DOC Lectionary Group

Mythbusters

2011-04-29T23:59:00.000-05:00

First Sunday of Easter A
John 20:19-31

As I was preparing for a Lectionary Study this week, I came across the web Bible Study called Faith Lens, published by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The study started off talking about a television show that I enjoy viewing called Mythbusters. Here's how contributor Bill King describes the show:

Nominated for an Emmy and hosted by the jauntily bereted Jamie Hyneman and “stuff maker” Adam Savage, Mythbusters scientifically tests urban myths, outrageous propositions, and conventional wisdom. The show has a particular fondness for myths which involve explosions, making a mess, or disgusting materials (they made a candle out of ear wax). Some have called it “the best science show on television,” and few would dispute that it is the zaniest. The show sometimes does silly things, like constructing a lead balloon, just to see if it can be done. But beneath the laughter is a serious purpose, to illustrate how science separates fact from fiction.

What's so cool about the show is how Jamie and Adam try to test out urban myths. Sometimes they are able to "bust" the myth and show that it's not true. Other times they are able to verify that the myth is true, and still other times it's plausible.

When you read this week's gospel in John about good ole "Doubting Thomas" you might think about how Tom wanted proof of Jesus' existence. There will be talk about how doubt is important in the life of faith and we will try to hold him up as a modern hero who didn't just want to believe something because someone told him.

These are all good things to note in the text, but what if there's something more here that we aren't seeing. What if this text is not just about doubt and faith, not just about the Risen Savior, but also a message for the church, the body of Christ?

In his lectionary reflection this week, Russell Rathburn expresses his interest in the actual body of Christ:

After crashing through all that at break neck speed, John slows it down to spend the majority of this verses focusing on his Body. Thomas says he wants to see the Body, see the wounds. Jesus arrives and very graphically shows him the wounds, and in a very intimate gesture, invites him to place his finger/hand inside them. There can be no doubt that this is the Body of Jesus the Christ, very man, very God.

That Jesus literally, physically rose from the dead is the foundation of the Christian faith. This Sunday’s reading starts and ends with it, giving just a verse each to the Great Commission, Pentecost, the rest is all about the Body. After so much emphasis on the Body of Jesus through the Lent and Easter seasons, how do we preach with out one? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe? There really are not any other options are there?

The question that hits me here is Russell's talk about the body of Christ when there isn't a body anymore.

But what if there is a body? What if Christ's ressurection wasn't only about the physical resurrection, but also about how the ressurection lives in the life of the gathered community, the Church?

Thomas wanted to experience Jesus for himself. He did not want to rely on the experience of others. Belief for Thomas was not about accepting creedal statements, but about a relationship and if he couldn't experience a body, then what's the point?

Now for a moment, think about the body of Christ as the church, because in the here and now that's what modern Thomases are looking at when they want to see Jesus. They aren't looking to just accept a doctrinal statement, but they are looking to commune with the Body of Christ. In this present age, there isn't a physical body to talk about, but Christ is found in the Church, the folks who believe in Christ and abide with him.

Maybe, just maybe, if the church can live as a community called, gathered and sent by God to preach the good news, then our modern Thomas will see Christ. Maybe if we live as a community of forgiven sinners, then our modern Thomas will see Christ. Maybe if we welcome all to the doors of our churches, then our modern Thomas will see Christ.

As you prepare to preach or teach this Sunday after the Ressurection, think about what it means to be the Body of Christ in our world. How do we witness to the Living and Risen Christ?

Go and be church.

Dennis Sanders is the Associate Pastor at First Christian Church in Minneapolis.

Cruise Control

2011-04-20T23:57:00.000-05:00

Easter Sunday A
Matthew 28:1-10

I have to believe that one of the most beautiful inventions has to be cruise control in cars. There's something kinda cool about pressing a button and having the car basically drive itself during long trips. All I have to do is sit back, relax and the car drive itself.

Okay, I don't just let the car drive itself. I do have to keep my eyes on the road. Cruise control doesn't mean I get to excuse myself from driving- I still have to be alert and ready for any changes on the highway.

Easter can be both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing of course because Jesus defeated the powers of death and arose on that Sunday morning long ago. But it's also a curse, because it comes at the end of a long week and we are just plumb tired.

But maybe what really makes Easter a curse is that we've done it so many times. We sing the same songs and preach the same sermons year after year. I don't know about others, but there have been moments when I feel that this has all be done before. Ressurrection is so first century.

It's easy to go on cruise control when it comes to Easter. But I wonder if doing that means we miss what might be going on in the story. I wonder if we miss how this old story is not so old in reality. Maybe in reading this story again, we will see where new life is springing up in our own lives.

The gospel text today has a lot going on, but I want to focus on one group of characters: the women. If you want an example of what it means to live without hope, it has to be the two Marys. These women had a close relationship with Jesus and believed that this guy was special. Then he ends up getting killed. They come to the tomb on Sunday morning without any hope. Another idealist is killed. Cynicism wins again.

I think back to my time in Clinical Pastoral Education. I remember meeting a young man who lost one leg in an accident. I would spend time in his room where he would say very little to me. His face was one not simply of sadness, but one of profound grief. He was only 21. He had a future ahead of him. But the future was now more cloudy and his face told me had little hope.

That is what these women felt. There are times in our lives when we feel that there is no hope that things will change. No hope that someone will get better; no hope that you will get that job; no hope that a loved one will quit drinking.

And then, there's an earthquake, and an angel appears saying that Jesus is no longer at the tomb but alive. I have to believe the Marys thought it was a joke. But if they thought that, they didn't think it for very long. Matthew says the left with fear and great joy. As they run to tell their friends the good news, they meet Jesus, alive and well. Where there was no hope, there was now hope.

The message of Easter is one of hope, but it starts in a place where there is no hope. It starts in the way things are in the world. If someone is dead, they kinda stay dead.

But hope has a different agenda. It can bring life where there was no life and healing where there was sickness. It reminds us that God is there with us, even when we feel abandoned. Hope is there even when everything is tell us that there is no hope.

As you go to your faith communities this Sunday, please don't operate on cruise control. Read the Easter story again and think about the two Marys. Think about the disciples or the guards. Read the story again and pay attention. Think about hopelessness. Think about helplessness. Think about love. Think about hope. Think about it all and believe the good news that Jesus is alive and well.

Christ is Risen!

Dennis Sanders is the Associate Pastor at First Christian Church in Minneapolis.

Hope Will Heal

2011-04-07T00:05:00.000-05:00

By Dennis Sanders

Lent 5A: April 10, 2011
Ezekiel 37:1-14

I actually remember when I first heard this scripture. It was at a Sunday Morning service at the Baptist church I grew up at in my hometown of Flint, Michigan. I had to be about 10 years old at the time and I remember thinking how odd this scripture was. I mean, what was this about dried bones coming back to life? None of it made sense.

Flash forward three decades and a whole lot of life later, these words from the prophet Ezekiel make sense, at least that whole valley of dry bones part.

As I read this text, my thoughts drifted to my home state of Michigan and how it's faring these days, which is not well. The census figures came out recently, and the news was not good. Detroit, which was once the nation's fourth largest city, lost 25 percent of it's population in the last 10 years. What was once a city of nearly 2 million in 1950 is now a city hovering around 700,000. The changes in the US auto industry have ravaged Detroit and most of southeastern Michigan, leaving utter devastation in its wake. My hometown of Flint had close to 200,000 when I was born in 1969. These days, it hovers around 100,000. In the 1970s, around 80,000 people worked in the many auto factories that dotted Flint and the surrounding cities, including my parents. Now there are less than 10,000 working for the auto industry. The loss of so many jobs can take it toll. In towns like Flint and Detroit, where there were once neighborhoods filled with well-maintained homes, there are now places filled with rotting houses and crime. Its always hard to come home and see how far Flint and most of Michigan have fell.

Ezekiel is taken to a valley filled with dry bones by God. Our prophet surveys the devastation and then hears this strange question from God. "O mortal, can these bones live?"

Huh?

I know there aren't supposed to be dumb questions, but this really seems like the dumbest question to ask. These were bones. Oh, and they were dry bones, so there was zero chance they were going to come back to life. It seemed like there was an obvious answer to God's question, but Ezekiel was smart and replied that only God can know.

God keeps talking about how God will put the bones back together with muscles and skin and finally with the very breath of God. Life would come from where there was no life.

God then explains to Ezekiel what this whole exercise was about. The Israelites were in exile, far away from home. They felt cut off from everything they knew and felt like those dried bones. But God had a plan. All was not lost. God told them they would come back to their homeland and not only that, they would receive God's spirit.

As we continue our Lenten journey this week, it might seem odd to have a story about hope in it. After all, we are on a journey towards the Cross and this is supposed to be a "somber" time. Hope is something that feels more Advent than it does Lent.

And yet, maybe it makes sense to have this passage of hope in this dark time. As I think about the economic devastation that is Michigan, I am reminded of stories that point to hope, that point to something that says, "despair will not win." I am reminded of a recent article in my hometown newspaper about folks moving into Flint at a time when so many are leaving. They see hope when others see despair.

In many mainline Protestant churches, there is a sense of feeling like dry bones. The glory days are long gone and there might be a sense that there is no hope.

But God counters our despair by saying that God will save and restore us. God will bring us back from the graves to life. God gives us hope, not in a fairy tale-ending, but that God will be with us and breathe life into us.

This Sunday, I hope that you can acknowledge the dry bones that are in your life and in the lives of your congregation and community. I also hope you can preach...hope. Remind them, remind yourself that even when there seems to be no life, when the bones are raw that God will come and knit us back together, bone by bone. Hope will heal.

Go and be church.

Dennis Sanders is the Associate Pastor at First Christian Church in Minneapolis.

Photo:Abandoned, decrepit Victorian-era home in Brush Park, Detroit, Michigan from Wikipedia.

This Is the One!

2011-03-29T23:35:00.000-05:00

By Dennis Sanders

Lent 4A: April 3, 2011
I Samuel 16: 1-13

If you want to get great interview tips, you might not want to read the Bible.

For some reason, God just doesn't seem to pick people with the right skills for the job. God always seems to pick the smallest, or the weakest, or the youngest candidate for whatever God wants done.

This week is no different. The text opens with the prophet Samuel feeling blue. In chapter 15, Saul, the king of Israel did not heed God's instructions and was rejected as king. Samuel leaves Saul in a huff and the long-standing relationship between them is broken. Samuel was in mourning over the loss of a close friend.

We have no idea how long Sam is sad, but God then tells him enough is enough: it's time to get up and anoint a new king.

Samuel makes the trip to Bethlehem and meets a man named Jesse who has seven sons. Our man Sam gets introduced to Jesse's oldest, Eliab. The text never says that Eliab is handsome, but you can guess he had to be a looker. Samuel is excited and tells God that this has to be "The One."

"Nope," God says. "He's not the One. You see, you humans like to look on the outside, but I tend to look on the inside."

You know the rest of the story. God ends up choosing David, the youngest of Jesse's sons. The Message version of this text refers to David as a "runt." When David is presented to Samuel you hear God saying "This is the One! Anoint him now!"

Like I said, God is an odd God. The people God chooses to do God's work in the world are more times than not, people who are not qualified for the job. Gideon was chosen to be the leader of the Israelites, even though he was a fraidy cat. Jonah preached God's judgement and repentance to the people of Nineveh, even though he hated them and tried to get out of the job. Let's not even start with the disciples of Jesus who somehow were the ones that helped found the church.

Our culture, our world is always attracted to that which is new, shiny and beautiful. We are interested in the person that has the most awards and the most degrees from the finest schools.

But God tends to look at other things and as followers of God's Son, we are also called to look at people with God's eyes. God seems to be able to do mighty things by choosing the weak, the cowardly, and the outcast.

This coming Sunday, many churches will focus on the text from John 9 on the blind man that was healed. It's an important text, but I hope pastors and Christian Ed teachers will consider using the 1 Samuel text as well. In our congregations are people who are dealing with unemployment and feeling useless. There are others who deal with issues of self esteem and depression. Some struggle with substances like drugs or are in recovery and working hard to stay clean and sober. Whole congregations deal with declining membership, declining budgets and empty buildings. This text gives hope, the hope that God can use them to do God's work in the world- even if we don't measure up.

Working at an urban church, we tend to get a lot of people who come literally from off the streets. It's really easy to judge these folks and not seem them as God's own and potentially as God's anointed. But the fact is, they can be used to do God's work just like the richest person in the church.

As we walk our Lenten journey, let us have ears to hear and eyes to see when God might just point to someone we least expect and tell us that "this is the one" who will join us in God's work.

Go and be church.

Dennis Sanders is the Associate Pastor at First Christian Church in Minneapolis.

Photo: Samuel Anoints David from the Brick Testament.

Remember

2009-10-28T20:09:00.008-05:00

All Saint's Day, even in Protestant churches, can be a celebration of remembrance. We can remember those in our families, and in the world, who have died during the past year. We can remember the 'saints' in the history of the Church, and in our own church. We can also take the opportunity to give thanks for those who have been saints along the way in our own faith journeys.

The texts for Nov. 1 lend themselves to this, but they also speak of God's desire to be remembered by God's people.

The Old Testament lesson, Deuteronomy 6:1-9, contains the Shema -- considered by some to be the most important prayer in Judaism -- "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." Some translations conclude with "...the Lord alone". (In Hebrew: Shema Yisrael YHWH Eloheinu YHWH Echad.) The passage continues with "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength," and with instructions to keep these commandments by passing them on to generations, talking about them in private and public life, and using external rituals of binding them on their head and hands, and placing them on the doorposts of their home and gates. This passage is the source of the Jewish practice of wearing the scripture as phylacteries, or teffilin, and of the mezuzah on the doorposts of homes.

In the Gospel text, Mark 12:28-34, Jesus, when asked by a teacher of the law what the most important commandment is, recites the Shema, adding a second commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus' act of remembrance comes out of his own Jewish faith. Yet, in adding this second commandment, it becomes cruciform. Love of the creator, but also love of fellow humankind -- if you visualize this, it takes the shape of a cross.

Christians don't pray the Shema or wear the teffilin or place a mezuzah on our doorposts. So is there anything we have, or do, that helps us remember these two commandments that Jesus said were the most important?

Many of us wear crosses ourselves. I have several, but one that I am particularly fond of was given to me by a dear cousin. It's a simple silver design by Atlanta jeweler James Avery, given to me around the time I started seminary. I wear it almost every day. Like many necklaces, the clasp always seems to make its way around to the front, so I find myself checking it and adjusting the clasp. To do this, I have to grasp the cross with one hand while I turn the chain with the other. I do it almost unconsciously -- but I suppose, if I thought about it, I could use this as an opportunity to remember: Love God, love your neighbor.

Even if we don't wear a cross -- we may have some other emblem, item or practice that helps us to remember. Some may have a tattoo, some have a bumper sticker, some may have a special prayer they say each day.

But regardless of how we remember, the important thing is that we remember. And as Disciples, we have the table, of course. Each week, as we gather there, we remember the one whose love of God and neighbor was so strong that he laid down his life for it.

Photo: laura.wilkerson1333 (Creative Commons license)

On Community

2009-09-23T11:00:00.006-05:00

By Brian Kirk

Mark 9: 38-50

What to choose? What to choose? So much is going on in this piece of the lectionary that I think one would have to narrow it down to a portion of the passage. If there is a theme that might draw it all together, it could be the theme of "community."

In the opening text, we have the disciples reportedly coming to Jesus to tattle on some other folks who are healing in his name. Boring, in The People's New Testament Commentary, argues that this is a clearly post-Easter reference. The disciples' claim that this exorcist "was not following us" (rather than using "you" referring to Jesus) suggests a description of Mark's historical context and the struggle in the early Church over who has authority -- who is "in" and who is "out." The renegade exorcist likely then refers to other Christian groups who were acting independently. Interestingly, Jesus' reply seems to suggest that as long as they are doing his work, they are just as much a part of the community.

In fact, note how inclusive Mark is when he has Jesus say "Whoever is not against us is for us." There is a world of difference between this version of the saying and the one we find in Matthew which reads "Whoever is not for us is against us." They sound similar, but the meaning couldn't be more different when it comes to seeing those who don't practice/live/believe the way we do as either enemy or neighbor.

The next part of the text deals with care for the "little ones" and a string of unconnected sayings about getting rid of body parts that might cause one to stumble. The reference here to "little ones" is not likely about children but rather people who are new to the faith or who have little authority. It's clear that these vulnerable ones are to be cared for by the community. This theme is carried over in the reference to cutting off body parts, the "body" here likely a metaphor for the community of faith. We have a responsibility to care for each other (and to do away with those practices that harm or cause division). And if the community extends beyond our congregation and includes even those we consider outside our boundaries (e.g. the exorcist mentioned previously) then do we not also have a responsibility to the community of our neighborhood, our city, our country, and the world?

Finally, the reference to salt also connects with the theme of community. We are to have salt (a distinctiveness about ourselves) and yet still live in peace as community. A reminder, perhaps, that faith is not ultimately a personal and inward practice but a communal effort in which we add to the flavor of those gathered around us as we strive to live in peace with all God's children.

(Note: The James passage for this Sunday deals with many of these same themes of community and caring for one another.)

Apology

2009-09-22T20:52:00.001-05:00

So sorry for not posting last week as I was scheduled...I kind of got hung up on finishing my doctoral papers for this year.

Dan Mayes

Unclean Clean Good and Bad

2009-08-27T13:39:00.003-05:00

OK... first of all, my apologies for a late post this week. I stopped using the lectionary about a year ago and forget that I need to check here! As I look at the Gospel lesson from Mark for this week, my first reaction is... I love it when Jesus is a rebel! When someone chastizes me or others for shaking things up, going against the grain, doing something "we've never done before!" or looking at things differently I think, Jesus was a rebel, too! Thanks for the compliment.

But, of course, the Gospel goes on to deal with issues of what is unclean and clean. The decisions about what is clean and unclean are human decisions, and Christ emphasizes that it isn't external things, or things we take into ourselves that make us unclean or unclean, but more what comes out of us that can be unclean or make us unclean. How interesting that we are so good at deciding what is clean and unclean, or what is good or bad. We are especially good at determining that for OTHERS more than for ourselves. The 'log in our eye, splinter in others' syndrome. But how do we determine that? And how often do the things we look at as being 'bad' turn out to be 'good' in the long run? 25 years ago I went through a horrendously painful time that I thought everything that was happening was bad. I even prayed for God to turn things around and make them 'good' again. But it didn't. For awhile I wondered if God had turned away, but I know now that God was just helping me get through because something really good would come of all the bad. In our adult study class at the Parish, we were talking about death and someone said, "Why do we always look at death in negative terms? I think God looks at death in a loving, positive light." We are very quick to put labels on things, situations, rituals, and people...especially labels of good and bad or clean and unclean... based only on our own experiences and thoughts. But if God created us and all around us and saw that it was good... why are we so quick to deem it bad or unclean?
There are many folks in this small town I live in who are unchurched, living below the poverty level, not related to anyone else in town, not involved in anything in the town, spend time at the local bar... and a myriad of other things that the 'regulars' in town use to deem them 'bad' and not worthy of their time, friendship, or care. And yet these 'misfits' are the ones that are reaching out to others, especially other 'misfits', sharing what they have, and the first to respond when help is needed. I know some of the 'church' folks question when I help them, sit with them at the park, or am in any way a part of their lives. But I think that it is exactly what Jesus calls us to do... to stop determining what WE deem to be good, bad, clean, unclean, worthy, unworthy, and see people and situations as God might see them... as basically good, worthy of our care.... and if we want to put a watchguard out for the negative, put it out in front of ourselves to make sure that, before we are so quick to judge others, that what comes from us is not bad, unclean or unworthy of God's glory and what comes from us is essentially good and that we are a conduit for the light of God.
So... in the midst of this prestigious group of folks with whom I have a high respect for... there's my 2 cents worth. Oh yea... and go out and be a rebel for Christ!

