For Sunday, Februray 1, 2009

Scriptures:
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm 111
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28

In summary, Moses promises that God will raise up a prophet like him; the psalm praises God and concludes that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (though, a better translation might be "awe of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"); Paul wrote, "knowledge puffs up, love builds up" in response to the Corinthians' dietary conflict; Jesus in Capernaum teaches in the synagogue, commands a demon to come out of a man, amazes the congregation, and becomes famous.

Sunday Bulletin Service Theme: "Power to Do"

What is a Christian to do, when at a dinner party, when the entree has been ritually slaughtered in the worship of a pagan God? It's not a question I have had to grapple with, personally. Or have I?

Steve Patterson (New Testament professor at Eden Seminary, and author of Beyond the Passion, among other numerous other books and articles) taught me a few things about ritual sacrifice that clarify the context of this letter from Paul to the church in Corinth.

First of all, meat was a rare treat. Most people ate bread every day, but little else. Second, when an animal was butchered, it was always butchered as part of religious ritual. There was no such thing as a meat processing plant. The priests were the ones who did all the meat processing. Therefore, all the meat available to the first urban Christians in the Roman empire would have been ritually sacrificed.

Furthermore, the meat was distributed by the priests according to social status: The best cuts of the meat went to the priests themselves, then to the people of highest standing, and so on down the line until the feet and tail were given to the slaves.

So, to accept your allotment of the ritually sacrificed meat was to accept your place in the culture of the empire.

When we are baptized into Christ, we become equals. Neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female, as Paul wrote elsewhere. The Christian table was spread with bread and wine, which was shared by all. The shared meal was an experience of the "kingdom of God," a participation in God's paradise.

So how can a person share a meal in God's paradise one day, and accept a place in Caesar's Empire the next? If we eat the emperor's food, we accept it on the emperor's terms, and one of those terms is that we accept that some lives are more valuable than others.

When have I found myself seated, awkwardly, at empire's table? Every day. Every day some of God's children go hungry while I eat my fill. Every day some of my brothers and sisters wander without shelter, while I live in a fine house with central heating. Every day. How about you?

For Sunday, January 25, 2009

Scriptures:
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Psalm 62:5-12
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20

Sunday Bulletin Service Theme: "Follow Me"

The scriptures, in summary: Jonah, the reluctant prophet, picks himself up off the beach, wipes off the whale-spit and goes to Nineveh, delivers the message that God sent him to give, and the people hear and repent. "For God alone my soul waits in silence," is the word from the psalm. The epistle lesson sounds a note of detachment-- don't get too adjusted to this world, because it is passing away. And the gospel story is the call of the disciples, Simon, Andrew, James & John.

Many people assume that prophets predict the future, and that a good prophet is one whose predictions prove true. But that is not the case: the job of the prophet is to interpret what might happen if people continue to behave in the future as they have in the recent past. Prophets are the ones who have the broader view, the ability to see if the parade is about to march off the cliff. The goal is to turn the parade around (repent means "turn around").

Jonah was a terrible but ultimately successful prophet. At first he ran away, and at last he grumbled because the people of Nineveh actually listened to him, and repented. But the important thing is, even working with a reluctant prophet, God managed to work out salvation for Nineveh. Which reminds me of something I read last week, from the collected works of Martin Luther King, Jr, ... God has not worked out a plan for our failure.

It is possible for me to falter, but I am profoundly secure in my knowledge that God loves us; he has not worked our a design for our failure.
Essay, "A Testament of Hope," reprinted in A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. Edited by James M. Washington. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1986.

The apostle Paul put it this way, "God is working all things together for good."

So, if God can do so much with even a reluctant, rebellious, and resentful prophet like Jonah, how much more can God do with prophets and disciples who are willing to answer the call?

Those fishermen that Jesus called to follow him, they had nothing more than hands and hearts and possibly good intentions, and look what God accomplished through them.

God calls, and if we choose to respond, the stories of our faith testify that God will be able to do, through us, more than we could ever ask, or imagine. Good news.

For January 18, 2009

I Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
I Corinthians 6:12-20
John 1:43-51

The reading from the Hebrew Scriptures tells of the call of the prophet Samuel, as a young boy in the service of Eli. The Psalm celebrates the all-encompassing presence of God. The Epistle reading reminds us that our bodies are to be treated with reverence, as temples of God in the Spirit. And the Gospel of John speaks again in poetic, evocative images, which to the discerning reader, reveal the identify of Jesus as the messiah of God.

The Sunday Bulletin Service theme for the day comes from the psalm: "Known and Loved."

