Vanity of vanities: of life only perceived under the sun.

For a while I was teaching a devotional with my carpenter friends at Las Ponas S.A.C. in Trujillo, Peru. We worked our way the book of Ecclesiastes and I began to pick up on an important perspective from Solomon that he doesn't come out and say explicitly but I believe is extremely important to see in order to understand this book.

On a simple view of Ecclesiastes, you might think that it is a very pessimistic book. You might think the author is actually saying that life is not worth living and that everything is broken. But upon a deeper view it becomes clear that he is saying nothing of the kind. He is saying the opposite. It becomes clear when you notice how many times he repeats the phrase, "under the sun."  The author is actually saying that life is totally worth living when we understand that there is more to life than just what is under the sun. When our eyes are opened to the reality that there is an eternity and a God who made us to enjoy and glorify, then life is wonderful. But if we only live for this side of eternity and think that only what we see under the sun is all there is, then life is vanity of vanities.  The Lord Jesus came and shed light on this reality. He was the wisdom spoken of both in Ecclesiastes and Proverbs. He is the one who helps us see beyond the Sun and recognize that there is much more to life than just eating and drinking. The gospel of John says it like this in chapter 1, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth...And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known."

The whole book can be understood seeing it in light of the last two verses:
“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
(Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 ESV)

An old VW and Evangelism

Several years ago when we returned to Peru for our second term, we decided to buy an old VW van. I didn't know much about classic VW's back then but since learned a little bit. This was a type II. Curiously enough it was built in 1995 although not a modern model.  I write about this because of the relationship I have been developing with the man who has been helping me take care of these things. His name is Felix. I have not seen him since we came back to the States for this year. I ask you to pray with me for him and we look forward to reuniting with him when we get back to Trujillo next year. Felix is a tapicero, which means in english, an upholstery worker. He mainly does upholstery for cars and furniture but he also works on a lot of things. He is a networker too. He knows a lot of people around town.


Not long after we bought the van I started looking for a mechanic who I could trust to not overcharge or underwork. There just so happened to be a shop around the corner from our house. I knew of a couple of mechanics and places to try. But I needed someone who knew about classic VW motors. I had been to one who told me the whole motor was shot and it would cost about six thousand soles (it turned out he was telling the truth, which is why we finally got rid of it). I wanted a second opinion. So I stopped by this shop where I heard there was a guy who could do the upholstery (which was hanging loose from the roof when we bought it). I walked up to the shop and some of the mechanics were working on a few cars inside. Nobody seemed to pay attention. There was another VW beetle there that looked in decent shape. I asked around and they told me the man to talk to wasn't there. I started to leave and then finally another man walked up and asked if he could help me. This was Felix. There was something different about this man. He seemed to understand how to get customers. I wasn't sure if I could trust him but I explained my situation and he said he could help. He gave me a decent quote to fix the upholstery on the roof and fix the seat-belt that didn't work.  He just so happened to know a mechanic who specializes in classic VW motors. I thought I would give him a try.  Felix did a great job on his work and then connected me with the mechanic who came to take care of the mechanical problems which included the carburetor, gas gauge, brakes, clutch, gear box and the muffler too, since it was bent after a brakeless car rear-ended Meg. This was only the beginning of a relationship that turned out to be a great ministry opportunity not only with Felix but with the other mechanic, Elias.
After a year of working with Felix he finally accepted to let me teach a Bible study with the guys in his shop. He claims to be catholic but rarely goes to church. I just offered to teach the Bible for what it says. I explained where I stand as an evangelical presbyterian and he continued to want me to open the Bible and explain it. After another year, we decided to sell the VW van because it kept giving us too many problems but we continued our relationship with Felix. I worked through Ephesians and several different passages of scripture. We started working through the gospel of John and came close to finishing before it was our time to leave for Home Assignment. We tried to hurry and finish before we left, but too many interruptions either with Felix's schedule or mine didn't allow it. I have seen a change in Felix's life. He has a deep hunger to hear the Word and understand it. He continues to say he is not worthy to come into the church and I continue to explain the gospel to him that Jesus is the one who makes us worthy as we trust in His work. I gave him a bible. He says he needs me to explain it to him. I tell him that if he will read it, he will begin to understand it more and more. Felix continues to want to hear the Scriptures explained. He says he needs it and always tries to make time to do a Bible study when we can. Please pray with me for Felix that the Holy Spirit will open his heart to receive Christ, just as He did for Lydia in Acts.