Who has the authority?

2009-08-18T12:10:00.004-05:00

Going with the Roman Catholic passage...

Ephesians 5:21-33

²¹Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. ²²Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. ²⁴Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. ²⁸In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, ³⁰because we are members of his body. ³¹“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³²This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. ³³Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.

I've chosen this Ephesians passage because I think it all too often gets used inappropriately. I once attended a wedding in which the bride was told that according to the law of God, she would be sinful if she did not submit fully to the desires of the groom. Of course nothing was mentioned to the groom about loving the bride as he would love himself.

That, and interpretations like it are dangerous, to say the least.

Immediately my mind jumps to asking what was going on in Ephesus that lead the writer of Ephesians to comment on household relationships (he also goes on to discuss children and slaves).

This section might be better understood in the larger understanding of how first century households were to be ordered. Among that, Paul describes the nature of the relationship of Christ to the church, as if to use the example of the household to teach his first readers about how they should look on the purpose of the early church, and the relation of the believers to the teaching of Jesus.

So what about the misuse of v. 22-24? This reading really should focus on v. 21,"Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ" (NRSV). This verse is the foundation for what comes next, and gives meaning to the discussion of how women and men should relate to their spouses. Without this verse being included in the reading (as often is the case in some weddings I've attended), the language about women submitting to their husbands clearly can be misdirected.

But focusing on how we can be subject (servants) to one another out of respect for Christ brings back the language of Jesus about the last being first and the greatest among us being the servants. So what does this look like in a selfish and individualized western capitalist culture?

And the idea of the husband being the head of the household simply was the legal understanding of the time. Women, children and slaves could not own property, and therefore the Ephesians writer uses this understanding to set up Jesus as the "head" of the church, meaning it is Christ who is to be the one who has established the 'house'.

Do we still set up Jesus as the head of the church? Have we replaced his teachings with self-help programs and a generic faith, based on common morality but ignores justice, healing and community connection?

How do we encourage healthy households which might not be of the standard described here? Single parent homes, same-sex homes, extended family households? How does this passage apply to other forms of modern households?

Happy homilizing!

2009-07-29T22:32:00.000-05:00

OOPS.... I meant to post this to my PERSONAL blog!!!!

2009-07-29T22:03:00.003-05:00

God is not Pleased

2009-07-28T17:46:00.003-05:00

2 Samuel 12:1-13

But God was not at all pleased with what David had done, and sent Nathan to David. Nathan said to him, “There were two men in the same city—one rich, the other poor. The rich man had huge flocks of sheep, herds of cattle. The poor man had nothing but one little female lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up with him and his children as a member of the family. It ate off his plate and drank from his cup and slept on his bed. It was like a daughter to him. “One day a traveler dropped in on the rich man. He was too stingy to take an animal from his own herds or flocks to make a meal for his visitor, so he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared a meal to set before his guest.”

David exploded in anger. “As surely as God lives,” he said to Nathan, “the man who did this ought to be lynched! He must repay for the lamb four times over for his crime and his stinginess!” “You’re the man!” said Nathan. “And here’s what God, the God of Israel, has to say to you: I made you king over Israel. I freed you from the fist of Saul. I gave you your master’s daughter and other wives to have and to hold. I gave you both Israel and Judah. And if that hadn’t been enough, I’d have gladly thrown in much more. So why have you treated the word of God with brazen contempt, doing this great evil? You murdered Uriah the Hittite, then took his wife as your wife. Worse, you killed him with an Ammonite sword! And now, because you treated God with such contempt and took Uriah the Hittite’s wife as your wife, killing and murder will continually plague your family. This is God speaking, remember! I’ll make trouble for you out of your own family. I’ll take your wives from right out in front of you. I’ll give them to some neighbor, and he’ll go to bed with them openly. You did your deed in secret; I’m doing mine with the whole country watching!”

Then David confessed to Nathan, “I’ve sinned against God.” Nathan pronounced, “Yes, but that’s not the last word. God forgives your sin. You won’t die for it.

As we pick up the story, David, the apple of God’s eye, God’s chosen and anointed King, is in the process of screwing up big time. You just have to love David. Whatever he chose to do, he went at it full force. So when David decided to commit adultery he did it in grand style. He managed to get the wife of the commander of his troops pregnant while her husband was out of town on a business trip – a trip David has sent him on. Since the trip involved warfare, David decided to plot with the guy’s troops to expose him in battle and get him killed. And it worked. David was off the hook, scot free. Or so he though.

Somehow in the heat of things (pardon the pun) David lost sight of God. That should not surprise us since that is exactly what we do when we give ourselves over to sin. We turn away from God. Sometimes when we do that we compensate and rationalize by developing a god that approves of what we are doing or at least a god who understands why we need to do what we are doing and is willing to turn a blind eye to it. We decide that the god we follow is a loving god and that means our god wants us to be happy so he/she not only allows us to do whatever we wish, he/she approves of what we are doing. With that approach to theology so prevalent, morality and holiness have pretty much disappeared off of the church’s radar screen. Right or wrong is measured by what makes us happy.

Fortunately, when David found himself in this self induced na-na land of “I am living like hell but that is okay”, God did not abandon him there. Enter Nathan. Nathan was sent by God to jerk a knot in David because God really did love David and God loved him too much to leave him in that mess. Just like us, when David gave himself over to sin he broke his relationship with God. Just like us, David pretended that everything was just fine, but it wasn’t. God loved David too much to lose him. So he sent in the rescue team; a team of one named Nathan. I truly admire Nathan. He had more courage in one finger that most of us exhibit in an entire lifetime. He took on the task of telling the KING that he (the KING) was full of crap. Not a job I would want to sign up for.

Now, Nathan is a pretty sharp cookie. Instead of showing up with Bible in hand and boney finger pointed at King David, Nathan just told David a story. Everyone loves stories. The story Nathan told was a morality tale of an unjust, rich, powerful, stingy man who took advantage of a situation and some people and abused them. It was just about a pet sheep that he took to feed a guest but David was incensed. He went off and demanded that justice be served and the wrong be righted immediately. At that point Nathan turned to David and said, “You are the man.” I wasn’t there but I envision Nathan bathed in sweat, shaking like he was freezing; his voice cracking as he strained to deliver what could be a life ending message for him. There was an excellent chance David would kill him on the spot. Don’t forget that at this point in his life, David was behaving rather badly. What’s another dead guy if it helps cover his behind? As frightened as he must have been, Nathan looked the KING in the eye and called him a sinner.

Fortunately for Nathan and more fortunately for David, David repented. Repenting repaired David’s relationship with God but it did not get him off the hook of bearing responsibility for and results of his sinful behavior. Bad stuff happened anyway. But the most important thing was, not that David’s live was problem free and everything happening was making him “happy”, but that he was returned to a right relationship with God.

The most profound and powerful lesson in all of this is the obedience of Nathan. Because God had called him and empowered him, Nathan spoke the truth about sin to the most powerful man in the country. It could have literally cost Nathan his life. He had no guarantee that David would respond well and repent. Nathan’s obedience saved the King and probably saved the country.

I wonder what would happen if we, you and me, started telling the truth? What would happen if we started calling a sin a sin? We don’t because: it is not politically correct; it is none of our business; who are we to judge; where do we come off deciding what is right and what is wrong: it would make us uncomfortable; somebody might get angry. And the list of excuses goes on and on. Blah, blah. What it comes down to, we have all moved to the na-na land that David had moved to and when, or if, God sent us our Nathans, we failed to listen. We need to repent. My prayer is that God loves us enough to send us another Nathan or two and we have the good sense to repent.

Just a thought.

"Some of My Best Friends Are Atheists"

2009-07-22T09:36:00.002-05:00

I think this psalm could be used (misused, actually, in my opinion) to slam atheists and make the case that those who have arrived intellectually at the conclusion that there is no God are incapable of good deeds. However, it seems to me that such an approach is not only untrue but much too simplistic. What the psalmist probably has in mind here is something else entirely.

A couple of Scriptural connections can be made. The RCL pairs Psalm 14 this week with the story of David and Bathsheba. That is instructive, because King David was by no modern definition an atheist. Yet his behavior here is certainly foolish--tragically so--and perhaps demonstrates the true intent of the psalmist.

Another connection is with Jesus' parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21). This fellow, having been blessed with abundant harvests, decides to build gigantic barns to store his crops, and to devote himself to his own pleasure. "I... I... my..." reads the man's soliloquy. And God calls him, "You fool!"

The problem the psalmist sees is not intellectual--someone ruling out God's existence through reason and logic--it's behavioral and theological. Wicked actions, including mistreatment of the poor, indicate, in the psalmist's view, what a person believes about God: not so much whether or not God exists, but whether or not God matters. This practical atheism is a problem not just outside communities of faith, but within them.

The challenging question for us is, "How do our actions demonstrate our theology?"

Minor Characters

2009-07-07T07:38:00.011-05:00

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19

The long arc of David’s story — from shepherd to giant-conqueror to warrior to fugitive to king — is told through 1 and 2 Samuel, and again in 1 and 2 Chronicles. This week’s Old Testament text portrays a triumphant moment for David. He’s leading a group of men, and they’re bringing the Ark of the Covenant to the city of David, playing musical instruments, shouting, and dancing with all their might.

And mentioned in the middle of the passage is Michal, daughter of Saul, who looked out the window and saw David “leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.” (v. 16 )

Who is Michal, other than Saul’s daughter? Why does she despise the sight of David dancing? It’s tempting to skip over this single verse, because it doesn’t seem to fit.

Michal was Saul’s youngest daughter, and years ago, she fell in love with David. Her father found out, and used her as a pawn to lure David into a dangerous wager that Saul hoped would result in David’s death. David delivered on his end of the bargain, so Michal became his wife.

Not long after that, Michal defied her father and helped David escape, saving his life. And then he went on the run.

With David gone, Michal’s father gave her to another man in marriage. This man loved her — when David returned years later, triumphant, and sent men to bring Michal to him, her second husband followed, begging not to lose her. He was told to go back home. Scripture doesn’t tell us how Michal felt about this turn of events, but perhaps this week's text gives us a clue.

Michal is a minor character compared to others in the story — David, Saul, her brother Jonathan. But she still has a story. If given the chance, how would she tell it?

In our own lives, we often look at others as minor characters. Even if we understand our lives as part of God’s story, we still run the risk of putting ourselves, our family, our church, our friends, our workplace, our nation, and our culture, at the center. We almost can’t help it. It’s the “view from the ground.” It’s how we make sense of the world.

The danger is that in relegating others to a minor role, we may forget that with God, there are no minor characters. When we forget that, we lose our capacity for compassion outside of our small circle. We also lose our ability to be blessed by learning what God is doing in others' lives.

God, in the person of Jesus Christ, demonstrated quite often that in God’s story, there are no minor characters. He specialized in turning upside-down every conventional notion of "major" and "minor." He conversed with an outcast Samaritan woman at a well. He noticed a blind man calling out for mercy, and healed him. He called out Zaccheus, up in the tree, and invited himself to dinner. He saw a widow putting small change in the offering, and lifted her up to the disciples as an example of great generosity.

Who are the "minor characters" in our world today? Who are the "minor characters" in our own lives? How can seeing them differently help us to be more compassionate? How can seeing them differently allow us to receive the blessings they bring?

Home Field Advantage?

2009-06-30T14:53:00.002-05:00

The lectionary text I have decided to wrestle with is Mark 6: 1-13.
Sometimes I wonder with the length of the reading. This one seems to include two stories that seem to not have much connection. The first one is about Jesus visiting his home town and the other has him sending out his disciples.
I guess you could split them apart and preach on one or the other but I want to see what happens when the two are kept together.
The return visit for Jesus is after he has had some time away and has been successful in attracting some followers and getting a crowd to form wherever he goes. Certainly the trip across the lade had some down side as the gentiles there were not interested in him staying in spite of the fact he helped the demonic. But he did do some power healing to Jairus's daughter and the suffering woman. So things are going well for Jesus. You'd think that he would be welcomed home with loving arms. Given ticker tape parade and everyone would say, " I remember him when he was this tall and now look at him." And another would say "Hey, Jesus, remember when we all snuck out that night and turned over old lady Roenkranz's outhouse?"
But no real welcome. There is a general put down of him and an attempt to 'put him in his place'. Why? In sports there is supposed to be a home field advantage. The team that plays on its home field is supposed to have the support of the home crowd, be more comfortable eating in your own bed and eating mom's cooking. But not here.
Jesus is rejected because he comes not to bask in the glory of old friends and neighbors reminiscing with him. He comes to preach his message and to show God's power and love. That is not what the home town people wanted to hear from him. They didn't want to be challenged they wanted to be seen as the reason for his success. He didn't act like they wanted so they rejected him.
Rejection is also the key concern that Jesus has he sends out the disciples. He wants them to travel light and not be burdened with too much expectation. When rejection happens don't let it stick to you, shake it off and move on.
I wonder if Jesus didn't give that advice to himself after Nazareth. Not everyone is going to get it. Don't let it stop you and keep you from God's purpose.
I think there is more here to ponder. Fortunately Sunday is still several days off. I invite your comments and reaction.
Tom Felts

Welcome Back--New Contributors/Schedule

2009-06-23T14:53:00.004-05:00

Greetings, everyone!

I know it's been a while since we've posted here on a regular basis. But we've added some new contributors and revamped the schedule. Here's the new schedule:

Updated Lectionary Blog Schedule

Try your best to post by the Tuesday prior to your assigned Sunday text.

June 28 Anyone who feels like it
July 5 Tom Felts
July 12 Rebecca Bowman Woods
July 19 Dave Clark
July 26 Sharla Hulsey
August 2 Danny Bradfield
August 9 Bill Spangler-Dunning
August 16 Bert Berns
August 23 Andy Beck
August 30 Suzie Moore
September 6 Richard Guentert
September 13 Dennis Sanders
September 20 Dan Mayes
September 27 Brian Kirk
October 4 Bill McConnell
October 11 John Claussen

PRESENCE THROUGH ABSENCE

2009-05-24T19:14:00.000-05:00

By Dr. Richard Guentert

This is the Sunday of the Church Year we celebrate Pentecost. The Gospel selection is John 15:26-27, and 16:4b to 15. For the purposes of this blog I want to focus on 16:7, 12-13.

I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. . . . “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; . . . and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

In short, I think this Scripture text points out how Jesus understood the necessity of Aabsenting@ himself from them; but not before he promised them the coming of the Advocate – the Holy Spirit ... the very Apresence@ that would sustain them into an unknown future . . . the very Apresence@ that would help them discern and discover additional truths for their mission that neither he nor God had yet completely revealed to them.

As most of us think back over our faith journey, we can identify family, friends, church folk and pastors who, early-on, taught and mentored us about life. But then they went their way and we went ours. Life’s pathway took them down different avenues and turns in the road – so they no longer walked beside us as we journeyed on! But along the way, we still valued some of those significant life lessons – those “truths” they gave us, and we built upon them; we added to them; we expanded upon them; we used them as foundational footings – but not as hindrances that would restrict us from the exploration and discovery of new truths God had in store for us. As a result we lived our way into some future directions and pathways they could never have imagined.

In other words, we experienced their presence, even in their absence. And while we relished the truths that improved us, we did not allow them to totally impede us!. (And that is what this text is about today). Indeed, the absence of the Teacher was necessary, before those first disciples could begin to put the pieces together most meaningfully for themselves. Jesus had to create in them a sense of His AAbsence,@ before it would fully occur to them, just how fully “present” he continued to be in their lives . . . a presence that was always reassuring, though never suffocatingly stifling.

When I went away to College, I really thought I was getting out from under the watchful eye and the controlling presence of my parents. What I was surprised to discover was how really present they were in my dorm room and classroom with me each day. Their counsel continued to be ever present when I encountered a situation that demanded it. The values they fashioned in me kept cropping up whenever I would try to transgress them. The attitudes they had formed in me would surreptitiously sneak to the fore, just when I least expected them to do so. And the conscience they had created within me was a real Apain in the butt@ ... but in the long-run it safeguarded me from a lot of heartaches. (So, you see, I experienced their presence, even in their absence.)

Years ago I remember hearing Keith Miller talk about all those deceased folk in his life to whom he turned for insight and discernment whenever he faced life=s greatest difficulties. He said he would go to church and sit on the main floor of the sanctuary. But he could re-collect in his mind the image of all his forbearers up in the balcony behind him ... giving him the very advice and encouragement and support he needed all along the way.

And I guess that is just another way of understanding what the writer of Hebrews was calling AThe great cloud of witnesses@ who have gone before. Their Spirit is so absorbed and so incorporated into us that they continue to fuel our identity and our ideals; they continue to impact our personality and our practice; they continue to determine our propensities and our peculiarities. And that=s just the way Jesus said it would be with the work of the Advocate – the Holy Spirit. Instead of pointing them to the old hopes, he patiently directed them to the hope that was on the horizon .... the coming of his own Spirit-like presence that would abide with them forever – the one John called “The Advocate.”

Because there is APresence in the midst of Absence@ Jesus was not misleading us as he said, AWhen the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth!@ With Pentecost, God has provided a means for his continuing revelation – through the work of the Advocate – the Holy Spirit. The activity of the Spirit (the Advocate’s coming) on Pentecost was only the beginning. Throughout the centuries the Christian community has again and again re-experienced the truth of Jesus’ promise: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. [But] when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. . . . He will declare to you the things that are to come.”

So it seems to me that perhaps Jesus’ truth wasn’t yet ALL the truth – since we couldn’t handle it then, he says. And neither are our truths ALL the truth there is. So, as my friend Dr. Jan Linn (pastor at Spirit of Joy Christian Church in Apple Valley, Minnesota) says, “We should speak all the truth we know, without claiming it is all the truth there is.”
The Spirit journeys alongside us and within us – forming and reforming us, shaping and re-shaping us, creating and re-creating us. And God’s revelation continues well into the 21st century.

Some Thoughts on John for the Second Sunday of Easter

2009-04-13T14:32:00.001-05:00

This is new to me. I have been reading your blog now for awhile and enjoying it. I decided to volunteer to post some of my thoughts as a way to take my turn.
Here is what I'm going to do. I will share with you some of my thinking at this stage of the game. It is Monday and early in the process of building a sermon and for me that begins with looking at the scripture and letting it speak to me. So I will "think out loud" with you listening in.
The passage I will be looking at is John 20:19-31 and ,wow, I see a lot of things that peek my interest and stir my thinking. Here are some of the those things:
It is the fist day of the week, Easter evening and the disciples are hidden because of fear.Fear of the Jews we are told. but not all Jews, they were Jews. No, they were filled with fear because the authorities might do to them what they did to Jesus. So they are locked away behind closed doors. The Serendipity Bible asks the question, "Have you ever gone to your room and locked the door? Why?"
There seems to be a lot of matched statements and events. The disciples are afraid and Jesus comes to them and gives them peace. Jesus is sending the disciples as he was sent by God. They are warned that they have the power of offering forgiveness or withholding forgiveness. They see and believe and blessed are they who believe and have not seen. This might be an interesting track to pursue.
Another issue that jumps out to me and was mentioned by the New Interpreter's Bible is that while Thomas doubted the report of the disciples of Jesus resurrection, the disciples doubted the report of the women.Lots of doubters. Besides Thomas was only asking for the same evidence that others received. Jesus appears to him when he was with the other disciples a week later. Is this a lesion on missing out when you break fellowship? Jesus appears to him only when he is with the others not alone. Yet there is not criticism of Thomas by Jesus. Just the presentation of the proof asked for. Notice too, that Jesus shows both the disciples and Thomas the scars. The crucified Jesus is also the resurrected Jesus. The commentaries mention that Luke 24:41 tells the reason was to prove that Jesus was not a ghost. It is interesting to note that the disciples rejoice after seeing the scars not when they first see Jesus.
I want to go back to the greeting of "Peace be with you". That seems like a common greeting but it is repeated later. Is it like the toss off phrase we use, "How are you?". It can be asked in a way that dose not expect an answer or when you really want to know, "How are you?" Jesus is not just saying "Hi" He really wants to respond to our fear with the gift of peace.
The concept that keeps drawing me back is the promise that those that have not seen and yet believe will be blessed. That even ties to the way this passage ends. These stories we are told are not everything that happened but these are written that you may believe and by believing you may have life.
Is this the way to faith without seeing? Believing the stories of those who have seen?
These are some of my first thoughts. Sorry they are not more pulled together. Hopefully, and with the Lord's spirit, they will be pulled into a message by Sunday.

