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July 6th, 2009
08:50 am - Sunday 12 July 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to July 13
Year B
Proper 10
RCL
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Psalm 24
or
Amos 7:7-15
Psalm 85:8-13
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29
Mark is certainly giving us a harsh view of the life of a prophet. Last week the people of his hometown rejected Jesus. When he sent out his followers he told them to shake off the dust of the towns that would not accept them or their message. It would seem that prophets are not particularly popular. Horoscopes and hazy future telling are embraced by some today, but we still tend to reject one who speaks the will of God. If we turn a deaf ear to true prophets it was somewhat worse in the time of Jesus. Take the example of John the Baptist.
Through today’s reading we get a glimpse into the expectations of the culture in which Jesus lived. Folks saw what Jesus was doing. They accepted that he had abilities from God. It is how they thought about the transfer of ability from God to Jesus that is intriguing. It is as if God could use only one person at a time. The power has to have passed from some one else to Jesus. The question seems to be who was the last vessel. Was it Elijah? Perhaps John? Maybe it was one of the other prophets.
Herod refused to reach into the past for an answer. He sent for and listened to the message while John was imprisoned. Jesus’ message was very similar. In fact so similar that Paul would later encounter believers who followed John and were mistaken for followers of Jesus. There was a lot of variety in the earliest church.
But ack to the fate of a prophet. By the example of Jesus at home; Mark says that a prophet can be ignored to the point of inhibiting his work. His advice to a budding prophet seems to be - leave home. Jesus, as an example, sent his followers away from homeand they healed many. Their response to rejection was to be to shake it off and go elsewhere. That message seems to be don’t let rejection keep you down. Shake it off and move on. So much for the life of a prophet. Their final fate is much more stark. Although Herod listened and pondered what John had to say in the end he murdered him. More to silence his wife than to silence John but she probably had more political pull. In the end political authorities tried to silence Jesus by putting him to death. We know more of the story. We have been told of resurrection and our lives write new lines every day. Still, we must realize that there will come a time when we too must consider our fate. Are you willing to be a voice for God? Are you a prophet?
Mark 6:14-29
King Herod heard of the demons cast out and the many who were anointed and cured, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him." But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it." And he solemnly swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the baptizer." Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
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June 30th, 2009
09:59 am - Sunday 5 July 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to July 6
Proper 9
Year B
RCL
As always these lessons can be read on line at http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
Psalm 48
or
Ezekiel 2:1-5
Psalm 123
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
There is so much here that I wonder where to begin. Well how about a little list.
1 The people of his home town were astounded at the teaching of Jesus. He grew up in their town and apparently he didn’t show any sign of this ability as a child. To them he was just the average Joshua. Mark’s treatment of this sort of calls all those tales of miracles Jesus did as a child into question. But then Mark sees the beginning of the good news as the preaching and baptizing of John.
2 Next comes that throw away line - Jesus couldn’t do any real work among them because of their unbelief. All he could manage was a few healings. Today a few healings would be a media event. To Mark healing seems commonplace. Apparently our attitudes have changed over the centuries. But it does remind us that we limit God with our limited expectations and understanding. In order to see God at work we have to look. If I don’t look I will never see healing, if I don’t listen I will never hear. God does not cease to work but I cease to know. So the lesson is probably – Pay Attention!
3 The prophet thing – Jesus told his disciples that a prophet is generally without acceptance in his home. At home a prophet looks just like everyone else; eats, sleeps, works, gets dirty and takes a bath or not. Then he gave a few instructions to his followers on how to act as prophets and sent them off to proclaim and heal.
One of those instructions is worth noting because it follows in the line of the previous prophets of Israel. Where they are not received they are to shake off the dust of the town as they leave. It is a sign to the town and to themselves that they are on a mission from the LORD of Israel. It also is a reminder that what a prophet does, as well as says, has significance. That reminder makes me a little uneasy. I am not a prophet of the stature of Jesus or Peter or Paul but I am a follower and what I do as well as say will speak to others about God.
What a lot to consider in this gospel! It’s a good thing I have a week to mull it over.
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June 15th, 2009
08:05 pm - Sunday 21 June 2009
Mark 4:35-41
When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
The disciples were out on the lake at night when a wind came up. A wind that lashed the water until they thought the boat would sink. You might want to remember that some of these disciples were fishermen who had seen the lake in all sort of weather. I assume they knew trouble when they met it. I also assume that they knew all there is to know about how to deal with winds on that particular lake.
In all their awareness of the wind and the water the disciples saw calamity up close and personal. It must have been something of an affront that Jesus was asleep and ignoring the peril. When we are in danger we want everyone to know it. The news is full of reminders of our modern dangers. We want to be warned even when there is nothing we can do. And here was Jesus ignoring and possibly snoring as danger leapt wetly into the boat. The disciples did what we all do to those who will sleep when we are anxious; they roused Jesus. Not only did they rouse him they threw guilt in his direction. Guilt, that wonderful punishment for those we love. I can’t help it I wonder if Jesus was really awake when he was first roused. I wonder if the noise of the wind and water obscured the voices. Certainly my reaction would be to stop the noise so that I could make sense of the fright body language conveyed. And the comes the question, “Why are you afraid?” Why indeed now that the threat is past?
But in some way the calm was even more awe inspiring. The disciples were in the presence of one who had power to control the forces of nature. There are those who claim that Mark never reveals the divinity of Jesus. What do they make of this story I wonder? To the people of the time of Jesus there was one sure attribute of the deity; the ability to direct nature. The seas were dangerous because nature was considered a tool of the gods. Jesus half asleep brought calm with a few words. Surely he is God to speak calm into the storm.
