 |
Lectionary - January 2003 |
| |
Lectionary - January 2003 |
|
1 January 2003 - Year B - New Year's Day Wesley White January 1, 2003
5 January 2003 - Year B - Christmas 2 Wesley White January 5, 2003 Wesley White Jeremiah 31:7-14 Wesley White Sirach 24:1-12 Wesley White Psalm 147:12-20 Wesley White Ephesians 1:3-14 Wesley White Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21 Wesley White John 1:(1-9), 10-18 6 January 2003 - Year B - Epiphany Wesley White January 6, 2003 12 January 2003 - Year B - Epiphany 1 -Baptism of "the Lord" Wesley White January 12, 2003 Genesis 1:1-5 What, for you, is the act, event, mark of a new creation,
a new day. Wesley White Mark 1:4-11 This is a story that moves from settlement back into exodus. This is a story that recognizes the permanence of exile over the temporary nature of acculturation. This is a story that brings us to the nature of life being a pilgrimage and so we are back on the leading edge of creation. Once upon a time people recognized their dissatisfaction with the standard of living for their time and heard the call of the prophet to come out of whatever level of security they had settled for, whatever status they had managed. From deep within came a movement of confession that was evidenced by a willingness to be thrown back into the moment of creation when all was chaos. This is a willy-nilly repentance indicating a willingness to move in any direction but the direction they were heading because they could see so clearly its shortcomings. John focused the symbol of baptism on this chaos of confession/repentance and directs it toward forgiveness (a foundation of seeing, evening and morning, all the time, "it is good"). God is good - all the time. The marker for this is forgiveness of every forgetfulness that interdependence and community are at the heart of our best life. Mark, like John, pushes us to creation imagery as Jesus' birth story. Mark does this with an overt connection to the prophetic tradition that uses the goodness of creation as the corrective for whatever situation we are in. It is only in the beginning, in the wilderness of creation's chaos, that we can start anew, that we can take that first step. With creation as our base we can once again be cleared to
be introduced to the specific "it is good" of Forgiving
Jesus. Wesley White Acts 19:1-7 This is not to suggest that disciples don't grow and deepen their understanding, but there is no indication that they were "better" disciples than before. They did have a new experience to fold into their understanding but there is no dismissal of them as second-class disciples because they came late to Jesus' baptism. Presumably over the next months they learned even more than tongues and prophesy as they were invited by Paul to travel on with him (v. 9). It will be helpful to focus on the issue of growth here rather than the hierarchy of military rank and measuring ourselves against one another or setting baptism against baptism. This is also a hint for us about the persistence of Pentecost. What does it mean to speak in tongues and to prophesy? This brings back images of speaking and hearing in differing languages the wonders of GOD's presence (Acts 2). Whenever we hear echoes of Pentecost we need to remember that the power to be present to very different people is always with us. We can also remember that disciples come in all shapes and sizes and understandings and are placed all along the continuum we know as "spiritual living." We can experience Pentecost again today - and tomorrow - from both sides. Sometimes we will be the speakers and sometimes the spoken to. In both cases we are to grow. Don't let someone take your discipleship away because you don't yet measure up to their standards. Simply work at understanding and being understood in regard to experiences of God's wonderful way of including everyone in. Again, imagine that - they were disciples before they were
"really" baptized. Wesley White Genesis 1:1-5 God said: Let there be light! And there was light. God brings order out of the empty darkness of chaos. God is like "an eagle protecting its young" (Fox footnote) - Ruah hovers. The eagle speaks, "You are my beloved. Let there be light! Let me see you." Order comes - separation - setting/dawning Baptism comes - separation - repentance/forgiveness Who are "your young" that you will protect? Can you separate cultural from rushing-spirit values? Wesley White Psalm 29 In heaven and/or the Temple and/or the Holy Land and/or the Kingdom of GOD and/or your experience of life there rolls forth a thunderous response of "Glory!" (verse 9b, how would you versify this portion of the Psalm?) The New Jerusalem Bible notes Yahweh's enthronement for the flood was "the first manifestation of divine justice." I think the numbering of justice can be argued but it does raise an interesting movement from justice to peace. There may also be a parallel between GOD's enthronement and our strength. When both are at their best there is movement beyond justice to peace Justice qua justice need not, and often does not, lead to peace but to the setting up of the conditions of injustice for justice is often read as "fair" and one person's fair is another's not-so-fair. Cycles of justice first for one and then another are not really justice. So what are you using your physical and emotional and mental and relational strength for? Might it be for moving beyond the strictness of balancing an eye-for-an-eye to the larger-than-fair category of forgiveness of enemies. As important as justice is, the freedom of keeping our eye on peace will help us know if we are using justice language to get our way or if we are finding the larger context of justice-for-all that results in active shalom. What starts as GOD's ruling justice is completed in GOD's blessed peace. Keep your eye on the peace. Hold on! Wesley White Acts 19:1-7 In a sense a cycle has been completed. John baptized Jesus; Jesus' baptism baptized John's baptism. The last has become