Links:12th Sunday after Pentecost
August 3, 2008
I heard an Old Testament professor once describe the account of the brothers Esau and Jacob as the story of "Hairy and Grabby." Their names roughly translate that way from the Hebrew. In this account Jacob is on his way to meet Esau after many years apart and after grabbing from Esau just about everything that he possibly could.Now Jacob meets a man on the banks of the Jabbok River which perhaps possibly he thinks could be Esau. They wrestle through the night into the new day. The man isn´t able to get the best of Jacob but does dislocate his hip so that Jacob no doubt walked with a limp the rest of his life. Jacob refuses, however, to let go of the man asking that the man bless him (earlier he had grabbed the birthright and the blessing away from Esau). What Jacob receives instead is a new name, that of Israel--and finally also the blessing. Jacob also asks for the man´s name--but it is not given to Jacob just as later Moses was not given a satisfying name--only a mysterious one.
Jacob may well have had more than his share of character flaws--but one thing he was and that was tenacious. In a time when we have a tendency to bounce from one thing to another, Jacob´s example of holding on for dear life until he received the blessing of dear life stands out. Each of us will have our opportunity to wrestle with God as did Jacob. Will we hold on long enough to hear the blessing--or will the first dislocation cause us to give up and let go of the One who seeks always to keep hold of us?
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11th Sunday after Pentecost
July 27, 2008
A number of years ago I read John Steinbeck´s short story, The Pearl, and it has stayed with me ever since. As I remember the way the story plays out, a diver named Kino whose son is ill discovers a great pearl while diving one day but instead of it bringing good health to his son, Kino´s life turns downward. Everyone wants to take this pearl from him, and in the struggle to protect it Kino´s young son is killed. At the end, he takes the pearl down to the beach and throws it back into the ocean.Here Jesus tells of a merchant who has gone in search of fine pearls—but who discovers one that exceeds all his expectations—and as a result of finding something of such great value, lets go of the old things he had valued.
Perhaps if we put Jesus´ parable in dialogue with Steinbeck´s story, we can hear the one saying to the other that when we attempt to hoard or protect "the pearl" we loose it, but when we dare to give "the pearl" away in and through our lives we discover it doesn´t diminish but only gains as we share it. Plus, "the pearl" is not a thing, but a person who can´t be kept but only followed.
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July 20, 2008
10th Sunday after Pentecost
There are many beautiful fields in our area of "amber waves of grain." However, occasionally you can see some green plants that have grown up along with the wheat. An agricultural agent assures me that the combines are good at separating wheat from weed. And that is what Jesus says is true of the final harvest--the angels or reapers will bring in the harvest and then determine wheat from weed. The owner of the field in this parable of Jesus also cautions his workers not to get carried away trying to clean up the field too early for they may not be able to tell harmful from good and tear up even the good in their frantic efforts at keeping it all sorted out.
The great preacher Clovis Chappell loved to say that everyone has a right to enter the kingdom of heaven, but no one has a right to shut anyone out. Our judgment is often a little cloudy at best and even we may be found to have sown our share of harmful seeds as well as good. So, it´s well for us to keep our distance from the judgment business, just as Jesus was known to recommend.
A little poem that according to the internet belongs to a number of different people goes:
There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,
That it hardly behooves any of us
To talk about the rest of us.
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July 13, 2008
There is much in this passage which seems to look down on "the flesh" --not a view which seems fitting for One who came among us as "the Word made flesh." All Paul´s talk about flesh and spirit in this passage seems to set the two at odds with each other, but Paul uses "flesh" not to point to something lower than what is spiritual, but to say that all that we are--flesh and spirit together--is transformed by God´s act in Christ.Recently I watched a movie set in the 1930´s that depicted a murder trial but that also focused even more on the process of jury selection that was allowed at the time. As the movie closed, the jury members chosen and seated were asked their verdict and one after another they spoke the word, "Guilty."
Paul writes in Romans that such is the verdict spoken most often and strongly to us by "the law." That we don´t measure up--that we have failed, messed up big time, and generally--often and probably even always--we have missed the boat.
Elsewhere in Romans Paul writes that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." All. But now Paul announces that "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death." Now, "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
The jury enters and one by one announces a new verdict that creates a new world, "Not guilty!"