There is another point to this story. It is a small thing but something I need to remember. When things get totally out of control, when I do not know what to do, go to the expert, even if I have to wake him up. Ask for help. I do not need to fuss long hours over a clogged sewer line. It is far better to call the plumber. They have a huge power driven snake that grinds tree roots. While I As I wait for the plumber, thank God for the repair work that will be done properly and pray that the plumber finds my house without difficulty. Jesus is still present and he likes to be asked.
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to June 22
Proper 7
Year B
RCL
As always these lessons can be read on line at http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49
Psalm 9:9-20
or
1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 10-16
Psalm 133
or
Job 38:1-11
Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:35-41
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June 8th, 2009
06:23 am - Sunday 14 June 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday closest to June 15
Proper 6
Year B
RCL
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
Psalm 20
or
Ezekiel 17:22-24
Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17
Mark 4:26-34
the collect
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
My older brother referred to this time of year as the cucumber, that long green season. The color green in the church hangings indicates that this is a time of growth. As most of us live in cities and our vegetables come out of the freezer section we need every reminder we can get of the basic pastoral annual cycle. There is a cycle to life as well. The church knows this and brings us back each year to a time of growth. We have had the celebration of birth and incarnation, the reality of self examination for lent and then the super celebration of Easter. Now we return to the slow steady time of growth. Although it is a cycle we do not come to exactly the same place each time. It is more like a strung out Slinky, every trip around leads to a slightly different position. I keep hoping that I am traveling up the Slinky. I want to be growing toward light and become a bigger better plant. I want to cultivate better attitudes and actions, but some times. Sometimes our attitude toward events will stunt growth as in this case of Samuel and Saul.
Samuel was raised by the old priest Eli and experienced direct contact with the LORD. Then the war went badly. ll in one day the ark of the covenant was taken by the enemy, Eli died, and young Samuel became the guiding voice for the confederated tribes of Israel. He saw himself as the voice of direction. We have no record of him taking a hand in training another to take his place. What he did do was give in to the demand of the tribes for a war leader, they called this person the king. At a meeting of the tribes Saul was chosen by lot to take on the position of king-warlord. After several battles Saul had the loyalty of the troops fairly well in hand. But not entirely. He still needed to ask direction and blessing of the LORD, through the person of Samuel, before any skirmish. Samuel came late to a calling of the troops and Saul needed to get his army on the move now. The ensuing clash led to today’s lesson. Samuel returned to his home in high dungeon and Saul went to war mad at him.
Saul remained the leader of the army and Samuel had just enough sense to realize he was in a very exposed position. I can almost hear him moaning to God about his position and berating Saul as a thankless upstart. What they needed was a mediator. What they got was Samuel acting something of a loose cannon as he anointed David king while Saul still led the combined troops. Any good healthy growth was stunted. We should consider this not only a history (with a lot of theology thrown in) but also a cautionary tale for our own instruction.
Right this moment I see that replacement of a failed relationship with a new one is not always the answer. First the problem with the old relationship has to be worked out. Looking at Saul and Samuel I see that Samuel considered himself to be in charge of everything. He expected Saul to wait on his decision at all times. Saul was the warlord; he expected to be allowed to make the military decisions and do what was necessary to keep the troops loyal and busy. That ought to have been worked out when Saul signed on. In so many of my relationships it is the same sort of thing. One person expects to be in charge of everything. The other expects some autonomy. That has to be worked out. The terms have to be identified. Responsibility has to match authority. And I must always remember that relationship is not static. The terms will need to renegotiated frequently. Perhaps that is part of my growth. I need to learn to renegotiate. I need to honestly look at my present position and talk to others about theirs. Together we have to redefine expectations. That is a lot to do. I hope I have a long season in which to learn the new skills required.
These lessons may be accessed for reading on line by searching for Sunday Lectionary.
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June 1st, 2009
10:16 am - Sunday 7 JUne 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
First Sunday after Pentecost:
Trinity Sunday
Year B
RCL
This week is Trinity Sunday the bane of every Christian theologian. Once a year we look at the God of Isaiah, the Spirit working among us, and Jesus a historical figure all related together as one. Yes it is a mystery. The great thing is that we do not have to understand it anymore than we do electricity in order to benefit. All we need to do is accept what is sometimes called Father-Son-Spirit and sometimes Creator-Redeemer-Sanctifier. The lessons each reveal another facet of this wondrous relationship. Isaiah came face to face with God and it changed him forever.
He described his experience in terms of earthly rulers and their courts. The difference between heavenly and earthly is enormous. Isaiah can only use the image of smoke to explain how his sight is over powered and blurred; yet he responds with, “here am I, send me” He has encountered God as King with all power of life and death. This is what we have learned to call Father.
Paul tried to tell his audience that the Spirit is from and part of the Father to whom Jesus related. Not only that but thru this same Spirit all the believers are also able to relate to this Father not in a formal throne room fashion of Isaiah but as children of the household loved and familiar to their Dad.
The section I think of as Nick by night from John gives yet another view of the Spirit as she comes to humans. We are born again, from above, from outside this physical realm. We are brought into the spiritual, a place not of our earth bound senses, where deity lives. Our current world-view does not allow us to define this spatially in the way Isaiah did. But we all know there is more to existence than the physical.
Thus once a year we take out that mystery of Trinity we use to explain our human experience of God and tell each other it is important. It is so important that there are creeds, statements worked out by others, repeated in our worship each week. Like Pentecost Trinity is a once a year event but we live with the reality every day.
Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 29 or Canticle 2 or 13
Romans 8:12-17
John 3:1-17
These lessons appear on line at:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
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May 25th, 2009
08:50 am - Sunday 31 May 2009 Feast of Pentecost or Whitsunday
Day of Pentecost
Whitsunday
Year B
RCL
With two collects offered for Pentecost this seems a good time to look at the structure of a collect. There is a format; actually it is sort of a letter. There is a greeting and a closing with what my teachers called the body in the middle.
The greeting directly addresses God and mentions a work or characteristic.
Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit:
O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:
Do you see the direct address to God? The characteristic or work in the first example is – you opened…. It is a reminder not to God but to us. We look to the past for assurance that on a specific day at a specific time an action (work) took place and from that action we know that the Holy Spirit is promised to everybody. There is no exclusionary clause. The second collect reminds us that there was another work that went on with the arrival of the Holy Spirit. People were taught in their hearts. All the events of resurrection were made different to the disciples in the light of the Holy Spirit. All the things Jesus said and did took on new meaning. This arrival of the Spirit went back in time for lessons that applied to present and future events. The implication is that these same events apply to us. We too, are given the light of the Holy Spirit to teach our hearts. We too, are promised the Holy Spirit. Now there is something we can use today.
The body of the collect contains still more for us. In the first collect we ask that the gift be spread out. The words suggest to me the broad sowing of seeds over a wide area without trying to put in rows. The collect is pretty specific that the preaching of the Gospel (the good news) is what is being spread. That makes me think about news in general and I notice that most of the news spread by our media is bad news. Good news gets much less mention. To counter that I have to act out as well as speak good news. For me that is hard to do. I seem to expect difficulty and bad news. I must make a conscious effort to share good news with others.
The second collect asks for right judgment. Now there is something I need in telling out the news I have. What is good news and what is best left unsaid? Yes I can use all the help from the Spirit that I can get. OK I want both prayers, don’t limit me to one or the other. Which ever gets said in services on Sunday I will pray the other one as well. That will take planning. Perhaps a 3x5 card with a prayer on each side. I could take that into the service with me.
Finally we come to the yours-truly section. In church language this called a doxology. The form is to mention the Trinity separately and as one. Then we really close up the letter by saying Amen; which means I agree with all the stuff in this letter. Or another way to think of it is, “me too, insert your name here”.
the collects
Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
or this
O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Acts 2:1-21
or Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 104: 25-35,37
Romans 8:22-27
or Acts 2:1-21
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
You can read these lessons on line at:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
s
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May 18th, 2009
08:40 am - Sunday 24 May 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Year B
RCL
the collect
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
The collect ties together the many strands of the readings for this week and last. As John speaks the benediction over those graduating Acts reminds us of their actions. What Jesus prayed for them was that they might have the same relationship to the Father as he experienced. I am fairly sure the disciples were all for that. The problem lay in where they looked for that relationship. From Acts we know they held an election to fill what they perceived as a vacancy in the ranks. Relationship, an inner experience was tied in their thought to outward form. I tend to do the same thing. I remember where I was when God got my attention and when I need that experience again I return to the outward form. Sometimes it is a form of prayer, other times it may be a particular place or person. Relationship exists but I look for it in familiar physical outward forms. I cling to the familiar.
God on the other hand won’t hold still. What God has for me is new way to be related. God didn’t hold still for the disciples either. We know the story. We know what is going to happen next week. Our collect has let the secret out. The Holy Spirit is on the way ready to fire us up and blow us into new places. While we wait with the disciples we can consider the benediction of John. It is a call to unity with God and through God to others.
In a way this reaches back to the I-am-the-vine reading. We are related to others through our relationship to the vine. All of the post Easter experience is set before us to consider in the week ahead. Go back to review it. We will need all the experience and understanding we can get to make it thru Pentecost.
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Psalm 1
1 John 5:9-13
John 17:6-19
These lessons are on line at:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
Three years ago these readings occurred on 27 May. Comments are in the archive.
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May 11th, 2009
04:44 pm - Sunday 16 May 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Year B
RCL
the Collect
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
As we approach the end of the Easter season along comes this reading from John. Part of me says, “ How odd that we return to reading from Maundy Thursday; Jesus final instructions to the disciples before the crucifixion.” After consideration I see something I hadn’t before in that long speech. This is grad night. The many chapters of John contain all that we associate with High School graduation: the gathering together, the careful actions designed to capture this time in memory, the words addressed to those about to go out into a world they hope to change, to make better. There is prayer for them and advice and the action of foot washing to remind them that service is necessary. Mixed in is the rather surprising but necessary acknowledgment that the status of the graduate changes in this moment. The teenage student has just stepped across an invisible barrier to become the teenage peer of adults. It is a jolt on both sides when it happens. Not every high school graduate makes the transition without stumbling. Neither do their parents. In the case of Jesus and the disciples it would be Pentecost before they could reach out. Jesus said, “I call you friends.” The disciples have become co-workers with Jesus in the challenging task of bringing the kingdom into being here and now.
And what has all that to do with this season of Easter? Well everything actually. While this is still the season of resurrection, Easter we are almost to Pentecost. Graduation is just around the corner. Fight off the ennui of senioritis. This is what all that training was about. It is our turn to step out into the world as friends of Jesus and servants to others. We bring with us the power, the existence, of the kingdom. This is a grown up message which often exceeds my grasp. But I have a friend to whom I can refer others, he goes by the name of Jesus.
