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Lectionary - November 2002 |
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Lectionary - November 2002 |
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3 November 2002 - Year
A - Proper 26/Ordinary 31/Pentecost +24 Wesley White Joshua 3:7-17 These anticipatory genocide passages are impossible to adequately address. It is similar to the General Conference battles using votes and carefully crafted majorities to dispossess an internal enemy. This comment focuses on the Ark/Chest of the Covenant. All the eggs are put in one basket. Winners certainly like the idea of "one." One way to do things, one victor, one holy spot. When we look back on it we find that this attempt at having all answers to all questions rounded up and branded and stored in one location - fails. Eventually the Ark is lost track of. Trying to hold change at bay is a losing proposition. So, rejoice if it appears we have found a way to win. We humans do that pretty well. What we don't do so well at is recognizing the seeds of losing that are already present in the win. Empires (including the current attempt at American Empire) all fall down and don't realize that the seeds of their defeat is in their own behavior toward their neighbors. See how I have side-stepped an actual comment here. I have not addressed this passage, per se. I have stepped back to see that this passage can't be taken too seriously because of what comes later. Hopefully we can all take a moment to not take our current situation too seriously because of what can't help but follow. Grin at today's set-up for wars. Even GOD-directed genocide is not completely successful. It brings pain and death to many, but never is an adequate answer to conflict. It simply sets up Exile and pain and death for one's own future. Let's put this moment of entrance in perspective and have a moment of silence for misthinking that we can measure the presence of GOD by how close to genocide we can come. Wesley White Joshua 3:7-17 Let's see, YHWH says, "You are still on a journey of freedom. Instead of raising your staff like Moses, send the Ark ahead, into the water, and the barrier will become dry land." Then, like in the Garden a long time ago, come additional interpretive words, "The sign that GOD is with us is not in the repeat of nature miracles but in acts of genocide." Ouch. Joshua says more than he heard in this section. How often do we say more than we have heard (making it up as we go along)? True enough, back in Chapter 1 YHWH speaks of possessing or inheriting the land. All manner of excuses have been given for the "holy curse" (as Peterson translates "holy war") that Joshua uses. My own favorite excuse is that they couldn't help using this technique because it was a matter of survival - the end justified the means. For those of us who follow the story of Jesus (Joshua II) the issue is not survival, but faithfulness unto resurrection. My own sense is that those who use a "holy curse" will die or be exiled by the same. This perspective seems never to be seen by those who use this technique (including progressives). It is very effective in the short-run and so devastating to everyone in the long-run. We are still living in a time of holy curse within United Methodism. If you have a question about this, look at the attempts of the religious right to conquer the traditional Methodist wedding of personal piety with social mercy by causing a divorce between them and giving all the proceeds to the personal. In this scenario General Conference is the promised land and majority rules is the ark. Mark Tooley of The Institute on Religion and Democracy and James V. Heidinger II of Good News rejoice in playing the role of Joshua I with their additional interpretive words. I suppose that just saying this much puts me in the same camp
where the first and last response is, "Off with their head."
I pray for better from me and you and others. Wesley White Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37 It does seem to be the case that when someone is set free that they are able to see GOD's hand in that release. That is a fairly easy connection to make. What is more difficult is affirming the presence of GOD while still in exile, captivity, or addiction. A question can be raised about the debt or necessity of the redeemed or released to assist others toward freedom. If wastelands can be freshened to be a great place to live and if luscious orchards can devolve to desert - we need to know that our most recent redemption and release can be rescinded. How do we best work on staying free? It is not to presume there is some quality within us that deserved freedom more than someone else. It is not to operate on the basis that we will be able to accumulate much before the next economic crash and burn. It is to know that we are in the business of life together and so to care for the freedom of others is to care for one's own. It is to build a community of common-wealth. Let us give thanks for the goodness of GOD we have experienced. Let us so live that others will come to rejoice in such goodness. D'Alessio And when the cell door has at last been swung open, or perhaps even removed from its hinges altogether, and one