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March 6, 2008
5th Sunday in Lent, John 11:1-45
The story of the death of Lazarus is the Gospel reading for this Sunday of Lent. In many ways it is a foretelling of Jesus’ own death and resurrection. And it carries the theme in much of John that Jesus is in charge all the way along. (“No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” John 10:18)Here in the account of Lazarus Jesus delays coming to Bethany when he learns that Lazarus is ill. Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, challenge Jesus about his late arrival. Surely, if Jesus had arrived earlier he could have prevented Lazarus’ death. He answers that his absence will be a way by which the disciples will believe. And then to Martha he says, “I am the resurrection and the life…” Jesus shows deep emotion and affection for Lazarus and his sisters and then calls Lazarus out of the tomb and directs that he be unbound and let go.
In what way has Jesus’ love and presence brought you out of the “tombs” of life? Where and how has the love of God known by way of Jesus unbound life you and set you free?
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February 5, 2008
My 4 choices to fulfill the PE requirements in college were archery, bowling, golf, and tennis. I guess it was all about "a well-rounded education." Stephanie Yeh, a senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, seems to have wondered about such matters also. Having aced her course work in electrical engineering and computer science she had one test left to take — she had to swim 100 yards — a requirement of the college for graduation. Her first response was, "What does this have to do with anything? Who cares if I can swim? Is this test really necessary?"Matthew records a time of testing for Jesus. No sooner does he wade out of the waters of baptism than off he goes, led by the Spirit out into the wilderness where he is put to the test. After a time of fasting, the devil shows up with bread (what else) and when that doesn´t work with promises of super-human powers and just plain human power and lots of it. Jesus meets each test with God´s word — with scripture that had been learned over time.
Was the test necessary? It seems that it was. Jesus in that time set the boundaries of his ministry and life and made what he had read in scripture a part of who he was. Someone once said when asked what they thought about some question: "I don´t know; I´ve never heard myself talk about it." Maybe in the speaking, the scripture´s words became Jesus´ words, a clear anchor in life.
Is the test necessary? Maybe it is so that we will at last know what we believe and also in whom we truly trust?
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January 19, 2008
I know that as a congregation you spent time a year or two ago working through Rick Warren´s book, The Purpose Driven Life. One January and February I spent time in another setting working through the same book. I said early on that I wasn´t sure if the word "driven" was the best word to use in light of how we find that word used in the Bible. Adam and Eve are "driven" out of Eden — and usually when there is any "driving" going on in scripture it isn´t all that good a thing to be happening. The word "driven" sounds somehow more corporate than congregational — "we are driven." Instead, the word "called" is the one the Bible most often uses when it comes to God´s activity in our lives.Here in Paul´s first letter to the Corinthians he makes use of it: "Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God… to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…"
Paul sets the bar high — "called to be saint" — nothing less is our role. And on top of that Paul dares to say "you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ." Not lacking — which seem to say that God through Christ has given us all and everything needed to accomplish His will through our lives, through our service.
Do we live boldly in that hope and promise? You are not lacking in any spiritual gift. Such a promise — such a calling — is all that is needed to drive us forward in Christ´s service.
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January 10, 2008
This Sunday in the season of Epiphany-a season when we remember the ways that Jesus' reveals that he is both Son of Man and Son of God-finds Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13-17). The reading from Isaiah is attached to this Sunday because it is the first of 4 "servant songs" found in Isaiah that identify the role of God's servant, God's chosen one.In Isaiah, the servant role is given to Israel. Israel is to bring to the nations all that was revealed to the Israelites through Moses and the prophets. The servant will not accomplish this mission by preaching (vs. 2) or through use of force (vs. 3) but by example. ("Preach the gospel-sometimes even use words.")
Always there is the pull upon in our faith that it can become such a personal concern that we never seem to get beyond that. And it was so for Israel-just read the Book of Jonah if you don't believe so. Jonah didn't want to bother with the evil Ninevites, with the outsiders, the lost and God-forsaken-and was more than a little disappointed when they repented and God spared them.
But there is another strong tradition within the Old Testament that Israel was chosen not for its benefit alone, but for the benefit of the entire world. Read Genesis 12:1-3 and there you will find that Abraham learns that the blessing he is to receive is to be brought to all the families of the earth through him. And here in Isaiah the servant is called to be "a light to the nations" (see also, Isaiah 49:6). Israel, through its own behavior, is to illuminate justice for the nations-to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and bring to the light those who sit in darkness.
A light to the nations. How might we carry out that role today? Where is there darkness that needs light shed upon it? Have we who have received the blessing been a blessing to others?