Acts 10:44-48
Psalm 98
1 John 5:1-6
John 15:9-17
You can read these lessons on line at:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
to look at the same lessons three years ago go to the archives at the left for 2006. The 6th Sunday of Easter was
May 21 2006. Commentary was posted on 15 May.
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May 4th, 2009
08:27 am - Sunday 9 May 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Year B RCL
the collect
Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This collect is crammed with church words. Words that express a truth we all need to know; still they are not the words we hear everyday in our culture. That makes using the ideas behind the words difficult. So here is my modern translation – stay connected, network your spiritual base in doing so you will have life. The collect says eternal life but that is another of the church words that has many meanings. To go along with the collect are the lessons. Frequently they give concrete examples of the ideas expresses in the collect.
Acts, for instance, tells us about two people who connected with God and each other. Philip was walking along the road. The eunuch was riding in a chariot, reading while some one else drove. The eunuch was carrying on a conversation with his reading material. Philip overheard the conversation and joined in. Tradition in Ethopia says that This encounter resulted in their Christian Church. Now that was quite a networking feat. I don’t expect any of my encounters will lead to anything so permanent. But I listen to what is happening around me. I try to stay connected to God and network with people. Which leads to the gospel.
Jesus said, “I am the vine.” As a branch or more likely a leaf, I don’t always recognize other branches on the vine. It is quite an interesting vine. It crawls across time and geography. Philip, the eunuch, John (all of them), you and I all manage somehow to abide in it. In that abiding we have life. And so back to the collect.
Follow in the steps Jesus laid out, listen to what the community has to say about tradition regarding those steps. Abide, live day to day in what you understand of it all and good luck with your very own chariot experiences.
The lessons for this Sunday are:
Acts 8:26-40
Psalm 22:24-30
1 John 4:7-21
John 15:1-8
You can read these lessons on line at - http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
for any past commentary check the archives listed at the left
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April 27th, 2009
06:12 am - Sunday 3 May 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Year B
RCL
the collect
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
In the lessons and collect for today mystery, metaphor and the physical swirl together like dots of color stirred into a base paint. Beginning with the collect we are offered the metaphor of shepherd and sheep. That metaphor places us firmly in the mystery of hearing the voice of Jesus while we pray for action on our part in this physical world. I find myself reminded once again that Christians follow a “mystery religion”.
The phrase comes from the time of Jesus and is translated as mysterion from Greek. What we mean today by using the word mystery is probably a bit different. As I understand mystery it means that we cannot prove the existence of God the way we prove or demonstrate a scientific formula. Some take this to mean that we take God on faith. Well not quite. Individual experience with God gives an assurance of the existence of that greater other so much so that I become certain God is. There is no way I can explain or demonstrate my certainty to another person; it is a mystery. I can only offer to help create an environment that allows God to be the shepherd. I am after all just a sheep moving slowly about the pasture as I nibble on vegetation. I and all the other sheep must wait to hear the voice of the shepherd.
Fortunately I am not the only sheep in the pasture. I don’t have to rely solely on my ability to hear. There are other sheep; they are my community. I can watch them, listen to them, wander around with them. We are all together in this listening this community. The church refers to it as the community of saints and does not confine it to those living now. All of the followers, all of the sheep, since the beginning of time are included. That adds up to a lot of experience hearing the voice of our shepherd.
The bible is a record of the voice as people perceived meaning from their lives over time. There are other records of the voice of the shepherd. Art reveals the response of some. Story telling also passes on encounters. Somewhat recently the stories of Narnia have been translated to movies. The voice of our shepherd is behind the writing of C. S. Lewis. Look about your environment. Use your senses. The voice of the shepherd is there to be “heard” in many ways.
Say to those around you, “Hello other sheep. May I join you nibbling on that bush? “
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
These lessons may be read on line at:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
For past thoughts I have expressed check the archive for this blog.
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April 21st, 2009
05:59 am - Sunday 26 April 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Third Sunday of Easter
Year B
RCL
Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48
the collect
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Resurrection appearances of Jesus seem to depend upon who is telling the story. When we read the four different accounts of the women going to the tomb we get four different stories. All that is certain is that the women experienced resurrection, an event as improbable then as now. There is an interesting line in Luke 24:11. “The apostles thought that what the women said was nonsense, and did not believe them.” In verse 12 Peter goes to have a look for himself but he is not able to interpret the evidence. Then the two who left for Emmaus return with their story. Apparently there was still some discussion about just what these two had encountered. I infer a certain amount of doubt. While the text does not say so it sounds as if Jesus interrupted their excited discussion. The disciples were still so stunned that they could not believe and Jesus had to ask for food in order to pull them into this new reality. It took different appearances to different people for the truth to sink in. Perhaps because of his denial and the forgiveness offered Peter understood and accepted what Jesus risen could mean to the world At any rate it was he who stood up to preach to the crowd on the day of Pentecost. It is also Peter who extended the healing power of God to the lame man outside the temple gate.
Peter moved from resurrection appearance to resurrection reality. The wonder of Easter morning, the encounter of Easter evening drew Peter into the reality of the kingdom now. We too need to have time to wonder at what the empty tomb may mean. We too need to have a resurrection appearance of Jesus added into the mix so that we are able to step into living in a new reality of the kingdom. No I don’t mean that we all have to see some sort of apparition; but we do need to experience a presence. The lame man saw Peter not Jesus but in that moment he experienced the presence and power of God. The kingdom touched him and he was healed.