is free to walk out into the abundant light of God energy: how to make sense of the hesitation, the fear of leaving the familiarity and dependability of the cell that has been one's home forever? Wesley White Micah 3:5-12 Two phrases from The Message stand out as examples of how religious people attempt to control through expansion of power and insurance of security. "But if you don't pay up and jump on their bandwagon, their 'God bless you' turns into 'God damn you.'" and "Leaders who build Zion by killing people, who expand Jerusalem by committing crimes." There is a lot of this going around in the political realm these days which lets us know how religious an endeavor is politics. In fact, one might say that politics is today's primary religion. Is there a dirty trick left untried or a false accusation not made in campaigns? Is there anything of "our" party which has the least question that can be raise about it or anything of "your" party which is not going to destroy the nation tomorrow (and maybe even later this afternoon)? Is there no end to sweatshops and economic sanctions and IMF/World Bank policies and wars wherein people are actively and passively killed for power and security issues? Is there ever an end to perjury and bribery and embezzlement attempting to expand one's own territory? Along with Micah we are called to expose this false religion that "postures and pretends dependence on God" by ending every speech with "God bless A-mer-ca" and the vain imagining that "We've got God on our side. God'll protect us from disaster." We know better than to listen to such drivel. How do we help others to also know better? Wesley White Psalm 43 Well, soul, why so down in the dumps? Have you not noticed what is going on around you and within in you. How oblivious can you be? Oh, right. Yep, pretty bad out there and in here. And so it was a day ago and a millennium ago and three before that. In fact it probably will be tomorrow and the next whenever as well. That sure cheers me up! Facing that reality wasn't intended to cheer you up, but to remind me that, none-the-less, hope really does abound. Hope? Yep. In fact it's living within you right now and will be visible when you're ready to recognize it. OK. I'll take your word for it. But, I'm still down in the dumps. OK. I'm still with you. OK. Wesley White 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 There is a sense in which we progressive Christians have been gadflies, moving from one issue to another without explicitly making the connections present in the moves. How is sexual identity connected with economic justice connected with war connected with church growth connected with spiritual formation connected with propaganda connected with environmental ethics - etc.? What is (y)our theory of everything? You might want to check out the work of Ken Wilbur. You will need to spend some time with him, just like you need to spend time with the scriptures or your mission field, to begin seeing how the connections actually do build upon one another. Once seeing this you may be able to begin shifting to descriptive language rather than prescriptive. Connecting the dots, teaching step-by-step, is one of the places we need to be challenged by the energy and investment by Paul. This is not a call to easy consistency, but to difficult wrestling with underlying paradigms. Another way to talk about this is that we need to continually describe the vision of "heaven come on earth" so that folks will eventually see it with some sense of wholeness rather than a bunch of disparate parts. This will help us live well with GOD and Self and Neighbor. Wesley White Matthew 23:1-12 So, how well do progressive Christians live what we talk? Do we live out our hearts in our behavior? Well, less well than we desire for we desire, as much as anyone, to be in charge. The Message puts it this way, "And don't let people maneuver you into taking charge of them." "Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty." Ahh, yes, to simply be myself! So much easier said than done - given the good I want, I don't, and vice versa. Yet, it is worth the effort to encourage one another in this direction. I am always encouraged when I see others simply being themselves. A key part of this simply being is to keep a weather eye out for GOD's presence. This is the work of a Christ(ian). So - how many GOD sightings have you had today? Is the lack because your eye has been on being in charge of something or someone? Try taking a deep breath, "big as a circus tent," and shift your focal length on your life, the world, and everything. 