first. The one who came after takes precedence. So what forerunnering is Jesus doing? the church? you? Are we again back to announcing and preparing the way for the "Freedom of GOD on earth as it is in heaven"? Another way to come at this is through alternative readings of verse 2a: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit (when) (after) you believed?" How do you sense time moving in your own life? In the current life of the world around you? Do you sense that whatever you have is already all you need, that when you formed your spiritual prejudices you wouldn't have to change? Do you sense that you are still growing, even after a significant conversion and symbolic receiving of same (baptism), that when you formed your spiritual prejudices you entered into a life-time of relearning spiritual biases and instincts? How do you talk about the before, during, and after of transformative
times? The style of experiencing time separates folks as much
as the content of their key events. We need as much translation
of sequential non-verbals as we do of snapshot creeds. Wesley White Mark 1:4-11 Peterson puts it this way in his introduction, "There's an air of breathless excitement in nearly every sentence [Mark] writes. The sooner we get the message, the better off we'll be, for the message is good, incredibly good: God is here, and [is] on our side.... God is passionate to save us." Baptism is a clarifying moment. GOD's voice touches us, "You are mine, chosen and marked by love, be-loved." Now what do we do with that? What are our actions? Do we limit our brothers and sisters to those who exhibit their being chosen in the same way same manner as do I? Do we honor our sisters and brothers whose sense of being GOD's beloved is different than mine? Where on the continuum between those two approaches do we find ourself and in which direction are we heading? Is the blessing we have received a measuring rod for others
or an opening to grow into additional blessings? As we act out
our response to receiving be-loved-ness we will give evidence
of a demanding or inviting revelation that "truly, this
was a beloved child of GOD." (15:39) 19 January 2003 - Year B - Epiphany 2 Wesley White January 19, 2003 You are invited to add your daily reflection for this week.
I will be between church appointments/calls and so am uploading
a week's worth. I would like to check back here next week (presuming
all the computer stuff can be hooked up by then) and find additional
comments for each of the days. Wesley White John 1:43-51 Jesus says: "Come, follow me." Philip says: "We've found the one...." In that split second of having been found by the actor, we claim we are the actor who has done the finding. By extension, we can then go out and set the ground rules for others. A part of our work is staying humble enough to say, "I've been found by the one...." Use your own imagination about what you know of human nature and how easy it is to turn things to our own advantage - to make us look good. In many ways there are echoes of Eden's story in here as we
just ever so slightly misreport. Minimizing the misreporting
in life is a significant move so listen as you speak and see
if you are saying more than you really know. We do love to appear
wise and powerful and don't even notice when we've gone beyond
our bounds of knowing. Wesley White 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 The Message has helpful language when it says, "...we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy." The flip side of this is that sex that dives deep into commitment and intimacy moves us closer to creation's intent of the many becoming one. The issue might be made clearer if we begin to see relationships in light of commitment and intimacy rather than physical plumbing. This is another way of glorifying GOD in our bodies - to focus not so much on the clay vessels alone but to take into account the relations of relationship, commitment and intimacy, and to let our bodies follow our commitments. Is "the image of GOD" the clay or the breath of life? In this light many different forms of sexuality from the scriptures
and our current culture are acceptable past the limitations of
so-called scripture and/or family value groups who get caught
in form rather than function. Commitment and intimacy are available
in more ways than mere heterosexual means and procreative ends. Wesley White 1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20) The prophetic tradition raises up people who are very sensitive to wrong doings of the leadership of the nation, even if such leaders are still able to mostly cover it up or get away with their silliness in the short-run. This is not just something one is born with. Paying attention to the discrepancy between what is said and the consequences of following that what is said is a skill that can be learned. Prophets are not cynical in looking for the flaw in everything, but they are alert to projected consequences. When we talk about war as though it had no consequences it doesn't take a full-fledged prophet to see and speak about how silly our talk is. It only takes a girl or boy who can see the nakedness of the emperor to be a prophet. In fact, where prophets are usually seen as dour old men always coming around with the bad news that no one wants to hear, we can play prophet. Knowing how much we do learn through play, this would probably be a good educational tool for us to use more often than we do. Anyone out there adept at creating a board game called "Prophesy This." The cards would be scenes from real life, as contemporary as possible, and after reading the scenario one would have note where the consequence was going to come, how soon it would come, and how it would draw us closer or push us farther away from one another. So there would be both prophesy that would be forerunner of blessings as well as prophesy of disaster because of faulty thinkings and feelings. What would it be like to play prophet with a youth group.
