard us was Lydia from Thyatira, who was a dealer in purple cloth. She was a woman who worshiped God, and the Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying.” Acts 16:14

Attentiveness is a gift we give one another. True communication isn’t something that can be done to someone – only with someone.

Sometimes communication amounts to a minor miracle: Mutual, soul-deep understanding requires the touch of the divine.

Choices, part 3 [Joshua ch.3]

The third chapter of Joshua is about the people of Israel crossing the Jordan River (while it was at flood stage, no less!). There are quite a few fun subtleties woven into the story that are easy to miss because they tend to be hidden in the shadow of the gargantuan centerpiece-miracle.

Joshua told the people, “Purify yourselves, because tomorrow the Lord will perform miracles among you.” (Chapter 3, verse 5)

I think of purifying myself as tuning a guitar. Like, if I were told that B.B. King was on his way over to my house to jam, I would make sure my guitars were in tune. God is at work: get ready.

Here’s a weird thing: Joshua refers to miracles, plural. How many happened? Or was the crossing of the river so mammoth that it was in fact a composite of a plethora of miracles? Maybe a new miracle was needed each time another Israelite stepped off the bank onto the riverbed.

There might be another miracle imbedded in the story: the nation became ready to place their trust in Joshua. They had been holding it in escrow, as it were, since they’d lost Moses. Now they would be faced with the choice of whether or not they would invest that level of honor in their new leader.

Being willing to follow a flesh-and-blood person who says, “C’mon! Let’s go this way -- God is doing something great over there” requires a lot of faith. And it’s worth pointing out that it also requires a long history of seeing that person’s character revealed in a variety of situations.

Choices, part 1 [Joshua ch.1]

There is a lot of hardpan in the book of Joshua. Hardpan is what my yard is made out of; it is basically glacial excrement, from what I understand -- clay and gravel compressed together into something that will not be penetrated without determination, sweat, patience and blisters -- and more sweat.

But there are also plenty of beautifully simple ideas about faith-life. “Be strong and courageous...” “Don’t be afraid...” “The Lord your God is with you...” And one of my personal favorites: “Get ready for a miracle, but pack a lunch because it could take a while.”

Okay, that’s just my paraphrase. In the name of full disclosure, let me include a more legit translation:
“Get some food ready, because in three days you are going to cross the Jordan River to occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Joshua 1:11b

It makes me smile when the transcendent and the mundane hold hands like that. And by “mundane” I don’t mean boring, but rather “everyday”, “earthy”, perhaps even “pragmatic”. It underscores the fact that we are crafted of skin and spirit, and that God is happy about that.