Super?

Having made the choice to go by my first initial since the age of 17, I have been "D" for so long that I've almost forgotten the sound of my given name. For writing purposes, however, I became "DL," and I was just toying with the idea of asking people to call me "DL" rather than "D." This thought led to a train of thoughts that now has me giggling.

When I write out my name (for instance, on a name tag), I write "Dee" rather than "D" so that people will know how to pronounce it. So if I want people to call me "DL," I'll probably have to spell it Dee-El (since Deel is just begging for trouble).

This implies a relationship to the famous -El clan of comic books and movies. Those of you who are into that sort of thing probably saw the connection before I mentioned it. For the rest of you, a little visual aid:

Kal-El, son of Jor-El (from Man of Steel)

Does that make me a "super"?
Maybe I should just stick with Dee.

Qayah Qlalah and Q---!!!

A few years back, one of my colleagues agreed to help me with a revision to a story that is now being released as Talmid. She commented that some of my expletives sounded too modern and suggested I find some good first-century Aramaic cuss words to replace them. I enjoy a challenge, so I attempted to find a few.

Tonight, thanks to the gremlin that has decided to move into my laptop, I have been using those words. Not in the novel—in my living room. Good thing there's no one else in the apartment tonight. (The snakes don't count since they don't understand Aramaic.) Been trying all week to upload book two of Talmid to the publisher, but my proofs keep coming back with blank pages interspersed randomly throughout the novel. That's a distinct improvement over last week when the proofs were  forty pages short, but it's still making me want to utter deletable expletives.

One of the fun things about Aramaic cuss words is that they all seem to start with the letter Q. At least, all the ones I use in my novels start with Q. I find them a refreshing alternative to English cuss words. You know the ones I mean. There's the A-word, the B-word, the C-word, the D-word...and of course the ever-increasingly-popular F-word. But English doesn't seem to have a Q-word.

Side note: Ten years ago I was babysitting a friend's first-grader and he wanted to watch a certain TV program, but I didn't think it was age appropriate so I wouldn't let him watch it. He confessed that his mom wouldn't let him watch it either, "because they use the S-word and the E-word." If you are baffled, don't feel bad. I spent hours trying to figure out the E-word. Later I asked his mother and she told me the E-word is "idiot." (He was raised in Miami.)

Anyway, some people might object to the fact that the characters in my novels cuss. My philosophy is simple: except for Yeshua, every character sins, because every character is human. Sometimes this means they say naughty things. If I were writing for children, my characters would use the E-word, but since I am writing for adults, they use the Q-words. On occasion, they use select English cuss words (usually the D-word or the S-word but never the F-word). They also use Biblical allusions. My personal favorites: "Balaam's ass!" (Katan, Brothers) and "Job's boils!" (Yochanan, The Voice). The Q-words are particularly useful because they allow my characters to lose their tempers without too greatly offending my readers.

An unfortunate side-effect of my discovery of the Q-words is that I have become aware of ironic homonyms and sometimes giggle inappropriately...for example, when someone refers to "men's cologne" I cannot keep a straight face.

Disclaimer: If I have offended you with this post, I am extremely sorry. I've been up 'way too late trying to finish the revision and I am getting a little punchy. But like my characters, I am a human being and sometimes I say naughty things, especially when I've been immersing myself in a character who is going through a naughty phase, such as Yuannan goes through in Talmid: Bread. (He is very naughty in this book, I am sad to say, but the Holy Spirit will straighten him out eventually.)

She's Baaack

In 2012 and 2013 I've broken just about every rule of blogging. Consistency? Fresh content? Not gonna happen. That's why my masthead warns that I might periodically drop off the face of the (virtual) earth. While I hate to disappoint any loyal readers I may have, I don't feel too guilty about this. Face it, I am not trying to build The Huffington Post here. I'm just sharing my thoughts in between books, but for the past year the only thoughts going through my head have sounded something like this:

I have a paper due for Missional Anthropology in three days and I still haven't finished reading The Diffusion of Gospel Music in Postmodern Denmark. I'd better get busy.

