Sixth Sunday in Lent - Palm Sunday

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Matthew 21:1-11

One reason I rarely watch any of the major news broadcasts is the obsession with the foibles of individuals who, because of their role in politics, entertainment, or justice, the media labeled a celebrity (1.  a famous or well known person -via dictionary.com). Regardless of the impact that a celebrity’s personal mistake will have beyond themselves, the story [given the constraints of a broadcast/publishing schedule and the ability to tell it concisely] drives what then gets presented. The story becomes much more compelling when the fall comes after a rapid rise. I can only imagine the breaking news coverage that would have followed Jesus during the final days of his earthly ministry.

Sunday: Leading Messianic Contender Barnstorms Jerusalem

Monday: Revered Religious Teacher Terrorizes Temple

Tuesday: Embattled “Savior” Goes on the Offensive

Wednesday: Missing Messiah - Where is Jesus?

Thursday: Prophet Celebrates Passover with Closest Advisors

Friday: Crowds Call for Traitor’s Execution

Saturday: Activist’s Movement in Shambles

Sunday: Where’s the Body? New Theories Point to “Supernatural” Involvement

It does not take two thousand years to realize that a celebrity’s infidelity will leave little trace on the progress of humanity. Nevertheless, we benefit from the millenia of hindsight in our consideration of the events in Holy Week and how they have shaped Christianity and the impacted the world as we know it. Even as we understand the global transformations experienced from the force of the events one insight becomes clear: our human nature remains unchanged. Today’s Scriptures begin Holy Week with the first extreme response of the week as Jerusalem welcomes this man labeled with heroic titles by some and considered villainous by others.

Jerusalem represented  the greatest challenge for Jesus’s ministry. As the religious capital of the Jewish world and was home to the Pharisees and Sadducees who almost universally opposed the ministry of Jesus and who held remarkable influence over the daily lives of the people. Entering the city provided access to an audience who had heard the stories of the great ___________. Each audience had their own title to fill in the blank and each one threatened the religious leadership. Although the ruling class opposed all that Jesus did, they feared the vast populist support he garnered from the community. The jubilation of the masses and incorporation of festival rites in the triumphal entry could only have increased those fears and the urgency to eliminate the threat.

On Palm Sunday we often focus on the jubilation of the throng, waving palm fronds, declaring, “blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” and shouting, “hosanna.” We have associated them for so long with celebration that their origins in Jewish worship ceremonies. Palm fronds along with branches of olive trees and myrtle bushes were used in some festival processions in keeping with the law. The phrase, “blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” is also used in festival chants. Hosannah is one translation of a cry of the people for the Lord to save for deliver them. No doubt the people were celebratory when Jesus came into town as they had heard of his healing and expansive teaching which contrasted the message of Temple leadership and its focus on law and enforcement that limited almost every aspect of life.

The enthusiasm of the people likely heightened the concern of the religious leadership who were constantly stymied by his wisdom and understanding. Their academic and theological concentration on interpretation of the law into a definite and inflexible set of codes which governed virtually every aspect of life probably made the appropriation of  ceremony/festival rites into Jesus’s arrival something more than they could tolerate. They could not identify the source of his education because he was not taught in their schools and their schools were the only ones, yet they could not stump him. He had power to perform miracles they never possessed. Now that his followers treated his arrival in Jerusalem like an official festival gave Jesus a degree of legitimacy, at least as the governing bodies perceived the situation, the officials had to act.

The exact same situations happen today. Voices that bring a new or deeper understanding to the faith tend to be ignored or disregarded as long as they remain in the wilderness. When they come to church, though, they are a threat to be silenced at all cost because they threaten the teaching the elders have presented as God-given, immutable, understanding of his Word. One phrase found in both passages brings to light the danger of outright rejection of a teaching/understanding of Scripture different than the one learned in church or seminary: “one who comes in the name of the Lord.” Matthew took that title as a name for the messiah. The Jews chanting the line at a festival procession would have understood it to me a highly restrictive group of individuals selected by God to be his spokesperson, namely the chief priest, prophets, and the patriarchs. The individual called by God to deliver a message is obligated to deliver that message (think Jonah - fled because he didn't want Nineveh to be saved, yet ended up delivering the message). A message delivered in the name of the Lord will not go unheard.

Likewise, those who come in the name of the Lord are not allow to deliver their own message, but only what God commands. The leaders in Jesus’s time had good reason to be skeptical of anyone making spiritual waves. Individuals appeared from time to time claiming to be messiah. False prophets delivered powerful messages - but not from God. The same thing happens with false messengers today and we must carefully consider the different teachings we receive from any source claiming to be from God.

Jesus’s actions and teachings through Holy Week carry their own meaning yet have foundations deep in the history of our religious practice. Those actions and teachings, though holy and delivered by one coming not only in the name of the Lord, but as the Lord, still inspired the same reactions in religious leaders as new teachings inspire today. This Holy Week as we learn from Jesus’s final lessons on earth, let us open our own understanding to ideas different than the ones we have heard before as we test them for the blessing of God.

