15 July 07
Proper 10C
O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them.
In nominee…
Success. We all want to be successful. I mean, success can come in a lot of forms, but, in general, we tend to want to do well. Today’s first two lessons speak of the word as providing means to success.
In today’s lessons Moses reminded the Jews that the Lord “would make them abundantly prosperous in all their undertakings – in their bodies, and families, and land - as he did to their ancestors – he would make them SUCCSSFUL when they followed the law and turned their hearts and soul over to the Lord.
And Moses reminded them, they knew the word of the Lord,
That it was in their hearts and in their minds already. And that as hard or annoying as following that law may seem, turning our heart and soul to God is dealwithable,
its not too hard, not in heaven, not “over there”, here, we can do it, here, and now.
The second lesson presents the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Colossians.
Paul writes that hope and prosperity are in the gospel -- that the gospel is bearing fruit for the whole world. As in Deuteronomy this lesson says that following and turning to God leads to success. In Deuteronomy Moses directs the Jews to turn to the law, their covenant with God, Paul reminds us to look towards the gospel in Christ – our new Covenant.
Today’s readings not only serve to remind us to turn fully turn our hearts and souls to the Lord, but also reassure us that although it may not seem easy, It is not too hard. That we are capable. Paul specifically reminds us that we must be patient. We must be open, that we must be filled with God’s will and spiritual understand, strong with his strength and patience.
Lofty thoughts. Sounds hard, I mean, why bother? Filled with God’s will? Strong with God’s strength, and patience, and God’s spiritual understanding? But, God’s God. Man, that sounds hard, and, and annoying.
But taking a look at today’s Gospel, Paul makes a good point. I mean, God really raised the stakes, and his expectations.
In today’s gospel a lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Just as Moses reminded the Jews that they knew the law in their hearts, Jesus confirms that the lawyer knew the “correct” answer, and the lawyer responds that you must love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself.
At this point I’m sure most of us here know the story by heart – the lawyer asks “who is my neighbor” and Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan - its one of those stories that tends to pop-up. Like the Prodigal Son and the Lost Sheep, this story seems to turn up in every Vacation Bible School curriculum and illustrated children’s bible. We learned it as children and though it gives us that warm comfy feeling inside, we can kinda of, click off, when we hear it.
A Jew is hit up by robbers. He’s left for dead. A priest passes by, but doesn’t stop so as to retain ritual purity. A Levite passes by but doesn’t stop either. Then a Samaritan passes the injured Jew - a person with a reason not to stop by – and he stops. He puts the man on his own animal, gets him to an inn, and leaves him with money.
Given the time, it would have made more sense for the Samaritan to pass by. Actually it would have made more sense for him to kick the guy while he was down. Samaritans and Jews at the time held extreme animosity towards each other.
A Jew would not have expected a Samaritan to stop and help him. To be honest, the Jew might not have even wanted the Samaritan to stop. Not only was the Samaritan not expected to stop, but it may have reflected badly upon the Samaritan for doing so. The Jew didn’t live near the Samaritan and it is highly doubtful that he considered the Samaritan to be his neighbor.
But Jesus told us that the Samaritan was a neighbor to the Jew. That if we are to love our neighbor as ourselves we have to be there for those whom we do not want to. Not when it hurts, not when its scary. We have to put ourselves aside for this – far away neighbor?
Sometimes it can be hard enough to put ourselves aside for those whom we love voluntarily. A friend who needs you when you had scheduled a date, sick relative when you are already stretched thin with other tasks. And yet, to “inherit eternal life” we must love those whom we want hate?
We can’t be vengeful. We, we as students can’t stand by children dying every day of curable diseases and not work to fund the MDGs while going out partying every weekend and say we love our neighbor. We can’t not teach our children that Americans put Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II because they looked different, cause it makes us feel embarrassed. We can’t drop bombs on hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and say we are loving our neighbor.
Who is our neighbor? According to Jesus, to a Jew it was all of the priests, the Levites, and the Samaritans. The last of whom had all the reason in the world to be angry, and vengeful, and leave the man, but instead gave him money and lodging, and hope.
It’s hard isn’t it – to not only turn the other cheek, but to turn to a person when everything in us is feeling anger and hatred. When we want to call out against a person because of their clothing, religion, or their believes, or those that we suppose they have when we look at them. Doesn’t it hurt?
Doesn’t it hurt to know that Jesus died on a cross for us to have eternal life – but for us to earn it the gospel says we have to love God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our minds and that to do that MUST love neighbor as ourselves – that we have to sacrifice our pride, our prejudices, our fears and self-protection to truly see beyond what we want to see and see what is.
That in order to truly inherit that which God has promised, we must turn ourselves over to the Lord our God to be filled with his will, strength, spiritual understanding, and PATIENCE.
O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them.
In nominee…
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
10 June 2007
10 June 2007
Proper 5 Year C
1 Kings 17:17-24
Galatians 1:11-24
Luke 7:11-17
Please be seated.
Once you are dead, you are dead. Right? Well according to today’s lessons, not so fast.
Today’s first lesson recounts the story of the raising of a young man from the dead. Incidentally, the gospel has the same theme, however, lets stick to Kings for now.
When I first read over this lesson I was struck by what seemed to be the apathy of God. In earlier chapters of first Kings we learn that the city where the widow and her son live is going through a drought in part because many there are worshipping false Gods. This poor starving widow agrees to take in Elijah and soon after her son grows ill and dies.
The response of both the widow and Elijah is to get angry at God for bringing this misfortune upon the family, especially after she showed faith in taking in Elijah. Elijah cries “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?”
The story then recounts Elijah praying three time and God listening to the voice of Elijah and the life returning to the dead son.
When I read that, my first thought was “man, God seems mean. Doesn’t care about the widow or the son. Not my kind of guy.”
(sarcastic pause)
There’s this traditional line of thinking that the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is angry while the God of the New Testament is nice. The God of Justice vs. the God of Mercy.
Elijah has to ask God three times before God responds.
In today’s Gospel Jesus approaches the widow’s son and heals him – no request, no questions asked. Nice guy, right?
I’ll be honest, I’ve always been skeptical of the God of Justice vs. the God of Mercy bit. Wasn’t it the God of the Hebrew scriptures who gave the 10 commandments, and who gave the law to the Jews? God so loved his chosen people that he gave to them a set of rubrics that would provide for the most righteous life for them until a later time, the coming of the messiah. It was only when they stopped doing the most basic of these commandments: “have no other Gods before me”, that things weren’t really working out. The law, to the Jews, was an outward and visible sign of Gods love and care for them. When the people in the reading from Kings turned away from this commandment, they turned away from God, and ultimately, their own happiness.
Okay, now a shift.
Paul.
Paul wrote today’s letter from Galatians.
Paul, as we all know, was a Jew. And if we didn’t know this fact before, today’s epistle tells us this. Paul was a Jew who persecuted followers of Christ.