When I try to step into this story the lame man’s understanding is much more accessible than Peter’s. Still a little stunned by it all, according to Acts he took his experience straight into the temple (walking and leaping and praising God). It is the sort of un-thought-out incoherent thing I am apt to do. I am not alone. There are actually quite a few of us abroad in the world. We do settle down and try to make sense of it all from time to time but for the most part life just happens. And while it is happening I try to take notes. I will never be Peter, but I am surely me, encountering the resurrected Lord.
To read the lesson on line go to : http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
To read the 2006 comments on this lesson click on the archive at left . The date is April 25th.
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April 13th, 2009
05:48 am - Sunday 19 April 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Second Sunday of Easter
Year B
RCL
The collect
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I am old enough to remember quite clearly what the hippie communes of the 1970’s looked like. In fact I lived very near to several. Like the community of Acts they all held much in common. Generally speaking people did not share toothbrushes. What they did share were expenses for food and shelter. They also shared caring. While the groups sharing drugs made the news my neighbors shared the experience of bailing protestors out of jail, putting food on plates, and travel to work and school. It falls short of what our brains conjure up when we read this passage from Acts but it reflected something of the same reality. In order for the apostles to have the freedom to teach and proclaim in Jerusalem others supported them. The culture of the time did not think in terms of salary and benefits, you want to help someone? Take them into your home. What was different about this movement was that the person in charge of the home did not thereby become the one in charge. The very ones who were accepting support became the leaders and decision makers.
Most of the communal living arrangements of the 1970’s came undone over time. Individuals went forward with their lives. Students graduated from college, artists developed a paying style or another livelihood, and I moved with my family from our low rent residence to buying a home. In short we joined the main stream of culture.
Time changed the community in Acts as well. Persecution forced the early church beyond Jerusalem. While there was sharing of resources people tended to have their own residences. (Peter for instance was staying at the home of a tanner for a bit) The snapshot we are given today is just that, a moment frozen in time. By the time Paul was taking the message abroad other arrangements were being made. That does not mean communal living isn’t good it just means that not everyone needs to live that way all the time. So don’t beat yourself up because you missed out on this wonderful time. Reach out to those in your present time and place. We are here now, it is time to discover what God is doing as we live out the more recent acts of those who follow the Christ.
Acts 4:32-35
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
1 John 1:1-2:2
John 20:19-31
As always these lessons can be read on line at http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
For past reflections on the lectionary check out the archives.
These lessons appear in 2006 on the Sunday after Easter.
I almost forgot. Here is the bit of Holy Week I wrote about. I must say I never expected to be the unbelieving skeptic on the scene.
“Is this the place?”, a child asked.
“How can we find the road”, someone asked looking at the destruction all about us.
I pointed to the upright poles planted in rows along a boulder strewn path.
“Why did they cut down the trees?”, another voice cried.
“Why indeed”, I thought, “They left the other ‘trees’. The trees of death.”
I moved slowly toward the spot that where our house had been. I turned to look back into the distance; yes this had been the front wall. I turned again to see scattered rubble. The army of Rome was thorough. Jerusalem had been destroyed and nothing of the town of Bethany remained. The young ones were talking about what to rebuild first but I am old. I should have stayed in that cave hidden in the hills. Well first things first, I looked for a likely place to build a little fire and then started toward the tiny spring that had been behind the house.
That night the full moon woke me. Its light seemed to promise calm. There was no sound; the noise reached me gradually. Tired feet shuffling in the dust of the road, voices murmuring, some one singing a psalm; the visitors were coming. They came every year, all year long people walked past our home on their way to the great temple. My father said it was not our real temple. He said this temple had been built on the blood of our people by the Edomite Herod. My grandfather spat whenever it was mentioned.
I had seen so many pass by day after day that now I saw them at night. Then I heard laughter and a few shouts. I stood very still; mother would send me into the house if she knew I was watching instead of working.
The impromptu parade came into view. First were the boys laughing and waving branches as though they were the flags carried by an army. Then came a small donkey with a man seated on it. His feet almost touched the ground. Around and behind him came other men and women as well in a disorganized march. They had gathered a crowd mocking and shouting, “Hail king! Hosannah!” It was a parody of the Roman army on the march. Father laughed loudly. He started to wave and took a step toward the road, suddenly he turned.
“Get into the house!”
We scurried in obedience and the door slammed shut. Mother’s hands reached out to each of us and drew us close. Her voice was rough. “The fools! The stupid fools! They do not see, they do not hear, their understanding is dull.” Suddenly I realized she was crying. And then I was standing again in the moonlight the stones of our home scattered around me in silence.
I am old. Ghosts of past life are nearer to me than the present. Mother was right; they were fools.
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April 7th, 2009
10:30 am - Sunday 12 April 2009 Easter 1
Greetings to you all in a week of grief. Once again I find that I identify with the women. Taking the snippets men left in the gospel stories the women were constantly present providing the things women do, making meals, picking up the necessary food beforehand, packing up bags for travel, and generally supporting those around them. Those women were still just doing what needed to be done on Sunday morning when they encountered the empty tomb. I pass through this week attending services of the church with all the reminders of domination and death in the same way. Daily life goes on. My emotional state hops to and fro with each event. Eventually the promise of the brighter moon brings us all to Easter. It is a promise of hope not yet the fulfillment.
Reading ahead for this week you can find the many lessons for Easter day at:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
Start reading with the lessons on Saturday for the Great Vigil. You get the whole redemption story from another point of view there.