10 November 2002 - Year A - Proper 27/Ordinary 32/Pentecost +25 Wesley White November 10, 2002 Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Psalm 78:1-7 or Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16 or Amos 5:18-24 Wisdom of Solomon 6:17-20 or Psalm 70 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13 Again it seems that there are a lot of choices to be made. The healthy part of this is that in the midst of options new choices can be made (we are not just creatures of habit or our circumstance). In fact one might posit GOD is change (if you are into speculative fiction you might want to try Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler). Wesley White Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 I do wish this lection had continued to verse 29. Then we would have heard about the stone that heard everything that GOD had said to the people. Every General Conference there are huge volumes of verbatim from the floor. Toting them around is like carrying a stone. In them we hear everything that the people say to justify themselves. Included in those volumes are sermons that are preached. (Supposedly these contain what GOD is saying to the General Conference delegates. My experience is that there is a huge disconnect between the sermons and the actions of the delegates. The sermons run up against predetermined bias and fade away before an amen is heard.) It is as though Joshua really understood us. "Choose this day!" "OK, we choose GOD." "You're not up to that promise." "Yes we are." "We'll see." I'd like to have stones piled up in the place of worship so the stones can clearly hear the prayers and scripture and preaching and music of worship. Then, at the end of time together, dismiss the people (along with a listening stone given to them) each to their own "heritage" or "ministry." The instructions would be to carry the stone with them this week and to regularly take it out and listen to what it heard during worship. May we remember and be glad. Wesley White Psalm 78:1-7 "I will speak to you in poetry...." [NJB] Other translations talk about "proverbs," "parables," "instruction." All of these are ways of folding the experience of the past into the realities of the present. One way or another we are called to pass on stories of life. One of my favorite Bible teachers uses the poetic form of haiku to distill the marvels of life, of GOD's presence. What is the art-form that helps you translate our ancestor's experience of GOD to our descendants? If we can see creedal language as an art-form for this translation it would help, but we tend to see it as solidified and only able to be related to in a binary, yes or no, manner. If creeds tend toward the static rather than the dynamic, what other ways might we witness to the wonders of GOD? Remember, this is the Pentecostal energy - to translate these wonders into other languages - think of tongues as an art-form rather than a validation of your spiritual prowess). Try an art-form today. Here is one related to this psalm from the SPAM-ku site Lunchmeat passed from one generation to the next: SPAMily heirloom. Wesley White Amos 5:18-24 Our religious endeavors do tend to reflect our bias for how power is to be structured. Listen to this translation from Eugene Peterson in The Message "I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last you sang to me ? Do you know what I want? I want justice--oceans of it. I want fairness--rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want." This has tremendous implications for power issues. A part of our struggle is to be able to articulate the long-term implications of decisions. Otherwise we will get caught up in claiming "unjust" and "unfair" on the basis of our own power needs. It is important to struggle with issues of power within congregations. Are we trying to save churches or build bridges to GOD's presence (bridging the remaining distance between heaven and earth without presuming that heaven will relieve us of our earthy responsibilities or that earth will contaminate heaven)? Wesley White Psalm 70 And just how much do we need our enemies to be done-in if we are to recognize our being rescued? Particularly when our enemy is so often ourself! The very word "rescue" goes back and back to "quash." We need a new image of rescue that allows us to stand firm without having to do-in some enemy. This may be tied up with being able to say in the midst of every event, "This is enough." Even life under arrest, mistrial, unjust sentencing, and execution can be viewed as having meaning. If it has been awhile since you read it, or if you never have, it may be time to reflect on Viktor Frankel's classic, Man's Search for Meaning . Go to The Search for Meaning for an interfaith reflection that has implications for us in the Christian tradition. Wesley White 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 One of the connections we progressive Christians lose track of all too quickly is that of the past. We tend to present and future orientations rather than that of past and present. It is beneficial to us to use this archaic vision of the dead floating out of their graves to connect with us "Johnny come latelies." I am not yet convinced that moving to some form of "ground of being" language is any better. If that had been the organizing principle of the Paul's day, instead of a 3-story universe, we might well hear about Christ's coming first to deepen 6-foot graves and that we living will dive into the depth of GOD's compassion behind them to join with them. There is something appealing to thinking about Christ coming from below rather than from on high. It really does help us reduce our pride that we happen to be alive now while others have laid down that temporary gift. It does give the dead a closer geographical claim on Christ. Well, whether you resonate to the heights or the depths, neither