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Psalm 130

Romans 8:6-11

John 11:1-45

Few topics spark less consensus in the social, spiritual, and scientific communities than how we define life and death. The more we know about physical and psychological aspects of life, the more we are able to diverge in our beliefs about it. Medical advances blur the distinction between life and death. Years ago, when I worked for a hospice, I learned the various deaths a person with terminal illness often endures before the cessation of life at the cellular level. Despite, or maybe because of, the inevitability of death, it is a topic most people find uncomfortable to discuss or consider in depth. Today’s scriptures confront what constitutes life and death at the spiritual and physical levels. We learn that physical and spiritual life are inextricably connected and fundamentally in conflict - though not perhaps in the way we think.

In Ezekiel, we find the prophet in a remote area having a conversation with God. God led him to an area that was possibly the location of a deadly battle many years before. The prophet observed dry bones everywhere, noting that the valley was “full of bones.” The beings, for whom those bones gave shape perished years before so that none of the soft tissues remained. He responds with a degree of incredulity when God asks if those bones were capable of living. That God asked about dry bones is interesting. Bones are living, essential, parts of the body, yet when presented without the connected flesh and sinew they seem to be the least lifelike component of the body. The are individually hard and unbending, more mineral in appearance than other elements (flesh, blood, sinew) that together make a living being.

Nevertheless, God challenged Ezekiel to deliver a message of life to the bones. As he delivered the message from God, the loose bones assembled into skeletons; the various tissues reconstituted themselves over the bones until the message of the breath brought them to life. The least lifelike body material brought together a long-dead multitude into restored life - a multitude identified as the “whole house of Israel.”

We know from the accounts in the Old Testament that God did not send prophets to Israel when the nation was spiritually consistent and connected to God. If there were any “happy happy joy joy” prophets, they did not warrant a book accepted in to canon. God sent Ezekiel to prophesy to the nation so spiritually dead they might as well have been the bones in the valley where God took the prophet. God used the prophet to share the message that no matter how spiritually sick or dead we believe ourselves/our community to be, God can make a way for us to return into the right relationship with him.

The brief passage from Romans makes clear that our “life” focus shapes our faith. Fleshly life versus spiritual life presented stark contrast when they are seen as determining our connection (or lack of connection) with God. Put simply a fleshly/physical focus separates from God. A spiritual focus connects us to God. We make a mistake when we read or interpret the passage in a way that leads to denial of physical need (nutrition, medical attention, hygiene) or comfort. The verses refer to the outlook or mindset of the people, NOT the nature and needs of our human lives bound by physical bodies - we should keep in mind that God created us with these physical bodies. God appointed humankind caretakers of creation; we are obligated to take care of our bodies.

When the passage refers to a physical or flesh driven mind, it means a way of thinking limited by our human nature, not the substance of our body. It binds us to temporal thinking which is driven by the limited experiences we have in a lifetime. The spiritual mindset embraces God’s eternity and is guided by unlimited opportunity. It opens our understanding to embrace the possibilities that come when we work in God’s kingdom.

Ezekiel replied to God from the temporal, limited mindset when God asked if the bones could live, but when given a direction by God, he displayed his eternal mindset. Ezekiel gave us an example for meeting God’s expectation by putting aside the limitations we have defined by living in a limited body and accepting the guidance from God with the understanding that it came from God and is shaped by the eternal mindset.

The nature of life (and death) in Scripture is as complex as in the social and scientific texts. What we really want to do, though is live. We can control our temporal nature and practice working in the eternal kingdom with a purpose that exceeds our physical life span and what we can comprehend. Before long, we’ll be hearing the bones rattle.

Fourth Sunday in Lent

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Psalm 23

Ephesians 5:8-14

John 9:1-41

         Recently I found myself so busy trying to correct an issue which had arisen that I fixated on one solution. I instantly ran the list of reasons why no other option worked. Eventually, after several days of wearing out the heels of my shoes, I recognized that several options worked and would accomplish what we needed from the program. In today’s Scriptures, we see the Pharisees behaving much the same way. Their fixation with the letter of the law which they had translated into human-based systems blinded them to God’s working around them.

         The Pharisees were the ultimate rule-makers. They had interpretations and guidelines for every law in the Torah. Anyone who did not live exactly according to their standards faced discipline from this leadership body and possible exclusion from the synagogue. Jesus constantly confounded them, (they could not be brought to believe that they were quoting the law to The Word, The One who gave the law) for whenever they challenged him for breaking a rule, he educated them on the law. When Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath, he sparked debate and division with the sect as his action put rules in conflict.

He healed on the Sabbath = Sinner! = Not a Man of God.

He healed ≠Sinner! = Man of God.

         The conflict existed because Jesus was not one of them and did not adhere to their restrictions. Since he was not raised among them and openly flouted their legalism, their own “God-given” rules would not let them see God in him – yet he did things (healing) they never imagined they, the Godliest of all men, could do. The even seemed to recognize as much when the formerly-blind sinner challenged them because they refused to listen; they saw his response as “teaching,” and because of his low status drove him out.