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March 30th, 2009
12:52 pm - Sunday 5 April 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
Year B
RCL
Once upon a time when I was very much younger the children and teens of our church gathered together on the Saturday before Palm Sunday to fold long strips of palm frond into crosses. There was always a certain amount of discussion as to the “correct” manner in which to make the fold. Later I took to saving out one cross so that I would have a pattern for next year. When all the palm strips had been folded into crosses the adults took over. We kids went outside to run around. The next day those crosses reappeared in baskets as we entered the church. Each person was given a cross and a straight pin. We pinned them onto our shirts in the general direction of a lapel and went in to have a lovely service that told us all about the “triumphal entry into Jerusalem”. Many of us continued to wear those crosses until Good Friday when the altar guild ladies picked them up at noon service. As a child I never wondered where they stored the crosses. I just knew they were burned on the day before Ash Wednesday. I knew this because the church smelled of burned palms and pancakes when we went to church on Ash Wednesday.
Well scholarship and secular culture caught up with us. On the scholarship side people began to really consider what the gospels have to say about the crowd and Jesus on a little burro. As more was learned about how the Romans handled the crowds of Jerusalem during the time of Passover Jesus’ entry took on new meanings. Triumph and his procession looked quite different. The scholars debated.
Meanwhile culture was at work. More and more people found things other than church services to do during Holy Week. Attendance at Thursday and Friday services waned. People were going from the happy pandemonium of an impromptu parade on Palm Sunday to the discovery of an empty tomb on Easter without ever experiencing the death that tomb denotes.
The practical pastors on the ground in parish ministry wondered if their flocks really understood the power of resurrection. They consulted the scholars. Out of this came a sort of split personality called Palm/Passion Sunday. The service begins in happy procession and rapidly goes down hill into the darkness of crucifixion and tomb. And there we are left for a week. It makes for poor liturgy and not a little confusion.
I am neither a scholar nor a pastor nor a theologian. But I would like to try a little experiment this year. This blog is published on Monday. We have a whole week before Palm/Passion Sunday. For this week before Palm Sunday concentrate on the entry of Jesus on a burro. Leave the rest of the story of Holy Week for Holy Week.
Immerse yourself in Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Read about it in Mark 10:46 – 11:11, Matt 21:1 – 11, Luke 19:28 - 40 or John 12:12 – 19. Then subject one of those readings to a form of Ignatian reflection. The rules generally go like this. Imagine yourself present at the event, but not as one of the named persons. You can be a bird in a tree, a person so on the fringe as to not be mentioned, or even one of the rocks at the side of the road. Tell the story from the point of view of your chosen person/object. I suggest you actually write it down to make it more solid. Don’t worry about historical accuracy this is all imagination. Be prepared for your story to tell you things you had not expected. Enjoy those new ideas, they are a gift from God for Holy week.
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March 24th, 2009
06:43 am - Sunday 29 March 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Year B
RCL
Jeremiah makes a wonderful promise to his contemporaries, no longer will the spirit of God be reserved for kings and official prophets. The day is coming when every single person will have the will of God written within. Folks will be able to relate directly to God without having to depend upon the priesthood and the temple.
Considering that when Jeremiah was speaking Jerusalem and the temple were still standing this must have sounded like sedition. The sacrifices in the temple were what kept the people in right relationship with God. Then here comes Jeremiah, that trouble-maker, with the announcement that God is arranging for a time when every one will know the law in their heart without recourse to the temple or the priesthood. Before very long however the temple was destroyed and the priesthood taken to Babylon. In those circumstances what had been seditious probably became a promise of presence in exile.
To the Christian believers this same passage came to be about Jesus. Jesus has opened the way for us to the Father. We now have a direct path to relatedness with God. Some modern believers use language like, “take Jesus into your heart” to express this wonderful reality. Each and every believer has the ability to know God. What we don’t own up to is the fact that a relationship with God takes time and energy. Frequently our education stops with a child’s Sunday school view. We remember carefully edited bible stories and pray simple childhood prayers; then we wonder why that is not meeting our adult needs.
It is indeed a hard row to hoe when we try to read the meaty stuff Paul wrote. The run on sentences of Paul are difficult and once past the beatitudes Matthew demands that daily life reflect what Jesus taught. Lenten discipline is a time to deliberately make ourselves grow. In desperation we may turn to Jeremiah’s promise. Everyone will know the Lord. I have knowledge inside me and I don’t need all this work on the outside. Only I do. I need, really need to know what you do about God. I have only a little part. You too have only a little part. But put them together and we both have more. Add in what all those ancestors had and we have a great plenty. We may not need the Jerusalem temple but we do need community.
Jeremiah’s promise is not a call to individualism but to community with all the others who know the Lord. So come on down to a service or a study group this week in Lent. We are waiting for you to share your gift with us.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-13 or Psalm 119:9-16
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
As always you can read these lessons on line at:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
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March 16th, 2009
05:11 pm - Sunday 22 March 2009
The collect
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
That quote about, “a loaf of bread, a jug of wine and thou” has all that is necessary to life; sustenance, joy and companionship. But it wasn’t wonder bread the poet had in mind. His bread required the kind of thoughtful chewing we ought to give our bible.
As we read more of what is in the bible we are apt to discover that there are contradictory messages. Consider today’s reading as an example. I have heard that the God of the Old Testament is not the loving God of the New Testament (some people even maintain that they are two different gods). According to this view there is a clear line of demarcation when Jesus comes on the scene. Everything that was no longer applies. Christians have a loving God, one who cares for us like a shepherd cares for sheep. The Old Testament is just history. It is not part of our spiritual heritage. We enlightened Christians can ignore the angry God of the Hebrew people.