Paul says that he was “called through God’s grace” to have Jesus revealed to him. He left his life of tradition in Judaism and recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of his own scriptures. Which God was it who called him to this new life? As a Jew, was it his God, that many consider to be annoying, almost irresponsible, in the Hebrew Scriptures, or was it the loving, kind God of the New Testament?
While clearly both are the same God, this example blatantly breaks up the assumed dichotomy of Justice vs Mercy.
That just and merciful God that brought Paul to new life in Christ, truly
brought the two boys from today’s lessons to new life.
Imagine what that must be like: Your son, or daughter, or cousin, or best friend who had died, now brought back to life. What a tangible recognition of the power and love of God!
Yet, clearly, this is not a common occurrence. I mean, I can think of very few people who were raised from the dead:
"The boy in Kings was raised from the dead, the man in Luke was raised from the dead, we all know about Lazarus of Bethany. Aslan, the lion in C.S. Lewis's novels "The Chronicles of Narnia was raised" Joe Pendleton in Heaven Can Wait was given another shot and in The Princess Bride the character Westley was raised by Billy Crystal. Albus Dumbledore - oh wait, we don't know that for sure yet – must believe. Anyhow, I feel like we are leaving someone out… oh yeah… Jesus.
Sometimes it really seems as if Jesus’s resurrection is a really good IDEA.
I mean, imagining a deceased close friend or family member alive is so, so tangible, and Christ’s resurrection often seems INtangible – so very far away. We know it happened, we believe it happened, yet, we often forget it happened, it almost seems somehow, irrelevant.
And yet, it is because of Christ’s resurrection that we can, with full hearts repeat from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: “O Death where is thy sting, O grave, where is thy victory?”
It is because of Christ being raised from the dead that we, as Christians, no longer need that law as God set it forth in the Hebrew scriptures.
In our heads we know that, as with Paul, in Christ’s resurrection we are given the opportunity for a new life. We are invited to eternal life – something that is a lot better, fulfilling, long lasting than one person being raised, until they die again from natural type reasons.
As always, we are left to wonder, why these two boys, why not another man or girl who was dead. Where is God’s MERCY in letting the other people remain dead. Why that son, why not my best friend.
And yet, what if it was my best friend, and not one of these boys, what if it was my relative and not Jesus.
I keep using the example of my best friend because she was the closest example I can think of. When she died I remember thinking the same thing that Elijah and the widow said “why did you take her away from us, after all she did, all we did.” Praying three times didn’t bring her back. But, I know she is alive in the risen Christ.
There is something to be said for instant gratification. We all love it. Its here, its now, it satisfies us. So of course, for what is best, we have to wait. In the chapter from Kings, the village was being punished because they were worshipping false Gods. Those gods were gods who promised more instant things – rain, fertility, etc.
God wants us to wait.
In Christ’s resurrection we are promised a lot. A lot that is to come later.
That we have to wait around for. Some of what we receive later that will be very tangible, but now seems very intangible.
What we have to remember is that Christ’s resurrection, and the effects thereof are just as real and tangible as the raising of those boys or Joe Peddleton, or Westley. As I questioned at the beginning of the sermon, once we are dead, we are not dead. Only, unlike the movie characters, we have the opportunity to live in Christ’s resurrection, though the justice and mercy of the one true and loving God who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.
Proper 5 Year C
1 Kings 17:17-24
Galatians 1:11-24
Luke 7:11-17
Please be seated.
Once you are dead, you are dead. Right? Well according to today’s lessons, not so fast.
Today’s first lesson recounts the story of the raising of a young man from the dead. Incidentally, the gospel has the same theme, however, lets stick to Kings for now.
When I first read over this lesson I was struck by what seemed to be the apathy of God. In earlier chapters of first Kings we learn that the city where the widow and her son live is going through a drought in part because many there are worshipping false Gods. This poor starving widow agrees to take in Elijah and soon after her son grows ill and dies.
The response of both the widow and Elijah is to get angry at God for bringing this misfortune upon the family, especially after she showed faith in taking in Elijah. Elijah cries “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?”
The story then recounts Elijah praying three time and God listening to the voice of Elijah and the life returning to the dead son.
When I read that, my first thought was “man, God seems mean. Doesn’t care about the widow or the son. Not my kind of guy.”
(sarcastic pause)
There’s this traditional line of thinking that the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is angry while the God of the New Testament is nice. The God of Justice vs. the God of Mercy.
Elijah has to ask God three times before God responds.
In today’s Gospel Jesus approaches the widow’s son and heals him – no request, no questions asked. Nice guy, right?
I’ll be honest, I’ve always been skeptical of the God of Justice vs. the God of Mercy bit. Wasn’t it the God of the Hebrew scriptures who gave the 10 commandments, and who gave the law to the Jews? God so loved his chosen people that he gave to them a set of rubrics that would provide for the most righteous life for them until a later time, the coming of the messiah. It was only when they stopped doing the most basic of these commandments: “have no other Gods before me”, that things weren’t really working out. The law, to the Jews, was an outward and visible sign of Gods love and care for them. When the people in the reading from Kings turned away from this commandment, they turned away from God, and ultimately, their own happiness.
Okay, now a shift.
Paul.
Paul wrote today’s letter from Galatians.
Paul, as we all know, was a Jew. And if we didn’t know this fact before, today’s epistle tells us this. Paul was a Jew who persecuted followers of Christ.
Paul says that he was “called through God’s grace” to have Jesus revealed to him. He left his life of tradition in Judaism and recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of his own scriptures. Which God was it who called him to this new life? As a Jew, was it his God, that many consider to be annoying, almost irresponsible, in the Hebrew Scriptures, or was it the loving, kind God of the New Testament?
While clearly both are the same God, this example blatantly breaks up the assumed dichotomy of Justice vs Mercy.
That just and merciful God that brought Paul to new life in Christ, truly
brought the two boys from today’s lessons to new life.
Imagine what that must be like: Your son, or daughter, or cousin, or best friend who had died, now brought back to life. What a tangible recognition of the power and love of God!
Yet, clearly, this is not a common occurrence. I mean, I can think of very few people who were raised from the dead:
"The boy in Kings was raised from the dead, the man in Luke was raised from the dead, we all know about Lazarus of Bethany. Aslan, the lion in C.S. Lewis's novels "The Chronicles of Narnia was raised" Joe Pendleton in Heaven Can Wait was given another shot and in The Princess Bride the character Westley was raised by Billy Crystal. Albus Dumbledore - oh wait, we don't know that for sure yet – must believe. Anyhow, I feel like we are leaving someone out… oh yeah… Jesus.
Sometimes it really seems as if Jesus’s resurrection is a really good IDEA.
I mean, imagining a deceased close friend or family member alive is so, so tangible, and Christ’s resurrection often seems INtangible – so very far away. We know it happened, we believe it happened, yet, we often forget it happened, it almost seems somehow, irrelevant.
