Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. Genesis 50

By

Marc Chagall, The Tribe of Joseph

 

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good 

Genesis 50

 1 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, 3 taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
 4 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5 ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”
 6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— 8 besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. 9Chariots and horsemen[a] also went up with him. It was a very large company.
 10 When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.[b]
 12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
Joseph Reassures His Brothers

 15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 
Sometimes, peace and contentment and shalom is all the reward one gets for virtue. Conversely, dread, fear, worry and anxiety is often all the punishment one gets for one’s evil deeds.




16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
Joseph wept because they were the same old manipulative brothers, still untruthful. Because they still did not trust him.

 18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
And thus, Joseph’s dream came true.
 19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
God can bring good out of the sins we have committed–and the sins committed against us.
ESV–The principle that God ultimately overrules human sin for his glory and the ultimate good of mankind is important in scripture. The crucifixion is a prime example of this. 
As in the lives of Jacob and Esau, Joseph’s life was marred by the deadly hatred between brothers. In each case, the story ends with the wrong brother offering full forgiveness. 
Is this fair–or not? It is certainly the best thing for the injured brother’s mental, emotional, spiritual and perhaps physical health.
The Death of Joseph

 22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years 23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.[c]

 24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
 26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. Genesis 50

By

Marc Chagall, The Tribe of Joseph

 

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good 

Genesis 50

 1 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, 3 taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
 4 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5 ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”
 6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— 8 besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. 9Chariots and horsemenb]’>[b]
 12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
Joseph Reassures His Brothers

 15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 
Sometimes, peace and contentment and shalom is all the reward one gets for virtue. Conversely, dread, fear, worry and anxiety is often all the punishment one gets for one’s evil deeds.




16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
Joseph wept because they were the same old manipulative brothers, still untruthful. Because they still did not trust him.

 18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
And thus, Joseph’s dream came true.
 19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
God can bring good out of the sins we have committed–and the sins committed against us.
ESV–The principle that God ultimately overrules human sin for his glory and the ultimate good of mankind is important in scripture. The crucifixion is a prime example of this. 
As in the lives of Jacob and Esau, Joseph’s life was marred by the deadly hatred between brothers. In each case, the story ends with the wrong brother offering full forgiveness. 
Is this fair–or not? It is certainly the best thing for the injured brother’s mental, emotional, spiritual and perhaps physical health.
The Death of Joseph

 22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years 23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.

Matthew 22 15-22
 15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 
The easiest way to get trapped: By one’s words If one has reason to be suspicious of someone’s intent, it is best to say as little as possible. And, if possible, to avoid the meeting. A mentor of mine used to say that 90 percent of wisdom lies in remaining silent and not saying more than is necessary.



16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 

Brilliant strategy of the Herodians. What they said was absolutely true. And their “true flattery” could literally have disarmed Jesus.

However, their intent was to trap Jesus, which was why they praised him with absolute truth.

If you reason to believe that someone may be adversarial towards you, be careful of their praise. Beware of enemies bearing gifts. 

The evil which people are capable of!! Most people would have soften towards anyone who praised them so fulsomely–and truthfully. However, their intent in doing so was to have him incriminate himself–so that they could turn him over to the Romans for execution. Wow!



17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
In trouble with the nationalistic Jews if he advised it; in trouble with the Romans if he did not.

ESV–Taxes were a volatile issue in Israel. All Rome’s subjects laboured under the empire’s heavy taxation. Some Jews believed that paying any tax to pagan people contradicted God’s lordship over his people.


 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?
If seems clear that people are trying to trap you, don’t hesitate to “call” them. Calling a spade a spade clears the air. 

If Jesus said it was right to pay taxes, he would lose favour with a tax-burdened people. If he said it was wrong, they could accuse him of insurrection. 
19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
   Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
 22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Note the brilliance and strategy of Jesus. Not every question needs to be answered. A hostile question does not need to be answered. Or it can be answered by a counter-question.

We live in the secular realm, and are subject to the rulers of the secular realm. So pay them what they demand. And pay God what is rightfully his. 

I used to despair in the past, reading of the poise and sang-froid and quick, calm thinking of Jesus. Would I ever have the calm, and presence of mind to come up with these brilliant, inspired answers if put on the spot?

However, Jesus does leave us advice for what to do when we are in these situations. Don’t worry too much about what you are going to say. The Holy Spirit will guide you. God can give one wisdom to amaze one’s enemies.

