Trumpet Music

I have a confession to make. I am a lover of trivial facts. Yes, it is true. Give me a seemingly meaningless fact and I am SO interested! I know some of you can relate. How do I know this? Because I have passed this trivial trait unto at least 2 of my children. As a self-proclaimed trivia geek, one thing that catches my interest is where sayings come from. Things like "What's wrong? Has the cat got your tongue?", or "It was raining cats and dogs.", or "That was the straw that broke the camel's back.". See what I mean? Everyday language is full of idioms, some make sense but the origin of others is a mystery. So when I see the explanation behind an idiom, I am excited because it is another piece of trivial goodness I can file away.

For instance, a couple of days ago I was reading Matthew 6:1-4 and noticed the commentary on verse 2. Allow me to set the scene: Jesus is talking to His disciples regarding the giving of money in the Temple and Jesus tells them that when you give, don't announce it with trumpets to win people's praise. Now, I can be a very literal person. When I read about 'announcing with trumpets' , my initial thought was of someone standing next to the collection box playing a trumpet, but I was pleasantly surprised to read an explanation of this idiom used by Jesus. Apparently, in the first century there were certain collection boxes used in the Temple. These boxes were narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, thus resembling trumpets! (CJB). When someone dropped coins in the collection box, a resounding ping could be heard. Jesus is warning against giving only to have the noise of your giving noticed by others, because the bigger the gift the louder the noise. Understanding the meaning behind the trumpet sound made me think of another, not quite so Biblical example of this trumpet-sounding phenomena. Bear with me and see if my modern day example rings true.

Decades ago, my father retired and was living in Bullhead City, Arizona. For those who don't know, Bullhead City sits on the icy-cold Colorado River. If you cross over that river, you are in Laughlin, Nevada (think legalized gambling). Today, Laughlin is a much larger affair than thirty years ago. At the time a hand full of casinos lined the river's edge and offered easily accessible entertainment to nearby Bullhead City residents. My father liked to go over the bridge to eat at the casino restaurants and, possibly, stop by a slot machine or two on his way out. When I visited my father, he decided we would go across the river for the evening. I had never been in a casino before and I can tell you there is one memory that stands out above all others. Do you have an idea what it could be? It was the sound of the slot machines! Slot machines are different today. Today slot machines, like many other relics from my childhood, are electronic. But....not the slot machines I saw on the trip with my father. Of course, slot machines had colorful lights and graphics designed to catch your eye. But the real hook.....the thing that caught your attention was the sound! My father suggested I play the nickel slots. So I put in a nickel (you had to have the real coins back then), pulled the lever and waited to hit the jackpot. At the bottom of the machine was a shiny silver tray that caught the winnings as they fell from inside the machine. So picture this, what sound do you imagine you would hear as a nickel fell into the silver tray? Ping, ping, ping...Ok, not that exciting. But, let's say you won $3.00...modest winnings for sure. But $3.00 would be 60 nickels! Now can you imagine how much noise that would make! The noise was the best part! Not only was the noise exciting for the player, but you let the machine pay out real money and watch that noise grab the attention of anyone within earshot! Are you getting the picture? I have never dropped coins in a collection box as described in Matthew Chapter 6, but I understand how that sound would have drawn attention to those with lots of coins ping, ping, pinging as they fell into the box.

This teaching of Jesus reminds me of another lesson He gave in Mark 12:41-44. Jesus is watching the giving (Spoiler alert: He still does) and commented on the gift given by a poor widow. The scripture tells that many rich people had been giving large sums. There must have been a lot of pinging going on. Now picture the poor widow as she threw in two small coins. Not much fanfare, not much noise, not much monetary value. Yet Jesus tells His disciples that the woman had given more than anyone else! Wait a minute....I just mentioned many rich people had been giving large sums, so how could the widow be credited with giving more than anyone else? Jesus tells us the secret. The widow gave from the right heart. The rich givers were giving out of their abundance. It is likely they wouldn't have missed the money given. Nothing in their life likely changed due to the amount they gave. But the widow, she gave out of her poverty. She gave what she needed to live on and that is how I know she was giving from her heart. That kind of heart-driven giving is special. I have witnessed this heart-driven gifting through the eyes of my own children.

I have been a mom for a long time. My beautiful babies have all grown into wonderful adults. The giving of the widow reminded me that sometimes the best things do come in small packages (there's another idiom for you). Several times I have had one of my beautiful children present me with a special gift. It would be small. Sometimes it would be wrapped in a crayon drawing or a tissue. Often, it would include lots of tape. What I remember most vividly was the look of excitement on their face as they handed me the prized gift. How lovely that they were so excited with the giving! I would carefully open the gift to find one or two coins they had found and wrapped up to give their Mommy as a present. It might be only one penny, but it was a priceless gift because it was given from the heart. I think this kind of giving is what Christ was alluding to in both scripture passages above. Giving is an issue of the heart, and giving isn't just referring to money. Giving can be money, but it can also be a hug, a smile, a letter or card sent just to say hello. It can be buying someone's dinner, or coffee, or giving of your time to listen to someone who needs a friend. The opportunities for giving are as varied as there are people in the world. The real issue is not the gift. The real issue is the heart condition of the giver.

So, one final trivia-related thought. I wonder if 'ringing of the trumpets' is where the phrase 'toot your own horn' comes from? There are always ways to give. I say when you see an opportunity, thank God for the chance to give, give from your heart and rather than tooting your own horn.....let the silent ping, ping, pinging begin......

What are you looking at.....

