Musings on the Daily Lectionary

Two Sundays in a row absent worship at Boulevard Presbyterian seems quite odd. But I've made good use of this week, getting a significant amount of a Bible study on Revelation written. I mention this because one of today's psalms reminded me of Revelation's depiction of the heavenly throne room. There was lots of worship filled with lots of singing. Psalm 66 has a similar feel. "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise. Say to God, 'How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.' "

It's amazing how much singing of this sort is in Revelation. I suppose I've rarely noticed because, like many mainline Christians, I have a tendency to ignore the last book of the Bible, which unfortunately leaves this book in the hands of irresponsible and even dangerous interpreters. But Revelation isn't really a book of predictions. It is a call for Christians facing persecution and even death to continue embracing Psalm 66 despite all that. John of Patmos insists that his readers not accommodate their faith to Roman culture, but to trust that God is indeed the Lord of all the earth. Despite their fears, they should live and worship in ways that proclaim the God worshiped in Psalm 66.

I'm not sure that much of the worship I lead really appreciates this, but Revelation and probably Psalm 66 see worship as more "real" that the "real world" outside of worship. The heavenly worship depicted in Revelation is totally focused on God and the Lamb. And this is precisely the world we pray for when we ask for God's kingdom to come and will to be done on earth as it is already done in heaven. In other words, worship that is totally focused on God enacts what it will be like when the kingdom comes, enacts the fulfillment of human history.

And so perhaps the biggest question when it comes to how best to do worship is: How do we become so radically centered on God that we cannot help but offer thanks and praise and song? So how do we do that?

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Musings on the Daily Lectionary

In today's gospel, Jesus' arrest is drawing near and the tells his followers, "You will all become deserters; for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' " But Peter insists otherwise. "Even though all become deserters, I will not." And even Jesus' prediction that Peter will deny him three times cannot shake Peter's insistence, nor that of the other disciples. " 'Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.' And all of them said the same."

Peter's arrogance has always struck me as a bit laughable. And yet I often engage in an arrogance of my own. I find it all too easy to see the shortcomings in others' faith lives while minimizing my own. I don't know if this is a particular problem for pastors or if it's just me. But to paraphrase Jesus' criticism of the Pharisees, it's easy to see the speck in another person's eye while missing the log in my own.

Does my ability to overlook my own faults rise to the level exhibited by Peter in today's reading? I'd like to think not. But it certainly is nice to know that even Peter's threefold denial of Jesus did not cost him his disciple's credentials. The risen Jesus still embraced him. I'm counting on that.

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Musings on the Daily Lectionary

Today's gospel contains Mark's account of "the Last Supper." This community meal became the centerpiece of Christian gatherings in the 1st century Church. I certainly had no appreciation for this fact growing us. I rarely saw what my tradition called "communion." We had communion four times a year. As a small child, it was both exotic and mysterious to me. The mysterious nature was compounded by the fact that I wasn't allowed to actually partipate in communion until I was middle school age.

Most Presbyterian churches celebrate the Lord's Supper more frequently nowadays, but I think we still struggle to recover any real sense of a community meal. Much of American, Protestant worship is highly personal and individualized. We gather with other people, but often we're still very much alone. It's similar to attending a movie or concert. Others are there, but we're not really there with them. Perhaps I'm overstating the situation a bit, but I think the analogy is appropriate.

In my childhood experience, church covered-dish suppers and picnics probably came a lot closer to the feel of 1st century Lord's Suppers than anything I experienced in worship. And I'm left to wonder why the congregations I've known find it easier to experience community outside of worship rather than in it.

When Jesus was about to leave his followers, he did not hold a class or preach a sermon. He gathered them together for a Passover meal, and this meal that celebrated God's salvation in the Exodus was reinterpreted to celebrate the new saving act of God in Christ. And I continue to wonder how we might better reclaim the community nature of friends and family gathered at table that is so integral to this celebration.

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Musings on the Daily Lectionary

In today's gospel reading, a tension that still exists in the church is on display. When a woman pours a jar of incredibly expensive ointment on Jesus (it was worth nearly a year's pay), some folks grumble about the extravagance, complaining that the money could have been better used to help the poor. I've heard similar arguments in congregations when some want to build a beautiful sanctuary and others say that the money would be better used to do ministry for those in need.