And yet, it is because of Christ’s resurrection that we can, with full hearts repeat from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: “O Death where is thy sting, O grave, where is thy victory?”
It is because of Christ being raised from the dead that we, as Christians, no longer need that law as God set it forth in the Hebrew scriptures.
In our heads we know that, as with Paul, in Christ’s resurrection we are given the opportunity for a new life. We are invited to eternal life – something that is a lot better, fulfilling, long lasting than one person being raised, until they die again from natural type reasons.
As always, we are left to wonder, why these two boys, why not another man or girl who was dead. Where is God’s MERCY in letting the other people remain dead. Why that son, why not my best friend.
And yet, what if it was my best friend, and not one of these boys, what if it was my relative and not Jesus.
I keep using the example of my best friend because she was the closest example I can think of. When she died I remember thinking the same thing that Elijah and the widow said “why did you take her away from us, after all she did, all we did.” Praying three times didn’t bring her back. But, I know she is alive in the risen Christ.
There is something to be said for instant gratification. We all love it. Its here, its now, it satisfies us. So of course, for what is best, we have to wait. In the chapter from Kings, the village was being punished because they were worshipping false Gods. Those gods were gods who promised more instant things – rain, fertility, etc.
God wants us to wait.
In Christ’s resurrection we are promised a lot. A lot that is to come later.
That we have to wait around for. Some of what we receive later that will be very tangible, but now seems very intangible.
What we have to remember is that Christ’s resurrection, and the effects thereof are just as real and tangible as the raising of those boys or Joe Peddleton, or Westley. As I questioned at the beginning of the sermon, once we are dead, we are not dead. Only, unlike the movie characters, we have the opportunity to live in Christ’s resurrection, though the justice and mercy of the one true and loving God who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
3 April 2007
3 April 2007
Evening Prayer
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Wisdom. Wisdom is a goal for which we all strive. To understand. To see things – clearly. Wisdom may be why some of us are here tonight. We hope to gain it … we hope to learn it – or hear it. We want to be all knowing and to understand. To be like, our grandmothers, loved teachers, the omnipotent narrator in stories. To understand ourselves, to understand suffering and love, to understand the world around us.
And yet today’s reading from Corinthians appears to tell us that human wisdom is folly.
“Where is the one who is wise?” We hear from Paul:
“ Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.”
My initial reaction to reading this line was confusion and frustration. Isn’t that why I’m in college – to learn stuff? To become wise? We are taught to shy away from that which is foolish. We watch the Discovery Channel and read the NY Times. We do crossword puzzles and sudoku and play games and make decisions that thrive on logic. As kids we are told to act logically and as we get older, dreams we had – our foolish thoughts-get crushed or morphed into more practical and mundane matters. The logical hold themselves above the foolish and rest tend to agree.
“Has not God made the foolish the wisdom of the world?”
Paul goes on to say that “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are…”
As much as I am trying to get away from it, my mind keeps jumping to a line Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella:
“For the world is full of zanies and fools who don’t believe in sensible rules, and won’t believe what sensible people say. Because these daft and dewy-eyed dopes keep building up impossible hopes impossible, things are happening everyday.”
Cinderella, a plain country girl, alone and abused believes this woman who appears to her, and she eventually becomes a princess.
While, as Paul points out that we shouldn’t be looking for signs or miracles, there clearly is something to be said to stepping back from the logical – and what’s considered to be the wisdom and logic of the time. There is something to be said for stepping away from logic and believing the improbable.
Paul writers “God has chosen what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are.” He writes “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”
Maybe it’s the foolish who really know what’s going on.
The foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.”
That is really comforting in many ways, but it can also be discouraging. We are raised to want to be smart. To want to get away from foolishness. Children play games to act and dress like adults (and are then told they are being foolish) in hopes of wisdom.
We want to be in control. We want promotions. We want proof. We want to be certain. And here we are being told that we can never be the wisest, we can never be the smartest or be on top, and that quite frankly,
WE SHOULDN’T WANT TO BE!
Add what you want to think
That’s God’s job. God is the wisest, God is the strongest. God is wiser and stronger than anything we can imagine, study, or comprehend.
God is really so much bigger than we are. God is so much wiser and so much stronger and so much our father and mother and grandmother and teachers and storyteller that we can ever imagine.
We can’t control or comprehend or understand or know everything. It is in trying to understand everything that we lose the mystery of the Word Made Flesh – that we lose the comfort God can provide for us – it is in trying to understand everything that we lose understanding.
Cinderella believed the impossible – she believed that a plain yellow pumpkin could be come a golden carriage and that a plain country bumpkin and a prince could join in marriage.
The gospel of Christ crucified – the story that we are walking is very week asks us to believe the foolish. It asks us to believe a 2000 year old story that circumvents many of the rules of medicine and physics. It asks us to put aside what we have studied to consider wisdom and instead believe - and in that believe we have life.
Evening Prayer
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Wisdom. Wisdom is a goal for which we all strive. To understand. To see things – clearly. Wisdom may be why some of us are here tonight. We hope to gain it … we hope to learn it – or hear it. We want to be all knowing and to understand. To be like, our grandmothers, loved teachers, the omnipotent narrator in stories. To understand ourselves, to understand suffering and love, to understand the world around us.
And yet today’s reading from Corinthians appears to tell us that human wisdom is folly.
“Where is the one who is wise?” We hear from Paul:
“ Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.”
My initial reaction to reading this line was confusion and frustration. Isn’t that why I’m in college – to learn stuff? To become wise? We are taught to shy away from that which is foolish. We watch the Discovery Channel and read the NY Times. We do crossword puzzles and sudoku and play games and make decisions that thrive on logic. As kids we are told to act logically and as we get older, dreams we had – our foolish thoughts-get crushed or morphed into more practical and mundane matters. The logical hold themselves above the foolish and rest tend to agree.
“Has not God made the foolish the wisdom of the world?”
Paul goes on to say that “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are…”
As much as I am trying to get away from it, my mind keeps jumping to a line Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella:
“For the world is full of zanies and fools who don’t believe in sensible rules, and won’t believe what sensible people say. Because these daft and dewy-eyed dopes keep building up impossible hopes impossible, things are happening everyday.”
Cinderella, a plain country girl, alone and abused believes this woman who appears to her, and she eventually becomes a princess.
While, as Paul points out that we shouldn’t be looking for signs or miracles, there clearly is something to be said to stepping back from the logical – and what’s considered to be the wisdom and logic of the time. There is something to be said for stepping away from logic and believing the improbable.
Paul writers “God has chosen what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are.” He writes “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”
Maybe it’s the foolish who really know what’s going on.
The foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.”
That is really comforting in many ways, but it can also be discouraging. We are raised to want to be smart. To want to get away from foolishness. Children play games to act and dress like adults (and are then told they are being foolish) in hopes of wisdom.