         The Pharisees give us the perfect reason for seeking growth and improvement in the Lenten season. Our Christian education may be solid. We may be perfect in following the doctrine of our faith community. The example of the Pharisees shows just how blinding education and doctrine can be – especially when they are a closed system with one supporting the other. I have been confronting the ways my doctrine and theology blind me to the work going on through others in the world. During this season, we have the opportunity to pull back the blinders and see God at work in many unexpected people across the world. They just do it differently than we do. They are not us, but if we are willing to listen, we may learn something new – or at least rejoice at the work of God. 

Third Sunday in Lent

Exodus 17:1-7

Psalm 95

Romans 5:1-11

John 4:5-42

Three weeks into the season of personal transformation as we seek a stronger connection with Christ and we find ourselves struggling with the resolutions we made to foster the transformation. We have maintained them about as long as we do our new year resolutions each January. Without noticing immediate results, we chalk it up as another fruitless effort. We want to be the redeemed in Romans, yet we find ourselves much like the wanderers in Exodus.

The newly freed Jews present a fascinating study in the adjustment from slave to free. After generations with no responsibility for themselves, the Jews found themselves with some control of their daily lives and personal circumstances. When they were slaves, if there was a shortage of any essential, the masters, those in power, were responsible; now in the desert, there was no pharaoh to blame. They transferred the responsibility to God and Moses.

The generations of enslavement removed the Jews from the close relationship with God and practice of their faith. Restoration to freedom did not immediately restore the close relationship. Despite the recent experience of the ten plagues and the miraculous rescue at the Red Sea, when confronted with a challenge, they immediately jumped to the most extreme outcome. There was no, “we are in the desert; we should conserve our water from point to point.” The first response was, “I’m thirsty. You’re killing us, God!” The entire people found themselves driven by fears in the new situation. They demanded an immediate solution to every challenge they encountered.

In contrast to the now-focused Jews in the desert, the future-focused Christian described in Romans 5 held a viewpoint that grace gives us the tools to endure any hardship now because of the promised reward. Paul three times uses the word, “boast,” to describe our response to the expected outcome. Paul, earlier in Romans, condemned those who boast, yet here treats it as an expectation upon our justification. The extended passage helps cement the future ideology as it describes the timing and purpose of Christ’s death: it happened then to save us now for our coming reward in Heaven. Past. Present. Future.

We know our reward will be in Heaven in the same way the wandering Jews knew their reward would come at the end of the journey from Egypt to The Promised Land. What we know, though, does not always govern our actions. Paul declares that we boast about, that we take pride in, our suffering. It is much easier to complain. It is much easier to change our behavior. Whatever brings immediate relief to the discomfort in our life is what we want.

Three weeks into the Lenten season marks a turning point. Are we able to persevere through this period of doubt? New practices have not become habit and denied habits have become uncomfortable. Going back to the way we were on Fat Tuesday suddenly seems highly desirable. It is time to reflect on the reason we made the decisions we did and rededicate ourselves to growth through the entirety of Lent. Growth comes in its season and we are ready for the warmth.

Second Sunday in Lent

Genesis 12:1-4

Psalm 121

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Matthew 17:1-9

Timing is everything. Timing is rarely what we want it to be. We have our ideas about when crucial events should play out in our lives and how it is all going to work, but rarely do our plans match those of God. In one passage today, God tells Abram, “now,” and in another Jesus tells some of the Apostles, “wait.” Neither command was particularly convenient for those receiving the directive (especially Peter), but they were right for God’s purposes.

In Genesis, God tells a 75-year-old Abram to pack up, leave the land he had settled with his father and move to a land he will be shown. The Lord promised the heretofore childless Abram that for following his directions he would make him the father of a nation and a blessing to all on the earth. The history does not give any account of whether Abram thought about it, only that he packed up all belongings and set off as directed. What prior interactions God and Abram had were not recorded as this passage marks the call of Abram into service with God.

At 75, Abram was a middle-aged man (his father lived to 205), apparently prosperous as a herder and settled into the land. This sounds like middle-age in our time: progressing in a career and settled down with family. Packing up everything and everyone and moving to a yet unseen location (on a “trust me, it’s going to be good”) would give most of us pause before accepting or rejecting the idea. Centuries later the writer of Romans cites Abram for his faith. God asked; Abram did. Neither Abram nor his immediate descendants saw the completion of the promise, yet God fulfilled the promise.

In Matthew, Jesus takes three of the Apostles with him on a private hike up a high mountain. Upon arriving, Jesus’s “God side” showed itself. His face and clothes shone. Just as suddenly as there was the change in Jesus, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Ever impulsive, Peter jumps in with the suggestion that he build tents so they can all stay there together. God jumps in, stopping Peter, and for the second time identifying Jesus as his son and giving the command that they listen to him.

When God spoke, the Apostles fell down in fear. When Jesus told them not to be afraid, they discovered that Jesus was back to normal and Moses and Elijah were gone. As they were leaving, Jesus directed them to tell no one of this encounter until after his resurrection (one of many times he mentioned that it would happen). I know that if I had been one of the Apostles with him, I would have been much like Peter, “This is the greatest thing ever, We’ve got to tell everyone!” But Jesus, knowing the plans for his earthly ministry, knew it was not time for him to be proclaimed as the Son of God. The time would come, but there was more left to do.