Is it hard for you to stay focused? If you are like me, and probably like most people I've known, you can find yourself pulled in a hundred different directions! Studies have shown that people are not as good at multitasking as we think, but what are we to do! Some people are experts at keeping things rolling along. They use planners, keep their Google calendars up to date, set reminders, etc....whatever it takes to stay on top of things. You know those people, right? Unfortunately, that is not me. I have a lovely planner that was recommended by a friend. I did good filling out the initial pages, but quickly found I was not following my planner at all. So....it sits on my desk just waiting for me to open it up and start again. We are a busy society with lots of obligations and responsibilities that keep us juggling like a three-ring circus! Truthfully, in our hectic lives do we really take the time to see what is around us. Are we actively engaged in living this crazy thing called life, or are we going through the motions while missing the moment? Where is our focus? Situational awareness can be described as being fully engaged in the task at hand while being fully aware of what is happening around you, and processing how your present situation could impact your future situation. That is really being tuned in to your surroundings.That is being focused. How are you at practicing situational awareness? I know I could use some work on it.

The importance of focus and situational awareness stood out to me recently as I studied a story about Peter. You remember Peter, one of the twelve disciples personally called by Jesus (Luke 5:1-11 CJB). Peter made his living fishing. Peter had, no doubt, spent countless hours in a boat, casting a net in hopes of making a catch. He would have been familiar with the local fish and their habits, the best time and place to catch fish, and the role weather played in his success or failure on any given day. He was a man of the sea! I'm not really sure everywhere Peter would of fished, but he was definitely familiar with the Sea of Galilee.

Peter's story that caught my attention can be found in Matthew 14: 22-32 (KJV). The story follows another amazing incident involving 5 fishes and 2 loaves of bread (but we will save that story for a later time). Jesus had been teaching a large crowd of people who had followed him into a remote region. It was getting late, so Jesus told his disciples, including Peter, to get in a boat and go ahead to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus sent them on their way and went off by himself to pray. Sending the disciples ahead in a boat seems simple enough, especially since many of the disciples, including Peter, were fishermen by trade. But, as often occurs in our own busy lives, things may not be as simple as they seem. Remember, Peter would have been intimately familiar with the Sea of G. Prior to heading off on this Galilean tour, He may have made a quick mental note about the weather or the wave patterns. He may have given the boat a quick once over to determine it seaworthy for the night's journey. Who knows? What I do know is this......when Jesus tells you to get in the boat and meet him on the other side.....I would suggest you do just that!

So, the disciples find themselves in a boat heading to the other side. It is late, approaching 3-4 am. The weather conditions are less than ideal, but no worries, right? Peter, the trained mariner, is in the house (or boat, as it were). The King James Version (KJV) describes the wind as contrary and the waves as tossing about the boat. My Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) reports a rough sea and a headwind. Either way, things are looking bad for the guys in the boat. If Peter were operating in situational awareness, he may have been calculating how many life jackets were on board and how close was the nearest land in case they needed to swim! As things begin to get sketchy, the disciples think they see a ghost walking towards them on the water.

Okay, so we have frightened fishermen in a boat, in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, in the middle of the night, in the middle of a storm and now, an unknown spirit walking on the water! This would make an exciting movie! Yes, I'm sure the disciples were terrified. Then Jesus calls out to them and tells them not to be afraid, it is only Him walking on the water. That would have been enough information for me. I mean even though things were not looking good, I would have been thrilled to know Jesus was heading to the boat. But oh, no....not Peter. Peter calls out "Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water" and Jesus says "Come" (Matthew 14: 28-29, CJB). So Peter steps out of the boat and begins to walk on water towards Jesus. Amazing! Great story! This would be a good place to end because Jesus called out to Peter, Peter obeyed the call of the Lord and walked on water as a result. But, Peter lost his focus and just when you think things couldn't get worse........

The Bible relays that when Peter saw the boisterous wind he was afraid and began to sink (KJV). Peter! What is happening? Things were going great! Jesus had called you to come and you were WALKING ON WATER!!! Yet, when Peter took his eyes off Jesus and saw the storm raging around him, his water walking came to an abrupt, and frightening end. What a great story Peter could have had! He could have said, "Yeah, Jesus and I were walking and talking on the Sea of G and we just walked right back to the boat and climbed in." You've likely heard the expression 'sometimes you've just got to do it afraid'. There was nothing wrong with Peter being afraid, he had reason to be afraid. Peter was left to tell of how he WAS water walking but he got scared, took his focus off of Jesus and started to sink. Peter switched his focus from Jesus to fear. As Peter began to sink, he remembered the One who could save and called for Jesus to help. Immediately, Jesus took Peter by the hand and saved him.

Peter, the fisherman, played a major role in this important event. By faith, Peter took that first step out of the boat. When Peter started his walk the storm was still raging all around him. He took that first step in the very midst of the storm! Peter believed that if Jesus could walk on water, then Jesus was able to make Peter walk on water, too. To me that paints a remarkable picture of faith! How many times in my life have I hesitated to take that first step because the storm was raging all around me? Yet, Peter didn't ask to wait until the storm died down. No, Peter plunged right over the side of that boat! Peter got in trouble when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the wind and waves. If Jesus could enable Peter to walk on water in the first place don't you think Jesus was well aware of the stormy situation? Jesus is the Master of situational awareness and He had everything under control.

As long as we are breathing, we are going to encounter storms in our lives. To help us prepare I think we can learn several valuable lessons from Peter:

1. Just because you're a fisherman doesn't mean you can't get caught in a storm.

2. If Jesus calls you to come, just do it.

3. You may have to take the first step while the storm is still raging.

4. If you want to stay on top of the water......keep your focus on Jesus.

5. We are only human.....if you lose focus and begin to sink.....call out for Jesus. He will save you!!

Remember: Don't sink in the middle of your miracle!