My group project for Dr. Smith's class is due tomorrow and I can't find the video adapter for my Mac. It's not in my laptop case, it's not in my office, it's not at the church, it's not in the car, it's not in the pantry... I can't find my video adapter and it cost $23.95 and I can't afford another one and the group project is due tomorrow...

Okay, according to iCal, today I am leading a kayak trip from 8am-2pm, working at International Space Camp from 3pm-9pm, and writing the paper for Dr. Russell's class that's due before midnight. Easy day.

Something smells funny. Did the snake poop on his heating pad again?

So you will forgive me (I hope) for not keeping my blog consistent and fresh. I didn't really think this was the sort of stuff people would want to read. (Maybe I'm wrong. If so, let me know and I will start posting copies of my school assignments.)

I did have one week off between spring term and summer term, and during that week I completed a rewrite of the first part of my first novel, which has been in revision off and on since 1997. It was 'way too long, so I decided to emulate one of my heroes, J.R.R. Tolkien, who was obviously a better writer than I am (that's why he had THREE initials and I merely have two), and publish the story as a trilogy. For those unacquainted with the reason The Lord of the Rings was published as a trilogy, it has to do with the paper shortage in England following WWII. As far as I know, there is no paper shortage in the USA at the moment, but thick books are expensive books so shorter books are easier to sell to publishers. You will have to wait for parts two and three, however, because I am still revising them.

I do want to take a moment to thank everyone who has bought one (or more) of my books this year. Thanks to you, I was able to pay my rent last week instead of getting evicted. This is always a good thing, since our nation has more than enough homeless people and I don't want to add to the problem. So keep telling your friends about my books! There are links at the top of the page that will take you directly to the publisher of the paperback versions, and you can follow the link to my Amazon page to buy digital copies. (Save paper, save money.)

Shabbat Shalom

Today, according to some, is the Sabbath.
Tomorrow, according to some, is the Sabbath.
Every day, according to some, is the Sabbath.
No day, according to some, is the Sabbath.

So who is right, and does it matter?

That's opening a huge can of worms, I freely admit it. A friend of mine decided to survey those professing a belief in God, asking them what "keeping the Sabbath" means to them. The results aren't in yet, but one thing I can predict with surety: she is going to receive a LOT of different answers.

I just want to throw one thought into the discussion. If (as some maintain) every day is the Sabbath for Christians and so it is no longer necessary to set apart one day in seven as more special than any other day (using as a Biblical justification, perhaps, Romans 14:5 or Colossians 2:16-17) . . . if this is true, then what does it mean to keep every day as the Sabbath?

The purpose of the Sabbath, which God instituted in practice long before he wrote down the Law for Moses, is twofold. First, the Sabbath is to be "holy," which means it is to stand apart from the rest of the week. It is to be devoted to God.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (Exodus 20:8)

I agree that, for those who are following Christ, every day should be dedicated to God. Every day should be holy. As Paul wrote, we should remember that we are serving the Lord in everything we do, not just in church services but in the trenches of day-to-day life (Romans 12:1, Colossians 3:23-24).

 Second, the Sabbath is to be a day of rest, not only for those who believe in God, but for everyone.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore theLord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:9-11)

This, sadly, is where the "every day is the Sabbath" theory falls apart if put into practice. Notice, first of all, that this is not simply a matter of "Jewish Law" . . . the principle for Sabbath-keeping goes back to creation. We are supposed to take a day off from work. Every week. And we are supposed to let everyone else have a day off, too. Everyone.  So, if every day is the Sabbath, then we should never work . . .

I submit that we should work six days a week, but that we should remember that we're working for Jesus. Every day should be holy in that respect. But one day a week needs to be Holy. Separate. Different. 

Isaiah summed it up nicely.

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 58:13-14)

Or, as Jesus reminds us, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). It is God's gift to us. Let's not insult him by throwing it in his face and telling him we don't need it.

Shabbat Shalom!

Tattoo v. Tallit

Someone recently asked me an interesting question. "In Revelation 19:16 it talks of his name being written on his robe and thigh... Is this Jesus?... And does this mean Jesus has a tattoo?"