“A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.”
(Acts 16:14 NAS95)

Family devotions & Job: A case of misapplied truth

In our family devotionals we are slowly working our way through the Bible. There are times when I wonder if our children are ready for some of the books we come across. I was tempted to skip Judges but I read it anyway. I was tempted to skip Chronicles but I read it anyway. I was tempted to skip Job but I still plug away and find this decision rewarded in the confirmation that God’s design in His Word is fitting. The children don’t pick up everything (There are some things they are not yet ready to pick up on. Thankfully those things go over their heads.) but as they hear through all, the thick and the thin of Scripture they are gradually getting a full picture of the God who created, loves and sustains us.

Now as we work through Job, I am beginning to see a better picture of this book. I am getting a better grasp and I believe my children are picking up bits that will help them see God in a truer light. Job’s friends continue to assure him that if only he will repent of his sin, then God will restore him to his former glory. They insist that he must have done something horrible for all these things to have fallen on him. Job continues to respond to them insisting that he is innocent of their claims. He is not saying that he has never sinned or that he is holy and pure. But Job is saying that he has not run after other gods and that he has not rejected the God of creation. 

         I was particularly impressed with Job’s response in chapter 24. He responds to the accusations that God always punishes the guilty and if God is punishing him then he must be guilty. Job points out the difficult truth that there are so many wicked people out there who are not being punished. It sounds like Job is saying that these wicked are never punished. He argues to his friends that their assumptions are wrong because there are guilty people going free, therefore they are wrong to say that God always swiftly punished the guilty and to therefore assume his guilt. This confirms the thought that has been running through my mind (after reading Mathew Henry on it) of calling this book, A case of misapplied truth. For that is exactly what is going on. Job’s friends are stating general truths but they are misapplying them. How easy it is for us to do the same.

It is like Psalm 73. The psalmist describes his jealousy of the wicked who go around fat and happy. The psalmist says he was like a beast before God with his complaint until his thoughts returned to God’s holiness and eternity and then realized that the wicked will be judged in the end. 
Job’s friends have missed this reality. God does not always judge on our timeline. God will judge all wickedness in the end but there are times when he waits for reasons that we do not know. Just as God does not always judge in our timeline, we see in Job that God sometimes allows suffering for other reasons that we do not understand.

We must simply wait and trust that God is good and just. He is able and is doing something that we may not understand. We must seek to understand that we do not always understand why He does what He does. We can trust that He is good. We can trust that He is present. We must remember humility and not always assume that our perspective on reality is accurate. Perhaps we are only looking on things in light of (as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes says) the sun’s rays on the earth instead of seeing them in light of the Son’s rays on the universe.

What does Jesus’ healing have to do with Shame?

I originally posted this article in Spanish but then realized that the translate program doesn't do a very good job of translating it back into English, so here is my own english version at the top. 

I am looking forward to a Counseling Conference at RTS in Jackson, MS this week with Dr. Curt Thompson speaking. I first heard about his book from a sermon by Ed Hartman on Shame. I have been helped much by this book and want to just leave one little piece of it here. 

This comes from a point on John 9 in the book by Curt Thompson, The Soul of Shame. (the last section in chapter 7)

In the gospel of John, we see much of who Jesus is and of his power and glory. We are encouraged to come and see how he heals us as much in the body as in the soul. I was reading this book about shame and the author gave an example of the situation when Jesus healed the blind man. I would like to look at this story to show how we can see that Jesus heals us, not just from sickness but also from sin and one of its results, shame.

In John 9:2 we see the question put to Jesus about the blind man: “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” They assume from the beginning that someone is guilty. Judgement is the accepted way of life. As Thompson explains, Shame is the scepter of evil. But Jesus said that it is not that either sinned but that God might be glorified. Therefore, it is not about shame but about joy in God’s glory in healing.