This is Martin Luther King, Jr Sunday. I am looking through his collected writings. Here's a excerpt from his last Christmas Eve sermon (1967). The nation was at war abroad and at home-- in Vietnam and the streets of Birmingham and Memphis and on college campuses. The struggle for justice and peace could at times seem endless and fruitless. And Dr. King said:

If there is to be peace on earth and good will toward men, we must finally believe in the ultimate morality of the universe, and believe that all reality hinges on moral foundations. Something must remind us of this as we once again stand in the Christmas season and think of the Easter season simultaneously, for the two somehow go together. Christ came to show us the way. Men love darkness rather than light, and they crucified him, and there on Good Friday on the cross is was still dark, but then Easter came, and Easter is an eternal reminder of the fact that the truth-crushed earth will rise again. Easter justifies Carlyle in saying, "No lie can live forever." And so this is our faith, as we continue to hope for peace on earth and good will toward men: let us know that in the process we have cosmic companionship.

Cosmic companionship. Dr. King joined that great cloud of witnesses 40 years ago. Today, the nation is at war abroad and at home-- in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in the factories of Chicago (last fall) and the streets of St Paul (last summer). Take heart. No lie can live forever.

I still have a dream that with this faith we will be able to adjourn the councils of despair and bring new light into the dark chambers of pessimism. With this faith we will be able to speed up the day when there will be peace on earth and good will toward men.

The boy Samuel, in the Old Testament story, became a great prophet, and to quote this odd turn of phrase, "none of his words fell to the ground." I take that to mean that the words found purchase in the ears of those who listened, who took his words to heart. I do so hope that Dr. King's words do not fall to the ground. I hope they will continue to be caught up in our ears, and inspire us to continue to "meet physical force with soul force," and continue to love as we are loved by God.

Quotes taken from A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. Edited by James M. Washington. San Fransisco: Harper & Row, 1986.

For January 11, 2009

We are never aware, in the moment, that it is a beginning of something. At the time, it's just another ordinary day. It only becomes a "defining moment" in retrospect.

This Could Be the Start of Something Big. This, right here, now. Me writing and you reading. If indeed, "defining moments" are identified only in retrospect, then any given moment could be the start of something, and years from now we could be saying, "it all started when...."
This Could Be the Start of Something... or not. This could be the start of nothing at all, like the first episode of the TV show about nothing (now, that was something).
The Church retreat which begins in 10 days Could Be the Start of Something. Reading "Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism," I find myself warming up to the start of something big. I know that what Martha Grace Reese presents in the book is a good, hearty meal, and I am eating it up. It's so good I want to share the recipe with friends, I want to cook some up and serve it at the retreat so I can enjoy it with others.
But, I also know that this dish of "Real Life Evangelism" might not be to others liking. I'm reminded of my friend Fay Ann's daughter Paula, who, at age 4, was very excited about the dessert we brought to a little dinner party at her parent's house. "Cappuccino Cheesecake." She bounced off the walls, singing out, "Cappuccino Cheesecake!"
When it was finally served with a dollup of whipped cream and a chocolate covered espresso bean, Paula trembled with pleasure. Then she tasted it. I'll never forget the how her face fell, when she said, "I thought this was going to be good."
It was good, it was really really good, to us grown-ups, but it was not what Paula expected.
So, this weekend retreat on January 16-17 Could Be the Start of Something Big. Or not, it could just be another Cappuccino Cheesecake Incident.

Here's the scriptural connection: Consider the disciples Paul met in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-7). They were disciples (students, followers), and yet, they were missing something. These disciples were thoroughly unaware that there was something that they were missing, but Paul, apparently, could tell there was something lacking in their discipleship.
The Holy Spirit. What's that? It's something you experience. About twelve of them caught the Holy Spirit experience that day.
But there's more to the story. It started with twelve and grew from there, exponentially, so that, after two years, "all the residents of Asia" heard the word of the Lord (Acts 19:10).
I think we might be missing something. Something of that old spark. When even a small group of disciples kindles the flame of the Holy Spirit, it is bound to catch on.
I hope we can get a fire going.

For January 11, 2009

Scriptures:
Genesis 1:1-5 (The start of Everything.)
Psalm 29 (In praise of the voice of the Lord.)
Acts 19:1-7 (The start of a new church.)
Mark 1:4-11 (The start of Jesus' son-ship.)

Theme: "Defining Moments"

"It all started when..." is a way of making sense of something that has already happened. "It all started long ago at Elmhurst College, when I sat down to eat lunch in the cafeteria with my old friend Bryce, and he introduced me to his friend, and that's how I came to be married with two kids."
"It all started when..." may or may not be accurate, because identifying a beginning is a tricky thing. We are never aware, in the moment, that it is a beginning of something. At the time, it's just another ordinary day. It only becomes a "defining moment" in retrospect.
And, so it is with the Jesus movement. When was it, that everything began to change? According to Mark, it all started with John the Baptizer, who was there at the Jordan River when Jesus of Nazareth came down. John baptized Jesus with water, and God spoke, announcing that Jesus is the messiah, the promised Son of God.