We want to be in control. We want promotions. We want proof. We want to be certain. And here we are being told that we can never be the wisest, we can never be the smartest or be on top, and that quite frankly,
WE SHOULDN’T WANT TO BE!
Add what you want to think
That’s God’s job. God is the wisest, God is the strongest. God is wiser and stronger than anything we can imagine, study, or comprehend.
God is really so much bigger than we are. God is so much wiser and so much stronger and so much our father and mother and grandmother and teachers and storyteller that we can ever imagine.
We can’t control or comprehend or understand or know everything. It is in trying to understand everything that we lose the mystery of the Word Made Flesh – that we lose the comfort God can provide for us – it is in trying to understand everything that we lose understanding.
Cinderella believed the impossible – she believed that a plain yellow pumpkin could be come a golden carriage and that a plain country bumpkin and a prince could join in marriage.
The gospel of Christ crucified – the story that we are walking is very week asks us to believe the foolish. It asks us to believe a 2000 year old story that circumvents many of the rules of medicine and physics. It asks us to put aside what we have studied to consider wisdom and instead believe - and in that believe we have life.
20 August 2006
20 August 2006
Proper 15 Year B
Come, eat my food and drink the wine that I have mixed. In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit…
Wisdom built a house. It was hewn from seven pillars. Being that a standard house used to have four pillars, Wisdom, a name of God, built a large house. According to our first lesson, she invites the simple to her house to eat her food. This lesson said that Wisdom’s food gives understanding. Jesus draws a parallel. He says that his food gives life. Well, actually, he says that whoever eats the flesh and drinks the blood of he who came down from heaven has eternal life, and that he will raise them up on the last day.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him. Strange. We hear this phrase often on Sundays during the preparation of the altar before we receive communion and somehow, it just makes sense. But when thrown back into the gospel, there is so much in these few lines.
Jesus makes it clear that neither the manna God gave during the Exodus nor the food and wine mixed by the Wisdom which gives understanding, none of this is so necessary as eating the flesh and drinking of the blood of Christ. Those who ate the manna died, he says, but those who eat his flesh and drink his blood have eternal life.
Wow. That’s a lot to chew. Eep. But, as we can tell from last week’s lessons, the people who heard Jesus’ words weren’t so thrilled either. What seems interesting though, is that those who heard, those who grew up with him weren’t questioning the body and blood as a means to salvation, but that Jesus came down from heaven.
We all know the Christmas story and are familiar with the doctrine of the Incarnation. It’s a strange thought, but they weren’t. The people who lived near Jesus knew him as the son of Mary and Joseph. Jesus didn’t come from heaven, Jesus came from Mary and Joseph. It must have been quite strange to hear this guy who you grew up with saying that his body and his blood could grant eternal life. That’s like the kind of guy you tell your kids to stay away from.
He’s telling his audience that the hopeful and inspirational story they grew up with – that mortals, stuck in the desert, ate the bread of angels as God gave them manna from heaven - was no longer the – the big wow, that- that he was that wow – that he was the way.
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven; your forefathers ate manna and died but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Scary words. The promise of eternal life by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of he who was sent by God. .
A son of a carpenter was sent by God for the redemption of the world, and the Father, through body and blood of Jesus grants eternal life. This is a new covenant to supercede prior covenants. A covenant with the promise of eternal life.
There are five great biblical covenants – or agreements with promises on both ends. The first was to Noah: God promised to never destroy the world again by a flood. The second was to Abraham: that his descendants would be blessed and would be God’s special people. Next was Moses: This was a temporary one directed at the people of Israel and giving them the special gift the law. The last of the covenants described in the Old Testament was given to David: this covenant said that David and his descendants were established as the royal heirs to the throne of the nation of Israel.
The scope seems to be getting narrower and narrower. Narrower until it gets to one man. Jesus.
As Christians, we believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant – that he is that decedent of David. Hence those long genealogies at the beginning of the gospels. But, suddenly the scope widens.
This promise isn’t to the heirs of David, or the people of Israel, or the descendents of Abraham, it is to all of us. Maybe this explains that house hewn from seven pillars. It is there for all of us. This is a large all encompassing covenant. And it isn’t promising (though upholding) not to destroy us by a flood or to make us his special people or even to be royalty over a land, no, we are being promised eternal life. Eternal life. Through the body and blood of Christ we will be raised up and given eternal life with God.
Proper 15 Year B
Come, eat my food and drink the wine that I have mixed. In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit…
Wisdom built a house. It was hewn from seven pillars. Being that a standard house used to have four pillars, Wisdom, a name of God, built a large house. According to our first lesson, she invites the simple to her house to eat her food. This lesson said that Wisdom’s food gives understanding. Jesus draws a parallel. He says that his food gives life. Well, actually, he says that whoever eats the flesh and drinks the blood of he who came down from heaven has eternal life, and that he will raise them up on the last day.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him. Strange. We hear this phrase often on Sundays during the preparation of the altar before we receive communion and somehow, it just makes sense. But when thrown back into the gospel, there is so much in these few lines.
Jesus makes it clear that neither the manna God gave during the Exodus nor the food and wine mixed by the Wisdom which gives understanding, none of this is so necessary as eating the flesh and drinking of the blood of Christ. Those who ate the manna died, he says, but those who eat his flesh and drink his blood have eternal life.
Wow. That’s a lot to chew. Eep. But, as we can tell from last week’s lessons, the people who heard Jesus’ words weren’t so thrilled either. What seems interesting though, is that those who heard, those who grew up with him weren’t questioning the body and blood as a means to salvation, but that Jesus came down from heaven.
We all know the Christmas story and are familiar with the doctrine of the Incarnation. It’s a strange thought, but they weren’t. The people who lived near Jesus knew him as the son of Mary and Joseph. Jesus didn’t come from heaven, Jesus came from Mary and Joseph. It must have been quite strange to hear this guy who you grew up with saying that his body and his blood could grant eternal life. That’s like the kind of guy you tell your kids to stay away from.
He’s telling his audience that the hopeful and inspirational story they grew up with – that mortals, stuck in the desert, ate the bread of angels as God gave them manna from heaven - was no longer the – the big wow, that- that he was that wow – that he was the way.
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven; your forefathers ate manna and died but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Scary words. The promise of eternal life by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of he who was sent by God. .
A son of a carpenter was sent by God for the redemption of the world, and the Father, through body and blood of Jesus grants eternal life. This is a new covenant to supercede prior covenants. A covenant with the promise of eternal life.
There are five great biblical covenants – or agreements with promises on both ends. The first was to Noah: God promised to never destroy the world again by a flood. The second was to Abraham: that his descendants would be blessed and would be God’s special people. Next was Moses: This was a temporary one directed at the people of Israel and giving them the special gift the law. The last of the covenants described in the Old Testament was given to David: this covenant said that David and his descendants were established as the royal heirs to the throne of the nation of Israel.