After healing the blind man, the problems began. First the neighbors were confused about him. They brought him before the religious leaders. The conversation rapidly changed from the healing to the character of Jesus. The Pharisees are not satisfied with the testimony of the blind man so they call his parents, who wash their hands for fear of being kicked out of the community. Again, they bring the man who now sees and he calls them out for hypocrisy. In the end, they kick him out.

According to Thompson, we discover three things from this story.

First, Shame does not only affect individuals but the whole community. Shame gets into the community and fights to stay there. The blind man continues with his shame through the shame of the community. How do they not respond to this healing with overabundant joy? Shame has its claws in the culture. Even though individuals can be healed from shame, freedom from it does not easily come apart from connection with a community that supports the healing. For example, someone marked by shame does not feel clean until he is recognized and known by other trusted people who help him confirm reintegration. As Jesus later came back and found the now seeing man.  

Second, because shame is an embodied affect, we need more than facts in order to undermine it. “For instance, we can read as Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believe in him will never be put to shame’ (Romans 10:11), but still have great difficulty incorporating it into our lives.” We need to remember that we have physical bodies and shame affects our bodies and then healing from that shape we can act differently in our bodies. Jesus told people to stretch out their hands or take up their mats and walk and to go and wash. Healing from shame is not just internal, it is physical as well. We have to act on the redemption.

Third, we assume that whenever shame is dealt with properly, all interested parties will be happy about it. John 9 shows us that is not always true. Naming and despising shame might be freeing, but also reveals those who are propagating it. When Jesus healed the blind man, he confronted the community that thought there was something bad about the blind man. There is no evidence of people pressing around Jesus begging him to come and heal their blind friend. Healing did not bring comfort to his neighbors. On the contrary, it brought distress. When acts of goodness inspire a response of distress you can be sure that shame is present and working.

Thompson concludes the chapter with these two paragraphs:

“The trail from our story in John 9 leads eventually to the community’s halls of power where the lawyers, more blind than our unnamed man, make explicit the message that the neighbors had implicitly proclaimed: that the light that comes to heal also hurts our eyes too much and we want that flame to be put out. It might seem odd that in our world healing is met with resistance. But we don’t really see this until we begin to hunt down our shame attendant in order to put him out of a job. Healing always requires vulnerability and exposure of our sick and wounded parts, parts often kept hidden and away from our awareness – just as the community of John 9 had kept the blind man out of their consciousness. When they anticipate that the exposure of their shame is pending, many respond fearfully, convinced that they cannot tolerate the discomfort that that exposure necessarily will entail. From the family room to the business lunch to the PTA meeting, there is opportunity for shame to be exposed and healed. And in any of these places, that healing may be met with resistance. For this reason we must routinely engage in confessional communities where we can tell our life stories, reminding ourselves of the joy found in the practice of shame-free emotional nakedness." 

"We have seen how we can address shame in our interpersonal relationships. We now extend and deepen our exploration to the environments in which we first learn to live and move and have our being. Shame is most insidiously embedded in these institutions, mushrooming to become larger than the sum of its existing parts. And it is there our greatest potential lies for healing, redemption and creativity.”

Juan 9 de un punto de libro de Curt Thompson, El Alma de la Vergüenza. (capitulo 7 ultimo sección)

En el evangelio de Juan vemos mucho de quien es Jesús y su poder y gloria. Venimos y vemos como él nos sana tanto en el cuerpo como en el alma. Leía este libro sobre la vergüenza y el autor dio un ejemplo de la situación cuando Jesús sanó al ciego. Yo quisiera usar el texto y la historia para aplicar y descubrir cómo podemos ver que Jesús sana a nosotros, no solo de enfermedad, pero también del pecado y uno de los resultados, la vergüenza.

En Juan 9:2 vemos la pregunta de Jesús sobre el ciego: ¿Quién pecó, este hombre o sus padres, que nació ciego?  Se presume desde el inicio que alguien tiene la culpa. Juicio es la manera de vida aceptada. Como explica Thompson, La vergüenza es el cetro de la maldad. Pero Jesús dijo que no es por culpa de nadie sino para la gloria de Dios. Entonces no se trata de la vergüenza sino del gozo.