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January 4, 2008
This passage from the prophet Isaiah is understood to be one of three oracles that stretch from Isaiah 60:1 to 62:12 that by their optimistic tone were thought to be delivered immediately upon Israel´s return from exile before the hardship of resettlement began to emerge. This passage is read on the Day of Epiphany (a word that means "revealing") and verse 6 ties in with the visit of the wise men and the gifts they offered upon their arrival. (Matthew 2:1-12)"Rise and shine" was a phrase that my mother often spoke when she would arrive in my room to announce that it was time to get up in the morning. So, "Arise, shine" have not been words that I have always welcomed. But, perhaps at the beginning of a new year they are words that are meant to guide us in the living of our faith. "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you."
Just within the last two weeks we have prayed for the people and nation of Pakistan — and now we learn of the rioting that has come in Kenya and the loss of life. There seems to be plenty of darkness going around. And we don´t even have to look that far away, I´m sure. Where might we and how might we reflect the light of Christ in the darkness of this season of the year — and the darkness that we find in our world? Where is there the need for all of us to "see and be radiant"; (so that our hearts) shall thrill and rejoice? Rise and shine!
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December 28, 2007
"Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect…" so writes the author of the Letter to the Hebrews. Isaiah puts it this way: "It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them…" (Isaiah 63:9)A recent e-mail asks the reader to:
1. Name the 5 wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last 5 Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last 5 winners of the Miss American pageant.
4. Name 5 people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last 5 Academy Award winners as best actor and actress.
Then comes a different set of questions:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name 3 friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name 5 people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of several people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of 5 people you enjoy spending time with.
To me, the two quizzes say something about the "incarnation" that we recall and celebrate (Psalm 148) each year at this time — God with us — the Word becoming flesh. Not God in the abstract or as some grand idea or concept, but God nearby — his presence that saves — God who became as us. John in his gospel recalls Jesus´ words: "God loved the world so much that he sent his only son." Not a doctrine or even a book, but a person. When God wants to send the very best, he sends someone like us.
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December 18, 2007
King Ahaz is up against it. Two neighboring kings are on the attack and it seems to him that the future doesn´t look very bright. Into that situation comes the voice of God speaking by way of the fiber optic cable known as Isaiah. God calls on Ahaz to request a sign — no doubt as a reassurance that deliverance will come. Ahaz refuses giving the pious reason that a king should never test God — even though often kings consult God when in crisis (2 Kings 13:14-19). The response to the king´s reluctance is that he is going to get a sign whether he wants one or not. A child will be born whose name will be Immanuel, "God with us."Most commentaries on this passage note that this statement in regard to Immanuel was meant for the time of Isaiah and Ahaz. There is also the note that the word that was translated as "virgin" in the Greek was originally "young woman" in Hebrew. However, it came down to the New Testament authors as "virgin" and was recorded as such by both Matthew and Luke.
The Hebrew scripture can stand by itself and sometimes I wish we would simply let it do so. But, there is also a long tradition in the Church of looking back over scripture to find evidence of God working in the world in New Testament times and in our time. Nowhere has the Church found more foretelling than in the Book of Isaiah and so each Advent we read as much from it as we do from the Gospels.
"God with us" — that is the promise that ties Old and New (Matthew 1:18-25) together on this Sunday. The Incarnation — God come near — the Word made flesh — that is the promise of this season. In the last several days I was given an article from a local paper in regard to the Church´s avoidance at an earlier time in our history of the celebration of Christmas, the day being seen as a pagan holiday with no basis in actual fact that Jesus was born on December 25th. Maybe so when it comes to pinning it to a day, but it seems to me that right along with our faith in the Resurrection that nearly as important is our faith in the Incarnation — that God came close and "from his fullness we all have received, grace upon grace."
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December 14, 2007
"Are we there yet?" I´m sure we all have asked such a question or have had it asked of us over the course of some trip somewhere. It is usually a question that gets asked when the trip is long. Often the answer is "no, we´re not there yet, be patient." We´re just taking a break for a few minutes — getting something to eat, stopping for gas. But then we arrive at our destination and then maybe the question is still, "Are we there yet?" Sometimes the buildup and the waiting don´t line up with where we finally are.That´s the situation John the Baptist finds himself in here in Matthew. John had been imprisoned by Herod and was in danger, quite literally, of losing his head. And maybe a little bit like Judas who is often accused of having given Jesus away to the Roman authorities in order to press him into action, John wonders now why events haven´t been moved ahead by Jesus so that John´s release would take place. Why is John still in prison if Jesus is the One for whom they have been watching and waiting.