The scope seems to be getting narrower and narrower. Narrower until it gets to one man. Jesus.
As Christians, we believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant – that he is that decedent of David. Hence those long genealogies at the beginning of the gospels. But, suddenly the scope widens.
This promise isn’t to the heirs of David, or the people of Israel, or the descendents of Abraham, it is to all of us. Maybe this explains that house hewn from seven pillars. It is there for all of us. This is a large all encompassing covenant. And it isn’t promising (though upholding) not to destroy us by a flood or to make us his special people or even to be royalty over a land, no, we are being promised eternal life. Eternal life. Through the body and blood of Christ we will be raised up and given eternal life with God.
28 May 2006
28 May 2006
Gospel Reading: John 17:6-19
Please be seated.
Jesus prayed – That is how this week’s gospel begins – with these two words. Earlier this week, as I was reading these lessons, I found myself stopping there. Each time I tried to read on I kept going back to these words: Jesus prayed. I was astonished. I was surprised. I was – awed.
He prayed. Prayer. Prayer implies asking and thanking, and hope. I find one of the better ways to describe it is with the somewhat archaic verb “beseeching,” which means asking with humility.
In an earlier part of John’s gospel he makes it clear to us that Jesus is God incarnate – God in flesh. So- in this week’s lesson God in the world is –praying- to God outside the world. Jesus actually makes this clear in today’s gospel. He refers not only to being sent by the heavenly Father, but also, among other things, he prays for his desire for the Christian community to be one, using his and the Father’s oneness as the example.
Mhm.
Prayer. We have spent the morning praying. We will soon continue to do so. Every night before I go to sleep I pray, usually asking God to help sick or troubled friends, ask that my boss stop being psychotic (or that she at least aim at someone else), pray for sustainable and just peace in the world, and thank God for “everything.” I try to remember or find time to say morning devotions out of the Prayer Book, it occasionally happens, and I pray with friends when they ask. Usually, however, I end up feeling like an idiot when at people’s homes who say grace after I’ve started eating. So I guess I have a pretty laid back but I’d say typical prayer life. The Gospels of Matthew and ??? give us the Lord’s prayer. A basic outline of how to pray. Some of us sing, some meditate, some dance, some run, regardless of whether a prayer of petition, thanksgiving, desire, meditation, whatever, its all prayer. We pray.
Jesus prayed, Jesus’ prayer is interesting. It’s very different from his familiar Lord’s prayer. The focus of this prayer appears to be on his Christian community – most prominently his hope that they are protected – and that they can remain safely in this world while remaining not of the world. He asks for their protection from the evil one, who lives distinctly in our solid material world.
As I mentioned earlier, Jesus also prays for the Christian community to experience the same oneness that Jesus and the Father feel. In the gospel Jesus referred to one glorifying the other – God the Father glorifying God the Son. In this way the church glorifying the church
Jesus’ next request is an interesting one – that by hearing his teaching his joy may be made complete in the Christian community. Living in a world that did not approve or believe in the early Christians’ words, teachings or lifestyle – though today we believe them as the truth – must have been painful. As Christians – as a resurrection people we know God’s joy is imperative to the “Christian message.” The realization of the importance of Jesus’ joy as well as its necessity for a long-term Christian experience is remarkable.
Jesus’ final plea is that the church be sanctified. He states that – those in the church belong no more to this world than he does – and asks that the church be made holy, that the holy presence will protect and spread throughout the Christian community.
This is what Jesus prayed.
I think back to my prayers – that friends be made well, here, for peace, here, and thank God for things, here. Jesus’ prayer asks instead that WE be protected, that WE remain joyful, that WE remain in this world and yet not of this world. That we focus not on here, but on there – on God.
By the time Jesus prayed this, he knew his time in this world was drawing to a close. In today’s gospel he again makes that clear, stating that his time here is short and that he did what was expected of him. And yet he prays. While my prayers did at first seem rather trite and superficial next to his, the more I thought about it, I wasn’t so sure. Both prayed for the wellbeing of those we care about as well as for some version of peace. But more than that, we were both praying.
All of us are taking part in an action that was done by God incarnate. Yes, when we participate in the Eucharist we are enacting the events of the last supper, remembering them and thanking God for his sacrifice.
But through prayer we are doing an action, the action that Jesus did.
We have the opportunity to take part in an activity that we can do just as fully as Jesus did it. Jesus is God incarnate – he didn’t need to talk to God the father this way. But he did. Jesus was fully God and fully human – he embraced his humanity and he prayed. Jesus prayed. Allie prayed. Albert prayed. Edie prayed. We pray. Jesus prayed. How amazing is that. We have the opportunity to take connect to God in the way Jesus did. John didn’t write “Jesus talked” or “Jesus asked.” No, John said Jesus prayed – Jesus prayed, we can pray, so let’s go do it.
Gospel Reading: John 17:6-19
Please be seated.
Jesus prayed – That is how this week’s gospel begins – with these two words. Earlier this week, as I was reading these lessons, I found myself stopping there. Each time I tried to read on I kept going back to these words: Jesus prayed. I was astonished. I was surprised. I was – awed.
He prayed. Prayer. Prayer implies asking and thanking, and hope. I find one of the better ways to describe it is with the somewhat archaic verb “beseeching,” which means asking with humility.
In an earlier part of John’s gospel he makes it clear to us that Jesus is God incarnate – God in flesh. So- in this week’s lesson God in the world is –praying- to God outside the world. Jesus actually makes this clear in today’s gospel. He refers not only to being sent by the heavenly Father, but also, among other things, he prays for his desire for the Christian community to be one, using his and the Father’s oneness as the example.
Mhm.
Prayer. We have spent the morning praying. We will soon continue to do so. Every night before I go to sleep I pray, usually asking God to help sick or troubled friends, ask that my boss stop being psychotic (or that she at least aim at someone else), pray for sustainable and just peace in the world, and thank God for “everything.” I try to remember or find time to say morning devotions out of the Prayer Book, it occasionally happens, and I pray with friends when they ask. Usually, however, I end up feeling like an idiot when at people’s homes who say grace after I’ve started eating. So I guess I have a pretty laid back but I’d say typical prayer life. The Gospels of Matthew and ??? give us the Lord’s prayer. A basic outline of how to pray. Some of us sing, some meditate, some dance, some run, regardless of whether a prayer of petition, thanksgiving, desire, meditation, whatever, its all prayer. We pray.
Jesus prayed, Jesus’ prayer is interesting. It’s very different from his familiar Lord’s prayer. The focus of this prayer appears to be on his Christian community – most prominently his hope that they are protected – and that they can remain safely in this world while remaining not of the world. He asks for their protection from the evil one, who lives distinctly in our solid material world.
