When I first got into Judaism I was surprised that, as guests invited over to a family’s house for dinner, the prayer occurred after the meal. I’ve asked several Jews about this and have gotten back several responses ranging from the comical to the over-analytical. For example, one Jew told me that you thank God for the food afterwords to factor the rare situation that it was poisoned … in which case you could thank God personally to His face. Some Jews start to recite laws and commandments, which is fine… but then why would God command us to pray after the meal instead of before?

I read on a blog that a Rabbi had been consulted in the matter and answered “It is easy to eat the meal and then forget God’s blessings on a full stomach, so the Jews ate first and then stopped to thank God for the blessing.” I like that. I like it a lot. I’d add to it, though, that many Jews pray before and after the meal. Before the meal, you’re forced to stop and reflect on the goodness God provides. It turns out to be good for digestion, too, since it forces the people at the table to calm down and relax. After the meal, you’re faced with remembering God after being satisfied and brings a nice, formal closure to the event.

Thinking about this also reminds me of the account of Jesus and the ten lepers mentioned in Luke 17:11-19. Ten men with a fatal disease plead with Jesus to help them. Instead of giving them money or sprinkling pixy dust, he orders them to go see the priests. That’s it. But they knew scripture well enough to know what that meant. In Levitical law it states that when someone has disease and goes to a priest, it’s for examination. These lepers knew that a medical examination would be pointless unless they were healed of leprosy. That faith drove them to the priests who announced them clean and clear of the disease.

Only one of the ten came back to Jesus and the LORD makes a point of it.

Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

We need to be that 10% who thanks God after providing for us. This is especially true since, as His people, we set the example.

Just as important, let’s strive to thank our neighbors and the strangers who do small things for us. How many times have people slowed down in a parking lot to let you cross in front of them, or swept the floor after a meal so you wouldn’t be stepping on sticky crumbs, or opened the door for you… anything big or small should be recognized, appreciated and thanked since they took the time and thoughtfulness to recognize and show appreciation towards you. We need to make our gratitude known, too. A hearty smile with a look in their eyes while you say the words mean much more than mumbling “thanks” while you look at the ground. Don’t forget the classic hand-written thank-you notes and cards. With all the junk mail we get in the post box, a kind letter rekindles a feeling of humanity and warmth.

Praying before a meal instills patience and praying after a meal instills gratitude; these provide critical lessons in life we have the opportunity to practice to perfection three times a day.

This apologetic is not about turning a hand up against Christ, but about the merits of incorporating the Jewish lifestyle with all its blessings and curses as a Christian. It’s a journey of a man towards the God that accepts and loves despite our grievous nature, but also about a God of Law and justice that lays out the rules in life and the consequences of disobedience.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:8-10

Most pastors stop before talking about why we were created. That’s where my journey begins: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Workmanship is the quality of integrity applying to the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture, people, or artisan. We could apply that definition directly here. Those whom God has called are to demonstrate love and righteousness to the the world as evidence of the fruit of the spirit that God provides. In short, we are defined as the goodness of the hand of God on the Earth. It’s important, though, to recognize the pretext because it humbles us and defines our relationship with God.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. – James 2:20-26

What happens to Ephesians 2 if faith is dead? This is not intended to open a debate between Calvinism and Armenianism, but invariably does so anyway. Instead I’m just going to point out three fundamentals presented in these two texts.

• It’s grace through faith that saves us.
  • Faith without works is dead.
• We are created for good works that God has already prepared for us to do.

What I see is an obvious statement. Those who have the faith for God’s grace to save, are also compelled to do good works. But “good” in the human psyche is relative. Fortunately, Christ recognized this when presenting a profound statement to a young (unmarried), wealthy merchant.

Now as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. – Mark 10:17-22

Only God is good. That sets a very high standard. That means for us to do good, we must be as righteous as God. Although this is an impossible achievement from man alone, we have righteousness in faith provided it is demonstrated by our works.

This is how living faithfully is like a ritual. There are moments when after fall short of expectations we’re given the chance to try again (and God is a teacher who tests us). Each successive attempt only emphasizes the righteousness accounted to faith because we have faith that God continues to be our teacher. Righteousness is defined throughout all of God’s word, including the Laws of Moses (2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Deuteronomy 6:25). As we act righteously, denying ourselves for our Creator, we further establish that faith.

It was her first day in the maternity ward and knew only what she was trained for. Contractions were two minutes apart, lasting more than a minute each, and the patient was well over eight centimeters dilated. Ironically, I had read how to deliver a baby in a taxicab in the strange book “The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook” just the night before, never imagining I would actually use that knowledge.

A new nurse rushed in and looked at me. “Are you ready?” she asked. “What?” I questioned what she was asking me to do. “Go get some towels, you’re going to deliver a baby!” As I rushed for a towel, another nurse draped one over my arms. I ran back and gave encouragement to the lady who was already in stirrup position. “You’re doing great!” Honestly, I had no idea how she was doing. A nurse told her to push and just as suddenly I was holding up the head of a newborn. The baby was still half way in her mother until after another push when she suddenly slipped out.

The tiny baby was so slick and slippery I was afraid she would drop out of my hands and onto the hard floor. That’s when the coarse towel suddenly made sense. The doctor came in slamming open the door, still clothed in slacks – had he really been golfing!?

I can’t attest for other cultures, but very few American men will ever have the blessing of delivering their own child. That experience continues to teach, and it’s in that lesson I begin this apologetic. Being born doesn’t happen instantaneously. It takes about twenty minutes to fully deliver a baby. In that event there’s a time when the baby is half in and half out no matter how quickly the delivery takes place. Being born again has similar properties.