 And last year, when I unexpectedly found myself embroiled in a very fraught situation by standing up (in now deleted blog posts) for someone who was wronged, and, it seemed, abusively treated , I was surprised to find myself calm, canny, careful, guarded and almost inspired in meetings with people who were trying to manipulate me and trap me in my words. So as Jesus promised, wisdom and guidance is given to us when we need it. 

Is this a proof-text for the separation of church and state?? 

  

Should Christians Pay Taxes? And how to Evade a Trap

By

Matthew 22 15-22
 15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.
The easiest way to get trapped: By one’s words If one has reason to be suspicious of someone’s intent, it is best to say as little as possible. And, if possible, to avoid the meeting. A mentor of mine used to say that 90 percent of wisdom lies in remaining silent and not saying more than is necessary.
 
 
 
16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.
Brilliant strategy of the Herodians. What they said was absolutely true. And their “true flattery” could literally have disarmed Jesus.

However, their intent was to trap Jesus, which was why they praised him with absolute truth.
 
If you reason to believe that someone may be adversarial towards you, be careful of their praise. Beware of enemies bearing gifts. 
 
The evil which people are capable of!! Most people would have soften towards anyone who praised them so fulsomely–and truthfully. However, their intent in doing so was to have him incriminate himself–so that they could turn him over to the Romans for execution. Wow!
 
 
 
17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
In trouble with the nationalistic Jews if he advised it; in trouble with the Romans if he did not.

ESV–Taxes were a volatile issue in Israel. All Rome’s subjects laboured under the empire’s heavy taxation. Some Jews believed that paying any tax to pagan people contradicted God’s lordship over his people.
 
 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?
If seems clear that people are trying to trap you, don’t hesitate to “call” them. Calling a spade a spade clears the air. 

If Jesus said it was right to pay taxes, he would lose favour with a tax-burdened people. If he said it was wrong, they could accuse him of insurrection. 
19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
   Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
 22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
 
Note the brilliance and strategy of Jesus. Not every question needs to be answered. A hostile question does not need to be answered. Or it can be answered by a counter-question.
 
We live in the secular realm, and are subject to the rulers of the secular realm. So pay them what they demand. And pay God what is rightfully his. 
 
I used to despair in the past, reading of the poise and sang-froid and quick, calm thinking of Jesus. Would I ever have the calm, and presence of mind to come up with these brilliant, inspired answers if put on the spot?
 
However, Jesus does leave us advice for what to do when we are in these situations. Don’t worry too much about what you are going to say. The Holy Spirit will guide you. God can give one wisdom to amaze one’s enemies.
 
 And last year, when I unexpectedly found myself embroiled in a very fraught situation by standing up (in now deleted blog posts) for someone who was wronged, and, it seemed, abusively treated , I was surprised to find myself calm, canny, careful, guarded and almost inspired in meetings with people who were trying to manipulate me and trap me in my words. So as Jesus promised, wisdom and guidance is given to us when we need it. 
 
Is this a proof-text for the separation of church and state?? 

How Intelligent People Can Become Stupid.

By







 Blogging through Romans is one of the interesting projects I’ve embarked on. I love it, love Paul’s thinking. The Gospels are like a primary text. A child can understand them.


Romans is like a meta-text, literary criticism, analysis. 

I love thinking it through with Paul. 

 Romans 1:21

 21 For although they knew God,
 they neither glorified him as God 
nor gave thanks to him, 
but their thinking became futile
 and their foolish hearts were darkened. 
22Although they claimed to be wise, 
they became fools 


First things first.

If one neither honours God, nor gives thanks to him, one lives a life without taking the brilliant creator of life into account.

So one’s thinking lacks vital parts of the equation–the Creator, and the ultimate end of our existence. Leaving these vital elements out of the plot and equation of life–the creator, the preserver, the one who can transform our life, the ocean in which the sun of our life will set–will make our life not quite make sense

Think of a necklace–each bead perfect in itself, but they are a jumble, clutter, until strung together into a perfect satisfying pattern.

Paul tells us in Colossians that in Christ all things hang together. Without him, there is a hollowness in all things–beauty, people, art, sex, money, writing. 

With him, all the things we love and love doing and having join together into a beautiful, satisfying pattern.


Christ, and the Holy Spirit fill the hollowness at the heart of all things, and bind the beads of our lives into a beautiful necklace.


