Stephen
Terry, Director
Worship
the Creator
Commentary
for the August 10, 2019 Sabbath School Lesson
"Then I saw another
angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who
live on the earth--to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a
loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has
come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of
water.'" Revelation 14:6-7, NIV
Almost since its inception the Seventh-day Adventist
denomination has seen itself as a champion of a literal interpretation of the
Genesis creation account. Heavily influenced by Archbishop Ussher's chronology,
we have advocated not only for six literal, 24-hour days for the creation week
but also for a recent creation in line with Ussher's six thousand year
timeline. Feeling there was too much wiggle room in Fundamental Belief Number
6, regarding Creation, as it was voted in 1980 in the Dallas General
Conference, the belief was edited at the San Antonio General Conference in 2015
to leave little doubt how literal the Creation week was to be interpreted.
Because Adventists see themselves as an apocalyptic remnant of true believers
proclaiming the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation, found in chapter 14, the
issue of a proper understanding of Creation was seen as vital to the First
Angel's message, and secondarily, but just as important, to the observation of
the Sabbath, founded during creation week in an explicitly detailed and literal
manner. For instance, swimming, something never mentioned in scripture, is seen
as frivolous and a violation of Sabbath observance by many. Teachings like this
have greater foundation in grim Puritanical doctrine than in biblical teaching,
but there is much of old New England Puritanism in Adventism.
Why is it important to understand this perspective? It
is important because there is a strong parallel to the religious perspective of
Jesus' time. The Jewish religious leaders were constantly vexed that Jesus
would heal the suffering on the Sabbath. In their view, such work could be done
during the other six days of the week without intruding on the sacred hours of
the Sabbath.[i]
But Jesus rebuked those who felt this way. When asked why he did not honor the
traditions the elders had established, he quoted the prophet Isaiah,
"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules."[ii] In other words, the man
made interpretation had become the rule in place of what was originally
intended. Jesus instead demonstrated the compassion inherent in God's creative
purpose. Mankind subverted that intent early on by placing their perspective in
ascendance over God's. Although the ancient tale is about a fruit eaten from a
tree, the questions the lesson raises are far more profound. Is there a higher,
more compassionate, moral code that rightfully guides us, or is each to pursue
whatever directive seems right to them? Paradoxically, some in more
authoritarian societies seem to understand this question better than those in
the United States where rugged individualism is seen as a virtue. If we admit
to a higher moral code, who determines the boundaries of that code?
Historically, mankind seems to have a poor record of doing so on its own without
throwing compassion out the window.
So how then have we fared as a denomination? I have met
some beautiful Adventists who are very compassionate and loving people, but my
experience and anecdotal experiences cited to me by others have revealed that
there are also those who are very condemning and judgmental, considering, like
those ancient Jewish religious leaders who addressed Christ, that any deviation
from the rules established by church practice and tradition is blasphemy and
must be rooted out. These may feel themselves the instruments of God's
vengeance portrayed in Ezekiel, chapter 9.[iii] This is not different
from the expectation of the Jews regarding the Messiah as a conquering,
slaughtering king coming to destroy the wicked and exonerate those who had been
faithful to every requirement of the law. One can imagine their disappointment
with Jesus, who slew no one and seemed to enjoy violating the very law that
they felt set them apart from the wicked. Little wonder they killed him. The
same spirit exists in the hearts of those who would place law and obedience
over compassion today. The law was meant to be a joyful release from business
as usual where people had a tendency to take advantage of one another. Instead
it became an idol and object of worship in and of itself. This same experience
is seen in the story of the bronze serpent, Nehushtan, which Moses created in
the wilderness to be a healing blessing to the people. Instead, it became a
stumbling block with people creating a cult of worship around it. Eventually,
it had to be destroyed.[iv]
The problem I am trying to highlight here is that we can
get things wrong in our spiritual journey. Nonetheless, God is patient with us
and gives us ample opportunity for reflection and growth. Our response to that
patience and compassion he shows us can be to draw closer to him and in the
process begin to emulate the same qualities in ourselves. However, we too often
do not exercise those same qualities to one another. We may not realize that
when we fail to do the compassionate thing, we may be replacing the serpent on
the pole with an image of ourselves. We may think it is God, or God's Law, or
an important fundamental belief, but whatever the name, it can instead be
disrespect of God's creation and ultimately disrespect of the Creator. We may
do so passively, like a smoker walking through creation and causally tossing
their cigarette butts hither and yon. Or we may do so aggressively by actively and
purposefully seeking to destroy what God has created. Either way, the
disrespect is little different from that in the Edenic story, and as was
pronounced then, it only feeds our own destruction. What may have been poorly
understood then may be far more abundantly clear today, as we have excelled at
turning our planet into a cesspool and poisoning ourselves in the process with
a wide spectrum of chemical agents doing harm to us in ways that we are barely
beginning to understand.
In light of all of this, it may be appropriate to
consider whether or not our Adventist understanding of the First Angel's
message and the importance of a literal understanding of Creation is even
warranted. Perhaps it is possible that on that great judgment day we will not
be asked, "Do you believe in a literal 24-hour day, seven-day week
Creation that happened approximately six thousand years ago?" Instead, we
may far more likely be asked, "How did you treat my Creation? Did you
respect, honor and cherish it? Did you honor my Creation in how you treated one
another?" Jesus shared his opinion on this in the "Parable of the
Sheep and the Goats" at the end of Matthew, chapter 25.[v] But even if Jesus had not
spoken the parable, the prophets repeated the same sentiment over and over
again. We find it in Isaiah, chapter 58.[vi] We also find it mentioned
by Hosea, Amos, Micah and several other Old Testament prophets. Sometimes those
prophets are quoted directly by Jesus.[vii] But it is not just the
prophets that tell us this. The very foundation of the Old Testament, the
Pentateuch, tells us the same. Deuteronomy commands compassion toward others,
even those who are foreigners who come to live among us.[viii] This may be particularly
apropos to us today as we struggle over the issue of how to treat foreigners
who come to us for asylum.
We have many idols today which also means we have many idolaters
turning to those idols for answers and security. Too many have turned from God
in disrespect and disdain. Doing so, they have severed themselves from the compassion
he so freely provides. Without that fountain of compassion flowing into our lives,
we may find we have little to offer to others. One cannot pull water from a dry
well. Deprived of that compassion, we can feel insecure, threatened by all the
lack of compassion around us as others also sever their connection with God's
compassion. Scrambling, we turn to other sources of security. We may accumulate
wealth and possessions according to our ability in order to feel secure. There
is little difference between a poor person and a rich person in the end when
trusting to this form of security, for illness and death come to us all and can
do so in an instant. It is not our belief in a literal understanding of
Creation that will comfort us in that hour. Like Dorcas,[ix] it is our many acts of compassion
that will come back to us when we need them most. Perhaps that compassion for
God's Creation is what it means to answer the First Angel's call to worship
him. There sometimes may seem little will today to do that. Perhaps that is why
the angel is crying out in harmony with all of Creation groaning for deliverance
from what mankind is doing to the earth.[x] Maybe it is time we
listened.