Tom Felts

What just happened?

2009-04-05T18:09:00.002-05:00

Mark 16:1-8

If I were going to write the story of the resurrection, I just don’t think this is how I’d do it. I mean, the story—and most scholars think this is the earliest Easter story we have—ends with a bunch of women, having been told to go tell the disciples that Jesus has been raised, running off terrified and not saying anything to anyone. No one goes and tells anyone anything, and there’s no appearance of the risen Jesus in the story. (It’s almost like someone tore the last page out of the book of Mark—as a matter of fact, in the Greek the text ends in mid-sentence. Did Mark mean it that way, or have we lost the real ending?)

No, I think if I were going to write the story I’d do it more like what’s in the Gospel of Peter, which is one of the many Gospels that were floating around the early church, all but four of which didn’t make the cut when they finally put the Bible together as we have it today:

“…in the night in which the Lord’s day dawned, when the soldiers were safeguarding it two by two in every watch, there was a loud voice in heaven; and they saw that two males who had much radiance had come down from there and come near the sepulcher. But that stone which had been thrust against the door, having rolled by itself, went a distance off the side; and the sepulcher opened, and both the young men entered. And so those soldiers, having seen, awakened the centurion and the elders (for they too were present, safeguarding). And while they were relating what they had seen, again they see three males who have come out from the sepulcher, with the two supporting the other one, and a cross following them, and the head of the two reaching unto heaven, but that of the one being led out by a hand by them going beyond the heavens” (Gospel of Peter, translated by Raymond Brown).

Yeah, I think that’s how I’d write it, only I think maybe I’d want that giant Jesus to go up to the Romans and the Jewish elders who were there and say, “Hah!”

But this Gospel didn’t make it in. Instead we have Mark’s version, which goes by so suddenly we don’t even have time to ask, “What just happened?” I wasn’t there, and so I don’t know the discussions that might have gone on, but somehow the people who finalized the canon determined that Mark’s Gospel is in and the Gospel of Peter is out. And the whole issue of how they decided what books got in is very interesting, but not really germane on Easter morning, except to say that the fact that Mark’s Resurrection story is in the Bible and the one from the Gospel of Peter isn’t says something important to us.

Now, of course, as we have it today there’s quite a little bit of stuff at the end of Mark after verse 8, where our reading for today ends. There are resurrection appearances in Mark, and a sending out of the disciples. And there’s that troublesome verse that says certain signs will follow those who believe, including the ability to pick up snakes without being harmed. But this longer ending seems to most scholars to have been pieced together from stories in the other three Gospels, and the style of writing isn’t a thing like the rest of the book of Mark. It may have been added much later by Christians who knew the other Gospel stories, and knew that there were eyewitnesses who said they’d seen Jesus after the resurrection (see Paul’s discussion in 1 Corinthians 15, for instance). I think this ending was added by folks who may not have trusted that those who read the Gospel of Mark would get the point he was trying to make by having the story end in mid-sentence, and before anyone had actually seen the risen Christ.

Remember that each one of the Gospels is written for a different place and time and purpose; each of the four Evangelists had a slightly different point to make. Mark’s Gospel, many think, is a training manual of a sort. It conveys the basic outlines of the Gospel story, with a tremendous sense of urgency. Everything in Mark happens “suddenly” or “immediately.” When the story begins, Mark doesn’t devote any time or ink to telling stories of Jesus’ birth—there are no angels, no shepherds, no wise men, no Mary and Joseph, no manger, no star.

First John the Baptist appears in the wilderness (that’s the exact word Mark uses: appeared), and then Jesus comes and gets baptized, and by the fourteenth verse of the first chapter of the Gospel, Jesus is preaching. He calls his first disciples in verses 16-20, and then they’re off and running.

The point of this Gospel might be to get new believers to understand the basic story in a hurry, so they could et to work and be able to make disciples and teach and heal in whatever short time they had before the end-times, or they got arrested, whichever came first. Mark’s resurrection story is equally brief: Jesus died, he was buried, and then on Sunday morning some women came and found the tomb empty.

But the women told no one, and at least in the earliest form of the story, Jesus never appears. So how does it happen that we’re here today, if the story ends with three scared women saying nothing?

Well, it seems that Jesus did appear, because the rest of the Gospels talk about appearances and people who see Jesus—and Paul, as I mentioned, talks about eyewitnesses, and he wrote 1 Corinthians before any of the Gospels, even Mark, were written. But I think even if there hadn’t been resurrection appearances—and I am certain that there were—the story would have spread.
Easter just isn’t something you can keep to yourself—at least, it shouldn’t be. Look: if Christ is really raised from the dead, and churches would be empty on Easter Sunday if those who are there didn’t believe that on some level, then the back of death and sin and evil is broken. And if that’s the case, then what on earth do we have to be afraid of?

Do we have to fear being kept alive by machines or tubes—or do we have to fear those machines and tubes being turned off or disconnected? Do we have to fear the loss of our jobs, our prestige in the community, or even our money? Do we have to fear that if we don’t do something ourselves, our churches or our regions will not be here in 50 years?

No!

If Christ is really raised from the dead, then death is swallowed up in victory, in whatever form that death might take—death of our churches, death of our social status, death of our bodies or our ability to control what happens to our bodies. So let us live as people who have nothing to fear!

This brings us back to the reason Mark’s Gospel, with its abrupt mid-sentence ending, makes it into the Bible where the Gospel of Peter with its mile-high Jesus and walking, talking cross doesn’t: By leaving the story unfinished, Mark is telling us something very important.
Mark begins his Gospel with an introduction: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” I suppose he could be saying, “I’m going to start telling you about Jesus now,” but I don’t think that’s what he’s doing. I think he’s introducing the whole book as “the beginning of the good news.” And by ending so abruptly, he’s saying to all who read his Gospel: “Now it’s up to you to be the rest of the story.”

The story began with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. You’ve been introduced, and you know Jesus came out of the tomb, even though the women initially were afraid to say so. Now keep your eyes open, because the risen Christ will appear to you; you will know his presence in your church and in your life. And when you do, then you get to add your witness to the story that continues from where I left off.

The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! He is alive among us here, and as we go out into the world, as people of the Resurrection, we are part of the rest of the story.

March 29 - 5th Sunday of Lent

2009-03-23T01:00:00.003-05:00

"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life." John 12:24-25.

I am not preaching this week; however, I do have a few illustrations to offer up in regards to this scripture passage. A few weeks ago, I preached on Matthew's version of this statement. In that sermon I said:

Keeping the church alive is not our mission. That’s not our primary focus. If we put all our efforts into keeping the doors open, the lights on, and keeping enough people in the pews to keep the bills paid, then we’ve become like a sports team that has all but forgotten about the game it is supposed to be playing. If all our efforts go into saving our church’s life, then we will surely lose it, because we’ve already lost our focus. But those who lose their life, those who are willing to give their life away, for Christ’s sake, for the sake of the gospel, will find that their life has been restored.

(The full sermon is here.)

Likewise I remember hearing a chaplain at a boy scout camp use an apple to illustrate this scripture: He took the apple and cut it in half. I believe he cut it in half sideways, so that the hidden star was revealed. Then he took out the seeds and asked, "how many seeds are there?" The scouts counted the seeds. Then he said, "If you plant these seeds in the ground, how many apples will they produce?" Of course there is no way of knowing, although it is likely that many, many apples will come from these few seeds. It was a simple, yet effective, object lesson.

For God So Loved the World

2009-03-18T08:25:00.003-05:00

by Brian Kirk

John 3: 14-21

On the way to understanding this text, I think it helps to remember the situation of John’s community, living in the aftermath of the Roman-Jewish war. As Jewish life in this time begins being reconstructed around the synagogue rather than the Temple, John’s community finds itself outside the newly-drawn Jewish social boundaries. Rejected by their fellow Jews as well as the Romans, they begin to see the world as hostile and alien. In their understanding, the world persecutes them just as it persecuted Jesus.

The writer of the gospel senses the angst of his community and fears they are falling apart and that some, if not all, may be tempted to return to their old ways. He illustrates this crisis in the gospel as a crisis of faith: “Do you believe Jesus is the way? Do you trust the things that he taught?” The “I am” statements in John (I am the way, the truth, the life, the gate, the vine, etc) are likely responses to those members of John’s community who are asking “Did we make the right choice? Was Jesus really the one?” John preaches a “realized eschatology” which urges the listener to make a decision for Christ now -- not in the future. Judgement day is an existential experience -- it occurs the moment you meet Christ. Those who step into the light of this moment and choose to ignore it or reject it are already, then, living under the consequences of that decision.

And yet, notice that the real focus of the text is God's love, not God's judgement. Maybe it is our own guilt or knowledge of ourselves that makes us see the words "judgement" and "condemn" and "evil" in big bold letters when what we really need to see is the words "love," "live," and "saved" in this passage. Those are the words that lead to transformation, that lead us out of the darkness, that open our beings to be able to meet and receive Christ in our midst.

Some questions I would consider when reflecting on this text:

1) What do you make of John’s Jesus and his view of the world in this text?
2) How do you react to the counterbalance between judgment and mercy in the text?
3) Think of biblical stories where God’s judgment ultimately resolves into God’s love for the world. What are the theological implications for this motif which repeats itself throughout the biblical texts?
4) The verb pisteuo meaning"to believe/trust" repeats seven times in the text. Five times are present tense (vv. 12, 15, 16, 18, 18). The present tense suggests continual action: "don't stop trusting," "keep on believing." How do you understand the difference between belief and trust? Does such a distinction change the way we read this passage? What do you see as the implications, for John’s community and ours, of belief/trust not as a one time event but as a process leading into the future?

2009-02-23T23:07:00.003-06:00

FLOOD AND FAITH

By Dr. Richard Guentert

Two of our four lectionary passages this week spotlight the story of Noah and the flood: Genesis 9:8-17 and 1 Peter 3:18-22.

I can seldom approach this ancient story without being reminded of the cartoon which pictures Noah’s Ark beached on the ice of Antarctica. Stranded on the frosty lip of the continent! Marooned aground on this expanse of white ice! Noah’s wife is standing beside him complaining stridently: “I told you that you should have sent forth the dove instead of that stupid penguin!!!” Much humor and wisdom have found their source in this rich story from the Hebrew tradition.

As we approach the text this week, our homiletical consideration needs to move beyond the question of “Did it really happen?” to an affirmation about the “multiple meaty meanings” that are encapsulated in this remarkable tale.

I would quickly acknowledge that some of its wording demonstrates a deficiency of scale. The covenant, according to verse 13 is “between me and the earth.” This raises an intriguing issue. What does it mean to hear this passage in light of a God of the whole universe? Since people of earth will eventually move to populate the planets, does the covenant extend to the reaches of interplanetary space? In order to make application to a people who will ultimately be living in a larger frame of reference, if not actually pioneering new realms beyond planet earth, we 21st century Christians (who know little of existence beyond terra firma ) stand on the verge of having to re-articulate much of our “earth centered” testimony about the nature of faith and the message of Scripture for a new time.

As we re-read this oft-told narrative many other thoughts, questions and concerns come to mind (each of which will shape the way we deal with this foundational text).

>> Is the flood story an abrogation of “the good” of the original creation? Or is the flood story God’s “new strategy” for re-creating a people who are willing to live in an obedient faith relationship with their Creator? Or is it a story that encompasses both of these truths?

>> In the Noah epic God’s creative work appears to have moved from populating the earth afresh, to re-populating the earth all over again. And is there a sense in which the new circumstances of each generation re-present us with this task of re-populating the planet (so to speak) with a fresh incarnation/embodiment of new life and innovative experiences of reconciliation?

>> Whatever the real dimensions of the flood, it covered the whole known world, of its story-teller. The author’s intent was obviously to connote both the dimension of the catastrophe, and the breadth of God’s act of ultimate salvation in the 15th verse of today’s text: “and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

>> This week’s lectionary segment, only part of the larger story, emphasizes the Compassion of God for both the human and the non-human creation.

>> The quality of what occurred in the concluding promise of Noah’s epic is, in many ways, a foretaste of John 3:16 … a portrayal of the kind of God who “so loved the [entire] world.”

>> This passage is ultimately about “covenant.” And covenants, by their very nature, require fresh signs and repetitive affirmations of them.

>> It is not insignificant that this covenant is God-initiated. Verses 9 and 11 both say, “I am establishing my Covenant.”

>> Verse 13 says that it is when the bow is in the clouds that we will be reminded of this covenant promise. In other words, it is in the “stormy” times that remembrance re-occurs. (Parenthetically, I just purchased a new Blackberry Storm …. with a GPS navigator function. My Blackberry, along with this passage, remind me that it is in the midst of the “storm” that I most need navigational assistance.)

>> In this story God seems to be shaping God’s own divine identity around being “a God who remembers covenant.” This engenders the insight that “being created in the image of God carries with it the obligation to be a people who keep on rehearsing/remembering the Covenant Relationship.”

The second lectionary text (I Peter 3:18-22) also depends on knowing the Noah flood epic. It tells us that following Jesus’ crucifixion his resurrected spirit visited those sinful scoffers of Noah’s flood-time warnings. The resurrected Spirit of Jesus “made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark” (verses 19-20).

Many centuries after the flood story, we have again in First Peter the portrayal of a pursuing God’s compassion. Noah’s God is unwilling to let the drowned-deny-ers and the ark-scoffers soak in their sinful consequences. No! With the resurrection of Jesus, our Christ’s Spirit reaches back to rescue and redeem them, each one.

In what seems to be a stretch of “comparative effort gone amuck,” the I Peter text then notes how “eight persons were saved through water” [verse 20], (i.e. riding out the flood in a vessel of salvation, populated by 8 humans and a passel of animals.) And this, says our author, is a “prefiguring” of the Baptism “which saves us” (verse 21).

The waters of Baptism put our minds at ease (i.e. "a good conscience" in verse 21) . . . even as Noah and kin had some peace of mind in riding out the storm and being rewarded by the covenant promises of God. And if such a good outcome came to Noah, how much more can we, who believe in the resurrected Christ, trust in the covenant relationship and look forward to composed minds – tranquil and serene – calm with shalom and benefiting from the serenity of the Spirit?

Transfiguration Sunday

2009-02-17T13:44:00.000-06:00

My apologies for those looking for a discussion about the gospel text but after preaching the Transfiguration every year of my 25 years in ministry, I’m taking a year off and going to the 2 Kings 2:1-12 lesson. I will offer this note however on the Transfiguration which could be described as a “Thin Place.” Marcus Borg in The Heart of Christianity, says Celtic Christians t described as “Thin Places.” those occasions where the veil is lifted and the truth about God becomes apparent. God is with us and around us all the time, but there are moments when you sense it more fully. Times in worship, nature, community, retreat and service can all become “thin places” for us and have a transfigurative quality to our spiritual journey.

I’m drawn to the Elijah/Elisha story because of the chariot of fire. (All the gear-heads will appreciate it if you point out that God is their kindred spirit because God invented such a spectacular vehicle). But the story isn’t really about the chariot or even Elijah’s mystical departure that allows him to be an eschatological figure who returns as John the Baptist and on the mount of Transfiguration.

The story is about transition. Folks kept saying to Elisha, “Don’t you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” I hear echoes in the church halls. “Soon all the ladies who cook the funeral dinners will be gone, then what?” “Don’t you know that the financial resources to the region have nearly dried up?” “Don’t you know that we are we are in dire need of theologically educated younger clergy?

I love Elisha’s response. “Yes, I know; keep silent.” That is “shut up” about the losses we will experience. Turns out that God is still on the job. Be silent and trust that God will provide.

Before Elijah mounts his sweet ride home, Elisha asks him for a double share of his spirit. A bold request! The spirit of Elijah carries on in his successor—God provides! During the ordination service in the United Methodist Church, candidates about to be ordained ask the retiring pastors for a double share of their spirit. At that point the retirees present the new pastors with a clergy stole—just like Elijah handing off the mantle. It’s a powerful service.

I’m wondering if there might be a way to incorporate something of that service into a Transfiguration service where an older generation will give a symbol of blessing to the younger folks. Before you object and say that the older folks still have a ministry too, I say, “Yes I know; be silent.” All who remain on this side of glory have ministry to do—that is our inheritance from Christ.

David Clark
Ankeny Christian Church
accdoc.org

Smoke, Lights, and Simple Misunderstandings

2009-02-10T10:50:00.005-06:00

2 Kings 5: 1-14

I've chosen the Hebrew Bible reading this week because it deals with some things we all struggle with from time to time, things that may be of particular importance to our congregations during our current societal struggles.

In this story, Na'aman, a military commander of the Aramean army, has had great success; success which is credited to the God of Israel interestingly enough. But Na'aman also develops a skin disease which bothers him terribly. He has at his disposal an Israelite slave girl who seeks the best of her master and her master's husband. The slave girl hints that the prophet in Samaria could heal him.

Na'aman seeks out this prophet. Thinking that he's a royal court prophet, Na'aman sends lavish gifts (which we find are later rejected). And he sends a letter to the (here) unnamed king of Israel. The king misunderstands the letter as provocation for war, and so the prophet Elisha has to step in and clear up the matter.

Na'aman goes to Elisha, who tells him simply to wash seven times in the Jordan river. Na'aman is insulted by such a simplistic prescription. (He also doesn't understand that Elisha's direction comes from Yahweh, not from himself.) And so he storms away. But his servants wisely calm him down, get him to follow Elisha's instructions, and he is healed.

Now there are a few different possible hermeneutical possibilities with this text. Let's explore two of them here:

The Power of the Word of Yahweh vs. The Established Human Power
It's important to note that the king of Israel is unnamed. (See note below) Further, he lacks wisdom and insight into critical problem-solving. When Elisha goes and presents a solution, it's almost done in an in-your-face way to the king..."Let him...learn that there is a prophet..." The writer of Kings is setting up a conflict between the Word of Yahweh and the established, but inneffective king. In preaching, this could be explored under our current national/global context. Many people are now looking to their government(s) for help and rescue. But just like the unnamed king, our government(s) are often inneffective and unhelpful. The direction and provision of Yahweh is what should be trusted.
Note: It is likely the king of Israel is either Jehoram or Jehosephat...or possibly even both as they reigned together as father and son for five years before Jehoram completely took the reigns. But it is certainly intentional that he is here only referred to as "the king of Israel."