At 75, many would consider Abram to be past the time when God would begin to use him. The zeal of the Apostles at experiencing a transfigured Jesus, the historical figures Moses and Elijah, and the voice of God would seem to be the perfect time for Jesus to turn them loose and let them start spreading his gospel. In God’s time, it was time for Abram to begin his work. In God’s time, it was not time for the Apostles to reveal the encounter and identity of Jesus. We too, must be attuned to God’s time in our lives. When his direction comes, it will be exactly when needed.

Lenten Prayer - Elder Generations

In Hebrews we read of the “great cloud of witnesses,” and are encouraged in our work. Many of us have also been motivated by the guidance of elder generations. For the wise guides in our lives, Lord, we give thanks.

We are blessed to have these grandparents, neighbors, or church members who act as a living cloud. For their willingness to share their experience and their faith, and for the support they provide, we ask blessings for them.

Thank you, Lord, for the many ways you care for us.

Amen.

Lenten Prayer - Conflict

Every newscast reminds us of the often horrific events happening around the world, in a bordering state, and down the street. Conflict makes for a great story with its victims, violence, and volume. Whether the battle happens in a nation halfway around the world with a scope so big we cannot imagine or in a living room halfway down the block with friends so close we do not imagine, conflict moves us because of its intensely human aspect.

Lord, we know you did not make us for conflict, but for communion with you and all mankind. When we brought conflict into the world, you responded with a guide. You told us exactly how to connect with you and with others through the law. We could not even agree on the rules you gave us, so Jesus simplified it to two imperative sentences: 1) Love God. 2) Love your neighbor.

We know how to avoid conflict and yet the headlines are filled with it. There is a difference between knowing and doing. Lord, we ask you to give us the courage to resist conflict, and even more, wisdom and peace to navigate the conflicts that do come our way – globally or relationally. And when the conflicts do come, we also ask for the grace to reflect our connection with you because you led by example in the time you walked among us.

We thank you for showing us it can be done.

Amen

First Sunday in Lent

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

Psalm 32

Romans 5:12-19

Matthew 4:1-11

From earliest childhood we have been taught that we are sinners; we are not perfect; we are less than. Even after salvation, we still remain focused on sin. The tale of Adam and Eve establishes the first separation of humankind from God. We were created for perfect fellowship with God. Through the grace of Christ we return to a state for perfect fellowship with God, yet our minds, once introduced to sin cannot completely forget that experience. Adam and Eve were permanently changed by the knowledge they gained. We, too, at least as long as we live are permanently shaped by our experiences.

In Romans, the author seeks to help us put the difference between the power of sin and grace and convince us of the superiority of grace. Sin came through the behavior of one. Grace came through the behavior of One. The behavior of one caused every death recorded in history. The behavior of One overcame every sin in history and ended the inevitability of death.

Mathematically speaking:

One > one.

Grace > sin.

Modern Christianity generally does not involve fasting to the extent as other religions, so the idea of abstaining from food seems quite foreign to most from the protestant faiths. Biblically, abstaining from food is only one form of fast, and fasting served many purposes. Through the history of Israel, fasting evolved from being an act of penance for a wrong to an act of focus for bringing one closer to God. The progression of the fast as a means of coming closer to God came through the prophets as they sought to help the people understand that right (legal) behavior came from being in the relationship with God for which he created us; it did not come from legalistically adhering to every mark in the Torah.

The Gospel passage in Matthew takes us to the end of Jesus’s forty day and forty night fast as he communed with God, drawing closer to him and preparing for his earthly ministry. Satan, the tempter, saw Jesus’s hunger as a weakness to be exploited. Given the nature of the fast, Satan’s timing could not have been more wrong. I had never read the passage with that idea in mind, but after some recent reading on fasts, I found the attempted temptation to be a comedy of errors on Satan’s part. He saw Jesus as gaunt, unshaven, and tired. He heard his stomach growling. He missed the aura, determination, and purpose. He ignored the power of his heartbeat.

As the incarnate Son of God, Jesus may have never been closer to God than he was in these moments at the completion of the fast. What Satan perceived as a moment of vulnerability was perhaps Jesus’s moment of invincibility. In Lent we follow his example for the same purpose. We open ourselves, by whatever means work best for us, to draw closer to God, and prepare ourselves for the work to which he calls us.

One > one.

Grace > sin.

Christ worked it out for us; we just need to accept it. That is part of the purpose of Lent and when we get close enough to him we will understand it.

Lenten Prayer - Grieving

Lord,

Everywhere we turn we find stories of people plunged into grief from violence, tragedy, and life. It is painful, personal, and universal. It touches us all.

There is so much grief to be found that it overwhelms one’s ability to comprehend it. There is more grief than any of us can understand or address. And no matter how much we want to make it better for those who suffer, there is little we are able to do.

Grief is a process, not a state. Help us to be the comforters for those who grieve – a shoulder, an ear, an empathetic countenance. Give us the wisdom to accept our limits to ending grief, but also expand our compassion. Grant us patience. Build in us attention. Remind us that you are there with us when it surpasses our human capacities.

For grief and the grieving, Lord, we ask your comfort and your peace. And we seek your guidance.

Amen

Lenten Prayer - Dreary Days

Lord,

As I look out my window at the sky colored solid gray by thick clouds, the steady fine mist of drizzle wetting the ground and barren limbs of trees with buds waiting to burst out with spring’s new life, I thank you for the dreary days.

