Holy Monday

Isaiah 42:1-9

Hebrews 9:11-15

John 12:1-11

We all have that thing that motivates us, that thing we cannot resist. For some it is money and the ways to make it, legal and illegal. For others it is the thrill that comes from escaping a dangerous situation like skydiving. For others, it is chocolate! Each of us responds in a certain way given a certain stimulus and varies in intensity with each of us. Just as on Palm Sunday we saw a variety of events that sparked the leadership to respond, but they only capped growing fear and resentment in those who were threatened by Jesus’s ministry. The passage in John takes place prior to the triumphal entry, but sets the stage for much to come.

Isaiah and Hebrews reference covenants of God with humankind. In the Isaiah passage, the author celebrates benefits of being the people in covenant with God. The Hebrews author presents the supremacy of the covenant that came through Christ. The differences between the covenants so drastically changed religious practice that the entire economy around worship was demolished while the reward for those following the new covenant exceeded that for those following the old.

The passage in John takes us to Jesus visiting close friends in Bethany just before making his journey into Jerusalem. At dinner with Mary, Martha,  Lazarus, and at least some of the twelve apostles, Mary with passion and humility does the most meaningful thing she can think of doing. She take the very best of perfumes and spreads it over Jesus’s feet with her hair. As the author of John presents it, Judas feigns disappointment in suggesting a donation to the poor would have been a better use of the perfume while internally coveting the money for his own use. Various passages present the weakness of various apostles and here is Judas’s fault.

The message Jesus gave of his coming death, in the home of the one he raised from the dead, went unrecognized by those present. Judas’s greed and the apparent obliviousness of the others present reflect typical human nature. For Jesus to say he was going to die, while sitting at the table with one he had called from the grave, was beyond what those present were able to imagine. It is not that they were not paying attention, they could not believe Jesus could die.

The crowd who gathered to see Jesus also came to see Lazarus. People Jesus cured could be found all along the routes of his ministry, but Lazarus represented the ultimate miracle. And the ultimate threat to the religious establishment. John reveals the determination of the religious leadership to not only kill Jesus, but to kill Lazarus who was proving the convincing evidence for Jews who had up to now resisted the teaching of Jesus. For those chief priests and religious leadership barely holding on to power in the midst of an occupation by a culture hostile to the Jewish faith, a competing religion threatened their hold on power more than the military. Their position and livelihood could disappear as quickly as their followers.

Even today we see people in all walks of life responding to greed and power as did those in the passages today. Even we respond to these basic urges. Our responses to those urges define us regardless of who we claim to be. Those responses label us old covenant, new covenant, or no covenant. When faced with the challenges of life, I need to stop and consider which covenant my response reflects.

Lenten Prayer - Peacemakers

Lord,

The cacophony of conflict surrounds us, drowning out the melodies of order we long to hear. The combatants’ volume keeps the attention focused on them, but present even there are the peacekeepers. We thank you, Lord, for those who seek the heart of the hostility when others flee any contact.

For the peacekeepers, whether they navigate fronts of wars or the fences of neighbors, we ask for their safety because every dispute carries risk. We ask that they also have clear hearing to know what each side says and the wisdom to discern what each side means. And Lord, we ask you to give them patience for they begin at a place where little or no hope is seen and lead those involved to a point where all find some reason to hope.

Though they so often go unrecognized, we recognize them and give thanks for peacemakers.

