The only place in the British Isles occupied by the Germans in WWII, Guernsey’s streets, buildings, farms, and lanes were untouched by enemy bombs. But the occupation, itself, left its own mark on the island. While there is much I could share with you about our time there, I’m going to focus on one little piece of our day-long adventure. As I meandered through the narrow lanes —passing shops, coffee houses, bakeries, and freestanding market-day kiosks— my eye fell on a sign that drew me off into a little corner: BOOKSTORE.
As I stepped out of the bright sunlight into the relatively darker shop, I had to pause a second for my eyes to adjust. Shortly, I saw before me two casually dressed, older ladies, each with a front-mounted fanny pack about their waists. They were deep in an animated, but subdued, conversation. Then, in a voice mostly British, but with a very faint hint of French somewhere in the background, the nearest said, “Come on in, Luv. Come get us if you have a question.”
So, with that out of the way, I wandered about the tiny shop, taking my time, getting the shelving order in my head. Eventually, I found myself in the far corner looking at the one shelf that held all of their crime, Sci-fi, mystery, and thriller titles ... maybe forty books, in all. I had no expectations when I decided to check out the shop. But, to be honest, I usually enter these secondhand book shops with a great deal of hope ... and that hope did not lead to disappointment.
There before me on the shelf was a thin collection of short stories written by Bram Stoker, the author best known for the classic horror novel, Dracula. I couldn’t believe my luck. As I read the preface, I discovered that Bram’s widow published these stories after his death —that, alone, would be enough to make me buy it. But then I read that this book contained a story that was, in fact, a piece his editors had deleted from Dracula! Now, I’ve read Dracula, and seen innumerable movies and TV shows that derive their villains (and sometimes, heroes) from this first popular novel about vampires. But I had never read this one!
I must admit to some fascination with these bloodsuckers. Leviticus 17:11 states, “The blood is the Life.” And, of course, that is the very essence of any vampire story: unless they drink your blood, they die. The Leviticus passage takes the opposite tack: God commands us to not drink blood because it is part of the process for the forgiveness of sin, and thus not to be used for anything else.
As I stood there —in that little bookstore, on the Isle of Guernsey, out in the English Channel, just off the coast of France— I recalled that from time to time, the followers of Jesus were accused of vampirism ... and worse. And the reason for that stems from what Jesus says in this week’s Lectionary selection from the Gospel of John. Jesus tells His followers, clearly, they must drink His blood and eat His flesh or they cannot abide in Him. It was just too much for some of them. In fact, John tells us, “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.”
That was the first time ... but not nearly the last. Over the centuries that followed, many a person has accused christians of cannibalism and vampirism. It’s easy to see how they could be confused about the requirement to ingest the blood and flesh of Jesus. We know better, today.
But It’s a stark reminder to those of us who follow Him: without the Spirit to instruct and guide us, there is plenty of room for misinterpretation of what Jesus taught.
So, before we even open our mouths to quote some teaching from scripture, we should pause and consider how it could be heard —confusion abounds in the absence of the Spirit— and then pray for discernment, enlightenment, and wisdom before we speak.
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Graphic (and great review of the novel, Dracula): http://www.wkar.org/post/book-review-bram-stokers-dracula#stream/0
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 16 (21) (August 26, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//
1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43
Psalm 84
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm 34:15-22
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69
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Join us Friday morning at 8:00 for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We’re still at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant, and we are still spending that hour reading God’s word, discussing, eating, laughing ... you get the picture. 😎
Blessings,
Steve
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