will keep us from the love of GOD in Christ Jesus, nor provide an automatic advantage. Let's encourage one another. May we find the height oriented able to encourage the grounded, and vice versa. Wesley White Matthew 25:1-13 Being ready is a big part of this story. We also can't forget that it is about end times and so takes on a different cast. This is not about "as you have done it unto the least, you have done it unto me." Otherwise the wise ones would not make it in for they refused to share with those who were low on physical oil. John Wesley suggests that the oil in their lamps can be understood as "Love in their hearts. And they daily sought a fresh supply of spiritual strength." So when the wise responded that they could not give this love oil to others because "there may not be enough," John Wesley comments, "It is sure there is not; for no one has more than holiness enough for themself." This follows Ezekiel in that everyone's sin and love are theirs alone and cannot be blamed on or credited to ancestors or culture. What is the opposite of "being ready"? I don't think it is "unready," but "complacency." So this day may you seek a fresh supply of spiritual strength. Be methodical in that seeking. ------- Instead of writing a second note when a second thought came, I'll append it here. It is a question that needs to be addressed. Is there no hope for those who find themselves in a time of a dark night of their soul? those whose spiritual strength has been momentarily sapped? When the announcement of the bridegroom's arrival comes - it is then the silly get confused and run off for oil instead of following the call to come out. This is indicative of folks who know they don't measure up and so opt out. While it is important to store up credit by visiting the sick, it is also important to simply follow the instructions to come out and be judged. None of us will get 100 on all our tests and papers. So let's lighten up and help one another to simply come out whether or not we think we have oil in our lamps. Running off to whomp up stars in our crown is not a better way than relying upon the mercy of GOD's expansive love. Let's walk boldly through life as though Elijah has given us each an inexhaustible supply of oil, of faith working by love - enough to last through any spiritual drought. sally carter Hi there, As so often happens to me anyway it is the after thoughts which give the insight. It seems to me that often the foolish choice, and the choice which society, our own expectations and our fear of judgement is to go and try and buy the oil, rather than going along, maybe embarrassed that our lamp is empty, but at least wanting to be part of the party. We may be judged harshly for not having our oil there, but we may not! as you said! and if we don't go we'll never know. it is so easy for us as preachers and those listening to be limited by traditional interpretations... i found that people in my lectionary study group could say all sorts of things about how difficult the reading was and could recognise the dissonances and tensions between the reading and their experience of God's grace, but still could not move beyond 'be prepared'. i think the freedom to grapple with the texts in wide ranging ways is one of the greatest gifts of progressive christianity. Lon A Rycraft We take Spam seriously in Hawaii, we consume more per capita then any other state in our wobbly union. It seems Joshua, Amos and all those unnamed struggle with how to put something in an attractive container that God's folk will want to open and eat. If rocks could talk people would probably not sit and listen to them either thanks for extending our lectionary to imagine they can... charles nash Jesus didn't speak Matthew 25:1-13. Matthew did and put his words in Jesus' mouth. Nevertheless, the words are in the Canon. Sounds like Nov. 10 is 'spinning Sunday.' Any criticism, help with the sermon? Thanks. Wesley White One of the readers here sent a personal note to me with what they have done for a children's sermon. I hope this helps you spin a wonderful yarn that will touch people's hearts. ------- I want to show you a picture of one of the smartest things I ever did in my whole life. It was the day I married Brad. Have any of you ever been in a wedding? (Trevor and Derek just helped some good friends of ours get married two weeks ago.) There are a lot of preparations for a wedding, aren't there? On OUR wedding day, we planned everything out way ahead of time. We didn't want to leave anything for the last minute. We wanted to be ready so that our wedding day would be fun and relaxed. So the morning of our wedding, Brad went golfing (he hardly ever goes golfing) and golfed the best game of his whole life! And I went to the YMCA and had a one-hour massage. I remember it really freaked out my mom because she thought we should be running around being busy on our wedding day. But we were really well prepared so we were ready. We knew that being ready (ahead of time) was the best thing we could do to get our hearts and minds in the right spot on our big day. Here is a picture of my bridesmaids. We are joking around and having lots of fun, aren't we? They are giggling and getting ready for the exciting thing that