 |
Lectionary - March 2005 |
| |
Lectionary - March 2005 |
|
March 6, 2005 - Year A - Lent 4 Wesley White March 6, 2005 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Anointed with oil - anointed with mud Either way - Sleeper, awake! What anointing will you give this week? What anointing will you be open to receiving this week? Wesley White John 9:1-41 This long story begs for reenactment. At the very least it should be read slowly (preferably with several voices). In this day and age it appears that the "Religious" Right is as questioning, as were the Pharisees here described, of healings or larger perspectives that come through some vehicle other than their own traditions. There is such a righteous rightness to this Right that that which is outside their belief structure simply can't be. Galileo Galilei ran into this, Frederick Douglass ran into this, Mel White ran into this. Whether about the far away sun, the outsides of our bodies or the insides of our gender identity the process is the same as with the blind man of yore. At some point we need to follow the blind man and Luther in claiming, "Here I Stand!" "One thing I know . . . ." What do you know well enough to make that claim and stick by it? Feels good, doesn't it. Let's talk about our claims. One thing I know is that GOD's mercy is revealed all along the way, whether seen or unseen. Wesley White Ephesians 5:8-14 Sleeper by Greg Brown (sample) or (lyrics) is a bluesy version of awaking - beckoning "come and go with me". This passage is a call to journey with others to what is "pleasing" (another way of putting the old terminology of "kingdom of God"). Who have you called to awake and come on this pleasant journey? Who has called you to awake and come on this pleasant journey? Wesley White Psalm 23 To open our eyes to reality pushes us to a journey of trust. Without being able to see a green pasture in the midst of a dark valley we don't find the restoration of "no fear" in evil's presence. Without still water and a prepared table we don't travel far toward goodness and mercy for ourselves or anyone else. Let's talk. Where is your green pasture located these days? Where are your still waters in the situation facing you? On the wall in front of me I see a hammered and tarnished copper representation of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza (different than this, but it gives an impression) to my left and Edward Hicks' The Peaceable Kingdom to my right. Between them a clock marking the moments I've been on this quest for peace. What signs do you use for yourself? Wesley White 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Isn't it great when GOD gives direction on mis-direction. No wonder we are so good at it. After all, we are in GOD's image. This does give a moment of pause to those of us already leery of the government we have. Might the misdirection of whatever leadership you are dealing with have the ear of GOD and their questionable behavior be part of some larger plan? In some cases this is at least a question and in other cases it is clear that it is not the case, they are simply out to misdirect in order to consolidate their own power. Amazing and frustrating how the same behaviors can be acceptable/excused or not. When you look at your own misdirections, do you have the sense that GOD is directing them or are they to make you look as good as possible under the circumstances? The question doesn't seem to be whether or not we participate in such behavior as to its purpose. This is a difficult passage that raises many more questions than it settles. In the end, may we all be able to go home again. Ramah is calling and while it feels good to be home we have to recognize that it may also be the location of great grief in days to come. Is this sheer happenstance or is there a connection between inconsolable grief and its subsequent justification of misdirection? Wesley White Ephesians 5:8-14 Try to find out what is pleasing to GOD. Go ahead, just try. Are you feeling lucky? This quest can be reduced to a couple of key prooftexts. Seems we all have them. They become the mechanism by which we can feel we are still on the journey to finding out more, and still take it a bit easy because we have these foundational pieces in place. A part of Jesus' journey seems to have been a willingness to not let the seeming foundational stories of his tradition get in the way of his way, truth, life. To place all of one's energies toward finding out about GOD requires traveling light (in both of its meanings). May your own journey to light, lighten your step. Wesley White John 9:1-41 It is instructive to consider our own birth as something beyond the inevitability of a gene pool or a consequence of our own making. Might it be that we are a revealed work of GOD? How then might we move into tomorrow? Will we continue waiting for the right time to reveal this (the first part of the Cana wine story)? Will we initiate revealing