These days of calm.

These days of refreshment.

Every day has a purpose. Help us remember that we have one too – on our bright days and on our dreary days.

Amen

Lenten Prayer - Spiritual Leaders

Lord,

During the Lenten season we seek to know you better by sharing your experience. We put away objects and habits we cherish. Likewise we adopt habits that challenge us. We groan and we grow. We struggle and we seek.

We (should be) step(ping) out of our comfort zone.

In this time we need our spiritual leaders. Please grant them patience in this time. We are difficult enough to love the rest of the year, how difficult we must be when we step out of our comfort zone.

And not just now, but always, we ask blessings on those who have accepted the call to lead your flock. We thank you for them and their ability to reflect your love to us.  Help them recognize our gratitude even when we fail to express it ourselves.

Amen

Ash Wednesday

Isaiah 58:1-12

Psalm 51

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

During Lent we Christians often reinforce the solemnity of the season by reciting the sacrifices we make in our effort to join Christ in the forty days of fasting he underwent prior to beginning his ministry.  Concealing any discomfort may seem to be one of the greatest challenges of our time, but we see from the scriptures leading us into Lent that whining has been with people for all time. Today’s scriptures guide us in putting our actions in perspective and gaining the most from our active involvement in God’s kingdom.

Isaiah challenges us to consider why we do the things we do. The prophet addresses the people who publicly make a show of their fast. Are they doing it to argue over who is doing a better job at being miserable – rising in the hierarchy of humility? Instead of giving up comfort to magnify their misery, the prophet reminds them that it is not what they are giving up, but what they share that matters.

Just as the prophet of Isaiah called the public behavior of the people into question, Jesus challenges the public worship of the people. We leave God out whenever our piety, generosity, or verbosity becomes the focus of the worship. The next six weeks give us the opportunity to practice putting God in focus through quiet sacrifice – and quiet service.

The fast is about stopping and starting. Stop sinning and start serving.

Lent is about giving-up and taking-up. Give up a comfort and take up a cause.

Above all, Lent is making God the focus of our actions.

Sixth Sunday in Lent - Palm Sunday

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Psalm 118 Luke 19:28-40

Today’s Reflection: Palm Sunday has always baffled me. So much celebration fills the day. In the days that follow we remember the deepest despair in the church: our Savior is executed. After 2000 years we know the outcome and that despair does not dig nearly so deep into our souls as it must have for the apostles and the other followers of Jesus, yet as we consider the events, we do experience some degree of the overwhelming sorrow those believers must have felt. In the context of the day, the one verse that stands out most for me in the Psalm is twenty-four, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” The rejoicing bit can be a challenge. Every day we are flooded with the not-so-good news of the world around us and challenges faced by friends and family. Nevertheless, the Lord gives us reason to rejoice through the good things he has given us as named throughout the Psalm and other passages. Rejoicing may challenge us, but it when we do it right, it turns around those otherwise dreary times. Growing up on a farm, I know well the perils of riding an unbroken colt. For that reason, this passage in Luke has always been one of my favorites. The history, Psalms, and prophets all contain tales of God’s power over nature, but few of them are such common man-v-beast tales as Jesus sending for, and then riding a never-before-ridden colt. Even more amazing is that the colt remained calm as the crowds shouted praise, and waved cloaks and palm fronds in the path of the approaching Jesus. Even a well-trained horse could prove skittish in such a circumstance. All this celebration, of course, disturbed the Pharisees. Jesus’s answer that the stones would take up the cry if the disciples stopped did not make them any happier. That power over nature that Jesus, as God, had reminds us on this Sunday, just what was involved in the coming week. On this day when Jesus was riding his popularity with the crowds, the events that end the week seem impossible. When we see a Jesus who commands nature, even inanimate objects, to do his will, we begin to understand just how much of a sacrifice it was for Christ to let himself be taken, tortured, and crucified. The events in Jesus’s last week did not happen by accident or without purpose. Everything led up to the climactic overcoming death and becoming the New Covenant. Events like the triumphal entry into Jerusalem show us just how much the crucifixion later in the week was a gift to us all – one that we cannot afford to underestimate or overlook on our way to Easter. We need to rejoice today, mourn Friday and Saturday, so we can truly rejoice knowing that we need do nothing more than believe to enter into our ministry with him.

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

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Isaiah 43:16-21 Psalm 126 Philippians 3:4-14 John 12:1-8