is about to happen. Now what if they were acting too busy and running around all worried they might miss the whole thing! Jesus once told a story about ten bridesmaids who were waiting for a wedding to begin. Half of them were foolish and weren't ready for the wedding, and they missed the whole thing. The other half had been preparing for the wedding, and when the wedding started, they were all set. This is kind of like getting ready for the day that we get to meet Jesus! We don't know exactly when its going to be. Do you know how we can get ready for it? We must always remember, every single day, to allow God's love to come into our hearts. We are the only ones who can do that we can't have somebody else do that for us. When we do that, we are ready for anything! Dear Jesus, one day we are going to meet you face to face and its going to be GREAT! Please help us to invite your love into our hearts so that we are ready to enjoy that day. Amen. 17 November 2002 - Year A - Proper 28/Ordinary 33/Pentecost +26 Wesley White November 17, 2002 Judges 4:1-7 Psalm 123 or Zepheniah 1:7, 12-18 Psalm 90:1-8, (9-11), 12 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Matthew 25:14-30 We plan for safety and security only to find that there is no such thing. We are constantly being called into positions of fear and trembling when we act in faith or out of faith. This next week, contrast the cultural and societal calls for security with GOD's call for risky investment of faith. Wesley White Judges 4:1-7 After twenty years of oppression, Deborah, to whom the Israelites went for "justice," calls forth Barak to do "battle." While we sometimes equate these two as we "fight for the right," it is important to keep clear on their differences. Justice is looking to bind people together; battle is blindly knocking them apart. Note that "battle" goes back through Gaulish gladiators who fought with a helmet having no eyeholes - think pinata and silly. This is a different use of blindness than our myth of blind justice able to distinguish between important differences without falling prey to the cultural/economic/power issues swirling around. Bats appear to fly blind, but they have an alternative sound vision. May your spiritual disciplines provide you "sound vision" to avoid the obstacles of blindly battling injustice and finding the course of call to respond to injustice without instituting the structures that always fall apart and cause their own subsequent injustice. It is tempting to image ourselves after another dark knight struggling with how to respond to the trauma of parents being killed and coming up with battling injustice - Batman. However, we will be better served to ask what drew people to Deborah as a dispenser of justice and gave her authority in Barak's life. In today's world, what qualities do we need to develop to be recognized as a justice of the peace, one who builds community, without instituting our attendant limitations as ruler of all? Are progressive Christians more attuned to a time of the Judges than a time of the Kings? Is that why we tend to be more inefficient in our processes of intervening in justice issues - because we are oriented more to the ad hoc than to the structures of the time? With a nod to the day, of what Justice issue are you a veteran? of what Battle are you a veteran? And, as important, where are you currently enrolled? Wesley White Psalm 123 Mercy, GOD, mercy! Mercy for us. Mercy for others. Mercy for all. Honor, GOD, honor! Honor for us. Honor for others. Honor for all. Issues of personhood and community cry out wherever discounting of creation goes on. Jeff Pullium Very interesting dialogue about doing justice and doing battle. I am also very moved by a dialogue of Ched Myers and Eric DeBode in The Other Side article that is the primary link on Textweek They basically believe that the servant who buried the talent brings the activity of Christ. I am glad to have found CoMotion and will check the dialogue weekly for sermon ideas. Wesley White Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 Hear these words from Eugene Peterson's introduction to Zephaniah and join the "choir of prophets." "Because the root of the solid spiritual life is embedded in a relationship between people and God, it is easy to develop the misunderstanding that my spiritual life is something personal between God and me -- a private thing to be nurtured by prayers and singing, spiritual readings that comfort and inspire, and worship with like-minded friends. If we think this way for very long, we will assume that the way we treat the people we don't like or who don't like us has nothing to do with God. "That's when the prophets step in and interrupt us, insisting, 'Everything you do or think or feel has to do with God. Every person you meet has to do with God.' We live in a vast world of interconnectedness, and the connections have consequences, either in things or in people -- and all the consequences come together in God. The biblical phrase for the coming together of the consequences is Judgment Day. "We can't be reminded too often or too forcefully of this reckoning. Zephaniah's voice in the choir of prophets sustains the intensity, the urgency." Wesley White Psalm 90:1-8, (9-11), 