Abraham’s rebirth began through faith in God and obedience to Him, but his name wasn’t acquired for 25 years. Through that journey Abram continued to change into a more faithful man. It was this faithfulness that was counted as righteousness, not any acts, but the actions that Abram performed reflected his faith. Moses was 40 when he left Egypt and it wasn’t for another 40 years until God revealed Himself to Moses. Jonah was in the belly of a fish for three days. Saul was blinded for for three days. Even Christ was in the grave three days. From the chrysalis of a caterpillar to a butterfly to the metamorphosis of a tadpole to a frog, these periods of changing from one world into the next are reflected in nature as well. The point is that spiritual rebirth isn’t necessarily a sudden event that one can point a date and time to.

In my case, varying events in life – the drama of death to the elation of new birth, the insight of good friends’ late night conversations and the path in my career – each step draws from me a spiritual response just as much as it requires a mental or emotional one. Only die-hard atheists argue that man isn’t a spiritual being. As such there must be a spiritual realm we walk in parallel to our physical one.

Most have the experience of rejection. When our offerings have been rejected enough times and we’ve been “put in place” (which in this case means reminded that they have no say in the matter at hand) enough times, we can actually convince ourselves that we’re worthless… at least for a time… for most of us. Some never come back.

I wonder about that emptiness. That dead state. It’s a type of insanity that breeds an awareness. We are not as important as we may hope to be. Our accomplishments don’t mean anything to the big picture. Our impact is infinitesimally small. No matter how intelligent you are on a matter, someone else has a more desirable opinion to listen to… because they’re not you. Life is personal, so we take these rejections personally whether we should or should not.

With a fair amount of consideration (or distraction) of the matter, most people return back a little more somber … a little less bright eyed … a lot less enthused. That was the part about “Flowers for Algernon” that freaked me out the most. People can be so subjugated and diminished to the point that their purpose and meaning in life is stripped away with it. It’s akin to breaking a wild stallion then tethering it to a basement grain mill for the rest of its life.

When I feel cramped up too much, or see others in that state I find it helpful to put energy into something creative – in a displayable way. It reminds me that no matter how far down people may push me or how much they crowd me out that I am unique and add to life in a way that they do not.

I admit that there are times at work and even at play that I have to “play dead”, myself. Sometimes a business’ survival is more important at a given time and my participation to help that business, though it may be doldrum or even maddening at times, helps out others – it expands my world and restates my belief that life is more than just myself.

Possums and birds play dead to survive. Like I mentioned before, sometimes we have to do that, too. But if people “play dead” for too long I’ve seen and experienced that the spirit is quenched and a more sinister death starts to settle in. We began to feel robotic and sense that we are only a cog in a cold machine. Adults aren’t the only ones prone to this.

It starts when we are little. We go to a failing school system; we watch commercials that train us to believe we are unfit (without their product); any friends or family that buy into the culture second guess everything we do to the point that we second guess ourselves; we go to a university where professors almost strategically tell us that whatever we know/think/love is crap (unless you agree with their world view – or at least bribe them a little); in the corporate world you’re told that your job is not to think (at least for most).

Each time these attacks wave and crest in consuming foamy hands to wrench our necks when we try to be creative. It’s policy; it’s bureaucracy; it’s parenting and policing and mentoring gone wrong.

I look back at a week ago when one of my children were so excited about something they were doing. I shooed them off “Daddy has to work. Don’t bother me right now.” and they slump away a little. I became the very monster that bored its way into my life until I dolefully gave in. That sucks!

Nietzsche was incorrect about fighting monsters. It’s when you’re spirit is defeated by the monster that you become like it.

Derren Brown, the psychological illusionist mentioned during one of his shows that the power of suggestion is its greatest on those who don’t have strong foundational faith – particularly one rooted in God. Those who are atheist, agnostic, Wiccan, Buddhist or otherwise are more susceptible to being influenced through suggestive forces.

Life is more than living like an animal. Animals live in the immediate with little regard of long term consequence. Banks would like little more than to reduce the admirable qualities of being human to that of a base creature so that people live solely for immediate gratification; having a population seasoned to practice debt for pleasure enslaves them and sets them on a leash by which they can be guarded and controlled.

Without control, we are civilly untamed, wild like werewolves and vampires in a fury who grapple bankers and lawyers and politicians with an eye for fodder. In this, there is no other course of action than to allow the chaos to settle in and the public have our way. But indebted, we are subdued into a trance where we become the meat dinners for monsters.

All legends have their beginnings. Some are reasonably seasoned over time until their roots are unrecognizable in a shroud of myth. Others are still new enough that they are debated among scholars and conspiracy theorists. But given enough time, things that should not have become forgotten are erased from the records leaving only the lore behind. Did St. George really slay a dragon? Was there really a King Arthor? Do the spirits of the Nephilim walk the Earth today?

Lore and legends are important to decipher because they reveal our innermost needs. They attempt to answer questions that mold and shape our world view. What is a soul? At what point does the animal part of man end and the spiritual part of man begin? What happens to man when he dies? Is there life after death? If so what is it like? What is the purpose of man? Are we accountable to a higher power for our actions? Does God continue to be involved in the world today and how? There are many more questions at the root of our existence, but one common trend is a clear battle between good and evil. We don’t see that in the dumb beasts, though their fate is wrapped up in crossfire.

Our need to battle and conquer evil may invoke the creation of monsters, or perhaps the monsters that make up the contents of Pandora’s Box creates the need to battle and conquer such evil. We do know, however, that an evil exists out there and only those who treasure the liberty and goodness of God’s grace find purpose in fighting it while the rest of us… the rest of us placidly watch the outcome of zombies, vampires, witches, werewolves and other powers of darkness on the silver screen as the real monster counterparts close in.