conversations (the first part of the Photina story)? Will we accept sight through such a counter-intuitive process as mud and neither excuse it or explain it away, but simply affirm what can be affirmed and let it go at that. Of note here is a note from The New Interpreter's Bible, "In the Fourth Gospel, 'sin' in not a moral category of behavior, but is a theological category about one's response to the revelation of God in Jesus." Of note is another note regarding a classification of saints -- The Holy Unmercinaries shorter link and longer link. Doctors Without Borders is one current group of unmercinaries. Do you have a spirit of the Unmercinaries in your particular field? March 13, 2005 - Year A - Lent 5 Wesley White March 13, 2005 Ezekiel 37:1-14 There is a temptation here to say, "It's not the body, it's the soul." I just saw a new play, The Vulgar Soul and a key statement in that play about stigmata is, "It's not the soul, it's the body." How are you going to play with these qualities? Choose one over the other? Alternate them? Choose your bias and go with whichever one fits at the moment? Wesley White John 11:1-45 "Agitation!" "Indignation!" So reads the Greek as it describes Jesus in relation to death, even the death of Lazarus after encountering Mary weeping. Earlier, in response to disciple queries, Jesus, as he is primarily portrayed in John, appears to be in charge. Earlier, in response to Martha, Jesus, portrayed as the teacher of doctrine, continues in his instructional mode. Is this switch of emotional tone simply a matter of response to particular persons or situations? Might this be some process of growth in understanding? His next response to Martha is rather snippish. His next response, for the disciples, is rather show-offish. His next response, to Mary (?), is relief -- "Unbind!" "Loose him!" From this experience Jesus is ready to be anointed, as Lazarus had been; to die, as Lazarus had been; to be buried, as Lazarus had been; to be called forth and unbound, loosed. How far along the resurrectional process of "going on to perfection" are you? Have you caught a glimpse of being connected with the beginning? Have you participated in transformational moments with elements and people? Have you seen life return? Have you begun to risk that process in your own way? Have you already been unbound (how much and is there more on the way)? Would it be helpful to have others join you on this journey to call you forth or is it best for you to walk a lonely valley filled with your own dry bones? Where is your "Agitation!" "Indignation!" these days? Where are you calling forth new life from seeming life done gone? I hope to see some of you in Eau Claire, Wisconsin later this week as Kairos CoMotion calls forth new life, a makeover, if you will. Wesley White Romans 8:6-11 Flesh - humanity apart from grace Spirit - humanity connected through grace Consider these a ratio. How is yours? How is that of those you associate with? How goes the world you experience? the world reported on the "news"? Are you shooting for a happy 50-50 or something else? Religiously we are to aim for 100% heavenly spirit. If we actually made it to 100% flesh would we find Eden and creation. The genius of where we are is between an infinitely repeatable eden and an always unique heaven. These two represent health for one another. Enjoy your ratio of today and tomorrow. Wesley White Psalm 130 Having just had a colonoscopy adds a whole new level of enjoyment to this psalm of the depths. There is a persistence to life that just doesn't want to quit. Whether stillborn or still going strong at 90 there is a desire for attentiveness to the particulars of life. Pay attention! Someone, pay attention! Even little gremlins in the depths of bowels desire attention. One of the processes we keep forgetting about is the need to attend to all of life, from the depths to the heights. In our celebrity-oriented culture where possession is key to happiness it is important to pay attention to not only the particulars that demand our attention but to the larger issue of steadfastness with the parts not being attended to. An editorial yesterday caught my attention as it reflected on the bad deal of coming bankruptcy legislation coming from Washington D.C. The vision included a return to post Civil War times of "debt peonage" where certain people can accumulate other people - not blatant slavery, but its capitalist equivalent. This sort of thing happens when the crying-depths of the citizenry are treated as a wealth producing mechanism by the rich or rich-envious. Our antidote to this sort of depersonalization is connection with "steadfast love" for those in the depths whether they are the minority of the day or not. To persist in love is to actively participate in shaping decisions that honor the cries from the depths -- no matter from whom they come or how inconveniently they arrive. Wesley White Ezekiel 37:1-14 How often have we been heard to