Be Thou My Vision.
The early Church responding to adversities.
The Butterfly Effect.
What do all three of these things have in common?
Yesterday, I was listening to Be Thou My Vision.
I thought about some things.
I thought about spiritual battles.
I wrestled with navigating proper response, not simply reaction.
I thought about Jesus’ call to non-violence…I thought about His silences…and I thought about His speaking.
I thought about the book of Ecclesiastes…a time to be silent and a time to speak.
As I did dishes and listened to this hymn…lines of lesser memorized verses resonated with me, and I will highlight below.
I then thought about persecution for one’s faith, values and beliefs, mockery and more…and then…I thought about the Book of Acts.
Then, I contemplated beautiful, valued and exquisite things that are formed under pressure.
Like diamonds.
Yes, I thought about diamonds.
Then, I thought again about proper responses and things formed in real time in the midst of spiritual assaults, and more…
Of course, I thought about the early Church and the fact that I was now listening on a smartphone, two thousand years later, to a beautifully composed and articulated expression of faith in Jesus, in part, as some indirect trajectory of how early Christians responded to persecution and various ordeals and sufferings.
Gems were formed under these pressures.
And then, I thought about the Butterfly Effect.
And…weapons. Our weapons of spiritual warfare are not the weapons the world uses.
The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there!
The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles
that way—never have and never will.
The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation,
but they are for demolishing that
entire massively corrupt culture.
We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped
philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the
truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and
impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.
Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every
obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.
~ 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (The Message)
How do I apply this?
Yesterday, a friend mentioned a part about Elijah to me…the part where God gave him food and rest.
It prompted me to take a little nap yesterday afternoon and listen to some audio summaries.
Last night I was telling her I was now “hungry” to listen to the book of Kings and those interesting stories! I’m not terribly familiar with them, only parts.
She encouraged me today with these words:
“I thank God that you are the kind of person who is hungry now to read Kings. That is the best kind of friend. The kind of friend who does walk in Bible stories. Obviously we don’t live in biblical times, we aren’t going to be part of the canon of scripture, but our lives are part of the history of what it means to walk with Jesus and it may never be part of any history except our own history – no one may ever care, but that’s ok because it’s our walk to walk. So I’m glad that you are that way.”
These summaries seem to be really good.
In the book of Kings, Elijah mocks the prophets of Baal.
Yep, a servant of God mocked someone.
I am contemplating that one, somewhat, but I don’t sense God is permitting me to mock anyone in that way at the moment nor would I dare say with any certainty that He would!
Although, there is a Proverb that says, “answer a fool with their own folly,” but yet, another Proverb that says, “do not answer a fool or you will become like them.” (Proverbs 26:4-6, paraphrased)
And then, of course, I think of Jesus saying “don’t call anyone a fool!” (Matthew 5:22, paraphrased)
And then, ha ha…my head is slightly spinning!
Back to spiritual responses to demonic assaults...
Historically, in warfare, there are arsenals of weapons. Even Cain found the closest object to perpetuate his brother Abel’s death, the first murder.
I am thinking about the violence of words, however, and the other types of destructive demonic assaults that are all so common, in varying degree. How does one deal with word violences?
Obviously since it is a War of Words, one can be silent or one can speak.
Worse yet, one can attempt to silence the other.
Sometimes in the Old Testament it seems God turns things upside down. There’s a lot to consider in metaphors drawn from those stories that we *might* somehow discover.
David faced Goliath with a simple slingshot, and the Israelites toppled the stronghold of Jericho by simply encircling and walking around it seven times and then shouting all at once.
Very very interesting stories!
I have faced many Goliath’s in my lifetime…it seems…and probably for that reason years ago I dared rip out the illustration from my first real Bible and frame it. It has always hung near my bed.
I love the part in Exodus where after they safely made it across the Red Sea, Miriam took up a tambourine and led the women in a Victory Dance!
Oh, but dancing in the Bible was not limited to women. King David danced before God and was mocked by onlookers.
But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David,
Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window.
When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord,
she was filled with contempt for him.
~ II Samuel 6:16
Wow…all these ruminations interspersed between working on things here today.
Butterfly wings…so delicate…I’m imaging/imagining here, for the moment…lots and lots of delicate butterfly wings as some arsenal of spiritual responses.
Many people associate the butterfly with beautiful metaphors.
Yet…I am not sure if my responses are butterflies or something else…but, they seem to be the responses I am inclined to make in this moment…this day…
And I wonder…of what effect into the future will this piece written here today, serve, in someone’s life?
I may never know.
Because…as MLK said, “The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long, But it Bends Toward Justice.”
I am not seeking justice per se, but, I am seeking God amidst all of this stuff – and am seeking the Shalom of God to return and be manifest in a number of significant relationships that have been shredded up by the brokenness of this world.
And so it is with the butterfly effect…
...I got to listen yesterday, and today as well, to Be Thou My Vision because,
in part, someone stoned Stephen and it only strengthened those who followed Jesus…and then…
through the centuries…and then…some human poet, possibly named St. Dallán Forgaill, penned this hymn,
set it to Celtic music in 1912 by Eleanor Hull
… and now … others developed the smartphone, Spotify…and I sit here…
typing and taking in this beautiful piece.
Who wrote the hymn ‘Be Thou My Vision’?
“Irish in origin the hymn ‘Be Thou My Vision’ is based on the poem ‘Rop tú mo Baile’, believed to have been written by the sixth-century poet St. Dallán Forgaill.
It has been translated into modern Irish many times but It was first translated into English in 1905 by Mary Byrne.
However it is Eleanor Hull 1912’s version, or rather we should say versions, that are most popular today.
One is the version that is used in Irish and Scottish hymnals, which fits the metre 10.10.10.10, while the other is most commonly used in English books (such as the New English Hymnal) fits the metre 10.11.11.11.
Since 1919 it has been commonly sung to an Irish folk tune, “Slane’ “
– Who wrote the hymn ‘Be Thou My Vision’?
Shalom!
English version of ‘Be Thou My Vision’
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tow’r:
Raise Thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
Scottish and Irish versions of ‘Be Thou My Vision’
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Be all else but naught to me, save that Thou art;
Be Thou my best thought in the day and the night,
Both waking and sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
Be Thou ever with me, and I with Thee, Lord;
Be Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son;
Be Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my Breastplate, my Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my whole Armor, be Thou my true Might;
Be Thou my soul’s Shelter, be Thou my strong Tow’r,
O raise Thou me heav’nward, great Pow’r of my pow’r.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise;
Be Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Be Thou and Thou only the first in my heart,
O high King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of heaven, Thou heaven’s bright Sun,
O grant me its joys, after vict’ry is won;
Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be Thou my vision, O Ruler of all.
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