Jesus´ answer is not direct. In fact, what Jesus does is to remind John of the promise of the prophet Isaiah--the scripture upon which they both had been raised. The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, lepers are cleansed, and the poor receive good news. See Isaiah 35:1-10 and Luke 1:47-55, two of the additional readings for this Sunday.
When we look around us in our community, what do we see happening as signs of God´s kingdom drawing near? Where do we see God´s spirit at work?
Are WE there yet? Have WE journeyed in our faith far enough to be assured that the Kingdom of God has already been born on earth as we pray it will come in all fullness in heaven? WE are the body of Christ born into the world. What does the world see happening because of the church — because of us?
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December 4, 2007
A gospel for Jews and Gentiles alike — not exactly what we expect for our Advent reading. But this passage from Romans is part of this Sunday´s readings because in vs. 12 Paul quotes Isaiah 11:1 and 10 where we find the root and stump of Jesse (a new David) mentioned also.John Wesley is reported to have said, "If your heart is as my heart, give me your hand." Wesley said something very close to this in one of his sermons, but the phrase is actually more an editorial combination of two sections of his message. Wesley is also recorded as having said, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity." It was probably not said by Wesley, but is thought more properly to be the words of either Francis Bacon or Thomas á Kempis. But no matter who said it — such words seem close to what Paul writes here.
Paul writes to encourage Jews and Gentiles to live in harmony with one another, with Christ as the tie binding them together. He desires that they not only "put up with each other" but that they welcome one another. Perhaps he wrote to them in this way because at the time they were struggling with making room for the other. But Paul understands unity between Jew and Greek to be what God is working toward.
Who in our congregation or community is good at bringing people together across divisions? What helps this to happen? A common goal — a common project? Do we always need to be of the same mind in order to act with the same heart?
At the end Paul writes, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." It sounds to me like a wonderful message for this season, or for that matter, any season.
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November 28, 2007
"Slow down, you´re movin´ too fast, got to make the moment last. . ." — words sung by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel describe the tone of the weeks and days of Advent. It is primarily a season of waiting — a time of preparation — but our impatience over what is coming next and the strong push of our culture don´t allow us to wait for long. Some Lutheran congregations do not decorate their worship areas until Christmas Eve nor are any carols allowed in until that time. I tried that once, but soon learned that United Methodists are not about to let that happen.If you read through the passage for this the first Sunday in Advent you will find some pretty strange things. Their tone is more about the shortness of time than about the birth of a baby. And they also direct our attention toward the future. Our passage from Isaiah announces that a day is coming when the Lord´s mountain will become the highest of all — and all nations will gather there. At that mountain they will discover the way that life is meant to be lived. All things will be set right between the nations.
An image of peace occurs both here in Isaiah as well as in Micah 4:1-3: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not life up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." The spiritual "Ain´t gonna´ study war no more. . ." sprung from these words. (Just an aside, if you look at Joel 3:10, you will discover the reverse of these words — the putting together of a holy army to bring about final judgment. I suppose, if nothing else, it is a caution to us about basing our faith on one passage of scripture without realizing there are alternate visions with which to wrestle.)
Is the vision announced in Isaiah unrealistic? Is it meant only for the last tick-tock of time or is it a vision toward which people of faith must both look and work? Does it lead to hope, to expectation, to imagining that such a day is possible — that God wills the end of war?
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November 24, 2007
I still remember over 30 years later a question asked of me when I appeared before our Conference Board of Ordained Ministry when I was coming into the conference from seminary. And I can also remember the pastor who asked it of me. The question was, "When you consider the roles of priest, prophet, and shepherd—roles that serve as models for our ministry, which role draws you?" At the time I saw priests as rather "fussy" beings and I had known a prophet or two during seminary and didn´t see myself fulfilling that role. No, shepherd — pastor — was the role that drew me.But here in Isaiah, shepherds don´t fare very well. They have not carried out their responsibilities, God announces, and they are about to pay the price. But God is actually more concerned with what will now happen to the sheep and promises to bring them back from having been scattered — none will be found missing. He will give them new shepherds who will take good care of them — and God will establish a "righteous Branch" from the root of David — "a ruler who knows how to rule justly."
