We depended on the English language to make our move to Boston easier. I’d have expected challenges had we moved to, say, Scotland. But not the USA. I had supposed we would only have to factor in the New England accent. I was so naive.
From the very beginning, we could not communicate.
We had to learn all-new terminology. A shopping cart was a “carriage.” Sprinkles on ice cream? “Jimmies.” A milkshake was a “frappe,” and a water fountain was a “bubbler.” Those small cardboard cups of ice cream with the little wooden spoon? “Hoodsies.” And don’t get me started on the drama that followed ordering a “double dip” in an ice cream shop when we should have requested two scoops.
A general truth: When change encounters culture, culture wins. We weren’t going to change them. So, it didn’t take long for us to fall into the habit of assuming we just didn’t understand ... especially when a strange word appeared before us. We became conditioned.
Hopefully, that explains my initial response when I saw the sign reading: FRIED DOUG.
I admit the fleeting thought: Who’s Doug and why would you fry him? But I had become conditioned to no longer questioning, critically, the terms and practices of my new culture. Even if I didn’t really understand the what and why, I assumed FRIED DOUG must mean something.
Or must it? My FRIED DOUG clarity came just moments later when the crowd moved aside. As it parted, I could then see all of the sign. There, immediately to the right of “DOUG,” was the letter “H.”
Oh.
FRIED DOUGH made a lot more sense than FRIED DOUG. In my defense, I had never even heard of fried dough. But the true root cause of my misunderstanding was much more subtle. My own habit—my conditioning—had tricked me into believing there was one meaning, when in fact, there was another.
Something similar was happening with God’s people when Isaiah confronted them in this week’s scripture. God rejected all their religious practices en masse. In fact, God told them those actions and observances had become a burden, and He had grown weary of bearing them! God rejected their prayers, their gatherings, their festivals—every part of what they did or said as worshippers.
If you’re a religious person, that’s got to sound harsh.
Why would God reject their worship? What had they done to warrant such a reaction? I’m sure they attempted, much as we do, to perform each religious practice, properly. Where had they gone wrong?
They fell into a habit.
Their culture required certain religious practices of them. They had been conditioned to do them, and so ... they did them. Over time, though, the actions that made those religious practices meaningful had fallen away. God said their hands were bloody from doing evil. They had to restore themselves by serving justice, rescuing the oppressed, defending the orphan, and pleading for the widow.
They needed the clarity the Prophet Isaiah was providing. Like the “H” in my FRIED DOUG sign, they were missing something essential. Without that missing piece, their worship was worse than meaningless. The object of their worship no longer wanted to hear from them. If they wanted their religion to be acceptable to God, they had to actually do good.
They were going to have to make some serious adjustments. The question is: Do we?
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PHOTO (plus “Forty Boston Slang Words and Expressions You Should Know”):
https://www.timeout.com/boston/news/40-boston-slang-words-and-expressions-you-should-know-090121
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DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast meets Friday morning at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom.** We start at 8:00, and enjoy a wonderful time of scripture, prayer, food, and fellowship.
Blessings,
Steve
Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
Genesis 15:1-6
Psalm 33:12-22
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Luke 12:32-40
Proper 14 (19) (August 7, 2022)
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