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

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