Great questions! Aside from the fact that no one knows for sure what is going on in Revelation (since it is a very complex series of visions and contains a lot of symbolism), a knowledge of Jewish customs is very helpful in understanding what the writer (a Jewish man, self-identified as John of Patmos and traditionally believed to be the Apostle John) was trying to convey in this passage. And what he was not trying to convey.

Bible Study Principle #1: Common sense is a big help in studying the Bible.  Just as a realtor will tell you that there are three key factors in selling any property -- location, location, and location -- so the serious student of scripture needs to remember the three key factors in interpreting any verse: Context, context, and context! If something doesn't make sense, you may be taking it out of context.

The first and BIGGEST context issue is: Who wrote this?

Consider for a moment the following sentence:

I eat bacon at least three times a week.

If a Moslem writes this, it is a confession of grievous sin. If written by the owner of Hormel, however, it is merely an endorsement of his product. If a cardiac patient writes it, it is an admission of foolishness, and if written by a vegetarian, it is hypocrisy. But when written by a two-year-old child, it becomes a sign of budding literary genius.

Context, context, context.

Revelation was written by a first-century Jewish man.* So let's investigate what a first-century Jewish man means when he writes,

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords. (Revelation 19:11-16, NIV)

In answer to the first question asked ("Is this rider Jesus?"), YES. Even if the rest of the book didn't make it clear, the key is in verse 13: "his name is the Word of God." John used this term for Jesus in his gospel (John 1:1).

The answer to the second question ("Does this mean Jesus has a tattoo?") has to be NO, if we keep in mind that a first-century Jewish man wrote Revelation. Presumably (here we go with common sense again) God is going to give people visions that make sense to them in the context of their own cultures. For example, it's highly unlikely that God would give me a vision in Mandarin Chinese because I don't speak that language and the vision would be meaningless to me. So when John writes about a rider whose name is written on his robe and on his thigh, he is describing something that he recognizes, something that makes sense to him.

When someone from my culture thinks of writing on clothing, the image is probably of embroidery or silkscreen art, am I correct? You may be picturing a uniform with a name tag, which (according to the leadership seminars I've taken) should always be displayed on the right side of one's chest and most definitely NOT on one's thigh. Face it, when someone is meeting you for the first time and trying to read your name tag, you do not want him staring at your thigh. Likewise, when someone from my culture thinks of writing on the thigh (or any other body part), the image is probably of a tattoo.

But what would a first-century Jew be imagining?

To answer this question, you need to go back to the beginning of the Bible, to the Torah, where God lays out some pretty specific instructions for how his people are to act and dress. Key to understanding the Revelation passage is Numbers 15:37-39.

Tzitzit

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.

For centuries after this commandment was given, including the time period when Revelation was written, men commonly wore four-cornered garments similar to a blanket or poncho, and Jewish men added a tassel (tzitzit) to each corner in obedience to this command. (Observant Jews still observe this custom.) The tassels were tied in a distinctive pattern that symbolized God's character -- and thus, in Hebrew thought, his name -- and served as a constant reminder of God's presence. The blue thread, in particular, signified the "oneness" (ehad) of God.

To see how this relates to the Revelation passage, do this quick at-home experiment: Take one of those throw blankets that people usually keep near the living room sofa for chilly nights in front of the TV. (A Snuggie™ works, too, but only if you don't put your arms through the sleeves.) If you don't have one because you live in southern Florida or some other tropical paradise, use a really big beach towel instead. Wrap it around yourself, over your shoulders, like Granny's shawl. (See illustration.) Now, sit down. Where do the corners of the blanket fall?

If you get the same results I get, you'll notice that two of the corners are draped across your thighs. Of course, first-century Jews weren't wearing beach towels or Snuggies, or even Mexican throws. They called the garment a tallit (which means "little tent"). The Bible speaks of Jesus wearing such a garment (Luke 8:44, John 19:23), which is quite appropriate since he was a Law-abiding Jewish man. When a man wearing a tallit was seated (as the rider of this Revelation horse would be), two of the tassels would lie across his thighs. So when John speaks of the name of God written "on his robe and on his thigh" he isn't talking about embroidery or tattoos, but about the traditional clothing of a devout Jewish man.