12 Imaging a GOD who cuts us off too soon and for too little reason is a popular vision. We can appeal by clarifying with GOD what we see as the difficulty of limits, but, in the final analysis, we can only move toward a heart of wisdom on these matters. Somewhere along the way we need to come to terms with the scope of eternity or, as Peterson puts it, "from 'once upon a time' to 'kingdom come.'" I see an openness to all the movement entailed in a Living GOD as helpful in not getting caught up in regret that we are not more than we are. A progressive appreciation of the affirmation that we "do what we do" and "are who we are" helps alleviate the pressure of feeling entitled to more than the basics of doing and being as well as we can and letting the rest go by. So, whether we even make it to, much less through, our warranty of 70 years or have bonus years -- we really don't have to complain about what a harsh taskmaster is GOD with the attendant focus on anxiety and trouble. If we can help one another with our perspectives on eternity we will find the "sweetness of the Lord [to] be upon us." [NJB, verse 17] Rejoice in simply being part of the grand story from Once Upon A Time to Kingdom Come. Wesley White Speaking of eternity, the December 2002 issue of Wired magazine has an article on science and religion. The title is: The New Convergence and it is subtitled: After centuries of battle, scientists and theologians are finally forging a grand unified theory. Think Eternity = MC2. I don't know how to do a superscript in html, but you get the idea. How do you play with the E words of Energy and Eternity? This is much more Exciting than a static image of ongoing sameness. Wesley White 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 "You're sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand.... "God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we're awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we're alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind...." [The Message] An encouraging word is needed in these days. Regardless of how the geo-political environment and the urge of empire turn out (history gives evidence of much pain and many deaths in these sorts of moments), we are still called to see that no one is left behind - the popular book series of the same title not withstanding. The word of hope I have is not based on any rebalancing of political realities - it is built on the fact that you and I are still working at issues of hope for ourselves and others. We still see everything working together and not that there will winners and losers. We still invest our lives in life - standing out in the open and insistent that no one be left out, no one be left behind. Here is the circularity. I see hope in hope. Sometimes wishful is misconstrued as hopeful. Energy to act is what tells them apart. Live in hope, live together. Wesley White Matthew 25:14-30 In a capitalistic society it is very easy to see how a conversation about money can get transferred into character traits (thus the shift in meaning of the word "talent"). We are our money. If you double your money you are doubly good, doubly blessed. If we leave this in the realm of a story about how this world works and cold, hard, heavy cash, the focus of the story changes. No longer is it GOD who is the slave-owner, but the Economic System owns the slaves and expects them to have the same obsession about money. We usually expect GOD to be in the power position - in this story the source of money. But if we can cast our memories back far enough to where usury was limited and the focus is not on the individual bottom-line, we might be able to catch a glimpse of Jesus' rejection of wealth as the measuring-line of life. He shows this in giving to Caesar what is Caesar's (here is your money back, no more and no less). The result is what we know happened to Jesus - what little he had was taken from him and he was cast into Gehenna (descended into hell), worthless. So, fellow slave, are you playing the game of the world or are you revealing the world to itself? Gordon Schultz I'm troubled by the interpretation of the parable that "turns it on its head," making it a story not about the KG, but about the world and its evil systems. It seems to me to be classic example of eisegesis, an anachronistic interpretation, where present realities are read back into the text to justify current positions regarding those present realities. The use of "use value" versus "exchange value" is an example. Concepts drawn from 19th century economic theory are put into the minds of 1st Century city dwellers in Palestine. Another problem is the simplistic reading of the text. On one hand, the authors seem to accept the research of contemporary Biblical scholarship. But, on the other hand, they write as if such scholarship did not exist. The sequence of the parables in the Gospels hardly comes from Jesus, yet the authors tell us that the preceding parable about the maidens told to be alert is the tip-off for the parable following. So the parable about the maidens and the oil lamps was really a nod and a wink to those in on the subversive teaching that a real critique of the capitalist system coming up next. I'll say no more