They come with both the cultural baggage ingrained in them and
yet a flexibility to see the flaws. This would be a great way
to begin to nurture more prophets. So, play away. Wesley White Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 For so many marvels I thank you; A wonder am I! A wonder are you! Both of us textured in the depths! At root we are connected. Rejoice and build on that image. Wesley White 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? [NIV] ...remember that your bodies are created with the same dignity as the Master's body. [The Message] Again we have the tension of everything being one kind and every thing having basic equivalence with different manifestations. We can only go as far as we understand Christ went and we
can go farther than Christ went as we do even greater things.
We recapitulate Christ and then we set out on a further course.
A part of our task is to know when we have ridden the shoulders
of Christ long enough and when we begin to shoulder others. Wesley White John 1:43-51 "Dream a little dream with me." (variation on 1930's song.) The angels are ascending and descending as we have a rocky nap in our local Nazareth from whence nothing good has come. The ancient ladder of Jacob becomes Jesus' ladder and now is your ladder and my ladder. Where once Jacob was alone in seeing the connection between heaven and earth, Jesus invites us to become part of a community that sees that same connection and pursues it. Now we come to experience the ladder ourselves and give evidence of its presence in our lives. Dream this dream. No-account Nazareth, because nothing has yet come forth from there, is belittled and dismissed. But Nazareth is not simply its past. Nazareth does count, whether that can be seen in the moment or not. Have we not all been belittled and dismissed. But we are not simply our past. We do count. Every one counts, whether that can be seen in the moment or not. Dream your ladder that connects heaven and earth. Dream the Freedom of GOD. And, having dreamt, go forth to heal and teach. 26 January 2003 - Year B - Epiphany 3 Wesley White January 26, 2003 Jonah 3:1-5, 10 The world as we know it is passing away. This week we can work on what we think we know of the world. What is changing? What is not? Wesley White Mark 1:14-20 When GOD draws near freedom rises. The old cultural and survival icons of job and family loosen their hold. We can move in new ways that see the world in new images. Whatever we have been up to can be translated into an alternative vision. The resources and stability of job and family can be seen as more than they are. If resource gathering is only for gathering more resources (maximize those dividends - ultimately what silliness), who among us can be set loose from the drudgery of life? If the safety and security of tradition is only for perpetuating the same old stuff through the generations, who among us will be set loose to step into the choices life presents? The good news comes to loose us from the hold of "we
have always done it this way." Here we can choose to travel
toward the "more" of life that is found in purposeful
community building, dying for what we believe, and rising to
new life beyond the usual boundaries we impose upon ourselves
and others. Rex Hunt (Australia) G'day Wes, Susan B. W Johnson is pastor of Hyde Park Union Church in
Chicago. This article appeared in the Christian Century January
15, 1997, copyright by the Christian Century Foundation and used
by permission. Current articles and subscription information
can be found at www.christiancentury.org. This material was prepared
for Religion Online by Ted & Winnie Brock. As we celebrate Australia Day here 'down under' this weekend, certainly timely words for us. Maybe for you folk too, and Mr Bush. Peace, RAEH Wesley White 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
The present form of the world is passing away. Given a living
GOD moving toward a new heaven and a new earth, how could things
be any different? This is simply the way we begin to live - through non-attachment and toward renewed non-attachment in a new context. Check with a Buddhist friend about how non-attachment frees one to be compassionate and loving. Through this difficult-for-us negation comes a "greatest of these" affirmation. Wesley White Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Good old second-chance Jonah held true to his belief and intention even though he changed his behavior. An abused dog can learn to jump away with the merest glance. Jonah jumped away to be on his way with a second command even though his heart wasn't in it. Does this remind you of someone you know or even yourself? May our insides catch up with our outsides. This also gives insight into those folks in the church who have a narrow judgmental picture of GOD and find themselves in the minority. They go along, but don't believe the larger forgiving picture of GOD and look for ways to sabotage what they believe to be wrong-hearted and soft-headed. "Jonah has nothing to say except to the humble, penitent,