The Human Desire For Dramatic Actions
Na'aman was desperate for healing. And his actions speak of his desperation. Although his military victories are attributed to Yahweh, he doesn't really know Yahweh's character or expectations. When he goes to Elisha he's expecting some kind of big, showy, dramatic miracle. He's expecting pyrotechnics and chants and all sorts of business. But Elisha's prescription is simple and uncomplicated. We often look to God for great miracles. Whether we've lost our job, broken up our marriage, or like Na'aman acquired a disease or illness, we often expect a big showy miracle, an all-at-once solution, fire and smoke and lights. But often our healing, our restoration, our transformation, our solution, comes in following God's word faithfully, even in the things that seem simple, ordinary, and uncomplicated.

Dan Mayes
http://dan-mayes.blogspot.com/

From Jesus to Paul to Walle

2009-02-02T20:21:00.003-06:00

Feb 8th, Mark 1:29-39 and perhaps 1 Cor. 9-16

Sometimes with texts like these this week I have to first note the things that bother me or get in the way of hearing the gospel in between the words. So I like Marks story that seems to continue the previous stories attempting to prove that Jesus really is of authority and worth listening to by all. He both wants to be known by the hearers but seemingly wants to keep the Demons quiet about who he really is in this world. I guess that is what bothers me in this text... both the mix message and the whole link to "these demons." What or who are the demons? Are they just metaphores for the evil in our world or do they refer to those people we know are negative and hate all good in this world. Whatever it is that is meant it seems in this story its just a forshadow for things to come. Almost to let us know that there is something else coming in the story that we should keep watching for or in this case keep reading.

However, if we allow this to be a forshadow of things to come, then the basic story is that of another tale in which Jesus touches someone and they are healed. Sounds like a simple message and hardly worth a sermon but perhaps there is more. One could see this as a Jesus healing story and that would be true but it seems that it is also about the fact that as Jesus connects, touches or just meets someone they want to touch, connect or serve others. I think this is the message worth preaching on this week.

However, I saw this sermon in a movie a few weeks back. The movie was WALLe. It was about a robot whose whole job was to clean up after the mess we human beings created on earth. You will have to see the movie but in the end Walle is Jesus. He is the savior for all humanity! However, the way the story and Walle weave in an out of other robot's and people's lives you can see those individuals change. As Walle touches them, talks to them, or sometimes just as they watch Walle interact with others around them these people/robots are changed. They are changed in that they see things and people/robots that they never saw! They are changed because now they want to help others as Walle does for them.

Sure this text from Mark may well be just a little story to prove that Jesus has authority and power but I think it is more. It is about the way he will be our savior and in turn I believe how we should help heal others as well through our connections and relationships with them.

As far as the 1 Cor passage I think there is a link here as well. Paul sometimes seems to like to hear himself talk in nice flowery confusing spiritual language. Im not even sure I would like Paul if I met him and in truth I have met some people like him who seem to be all spiritual in the way they talk to others about everyday things. You know the kind who when you ask them to pass the butter they spend 5 minutes telling you how butter is like God in that it... well you know. However, Paul reveals to the reader that he sees himself as one who has been changed and therefore can do nothing else but pass the change on to others. He expresses this in that he is willing to be anything and go anywhere just to bring the goodnews he experienced to others. He is simply passing on what he has learned to the next generation. Paul was one of those people touched by (even if it was not directly) by Christ and he is now changed to the point that whoever he comes in contact with he changes them for the better. Its a big game of dominoes or like the movie WALLe -- when we experience love and acceptance we simply and wholistically want to pass it on to the next person.

Those are my thoughts on two of our texts for Sunday I hope it helps in your reflections this week.

Bill Spangler-Dunning

Watch Your Mouth

2009-01-27T14:32:00.011-06:00

As we look at the Lectionary this week, we are reminded of what an awesome, holy, meaningful task we have been given - the task of speaking God's words to God's people. We have been called, equipped and sent by God. And we have also been warned by God. Take a look.

Deuteronomy 18:15-20
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”
The LORD said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”(Emphasis mine)

So this week, like every other week, we prepare to preach, to speak God's word to God's people. We are called to be prophets and it is a high and holy calling. We are not called to speak my word to God's people. We are not called to speak about the latest idea that has come rolling down the road. We have not been called to drag out and ride our hobby horses in front of the congregation. We have not been called to share our amazing wisdom or our profound opinions. We have been called to do much more than that.

Our greatest challenge as pastors and as church leaders is to discover what God is saying and where God is leading. Unfortunately most of us are smart enough to do an adequate job at preaching and running a church without God's direction. Just as unfortunately, we would be doing just that, an adequate job. Instead we are charged with spending time in prayer, meditation and study to connect with God and find what He has to say about and to the church. Frankly (Or Billy) I would find it much easier to just do it myself.

Doing it myself would be easier. But it would not be better. Sad to say, I find doing things like prayer and meditation are difficult for me. Listening for and hearing God is a huge challenge. But it is what I am called to do. And I find the Scripture in Deuteronomy to be VERY MOTIVATING.

So, as you and I prepare to speak to God's people this week, let's get the message right. How about making this Sunday's sermon a sermon NOT to die for.

Ten Minutes (Luke 2:22-40)

2008-12-17T16:07:00.004-06:00

Edit: I must have hit send about the same time as Brian; his comments for 12/21 appear below. This post is for the 12/28 readings.... [end edit]

It appears that the posters to this site (like me) are experiencing worship services full of cantatas and children's pageants, and therefore have little sermon preparation to do--and not much to post here. Therefore, I present to you some early thoughts for Sunday, December 28 ... the first Sunday after Christmas. What follows is the first draft of my sermon. The end isn't quite finished yet, and my goal is to preach this sermon in just ten minutes (the reason why will become clear as you read). So, this is still a work-in-progress.

It seems like the decorations have been up forever. They started appearing well over two months ago, at shopping malls and amusement parks. Then, some people in your neighborhood put up their decorations (not you of course), and it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet. And all of a sudden, you found yourself humming Christmas tunes.

By the day after Thanksgiving, you couldn't help it anymore. It was time for Christmas. You made your shopping list, you opened your own box (or, boxes) of decorations, you began untangling the lights. Christmas was still a month away--but it's so hard to wait, isn't it?

Then came the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is a season of preparation, anticipation, and waiting, but when it arrived, it seemed as if Christmas was already here. It sure seemed strange to be told to wait, watch, and prepare, when we'd already seen Santa Claus make his arrival at Herald Square, and greet children at our local mall. Clergy told their congregations that it was the season for singing Advent hymns, not Christmas carols, but few would listen to such nonsense... they wanted their Christmas now.

It's just so hard to wait. It's so hard to wait for Christmas.

Simeon and Anna had been waiting a very long time to see the birth of the messiah. When baby Jesus was about six weeks old, his parents--Mary and Joseph--brought him to the temple in Jerusalem, to dedicate him to the Lord. They were met there by Simeon and Anna, who, it seems, had been waiting nearly their whole lives for this moment. Anna in particular had been waiting--worshiping, fasting, and praying--for many, many years, waiting day and night. Waiting to see Jesus. Waiting to see Emmanuel, God-with-us, the Messiah.

How did they do it? How did they wait for so long? We can't even wait for Christmas. Heck, most of us can't even wait for the red light to turn green. We tap our fingers on the steering wheel, we fidget with the radio, we do whatever we can to make those unbearably long seconds until the light changes green pass by more quickly.

When Jesus began his ministry, some thirty years later, he knew that he had important work to do. He knew that God was calling him to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the dawning of a new age, a new kingdom. With a "to-do" list like that, I'm sure he felt the urge to get started right away. But he didn't.

Instead, he went into the wilderness for forty days. And during those forty days, he was tempted to begin his ministry prematurely, to end his time of fasting early by transforming a stone into a loaf of bread. But he resisted this, and other temptations as well, and waited for the forty days to finish.

At other times throughout his ministry, Jesus waited. He waited on God in prayer. He prayed on a mountain, he prayed in the garden, he prayed at night; and much of that time in prayer, I believe, was time spent waiting. It was time spent listening for God.

Simeon and Anna, I believe, were unique individuals. Certainly God does not expect every follower of God to spend their whole lives waiting. However, a little bit of waiting would do most of us a whole lot of good.

One of the first things I did when I arrived here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church last spring was to ask you to spend ten minutes a day in prayer. It sounds like such a simple, easy request, and yet I know that it is not. I know, because I don't always succeed in taking ten minutes to pray, and I'm the pastor who made the suggestion!

In asking you to pray for ten minutes, I did not expect you to fill all those minutes with words. I did not expect you to start the timer at "Dear God," and then keep talking until, ten minutes later, you arrived at "Amen." I don't think that's how Jesus spent most of his time in prayer, and I don't think that's how we should be spending most of our time in prayer.

Some of the best prayer is sitting in silence with God, although I have to warn you: sitting in silence feels an awful lot like waiting.

If you find that you're too restless to sit, then go for a walk. Jesus went up a mountain, but you can just go around the block. Or do some activity that doesn't require too much concentration, to keep your hands busy as you pray. Some adults I know knit; some youth I know make friendship bracelets.

I often find that, for me, sermon-writing is a form of prayer. For that reason, I often write out my sermons the old-fashioned way, with a pencil and paper. I do eventually type them into the computer, but my typing speed is 80 words per minute, and it's just too hard to pray when you're flying along at 80 words per minute.

If you can find ten minutes a day to spend with God, to wait on God, then your life will be blessed. Of that, I have no doubt. And if a lot of us are able to spend ten minutes a day in prayer, then our church will be blessed.

It really does take some time to prepare ourselves to see the presence of God. Such things cannot be rushed. It takes time to see Jesus in our midst, to recognize the presence of Christ. Many rush through the Christmas season without ever seeing Jesus.

He's not just in the manger.

A Gift for All

2008-12-17T11:48:00.008-06:00

By Brian Kirk

Luke 1: 26-38

There is so much one can say about this text. We could really get into a discussion over the possibility of a virgin birth, did or didn't Luke mistranslate texts from the Hebrew scriptures, but I don't really think these discussions resonate with people's hearts when it comes to the story of Mary and the visit of the angel. What always strikes me here is how radical this whole episode is -- radical in ways we might not recognize in the 21st century. This is particularly so when it comes to gender roles. Luke starts his gospel, as we might expect, with a story of a man, Zechariah. But we quickly discover that Zechariah, the doubter, will not be the hero of this story. Instead, Luke turns his attention to two female characters, Elizabeth and then Mary, both of whom are much more receptive to receiving the news of the angels and willing to play their part in the drama than is Zechariah. Oh, and don't blink or you'll miss Joseph's role in the story altogether.

These episodes set the tone for all of Luke's gospel. He's not arguing for women's liberation, of course, but rather is setting the stage for the way the gospel of Jesus will turn the current state of the world on it's head. In a partriarchal culture, God will change the world through two humble women. Later in Luke's gospel we will see this same role reversal happen as the good news is delivered first, not to the powerful, but to some lowly shepherds. Luke is the gospel writer who will tell us of women disciples, and will have a special place in his drama for the plight of the least of these, the outcast, the poor, and the outsider.

The mere fact that he centers the start of his story of Mary in Nazareth in Galilee is a reminder that this "king" will not be born to celebrity, but will come from humble origins: a small, backwoods village. Galilee was known as a place where Jews and Gentiles coexisted peacefully. Luke is reminding us early on that Jesus' mission will not be just to his own kind, but to all people -- the Jew, the Gentile, male, female, rich, poor, clean, unclean.

What are the implications here for critiquing the focus in so much of Christianity on "personal salvation?" The angel tells Mary that Jesus' kingdom "will have no end." How do we loosen our grasp on the Christ child long enough to realize that he has come for all humankind? That the peace, joy, hope, and love he brings isn't just for those who claim him by name, but for all God's children? That he comes to us not just individually, but communally, as people of faith?

I'm reminded of the story, told in so many cultures and faiths, of the way God's light became hidden inside all of us. In some versions of the story, it is sin that causes the light to fragment, with tiny pieces finding their way inside each human soul. In other versions of the story, God (the trickster) purposely hides the light so that we will go in search of it. The great challenge of life, then, is to discover that light of God within each person. Luke's Jesus nudges us in this direction, even from the start of the gospel, declaring that God works through the most unexpected people. That God's light will become enfleshed through the life of the peasant girl Mary. Perhaps the challenge of this story is to realize that, just as God's light is within all others, God's light is within us, too. And as Mary enfleshes that light in the birth of Jesus, we too are called to enflesh that light in the way we live and serve.

MIXED MOTIVATIONS FOR THE ADVENT APPEAL - FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT 2008

2008-11-24T16:37:00.004-06:00

By Dr. Richard Guentert

[Based on Isaiah 64:1-9]

As we make preparation for the coming of the Christ child, we remember that for ages the church has prayed: “Come, Lord Jesus. Come!” It is a prayer for the Ascension in reverse. It is a prayer that the transcendence of God might make itself known in the immanence of God. It is a prayer for the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise in John 14: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again . . .!” It is the Advent prayer of Christians during their life-long pilgrimage through the recurring cycle of the Church Year.

Such a petition – for the epiphany of deity – is not unique to Christianity. It was also the plea of ancient Judaism centuries before it became the mantra of the Church. However, in those days it took a slightly different form. In our Old Testament lectionary text for this week we encounter such a petition – replete with mixed motives.

In Isaiah 64 the plea carries with it contradictory reasons for desiring the advent of the divine. At first, the demander’s invitation is wrathful (verses 1-2).

To paraphrase: I wish you would tear away the holy hindrances that keep your Presence from us, and make yourself known – right here, right, now, right in our midst! Come like a fire that disintegrates everything in its pathway. Come like a fire that makes water bubble and boil and become a vanishing vapor. Do this in a manner that makes your adversaries tremble and the nations quake. COME AND GET THEM!

[There is an allusion in verse three to God’s Exodus epiphany on the quaking mountain – the cataclysmic, multi-sensory scene of the Ten Commandments being delivered to Moses.]

But by the end of the lectionary passage, the invitation becomes a merciful plea . . . a remarkable reversal in the demeanor of the demander.

To paraphrase: But despite everything, you are the First Fashioner who has formed us from the dust of the earth. It was by the handiwork of your fingers that we were shaped in accordance with your will. So please don’t be too upset with us, O Divine Creator. And we plead with you not to hold our transgressions against us, all the way into eternity. We humbly beseech you to remember that we are the beloved, the work of your hands. COME AND SAVE US!

In summary, Isaiah’s plea starts out with wanting God to burst into the present as The Vengeful One, but he ends up wanting God to come as The Merciful One who has ceased keeping track of our wrongs, and tempered any long-held hostilities toward us.

In between these two differing reasons for desiring the coming of God, there is a complaint that God has been absent from the scene for far too long (verse 4). This complaint then turns to blame.

To paraphrase: “After all, our sin is due to your being upset with us; and you know that we wouldn’t have gone astray if you hadn’t hid yourself from us” (verse 5b). It actually feels like you’ve concealed your presence from us and in so doing just handed us over to our own propensities for wickedness” (verse 7b). IT”S ALL YOUR FAULT, GOD!

At first they wanted God to appear in their midst and reign down wrath on those who were undeserving of God’s grace. But in retrospect, it occurs to them (and via them, to us) that “all of us are the undeserving.”

So in this Advent season what is the motivation for our seeking the fresh appearance of Christ? – to make sure all those other folk and situations get punished by an A.W.O.L., even-the-score kind of God? – or is it make sure that WE (all of us) get made over afresh, and graced by this God of presence, goodness and benevolence?

It is the latter which is the underscored sentiment again and again and again in Psalm 80:3, 7, and 19. “Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”

It is the sentiment of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians in chapter 1, verse 8-9. “He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

But never ever imagine that you can figure out or pre-determine the time and place of this intervention. All you can do is: “Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. Keep Awake!” (Mark 13:33, 37). Prayerfulness, perceptiveness and unpretentiousness – those are the personal disciplines of preparation we are to nurture throughout this Advent season 2008.

Having The Eyes of Your Hearts Enlightened - A Meditation for the First Sunday of Advent

2008-11-24T09:36:00.004-06:00

EPHESIANS 1:15-23

Finding ourselves on the waning side of the Thanksgiving celebration and on the eve of the liturgical season of Advent, we read the Ephesians text with the twin themes of “gratitude” and “anticipation” washing over us. We, like the writer of Ephesians, “do not cease to give thanks” for each expression of the church, and we often include the church in our prayers of thanksgiving in our Lord’s Day assemblies. Likewise, we anticipate afresh on this first Sunday of Advent the unity God wills in Christ Jesus - “to put all things under his feet and [make] him the head over all things for the church."

Some have called Ephesians a devotional meditation on the reconciliation God is making possible by uniting all things in Christ. That certainly should resonate with us as we recall the new identity statement of the Disciples of Christ – “a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.” Advent becomes a fresh opportunity for the exploration of the role that our faith plays in de-fraging the frays and foibles of our frantic affairs.

This prayer-text is a petition offered in anticipation of the kind of “wisdom” that takes notice of such unity. And it is offered in expectation of the kind of “revelation” that is attentive to the possibilities for such unity.

All of this is dependent upon a heightened capability to be aware . . . aware of what is, and aware of what more can be! The Ephesians phrase suggests that the prerequisite for this is to have “the eyes of your heart enlightened.” What a fascinating, imaginative and poetic way of stating the author’s summons to awareness. It would be like our saying: You must have the ears of your mind attuned. Or, you must have the taste buds of your spirit stimulated. Or, you must have the touch of your intuition sensitized. All our senses are marshaled in the service of discernment.

The directive to have the “eyes of our hearts enlightened” is a summons to deeper insightfulness. And it is an insightfulness that finds prophetic and messianic specificity in the Ezekiel text (34:11-24) where God is portrayed as “paying attention” – with all senses alert – to the scattered, the strayed, the injured, and the weak (verse 16). God’s remedy is the establishment of a new shepherd – David – the ancestor of the Messiah/Shepherd whose Advent we await in this season of the Church Year.

Christ Jesus is the long awaited Messiah/Shepherd whose teaching about righteousness and judgment finds its expression in the other lectionary text of Matthew 25:31-46. Having the “eyes of our hearts enlightened” we are summoned to attentiveness and life-giving ministries of care among the hungry, the thirsting, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned. For as we offer mercy to any one of the least of these, we make a pleasing offering to the Messiah/Shepherd – the perfect Christmas gift, if you will.

In worship last week many sang the hymn “We Gather Together To Ask The Lord’s Blessing” (No. 276 in Chalice Hymnal). As I thought of this lectionary text from Ephesians I was stuck by these lyrics in the hymn - - - “The powers that oppress us now cease to distress us, O God be present with us, and make your will known!” That certainly must be the prayer of a fragmented world in need of the wholeness that only unity in the message and ministry of Christ can offer. May the eyes of our hearts be so enlightened. And may our Advent confidence be in the re-birth of Christ’s reign afresh – “not only in this age, but also in the age to come” (verse 21)! It is, indeed, “the hope to which he has called you” (verse 18)!

November 23 Sheepish Behavior

2008-11-19T08:29:00.003-06:00

Matthew 25:31-46

“Lord, when did we see you like that?” When you did it to the least of my brothers and sisters you did it also unto me. And the sheep are stunned. But we weren’t trying to be religious or anything. We didn’t know. Maybe that is why there are called sheep here. They didn’t know. Aw, I just had a little left over time so I helped make the Trinity meal. Yeah, I called on some folks who were sick, but the truth is, I didn’t have the slightest idea what to say. I didn’t know I helped feed hungry people, I just dropped a few bucks into the offering plate.

God says, “Surprise. That’s the way that it works. In the end you are judged by whether or not your faith drives you to do some good for the least and the lost.”