Today’s Reflection: Every once in a while I discover something about a close friend or coworker that I never knew before. Out of the blue comes a hobby they had practiced for years or an illness from which they have recovered in the time that I knew them. I am suddenly forced to look at that person in a different light than I had before. While I considered them a close confidant, I did not know some prominent part of their life. If I were giving a sermon this week, I would title it, “The God We Thought We Knew.” The scriptures today deal with people coming to a new understanding about God as they learn new qualities of God they had not known before. In Isaiah and Psalm 126 God’s power over man and nature is presented in the context of Israel’s history and the world’s future. Well known events of God’s intervention for his people are told and the Israelites count on that connection (protection) to continue, yet God’s plan is far larger than just the Israelites. Isaiah foretells a future when even the animals worship the Lord. Israel knew a very personal God who intervened on their behalf throughout history. In both passages the writer is confronted with a God with other plans: it will not just be the Jews worshipping God (Isaiah) and the relationship with God is so fractured that the Lord has removed his protection from them. The God they were so certain of was suddenly much bigger. Paul shares some harsh revelations he was forced to accept when he realized who Jesus was. He went from being the perfect Jew to someone who had spent his life to that point on activities that were meaningless. Everything he had done so passionately he had done passionately wrong. He went from the righteousness of what he saw as a black-and-white law to a righteousness founded on faith that was an ongoing command. The righteousness through faith is a daily striving for a lifetime. We do not complete that journey until we come into our reward in Heaven. Those closest to Jesus, his apostles, never accepted that he was a sacrificial messiah instead of a conquering ruler. The dinner leading into Christ’s final week demonstrated this as clearly as all the misguided questions and misunderstood teachings documented throughout the Gospels. Judas again serves as the scapegoat, but he represented the entire group who missed the message that the Messiah was a sacrificial savior. Whether they could not or would not see the purpose of the ministry while Christ remained alive does not matter at this point: the fact remains they did not understand who the man they had been following really was. In this Lenten season as we refine our spiritual practice, the scriptures challenge us to consider the question: Is the God we serve the God we know or is God being revealed in a much bigger way? How we answer the question shapes the success of our spiritual journey.

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

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Joshua 5:9-12 Psalm 32 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Today’s Reflection: “We’ve always done it that way,” grates on my last nerve when I hear it come from someone resisting a change I am trying to make. Of course, when someone else is trying to make a change, I am just as likely to respond with, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Change, especially a change of mind can be difficult. The passages for today focus on the change of heart and change of mind necessary to come into the right relationship with God. It is broke and we need to fix it. In Joshua we find the Israelites celebrating Passover in the promised land after forty years of wandering in the desert. They were able to provide all the ingredients for the meal from the crops in the land and with that provision, the manna from God ceased. The relationship shifted from provider/sustainer and dependents back to God and followers – the relationship we continue to seek today. The remaining passages all consider the idea of repentance and forgiveness. The psalmist rejoices in the relief of confession. After experiencing the weight of his transgressions, speaking of them to God removed that burden from him and he was able to resume worship again. While our guilt encourages us to hide our shortcomings, the relief of confessing the flaws takes away that guilt. Confession frees the heart to do its natural work: love. In the 2 Corinthians passage we again see a change of heart and the way it impacts the individuals’ worldview. The believer no longer focuses on things with humanistic perspective but with the perspective of Christ through the Holy Spirit. The writer talks of everything old being made new and it is when views shift to an eternal lens rather than the temporal lens of our physical beings and the limited time we have with earthly life. While the key idea is that change in perspective, the passage states and reinforces that the change comes about because of the way our relationship with God works through Christ.  The idea of reconciliation, when looking at the primary dictionary definition of the word definitely gives one pause when considering it in a faithful way. The primary definition is to make someone accept something they do not want. Christ did not come to force anyone into belief. He simply did not operate in that way. Looking deeper into the origins of the word and the remaining definition, give us the meaning we see in this passage. The remaining definitions include, “win over to friendliness,” “to compose or settle (as in a disagreement),” and “to bring into agreement or harmony; to make compatible or consistent.” Christ’s ministry and our ministry through him does just that – it brings people into agreement or harmony and compatibility with God from the point of being separated from the Lord. When we are in agreement with God, then everything does change. Our bodies may remain in the same physical form, but the way we see everything is different. Finally in Luke we read the often cited tale of the prodigal son. The story has been probed for years by likely every theologian to scan the book of Luke. The story has many layers of relationships and there are as many interpretations of who the players represent in the tale. One line in the entire story stands out: “But when he came to himself….” That moment was the moment of repentance, the moment of confession of his shortcomings (sins). In that moment everything changed. All that came before set it up. All that comes after makes us feel warm and fuzzy. He realized his failure before God, confessed, and changed his life. The Jews experienced the same sensation when they came into the promised land and had their own food. The psalmist felt it when he confessed his sin. The writer of 2 Corinthians knew the feeling upon accepting Christ. We too can know that relief when we reconcile ourselves to God. This Lenten season as we experience our sacrifice and practice new spiritual habits we may feel like we are carrying the slop for the hogs, but as it brings us to the moment that brings us right with God, those buckets may instead become pots of gold: everything has become new!