and stricken heart, the man who is not satisfied to remain a
sinner and who does not seek justification but pardon. To this
man alone does the sharp and cutting dialogue between God and
Jonah carry a truth. It tells this man that God knows the totality
of man, that he knows with whom he is dealing, that he is not
surprised even after revelation and pardon have been granted
to find a man who is angry and disputatious again, that this
does not exhaust God's love and patience, that he continues to
take this rebellious child by the hand until he falls on his
knees: My Lord and my God! This will be repeated throughout the
life of this man as often as is necessary, since there are no
limits to the love of God which forgives seventy times seven,
that is, infinitely. But this has nothing to say and has no truth
except for the man who does not try to treat this love and forgiveness
as a source of personal profit. May Jonah's sin be an aid to
our repentance and not a justification in our pride!" [The
Judgment of Jonah by Jacques Ellul] Wesley White Psalm 62:5-12 The nations are in an uproar, in panic those who live at the
ends of the earth; So what are we adding to today's mix? Is it uproar or joy? Are we adding to the panic of those at loose ends or setting free heaven's movement? A goodly part of the progressive insight is recognizing the victory is already won and rejoicing, not diligently mopping up. This is, of course, irresponsible in the eyes of those who sense every last detail must be put in place and explained. But it is part of our gift to the whole. What will you hoot and holler about today that changed toward new life? How will you relate that miraculous shift to the regularity of creation and folks still stuck with a mop in their hand? Today we are having our next meeting of the Kairos CoMotion
planning team. It is time to leave home earlier than desired
to get there. Pray for us. Jeff Virchow It occurs to me that Jonah's concern about the possibility
of the Ninevites changing is similar to the concern of some in
our time that the Iraqis might actually comply with the UN resolution
and cooperate with the weapons inspectors, which would remove
the rationale for military action against them. Wesley White 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 "I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don't complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple - in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things - your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out." [The Message] There is no time to waste. This means time cannot be saved (as in storing it away, saving it for a rainy day). I highly recommend reading Momo by Michael Ende. Here is a review by a reader at Amazon.com that I agree with and it brought back memories of our reading Momo to our children in a chapter-a-day fashion. ***** [five stars out of five] I could never forget this book..., December 11, 2002
Wesley White Mark 1:14-20 Time - complete Can we live from the perspective of the wholeness of time - was, is, and will be? Can we live as though the important issues of life were settled and we just naturally participate in the details of loving our enemies and all the love that leads up to that. To have time fulfilled takes the burden off and frees us to free the spirit within. Can we live from the perspective of the presence of GOD? So in the kitchen and every other part of life we can cook up a feast, a banquet at which all are not only invited but joyfully accept said invitation. We can walk and talk with GOD in the cool of the evening and the burning of the noontide heat. Out of this multifaceted present we find a sense of enough. With GOD, it is enough so we can relax into life in all its fullness. Can we take all this in - time complete and GOD present - and have it affect what we think and feel and how we respond to the situations of life (including crucifixion). Does repentance lead you to believe everything is broken at the outset or does repentance lead you to believe everything is a new good creation? As we mess with this formula we begin to sense that it is metaphor upon metaphor and not didactic deductive dogma. Where does this old formula lead you? I trust it is to new life for if it is only to the tried and true it will soon pass into the annals of a trivia quiz, "What is the marketing slogan of both John the Baptizer and Jesus the Baptizee?" Can old formulas learn new meanings? |