This Sunday, the season of Pentecost comes to a close as we observe a day known as Christ the King Sunday. The readings all focus on that new king — who will bring into being a new kingdom. Israel debated long and hard before anointing a king over them. The argument against it was that their only king was God. It is the emphasis of our readings for this week. It is a reminder as Christians that we are citizens of a new kingdom — that as we read in Colossians, "all things have been created through him — whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers." "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as in heaven."
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November 14, 2007
This week there are two passages from Isaiah. The first is an alternate reading for the Psalm passage that is most often found among the four passages each week. It is Isaiah 12, a psalm of Thanksgiving and Praise. Verse 2 inspired the chorus "The First Song of Isaiah": "Surely, it is God who saves me; I will trust in him and not be afraid. For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, and he will be my Savior."The second passage is Isaiah 65 and adds to the theme of newness that ties this week´s passages together. "I am about to create new heavens and a new earth," God promises by way of Isaiah. These words are picked up a number of times later in scripture—2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1. The image here is of a new Eden that will come into being.
One of the central promises is "the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox." A new peaceable kingdom will come into being. One of the interesting things to note in verse 25 is that while in the first Eden the serpent wasn´t left to crawl in the dust until after its deception–in this new Eden the serpent bites the dust from the very beginning.
It is a passage that is read also during the season of Advent. Woody Allen (not known as an esteemed Biblical authority, I know) once made the comment in regard to this passage, "The lion will lie down with the lamb—but the lamb won´t get much sleep." That has more to do with the old creation than with the new.
But the promise here is the God is about to create something new. Such is our faith always—even "though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet." Where do you see such newness coming into being? Where and when can you bring some of the new Eden into our world—and to others?
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November 7, 2007
Someone has said that the role of the prophet in Israel is not that of foretelling the future but instead to "afflict the comfortable and to comfort the afflicted." Haggai in this passage offers comfort to the afflicted.The passage begins with a specific time that happens to be the 7th day of the great autumn festival of the Jewish faith, the Feast of Booths, or Sukkot. During this feast the Israelites celebrated Solomon´s bringing the ark of the covenant into the Temple and the Temple´s dedication. But it also remembers Israel´s release from bondage in Egypt and the people´s dwelling in booths as they traveled to Sinai.
Here Haggai is speaking to people who had been left behind in the land during the time of the exile and to those who have now returned to the land. The work on rebuilding the Temple is underway—but some people are not satisfied with how the project is going. Those who could remember the Temple in all its glory didn´t have much good to say about the rebuilding project. But Haggai speaks to them on behalf of God saying, "Take courage and work." Haggai reminds them that the splendor of the Temple is due to God´s presence and ownership and not to any amount of gold or silver ornaments or the workmanship that their hands provide. Where do you discover the splendor of God present in everyday temples?
Sometimes we get caught up in pining for "the good old days" as did a group of the Israelites. But as one of our hymns reminds us "new occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth, we must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth." God went on ahead of the Israelites during the Exodus and Jesus went on ahead of the disciples into Galilee. Where are we being called to follow Jesus in our time? God´s gracious word to Haggai not only assured him that the Temple would be made splendid — but that God´s peace—shalom—would yet come into being in their land. Onward, Christian soldiers.
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November 4, 2007
The superintendent in a district I once served in carried with him to charge conferences one year the story of a seminary preaching class in which the assignment for the day was for the students to pick a scripture notation out of a box and then stand to preach extemporaneously on the passage. One student drew from the box the notation Luke 19:1-10, the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. As the story goes, the student stood and began by noting that Zacchaeus was "short of stature," a "wee little man" as the Sunday school verse puts it. The student pressed on by noting that since Zacchaeus was small, "he found himself up a tree" in Jericho that day in order to catch a glimpse of Jesus. The student remarked "and just like Zacchaeus that is the situation in which I find myself also." And, the student said in conclusion, "finding himself up a tree, he hurried to come down, and so will I" and he sat down. Not a bad three-point message when asked to think on your feet.Tax collector´s were not anymore welcome in Jesus´ time than they are in ours, and yet Jesus mentioned them often in his parables - pointing out that "the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost." Good news for all of us who at times find ourselves feeling that we have come up short - that we are up a tree - and can´t figure out a way out or down. But then comes Jesus´ gracious invitation to "come on down" and his gracious presence - "I´m going to your house today." What has this invitation meant in your life? How and where and to whom might you be the one to offer such an invitation for Christ?