Después que le sanó al hombre empezó los problemas. Primero sus vecinos están confundidos de él. Lo traen a los líderes religiosos. La conversación rápidamente se cambia de la sanación al carácter de Jesús. Los fariseos no son satisfechos con el testimonio del ciego entonces convocan a sus padres, quienes lavan sus manos por el miedo de ser sacado de la comunidad. Otra vez traen al hombre que ahora vea. Pero él les llama atención a los fariseos a su hipocresía. Al final le sacaron a él.

De esta descubrimos tres cosas según Thompson.

Primero, la vergüenza no solamente afecta a individuos sino a toda la comunidad. La vergüenza se meta en la comunidad y lucha para mantenerse. El ciego sigue con la vergüenza a través de la vergüenza de la comunidad. ¿Cómo puede ser que no responden con gozo sobreabundante? La vergüenza tiene sus garras en la cultura. Aunque individuos pueden ser sanados de la vergüenza, la libertad de ella no llega fácilmente aparte de su conexión con las comunidades que apoyan a tal saneamiento. Por ejemplo, alguien manchado de la vergüenza no se sienta limpio hasta cuando sea conocida por otras personas de seguridad que se ayuda sentir la integración de nuevo. Que sea integrado de nuevo.

Segundo, porque la vergüenza es un afecto incorporado, requiere más que solo los hechos para quitarla. Por ejemplo, podemos leer como dice en Escritura: Todo aquel que en él creyere, no será avergonzado. Pero aún tener dificultad incorporarla en nuestras vidas. Necesitamos recordar que somos cuerpos y necesitamos actuar diferente en nuestros cuerpos. (Marcos 3:5) estrechar sus manos, (Juan 5:11) coger su lecho y anda, (Juan 9:7) id y lavad. Tenemos que actuar con la redención.

Tercero, presumimos que cuando se trata adecuadamente a la vergüenza que todos involucrados serán felices. Juan 9 nos muestra que no es así. Nombrar y castigar a la vergüenza se ayuda, pero a la vez descubra todos quienes están propagando a ella. Cuando Jesús sanó al ciego, confronta a la comunidad que entendían que era algo mal con el hombre ciego. No hay evidencia de gente apresurando a Jesús rogando que venga y sana a su amigo ciego. Saneamiento no trajo confort ni gozo a sus vecinos. Al contrario, trajo destreza. Cuando actos de bondad inspiran respuestas de destreza, puede contar por seguro que la vergüenza tiene la culpa y está presente.

Juan 9 nos muestra eventualmente el lugar de poder donde los fariseos, mas ciegos que el hombre ciego, hacen explicita el mensaje que los vecinos hicieron implícito: que la luz que alumbra para sanar duele a los ojos demasiado tanto que queremos apagar la luz. Parece raro que en nuestro mundo el saneamiento se recibe con resistencia. Pero actualmente no nos damos cuenta hasta cuando cazamos al tendero de la vergüenza para despedirle. Saneamiento siempre requiere vulnerabilidad y ser expuesto a la enfermedad y las partes heridas. Partes que normalmente escondemos. Como la comunidad en Juan 9 mantuvo el hombre ciego afuera de su conciencia. Cuando anticipan que su vergüenza será expuesta, responden con miedo, convencido que no pueden soportar la incomodidad que le trae. En todo lugar de la comunidad hay oportunidad de exponer la vergüenza para que sea sanado. En muchos de estos lugares el saneamiento puede ser recibida con resistencia. Por tal razón debemos siempre entrar en comunidades confesionales donde podemos contar nuestras historias de vida, recordándonos del gozo que se encuentra en la práctica de estar desnudos y libres de la vergüenza.

Ya podemos enfrentar la vergüenza en nuestras relaciones personales. También podemos enfrentar la vergüenza en el ambiente en cual aprendemos vivir y mover y existir. La vergüenza está escondida insidiosamente en estas instituciones, creciendo hasta ser más grande que realmente es. A la vez ahí mismo es el mayor potencial para saneamiento, redención y creatividad.