woefully complain that because we are not victorious in this or that that we are defeated, dessicated, destroyed -- hope is lost -- loneliness will be our lot, forever? It is at such points that we, scattered, lie need the strength of prophetic proclamation. The remedy is a strong one, nearly unbearable, to shift vision from the short-term to the long-term. We can withhold our desire to devour and go out of our way to assist others to stand. We can. This means we will deal honorably within whatever economy surrounds us, tempting us to more. This means we will advocate persistently for those being screwed by whatever economic system has decided they can get survival rations, but no more. This way of living is available regardless of the external political/economic realities we face. There are still valleys of dry bones to wake us to poetic imagination and prophetic proclamation. In light of current bankruptcy legislation we might change the valley to a valley of the bankrupt. Can they live again? In an editorial by E. J. Dionne Jr. in the Washington Post , we hear this assessment: "There is a great misunderstanding that the key fight in our politics is between friends and foes of capitalism. In fact, the battle is among supporters of capitalism who disagree over what rules should govern the market. Should the rules favor the wealthy and the connected, or should they give some protection to those who fall into distress and would like nothing more than a chance to rejoin the ownership society?" Regardless of the economy dealt with, the choices of devouring or assisting stand always before us. Wesley White Romans 8:6-11 Just as there is devouring and assisting, there is death and there is life and peace. We have choices about where we will focus. These choices are ever before us even when it feels like we have no choice in the matter. One of the things we use as an excuse for the claim we had no choice is "original sin". More clearly that might be put as "original lack of perspective". Put even better we might say our most typical characteristic is an "imitative lack of perspective", noting the way in which we use every sales technique at our disposal in order to make our repetitive and imitative behavior seem to be important enough to be original. It is important to radically define ourselves away from all the badness we could do to all the good you might create and share in. This is a shift from Sin to Grace. Paul puts it in terms of Flesh and Spirit but it has become all too easy for this to fall back into "original sin" or "imitative lack of perspective" perspectives. If we lived in his day his language may have made more sense. Another way to put this is to imagine a shift from Entitlement to Compassion. Any way we try to cut this one it keeps coming back to a question of basic orientation. Do you sense a Spirit of Compassion available to you or do you experience the Flesh of Entitlement directing your time and energy expenditures? If it is not something within, do you see a clearer choice between the Mercy of GOD and the Judgment of GOD so that you might more consistently choose mercy? Wesley White John 11:1-45 Prophets routinely bring dead people back to life. Sometimes this is more literal than others. Prophet Jesus acts in this way and invests us with the desire to see GOD revealed and the compassion and merciful action to call folks to new life. Moses brings a dead people back to life from their grave clothes of slavery and unwraps them through the wilderness. Elisha warms a boy back to life through deep identification - mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand. Jonah warns a people back to life through a whisper of consequence. Jesus also calls a girl and a boy back to life. Paul awakens a sleepy boy who falls to his death. Peter calls Tabitha back to work. Whether working structurally or personally, new life is available. We are called to be among the callers of new life. There are Lazarus situations still in our lives in which we can see our own lives paralleled. Let us not be afraid to presage our own life and death and beyond death through our aiding others to life, through death, and beyond. March 20, 2005 - Year A - Palm/Passion Sunday Wesley White March 20, 2005 Palm Liturgy Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Passion Liturgy Isaiah 50:4-9a I know there are arguments to go for the Passion liturgy because today's folks aren't going to take the time to walk the week to and past the cross. As one source says, "We live in a culture where The Passion of Christ and The DaVinci Code greatly influence what members of our congregations know and believe about the Bible. How much better it is to have those texts interpreted in the trusted environment of the local church." My own bias is one day at a time. So the congregation here will begin the week with palms and travel slowly through the week rather than take it all in one big gulp. For the purposes of this dialogue