As I mentioned earlier, Jesus also prays for the Christian community to experience the same oneness that Jesus and the Father feel. In the gospel Jesus referred to one glorifying the other – God the Father glorifying God the Son. In this way the church glorifying the church
Jesus’ next request is an interesting one – that by hearing his teaching his joy may be made complete in the Christian community. Living in a world that did not approve or believe in the early Christians’ words, teachings or lifestyle – though today we believe them as the truth – must have been painful. As Christians – as a resurrection people we know God’s joy is imperative to the “Christian message.” The realization of the importance of Jesus’ joy as well as its necessity for a long-term Christian experience is remarkable.
Jesus’ final plea is that the church be sanctified. He states that – those in the church belong no more to this world than he does – and asks that the church be made holy, that the holy presence will protect and spread throughout the Christian community.
This is what Jesus prayed.
I think back to my prayers – that friends be made well, here, for peace, here, and thank God for things, here. Jesus’ prayer asks instead that WE be protected, that WE remain joyful, that WE remain in this world and yet not of this world. That we focus not on here, but on there – on God.
By the time Jesus prayed this, he knew his time in this world was drawing to a close. In today’s gospel he again makes that clear, stating that his time here is short and that he did what was expected of him. And yet he prays. While my prayers did at first seem rather trite and superficial next to his, the more I thought about it, I wasn’t so sure. Both prayed for the wellbeing of those we care about as well as for some version of peace. But more than that, we were both praying.
All of us are taking part in an action that was done by God incarnate. Yes, when we participate in the Eucharist we are enacting the events of the last supper, remembering them and thanking God for his sacrifice.
But through prayer we are doing an action, the action that Jesus did.
We have the opportunity to take part in an activity that we can do just as fully as Jesus did it. Jesus is God incarnate – he didn’t need to talk to God the father this way. But he did. Jesus was fully God and fully human – he embraced his humanity and he prayed. Jesus prayed. Allie prayed. Albert prayed. Edie prayed. We pray. Jesus prayed. How amazing is that. We have the opportunity to take connect to God in the way Jesus did. John didn’t write “Jesus talked” or “Jesus asked.” No, John said Jesus prayed – Jesus prayed, we can pray, so let’s go do it.
8 January 2006
8 January 2006
Epiphany Sunday
Well, today we celebrate Epiphany, the feast day which recognizes the visit of the wise men to young Jesus. Epiphany is surrounded by far away majesty, mystery, and myth. Indeed, a crèche of poor shepherds and animals are joined today by colorful men in rich robes.
What we read in today’s gospel is almost all that is biblically said about these wise men. So clearly, much of what we “know” and “love” about Epiphany indeed has no biblical reference.
Superficially, I question the term “wise men.” The gospel mentions that these men went to King Herod to ask for direction. What, were they nuts? I’ve yet to meet a man who will ask for directions.
That aside, they asked a power hungry king where they could find a new born king of the Jews. Is there any way that could have been a good idea? As many of you know, a few days after Christmas we observe a feast day called “Holy Innocents.” This day recognizes the babies who were killed by Herod after these so called wise men mentioned Jesus’ birth.
There are still many other aspects of Epiphany which we are ‘sure of’ which do not hold biblical reference. Let me start with the hymn “We three kings.” In all honesty, I’m not really a fan of this hymn. Though the dirge-like tune does have a bit to do with my dislike, I tend to be even more perturbed at the phrases in this hymn which have become common beliefs about this day. Now mind you, this hymn did not begin any of these myths, however it has served to perpetuate them.
From the beginning, this hymn begins “We three kings of Orient -are.” Three… kings. The gospel says nothing about three nor about kings. Three. In the gospel these men knelt down and paid Jesus homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Three gifts. Three gifts, then three kings.
Maybe.
But - my godmother gave me a pair of black socks, a pair of maroon socks, and a gift card for Christmas. Three gifts, one person. Likewise, from a family of three, I received a nice perfume scent. Three people, one gift.
In all reality, these gifts could have been from any number of people. The Venerable Bede (the historical person, not the vicar’s cat) is the first finding of the use of the names Balthazar, Casper, and Melchior, that I could find though I couldn’t exactly where he pulled them from. According to the song, these men were from the Orient. Why? Because the Orient is to the East. And the gospel says they were men from the east. Now as we all know, there is other stuff to the east of Bethlehem. Russia, India, Persia, and other parts of the Middle East. No, they didn’t have those names then, but they still were not called Orient.
Next, kings. Yeah, that’s just weird. Three wise men, who spent their time staring at stars wandered west to Bethlehem. That’s a long walk – ride, whatever. Traveling from the east to the west takes a while. Historically, this isn’t the sort of trip kings made – visiting poor children born in a manger. If they would even respond to such a rumor as the birth of the new king of the Jews, they would have most likely sent lackies.
Similarly, the bible tends to be really good at mentioning kings. Today’s gospel clearly refers to Herod as a King and the gift-bearers as men. Yeah, no title here. These men are actually believed to be astrologers – as they were reading the stars – they “observed Jesus’ star rising”.
If these kings, nay, wise men, nay astrologers were sent to find the one born king of the Jews, and were later saved Herod’s wrath by a warning in the form of a dream, then the celebration of the Epiphany is no longer a sign of glamorous adoration by wealthy kings, but a sign of mercy and promise to sinners.
Through looking for meaning in the stars these astrologers, these heretics, were led to the young Son of God. Now, when we think of astrologers we think of those people who write for the local newspapers or people like Miss Cleo with strange infomercials. It wasn’t much different then. The Magi were quite possibly Zoroastrian astrologers. If you don’t know, Zoroastrianism was an early semi-monotheistic tradition.
Even at Jesus’s time Jews were warned not to consult astrologers. Jewish leaders said that they were idolatrous and deceiving, much as we as Christians are told today.
Yet somehow, these idolatrous deceivers, these quacks and whack jobs were certain enough of what they saw to follow the stars, and were led to the young son of God. God led these astrologers – these men who were blatantly working in direct contrast to God’s will – to Jesus. This really is rather odd.
God welcomed, indeed God brought these men to stand beside the Messiah. These men, along with the shepherds. Not Sadducees or Pharisees, though clearly as a Jew, eight days after Jesus was born he was in the presence of Jewish religious leaders. Not kings. But regular people who just happened to bring clearly odd though awesome gifts.
So where does this leave us? Does the deconstruction of much of the myth and mystery surrounding Epiphany leave it meaningless? Or do we become sad because it’s another beautiful faerie tale gone. Or does the humanization of these so called wise men leave us, relieved?
God chose foreign sinful men to be with Jesus during this holy time. Not the rich or high in statue or moral value, but those who needed it most. Indeed, this trend continues through out the gospels in such cases as Jesus eating with tax collectors and cripples, yet seems to have been most forgotten in the form of a few men who traveled a long distance to find this new born king of the Jews.
