Presence Weekly 3/11/2024
[The DEVO ] The “Pink Spoon” Mission
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.
11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.
15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:9–18 (ESV)
The LORD continues...
33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
35 “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the LORD.”
Leviticus 19:33–37 (ESV)
An Alternative Lifestyle
For most of my early years as a Christian, I was certain that the book of Leviticus was a boring book about when, how, and why to sacrifice, and, since Christ had come “as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” there was literally nothing in there of importance.
Since then, it’s become increasingly clear that while a fair portion of Leviticus is specific to the institution and operation of the ceremonial and sacrificial system, the gist of the speech-act from Yahweh to Moses is a detailed missional guide for enacting all the previous iterations of the mission. One might say that it contains the foundation for “servants and leaders to flourish as they participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new.”
Moving from promoting an alternative lifestyle of sexual ethics for God’s people in contrast to the rest of the world in Leviticus 18, God moves to institute alternative economic and judicial systems.
In the Book of Ruth, Boaz is commended as a God-honoring landowner because of his adherence to the gleaning laws of Leviticus 19, without which Naomi, Ruth, and many others may have starved to death. Going even further, it condemns any attempt to exploit workers by delaying their daily wage for daily bread.
Leviticus 19 points out that the judicial system of God’s people does not defer to the rich and powerful or the poor and weak. It also makes clear that the disabled are not ignored or mistreated. We also learn that lying, slander, and theft are counter to the behavior of members of God’s people through whom he intends to “bless the whole world” (Gen 12).
One phrase throughout chapters 18 and 19 should capture our attention, “I am the LORD.”
This phrase, with the personal covenant name of God as LORD (Yahweh) sends the original audience and us back to Genesis 15 and the covenant-making ceremony that was commonplace in the Ancient Near East (ANE). In these ceremonies, the two parties would divide animals and walk between them in agreement with the terms of their covenant. The animals represent the penalty for violation of the terms. In Genesis 15, the only part of the ceremony that would have struck the original reader as odd would have been that Abraham did not accompany his covenant partner through the divided animals. This had only one proper implication: if Abraham violated the terms of the covenant treaty, then it would be up to the LORD to pay the penalty - not Abraham.
What this also means is that the same force that is behind the sexual ethics verse of Leviticus 18 is applied to the economic, vocational, and judicial ethics of Leviticus 19! One might call these two chapters the levelers of all partisan political ideologies.
God called Abraham to “be a blessing to the whole world” not to change the world. Now, centuries later the LORD has rescued his chosen people out of slavery in Egypt to “bless the whole world.”
Who is the world? Leviticus 19 makes the reference clear, “Your neighbor!”
Centuries later when asked about the Law, Jesus will say,
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28–31 (ESV)
In one response, Jesus confirms not only the scope of the mission but the intended recipients.
How do we act as agents of blessing in loving our neighbor as ourselves? Leviticus lays the groundwork for this answer by teaching that blessing the world comes through living out an alternative lifestyle of sexual, economic, vocational, and judicial ethics.
Beyond the practical applications, those serving and leading in the public square are in a position to speak about policy issues that have real-world implications for each of these aspects of alternative communities. This does not mean that Christians are supposed to reconstruct America as a 21st-century Christian interpretation of Israel under David, nor impose Levitical Law on a pluralistic country.
What it does mean is that through our sexual, economic, social, vocational, and judicial beliefs, Christians offer foretastes of an alternative society ruled not by cultural whim or political might but by Christ, who is in the process of making all things new.
The Pink Spoon Effect
Baskin-Robbins uses a pink spoon to symbolize just the approach I believe we are called to embrace. Each year, millions of people sample one of the 31 flavors of ice cream at Baskin-Robbins from a small pink spoon. The marketing geniuses at Baskin-Robbins came up with a truly Biblical approach in the pink spoon, “Taste and see that the ice cream is good.”
Likewise, as Christians, we embrace a posture of faithful presence through a similar pink-spoon approach. We offer foretastes of the coming kingdom now to those we interact with in hopes that through their interactions with us and through their experiences with our alternative lifestyle, they will, “Taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8, 1 Peter 2:3)
This approach sets may seem daunting, but in actuality, it sets us free.
We do not have to have all the answers. We do not have to force our way upon others. We do not have to get nervous or anxious. We do not have to reinvent the wheel. We do not even have to be perfect in our pink-spoon mission. We simply need to act as agents of blessing.
In other words, Leviticus is another way of God saying to the people he called out of slavery and was taking to the Promised Land, “I am not calling you to be the ice-cream factory, just the pink spoon.”
