I wouldn’t want to miss a minute of visiting. Since she seemed knowledgeable about all the people, the customs, and how things were normally done, I asked her if she would accept visitors on Tuesday. She welcomed me, and as she gave me directions to her place, I helped the usher turn out the lights and lock the door.
Just outside the church door someone had planted two large pots with spring flowers. I checked the soil on them and lifted up the leaves, looking for weeds. The soil felt moist and the flowers bloomed with health.
Janet laughed as she watched me. “You like gardening and flowers, I heard,” she said.
“Just a hobby. Someone has been doing a good job with these.”
Janet and I greeted and parted. As I walked through the parking lot I reflected that the flood of invitations was probably not going to last, but I was determined to enjoy the moment while it was here.
I waved goodbye to Janet and got into my car. I drove the seven minutes to my house, changed out of my suit, cleaned up a bit, repotted a couple flowers, watered my tomatoes, and then got back into my car to drive to what was going to be my first Sunday afternoon dinner visit.
Chapter Two
The Bonn family had invited me to Sunday dinner. They live in the suburb I live in. Their place is about ten miles from my place. It’s a beige brick house trimmed in white. It was easy for me to find—I parked on a driveway with about eight other cars crammed in it. I walked by a small flower garden in the front yard and saw some tall sunflowers peeking around the corners of the wide porch as I went up the front steps. Carefully stationed bikes leaned on a side garage surrounded by a neat lawn.
I petted the dog on the porch and rang the doorbell. An awkward teenager greeted me. I learned from him that he was the Bonns’ youngest child. They had eleven children, six boys and five girls. Five of the Boon children were not married: The boy who met me at the door, a man around thirty years old, and three daughters in their late twenties and early thirties. As the youngest in the family led me through the entryway to the big room that had a kitchen to one side, a dining area in the middle, and a sitting area on the other side, I saw that dinner was being served. So I sat right down and greeted everyone. Mr. and Mrs. Bonn, who had known my parents many years ago, introduced me to their unmarried children and one of the married sons who was there with his wife and children.
The youngest of the Bonn girls, Maddie, sat across from me. She had short very blond hair, clear blue eyes, and a wide smile. She had on a bright red dress, the color of some of the richest red flowers outside the church. As she passed me the potatoes she asked me somewhat challengingly, “So why did Elijah slaughter all the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18?” Then she picked up her fork and began to eat, watching me and ignoring her father’s lifted eyebrows.
I was glad I had just spent the evening a few nights ago reading the prophets because I was able to answer her simply, “As I understand it, the text teaches about false teachings. Elijah shows that those who taught such things as the prophets of Baal taught, were teaching the teachings of death and condemnation. God sent Elijah his prophet to make this manifest to all the people as it says in Hosea 6 and in 2 Kings 17 and in the very last chapter of 2nd Chronicles. It is a matter of life and death. Also, Paul writes about this text in Romans 11, saying that it is a text teaching about how God chooses and keeps a grace kingdom of children here on this earth.”
Mr. Bonn, the father, whose name was James, had looked chagrined at his daughter’s question but now he smiled and me and said in a jolly way to his children around the table, “Well, there you have it. Are there any other Bible questions for the new speaker of the Word?”
“Dad, don’t tease him,” Freddie, the thirty-year-old unmarried son said.
“I’m very serious,” Mr. Bonn said. “We seldom enough discuss the Scriptures around our table and in the living room. We’ll have to have you over often,” he said to me, his eyes twinkling.
“Yes,” Freddie said drily, “The girls can spend the afternoon asking the minister Bible questions.”
“Now who is teasing?” Maddie responded, blushing a little.
I tried to be gallant about the teasing and turned to talk with the children who were seated next to me. Inwardly I groaned and hoped I wasn’t going to have to experience marriage teasing much. I had just moved from a very small congregation of mostly elderly people in the locality of the school I had been attending, and the elderly people had teased me somewhat, but fortunately there had not been a large number of single women to get teased about. I knew the teasing was good natured and done in fun though, and I also knew, because my mother had told me, that this new congregation would have many single people in it.
“What about chapter 36 of Genesis? Why are all those lists and genealogies in the Bible?” The question was from one of the older Bonn girls, Michelle, who they called Shelly. She had long blondish hair and wore a chunky necklace with what looked like rune inscriptions on it.
“That’s right before the Joseph story starts, right?” I stalled.
“Yes.” She waited for elaboration.
“And the chapter contains lists about Esau. We can see from the Joseph story that Joseph’s brothers had fallen from faith. But we see them struggling with bitterness, a demanding spirit, and fornication, way back in chapter 34. The chapters in between are there at least in part to describe the growth of the kingdom of Esau at that time, and the spread of its virulent teachings.”
Shelly considered this, then said, “Hold on a minute.” Her greenish blue eyes considered me. “How do you get that from the 34th chapter of Genesis?”
“By what the brothers say at the very end of the chapter.” I was getting a little worried that the conversation was getting into such a deep topic, but Mr. Bonn and Mrs. Bonn were attentively listening, as were their children. Even the grandchildren were peacefully eating slices of homemade bread slopped in the rich roast gravy.
Freddy’s brow was furrowed as I glanced at him. “And what exactly was that?” he asked.
I took another piece of bread and spread butter over it. “This is good bread,” I said to Mrs. Bonn.
“I didn’t make it,” she said. “Lara made it.” Lara was the other single sister, darker haired and shy. I gave her as friendly a smile as I could muster and thanked her for the bread.
I turned to Freddie. “Their own words testify against them. Simon and Levi have women divided into two categories. They think that some women are to be treated badly, and some are to be treated with decency and respect. But consider chapter four of John. Jesus says that all women, no matter who they are or what their past is, are to be treated with respect and dignity. The brothers have fallen deeply into error in this matter. Perhaps this is one of the sins Joseph rebuked them about in chapter 37.”
“I’m completely confused,” Freddie said. “What did Simon and Levi say?”
“They said, ‘Shall he deal with our sister as with whore?’” I said.
“Oh. I guess that is a revealing statement.”
Freddie chewed his bread, thinking about what I had said. Then he said, “It’s a good lesson. I myself have struggled with the different kinds of teachings on this topic.”
“Well,
