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Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
September 16, 2024
Feast Day of Ninian, Bishop 430 CE
Reading: Numbers 22:21-33
Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab.
God’s anger was kindled because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; so the donkey turned off the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn it back onto the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against the wall, and scraped Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck it again. Then the angel of the Lord went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!” But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way?” And he said, “No.”
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed down, falling on his face. The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? I have come out as an adversary, because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me, and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let it live.”
Meditation - Peter Vanderveen
I don’t know of anyone who makes it a habit to read through the book of Numbers in the Old Testament. (Truth be told, Episcopalians are not much inclined to make a habit of reading any of the books of the Bible. We approach the texts differently). Numbers, however, is an especially heavy slog, full of recitations of ancient cultic law, tribal skirmishes, and the development of complex rules that governed Israel’s religious practices. The IRS tax code might be considered a good alternative. And yet, apart from our usual presumptions, even the densest Old Testament books offer fascinating surprises. The fable of Balaam and his donkey is one.
The story is quite a departure from the general style of the Old Testament. Animals aren’t often granted the gift of speech. And one can wonder why such a tale was included in a text that, otherwise, is weighted with much seriousness. Suddenly there’s an interjection of something fantastical and a bit light-hearted. But it’s these somewhat comedic stories that often pack the hardest punch.
Balaam is furious that his donkey doesn’t follow his directions. His fury is manifested in his beating the animal, with the exclamation that, if he could, he’d just as soon kill the donkey. Isn’t this just like us? We’re so driven by our own agenda and whatever it is that is right before our own eyes. And we often show a similar fury at whatever gets in our own way. Rage is all the rage with us. When Balaam’s donkey speaks, however, the animal serves as a reminder that our perception of the world isn’t all that comprehensive. We are creatures along with many others that encounter the world very differently – and no less truly. But they aren’t afflicted with the hubris that so defines us.
This story is similar to the tale of Jonah – of swallowed-by-a-fish fame. The culmination of the book of Jonah is his declaration of his seething anger that God didn’t act as he had expected. He was so angry he wished that he could die. Death, it seems, is our ready recourse when we don’t get our way.
Many scientists now refer to our present age as the Anthropocene. It is defined by human beings now having an unprecedented impact on the whole state of the planet. It may be, then, that fables like Balaam’s donkey and Jonah are more important than ever before.
Prayer
Our Father, who is there, wherever it may be – who is really there,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
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