Or in Dante’s metaphor, Love binds the scattered leaves of the universe into a single book.


We are created for worship, created for intensity, created for rapture.
When we do not worship god, we will worship

money,
success
the praise of man
social acceptance
popularity
power
significance
work
sex
friendship
children
the success of one’s children
spouse
gardens
possessions
add your own addiction:)

None of these is a solid rock to build our lives on. All of these will lead to disappointment. None of these can love us back–with the exception of the people–and they cannot fill the longing of our hearts, which are created to be filled with infinity, the infinity of God. 


If we do not honour and thank God, our thinking becomes futile, and our hearts become darkened, and in effect we become fools, because we are investing our life, our energy and our hope in what ultimately does not matter.  

Building our lives on sand, not rock, not the rock.  

 

How Intelligent People Can Become Stupid.

By

Blogging through Romans is one of the interesting projects I’ve embarked on. I love it, love Paul’s thinking. The Gospels are like a primary text. A child can understand them.

Romans is like a meta-text, literary criticism, analysis.
I love thinking it through with Paul.
 Romans 1:21
 21 For although they knew God,
 they neither glorified him as God 
nor gave thanks to him, 
but their thinking became futile
 and their foolish hearts were darkened. 
22Although they claimed to be wise, 
they became fools 
 
 
First things first.
 
If one neither honours God, nor gives thanks to him, one lives a life without taking the brilliant creator of life into account.
 
So one’s thinking lacks vital parts of the equation–the Creator, and the ultimate end of our existence. Leaving these vital elements out of the plot and equation of life–the creator, the preserver, the one who can transform our life, the ocean in which the sun of our life will set–will make our life not quite make sense
 
Think of a necklace–each bead perfect in itself, but they are a jumble, clutter, until strung together into a perfect satisfying pattern.
 
Paul tells us in Colossians that in Christ all things hang together. Without him, there is a hollowness in all things–beauty, people, art, sex, money, writing. 
 
With him, all the things we love and love doing and having join together into a beautiful, satisfying pattern.


Christ, and the Holy Spirit fill the hollowness at the heart of all things, and bind the beads of our lives into a beautiful necklace.


Or in Dante’s metaphor, Love binds the scattered leaves of the universe into a single book.
 
 
We are created for worship, created for intensity, created for rapture.
When we do not worship god, we will worship
 
money,
success
the praise of man
social acceptance
popularity
power
significance
work
sex
friendship
children
the success of one’s children
spouse
gardens
possessions
add your own addiction:)
 
None of these is a solid rock to build our lives on. All of these will lead to disappointment. None of these can love us back–with the exception of the people–and they cannot fill the longing of our hearts, which are created to be filled with infinity, the infinity of God. 
 
 
If we do not honour and thank God, our thinking becomes futile, and our hearts become darkened, and in effect we become fools, because we are investing our life, our energy and our hope in what ultimately does not matter.  
 
Building our lives on sand, not rock, not the rock.  

 

Domestic economies and women’s work. Child-rearing theories

By

Please could someone identify this shrub in our driveway
Close up of the same shrub. Please identify

The previous owners planted 50 of these in our paddock. Poplars?  Or should I try again when they leaf?

Roy bought a wood chipper for £150, and is now chipping all the branches and twigs I have pruned, and a couple of ornamental trees in sunny spots which we’ve cut down (heresy?) to replace with fruit trees


Hmm. It would cost us £12 a year for the Council to clear one bin of garden waste a fortnight. But how much to buy mulch? Or compost? And how much time wasted in weeding if we did without mulch–which I used to hate in America for its ugliness and unimaginativeness? So instead, we are putting our twigs and sticks and pruned branches, even ivy and leaves into our chipper, and out comes a fine wood shaving mulch, which we’re putting around our plants to keep weeds out. 

A good investment? Probably. Because the mulch will become compost sooner or later, another economy. 
                                          * * *

When I was a young mum, everyone in my church in Virginia was reading a book called The Tight-Wad Gazette by Amy Dacyzyn. The book promotes frugality so mum can stay home with the kids, and the husband retires early.

 Amy’s point of view was that jobs are for dummies, because of the costs of transport, work clothes, lunches out, take-away dinners, stress which means disorganization and items bought to replace lost or broken ones; impaired healthy and immunity. She felt that if a mum stayed home, kept a notebook recording where things were cheapest, shopped for loss-leaders in 4 stores, and practiced frugality, creativity, and ingenuity , then one could manage on a single salary–and eventually no salary.