The goats on the other hand, are equally surprised and monumentally disappointed. These are the people who thought they were going to heaven, but find out at the last minute that they are going to be on the outside looking in. They are rejected because they didn’t care for the least of Christ’s brothers and sisters. They did not respond to human suffering, so God’s judgment is harsh. And they don’t like it. “Lord when did we see you? We were waiting for you to come back? I even put a bumper sticker on my car, “In case of Rapture, this car will be unoccupied.” I read the Left Behind books, and I believed the right things, I kept my nose clean and didn’t do many really bad things.”

But the Lord says, “You don’t you get it. I said I’d return and you used that as a reason to feel smug and superior to others with that arrogant bumper sticker. Hoping to see the cars and planes crash when their drivers and pilots were snatched into heaven at the rapture, that’s just sick. Well, do I have news for you. I came back already and you missed it.”

But the goats had not been able to hear what the Lord told the sheep. “When did you come back? We didn’t see you!”

“Whenever you passed by human need, you passed ME by.”

Can’t you just hear their response? No fair. We were looking in the clouds. You never said you would be so sneaky about it. Give us a do-over!

Jesus tells them being part of this is much more than what you believe in your head. It’s what you do with your life. It is more than trying not to repeatedly break the Big Ten Commandments. It is about how you align yourself in the world. Do you align yourself with the lost and suffering, does your faith make you roll up your sleeves and get busy, or do you align yourself with those who would just make up excuses why you shouldn’t help people. Because that is easy to do.

Sometimes we can look at folks and say, they got themselves into their problems through their own bad choices. My helping just helps people abuse the system, and doesn’t teach them personal responsibility. And sometimes, there is some truth to that, but it isn’t true for everybody who is hurting and it doesn’t give us a pass on trying to reach out and do some good. Jesus seems to be saying in this passage that if you worship God and somehow are indifferent to the plight of those around you, then you are not worshiping the Bible’s God, you are worshiping a false idol, a cheap knock-off that isn’t going to do you any good at the final judgment.

It’s hard. And we don’t always get it right. This passage has been at the heart of my faith from the day I first heard it and I’ve been trying to get it right ever since. When I went to seminary from LeMars, IA, I had my first encounters with homeless people. A guy on the street asked me for money for food and I remembered that my grandfather told me not to give out money, but if they are really hungry to buy them a meal. That way you know they won’t be buying booze with the money. Made sense, don’t give them money for beer, cause that’s what I was going to by for myself with the money.

So, I take this guy to a convenience store and he asks if he can get a hot dog, an orange juice and some chips. As we approached the counter to pay for it, I was feeling like a sheep. I could just hear the words of the Lord ringing in my ears, “Well done, good sheep, enter into the joy of the good shepherd.” But the words that I really heard came from the clerk who started yelling at me for helping. “This bum gets a sucker in here every day. You just spent more money on giving him a handout than I make in two hours working this job. Idiot.”

I walked sheepishly out of the building. And I was discovering that it is hard to do the right thing. But this passage remains. It is tough, and we won’t always get it right, but we have to keep responding, we have to keep trying and not get discouraged.

With the downturn in the economy, word is out on the streets that this church is the place of last resort that people can come to to get some help. There are a lot of needy people out there, with all kinds of needs, not just financial. And sometimes it just wears me down. Some people have legitimate needs, others are running scams, and I can’t always tell the difference. And I’m trying to get stuff done, I trying to do my job and someone comes in and interrupts everything. I used to find myself getting a bit angry, but then I found a way to calm myself down. When I see their faces and I feel my blood pressure rising, I just say to my self, “Jesus Christ, is it you again?”

I already know the answer.

David J. Clark

Ankeny Christian Church

Taking Risks for the Kingdom of God

2008-11-11T08:37:00.002-06:00

Matthew 25: 14-30

It's incredibly easy to do the wrong thing with this week's gospel text, to fall into that trap of reading through the assumptions of 21st century Americans who survive within a system of capitalism. So when Jesus tells this parable about those who invested being rewarded and the one who didn't invest being punished, it's all to easy for us to say, "Yes, it only makes sense."

But therein lies the problem. Jesus' parables didn't necessarily make sense in the way we think of making sense. There was always a twist. There was always something that made his audience stop and think, "Wait a minute! Did he say what I think he said?"

And so we might find that Jesus' original audience were not 21st Century American capitalists. They were not indeed. And principles of investment were not the same then. In that day and time, investing with the bankers was the unsafe thing to do, the risky thing to do, perhaps the wrong thing to do for someone who valued their master's holdings.

Jesus is talking about doing the wrong things for the right reasons. He's talking about taking risks, doing what might be socially looked down upon, doing what is unsafe for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Dan Mayes
http://dan-mayes.blogspot.com

Be careful is not advice I like!

2008-11-05T13:56:00.001-06:00

Matt 25
The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

25‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids* took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.* 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” 7Then all those bridesmaids* got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” 9But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” 10And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11Later the other bridesmaids* came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” 12But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” 13Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.*

I have to begin my reflections on this Sunday’s text by telling you a recent story about how unwise I was this last weekend and how much I do not like a text telling me I have to be always on guard and wise!

It was Saturday, mid morning, and I had pulled up the old carpeting and had begun to lay down the new, easily installed carpet squares in its place. With minimal cuts I knew I would finish this project early and spend the rest of the day laying in my hammock listening to the last of the birds sing on that unusually warm November Saturday. However, in one quick and foolish move I managed to allow my brain to forget all the rules I have been taught since birth about using carpet knives. A simple rectangular cut around the air duct is all I had to do. On any other given day I would have applied my lipstick around the edge of the duct, laid my carpet tile down, pressed hard and removed it with a perfect impression of where to cut the tile in a safe but accurate manner. However, instead I took the short cut, I did not prepare wisely and I just began cutting in a way that placed the cutting edge both in an upward stroke and headed straight for my left hand if something were to go wrong. YES I KNOW NOT TO DO THAT! But I did anyway! 16 stitches, a near loss of conciseness on the way to the doctors office, a $600 doctor bill, and 2 hours of my day later I was not in a mood to read the lectionary and particularly not in the mood to read a text that seemed judgmental, exclusive and full of advice about how we should prepare and make wise decisions.

Yet, to be fair to the text and the community that it was being spoken to this text may well have seemed like a pep talk rather than judgment or unwanted advice. It may well have felt like the talk that is given by parents to their children just before they go off to camp, or to college or some adventurous camping trip. A word to the wise to be careful, to remember what you have learned or to think before you act. Words that every parent hopes that their children will listen to and take stock in and yet know deep down that even the best of children make mistakes. So you tell them again, again and again in more and more dramatic ways with the hope that maybe then they will remember. Stay alert and remember what you have been taught. Be strong and be ready for whatever comes your way because it will.

I still don’t like this text because it seems in part to speak in an exclusive way that seems contrary to other stories of Jesus who is always welcoming of the edges but the context and purpose might be different here. It does occur in Matthew in a series of advice and pep talk kind of stories. The next story is about the “talents” which could be a parent advice story as well. I will leave it up to you all to figure our where to go from here… hope this gets you thinking about this text and please be careful and don’t be foolish and unwise this close after an election!

God Bless This American

2008-10-28T14:53:00.003-05:00

Psalm 1071-7
“Oh, thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out. All of you set free by God, tell the world! Tell how he freed you from oppression, then rounded you up from all over the place, from the four winds, from the seven seas. Some of you wandered for years in the desert, looking but not finding a good place to live, Half-starved and parched with thirst, staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion. Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God. He got you out in the nick of time; He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you straight to a good place to live.”

I almost never preach out of the Psalms. No doubt that is for many reasons. The reason standing at the front of that line is that King David drives me nuts because we are way too much alike. It seems to me that he is both manic-depressive (I hear we call it Bipolar now-a-days.) and just a bit ADD. We are kindred spirits. If he weren’t Jewish he would have made a great Irishman.

In this Psalm he manages to do his bipolar thing well. He begins by talking how much and how often God blesses us, frees us and rescues us. But the end of the psalm David is eloquently telling us how God can turn steams into deserts and fruitful land into salt flats. He is not complaining, just mentioning that God can bless and God can blast. And that is true. I get a kick out of North Americans. We go for years and pretty much ignore God. And then something goes wrong and suddenly it is okay to pray in public, “God Bless America” banners pop up in every conceivable place, it becomes common to question, “Where is God in all of this.” We are pretty good at practicing panic button religion.

King David of Psalms fame didn’t think twice about calling on God when he found himself in a bind. When times were tough, he had no problem hanging out the “God Bless Israel” banner. But he also learned to walk with God in the good times, too. He could shout out for help and he could shout out some praise and thanks. The reason that the Psalms resonate with most of us is that they speak for us when things are good and they speak for us when life pretty much sucks. And, if you are paying any attention at all, you have noticed that life can do both.

Perhaps you have heard the word that the stock market has crashed. People have panicked. The world economy is at risk. Banks are afraid to lend money to each other or anyone else. The sky is falling and the latest numbers on my retirement fund say I will be working until I am at least 75. Giving is down at the church and my job is in jeopardy. I have been practicing in case I have to change professions. “Hi. Welcome to Wal-Mart.” Quick, I think I will pray. Quick, I think I’ll put a sign in my yard, “God Bless America.” I am scared and God needs to show up. Perhaps it is a good time to read a Psalm or two.

A perfunctory reading of the New Testament makes it clear that God has a plan to set us free from the sickness of greed and consumerism. And many believers have practiced the plan. But many of us are more inclined to ignore God when it comes to the “realities” of life. But when those realities prove to be less than reliable, we turn back to God and beg for help. We begin to beg God to bless America in general and this American in particular. And God can. The question becomes, will He?

Max Lucado wrote and shared with his congregation a great prayer concerning our present financial crisis. I share it with you because it sounds, to me, like a prayer King David might pray.
“You have our attention, Lord. We’re listening.
Our friends are losing their house
A co-worker lost her job
Family members have lost their retirement
It seems that everyone is losing their footing.
This scares us. This bailout with billions; these rumblings of depression;
These headlines: ominous, thunderous-
“Going Broke!” “Going Down!” “Going Under!” “What’s Next?”
All this Dow dipping and finger pointing and market freezing and credit squeezing. People are asking, what’s next?
So, Father, we come to you and ask; “What is next?”
We’re listening.
And Heavenly father, we admit: You were right.
You told us this would happen.
You shot straight on the issue of loving money and worshipping stuff.
Greed will break your heart, you warned.
Money will love you and leave you.
Don’t put your hope in riches that are so uncertain.
You were right. Money is a fickle lover and we feel like we just got dumped.
We were wrong to spend money we didn’t have,
Wrong to forget the poor, wrong to forget you,
Wrong to think we ever earned a dime.
You are the one who owns it all and gives it all.
And now, Lord, we acknowledge you are the giver, the maker, the creator, the sustainer.
And only you can get us out of this mess.
We are wondering if you will. We know you can.
We know you can because you always have.
You led slaves out of slavery, you built temples out of ruins, and you turned stormy waves into a glassy pond and water into sweet wine.
This seems impossible for us. But what is impossible for us is always possible for you.
Lord we have heard enough council from the financial experts.
We come to you in behalf of our country.
We ask for your help.
This disorder awaits your order.
So do we.
Through Christ,
Amen”

As we look at this Psalm this week, perhaps we should remember that God is good and following His way is the best way. Remember that God is with us in the good times and the bad. And that knowledge can make the good times great and the bad times tolerable.

Welcoming a New Contributor

2008-10-27T19:31:00.002-05:00

I'd like to introduce a new contributor to our Lectionary Group Blog. Please welcome Bill McConnell, lead minister of Legacy Christian Church in Harrison, Ohio. You can get to know Bill a little bit by visiting his blog "Lives of Significance." Bill will be posting this week.

Frightening Responsibility

2008-10-14T11:57:00.000-05:00

October 19, 2008
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

I had originally thought I would write on the Matthew scripture but after reading and re-reading this one, I decided I liked it. This week, Paul is writing to the church of the Thessalonians, giving thanks for them and always remembering them for their great work.

After coming away from the Regional Assembly on Saturday, this is what I think we, as Disciples, should be doing. We should be connecting with our fellow churches, lifting them up in prayer and praising them for what they are doing in God’s name. Matthew 18:20 states, “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them”. Good things, even great things are happening in our local congregations, and we should be sharing those with each other.

In taking this one step further, we sometimes get so busy within our own lives; we may even forget to lift up the members of our own congregations. The gifts and talents that walk into that building on a regular or irregular basis are astounding. In verse four Paul writes, “For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you”. What an awesome opportunity, but also a frightening responsibility at times. If God has chosen us, then we must be the example. We must love our neighbor as ourselves. We must reach out to those in need. We must imitate Jesus.

Just some thoughts as I prepare to write lesson plans for children’s worship.

The Church Lady Smackdown!

2008-10-07T22:29:00.003-05:00

Philippians 4:1-9

Paul's letter to the Philippians is very warm and affectionate, yet there are issues even in this church that must be addressed. Throughout the letter Paul has been urging the Philippian Christians to be united, "of one mind," "having the same mind." But rather than specifically addressing whatever dispute is going on there (in this week's reading we find out that it may be some kind of argument between two women who are leaders in the church) Paul turns the church's focus to something (Someone) else.

In chapter 2 of Philippians Paul expands his call to be "of one mind" by describing the one mind the Philippian Christians are to have: the mind of Chirst. He quotes what may well be an early hymn, speaking of how Christ Jesus, who had the right to great honor and divinity, left all that behind for the sake of obedience to God's will, even though that led to death on a cross. Whatever the problem may have been in the Philippian church, Paul reminds the brothers and sisters that there is something much more important.

In 4:4-9 Paul offers still another alternative: joy instead of anxiety, gentleness as witness, prayer that brings about peace. He urges the Philippian Christians to follow his example ("be imitators of me, as I am of Christ," as he says in another letter) and his teaching, which--because he is a follower and imitator of Christ--leads to a deep peace that comes from God.

Fred Craddock says the main problem in Philippi may well have been a petty one--but he also says that one of the biggest problems in many Christian churches is pettiness. A colleague of mine in the United Church of Canada asserted once that "anxiety is counterproductive to ministry." I wonder if that could be because anxiety often leads to pettiness, which might be another reason for Paul to urge against anxiety. Had Paul come in and declared which of the two women in the dispute at Philippi he thought was in the right, he might well have given in to the pettiness that was present htere. Instead, he reminded the church that their reason for begin together was much, much more important.

I think this text could be well served by a story sermon: flesh out what the dispute might have been between the two women, perhaps even bringing it into a modern church setting (Euodia the board chair in a disagreement with Syntyche the CWF president, perhaps?), and considering how a church functioning as the body of Christ--where we are all members of one another--might work to bring about unity.

vineyards and stones

2008-10-01T12:06:00.005-05:00

I apologize for the latenes of this post. I'm in the middle of my first semester in Seminary, dealing with a sick 18 mo. old son, yada - yada - yada...

Matthew 21:33-46

In this parable of Jesus, the one with the wicked tennants, a landowner planted a vinyard and, after moving away, hired workers to care for it in his absense. Those workers killed the landowners servants and his son in hopes of taking the inheritance.

Jesus uses this parable to explain the relationship the religious leaders had with the Hebrew people. God, (the landowner) planted a vineyard (Israel) and appointed tennants (religious leaders) to oversee it. They ignored the servants (prophets) and the son (Jesus).

So Jesus told them that the landowner would replace the tennants with new tennants (gentiles), suggesting once again that the kingdom of God is open to all.

Stuck in the middle of this parable is Jesus quoting a Psalm, mentioning that some stones that are rejected will become cap stones, the most important stone in the building. He might be claiming this about himself, since he was rejected by many of his hometown. He also could be making a statement about the outcast individuals in his society; another "the first will be last" kind of statement. Jesus is also claiming that the gentiles would play a significant role in the growth of his movement.

But i wonder about that line, v. 44, "The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” Is he suggesting that some people will try to understand and know him but fail? Is he saying anyone standing against him will be destroyed? The latter part, "it (the stone, ie. Jesus) will crush anyone on whom it falls" might be a political statement, meant to warn the religious leaders, and encourage his followers.

So Jesus calls out the religious leaders on their shabby practices, and in a way, threatens that their power would be taken away and they would be replaced.

I wonder what Jesus would have to say to those in positions of power today? How might Jesus react to the mishandlings of finances by those involved with the global economy today? What might be a good parable to address the issues of injustice and poverty today?

Happy pondering!

Words that Mean Something

2008-09-21T12:35:00.005-05:00

Matthew 21:23-32 (September 28, 2008)

I don't know that I've ever preached on this text before. As it so happens, because I'm doing a special series right now based on my congregation's mission statement, I won't be preaching on it this year. However, some time ago I said "yes" when asked if I would prepare some comments for this week, and I've learned that it's important to honor one's commitments....

Two sons were told by their father that there was work to be done. One refuses to work, but later changes his mind. The other says "OK, I'll do it," but then does not go.

In looking through various online commentaries and sermons, I find that many preachers ignore the original context. The son who says he'll go but then changes his mind represents the religious leaders of Jesus' day. They said they'd follow, but their actions have not backed up their words.

I think I've skipped preaching on this for two reasons: one, I didn't want to risk making it sound as if Jesus' harsh words toward the religious leaders should be directed at all Jews. It would take some work to explain this in a way that adequately portrays the context as well as being appropriate to the gospel. And second, the basic idea of the parable--that words are meaningless if they're inconsistent with one's actions--seems so simple, like something a parent tells a young child, that it would be insulting to preach this to a congregation.

And yet, people do often say one thing and then do another. "Who will help out at the church workday?" Fifteen hands go up, but when the work day arrives, only three are present. What happened to the other twelve? They said they'd be there. Where are they?

Words are important. Or at least, they should be. And yes, it is a lesson that parents teach their children. I tell my own sons to do something. I tell them repeatedly. "OK, Dad!" But it doesn't get done. They call each other names, and when upset, will even yell, "I hate you!" Do they mean it? Not really. Yet they need to realize that words have power. In this case, the power to hurt.

But it's not just children who need that message. I admit, I was tempted to send in a note saying, "I'm taking a brief break from the lectionary and so am unable to post on the blog this week." Wouldn't that have been ironic?

"Yes, I'll go do the work." "Yes, Jesus, I'll follow you." Those are powerful words. But they become meaningless if they are inconsistent with one's actions.

More on this theme can be found in a previous post by Dan Mayes here.

The First Shall be Last...

2008-09-17T17:19:00.009-05:00

by Brian Kirk

Exodus 16: 2-15

*Matthew 20: 1-16

Here we go again with one of Jesus' wacky parables. It never fails that when I preach this text someone comes up to me afterwards and insists that I just don't seem to see the inherent unfairness in paying everyone the same wage for different amounts of work! My reply: Of course it's unfair. Nobody ever claimed the Kingdom of God was fair. And lucky for us that it isn't. It isn't fair. But it is full of grace and compassion and a love that doesn't keep a record of wrongs and rights.

This pable in Matthew is best read within its context. Before this passage we have several related teachings from Jesus. He tells the rich young man that, since he has done all the other things on his "I'm a good person" checklist, all that is left is to go and sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. And the young man goes away in sorrow. This was apparently not the answer he wanted to hear. Then we have Jesus' teachings about how difficult it will be for the rich to enter the Kingdom. The disciples are perplexed by this teaching and Jesus assures them that those who are willing to give up all to follow him will inherit eternal life. Following this Sunday's text from Matthew, we have Jesus being approached by the mother of the Zebedee boys, wanting a parent-teacher conference to ask Jesus to make them the leads in the school play (so to speak). Jesus' eventual response: "Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant. . . just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve." All this brackets our parable of the workers in the vineyard.