Amen

September 22 - Ordinary Time

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Amos 8:4-7 Psalm 113 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Luke 16:1-13

Today’s Reflection: The aspect of history that fascinates me most is seeing how leaders react and change while in the leadership role. There are as many reasons for taking a leadership role as there are leaders, but history teaches us that the power of position often changes the perspective and motivation of the leader. Power has a way of infecting even the most noble person. The passages for today recognize this and deliver blunt warnings to those who would take advantage of their position whether it be a merchant or the king. Amos calls out the merchants for greed driven practices that are expressed by resentment of holy days that restricted commerce. Rather than approaching the days in thankful worship for the good things they have, Amos’s audience bemoaned the days dedicated to worship mourning the lost profits they could have. These merchants were not satisfied with the profits that came naturally in the buying-selling process, they inflated their gain through inaccurate scales and manipulating the currency. Greed governed their every thought. Such dishonesty did not go unnoticed by God who sent Amos with the message to remind them of his expectation and the promise of judgment for “trample(ing) on the needy and bring(ing) to ruin the poor.” In Timothy the faithful are reminded to pray for everyone with special mention to all in leadership levels including the king. Those prayers include prayers for salvation because of God’s desire to have all be saved. Paul drives home that Christ came for  everyone regardless of social status. The prayers for the leaders included remembering the responsibility those in positions of power have for the quality of life of the people.  Paul reminded the people that leaders of faith would increase the chance that “we (the people) may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” The people of the time knew well what it was like to live under leaders who not only rejected God, but banned the worship practice of the Jews and Christians. The ability of leaders to make the right decisions with all the people in mind brought peace and prosperity to Israel throughout history. Leaders who focused on only some of the people led to war and social unrest. Paul, who knew the history of the Jewish people as well or better than anyone in his time, and then as minister to the Gentiles knew how important it is for leaders to govern for all people. Jesus delivers one of his most scathing critiques of his ministry while addressing the character of the people. A dishonest man, upon being caught, becomes even more dishonest to preserve his status. Instead of facing greater consequences for the increased dishonesty (theft) he receives praise for acting shrewdly in the situation. The entire standard of right and wrong had been turned on end. However, when it comes to God’s plan we do not have the option to change the rules. Jesus focuses on the character of the participants: faithfulness and honesty either exist in a person’s life or they do not. This passage in Luke, as do so many other passages, reminds us that being faithful is an all-or-nothing proposition. We cannot only be faithful on Sunday and abandon it in all other aspects of our life. Jesus gives us no other option but to be in or out. The lessons for leaders hold equally true for those not in leadership. We treat people with respect regardless of social status or we don’t. We make decisions that take into consideration the impact on all people or we don’t. We live all aspects of our lives faithfully or we don’t. Leaders draw attention because their actions affect so many people but none of us are exempt. Leaders are responsible for the ways their actions impact everyone under their authority. We all are responsible for the way our actions impact everyone we encounter. God set the standard: we are compelled to uphold it.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org

July 21 Ordinary Time

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Amos 8:1-12 Genesis 18:1-10a Psalm 52 Psalm 14 Colossians 1:15-28 Luke 10:38-42

Today’s Reflection: The last few weeks have brought regular earnings reports from companies following the end of the accounting quarter. Many of the statements trumpeted positive profits. For those monitoring the broader scope of the nation’s economy those profits indicate the economy’s strength. Profit is good. Unfortunately in the drive for gain, some businesspeople skirt, stretch, bend, and break the rules. Such dishonest profits are not good. There is nothing unchristian about being successful in business; however, practices driven by greed, as we see in today’s passages, not only threaten the broader economy as we have experienced over the recent years, they violate God’s commandment. The passage in Amos described the collapse of the nation’s economy due to greedy business practices that targeted poor and needy. They stole from the most vulnerable by manipulating currency and measurement systems. Amos’s vision of the basket of summer fruit reflected the end of the productive season for the trees and symbolized the end of a productive season for the Israeli economy. God’s judgment disrupted the normal natural order turning day to night, celebrations to sadness, and wealth to poverty. Amos even offered a new order of famine: the absence of God and holy instruction. This famine assured dire consequences for a nation that lost its spiritual compass. The Psalm passages reinforce the prophet’s message. Amos’s Israel lost their connection to God. Genesis, Colossians, and Luke remind us that our relationship with God is direct and personal. Abraham prepared a meal for God (Genesis); Jesus sat and taught in small groups with people in the community (Luke); Jesus became a human embodiment of God to provide a way to reconcile God and humanity. Encounters with God throughout the Bible demonstrate the personal nature of God’s relationship with his creation. Every encounter with God, addressed a need of the person(s) involved. Nothing has changed: our relationship with God remains personal. The personal nature of our relationship with God dictates that our actions outside our place of worship reflect God’s expectations of behavior. Amos gives us the example from business of ways disobedience to God’s way leads to a break from the personal relationship, but the rules apply to all aspects of our lives. In the context of a prophet foretelling the fall of the nation, living according to God’s standards seems restrictive, but when we look at the wholeness of the scripture we find just the opposite. Wealth and fame in this life last only as long as this life. Permanent riches found through God only come with maintenance of a personal relationship. Gaining such security, is anything but restrictive; it liberates. God really does look out for the needs of each of us.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org