PAUSE
We all know on some level – whomever or wherever we are, that God calls to us and that God wants us to follow him and be his. Sometimes, however, this is hard to remember. It is hard to remember that even when we do something that appears to be in contrast to what it seems God would want, he still calls to us. God wants us. We can repent and we can go to the Lord. When ever we fall short, we have to remember God wants us and loves us,
And like the wise men, still desires us to adore and be close to Jesus.
Epiphany Sunday
Well, today we celebrate Epiphany, the feast day which recognizes the visit of the wise men to young Jesus. Epiphany is surrounded by far away majesty, mystery, and myth. Indeed, a crèche of poor shepherds and animals are joined today by colorful men in rich robes.
What we read in today’s gospel is almost all that is biblically said about these wise men. So clearly, much of what we “know” and “love” about Epiphany indeed has no biblical reference.
Superficially, I question the term “wise men.” The gospel mentions that these men went to King Herod to ask for direction. What, were they nuts? I’ve yet to meet a man who will ask for directions.
That aside, they asked a power hungry king where they could find a new born king of the Jews. Is there any way that could have been a good idea? As many of you know, a few days after Christmas we observe a feast day called “Holy Innocents.” This day recognizes the babies who were killed by Herod after these so called wise men mentioned Jesus’ birth.
There are still many other aspects of Epiphany which we are ‘sure of’ which do not hold biblical reference. Let me start with the hymn “We three kings.” In all honesty, I’m not really a fan of this hymn. Though the dirge-like tune does have a bit to do with my dislike, I tend to be even more perturbed at the phrases in this hymn which have become common beliefs about this day. Now mind you, this hymn did not begin any of these myths, however it has served to perpetuate them.
From the beginning, this hymn begins “We three kings of Orient -are.” Three… kings. The gospel says nothing about three nor about kings. Three. In the gospel these men knelt down and paid Jesus homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Three gifts. Three gifts, then three kings.
Maybe.
But - my godmother gave me a pair of black socks, a pair of maroon socks, and a gift card for Christmas. Three gifts, one person. Likewise, from a family of three, I received a nice perfume scent. Three people, one gift.
In all reality, these gifts could have been from any number of people. The Venerable Bede (the historical person, not the vicar’s cat) is the first finding of the use of the names Balthazar, Casper, and Melchior, that I could find though I couldn’t exactly where he pulled them from. According to the song, these men were from the Orient. Why? Because the Orient is to the East. And the gospel says they were men from the east. Now as we all know, there is other stuff to the east of Bethlehem. Russia, India, Persia, and other parts of the Middle East. No, they didn’t have those names then, but they still were not called Orient.
Next, kings. Yeah, that’s just weird. Three wise men, who spent their time staring at stars wandered west to Bethlehem. That’s a long walk – ride, whatever. Traveling from the east to the west takes a while. Historically, this isn’t the sort of trip kings made – visiting poor children born in a manger. If they would even respond to such a rumor as the birth of the new king of the Jews, they would have most likely sent lackies.
Similarly, the bible tends to be really good at mentioning kings. Today’s gospel clearly refers to Herod as a King and the gift-bearers as men. Yeah, no title here. These men are actually believed to be astrologers – as they were reading the stars – they “observed Jesus’ star rising”.
If these kings, nay, wise men, nay astrologers were sent to find the one born king of the Jews, and were later saved Herod’s wrath by a warning in the form of a dream, then the celebration of the Epiphany is no longer a sign of glamorous adoration by wealthy kings, but a sign of mercy and promise to sinners.
Through looking for meaning in the stars these astrologers, these heretics, were led to the young Son of God. Now, when we think of astrologers we think of those people who write for the local newspapers or people like Miss Cleo with strange infomercials. It wasn’t much different then. The Magi were quite possibly Zoroastrian astrologers. If you don’t know, Zoroastrianism was an early semi-monotheistic tradition.
Even at Jesus’s time Jews were warned not to consult astrologers. Jewish leaders said that they were idolatrous and deceiving, much as we as Christians are told today.
Yet somehow, these idolatrous deceivers, these quacks and whack jobs were certain enough of what they saw to follow the stars, and were led to the young son of God. God led these astrologers – these men who were blatantly working in direct contrast to God’s will – to Jesus. This really is rather odd.
God welcomed, indeed God brought these men to stand beside the Messiah. These men, along with the shepherds. Not Sadducees or Pharisees, though clearly as a Jew, eight days after Jesus was born he was in the presence of Jewish religious leaders. Not kings. But regular people who just happened to bring clearly odd though awesome gifts.
So where does this leave us? Does the deconstruction of much of the myth and mystery surrounding Epiphany leave it meaningless? Or do we become sad because it’s another beautiful faerie tale gone. Or does the humanization of these so called wise men leave us, relieved?
God chose foreign sinful men to be with Jesus during this holy time. Not the rich or high in statue or moral value, but those who needed it most. Indeed, this trend continues through out the gospels in such cases as Jesus eating with tax collectors and cripples, yet seems to have been most forgotten in the form of a few men who traveled a long distance to find this new born king of the Jews.
PAUSE
We all know on some level – whomever or wherever we are, that God calls to us and that God wants us to follow him and be his. Sometimes, however, this is hard to remember. It is hard to remember that even when we do something that appears to be in contrast to what it seems God would want, he still calls to us. God wants us. We can repent and we can go to the Lord. When ever we fall short, we have to remember God wants us and loves us,
And like the wise men, still desires us to adore and be close to Jesus.
July 10, 2005
July 10, 2005
Romans 8: 9-17 (NRSV)
In nomine…
There are many misconception people have about various words in the bible. Some of these misconceptions stem from bad translations, some from church legend, and others simply lose part of their meaning as the culture of the word fades away. Somewhere in the middle today’s reading from Paul, Paul speaks of us crying “Abba! Father!” to God. To most of us this may be dismissed as normal, typical, church speak, however, it’s not quite that simple. First, by Paul, who was writing in Greek, specifically using the term Abba followed by the term Father he was making a definite statement. In using these two terms he was using two languages, Abba-Father, was Hebrew followed by Greek. In doing this Paul is making it clear that all people are capable of being heirs to God- not just Jews as many people of his time assumed.
Also, however, the use of the term selected is interesting and important. Abba, is NOT as many people seem to think, exactly the Hebrew word for Father. Its connotation is not FATHER, but is more of, DADDY!! Abba is the word Jewish and Israeli children scream when they want their dad and is who they say goodnight to. Likewise, while many of the words we use for God – like Lord, and master, often referred to as Dominus in Latin, were the same words slaves used to address their masters, the word Abba was forbidden to be used by slaves in this way.
So according to this reading, when we are crying out to Abba, we are crying out to our dad… we are not, in this case, slaves to God, but we are truly God’s children. What it means to be God’s child however, can mean many things. This section of Paul’s letter emphasizes our position as joint heirs in God’s kingdom. This is an interesting idea… I mean, as a child of my parents I’m their heir, well, if we are God’s children – children of God in such a position that we find ourselves being told to refer to God as Daddy, then this heir thing becomes interesting… So, what do we inherit… I mean, what exactly does a child of God, inherit from a Father who is the creator and sanctifier –who is Lord of all?