Though much could be said about this parable being about grace and justice to the poor and sharing God's resources extravagantly, at its core this text seems to be saying, "Stop worrying about what you have or don't have or what you still need to earn or whether you are good enough or worthy enough. Everything good that God has to give you is already yours. Stop looking at the other guy's possessions/status/opportunities and wondering whether or not he deserves them and see what God has already given to YOU: grace, forgiveness, compassion, love." This is the message Jesus is trying to pass on to the rich young man, but he knows the fellow will never see the truth of it until he gets rid of the stuff in his life that is blocking his view of God's good gifts. It's the message Jesus imparts to the Zebedee boys who are worried about their status and "getting to be first in the line" and Jesus knows they will never see the truth until they stop worrying about who deserves to be first and who deserves to be last. Just as WE can't see the radical truth of this parable until we are able to let go of our shouts of "But it's unfair!" and see that God's love and grace for all of us is completely and extravagantly and abundantly unfair.

As a side note, the Exodus reading for this Sunday provides a nice parallel to Matthew's teaching. The Israelites have been liberated from bondage and oppression . . . and all they can do is complain. "We're hungry! We'd have been better off if we stayed in Egypt." Are they suddenly unable to see the gift of freedom that God has placed before them. Instead of rejoicing in what they have, they despair over what they lack. And despite the fact this ungrateful bunch doesn't deserve it, God provides for them manna from Heaven. Was it fair for God to provide so much for those who complained? No, but God's love has nothing to do with being fair.

A Tsunami of Grace

2008-09-10T23:09:00.002-05:00

By Dennis Sanders

Matthew 18:21-35

When I was in college I was part of the Baptist college fellowship. Every so often, we had communion.

I really dreaded communion.

The pastor would talk about being careful that there was not anything that could get in the way of communion such as a broken relationship with someone in the group. There was a quiet place where people could go to hash things out. What I remember from that whole experience is that I was always worried that there was something- something, unknowing to me that would damn me. Communion became a time of fear to me, wondering if I was pure enough to receive the bread and wine.

Looking back, I understand the pastor's intent: that the community take communion seriously and be a community where there was no dissention, but unity. But the result was that people didn't feel worthy to come to God's table.

In today's text, Jesus tells the tale of a servant that owes his king a huge amount of money. He pleads for another chance and the king forgives him of the debt. He then sees another servant who owes him a few bucks. He doesn't show his fellow servant the same mercy- instead he has the servant thrown into jail. Word of this gets to king who ends up throwing the wicked servant into prison after all because he could not forgive his fellow servant.

The servant forgot what it meant to live in grace, and he isn't that only one.

At times we think that God's act of forgiveness which is expressed in the life, death and ressurection of Christ, come to us in drips and drops, only to us and no one else. But the reality is that God's grace is a deluge of love that has fallen on all of creation.

My Baptist group of twenty years ago was partially correct: I wasn't worthy to come to Table. I'm still not. No one is. It is only what God did in Christ, that any of us are able to come to the Table. We can come to the Holy Feast only because we are forgiven by God. We are swimming in the sea of grace.

But it is hard to see that ocean of grace sometimes. I write these words at 11:30pm on September 10, 2008. Tomorrow is the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 2001. When we think of events like 9/11 or the Holocaust, we wonder, how can one forgive? How can we ignore such sins?

Seeing the world as one filled with God's grace doesn't mean that everything will be roses. But we do know that while evil might seem to be winning in the world, it will not in the end. Evil in the end will be drowned in the tsunami of grace.

With that knowledge, we can go on loving and forgiving. Thanks be to God!

Where Two or Three Are Gathered...There is bound to be trouble!

2008-09-05T17:10:00.006-05:00

By Brian Kirk

Matthew 18: 15-20

Though it's not my week, I thought I might post some quick thoughts on this Sunday's gospel text as I continue to ponder my sermon.

I think this passage from Matthew on how to handle conflict within the church is a prime example of why we must read scripture in context -- and preach it in context! Taken alone, this is a very un-Jesus like passage, suggesting that if we ultimately can't correct our brother or sister, we should basically throw the bums out. Focusing on the text alone, this might have been one of those occasions where I actually argue against scripture.

But, these words from Matthew take on a different light when we consider what comes before and after in the gospel. Prior to this passage, Matthew shares Jesus' parable of the Shepherd who is willing to leave behind his whole flock in order to find one lost sheep. And after this passage, we have the famous exhortation about forgiving another person seventy times seven. What, then, to make of this passage on conflict in the church in between these radical passages of giving all to save one who is lost and offering abundant forgiveness that doesn't keep a record of wrongs?

Perhaps when Matthew's Jesus is saying that we are to treat an errant brother or sister like a tax collector, we are to remember how Jesus treats such persons elsewhere in Matthew's gospel: with love and radical welcome. In this context, Matthew has taken a piece of conventional wisdom from his culture ("correct the wrong-doer or throw them out") and placed it in the context of Jesus' radical teachings, forcing us to see this so-called conventional wisdom in light of the unconventionality of the Empire of God.

My two cents.

Brian

BETWEEN AMPLE STRESS AND AMBIGUOUS OUTCOMES

2008-08-25T20:14:00.003-05:00

Exodus 3:1-15
By Dr. Richard Guentert

Having moved beyond the “mirages” of the wilderness to Horeb’s “mountain-top ecstasy,” Moses finds himself in one of life’s recurring quandaries . . . What do you do when you are literally “between a rock (Mt. Horeb) and a hard place (the wilderness)?” How do you handle life when it means functioning somewhere between ample stress and ambiguous outcomes?

In the “burning bush” encounter he begins to hear sounds emanating from, of all places, a shrub. (Now, many of us have been to Disney World and heard “It’s A Small World - music” emanating from plants, trees and landscaping everywhere. But in this pre-scientific, pre-technological world context, sounds from a bush are unheard of, and totally awesome.)

The Divine Visitation plus The Voice presents Moses with a curiosity, an invitation, a directive, a tribal genealogy and a bad case of stress. The Curiosity: Moses says, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up?” The Invitation: God called to him out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” The Directive: “Come no closer. Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place you are standing is holy ground.” The Tribal Genealogy: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” The Bad Case of Stress: “Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God.”

What gets revealed is a compassionate God who has observed the Hebrew people’s misery and heard their cry – a divine being who is capable of intimately knowing their suffering, acting for their deliverance, and promising them “a good and broad land, flowing with milk and honey.” The puzzling part is that their promised paradise is presently somebody else’s property – it belongs to “the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” That means the Hebrews can only get out from under being a conquered/enslaved people, by conquering/enslaving another people. God has offered an awkward solution to their one problem by presenting them with another. And isn’t that often the way it is with spiritual journeying . . . you keep finding yourself struggling with alternative conundrums – all along the way – between ample stress and ambiguous outcomes.

God’s plan is to send Moses to confront Pharaoh, and deliver the message, “Let My People Go!” But Moses retorts, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt.” In other words, Moses underestimates his capability; he underestimates his authority; he underestimates his qualifications; he underestimates his mandate. And this is likely where you and I most identify with this ancient patriarch of the faith – in our proneness to underplay our role in the promising possibility God has in mind for us.

So, do you suppose this is one more example of our sinfulness – our promptings to underestimate – both ourselves and others? And if so, might we just as well confess that this characteristic of “underestimating” is actually a sin? I wonder! And the sneaky thing about it is the subtle way we carry it off as the exercise of “humility” – when in fact it is a shrinking away from the responsibility God places upon us to act with courage and audacity in the face of wrong, evil and injustice.

It is the sin of underestimating ourselves and others that prompts us to say, “I can’t!” “I’m not competent, capable or experienced enough!” “I don’t have the resources to carry it off!” But to underestimate is to discount God’s confidence in us and in humanity. To underestimate is to discount Christ’s abiding presence. To underestimate is to discount the Holy Spirit’s empowering charisms & charisma.

Those who underestimate betray a lack of confidence in the accumulated resources and giftedness of the community of faith around them. And it culminates in a failure of faith, a failure of hope, and ultimately in a failure of nerve. It results in low-balling our expectations, in down-sizing our dreams, in shrinking our ambitions, in trimming back our enterprises, and in “settling” for second-best.

The text concludes with God disclosing the empowering name: “I am who I am!” – the real power of which is to be noted in the footnote to the NRSV translation. The Hebrew text is just as accurately translated, “I will be what I will be!”

Master chess-players have already figured out their opponent’s options four to six plays ahead into the game. So we should not be surprised that the God of the Hebrews has the capability to “become” in any way necessary, as the creature and the Creator move in partnership into their new future together. A God who can say “I will be what I will be!” is a transformable God for a transformable people – even though the future from the human standpoint is filled with ambiguous outcomes. And the Promise that can counter all our proneness to “underestimate” is that the One who was with the Hebrew people through all their wonderings and their wanderings is the God who is with us, as well.

Further resources for exploring this unholy habit of “underestimating:”

The Psalm 105: 1-6, 23-26, 45c text is full of arguments countering any propensity to underestimate – especially the power of remembering how God was with them in their previous history.

The Romans 12 text offers an “attitude adjustment” for us when we are tempted to underestimate. See verses 11 and 12. “Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.” These are the spiritual resources that counter any temptation to disparage our capabilities in the face of God’s call.

The Matthew 16:21-28 text gives us a powerful illustration around this theme of underestimating. In verse 21 Jesus outlines both the suffering of his passion and the resurrection promise. But in the midst of Jesus’ candidness and confidence comes Peter’s cold water. He underestimates the depth of Jesus’ commitment and conviction. He underestimates Jesus’ rationale and resolve. So in verse 23 Jesus indicates that this “underestimating” is not only detrimental, it is satanic! It is a stumbling block. And it is wrong-minded!

The doubting and fearful Disciples, gathered later on in the Upper Room after Jesus’ crucifixion and burial, had the audacity to underestimate the power of God to bring life in the face of death, and hope in the midst of despair.

When one continually underestimates themselves, they end up going through life with an accumulation of regrets – and blaming life for it – kind of like the fellow described in the following lyrics from a C&W ballad.
I could’ve played in the majors,
but I had some bad luck
Well that’s not exactly it,
the truth is I sucked.
So I drank me some whiskey,
and I smoked cigarettes
’Cause it takes out the sting
of those former regrets.
I’m sad and I’m tired,
I’m angry and numb
I’m three-quarters prisoner
and I’m two-quarters dumb
I’m half of the man that I wanted to be
I wish life would stop kickin’
the [crap] out of me.
(Lyrics from a country western song by Thom Schuyler called “3/4 Me”)

The Olympic Village was a community of people who refused to disbelieve or doubt the possibility of breaking records. Not one of them got there by underestimating their capabilities, or the resources that surrounded them in their family, coach, community and peers.

“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” Wilma Rudolf (the first American woman runner to win three gold medals at a single Olympics, 1940-1994.)

A strong counter to the practice of underestimating what God can do in and through us is found in the text to the hymn, That Cause Can Neither Be lost Nor Stayed. It is a is a powerful antidote to the negativity of disparaging and minimizing our contributions. The text can be found on page 604 of Chalice Hymnal

From the culture of history, art, music and theatre comes the musical production called Les Misérable, about underdogs who believe so much in the virtue of a cause that the size of the foe is inconsequential . . . resulting in a complete refusal to underestimate the power of a liberating idea.

“People underestimate their capacity for change. There is never a right time to do a difficult thing. A leader’s job is to help people have a vision of their potential.” John Porter

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Leo Buscaglia, U.S. author & lecturer (1925 - 1998)

The Labor Day weekend is a significant moment to encourage folk not to underestimate the weight, worth and magnitude of their labors. What they do for a living makes better the world around them. It is important. And to underestimate that importance is to undervalue their vocation

Taking on great efforts like combating racism, starting new churches, and undertaking flood recovery projects requires indomitable spirits. None of these are tackled by folks intent on underestimating themselves, others, the church, or God.

August 24th Midwives of Hope

2008-08-14T15:59:00.002-05:00

Exodus 1:8-2:10

Our text begins with the startling news that there arose a king who did not know Joseph. He didn’t bother to learn his history. What’s up with that? Didn’t he ask? Didn’t anyone think it was important to tell him his history? When leaders don’t know history, disaster follows. If he knew about Joseph, he would have learned that the only reason that he had a country to govern was because of the Israelite, Joseph, who saved the whole nation from famine. No Joseph and his Israelite God -- no Egypt, no kingship, no one would be around to call him Pharaoh, he’d be called dust.

If he had known about Joseph, he would have known about Joseph’s God, who works through human beings to save life, to bring blessing. He would have known that God takes the evil that people do in this world and always brings something good out of it. Because Pharaoh did not know, he made bad decisions that brought a heap of trouble on his head. The lesson from the beginning of the text is pretty clear. Don’t be a know-not. Know. Know your spiritual history. Know this God who works through human beings to save life and bring blessings upon people. Know the story. Know that you are a child of God meant for better than what sometimes you act like.

Pharaoh looks around and notices there are a lot of Hebrews. “By golly, it won’t be long before there are more of them than there are of us. Then what? They might take us over, with their language, their culture. That wouldn’t be good. I better use all the power of my government to stop them.” So, he decided to oppress the people instead of finding ways to build on common interests within the country.

Pharaoh turned the Hebrews into slaves, making their work hard and bitter. They built storehouses for the superabundance of Egypt -- as if to rub their noses in it. “We are powerful and great and rich, and you get beaten and have to build the places to store our extra riches.” But they cried out, stripped of everything human, to the God of Joseph. “God remember us. Have you forgotten us? Where are you? Come, save us. Do something.” Although Pharaoh forgot about God, God did not forget about his people. God does not forget. God remembers God's people especially in their time of trouble. God heard their cries. And Yahweh did what God always does when there is trouble. God worked through human beings to make a difference. And as God always does, God worked through those people everyone would consider the most unlikely to make a difference.

He sent midwives. Midwives were thought to be somehow cursed, not blessed by God. They couldn’t have children so God must not favor them. That was the thinking. So God chose midwives maybe to show that isn’t true.

Pharaoh decided it was time for a little population control. Back then they didn’t have fancy maternity wards and OB/GYNs. But they did have midwives. Pharaoh ordered midwives to kill any male children at birth.

Pharaoh was fearful about what might happen to him and his country so he acted with malice and terror and violence. The midwives, the text says, feared God. Fear of God doesn’t mean that if you do something wrong, you think God is going to zap you. Fearing God in the Bible means reverence, awe, respect, and worship. Their fear leads them to love life, to save it, to even put their own lives on the line. Pharaoh’s fear is self-centered; the midwives fear is self-giving.

The midwives defy Pharaoh. Obviously, they would have been killed if Pharaoh knew. It is the first recorded act of civil disobedience. They followed a higher law. They wouldn’t give in to what was expected of them. These women are our spiritual ancestors. Don’t be a not know on this. The Bible will have nothing of us being patsies in this world.
We are to stand up and defy the powers because we are not inwardly motivated, but outwardly motivated.
Defy those who try to pressure us into silence when they are corrupt.
Defy that which is hateful and wrong.
Lovingly defy those who would try to squeeze you into their mold.

The midwives refuse to kill the babies. They make up some funny story about Hebrew women being tougher than others so that they already deliver their babies before they can arrive on the scene. “Sorry boss.” And so, these two women saved a generation. They saved the big brother of Moses, Aaron. Aaron turned out to be Moses’ spokesperson and was key in leading the people out of Egypt. No midwives, no Exodus, no ten commandments, no basis of western civilization, no Judaism, no Christianity. They saved it all.

God blessed them and produced life in their barren wombs. This is one of the great themes of faith in the Old Testament. God produces life and vitality in places thought barren and dry. God a barren place in your life? Remember your spiritual heritage, don’t be a know not.

The names of these women are mentioned. Puah and Shiphara. They are named but the particular great Pharaoh is not named. I like that. The great king is not named but the ordinary women heroines are named. In the Bible’s logic, these two women are more important than all of the Pharaohs remembered in the valley of towering pyramids put together.

Puah and Shiphara. Their names are strange in Hebrew, translated into English the names mean: Beauty and Splendor. Whenever women are named in the Old Testament it means something. Here in this story we are told that Beauty and Splendor saved a whole generation. Why do you think this story about Beauty and Splendor defying authority and saving a generation are told about in the Bible? Do you think it is just a history lesson? By no means. It is about us. People who will stand up to what is wrong, and put themselves on the line for others have souls filled with beauty and splendor.

Alexander Solyzenietzen who survived some of the ugliest things that have ever happened to human beings in the Russian Gulag said that “Beauty will save the earth.” He was not talking about anorexic, airbrushed, digitally and siliconically enhanced super-models on the covers of magazines. He was talking about simple acts of self-giving in a fearful world.

Beauty is the compassion of making sure others feel welcome. Splendor is the kid who decides not to pick on the new kid just because everyone else is. Beauty is the person who calls you to account. Splendor is the person who devotes his life not just to making as much money as you can, but to make as much meaning as you can.

Hear the words that Nelson Mandela quoted in his inauguration speech to a people who had been put down and oppressed and depressed for generations.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

You are meant to shine. So often we let powers smaller than a king keep us down. We are afraid of what others might think if we put our wildest hopes and dreams and noblest ideals into action. They might think we are nuts. They might laugh. They might ridicule us. We might fail. We might succeed and be lonely anyway. But remember no matter what, you are the child of God. You are meant to shine, to be beautiful and live with splendor.

In this old world, God keeps on working through ordinary folks like the midwives and you and me to bring life, to bring beauty, to bring splendor in a world that forgets about God. There is a new generation that needs to learn who they are. Our children need to know they are part of this story. We need to learn it so we can teach it to them. We are midwives of hope. Hope to a new generation. So that our children won’t be know nots. So that they will know that God does not forget.
Like Moses being plucked from his basket in the river, God has plucked us from the waters of baptism, not only the assurance that our own life has been spared - but to fill us with God’s spirit and to make us living reminders of a God that does not forget. God does not forget the oppressed. God does not forget the forsaken. God does not forget the lost. God does not forget the broken. God does not forget the sin-sick. God has raised us up to keep God in the face of every person that would dare to forget. Know it, remember who you are and rejoice.

Dave Clark

accdoc.org

Meaning what we say (Matthew 15: 10-28)

2008-08-12T11:07:00.005-05:00

It may seem strange that verses 10-20 are given the option to be lumped together verses 21-28. In the first section Jesus angers the Pharisees because of his and his disciples rejection of the hand-washing rituals and because of his teaching that what comes out of the heart is more important than what goes in the mouth. And in the second section Jesus is challenged by a gentile woman on the breadth and width of his ministry. Jesus responds to her in a condescending and insulting tone, calling her a "dog." She responds by saying, "Fine, then treat me like a dog and give me the crumbs." In the way she refers to him as "Lord, Son of David" she is also the first one to make a messianic reference to him. He is astounded by her faith and obliges.

These stories don't seem to fit well together, but they just may. Matthew's audience of early Christians are dealing with some complicated issues, about whether or not they have to follow the old Jewish food laws, and about whether Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians can eat together. These made for some complex tensions. Perhaps Matthew placed these stories together to respond to these tensions. (For more on this see: Preaching Through the Christian Year, Year A, pp 407-408).

It's easier to say what we believe than to practice what we believe. So for the early Christians it might have been easy to say that "God is the God of all" or "in Christ there is no Jew nor Greek" but putting these abstract thoughts into practice would have been much harder to do. Perhaps these stories are there to remind them that Jesus was more concerned about what comes out of the heart than about what rules you follow and that the first messianic proclamation actually came from a gentile woman. Reminders of things like these were almost certainly needed to help resolve issues of Church governance in the first century. They're also needed today.