Jesus' response has troubled many over the years. "For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me." But there is no callousness toward the poor here, and I'm not sure if there's much general guidance contained in these words. Jesus' death on the cross is drawing near, and, as he says, this sort of opportunity for extravagance will soon cease to exist.

And so we are left with this tension between caring for others and displays made to honor God. Or perhaps not. One of the things I've discovered in my time as a pastor is that generous people tend to be generous on both sides of this tension. The same folks who give extravagantly to renovate the sanctuary often give sacrificially to fund mission.

Now I am aware of people who want to build sanctuaries as monuments to themselves. Perhaps this provides a key for dealing with this tension. Presumably the woman in the gospel reading engages in her extravagant act without ulterior motives. It is simply an act of love on her part. As Christians, we are called to love God and love neighbor. Perhaps if our extravagances can always be rooted in this love, we can live faithfully in the midst this tension.

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Musings on the Daily Lectionary

I was struck by the opening line of today's Old Testament reading before I ever got to the particulars of the situation. "Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel..." I admit that I find such lines in Scripture troubling, as well as difficult to reconcile with my own image of a loving God. Although I am convinced that all our pictures of God are partial and incomplete, it can still be difficult to hold together some of the seemingly contradictory pictures of God found in the Bible.

On the one hand, these varied pictures of God do serve to overturn the God I create in my own image. They force me to see a God who is bigger than any image of mine, and who is beyond my ability to fully comprehend. And yet...

I suppose my struggle with this raises the issue of how one approaches, receives, and interprets Scripture. I've never thought of Scripture as being dictated by God, by I do firmly believe that it is inspired, that it reveals God to us in ways we could never discover on our own. But what exactly does it mean for something to be divinely inspired? How much of the writers' biases and preconceptions about God's nature mix in with this revelation?

Do the opening words of today's reading speak of a God who gets mad, who in anger lashes out at humans? Are an ancient writer's notions of God coloring these reports of what happens when people live contrary to God's desires? Difficult questions, but are they rendered moot in a day when fewer and fewer people view Scripture as authoritative? And is my own discomfort with "Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel..." indicative of my own inability to accept scritpural authority over the idol of personal feelings?

Whew! Lots of questions without easy answers. No wonder some go the route of fundamentalism and others the route of "spiritual but not religious." But I guess I'll keep muddling along somewhere in between.

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We're all Hindus?

This fascinating little piece from Newsweek points out that many beliefs of American Christians aren't Christian at all, at least not the biblical Christianity of our ancestors. Even evangelical Christians stray fairly far from traditionally held, biblical views. Reincarnation anyone?

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Sunday Sermon - "All God's Children: It Comes via Strangers"

Sunday Sermon - "All God's Children: It Comes via Strangers"

When Jesus sends out 70 of his followers, they are told to cure the sick in those towns that welcome them. It seems that encountering the good news of God's coming rule requires loving the stranger.

Sermon for August 16.mp3

Musings on the Daily Lectionary

The exchange between Jesus and a blind beggar in today's gospel reading has always struck me as a bit odd. The man hears that Jesus is passing by and he repeatedly screams out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" despite the attempts of some to shut him up. When Jesus calls him over he runs to Jesus and this conversation occurs. " 'What do you want me to do for you?' The blind man said to him, 'My teacher, let me see again.' Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has made you well.' Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way."

A blind man begging for mercy, and Jesus has to ask him what he wants? But as soon as the blind man states the obvious, Jesus says, "Go; your faith has made you well." (The word here translated "made well" is often translated "save.") So just what was the content of this man's faith, that he hoped Jesus might be able to help him? That he was bold enough to state the thing he so desperately wanted?

Christians (and members of other religions) sometimes refer to ourselves as "people of faith," but just what we mean by faith isn't always clear. Is is believing the correct things? Is it trusting in God? Is it hoping when hope is difficult? Is it taking a chance on God? Is it turning to God when all else has failed?

Today's gospel reading doesn't offer a precise answer. But it does say that this faith makes us well, makes us whole, saves us, and when we experience this, we follow Jesus on the way.