place, comments for either Palms or Passion are welcome here this week. Wesley White Matthew 21:1-3 Our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America friends have a mission called Bethphage. "Bethphage (BETH fuh jee) was established in 1913 to help people who were shunned, isolated and abandoned. Bethphage is a leader in providing compassionate services to children and adults with disabilities." Since we don't quite know where the place of Bethphage is (somewhere between Bethany and Jerusalem) let's reflect on this mission as a starting point for an entrance into the arc of story that moves from glory to loneliness to new life. What would it mean to have Jesus begin with the disabled? Would they be more open than others to simply hear that "the Lord needs" (otherwise translated, "someone needs") and to offer a cup of water to the thirsty, a bite of food to the hungry, a donkey and foal to Jesus? So often we use the donkey as a starting point for this journey, contrasting it with a military charger. Might this starting point also suggest that we don't get to resurrection except through disability. The Wounded Healer image might be applied here. What type person do you know that would immediately respond if they heard, "there is need of what you have"? I suspect that whomever that is for you that the world would consider them to be mightily disabled and not able to keep from being taken advantage of. What does this suggest about our own responses to the various pressures of our life? Wesley White Matthew 21:4-5 I have found out that the Bethphage ministry with the disabled has been renamed Mosaic. To keep with that image for a moment, we hear another of Matthew's fulfillment texts. This one from Zechariah. The New Interpreter's Study Bible notes that the Zechariah passage falls midway through chapter 9, "falling between those that concern the restored land of Israel (vv. 1-8) and the restored people of Israel (vv. 11-17). Obviously the messianic king plays a central role in the drama of restoration." Prophets are usually interested in restoration. When life gets out of whack we look for a way to restore it. Prophets are very conservative, in this sense. Imagine disability as a starting point to Holy Week, as leading into a process of restoration, not failure, judgment, and condemnation nor victory, judgment, and justification. There is instead, brokenness, restoration, new life? What result do you seek of Holy Week? To see others condemned? To see yourself justified? To participate in new life? How would starting from a position of being disabled help clarify your desire? Is our desire to continue in some hierarchical positioning of bringing down or raising above? How do we wrestle with the nuances and dynamism of relationship rather than settle for putting people in their place? Wesley White Matthew 21:6-7 It's always fun to imagine Jesus, the circus performer -- one foot on the colt and one knee on the jennet. How else does he ride them both? The astronauts tell of folks wanting to send a token with them to space. For some it would be a good luck token for their beloved/friend. For some it would be to have something brought back that had been beyond their experience. For some it would be an excellent entrepreneurial opportunity. Can you remember the crazy days of the Beetles and their rabid fans who wanted simply eye contact or a touch or a piece of clothing? Have you wanted a tangible part in something like being arrested at a civil-rights demonstration or getting a card from the President on your birthday? Do you think Judas added his cloak to soften the ride? Would you? Was it Peter that threw his cloak on first the same way he discarded his garment to get ashore more quickly? Beyond these vain imaginings, does Jesus take it as a matter of course that he should have a soft seat and of course his disciples would see to it? Isn’t he entitled, after all the temptations along the way, to a small amount of comfort? Or is this another temptation and he thanks them and asks them to take the cloaks back, but they won’t? Or is this simply a literary device that primes the pump as an example for the crowd and, so, not worth spending this many words on? Wesley White Matthew 21:8-9 Going to Jerusalem. There suffer, die, rise. This is prelude. Hosanna! sings out the crowd. Save us! The rest of the chapter exemplifies the saving style of Jesus -- upset of the economic system (there go the money changers), the environmental system (there goes the fig tree), the religious system (there goes authority), and the political/juridical/military system (there go the tenants). We had better be clear what we mean when we holler out Hosanna! It is a revolutionary call that will affect every part of our life. All the loci of stability in our time will be called into question. If we think that Hosanna will simply install us in the top dog position we will probably be surprised that, for Jesus, Hosanna leads to