Here I Am!

On the Christian Calendar, today is Ash Wednesday – the beginning of a period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) where believers from centuries ago began to focus on their relationship with God. Not all followers of Jesus follow the Christian Calendar and not all who do observe Ash Wednesday and Lent in the same manner.

But, whether or not you use language like Lent and Ash Wednesday, most would agree that these are troubled times and troubled times call people of faith to reexamine the relationship we have with God. Doing that will often call us to repentance – a word that Jesus Himself used to begin His ministry according to Mark 1:14, 15 – “the time is fulfilled – the kingdom is near – repent and believe the good news.”

My own personal response to Lent this year is to say to God – in response to Jesus’ announcement about the Kingdom and the need for repentance – “Here I am.”

We all know, however, that declaring ourselves ready before God can be a dangerous thing to do. We ought to be sure the seatbelt is buckled before we get that bold.

In my daily reading of Scripture I’m currently reading the Torah. One of the great stories in Genesis of course is the story of Joseph. There is a new, rather innovative, translation of the Hebrew Bible called The First Testament. The translation was done by John Goldingay, an acclaimed Old Testament scholar who teaches at Fuller Seminary. One, among several, innovative things he does is to make the proper names in the Hebrew Bible sound more like Hebrew than the English names we know.

In the first story of Genesis 37, Joseph’s father sends Joseph to go check on his brothers – who have been away with the sheep finding pasture. Here’s how Goldingay translates a part of that story:

His brothers went to pasture their father’s flock at Shekem. Yisra’el said to Yoseph, “Your brothers are pasturing at Shekem, aren’t they. Come on. I’ll send you to them.” He said to him, “Here I am.”  (Genesis 37:12, 13, the First Testament)

Think about this for a moment. Joseph says to his father, “Here I am.” If you read a few paragraphs down the page, as soon as the brothers saw him coming they start plotting to kill him. (37:20) Only “Re’uben’s” protest and the providence of a caravan’s passing by prevented that from happening. Most of know how this incident plays out. It can be a dangerous thing to say to God, “Here I am.”

You may protest here and say, “Yoseph” was talking to “Yissra’el” not Yahweh. At one level you would be correct – but at another, not so correct! In Genesis 45:5, as “Yhoseph” is identifying himself to his famine-stricken brothers, he says, “But now, don’t be pained, don ‘t let it make you rage at yourselves because you sold me here, because it was to save life that God sent me before you.” (The First Testament)

I’m not sure “Ýoseph” realized all he was saying when he told “Yisra’el” “Here I am.” But then I’m not sure any of us know all we are saying when we declare “Here I am” when it comes to serving Christ as Lord. Most of us won’t likely have quite the kind of story “Yoseph” did – but we never know.

So, as this period of reflection and repentance we call Lent begins today – what might happen if we boldly say to God “Here I am” and mean it so honestly that we will even go to “Misrayim” (Egypt) and become a key person in the house of “Par’oh” (Pharaoh). 

Joseph likely had no idea, despite the fact he was a dreamer. 

You and I likely have no idea what God could do with us if we said “Here I am” and really meant it.

Buckle your seatbelts for Lent.