for now in the interests of brevity, other than to say that the rich and powerful are not the only ones who are uncomfortable with the teachings of Jesus. They are not the only ones who reshape the text to justify their own political positions and ideological stands. Wesley White Gordon - Thanks for raising your concerns. It is a classic example of eisegesis. In fact classic eisegetic examples abound even in the classic examples of exegesis. There is no getting away from ourselves. Is there any value in looking at these sorts of stories from several perspectives (even those that one might like to place outside the bounds of thought)? That is part of the questions I wrestle with. Where were the bounds of yesterday (based on the limits of our ancestors in the faith), where are the bounds of today's limiting vision, and where might we stretch to begin approaching the bounds of tomorrow's expanded, but still limited, perspective? It sounds as if this is clearer for you. Thanks for your cautionary words as we are all in this together and truly need one another as we move along. 24 November 2002 - Year A - Proper 29/Ordinary 34/Pentecost +27 Wesley White November 24, 2002 - Christ the "King" Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 Psalm 100 or Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 Psalm 95:1-7a Ephesians 1:15-23 Matthew 25:31-46 As we look at judgment and resurrectional images this next week it will be interesting to reflect on how that affects the metaphoric "fat sheep" or "strong sheep" or "goats." Is resurrection still an option for those who have upset you or are your enemies -- is it over and done forever for them? Wesley White Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 Part 1 - Revolution. Yahweh announces a radical change in the social life of Israel. Yahweh rejects Israel's leaders and promises to become Israel's pastor. A post-king theocracy pointing back to a pre-king time. Part 2 - Judgment. The Christian Community Bible describes the fat sheep side of the judgment as "those that took advantage of the unjust social order." It fills that out - "They were not satisfied with having a standard of living higher than the rest, but they trampled the rest of the pasture : they grew nothing on the best land in the country; they deposited abroad the money which would have stimulated economic development; they prevented the access of many to education and culture.... They took advantage of their power and because justice was at their disposal, they imposed "their" will by force." Theocracies don't have a particularly good name these days. We really do need to come to grips with the characteristics of the "Theo" that will be "cracing." What are we talking about here, beyond some utopia? When it comes to judgment it would seem that this description is all too apt of some single-party rule. Wesley White Psalm 100 "Bring a gift of laughter." "Enter with the password: 'Thank you!'" "For GOD is ... all-generous in love...." These lines from The Message summarize what Kairos CoMotion has been about. A significant part of the value people received from coming to the first Kairos CoMotion celebration was the amount of laughter that went into the planning. In fact, I am convinced that the results of events are in direct proportion to the amount of laughter that went into their planning. Reflect on this idea in your experience. If you don't find evidence to the contrary, try it the next time you are involved in a planning event from "what should I eat tonight" to your inauguration. Laughing leads to lauding. The largest praise is "Thank You!" Even Betsy Bernard, President-elect of AT&T, has this among her "Seven Golden Rules of Leadership." Lauding leads to a better recognition of love. From the Opening Statement of Kairos CoMotion 2002 we heard Amy say, "All I know is that we are faithful people committed to living out that faith, committed to being in solidarity with one another, committed to embodying the expansive, lavish love of God - now." Laughing, Thanking, Loving - what a great description of Life. Wesley White Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 The New Interpreter's Bible groups this section in a slightly different way. The title they give to verses 17-22 is, Inter-flock Conflict . That language certainly brings a lot of pictures to mind. The commentator speaks about responsible ecological stewardship - that God's creation is not ours to exploit. They bring this up-to-date with images of nuclear waste, chemical landfills, cracked-open tankers, and non-biodegradable trash. As one of today's shepherds, how do these inform you? The section we are dealing with began earlier. In some sense we need to hear again verse four with its reversed word order of direct object before verb (lost in most English translations) and emphasize our choosing to join GOD in reversing things. Verse 4 - accusation against leaders (anybody today come to mind?) A - the weak you have not strengthed B - the sick you have not healed C - the injured you have not bound up D - the strayed you have not brought back E - the lost you have not sought Verse 16 - intention of GOD (is this worthwhile work for you?) E' - the lost I will seek D' - the strayed I will bring back