a different kind of salvation or freedom than we expected; a freedom beyond our past experiences, out into uncharted waters, a salvation beyond our barriers, out into the whole world/heaven complex. Wesley White Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 In keeping with the singing motif, we move from hoped for Hosanna! to Victory accomplished through steadfastness. The gate of the Lord we desire to enter, to emulate, is that of steadfastness in all the virtues available to us. To respond to the cries of the world from Iraq and peasants disenfranchised by the World Bank to AIDS/HIV victims in Africa and foreign workers in Malaysia. To plant a foundation of hope in solidarity and establish protection of the vulnerable. To rejoice in the resources left unraped and the people, friends and enemies, available to interact with in this moment. Thus we know success. Blessed are not those looking to their own salvation alone, but who come in the name of steadfast love. Here is Thanks. Here is Life. Wesley White Matthew 21:10-11 Whoopee! A parade! Even if only one float long! It is bandwagon time! About as good as Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Rio! Into this good time creeps an important question, "Who?" This is a question we are still struggling with, a question to make us stop and think. Who is our leader? Who is my friend? Who is part of my cohort (both militarily and sociologically)? Who is on my side? Who can I count on? The troubling response is, "Prophet." Prophets don't run things. Prophets catalyze change of perception. If there is one thing that should cause consternation, it's a prophet. True, versus false, prophets don't tell us what we want to hear. They demonstrate their spirit in strange, strange ways that are uncomfortable for all concerned. Prophets get stoned, not throned, and in the end are spit upon, not smiled upon. Fair warning. This certainly sets us up for the rest of the chapter and the rest of Holy Week. Prophets do clearly see crosses. Prophets, even more clearly, see stones rolled away. For the joy of the stone a cross is lived through. March 21, 2005 - Year A - Holy Week Monday Wesley White March 21, 2005 Isaiah 42:1-9 Give the roses while still alive. Wesley White John 12:1-11 Judas' question today is asked more bald-facedly with no veneer of piety. "Why was this social security not marketed for volatile investments and the benefit given to the rich?" This is the equivalent of giving a child a scorpion when they cry for an egg. In the sweet scent of revelation we get the crass propaganda of those in cahoots with power that talks of Clear Skies while it pollutes or Healthy Forests as it clearcuts landscape-wide. The concern is not for the poor, the skies, the forests but for the rich to get richer. March 22, 2005 - Year A - Holy Week Tuesday Wesley White March 22, 2005 Isaiah 49:1-7 A seed fallen. A plant grown. Many come to feast. Wesley White John 12:20-36 Here at the end of "The Book of Signs" we come back to the beginning of light. What is the difference between "To all who received him, he gave the power to become children of GOD" and " While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light." Presumably the journey from chapter 1 to chapter 12 has found progress being made. Wesley White 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Looking for that third way that will cause your foolish opponents to stumble? First, avoid that competition and boasting that your way is the only way. Simply proceeding with what you know to be true will be sufficient for yourself and as witness to others What is your vision when the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It? March 23, 2005 - Year A - Holy Week Wednesday Wesley White March 23, 2005 Isaiah 50:4-9 Who am I? A betrayer? Or not? Wesley White John 13:21-32 Very truly, I tell you, each one of you will betray me. And so it is. We all do it in our own way. Some larger. Some smaller. Betrayal to authority. Betrayal of self-avowed loyalty. Betrayal of others. Betrayal of witness by comrades. During this last week it is probably time to acknowledge those betrayals, whether of Jesus or the least of his sisters and brothers. Given the time, energy, and resources available to us choices have to be made and in so doing we betray one part of our desire or another. In the midst of this reality, what is left? Glorifying GOD? Not even betrayal will keep glory at bay! Wesley White Hebrews 12:1-3 This is a week in which we might have a weak heart. How can we make it through? Seemingly, from the Biblical record, trying to make it through the week as individuals is difficult if not impossible. There is evidence of bodies continuing to show up but as mere shells of themselves. Folks run away, stand afar, stand next to each other without recognizing their connections. At best they are mute; at worst they are deniers. We do need a larger picture of solidarity to see us through this time when the