Third Sunday of Easter April 14

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Acts 9:1-20 Psalm 30 Revelation 5:11-14 John 21:1-19

Today’s Reflection: Far too often in life, we find ourselves convinced that the long-range plans we have developed are flawless and beyond reproach - only to find our best laid plans collapsing around us as we observe, mouths agape, the carnage of our ideas. I cannot help but think of Robert Burn’s poem, “To a Mouse” with its line “the best laid schemes o’ mice and men.....” The more confidence we gain in ourselves, the more likely that confidence is to fail us. Today’s scriptures focus on two of the most powerful men in the Bible as they receive new directions from Jesus about the direction their life is to go. Acts 9 picks up the story of Saul, the sworn enemy of the Way and a Jew among Jews, as he heads from Jerusalem to Damascus with special directions for the purpose of persecuting anyone he finds who is following Jesus. His hatred of the Way was so deep he “breathed threats and murder.” I can only imagine that his companions struggled to keep up with him as the headed to Damascus at a brisk pace in order to get right into the hunt for those he could bind and return to Jerusalem for trial. In John 21 we see some of the disciples doing what they did before the arrival of Jesus - fishing. Jesus calls them to shore and they share a meal together. Peter, the strong, fiery, impulsive member of the Apostles finds himself challenged three times by Jesus (the same number of times he denied knowing Jesus) whether he loved him. Of course, being the fiery one, at the third time, he responded in his frustration. Saul’s march to Damascus was halted by a blinding light and the voice of Christ challenging his purpose. The ONE who fueled his passion suddenly called him to account for his actions and give him a new purpose in life. Instead of persecuting the fledgling church, he became the mouthpiece that took the church into places it would not have soon reached. Each time Peter answered that he did love Jesus, Jesus followed that assurance with a pastoral command. Peter’s personality was not best suited for that kind of pastoral care, yet Jesus explicitly directed him to “feed,” “tend,” “feed” - gentle, quiet care of the flock. Both Saul and Peter had different visions for themselves than were in the plans of Christ. As strong and powerful as they were, their lives were redirected by the transformative power of Christ. Whether motivated by hatred (fear) or passionate love God has in mind the ministry for each of us. We just have to watch, listen, and obey.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org

December 18 - Advent

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Isaiah 11:1-9 Numbers 16:20-35 Acts 28:23-31

Today’s Reflection: Isaiah brings us a lovely pastoral setting with natural enemies thriving together. Lions, lambs, cows, bears all feed together peacefully. The nature of predator and prey become alike. Notably, even the cursed relationship between snake and humankind reverted to peaceful coexistence.   This ideal setting comes in the verses following description of the coming leader’s judgment. He judges based on the character in people’s hearts – not what is seen or heard. The animal parable that follows reflects the change that comes in the hearts of those who follow Christ. We maintain our identity, but our character reflects the character God created in us in the garden. The passage brings us a glimpse of the new creation promised.   Until his coming, the world continues in its present path but as his believers, we can do our part to impact our little part of it.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org