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

Third Sunday in Lent

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Isaiah 55:1-9 Psalm 63 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9

Today’s Reflection: The Lenten season coincides with the start of gardening season - at least in my part of Texas. In recent months fruit trees have been pruned and garden beds readied for planting. Part of that preparation requires clearing out last year’s dead plants and fertilizing the ones that remain from previous years. The garden simply does not function well without this care. The passages today consider preparation we have to do in order to be faithful followers of Christ. One of the most familiar passages in Isaiah, 55:1-9, has always comforted me in times of trouble and troubled me in times of comfort. Verses eight and nine provide a pathway to peace when we are overwhelmed by the nature of a circumstance and desperately seek answers. Any other time I read the passage I wonder if it is not just God’s trump card keeping us submissive pawns as he plays with his creation. His ways and thoughts are so much higher we will never understand. Many other passages that attempt to explain God’s actions offer us a chance to understand at some point in the future: these verses withhold such hope. Fortunately these verses in Isaiah are not the only ones in the Bible that address the rationale for God’s actions. The passage in 1 Corinthians cites numerous instances when people (mis)behaved and God smote. We are encouraged to pay close attention to God’s actions in our lives because in even the most troubling time for us, God offers salvation from the trial. Much like the passage in Isaiah, we commonly turn to verse thirteen when we face overwhelming situations, and fortunately, it gives us the sustaining comfort we need. The closer we draw to him in his actions, the better chance we have. Jesus was often surrounded by seekers - people with theological questions attempting to get the answers. In the passage in Luke they asked about the sins of some who had been executed by Pilate. Contemporary teaching informed that those who suffered suffered in response to the sin and their degree of suffering reflected the degree of sin. Jesus refutes this with several other examples and a parable. In an era of sustenance farming, the farmer [famer = God] could not afford to have a fruitless tree [tree = sinful humanity] in his orchard and ordered such a tree be cut down, but the gardener (gardener = Jesus) intervened and asked for a chance to work the soil [work the soil = Christ’s ministry] and fertilize [fertilizer = knowledge] to see if it would turn fruitful. We do not know the outcome for the tree. The outcome for us remains undetermined as well. As we have been loved by Christ and learned about his ways and expectations, our fruitfulness still varies. Some have born plentiful fruit and others have remained barren. Many passages in the Bible offer comfort and create concern as they lead us to reflect on our relationship with God. The passages today, appropriate for the Lenten season, insist that we examine our relationship with God and determine what we need to do to make it the relationship God desires.

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

Second Sunday in Lent

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35

Today’s Reflection: I tend to be somewhat skeptical and question circumstances. While I generally assume positive intent in the actions of others, I always want to know the other side of the story to get the clearest picture available. In the passages today, questionable conduct of one or more parties is called into question and the whole story helps us understand exactly what was going on. Under the New Covenant we no longer present physical sacrifices on an altar so the concept of the physical gift of an animal carcass (or multiple carcasses) seems foreign and strange. Yet, the majority of the history of our faith (if we consider Judaism as the early history of Christianity), making such offerings constituted a foundation of the faith. Part of the covenant between Abram and God included a significant animal sacrifice which came at the conclusion to a back-and-forth dialogue between Abram and God in which Abram challenged the faithfulness of God and sought reassurance that God would truly uphold his promise. The preparation of the animals, with a space between the halves, gave space for the participants to walk between the piles of halves. By walking between the halves, the participants signaled their understanding that the same would happen to them if they did not uphold their portion of the agreement. In the darkness, the fire pot and torch was God walking between the parts confirming his faithfulness in the covenant. In the early history of the church, many false teachers spread a misunderstood (or self-serving) message of faith. As a result, many who called themselves Christian did not truly follow Christ’s teachings. Paul referred to these people as “enemies of the Cross of Christ” in his address to the church in Philippi. He pled with them to follow Christ the same way he does. While not specifically giving examples of their practice, the implication in the passage is that those who follow false teaching focus on earthly, temporal, goals. Those who, like Paul, follow the cross theology, focus on Heavenly, eternal goals. Even though, in name, both groups claimed Christ, the actions revealed the true followers. Jesus’s interaction with the Pharisees demands a complex interpretation. Seemingly the Pharisees approach Jesus with his safety and concern at heart, warning him that Herod wants him dead. Luke’s view of the religious leadership in the time calls one to question their true intent. While seemingly concerned about the well-being of Jesus, the message could have been an attempt to get him out of town, to silence his message in the big city and make things easier for Herod (and for them). We cannot now know what motive prompted their visit to Christ, we do know that such a warning meant nothing to him as heeding it would interrupt the mission of Christ. His response foretells his death and resurrection (third day). His lament over Jerusalem, while historically inaccurate (Jerusalem was not known for killing prophets), symbolized the rejection God’s people often had for the prophets who called them on behavior that did not farther God’s kingdom. His pending death would complete the ministry on earth. His burial and resurrection then makes him the one they would be forced to call “the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” During the Lenten season, as we give-up and take-up practices in faith, we too may be challenged on the action. We need to know the whole story and act accordingly. Why am I giving up? Why am I taking up? All of our actions should work to further God’s kingdom. During this time of Lent we need to be prepared to explain our purpose and know the whole story.