scabs come to break our survival line. It takes more than a village to consider enduring hostility without moving toward revenge. Give thanks for every witness you can name and those unnamed but glimpsed on the dim horizon. You will need them all for the days ahead. Wesley White Psalm 70 Well, we have ridden into the city and been cheered. No arrests were made at the upset at the Temple. Plans are underway for Passover. Perhaps this is prelude to the Romans saying, "Let them go." Still, there is ambivalence because Jesus is still talking, "Suffering, death, new life," things are maybe going to be OK. Into this comes Psalm 70, which, because of the lack of ascription on Psalm 71, may be connected to the next Psalm. Well, we are pumping out, "God is great!" just as much as we can. It is almost as if we can only say it often enough, passionately enough, that we will yet come through without the death part Jesus keeps harping on. Finally, though, it comes down to , "But I will hope continually." May this be sufficient for the days ahead. [note to self: this is an individual plea for deliverance. We are still caught in that stage of individuals and without the group solidarity there will be a temptation to scatter when hope is momentarily lost track of in the heat of confrontational choice.] March 24, 2005 - Year A - Holy Week Thursday Wesley White March 24, 2005 Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 I’m OK, I’m OK. Don’t need no stinking washing. Oops. I’m dirty, I’m dirty. That’s all I am. Hmm. Some of both. Wesley White John 13:1-17, 31b-35 What would you do if you knew your time was coming to an end tomorrow? Plant a tree? Go for the gusto? Wash your friends? Finally do something you've been wanting to do all these years? Set some example of being a "servant"? Whatever your choice remember the way this section ends: Only to love one another. Only to love those we betray. Only to love those who betray us. Only to love our sister and brother betrayers. Only to love them as we love ourselves. Only to love them as we love Jesus. Only to love them as we love GOD. Only to love . . . . Wesley White 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 What are we remembering when we share bread and drink together? We remember death, Jesus'. Might we also remember his calling us together? Might we remember all that led up to this invitation? As we look back, might we not also remember subsequent events? Or is this only about remembering death? It is important to remember that in the phrase "my body that is for you," the word "for you" is not a substitutionary "instead of you." [note from NISB] Remembrance is a way of recalling that includes the participants in the larger story. [note from NISB] So, what is the larger story of which you are a part? Wesley White Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 Now to see our Eucharist as a Thanks Offering for the gifts of life. Usually we are rather solemn about our presentation of this celebration. Somehow we focus on the body broken rather than the offer of a cup of forgiveness. Forgiveness for even a broken body and spilt blood? Might we image Jesus paying his vow to follow where belovedness took him by offering the gift of belovedness to others -- honoring them by caring for their feet. In someways this is the denouement. [Etymology: French dénouement, literally, untying, from Middle French desnouement, from desnouer to untie, from Old French desnoer, from des- de- + noer to tie, from Latin nodare, from nodus knot -- more at NODE -- 1: the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work] Jesus ties a knot in the towel around him, washes, unties the knot. Jesus asks, "Do you know what I have done to you?" I have untied you from requiring service to joining in serving. Now how will that work itself out? However it works itself out, the moment has come, the thanks for being beloved has been given in the commissioning of others to so belove. Wesley White Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 This month (Nisan - begins with new moon) shall be the first month of the yearly cycle. This day (14th day - middle of full moon) shall be a day of remembrance. On Maundy (Command) Thursday (Thunder) we find the beginning of freedom from our various enslavements - "love one another." This is the equivalent of the command "let my people go." This day we celebrate that what we only dreamed as a possibility can actually be so. March 25, 2005 - Year A - Holy Week Friday Wesley White March 25, 2005 Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 It’s over. It’s done. Wesley White John 18:1 - 19:42 "Love one another," we read yesterday. Easy to hear, hard to do. So a last act from the cross cements this. You. And You. You're related, live like it. And now to get the United States of America and the rest of the world to hear that they are related, now live like it. Now to get all the other divisions to understand they are related