When the earliest Stone-Campbell churches were formed, African-American worshippers had to enter the church by climbing a ladder from the outside. Then they were relegated to the balconies. Saying that Christ welcomes all to the table was perhaps harder for those early Disciples to say than to practice.

What are our challenges today? We say we are an inclusive church but we still wrestle with issues of exclusivity. We say we believe in the radically inclusive love of God but our congregations still have a nasty little habit of excluding people because of race, sexual orientation, or social status. Perhaps these stories of Jesus will be helpful for us to hear. Remember, to say something is very different than to actually believe it, and to believe it is very different than actually living by it.

Dan Mayes

Rise to be leaders . . . Or I need a Vacation

2008-08-06T12:34:00.005-05:00

Matthew 14:22-33

Im not sure how much of this is me and how much of this is the Text and how much is just me at the end of a long camping season. 26 camps, a plane flight that just would not work out to ICYF in California, 8 storms that interupted power twice, blew over 3 large trees, destroyed all 3 of my well pumps at the same time (meaning no water for camp) and so much more -- This was my summer. Infact the water emergency was the reason for the lateness of this entry...

Now I cannot let you all think that it was a bad summer because it was great summer. But in good midwestern (perhaps just being a minister) fashion when campers, counselors or other guest would ask how it is going in the middle of one of those chaotic moments, my response was, "Things are OK." While my mind was internally racing to find a way to fix the next problem so that what people experienced at camp would seem spiritually enriching and NOT chaotic. And most of the time, with the help of the summer interns, and the rest of the staff I mangage to do that, but on occassion late in the summer I sometimes slip and tell people what happens behind the scenes and not always nicely... That is when I know I need a vacation...

In last weeks Gospel text Jesus has just heard about John the Baptist death ( The person who baptized him) and he attempts to get away but the people follow and he heals them and feeds them. And if thats not enough to cause frustration his Disciples dont seem to understand at all. Now this week's text he finally does get away but only after sending his Disciples to the otherside of the sea while he takes care of dismissing the the crowds. Then after he does get away for a while to pray and be alone he notices that the Disciples are in trouble again and he heads out to help them.

In a moment of partial hope that things are getting better and the Disciples are getting it, even if just a little, Peter actually walks on the water... well at least for a while. Then Jesus has to come and pick him again. Jesus says, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" I can almost hear the frustrating tone to this message.

What is the message here... hmmm Maybe we all need a vacation now then to keep focused? As in the next couple of chapters Jesus is said to be trying to get away to rest . . . However, maybe there are times to challenge people to rise to the ocassion and walk on water. Maybe instead of not telling people all the things or just doing it yourself, there might be a time to challenge people to step up and take their faith seriously... Not in a frustrating, I need a vacation kind of way, but in a "I believe in you as leaders/followers who can change the world" kind of way!

I choose to believe the latter... Rise! Just the same I will go on vacation next week!

The Schedule

2008-08-04T14:35:00.005-05:00

We here at the DOC lectionary blog apologize for the recent gaps in posting. Here is the schedule for the upcoming year, so we all know what we're doing (Note: the date listed is for the Sunday to be preached. Please post the Monday or Tuesday prior.)

2008
August 10: Bill Spangler-Dunning
August 17: Dan Mayes
August 24: Dave Clark
August 31: Richard Guentert
September 7: John Claussen
September 14: Dennis Sanders
September 21: Brian Kirk
September 28: Danny Bradfield
October 5: Andy Beck
October 12: Sharla Hulsey
October 19: Bert Burns
October 26: Suzie Moore
November 2: Josh Leu
November 9: Bill Spangler-Dunning
November 16: Dan Mayes
November 23: Dave Clark
November 30: Richard Guentert
December 7: John Claussen
December 14: Dennis Sanders
December 21: Brian Kirk
December 28: Danny Bradfield
2009
January 4: Andy Beck
January 11: Sharla Hulsey
January 18: Bert Burns
January 25: Suzie Moore
February 1: Josh Leu
February 8: Bill Spangler-Dunning
February 15: Dan Mayes
February 22: Dave Clark
March 1: Richard Guentert
March 8: John Claussen
March 15: Dennis Sanders
March 22: Brian Kirk
March 29: Danny Bradfield
April 5: Andy Beck
April 12: Sharla Hulsey
April 19: Bert Burns
April 26: Suzie Moore
May3: Josh Leu
May 10: Bill Spangler-Dunning
May 17: Dan Mayes
May 24: Dave Clark
May 31: Richard Guentert
June 7: John Claussen
June 14: Dennis Sanders
June 21: Brian Kirk
June 28: Danny Bradfield
July 5: Andy Beck
July 12: Sharla Hulsey
July 19: Bert Burns
July 26: Suzie Moore
August 2: Josh Leu

Thanks,
Dan

From a Distance?

2008-07-15T11:33:00.002-05:00

Psalm 139:1-18

Several of my church ladies are quilters, and they go to quilting retreats at the Twin Lakes Christian Center just east of here. Just after they came back one time, we were working on Psalm 139 in our Monday afternoon Bible study group. As she read it, one of these quilters who was in the class got to laughing. They have kids’ church camps at Twin Lakes, and evidently they have some interesting ways of helping the kids memorize Bible verses.

Bev said when they were over there for this retreat, she noticed Bible verses stuck all over the place, in various spots where the kids would be sure to see and read them. On the back of the restroom stall door they had posted the first two verses of this psalm:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.

Now, intellectually I know that God is always present with us—but it is a little embarrassing to think that God is there when I sit down on that particular seat (although, so the story goes, it was on such a seat that Martin Luther received the great revelation of God’s grace that sparked the Protestant Reformation).

Several years back Bette Midler sang a song called “From a Distance.” Most of the words are quite nice, dreaming that the world could realize the peace and harmony that appears to be ours when we see the world “from a distance.” But I’m not sure about the theology of the chorus: “God is watching us from a distance.” Is that true?

I don’t think our psalmist would agree. The author of Psalm 139 seems to believe that there is no place we can go to be away from God’s presence. God does not watch “from a distance,” but is there with us wherever we may go.

But some people have not been comforted by this. Jonah tried to flee from God’s presence, and found out the hard way that it couldn’t be done. And have you read the poem “The Hound of Heaven”? (Google it.) The narrator is fleeing, evidently in terror, from God. But eventually, at the end of the long poem, God catches up with him—and then God’s touch, so feared by the narrator, turns out to be a loving caress.

Dirt (Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23)

2008-07-09T14:35:00.004-05:00

First of all, I wasn't necessarily scheduled to post this week. But the blog has sit silently for over a week so I'll go ahead. If I stepped up and took your week, sorry. Just go ahead and post yours, too. (Dan Mayes)

Prior to moving to Iowa I spent 6 years of my life in Oklahoma serving congregations there. I had grown up in Kansas, close to Wichita. When we moved to Oklahoma we found a house to live in and initially thought very little about the smooth slab foundation. That is, until the first summer arrived, and the tornados along with it. In fact, while I was serving one Oklahoma congregation the building was completely wiped out by a tornado. Tornado times made me leery of the house I lived in because it provided no protection at all from the violent storms. You could hide in an interior room, but that was really not much protection.

I began asking around shortly after the beginning of that first summer season and found out that very few houses in Oklahoma have basements at all. Most that do were built prior to the depression. Builders there don't build basements because of the clay and sandstone in the soil. It cause leakage and foundation problems. It's even been know to cause basements to cave it.

So I like it up here in Iowa, where the rich, fertile soil grows the sweetest corn...and where the homes have basements.

In this week's Gospel lesson Jesus offers the parable of the sower. And unlike many of his other parables he offers an interpretation. In his interpretation we can notice a major difference in the allegorized interpretation offered here from how it is offered in Mark. Mark provides a little bit of a conundrum where the sower is sowing the word (v 14) and then later the sower is sowing the hearers (v 16). Matthew, however, does not focus so much on which is which, seeing the combination of seed and soil as a complete component, a recipe in which both ingredients are necessary. So the situation of each combination is likened to a different type of hearer and their response to the word.

The question this parable poses for all of us is thus: Which one am I? Am I like the situation where the seed is sown on the path, the rocky ground, among thorns, or in the good soil? When preached the call to self-examination should be obvious.

There is also direction that this questioning and self-examination leads to. There is a harvest at the end of the season. Jesus uses some pretty incredible figures, too. A hundred-fold harvest is virtually unheard of in Palestine at the time. It's such a harvest that it would easily make up for the seed lost in the other types of soil. The emphasis here is not so much on us and our response, it is instead on God's miraculous action. This is a passage about eschatological hope.

If we're focused simply on the bottom line of the harvest we have a problem.
On the one hand, it matters how we hear and respond.
On the other hand, it doesn't matter so much because God will still reap a bountiful harvest.

But maybe what Jesus is suggesting is that we leave the bottom line to God. We hope for and trust in God to bring about the fruit of the seed. It will happen. But what is in question is whether or not we choose to be a part of it. In this way, our response to the word determines our future.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and interpretations of this parable or any of the other lectionary readings for this week.

Dan Mayes

Provision

2008-06-24T13:17:00.007-05:00

Gen. 22:1-14

I'm very new to blogging. And I rarely keep a journal or diary, so this entry may very well be a disjointed, rambling struggle as I attempt to gain calrity on a weird portion of text. I say weird because the idea of human sacrifice is so bizzarre to me. I think my understanding of human sacrifice is depicted best by the sacrifice scenes in Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom.

I'm not sure I've ever been comfortable with this text. Abraham, being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac, is so completely obedient! As well as making a unilatteral decision. Why doesn't Abe sit down with Sarah and say "here's the deal, we've been blessed with this son in our old age, and now we have to give him back."

So why does God ask this of Abraham? What is the point? I think a simple answer is that God was testing Abraham's faith. Maybe God wanted to see just how far Abraham could be pushed. Maybe Abraham needed to be pushed to this point to be made aware of his own devotion to God.

Another thought deals with human (especially child) sacrifice in general. It's well known that child sacrifice was a common practice among pre-Hebrew peoples, and was still happening in the area during Abraham's time. Maybe God, who from our earliest understandings has been about transformation, is using Abraham and Isaac to illustrate a change in behavior. No longer was sacrifice of this nature desired, which previewed what later prophets would utter, God no longer wants burnt sacrifice, but devotion and faith.

So does Abrahams obedience leads to understanding God's provision? Does our following of the way of Christ lead us to understanding how we can be providers for others?

Like a typical teenage boy, I ignored everything good that my parents did for me and focused on the things that were "bad" for me, like cleaning my room and helping with household chores. I always thought they had it out for me. (maybe that's how Isaac was feeling when he was being tied up!)

Now as a father of a 15 month old, I see so much of my parents in the way i try to provide for my child. Maybe i understand their provision for me better now that i am a parent too. Maybe as followers of Jesus we understand God's provision better when we provide for others, and they in turn understand God's loving provision when they are providers: "Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God's messenger. Accepting someone's help is as good as giving someone help." Matt. 10:40 -The Message

Reconciliation

2008-06-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

by Danny Bradfield
lectionary text for 6/22: Genesis 21:8-21

Less than two months ago, I began a new ministry. The congregation I now pastor is in many ways a typical Disciples congregation. It has wonderful people, and a nice mix of ages, although members would like the number of people to grow, especially among the younger age groups.

Thus far, a big part of my job has been getting to know the people of this congregation. In doing so, I am also becoming familiar with that all-too-familiar component in our churches: the struggles for power. Nearly every congregation has had power struggles among its members. Usually, the members learn to deal with—or at least live with—these struggles. However, sometimes they can be damaging.

The conflict between Sarah and Hagar (Genesis 21: 8-21) bears many of the characteristics of a power struggle. Sarah has observed her son, Isaac, playing with Ishmael, the son of Hagar, and has become jealous. Isaac and Ishmael are both sons of Abraham. The question is, which one will be the heir, the one to carry on the line of Abraham, the one to receive the rights and blessings of the first-born son?

Muslims today trace their heritage to Abraham through Ishmael, and insist that he is the heir. He was the oldest, and even though he was born to Hagar, ancient Mesopotamian law would have considered him to be Sarah’s son.

Jews and Christians, on the other hand, trace their heritage to Abraham through Isaac. They insist that Isaac is the rightful heir, the one whose birth fulfilled the promise God made to Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child of their own.

In many ways, the power struggle that developed between Sarah and Hagar continues in the power struggles that exist between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. They are struggles that threaten the peace and even existence of the planet. And how does God feel about this? According to Genesis, the quarrel between Sarah & Hagar was “very distressing” to Abraham, and it seems to me that our current struggles and quarrels must certainly be “very distressing” to God.

Quarrels and power struggles are always distressing, not only to those directly involved, but to everyone in the family/community. Parents fight, and their children suffer. Nations wage war, and innocents die. Church members quarrel, and even those not directly involved feel the effects.

In our church (and in many others), there is a part of the worship service called the “Passing of the Peace.” One member recently disclosed to me that he didn’t like “all that hugging” in the middle of worship, that such greetings and signs of affection should take place “outside the sanctuary,” either before worship in the narthex or afterward during our time of fellowship.

His comments made me think that perhaps the theological reason for including a “Passing of the Peace” is lost on many worshipers. Reconciliation has always been an important part of the Christian message. To paraphrase: “When you come to the place of worship, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave the place of worship and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come to worship” (Matthew 5:24). The “Passing of the Peace” is a gesture of the type of reconciliation Jesus describes. It suggests that, sometimes, the “brother or sister” with whom reconciliation is needed is there in the sanctuary. As a part of the worship service, it is most especially needed when there are power struggles in the church—and when isn’t there a power struggle of some sort going on?—as a reminder that whatever struggles and differences exist among us, they aren’t enough to divide us. We’re united in Christ.

The “Passing of the Peace” also serves as a model to be practiced with those outside the sanctuary walls with whom we need reconciliation.

The conflicts of the children are distressing to the parent. As the father of two boys, I know this. Abraham, also the father of two boys, knew this as well. And God, the parent of all the earth’s children, knows this, too. How much joy, then, can we bring to God by being reconciled with our brothers and sisters!

Radical Hospitality

2008-06-08T22:24:00.005-05:00

By Brian Kirk
Text: Genesis 18:1-15 Matthew 9:35 - 10:23

I decided long ago that I'm not they type of preacher who should try to deal with more than one text per sermon. I just like to cram so much in that two texts would end up causing worship to run way past lunchtime (and we can't have that!)

These two texts this week certainly offer up individually much more content than a wise preacher should cover in a single sermon. However, it seems to me that there is a common thread running through portions of each of these readings. The story of Abraham welcoming strangers and the story of Jesus sending out the disciples both give us different perspectives on the theme of radical hospitality.

When Abraham notices three strangers approaching (3: a nice folkloric number), he runs to meet them and bows down before them. He insists on welcoming them by providing only the best food: fresh water, newly baked breads, the meat of a tender calf. He is, of course, following the well-established practice in the ANE of welcoming strangers, but it would seem that he is going above-and-beyond the call of duty. Particularly as one remembers that, as far as we can tell from the text, Abraham has no idea that these strangers are messengers from God (or, that perhaps they ARE God). And in his willingness to, in essence, "entertain angels unaware" (Hebrews 13:2) and to live out his call to be a blessing to the world, Abraham is blessed himself by receiving the good news that his wife will bear a child.

Perhaps there are shadows and signs here of Jesus' own teaching: "When you do it unto the least of these, you do it unto me." When we are willing to practice radical hospitality, to welcome the stranger and the alien with the best we have to offer, we are also welcoming God. It seems that a deeper truth to be unearthed here is that we don't welcome the other just in case they happen to be God in disguise. Rather, we are called to develop the discipline of seeing the reality of God's presence in all we meet.

The passage from Matthew picks up this theme of radical hospitality, but this time we are on the other side of the transaction. Rather than offering hospitality, we identify with those whom Jesus sends out seeking hospitality. He instructs the disciples: "Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff...." Some biblical scholars suggest that those hearing this text in the first century would have recognized that Matthew's Jesus is telling his disciples, in essence, "Do not go out into the world like the Cynics do." The Cynics were somewhat like travelling philosophers, rejecting conventional life in a sort of back-to-nature movement and publicly displaying their disdain for the injustices and pretensions of culture. They prized themselves on their self-sufficiency, carrying with them all they needed to get by without the help of strangers. In contrast, Jesus here specifically tells his followers not to take provisions with them, guaranteeing that they will have to rely on the hospitality of others. They will have to trust that God will provide and, as we see over and over in the biblical text, God most often provides through the actions of the stranger -- of those we encounter on the road of life. In these experiences, we come face to face with God only as we are open to what the "other" has to offer us.

[Note also the reference in verse 15 to Sodom and Gomorrah, another indication of this passage's focus on the theme of hospitality. Despite common understandings, Sodom's real sin was their lack of hospitality to the stranger.]

It is perhaps easier for us to offer hospitality than to receive it. When offering hospitality, we maintain a measure of control over a situation. But when we place ourselves in the position of needing to receive hospitality, we make ourselves vulnerable. Perhaps it would be useful to consider how these two relationships reflect our own relationships with God. Are we willing to make ourselves vulnerable to God/vulnerable to the other? Are we willing to offer radical hospitality to the stranger, providing for them not necessarily what we want to give but what they need to receive?

I'm reminded of the old story of the new pastor whose church had coffee and donuts in the courtyard every Sunday morning after worship. The food was served off of fine silver platters and drinks were served from china cups and saucers. One day, a homeless man wandered in from the street. He strolled around the courtyard, smiling at people as they passed. They in turn began to whisper amongst themselves, not certain what to do about this. But when the man found his way to the table of food and began stuffing donuts in his pockets, the head of the church council had seen enough. She marched quickly across the courtyard to the new pastor and said in a loud whisper, "Well? Aren't you going to do something about this?" The preacher thought for a moment, and then she made her way over to the table where the homeless man was eating. The young pastor took an empty pastry box, filled it with donuts and handed it to the man. "We are here every Sunday, "she said to him. " And you are always welcome." The pastor then walked back to the head of the church council and, enjoying the stunned looked on the woman's face, declared, "That's what you meant when you told me to "do something," wasn't it?"

Faith and Certainty

2008-06-04T16:48:00.003-05:00

By Dennis Sanders
Text: Genesis 12:1-9

I've always been a bit irked by this text. I remember when I was in college, the campus pastor would marvel at the faithfulness of Abram. There was no questioning, no wondering what this was all about, Abram just heard the voice of God and took off for an unknown adventure.

I, on the other hand, took some issue with this. Surely, Abram had to wonder what was up. He had to have some doubts about leaving all that was familiar to him and go somewhere far all because some voice told him to do it. Was this God or that pickle he ate earlier in the evening?

Don't get me wrong, I think Abram (soon to be Abraham) was a person of strong faith. But I just thought that he had to question at times, because we all do.

Faith has always been a struggle for me because my logical mind is more suited to facts. Faith is elusive. There are questions and doubts and confusion, not something you can hang your hat on. More often than not, I would love to not have doubts, to know all that there is to know and feel more certain about faith than I am. But I am beginning to think that maybe those questions, and doubts and confusion are part of the deal. Maybe that IS part of faith after all.

Abram had a good life. He was in his seventies, the same age of my parents. He had probably worked had like my parents did as former autoworkers in my native Michigan. Now was the time for Abram to kick back and relax.

And while Abram was settling in to retirement, God calls him to move to some unknown place where he will father a nation. At seventy five.

Abram had to be swirling with questions. And yet, in spite of those questions, he picked himself up and moved to this new land with his family. Abram takes one step of faith, then another and then another until he gets to where God wants Abram to be.