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

Lent 2013

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Isaiah 58:1-12 Psalm 51 2 Corinthians 5:20 – 6:10 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Today’s Reflection: (Originally written for and based on the scriptures for Ash Wednesday, 2013. Due to the deaths of a family member and a co-worker that interrupted timely posting, I have adapted it as an overview of Lent 2013)   Growing up in a church that never mentioned the liturgical calendar, I was always fascinated by my friends’ talk of what they had to give up for Lent. (I also liked that we had fish in the school cafeteria every Friday.) It seemed like a very depressing time with all the pleasures taken from life. As I learned more about the purpose of the Lenten season, I learned to use it as a time of personal reflection and growth. It is about as adding on as much as it is about giving up.   Just as the Lenten season is shaped by Christ’s fast in the dessert which was a time for him to draw closer to God, we have the opportunity to draw closer to God as we refine our spiritual practices. The passages today help us see the way to grow in fellowship with God. All the passages unite in guiding us toward the right behavior in public and private worship.   My friends, in their childhood understanding of sacrifice in Lent got it entirely wrong. There is an either-or to rewards for our actions. The passages concur in that message: we can either have our rewards now through public recognition of our pious behavior (by bragging about all that we are doing without) or we can have our rewards for eternity by exercising our faith in a way that only strengthens our relationship with God and brings glory to him (sacrificing in quiet with a smile on our face in public). Isaiah, Psalms, and Matthew state as clearly as possible that we are to worship in a way that builds up the relationship without drawing any attention to ourselves.   During Lent we give up excess(es) in our life in order to take up a spiritual activity that helps us grow our relationship with God. It is not about bragging that I am going without chocolate until I break out the chocolate bunnies on Easter morning. Lent is our time in the wilderness developing our spiritual practices not our six weeks of misery developing our frown. Let’s smile as we celebrate (privately) our growing connection to God.

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

 

First Sunday in Lent

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Psalm 91 Romans 10:8-13 Luke 4:1-13

Today’s Reflection: While many people often think of Lent as a time of personal sacrifice, my pre-Lenten reading and preparation had turned me toward a focus on growth and seeking. In the five days before the start to the Lenten season, two young people who were fairly new, but important parts, of my life died unexpectedly. Whether I had planned it or not, those deaths and the following grief, forced me into a mood of seeking and growing.   The Gospel passage in Luke provides the traditional framework for Lent: Christ spending forty days in the desert, fasting and focusing on the work of God with the Holy Spirit. Christ gave up food and the comforts of home to spend the time hungry and exposed. The devil thought he picked the best possible time to tempt Jesus – the end of the forty days. He perceived Jesus’s hunger as the key to vulnerability. He could not have been more wrong. Jesus had spent forty days in close communion with God and the Holy Spirit; he may never have been stronger and more resilient to temptation.   The Psalms and Romans passages promise us protection from evil, scourges, natural dangers, and shame. They make life sound like a stroll through Candyland, yet, the two deaths in five days lead me to ask; why then do we have hardship? The best way I understand this is to consider it in eternal versus temporal terms. When God makes a promise it is assured that the promise will be kept: it will be kept in God’s time. It may not be fulfilled in human time. We will be protected for eternity, but we may indeed face difficulty in our lifetime. The difficulties we do face though will not destroy our faith or our connection to God. We may question why things happen, but eventually we find peace from God.   During the Lenten season struggle is permitted. The time we spend working out and building up our spiritual muscle is as important as the things we give up. Lent is not meant to be easy, but it allows us a unique time to grow spiritually. As we go through the forty days of seeking and growing in fellowship with God and the Holy Spirit, may we, like Christ, come out of the struggle stronger than coming into it.

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

 

Lent - March 25

Today’s Scriptures: Psalm 118, 145 Exodus 3:16-4:12 Romans 12:1-12 John 8:46-59

Today’s Question: What role do signs and wonders play in faith-based religion?

Today’s Reflection: On April 8, 1966, Time Magazine’s cover asked, “Is God Dead?” with the accompanying article examining the premise that some Christian theologians were rethinking the existence of a personal god. Such thoughts had entered the world of the faithful before. For about 400 years before the birth of Christ, there were no prophets (at least whose works entered into the Old Testament). Certainly, God’s people continued, but God’s voice, as it was understood in the time, was a silent. Today’s passages recount God’s involvement with his people through signs and wonders – and their absence. In the Exodus passage God directly gives Moses signs to perform if the people question his directive from God and predicts that he, God, will perform wonders to convince the king of Egypt to do His will. In the Psalms, praises thank God for his direct involvement with the nation of Israel. The Romans passage describes the gifts we have to do God’s will, and in John, those who reject God are shown to be blinded to God in their presence. As the passages demonstrate, the signs and wonders are not only done by God, but by his people in order that his will would be done. It is important to understand, that while sometimes people performed the signs and wonders, they came directly under the authority of God for the purpose of accomplishing his desires. Much like the news today reports on the extraordinary, most of the signs and wonders recounted in the Bible were extraordinary actions that defined a people. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, signs and wonders continue through all who are Christian. We may perform signs and wonders on a regular basis without notice as we use our gifts to do what God directs us to do. These signs and wonders likely will not make the news or have chapters in future religious books, and they should not. As Christians, we rely on no sign since the resurrection of Christ and look for no sign but his return, so celebrating our actions fulfilling the will of God as the “latest sign” undermine the faith central to Christianity. Nevertheless, it is good for us to recognize the power we possess, through the Holy Spirit, to accomplish good through the righteous use of our spiritual gifts. We must not resist those things we are called to do just as we must refrain from attempting our desires and calling them God’s will.

Today’s Prayer:   Let us recognize and understand our place in God’s kingdom and use that place to further God’s work on earth and humbly work with the power of the Holy Spirit within us all.