C' - the injured I will bind up B' - the sick A' - I will stregthen What does it mean to you to place a need ahead of or before your action/re-action? Wesley White Psalm 95:1-7a I enjoy footnotes. The New Jerusalem Bible notes that the "rock of our salvation" can allude to "the rock that yielded water in the desert, Exodus 17:1 seq., or to the rock on which the Temple was built, 2 Samuel 24:18." So, what would the rock refer to in the experience of your life? How do you make this psalm your own? (Don't forget to include the rest of the psalm that reminds us of the difficult parts of our life - where we tested and were tested.) Wesley White Psalm 95:1-7a The Christian Community Bible finds the following prayer by P. Teilhard de Chardin to be fitting here. In the distance, the sun has just illuminated the remote outline of the first Orient. Once again, under the changing cascade of its rays, the live surface of the earth awakens, shudders and begins again its amazing labor. O my God, I will offer you the desired harvest of this first effort. In my cup, I will present to you the sap of all the fruits which will be crushed today. O Lord, I will bring to your presence the depths of my soul widely open to all the forces which, within a moment, are going to go up to every point in the world and converge toward the Spirit. In former times, the first fruits of the harvest and the best of the flocks were brought to your temple. The offering which you really seek, what you mysteriously need daily to satisfy your hunger, to quench your thirst, is nothing less than the development of the world urged by universal progress. Receive, Lord, this whole Host which Creation, moved by your attractiveness, offers you in the new dawn. The bread, our effort, is not in itself, I know, more than immense decay. The wine, our grief, is only a dissolving drink. But in the heart of this formless mass, you placed - I am sure of it because I feel it - an irresistible and sanctifying desire which, from the wicked to the faithful, makes us all shout: "Lord, make us one." What prayer would you raise? Can you sense "universal progress" and be present to the continuum "from the wicked to the faithful"? What imagery holds things together for you - Rock, Dawn, ...? Wesley White Ephesians 1:15-23 On the last Sunday of the Church Year we come to an image of Christ as King reigning over all, filling all in all. Even as we do so there is a sense of contrivance to all this by those who have developed the tradition of the Church Year. As we look to "our Lord Jesus Christ" there is a tendency to forget the longer phrase "God of our Lord Jesus Christ." It is this God who gives us the same spirit of wisdom and revelation as our Lord Jesus Christ. It is this God who opens the eyes of our heart to the same hope as our Lord Jesus Christ. It is this God who opens the eyes of our heart to the same family of saints as our Lord Jesus Christ. It is this God who opens the eyes of our heart to the same power available for us as was available to our Lord Jesus Christ. And so it has come to pass that we have been taught to point to Jesus and in this pointing to become blinded to where Jesus is pointing (to this God who ...). After we have done our obeisance to Christ the King to fulfill some letter of the Church Year law, may we be filled with GOD's endless energy and boundless strength and be about the greater things Jesus pushes us to do. If what this is all about is simply some stolid sittting at Jesus' feet, we will miss the vitality of having the joy of Jesus lived in relation to others. Wesley White Matthew 25:31-46 So what is it that separates the unblemished sheep and goats from the blemished goats and sheep? It is the quality of healthiness of living, not the categorization of sheep and goats or my kind and your kind that is of importance here. Two nights ago my beloved and I went to see the second Harry Potter movie. Near the end we heard the line, "it is not our abilities that set us apart from one another but our choices" (paraphrased). So what choices are you aware of making? and, perhaps, of more consequence, what temperments are we growing that will be in place to guide us when we are not aware of making a choice and yet are? According to John Wesley's sermon On Zeal, these seven temperments, at a minimum, flow from GOD's love into our lives and, also, draw our lived choices toward GOD's love : lowliness of mind, meekness, gentleness, longsuffering, contentedness, resignation unto the will of God, deadness to the world and the things of the world. We are faced with both our conscious and unconscious choices having long-term consequences. How do we learn from the ancients who put before us the image of needing to consider some seven generations to come when we make choices in our day? How do we put this into effect in today's world where, with information overload, it is all to easy to claim conflicting scenarios and become paralyzed in our choice-making. Developing the temperments to see the "overlooked" and "ignored" helps us cut through any overload that freezes us into unconscious harm instead of unconscious help. We can help develop a Christian intuition. This is another way of talking about the work of the Holy Spirit. |