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Musings on the Daily Lectionary

Today's reading from Acts reports the arrest of Paul, which sets in motion events that will eventually take him to Rome and, presumably, to his execution. His arrest happens following a mob scene at the Temple after some Jews accuse Paul of defiling the Temple. It isn't clear just who these Asian Jews are, but it is entirely possible that some of them are Christian Jews. Read the letters written by Paul and you will get an idea how strained his relations were with some Jewish Christians who insisted that all converts be circumcised, adopt Jewish dietary restrictions, and so on.

The fact that the accusations against Paul are made up of lies, half-truths, and misunderstandings makes no difference. The crowd is whipped into such a frenzy that soldiers arrest Paul, and when the tribune attempts to make sense of the situation, "Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks." Sound familiar?

Given what trouble mobs cause in Bible - Paul has been beaten before by enraged mobs, and, of course, a mob helps get Jesus crucified - you would think that Christians would be extremely wary of them. Yet we've participated in quite a few over the years. Whether it's witch trials or pogroms against European Jews, Christian mobs have had the same sort of disastrous results as those in the Bible. And yet I see all sorts of people who clearly consider themselves Christians engaging in what looks a lot like mob mentality at "town halls" to discuss health care reform.

While I'm quite certain that Christians of deep faith can hold many different views on health care that are in keeping with that faith, when Christians start acting like mobs, they are not following the ways of Christ, but the win-at-all-costs ways of the world. Mobs and love are pretty much incompatible, and above all, Christians are called to love God and to love our neighbors, even the ones we think are enemies.

Have Americans become so partisan, so selfish and narcissistic, as to make both democracy and Christian discipleship hard to envision? Lord, save us from ourselves!

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Musings on the Daily Lectionary

The several versions of today's gospel reading have led people to speak of "the rich young ruler" even though no such person appears in the gospels. In Mark (our reading for today) he is simply "a man." In Matthew he is "the young man," and in Luke he is "a certain ruler."

This story is a difficult one for many of us, for most of us are certainly rich by the standards of Jesus' day. That's probably why people often disparage this fellow who came to Jesus asking what he should do to inherit eternal life. They presume he must have been unusually greedy, or they think his answer to Jesus about keeping the Law since his youth to be arrogant. But in fact, the Apostle Paul describes his own keeping of the Law the same way. In Jewish thinking of the time, to have "kept all these since my youth" does not claim perfection. It means that a person has diligently tried to keep the Law and has asked for forgiveness when he faltered. And the story says nothing about the man being greedy.

And if there is any question as to how to view this fellow, Mark's gospel states, "Jesus, looking at him, loved him." Jesus' command, "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me," is not a way of catching some religious hypocrite. It is the one thing this man lacks and that Jesus wishes for him.

Just as many of us do today, people in Jesus' time assumed that riches were a sign of God's blessings. But here Jesus speaks of them as a curse, a curse that I and many others pursue nonetheless. I check my stock portfolio online most days, happy when it goes up in value and grumbling when it goes down. Obviously I have a hard time accepting what Jesus says. "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

If Jesus ever said to me, "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me," would I be able to do it? I wonder if I'm poor enough to say "Yes."

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Musings on the Daily Lectionary

These words of Jesus are familiar to many. "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. " What these words mean is another issue. What is it about little children that make them especially suited to the kingdom of God?

Some of the more popular answers are probably off the mark. Notions of children as sweet, cute, and innocent are relatively modern ideas, not shared by Jesus' original listeners. If modern, romantic notions of childhood are put aside, what is Jesus saying?

As hard as it may be for us to imagine in our child focused culture, children in Jesus' day had no status. They were virtual non-entities with no say or control over their lives. In essence, they were property that belonged to their fathers. And it's likely that Jesus is not using the image of a child in a positive sense. In fact, had Jesus first come to earth today, he would likely have used a different example, perhaps a homeless person.

None of this is all that appealing to me. I want power, at least over my own life. I want to be in control. Yet Jesus says the kingdom belongs to people without power or control. I don't know. I want God's help in my life, but I still want to be in charge.

I wonder what it would look like for me to become more "child like" in the sense Jesus is saying.

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