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. (Malachi 4:2)
The corners of the tallit are commonly referred to as "wings." Something else to ponder!

*Even if someone other than John the Apostle was the author, it was someone from the same time period and culture. However, the earliest church fathers (Polycarp--who was John's disciple-- Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement, Origen, etc.) agreed  that John of Patmos was John the Apostle. This identification was not questioned until the 4th century. Since Polycarp was there, I'm going to take his word for it. And yes, technically John was a Galilean but I am using "Jewish" in the ethnic sense; the Jews and Galileans had a similar culture, much like New Yorkers and Floridians.

No Place Like Home (conclusion)

Dorothy was right. There's no place like home. Or, as musical artist Chris Daughtry put it,

I'm going home, back to the place where I belong / where your love has always been enough for me.

But can a person who has never known the sense of belonging, family, and unconditional love that we associate with being "home" ever really hope to go back there?

Yes.

When asked what the greatest commandment in all of Scripture was, Jesus replied, "Love God with all your heart" (Mark 12:30). We have a saying, "Home is where the heart is." So if you are loving God with all your heart, then your home is with him. In other words, God is saying to you, "Mi casa, su casa."

Jesus was pretty clear about this in his farewell speech to his disciples around the dinner table (John 14:2-3):

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

That's right, a room of your own in God's house. Fairly cool, if you ask me. Think "Extreme Home Makeover" with God as your personal designer! The One who created you, who knows you better than you know yourself, is preparing a place specifically for you ... talk about belonging! And you won't be there alone; you'll have your real family with you: your Bridegroom (John 3:29), your Big Brother (Romans 8:29), your Father (Romans 8:15), and a huge extended family (Matthew 19:29).

As for unconditional love, no one does it better than God, who embodies the concept so totally that when you look up the word "love" in the Unabridged Dictionary of Eternity, you see God's picture (1 John 4:8). Well, that's not totally true. There is one small condition attached to God's love . . . you have to actually accept it (John 1:12). Let him love you.

And then you will begin to understand what it really means to be home. We aren't there yet, but one day we will be. He promised.

You know, I have a feeling that the room Jesus is preparing for me will contain (among other things) a Franklin dollhouse kit. And when I get there, I will finally open the box and put it together!

No Place Like Home (part 3)

Homelessness leads to hopelessness.

And that's what I was feeling not too long ago. Hopeless. Homeless. Whether I lived under a certain roof for three months or three years, it simply didn't feel like my home. Why not? What is it that makes a place "home"?

Home is where the heart is. Or so they say. For some, home is where the hurt is. But that's not the way it should be. Ideally, home is about . . .

. . . belonging.
Home is the place where I belong, and it is also the place where I have my belongings around me.  Dorothy wasn't in Oz very long before she realized that she simply didn't belong there. (She wasn't a good witch or a bad witch -- she wasn't a witch at all!) And the prodigal son certainly didn't belong in a pig sty. You might say, "Make yourself at home," or "Mi casa su casa," but the truth is, if I have to bring a suitcase and a toothbrush with me, it isn't my home.

. . . family.
Home is the place where my family is. That's why people talk about going home for the holidays, and then leave home to travel halfway across the country. Dorothy missed Auntie Em and Uncle Henry. The prodigal son missed his father. If I'm not with my loved ones, then I'm not really home, even if I do have a key to the door and a deed to the property.

. . . unconditional love.
Home is where I can be myself, mess up, and still be welcome. Try that on the job and you will soon find that "your" office is not really yours at all. Auntie Em welcomed her little runaway back with open arms. The prodigal son received an extravagant welcome from his father. If I don't feel loved for who I am, then I can't really relax and be at home in a place.

When these three things are present -- belonging, family, unconditional love -- then I am home. When any of them is missing, I am unsettled, transient, spiritually homeless. But how many of us can honestly say that we have all three of these things under one roof?

Dorothy hoped to find such a place "somewhere over the rainbow." Many go looking for those blue skies and green grass on the other side of the fence. The prodigal son sought it in a hedonistic lifestyle. But the moral of the story is the same each time: you don't need to go looking farther than your own back yard.

Really?


(Next installment: yes, really.)