to those they battle. We may yet get to live together and love one another. If we pay attention to history and dreams of being in charge, the odds are against it. But that is not sufficient reason for us, from our side, to back off from this radical scene. Matthew and Luke (in Acts) tell of Judas' death. John doesn't mention it. Imagine the momentary shift if we consider that Judas is a disciple whom Jesus loved. Can you imagine Mary and Judas at home? Just how radical is this new family that is not based on blood? Wesley White Hebrews 10:16-25 or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 Where there is forgiveness there is no need for a priest to offer sacrifice for sin. Where boldness is needed to enter and receive forgiveness a priest is a helpful companion. Whichever part of this cycle we are on at the present, the end result of the choices of we make is that of increasing love and good deeds. It is to this that we are willing to invest our lives so fully that we, too, would chose death over extension of life. The principalities and powers, politics and economics, would constrain us to their ends. It is our sense of being new people that will lead us toward one another and beyond our constraints to better ways. Remember that today is about forgiveness and reconciliation, not sacrifice, though that happens along the way. Wesley White Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 Making intercession for transgressors is not dependent upon suffering unto death, though that may come as one is active in intercession. Imagine an abusive situation. Intercession is not just prayer that the abuser will stop. It is also providing safety for the abused and confrontation of behavior of the abuser. These are both dangerous activities as those abused can be so caught that they deny, refuse, battle any other pattern and those doing the abuse deny, refuse, battle any other pattern of behavior for themselves. Making active intercession for transgressors (from either the receiving or giving end of abuse) is inherent in the command to "love one another." There can be no lesser definitions of "love" accepted that does not break these patterns. It is not necessary to go to the extreme cases to see this. Take a look at any congregation down through history and you will find it present. There is theological and spiritual abuse as well as physical abuse in both church and society. If we take the Maundy Thursday command seriously it will, not unexpectedly, lead to a good possibility of Good Friday without any recourse to the preconditioned necessity of suffering on the part the intercessor. Wesley White John 18:1 - 19:42 "I find no case against him," says Pilate." I will not advocate for him, I will merely wash my hands, proclaiming my innocence, not his." We don't need to look to GOD for the source of Jesus' suffering. He was intended to be justified. Here is a moment where suffering is passed person to person, not GOD to people. We are hearing a lot about court cases today with all manner of advocates for their own perspective and seemingly no comprehension of the complexity of life. There is a lot of false innocence being advocated. This scene of hand-washing may be much more devastating to us than Peter's denial or Jesus' death. It is so much like us. March 26, 2005 - Year A - Holy Week Saturday Wesley White March 26, 2005 Job 14:1-14 or Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24 Gone enough to ritualize its goneness. Wesley White Matthew 27:57-66 Can you imagine going to President Bush or Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and asking for the bodies of the dead Iraqis killed by military action these past two years (not to mention the first time around). How would you honor their death? On the off-chance that Bush or Rumsfeld accidentally gave permission the first time, it is not too far afield to imagine them subsequently clamping down on such action - sealing the tombs - camouflaging them so no one would know they were there. But back to the first question. Innocent blood has been shed and not acknowledged. What will you do? Joseph I would acknowledge the shedding of the blood of the innocent of Iraq along with the shedding of the blood of the innocents of Septmeber 11th. Innocent blood is innocent blood whomever acknowledges it. Wesley White Amen. And how long it seemed to take for our administration to hear the cry of the families of these "innocents" for action that such might not happen again. Whether here or there, innocents are massacred and Rachels are heard wherever there is a Ramah experience. Still there is an angst that the innocents continue to die and the question of whether I am asking for their bodies to bring peace or for an accounting to bring justice. Joseph maybe along with the questions you pose, we should add a time and a space to sit with the grieving and permission to allow them (and ourselves)to ask why especially in cases like of the nine dead