If, Paul says, we share in Christ’s suffering, then we have the opportunity to, as joint heirs with Christ, be glorified with God. How vague. “We can be joint heirs with him if we suffer that we might be glorified with him? What does that even mean? What was Paul thinking? It sounds good – well, not the suffering part, but the being glorified with God part – I mean, usually its just God who is glorified… this seems kinda cool.
The dictionary defines being glorified as honor, praise or admiration being bestowed, or to elevate to a celestial placement. Hmm, this could sound good –being glorified – but, the passage also says that we have to suffer with Christ. Suffering with Christ doesn’t sound very inviting, but we all know its necessary… in so many places in the bible we are told we have to pick up our cross and follow, that we must turn the other cheek and do all sorts of things which we do not want to do. However, as Paul points out, we have to suffer to be with our Father – to be with Daddy.
God, often seems very far away – being told that we have to suffer to be glorified with him almost seems like it’s not worth it sometimes. But then I have to stop, and think. When I was younger I would do anything for my Daddy. I thought Dad was the coolest and best person in the world – actually, I still do, but that’s beside the point. I would try my hardest to please him and really liked to spend time with him. Sometimes spending time with him would require me to do things that weren’t my favorite – like sitting still in the car- and visiting my mentally ill grandmother, but I didn’t care.
Well, here our other dad- the father who created our fathers – apparently has this opportunity. We can be glorified with him. Cool, I mean, I thought my dad was awesome, but this dad, our dad can create things out of nothing, can cause massive floods, can raise people from the dead - can grant everlasting life and loves us mercifully and eternally. Wow… sounds good to me –and we can be glorified with That.
In an odd sort of way though, thinking of God as Dad seems kinda wrong. It seems almost disrespectful. We use all this flowery language in our prayers and in our thoughts about God, and now, all of the sudden, we are hit with this reality that God is Dad. God really is the grownup to all of us children. The ever watchful parent, rolling their eyes at the children’s misadventures- God is the creator, raising us as his children. Caring about us, wanting us to grow, learn, and love. Like a parent he must watch his children, as we learn to trust and love through receiving love and as we learn strength, perseverance and value through both love and through suffering. Then, it requires our suffering, our learning to live and continue and to not waver in our faith to achieve this – glorification that Paul speaks of.
Abba wants us to cry to him and rejoice in him. To praise him and turn to him – and if it takes us doing some things that aren’t exactly inviting to achieve this, then, well, so be it. If the great feeling I got from spending time with my dad when I was younger is any indication, then this is so worth it. In nomine…
Romans 8: 9-17 (NRSV)
In nomine…
There are many misconception people have about various words in the bible. Some of these misconceptions stem from bad translations, some from church legend, and others simply lose part of their meaning as the culture of the word fades away. Somewhere in the middle today’s reading from Paul, Paul speaks of us crying “Abba! Father!” to God. To most of us this may be dismissed as normal, typical, church speak, however, it’s not quite that simple. First, by Paul, who was writing in Greek, specifically using the term Abba followed by the term Father he was making a definite statement. In using these two terms he was using two languages, Abba-Father, was Hebrew followed by Greek. In doing this Paul is making it clear that all people are capable of being heirs to God- not just Jews as many people of his time assumed.
Also, however, the use of the term selected is interesting and important. Abba, is NOT as many people seem to think, exactly the Hebrew word for Father. Its connotation is not FATHER, but is more of, DADDY!! Abba is the word Jewish and Israeli children scream when they want their dad and is who they say goodnight to. Likewise, while many of the words we use for God – like Lord, and master, often referred to as Dominus in Latin, were the same words slaves used to address their masters, the word Abba was forbidden to be used by slaves in this way.
So according to this reading, when we are crying out to Abba, we are crying out to our dad… we are not, in this case, slaves to God, but we are truly God’s children. What it means to be God’s child however, can mean many things. This section of Paul’s letter emphasizes our position as joint heirs in God’s kingdom. This is an interesting idea… I mean, as a child of my parents I’m their heir, well, if we are God’s children – children of God in such a position that we find ourselves being told to refer to God as Daddy, then this heir thing becomes interesting… So, what do we inherit… I mean, what exactly does a child of God, inherit from a Father who is the creator and sanctifier –who is Lord of all?
If, Paul says, we share in Christ’s suffering, then we have the opportunity to, as joint heirs with Christ, be glorified with God. How vague. “We can be joint heirs with him if we suffer that we might be glorified with him? What does that even mean? What was Paul thinking? It sounds good – well, not the suffering part, but the being glorified with God part – I mean, usually its just God who is glorified… this seems kinda cool.
The dictionary defines being glorified as honor, praise or admiration being bestowed, or to elevate to a celestial placement. Hmm, this could sound good –being glorified – but, the passage also says that we have to suffer with Christ. Suffering with Christ doesn’t sound very inviting, but we all know its necessary… in so many places in the bible we are told we have to pick up our cross and follow, that we must turn the other cheek and do all sorts of things which we do not want to do. However, as Paul points out, we have to suffer to be with our Father – to be with Daddy.
God, often seems very far away – being told that we have to suffer to be glorified with him almost seems like it’s not worth it sometimes. But then I have to stop, and think. When I was younger I would do anything for my Daddy. I thought Dad was the coolest and best person in the world – actually, I still do, but that’s beside the point. I would try my hardest to please him and really liked to spend time with him. Sometimes spending time with him would require me to do things that weren’t my favorite – like sitting still in the car- and visiting my mentally ill grandmother, but I didn’t care.
Well, here our other dad- the father who created our fathers – apparently has this opportunity. We can be glorified with him. Cool, I mean, I thought my dad was awesome, but this dad, our dad can create things out of nothing, can cause massive floods, can raise people from the dead - can grant everlasting life and loves us mercifully and eternally. Wow… sounds good to me –and we can be glorified with That.
In an odd sort of way though, thinking of God as Dad seems kinda wrong. It seems almost disrespectful. We use all this flowery language in our prayers and in our thoughts about God, and now, all of the sudden, we are hit with this reality that God is Dad. God really is the grownup to all of us children. The ever watchful parent, rolling their eyes at the children’s misadventures- God is the creator, raising us as his children. Caring about us, wanting us to grow, learn, and love. Like a parent he must watch his children, as we learn to trust and love through receiving love and as we learn strength, perseverance and value through both love and through suffering. Then, it requires our suffering, our learning to live and continue and to not waver in our faith to achieve this – glorification that Paul speaks of.
Abba wants us to cry to him and rejoice in him. To praise him and turn to him – and if it takes us doing some things that aren’t exactly inviting to achieve this, then, well, so be it. If the great feeling I got from spending time with my dad when I was younger is any indication, then this is so worth it. In nomine…
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