This life of faith wasn't all roses for him, though. He and his wife Sarai would doubt God would give them a son, so they use the young slave called Hagar to father a son for him. But God still worked through Abram, not because he was smart or certain, but because he was faithful.

We live in a time when we are certain in so many things. But certainty can at times be an idol that can take us away from faith in the Living God. Maybe God is okay with us being a bit unsteady in our walk, but placing our trust in God. In the end, God has a bigger plan than we can see.

This past Sunday (June 1), the Associate Pastor at Lake Harriet Christian Church in Minneapolis preached a sermon based on the parable of the house built on sand and the one built on a rock. It was a vivid sermon in light the recent death of a grandchild of two elderly members of the congregation to a tornado. Even when houses fall when the winds blow, she said, we stand on the solid rock of God.

Abram wasn't certain, but he was faithful. He knew he stood on solid ground and went on a journey with God.

May it be so with us.

Dennis is an ordained pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and lives in Minneapolis.

The Door

2008-05-25T18:36:00.002-05:00

John Claussen
Lectionary from June 1
Genesis Scriptures

He stood looking at the large wooden door. The last time he had been on the other side of that door was a year ago. But the world that he knew on the other side of that door was gone. Gone. His home, his neighbors, and his favorite shady spot by the tree he had planted…all gone. How many times had he walked by the large wooden door, wondering when it would open; when he could walk out and smell the fresh air again; when he could put his feet firmly on land? There had been no time table, no scheduled release. He had no idea when the door would open, or what would be waiting for him on the other side. He had built the door, but he was not the one who shut it. And he could not open it. That was up to God. So Noah stood looking at the large wooden door. Waiting.
When I read about this great man of faith I find it hard to imagine what he must have been going through. And then again, as I look at my life, at times I understand completely. I have stood behind that large wooden door. I have waited for God to open it up. I have felt the fear of the unknown, and the anxiety of waiting on God. Now, please do not get me wrong. I know that God knows what he is doing. But still. He doesn’t always tell me. And like Noah, you and I spend a great deal of time standing at the doors of life.
So, what can we do before that big door opens? The first thing we can do is to trust God. His timing is perfect. After all, if Noah would have found a way to open that door early, he would have been sunk…literally. Too often when the door is shut, we become spiritually claustrophobic. I remember the first time Cindy and I flew on a commercial airline. After a great deal of prayer, I listened intently as the flight attendant explained what to do in case of an emergency. That speech was not necessary. I had already scoped out the plane, and I knew exactly where the exits were located. Have you ever noticed that we human beings do that all the time? Watch people. As soon as they enter a room, they look around for the exit. The escape. In our spiritual walk we do the same thing. The next door is very important. If the door won’t budge, we look for a window, or a sledge hammer. The best advice: Don’t panic! God brought you through that door for a purpose, and God will open the next door in his time. I like the verse in Psalms that says “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope” (Ps.130:5).
Next, we need to remind ourselves why we are on this side of the door to begin with. Noah may have been thinking about that big wooden door, but he was feeding animals. When he had time to relax, his mind may have wondered about what the world was going to be like when the door opened, but there was still stalls to clean. And believe me, if Noah would have decided his job was to simply watch the door and wait for it to open, I am fairly sure Mrs. Noah would have hit him upside the head with a bucket.
And speaking of family…too often we forget that they are in the same boat we are in. Even though you and I may be ready for that large wooden door to open, maybe there is someone in the boat who really enjoys taking care of those animals. Family communication is crucial, especially during times of possible transition.
Finally, remember that even though we are waiting for that large wooden door to open to new possibilities and new ministries, God is with us on this side of the door as well. God will not only open the door at the proper time, but he will walk with us thru it. And while he is showing us all the new things, please pay attention. Don’t immediately start looking for the exits. It may be a long boat ride before that large wooden door opens again.

May 25th Blog - 2nd Sun After Pentecost - Deliverence & Humility

2008-05-16T11:02:00.009-05:00

SEEDS FOR SERMON SEASONINGS
Based on the lectionary for May 25, 2008
(Isa. 49:8-16; Psalm 131; I Corinth. 4:1-5; Matt. 6:24-24)
By Dr. Richard Guentert, Upper Midwest Regional Minister
[Italicized Scripture quotations from the N.R.S.V.]

This is the second Sunday after Pentecost, Memorial Day weekend, and the theme is “God’s continuing deliverance and the Humbled Countenance That Confesses It.” The four texts portray God’s healing and renewing spirit at work – a perpetually repairing presence – and the humility people of faith should manifest in the face of God's action.

It begins in Isaiah 49:8 with the reminder that it is “in a time of favor I have answered you … I have helped you.” This is God’s doing, not our own. Thus it is an act of mercy. The “favor” and “salvation” that here characterizes the awaited deliverence is reliant upon the mercy of the one who delivers it!

Isaiah 49 portrays this in God’s revitalizing visitation. It is deliverance in the form of “the desolate” being apportioned a new “heritage.” (verse 8d). It is a visitation in which nobodies become somebodies . . . invisible folk are made visible all over again . . . a voice speaks to those who are prisoners of their “dark” life-circumstance and it says: “Come out! … Show yourselves!!” (verse 9). And because of this visitation what were once obstacles become roads, and what was once impassible becomes an opening and a passage . . . “I will turn all my mountains into a road” says the Lord (verse 11).

Such a message was the politics of change and the anticipation of hope in Isaiah’s day.

While in Romans 8:19-22 the earth “groans in travail” awaiting the transformative work of God, here in Isaiah the earth rejoices and “sings for joy” at God’s ability to turn things around (verse 13). Deliverance takes the form of a new harmony between the human sphere and the sphere of the humus. The concerns of the human and the humus are of equal importance to one another. The fruitfulness and fecundity of each is dependent upon the other. The generativity of each is dependent upon the generosity of the other. Such is the interdependency of creation as it was intended by its Creator.

The degree of God’s “comfort” and “compassion” is referenced in verse 13, even before the questioner frames the inquiry in verse 15. Even when our circumstances blind, impair or prohibit us from being fully aware of God’s care and loving kindness toward us, even then – notes Isaiah – even then God’s attentiveness and understanding are part and parcel of God’s own being. Note the scope of God’s awareness in the image Isaiah provides in verse 16: “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.”

If you and I wear rings to signal our covenantal seriousness to a spouse, God one-ups us! Isaiah says we are “inscribed” on the palm of God’s hands. (The plural suggests both hands, and connotes that we are never absent from God’s perpetual attentiveness, no matter what our lot in life might be.) God has made us part of God’s own self. How could any relationship matter more, or be more personal than that?

This metaphorical tattoo is God’s betrothal promise – insuring the creation of an enduring love. And such love fosters the kind of "hope" to which the Psalmist in today’s lectionary text alludes (Psalm 131:3). What the Isaiah and the Psalm passages today share in common is human humility cultivated in the soil of healing hope.

And if this is not enough, the Isaiah text takes us one image further. “Your walls are continually before me,” says the Lord (verse 16b). So whatever our “walls” are – whatever confinements limit us, whatever barriers restrict us, whatever walls curb and narrow our options – God is knowing; God is abiding with us; God is partnering with us in all our efforts to overcome those walls. That is the nature of a God of deliverance!

Psalm 131 calls us to a life of quiet trust – to humility – in the midst of our life journey. The image of God is a feminine one. Our life, our being, is likened to a weaned child in the arms of this mother God! (verse 2)

Because of this the Psalmist is a non-anxious child of God. There is no propensity to give-in to worry. Being held in God’s life-giving protection is enough – a step removed from nursing, but still dependent upon God’s nurture. The lesson here is that faith trumps fret, that belief trumps bother, that trust trumps tension!

Much of our time is preoccupied with trying to “figure-out” evil and suffering and the bad stuff that happens in the world. We get consumed by the need to find answers for all the questions posed for us by an agitated and neurotic world. As in the temptation of Adam and Eve in one of the Genesis narratives, we are gripped by the need to know more than we need to know. We obsess about things over which we have no control. The press and media have persuaded their readers/viewers to crave their “fair and balanced” coverage, so much so that we have become mesmerized junkies in search of a “fix” called ultimate Truth! After all, the news agencies have convinced us, “We have a need to know and we have a right to know!” It is the media’s methodical mantra! So we fixate on solving mysteries which are beyond our comprehension. We become consumed by the vagaries and ambiguities of life. And when we are unable to “figure it all out,” we succumb to doubt – or worse, to complacency.

So Psalm 131:1-2 is a refreshing alternative. The Psalmist is content with some mystery in life. He is willing to modify the ravenous hungers of the mind and the spirit. There is a state of acceptance that culminates in contentment. This is not naiveté. This is not turning a blind eye to trouble. Nor is it a denial of the realities of life, which is often “not fair.” It is simply a state of being that recognizes human limitations, is willing to do the human part, and to leave the rest to God. Herein is real hope!

It seems to me that this is what Paul is getting at in I Corinthians 4:1 and 5b, when he writes, “I think of us in this way, as . . . steward’s of God’s mysteries.” He leaves it up to the Lord to “bring to light the things now hidden in darkness” . . . (which fits, of course, with his sentiment in I Corinthians 13:12 – “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”)

Matthew 6:24-35. Ultimately we are to trust the teaching of Jesus. Even as we are on a journey toward fuller expressions of deliverance, and are called to be ambassadors of that deliverance (i.e. reconciliation), we are admonished by our Lord to forsake worry. Abandon it. Leave it behind. Matthew 6:24ff suggests that our worry discloses our worship of the wrong master. So our Lord’s counsel is simple: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink. . . . Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to the span of life? . . . “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today." (verses 25, 27 and 34)

This God of Deliverance calls us to live in humble recognition of the exigencies of life, even as we do our part to partner with the Deliverer in those ministries of deliverance which Jesus has given us to enact.

And the best prayer I can imagine to pair with this set of lectionary passages is The Serenity Prayer written by Reinhold Niebuhr in the 1930s:

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things that should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."

A humorous alternative occurred when the philosopher W. W. Bartley juxtaposed Neibuhr’s prayer with a Mother Goose rhyme in 1965, with a similar sentiment.

"For every ailment under the sun
There is a remedy, or there is none;
If there be one, try to find it;
If there be none, never mind it."

Is God Green?

2008-05-13T10:41:00.002-05:00

May 18, 2008

With the beautiful images of Genesis 1 and Psalm 8, this seems like a good week to have a heart-to-heart conversation about the stewardship of creation with our congregations. The question is: how do we have this conversation in a manner that can be heard? Although most scientists agree about the damage we are doing to the earth, high-profile political pundits claim that scientists exaggerate our impact on the environment. What are we to believe? Whom are we to believe? Is anyone speaking without an agenda? What impact can we really have on the environment as churches and individuals?

Unfortunately, traditional interpretations of Genesis 1 and Psalm 8 have contributed to a callous and harmful attitude toward nature. The following sentiment is not uncommon in our pews: “God gave us dominion over the earth. It exists to serve our needs. It is ours to use as we see fit. . . Besides God is creating a new heaven and a new earth. This world will pass away. This world is supposed to pass away—the world exists for humankind, not humankind for the world.”

Perhaps we need to help our churches to re-examine what it means to exercise dominion. We should think more about stewardship than mastery over creation. That God giving us dominion over nature meant that we ought not be arrogant. We should exercise our dominion over nature the way God exercises dominion over human beings: lovingly, respectfully and seeking out what is best for the other. Ultimately, our attitude toward creation needs to be one of respect and awe. Rabbi Abraham Benjamin Heschel says that when we lose our capacity for awe we lose our capacity for praise and then we lose our imagination toward God.

It seems then to me that we ought to try to live in harmony with nature. That it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ever step on a bug or that we can’t build homes or live here. We belong to the earth, too. But we should try to conserve wherever and however we can and not just rely on our own technological advances to clean up the messes we create. Remember: you can’t ever throw anything away because there is no “away.”

Is God green? Remember God created green. Chief Seattle gave the following speech in 1857. The heart of it sounds much like the sentiment reflected in Psalm 8.

Chief Seattle's Letter
"The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.

We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the dew in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man all belong to the same family.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred. Each glossy reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.

The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give the rivers the kindness that you would give any brother.
If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life that it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.

Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth. This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

One thing we know: our God is also your God. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator. Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires? Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is to say goodbye to the swift pony and then hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival. When the last red man has vanished with this wilderness, and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and forests still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people left?

We love this earth as a newborn loves its mother's heartbeat. So, if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it, as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you receive it. Preserve the land for all children, and love it, as God loves us.
As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This earth is precious to us. It is also precious to you. One thing we know - there is only one God. No man, be he Red man or White man, can be apart. We ARE all brothers after all."

David Clark
Ankeny Christian Church
accdoc.org

Pentecost and Mother's Day... Hmmmm

2008-05-06T15:23:00.007-05:00

As we continue to grow the use of this online lectionary Blog I am sure that each of our unique perspectives will become visable to one another. I hesitate to require a formal format that all must use but hope with the Holy Spirit we will all understand each other.

On a week in which most may punt and run away from the lectionary in favor of a mothers day theme let me suggest the following for the beginning of our conversation on Acts 2:1-21... The Story of Pentecost!

I gravitated to verse 14 and particularly the phrase: "But peter, standing with the eleven raised his voice and addressed them: 'Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say."

Peter, in a moment of confusion and fear stands up and leads, teaches, interprets and guides his people through an event that in truth could have gone either way. It could have turned into a riot or into a witch trail. God breaking into our lives is sometimes a very scary time even when it is a good thing. I must say that I have in the past tended to focus in on the spirit and tongue thing and the obvious overtones toward unity and diversity as a Disciple.

However, this time, though I did not set out to link mothers day and Pentecost, it seems if I were going to do this what I would do is talk about my mother and how she and others have been the one who stood up and raised her voice and guided me through those potentially confusing moments of life.

I have writen a story about everyone else in the family but my mother. Im not sure why I have been unable to catch my mothers presence in my life in a paragraph of letters and words. Everytime I sit down to write something about her I seem to fall short with just the right emphasis that tells my soul that "Yes, this is my mother."

Yet, she has always been there! Other then a moment when my mother stood up and dump an entire huge bowl of peas on my head to emphasize the point that I was being annoying and selfish to all around, I dont remember my mother as the person who would have been like Peter standing up and saying LISTEN to me for I know what this means!

What I remember about my mother and what I would share this Sunday is a mother who has struggled with the loss of 3 of her six children. A mother who allowed me to make butter and sugar sandwiches even though it was not her particular favorite food. A mother who for her own reasons believed in a God who has a plan for all people including hers and mine. An idea of God that she focused on but never talked to me about during the rough times of her life. A mother who still claimed me, when I, her son, came home from seminary, now a well trained theologian and had writen a paper that articulated an understanding of God as one who is neither in full control or has an overall plan for our lives [because if God did have a plan or that much control than things that happened to my mother would not have happen ever.] I was passionate and proud and like any good son I let her read my paper; I needed her to read my paper on "How I see God in this world." She took an hour to read it and then said, "I am proud of you, your paper is very Good and I understand how you see God." However, then she said, "As for me, I still see God as one who, has a plan and purpose for our lives." We smiled and at butter and sugar sandwiches together... Ok maybe not that last part but we did spend the rest of the day sitting in lawn chairs talking about all the other things that we never knew that we did not know about each other...

We did not speak the same langauge or have the same understanding of how God is working in our world... So my mother is no Peter in the sense of telling me to LISTEN to what he has to say! But she has often stood up next to me and said I am listening to what you have to say about God and that has encouraged me to be willing to listen to her and others as well who may speak of God differently.

Thank God for Pentecost, for mothers who stand up and listen and congregations willing to worship together particularly when we DO hear each others understandings of God clearly for the first time...

Those are my thoughts on pentecost and mother's day... what do you all think.. continue the conversation by clicking on the comment button below....

Year A, Seventh Sunday of Easter / Ascension of the Lord

2008-04-28T09:03:00.001-05:00

Before we begin, I just wanted to share a few words about the nature and purpose of this blog. Each week there will be a contributor, who will read the lectionary texts and then reflect and meditate upon them. Afterwards, they'll post a bit of a reflection for the purposes of starting discussion. The key to this blog is going to be DISCUSSION. We won't be posting research papers or highly thorough exegetical analyses. We'll simply be posting thoughts, stories, or questions in hopes to get discussion going. If you're here looking for pre-made sermons you're in the wrong place. If you're here looking for ideas and discussion, and are willing to share your own, then you're in the right place.

Year A, Seventh Sunday of Easter/Ascension of the Lord

Acts 1: 6-14
I am a movie junkie. I love the art of cinema. Consequently, I find that sometimes some of the greatest theological questions or lessons can be taught and asked through the metaphors that film provide us with. On the other hand, cinema can often fall very short of providing adequacy, or it can habituate us to an expectation of things that is quite the opposite of what we find we're dealing with in scripture.

Consider the ascension of the Lord. If Hollywood made this story it would be short and sweet and would end with a "To Be Continued." Jesus, the protagonist, would be the main and only emphasis. Hollywood would see Jesus ascend into heaven and then not know what else to do. There would be the promise of his return, but without the hero the movie can't go on. But in Acts this is not the case. Jesus ascends and leaves the scene, and yes his return is promised, but in the Lukan narrative he is no longer the only focus of the story. The story can continue on without the hero. The men in the clouds ask the disciples what they're looking at, what they're waiting for, in effort to redirect their focus to its appropriate place: life on earth, here, and now. And immediately they return to Jerusalem and refocus their attention and efforts on continuing Christ's ministry.

In Hollywood, the story is dependent upon the hero.
In Acts, the story is now dependent upon the disciples. And the same remains true today. The continued story of Jesus and his ministry is dependent upon his followers. We are promised the return of Christ. And until that time we are Christ in the world. How great an opportunity we have to carry out the ministry of Christ! And how great a responsibility!

Psalm 68: 1-10, 32-35
As I read this Psalm I am struck by its marvelous imagery. As I read this Psalm, I'm not really so cognizant of the military dynamics, historical references, or much else the commenatators focus on. I see this imagery, these semantic representations of God, their depictions of God's grandeur and stature, and I wonder if perhaps my own image and vision of God is a bit too small.

1 Peter 4: 12-14, 5: 6-11
How little we understand the "fiery ordeal" the early Christians suffered, and which the writer of 1 Peter addresses. Persecution for our faith is not something 21st Century American Christians are very familiar with. We may see a court decision go a certain way and feel as if we're persecuted. But when was the last time we saw someone burned or stoned or crucified for being a Christian?

The second section of this text serves as a reminder to us to stay vigilant in our faith and to not allow the Church to be destroyed because of our willingness to give in to external forces and pressures. This was originally a call to the believers not to renounce their faith under persecution, not to give in to the political powers which sought to destroy the Church. But in our context, with our lack of persecution by physical violence, how might we understand the implications of this text? What forces are at work that seek to turn us away from Christ? What forces are at work that seek to destroy the Church? What does it look like, or what does it mean, for us to resist those forces?

John 17: 1-11
We often think about praying to God. We think about the celebrations and the burdens in our lives and about bringing those things to God in prayer. We often pray for others and ask others to pray for us. But how often do we consider Jesus' own prayers and the ways he prayed for us? This text contains a major prayer of Jesus in which he prays for himself, for his disciples, for the world, and for his future believers.

What might we learn about Jesus' desires and motivations by examining his prayer? What might that say about our own desires and motivations? What might Jesus' prayer say about our own prayers? And what difference does it make that Jesus prayed for us?

Dan Mayes

Lectionary Group will start soon!

2008-04-27T22:46:00.000-05:00

Check back on late Monday for the first entry.