 I found the thought that there was no better use of my time than shopping cost-effectively in numerous stores, buying in bulk and being frugal at home deeply offensive. I used to get so incoherently angry at the suggestion that this was the best use of a woman’s time (and time equals life!) that I probably did not make sense to the other mums who were reading and loving that book, and Mary Hunt’s Cheapskate book which was similarly popular.

(Though interestingly I have not worked outside the home except for a part-time college teaching gig, and Roy did retire at 47.)
                                               * * *

I find an emphasis on frugality stressful and spirit-cramping. When we decided to put our kids in private school and needed serious money, I started a business, a small publishing company. I find it interesting and annoying that the literature aimed at Christian women stresses frugality and ingenuity, rather than some sort of business which employs leveraging (setting your time, talents, skills and money to work so as to earn the highest possible return on them). The former, carried to an extreme, cramps my spirit; the latter I actually enjoy. Entrepreneurship is exciting for me, and creative; seeing opportunities and niches in areas I am interested in, books for instance.
                                          * * * 

However, Amy Dacyzyn had lots of nice ideas which we adopted. She says kids have as much fun getting involved in economically productive activities, like gardening or picking berries, as when playing with toys. In making real jam rather than playdough food. Our older daughter didn’t have much interest in the toys we got her–a dollhouse, a large play-kitchen, a train-set, ride-on toys, seesaws, swings–but loved planting, and harvesting things with us (harvesting flowers and veg. far too early, eating chilis raw, but hey, all part of learning!).

Roy began teaching Zoe to cook when she was under three. At first, she stood on a stool, watching him, and the dish while he tidied up. And you could hear her squeak, “Booning, Daddy,  booning,” when the dish began to burn. We impressed the importance of not touching hot dishes; she touched them, of course, and after that would warn us with big wide eyes, “Fire. Hot.” She also chopped veggies with Roy from the time she was three, occasionally cutting her fat little fingers. I grew up with a live-in cook, and first cooked in my twenties, and cut my fingers too–better to get that over with, sooner rather than later, perhaps!

Zoe had as much fun cooking and planting bulbs (“I go help Daddy plant glubs,” she’d run up to explain to me) as playing with plastic toys. She was able to cook soups and pasta by herself at 9, and complete elaborate meals (roast duck with potatoes, stuffing and gravy) at 11. At 16, she is a superb cook, who can whip up anything from a recipe, and feels sorry for her friends who cannot cook pasta or muffins. So some of these theories, that fun can be had while learning life-skills are true.
                                             * * *

To return to that mulcher. Amy had a chart showing two families on a similar income. When there is extra money, one family goes out to eat, goes out to a dinner dance, etc. The other family buys “capital goods” –chain saw, mulchers, composters, sewing machines which they use to save or make money. The life-style of the two families ends up being vastly different. Within a couple of decades, the family who invested in capital goods has foreign holidays, a second home, a swimming pool; the first family, who had more fun in the short run had been riddled with debt all their working life, and landed up with meager savings after a life-time’s work. 

I saw that all the time when I lived in America, the life-style contrast between the grasshopper and the ant who earn the same income, more or less. And though the life style of the second family seems so dreary, they have more fun in the end. 
                                                  * * *

So I suppose wisdom is the mean between extremes. Our family loves travel, and has been to many countries together, and those experiences have been enriching, have taught us much, increased our confidence by having to function in unfamiliar situations and countries, taught us much about human nature, and how to survive when all is strange. Have taught us much about history, culture, and art. Been a source of joy. But one thing I cannot deny: travel is expensive, especially as one gets older, and roughing it is less appealing. Not what Amy’s ant family would have done. 

On the other hand, Roy and I hate waste, and for most of the year, try to find pleasure and joy and stimulation as low on the hog as we can–in walks, in nature, in gardening, in reading, in movies, and theatre and art galleries–and even in work!!  
                                             * * * 

To conclude my meander, I think time is always more valuable than money (provided one is not in debt!)  However, there is also much satisfaction and pleasure in creative economy, I say as I watch the coriander, parsley, salad, beans and zucchini I am growing from seed flourish, and the veg peelings in my composter become dark, rich earth. 


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