Weekly Office
- Tuesday: Morning: Exodus 27, 28, John 7:25-53, Psalm 62, 63, 64 // Evening: Exodus 29, 1 Timothy 1:18-2:15, Psalm 62, 63, 64
- Wednesday: Morning: Exodus 31-32, John 8:1-30, Psalm 68 // Evening: Exodus 33, 34, 1 Timothy 3, Psalm 68
- Thursday: Morning: Exodus 35, John 8:31-59, Psalm 71, 72// Evening: Exodus 38, 1 Timothy 4, Psalm 71, 72
- Friday: Morning: Exodus 39, 40, John 9, Psalm 75, 76, 77// Evening: Leviticus 6:8-30, 1 Timothy 5, Psalm 75, 76, 77
- Saturday: Morning: Leviticus 19:1-18, John 10:1-21, Psalm 79, 80, 81 // Evening: Leviticus 25:1-24, 1 Timothy 6, Psalm 79, 80, 81
- Sunday: Morning: Exodus 2:23-3:20, Mark 10:32-45, Psalm 86, 87, 88 // Evening: Exodus 6:2-13, Mark 15:22-39, Psalm 86, 87, 88
Faithful Prayer - Talking to Our Father
- Cabinet Agency: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the chair of the Commission, Charlotte Burrows, as they work to Prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and advance equal opportunity for all.
- Think Tank, Lobby group, NGO: The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) in their efforts to be an effective, respected, and honest advocate for Christ-centered higher education both in the United States and around the world.
- A word about ideologies. The selection of these organizations is not based on mutual affinity but on the belief that prayer is the most we can ever do to participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new.
- Weekly Delegation: The Congressional delegation of Alabama
- News Events: Staff at the Treasury Department working to cripple the Al-Shabbab money-laundering network. Staff at the Department of Transportation driving the $57M federal grants program to explore and develop projects using public-private partnerships as part of the recently passed infrastructure bill. Staff at the State Department as they oversee the exodus of Americans from Haiti after a rise in violence against foreigners. For a ministry on the Hill dealing with a sloppy and inaccurate story about its purposes.
- Personal Requests: For a potential ministry opportunity for Faithful Presence that would substantially expand our capacity. For an individual who was just assigned a new supervisor that will present new learning and growth opportunities. For someone who just resigned their position after six years. For all the federal staff who are mentally exhausted from wondering if they are going to be furloughed due to a government shutdown. For another individual frustrated with their boss’s extreme work expectations. For someone who just got a nice promotion and now has to learn a new job as well as managing people for the first time.
- A word about anonymity: Washington is a small town. To protect each individual's identity, yet facilitate prayer, details are intentionally vague. However, each represents specific people we are currently engaged with.
On the Page - Articles We Enjoyed
- Salon.com has an embarrassingly sloppy and partisan article on a ministry that Faithful Presence holds in high regard - Faith & Law. While I offer no commentary on the impeachment process of Secretary Myorkis, the author wholly misrepresents the intent of Faith & Law. Please note, that “theocratic” does have an Oxford Dictionary definition, and neither Faith & Law nor Faithful Presence fit the definition. I was thankful to have been in attendance at the event in question.
- The new Comment Magazine is out! Included in this volume is a wonderful essay by Christa Ballard Tooley on the necessity and insufficiency of critique.
- Christian Scholars has the text of an address given by Dr. Richard Mouw last year on The Christian Use of Political Power.
- PACE held an absolute gem of a webinar last week on civic language. Along with the webinar, they released the results of an in-depth survey on how individuals receive and perceive particular words used in public square discourse.
What's Happening - In Politics & Culture
- The ACC men’s basketball tourney is at the Capital One arena downtown.
- Tuesday, March 12th, The Heritage Foundation hosts The 2024 Russell Kirk Lecture featuring Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the conflict in the Middle East and the West’s response.
- Thursday, March 14th, AEI and Brookings present an in-person event on finding hope amid the rural and urban stratifications in socio-economic categories. On the Front Porch with Brent Orrell and Tony Pipa: A Conversation with Carol Graham
- Thursday, March 14th, The Center for American Progress hosts “Rewriting the Playbook: How Women Are Powering the Economy” as the launch event for "Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy."
- The Warrenton Point-to-Point Races are this Saturday in Airle, VA.
- The cherry blossoms are not fully in bloom but you can get a sneak peek without the crowds this weekend.
Two Thumbs Up - Music, Movies, Books, and Dining
Sermon: “The World We Live In” A sermon by Rev. Will Bankston of One Ancient Hope, Iowa City
Two weekends ago, I traveled back to Iowa to visit my dad and watch the Iowa Hawkeyes and Caitlyn Clark give Ohio State the smackdown they so richly deserved. Along the way, Clark passed “Pistol” Pete Maravich to become the all-time leading scorer in college basketball. But that was not the best thing I witnessed over the weekend.
On Sunday, at a small church across the street from the world-famous Iowa Writers Workshop, I heard a sermon that’s now in my top ten all-time. Using Jonah 3:11-17, the pastor wove a tapestry of explanation, illustration, and application out of one of the most “unbelievable” stories in all of Scripture. In a church made up of professors, grad students, doctors, lawyers, and the recently homeless, the message was as deep as it was accessible. Along the way, he asked, “What kind of world do you live in,” one dictated by science and reason alone, or one in which science and reason and joined by the Spiritual realities of a loving God?
Applicable to all, especially those serving and leading in the public square.
Last Things...
Last week we released a new Faithful Presence podcast with Dr. Justin Bailey and a Presence Journal article with Dr. Daryl Charles.
More coming soon!