I had no idea that this phrase appears 245 times in the Old Testament, merely 6 in the NT. The first person is Nimrod (Gen 10v9) who was a mighty hunter before the Lord. It got me thinking about both the messy reality of and also the motivation behind what it is that you do, I do. It might be that you teach – in which case you teach before the Lord. Perhaps you’re a plummer before the Lord, or a cleaner before the Lord, or an accountant, a lawyer, a shelf stacker, a school governor, a dentist, and all that you do is before the Lord. This I find encouraging. Everything I do, you do, is done before the Lord. And I wonder if it might also breathe a sense of vocation into whatever it is that you’re doing today. Whoever it is who you serve to do it knowing that your actions are before the Lord , I think adds to the meaning and the kindness of the action.
I’ve not yet processed all the joy of Jerusalem, nor the depth of Iona, nor even sorted out my photos from then. I have completed the polishing up of my thirty hours of Church History lectures (not needed until January of next year). My read pile of books is now taller than my to-read pile of books, so that’s a good sign.
I have managed, for example, to visit my older sister (first time I’ve been to them in 10 years), and my brother (who is helping me with the causes of the Civil War), and visited a clerical chum from 10 years ago (to reflect on the struggles of faith we’ve seen). I bought £150 of Archery kit for the Diocese (should be useful at next year’s May Camp and possibly at Family Support Work day), and helped Mayo Wynne Baxter organise one of the Saturday Park Runs (other lawyers are available). I’ve enjoyed a pizza evening with Lucy’s department of previously mentioned lawyers, during which, I found myself explaining the origins of protestantism and the development of the bible, through the 2nd century as far as the rise of the graphic/comic bibles.
I even saw the film Oppenheimer at the Depot. I can’t remember the last time I went to the movies. Its not the sort of film that’s hindered by spoilers as its quite historical, exploring the life of the man who invented the Atomic bomb. He quotes the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu Scriptures, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. Its a disturbingly appropriate text. I’m glad it pointed out how so very many of the scientists were Jewish. Faith and science not having a problem in working together, although I was also glad to see that the moral implications of creating a weapon to end all wars has its own cost. And all their work is also done before the Lord. Its an excellent film touching on the difficulties of a race against the Nazis, then against the Communists and the McCarthy era witch hunts. And that makes me think about last week’s Gospel reading.
The parable was of God as the farmer, but an enemy sows weeds at night, and the angels ask if they should go and pluck out the weeds now but are told to wait for the harvest, the final day of judgement. I find it a really tricky parable so I’m glad not to have been preaching it. I’m glad to note that God sees the suffering caused by the weeds, that the angels care and that they’re busy. I also note how my own sin has a way of getting tangled up in other people’s roots. Perhaps this is why we should be slow to pray for God to remove the weeds from amongst us for fear that we too might find our own roots loosened. Its good that its not us doing the removing, the judging, that is best left to God and His angels.
In the meantime, my job is to grow towards the Son, to bear fruit in due season. So I do what I do as a gift to God, as if serving God as I serve those made in His image, regardless of whether I am cleanings showers (see Iona), ordering pizzas, repairing arrows for the diocese, chauffering a son to Heathrow, or patching a tent for New Wine. I’m glad that it is all before the Lord.
(Photo is of books read so far)