What is a Man? By T. L. Wiens

The strong silent man. The macho man. Tall dark and handsome. How did these become good descriptions for the perfect man? Are they God’s descriptions?

These thoughts have been going around in my head after a very interesting discussion with my son. He was blessed with the same softness my father displayed. Like my dad, my son is struggling to fit into a world where the stereotype is pushing him to be something other than who he is and labelling him as what he is not.

My dad struggled with many things. He refused to ever read the Bible aloud in public because it always brought him to tears. That wasn’t manly. And that was just one of the things that he avoided because of his tender heart. His passionate disposition could also come out in displays of outrage at injustice. Not, violent, just strong words spoken without question of where he stood on a matter. Even these displays of  passion were few and far between and seldom seen by anyone beyond the immediate family. Fears of being seen less than manly robbed my dad of freedom to be the person God created.
Then everything changed. My dad had a heart attack and we almost lost him. When he recovered, he was different. He still cried but now he pushed through the tears. I can’t tell you how many discussions we had over the next three years about his love for Jesus Christ—discussions that would never have occurred before his heart attack. And I wasn’t alone. After his death, my mom received many letters from strangers, people from far and wide. They all expressed their thanks that my dad took the time to sit down with them and share Jesus Christ’s love. My once shy, fearful dad overcame the stigma of being less than what society deemed as manly and changed the lives of strangers.

I think my dad realized the same thing I shared with my son: society’s definition of a real man isn’t God’s definition. God chose David, a man after his own heart, a passionate, heart on his sleeve man. He chose Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. And last but not least, God sent His Son Jesus Christ who showed us love in the prayers He spoke for all of us, the tears He shed over the death of a friend and the passion for His Father’s house when cleansing the temple. He also chose men like Saul, a zealous Pharisee and Luke the doctor. God doesn’t want us to define men by societal standards but by His.
I don’t want my son to live the majority of his life in a societal box fearing ridicule for being tender hearted. I want him to be free, happy and secure in the fact that God sees him and likes what He sees.

Caught and Found - Susan Barclay

One of the suggested topics from this month was to write a post from the point of view of a Bible personality. Here's my effort; I hope you enjoy it.

21 Tamuz, 3760

I'd never been so scared in my entire life. I've had bad days before, but I thought today could very well be my last. Ruben and I were together, as we had often been before, when all of a sudden, a group of men burst into my private quarters and grabbed me. "What do you want?" I screamed. Their voices were angry and I caught the words "adultery" and "stone her". An icy terror gripped my chest, and I barely had time to gather my robes about me before they dragged me into the street.

Ruben had fled at the first sign of trouble. How like him. Our relationship was always on his terms - he chose the times, made the demands, and I fell into line. It didn't matter what I was doing or what my own needs were.  And of course the men who had interrupted our latest tryst weren't interested in him. It's always the woman who pays for such transgressions.

I'm not blaming Ruben. I knew what I was doing, and I knew it was wrong. I could rationalize it all I wanted - Ruben's wife didn't understand him, couldn't fulfill his desires, and I could. And because I could, I enjoyed some benefits. He would bring me fresh dates, fine linens, jewellery and little trinkets. Sometimes I worried about what would happen if we were found out, but I guess I figured that if we were careful... Well, you know.

These men were filled with rage. I looked at their faces as they led me down the street and I could see murder in their eyes. I recognized some of them as religious leaders, and this filled me with dread. Several stopped along the way to arm themselves with stones while my heart thudded in my chest and pictures from my life raced through my mind. Where were they taking me? Why didn't they just get it over with? I wondered if there was any chance of escape, but there were too many of them and they pressed around me.

The sun was hot and the air dry. By the time we stopped - in front of the temple, I noticed - I was filthy from the dust and my throat was parched. I didn't dare say anything or ask for a cup of water. I kept my head down as they brought me in front of a huge crowd that had gathered. If all these people were to stone me, I was finished. I thought about my parents and siblings and how they would take the news. I was ashamed of bringing such dishonor to my family and, when I thought about it, to me. I knew that in God's eyes, I deserved to die.

 The men spoke to someone. I could only see his feet because I still couldn't bring myself to look up. "Teacher," they said, "this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

I held my breath, certain the rabbi - the Teacher - would agree with the law of Moses. But the man said nothing. I heard a scratching sound, then my accusers clamored for an answer again. I dared to raise my head a little to peek at what was going on. The men who had brought me here were wild with impatience and fury, but the rabbi seemed calm in the center of the storm. He looked at each one of them and his eyes spoke I knew not what, but they shrank from his gaze. Then he spoke one simple sentence: "Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down and wrote in the dust, and I heard the scratchy sound I had heard earlier.

My jaw went slack as I watched each of the men slink away, tossing down their stones as they went. Waves of relief washed over me. Perhaps I would not die today. At last the rabbi - Jesus of Nazareth, I discovered - stood and spoke. He asked me where my accusers had gone, and whether or not any of them had condemned me. Of course I said no.Then I waited for the punishment he would surely mete out in order to fulfill the law. His words astonished me.

 “Neither do I," he said. "Go and sin no more.”

Go and sin no more? I shook my head to clear out the cobwebs, and frowned in disbelief. 

Jesus smiled. "You are free to go, child," he said. 

I looked around at the crowd. I could see that they were as stunned as I was, but some of them were smiling and nodding at me. A few waved me away in a sign of encouragement.

I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle the joyful laughter that was welling up inside. I ran to Jesus and embraced him quickly before letting go.

"Thank you, Jesus!" I said. "Thank you!"

As I ran back to my home to gather my things and follow him, I knew my old life was past and a new thing beginning. I felt washed clean in the forgiveness he had offered, and I would never be the same again.

c. Susan Barclay
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For more of my writing, please visit my website at www.susan-barclay.ca