Well when it comes to stories like this one from Numbers that is certainly an attractive idea. But to ignore it is to miss something about humanity. First look at the story itself. Here have a bunch of people camping out in tents cooking around open fires and snakes are coming out of hibernation to bite the unwary. Today park rangers remind the unwary to look before you put your hand down, if you can’t see into a crack don’t put your hand there. Step on not over a log or boulder. I am sure Moses told folks all that but there were bites anyway. And some people died. With true human need to fix blame it was decided that God must be mad at the people and sent the snakes as punishment.
Excuse me? Go back to the last paragraph. These people are camping out in the natural habitat of rodents, snakes and, in those days, lions. The snakes were there before people arrived. In any case, Moses took up the matter and made a pole with an image of the problem on it. Voila! The people were healed. The caduceus is still an image of healing. What was death is now life. We even go so far as to extend this image to the cross and proclaim Jesus’ death and resurrection.
But that can beg the question, was God angry? Did the grumbling of folks disturb God’s equanimity? Will my grumbling bring about punishment? I rather doubt it. Tevya and Abraham argued with God on a regular basis. It seems to have done more good than harm. Personal experience tells me that arguing with God lets me vent my frustration and then I do it God’s way anyhow. I don’t think it even makes a ripple in the universe. So how come God was so upset by the grumbling in today’s lesson? Did Jesus somehow change God?
What I think (and you probably should check this theory with your local theologian) is that people had time to relate their experience of God to one another; centuries of time in fact. Eventually we learned from all that others had done; all they thought. In this story we hear from a group of people who had experienced life as settled and predictable. Now they are constantly on the move always learning some new task. Their emotions are raw. They are stressed and they grumble. Then they camped in a viper-ridden spot. Moses took the problem to God. Out of love for this people God reached out with a solution. It is an odd solution from our point of view; but it worked for the people who needed healing and love. God was not angry; the people were frightened. They understood their fear of snakes as fear of God.
No, I don’t think God changed. God is bigger than we are; lots bigger. I hold tightly to view of God expressed in Hebrews, “the same yesterday and today and forever”. I think people did the changing. We learned from those who went before. We can learn from those around us now, today, too. That means we can still change. That is hope for Lent and always.
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Year B
RCL
Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21
You can read these lessons on line at:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/
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March 9th, 2009
09:09 am - Sunday 15 March 2009
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
some thoughts from the Epistle for Sunday
We all know where Lent is headed, straight to Good Friday. We enter with the reminders, ashes to ashes and dust to dust, remember that you are dust and to dust you will return. Generally speaking we plod along with our chosen discipline wondering if we are really doing ourselves any good. All the time knowing the only way out is the exit is crucifixion; not only Jesus’ but my own and yours as well. Why would any sane person do this? The whole thing seems foolish and yet…and yet there is a deeper wisdom at work here.
Paul laid it all out years ago, “The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”. What seems down right foolish turns out to be very wise and power filled.
The message we contemplate during Lent is the wisdom of God in action, ongoing. We are being saved. It both is an act of the past and the present and the future. The foolish person sees the cross as just one more human cruelty. To those involved in the rather active process of being saved it is wisdom. When God fetches me up short with the slap of a wet fish I can see my foolish way. In that instant the wisdom of God is very clear. But that clearness never lasts. Soon I am back to being human and foolish has crept in again.
One more time it comes clear salvation is a very active process; I am being saved. God is working with me, remolding, scraping off the warts, drawing new lines. I am in process, not a finished object. I am being saved. How wise of God that is! If I were finished I could only sit still like a curio on a shelf. But as a work in progress I am being saved and am active, involved with others. I get dirty and fall over my own feet. But always before me is the reality of Good Friday, the separation of humans from God has been removed. The foolish cross has become a shining sword rending the universe to become embedded in the rock of planet earth. It is now a bridge to span the gulf between created muddy humans and God. That is indeed the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Third Sunday in Lent
Year B
RCL
Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
John 2:13-22
Google Sunday Lectionary to read these lessons on line. To see previous posts on this blog check the archives for 2006.
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March 2nd, 2009
06:23 am - Sunday 8 March 2009
the collect
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The lection for this Sunday includes Paul's response (commentary) to the story of Abraham. As gentile believers in Jesus as the Christ we owe a thank you to Paul, and to those who retained his letters for us. Paul was born into a Jewish family living in what is today Turkey, a Greek culture. From what is written about and by him it also appears that he inherited, rather than bought or earned thru military service, Roman Citizenship. What a mishmash of cultural influences! But being human he adjusted and reconciled it all into his own worldview. Then he met the living God in a blinding light. After a few years with those he had once persecuted a man named Barnabas took Paul as a companion on a journey to tell others about Jesus. Paul became an evangelist. He interpreted the God of the Jews to the gentile world in a new way. Gone is the urge to convert to the religion of the Jews. Paul clung to his Jewish faith while looking at the scriptures in a totally new light.
Today he points his gentile audience toward a different view of Abraham. It is Abraham’s faith, not his actions that put him in with God. The Law of Moses had nothing to do with the promise of God. Neither does any gentile Law. Rules are out. Faith and trust are in; faith of Abraham, faith of Paul, our faith.
Faith is hard to define. It is nebulous and difficult to quantify, although that has not stopped humans from trying. We look for signs of faith in our own actions and those of others. Generally this is not as helpful as we hope. Personally I find this statement about what faith is not more helpful. I offer it for your Lenten consideration.
The opposite of faith is not doubt; it is certainty.
This Lent we can take our doubt with us daily. Live with it under a new name, faith.
As always these lessons may be found on line. Put Sunday Lectionary into your search engine (Google it). My own past thoughts are available in the archive of this blog.
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Second Sunday in Lent
Year B
RCL
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Psalm 22:22-30
Romans 4:13-25
Mark 8:31-38
Romans 4:13-25
The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") -- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So numerous shall your descendants be." He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith "was reckoned to him as righteousness." Now the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
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February 23rd, 2009
08:52 am - Sunday 1 March 2009
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
First Sunday in Lent
Year B
RCL
The collect
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
It is a bit like a Monopoly game, to get to this Sunday we all have to go past Ash Wednesday with its reminder that we are dust/clay/ashes. Living in this culture at this time for the most part we have been trained to think we are strong and can do anything. We ignore the part of our creation story that says we are made of dirt/clay that has been squished between the fingers of God. But the ancients were wiser than we are about the relationship of humans and dirt. Dirt is where all the veggies grow. Life comes from dirt. Life returns to dirt. Dirt is good stuff; ask a gardener. Mud is even better; ask any little kid.
Don’t ask Noah, he had rather a tough time of the whole water and dirt experience. It is this story that begins our Lenten journey. It is our first glimpse of the effect of sin. Humans made a right mess of things. So the ancients tell us that God destroyed all those evil people and started over with only good folks. However God was only going to do this once. After that destruction he hung his bow of war, terror, violence, and disaster up on his wall; the heavens. From all the stories that follow we can see that violence and destruction did not restore peace and goodness anyway. It just does not work.
In effect people were told that we had to learn something besides war. We would do well to pay attention to the chorus, ain’t gonna study war no more. People were told to listen to God to follow the voice of God. Abraham did and became our ancestor of faith. Later still the rules and regulations set down in the Torah were our human attempt to legislate the attitudes expressed by God. People still didn’t get it. Yup we aren’t any smarter than the average sheep Jesus compared us to. Which brings us to a very mysterious event. God squished into human form to say, “Look here. See this. I am your example.”
Mark starts with baptism and tells us that Jesus, the human face of God, went thru the ritual of baptism to encounter the reality of the community that is God. Of course sa’tan objected to this. In a sly frontal attack Jesus was offered several alternatives. Mark tells that bit as well. But what really matters is that Jesus listened to what the enemy had to offer and turned it down.
During Lent we have the opportunity to think about this. We too hear what the enemy has to offer. We also have the opportunity to turn it down. Of course that is not easy to do. We can’t “just say no.” We have to practice. So we “give up” something and practice saying no. We also practice saying yes. We say no to that which is not helping and yes to study, or prayer, or action that builds up. Lent is a good time, a very good time to practice living. Especially the sort of living that gets us covered with our cousin dirt.
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-9
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15
For comments on these lessons from past years check out the blog archive. To read the lessons on line Google Lectionary or your favorite bible site.
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February 16th, 2009
12:35 pm - Sunday 22 January 2009
O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This is the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany. If we go back to the beginning of this season we find an emphasis on light that we may have forgotten in the last couple of weeks. The people who plan liturgy are aware of this. They also know that we are going to need a vision of Jesus transfigured into light during Lent. Thus the church places the Transfiguration on the last Sunday of Epiphany, whatever the actual calendar date. We are also offered reminders of the light other people of faith experienced when they encountered God. In order to understand those encounters we often have to step back from our childhood Sunday School memories.The harsh scary edges of bible stories were softened for children. Their relevance tour lives as adults requires that we acknowledge the edges and embrace their meaning. Take for instance the story of Elijah’s ascent into the realm of God. Swing Low Sweet Chariot indeed!
That word whirlwind in the Elisha/Elijah story was tempered to become a dust devil in my memory. What the original relater of this story had in mind is a tornado. A dust devil dances across open fields or desert beneath a clear sky. A tornado connects a lightening filled storm clouded sky to the ground. A dust devil throws sand and grit up a few feet and subsides. A tornado gathers up houses, cars, cattle and trees stirring them into a whirling darkness of destruction. Meeting God is like falling into a tornado. In order to make the hearers understand that this was no ordinary tornado the narrator emphasized light and fire. The Psalm (50) chosen for today reinforces this image of God as powerful and uncontrolled by humans. That does nothing to alleviate the terror I feel at this adult telling of the story. But I have been alerted, if I hang in there, if I go forward with my terror and trembling I will meet more than a tornado of fire and light. I will also meet the strength and ability of God each day in my life now, today.
As if that were not enough we are offered Paul. He knew from personal experience that light can blind as well as reveal. The transfiguration temporarily blinded Peter in mind as well as eyes. He babbled and stumbled in his effort to grasp the meaning of the encounter. This happens to us all. We have an intense experience of God and off we go to act on it. Only we blunder in trying to share with others. Often we take the misunderstanding that results as a rebuke that we didn’t try hard enough. We get more insistent, and that drives people away instead of bringing them closer. Considering all this Paul once asked, “who can help me out of this mess?” The answer is counter intuitive, more light, another encounter, another deep experience of God. It is sort of like the desensitization one goes thru for allergy control. In order to benefit from those deep experiences we have to take the small daily dose of plodding routine. I say the daily office every morning and night just because sometimes something new comes. Once again it is life lived one step at a time in faith. The light of Epiphany is ours to carry throughout all of Lent.
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Last Sunday after the Epiphany
Year B
RCL
2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9
as always these lessons are available to read on line at
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