in a school shoouting in Minnesota. Sometimes only with the questions do we begin to move toward peace and justice. Wesley White Again, Amen. I must admit to being over extended this week - trying to catch up from a brief vacation, two subsequent weeks of crud, a major Kairos CoMotion event, participating in an interview group for a Conference posiiton, and all the backlog of that as I try to prepare for these next days and care for myself along the way. Your comment is a good reminder why I need an extended family to derail my tendency toward steaming full speed ahead when it, again, turns out that fastest way is the long way around. (That's reminiscent of an Edward Albee line that I can't quite pull back.) Ah, yes, time to get back to what I know and espouse -- wait with and question. Those are appropriate Holy Saturday behaviors. Thanks, Joseph. Now to see how it goes with the the next comment drafted in the dead of night. Wesley White 1 Peter 4:1-8 Anyway. Anywise. Anyhow. Anyway, given the suffering of the past, now, above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Anywise, given the suffering of the past, now, above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Anyhow, given the suffering of the past, now, above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Any any___ you come at this one, the process of life is fuller life. We are either participating in this game that constantly adds new value, that persistently includes in more folks, or we aren't. [For more on the sense of the use of the word "game" read the Nobel Prize winning Magister Ludi: The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse - you can catch a bit of it through this excerpt ] Wesley White Psalm 22 This day, last night's betrayal sets in as the rest of the story is told. There is still the option to call down an army of heavenly hosts on behalf of the future, the past experiences of temptation, and the present beginnings of torture that they will take their place and find their meaning. While usually focusing on the first part of this Psalm we might also hear how the worst sense of forsakenness transforms into a future community. Posterity will find out about service and belovedness and the difference they make. And so we go through the last temptation with an assurance that life is not in vain, even though it pass as a mist of vanity. Wesley White Job 14:1-14 or Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24 Will we live again? Will release come? These questions are as deep and unanswerable as the "why" questions of life. We never know. We wait in the unknowing. All we have to hang on to is an expectation that steadfast love is accessible, even while we don't know. So we cast about asking, "are you a taste of steadfast love?", "is this a new recognition of steadfast love?" We wait in the unknowing. We fret and fear. We hardly hope. Yet, we wait in the unknowing. We go one more day. We go one more step. We take one more action for what we understand to be wholeness for ourselves and others. We wait, unknowing. Evie I'm not so sure that any innocent blood exists, unless it's the blood of infants. Otherwise, our lives are so intertwined, whether we know and acknowledge it or not. Unfortunately, my blood isn't innocent; I know too much. Wesley White The conversation about innocence is intriguing. Looking at the word beyond our usual associations with it we find from Webster's this information: "Innocent" - from Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin innocent-, innocens, from in- + nocent-, nocens wicked, from present participle of nocEre to harm -- more at NOXIOUS "Noxious" - from Middle English noxius, from Latin, from noxa harm; akin to Latin nocEre to harm, nec-, nex violent death, Greek nekros dead body In given situations there are those who are wickedly harming and those whose actions end in violent death. In those same situations there are the ones so acted upon. A part of the trick here is that we don't measure any person by simply looking at one particular situation. There are times when I am not innocent. By extension it can be said that I am therefore born in sin and never truly innocent. There are likewise times when I am innocent, either actively or passively, and can, again, extend that into a basic innocence that doesn't always get lived out. I expect that I err on the side of starting with innocence. I'm not sure where I'm taking this for myself or as a model whereby to see others (I'm not doing so well, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt; they are not doing so well, but I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt; neither of us can claim ultimate well doing; both of us can be given the benefit of the doubt). I am thankful for the opportunity to reflect on this and hope we'll keep pushing on this, now and then, when we are up to it, as it probably affects us more than we know. Wesley White Matthew 27:57-66 or John 19:38-42 Nicodemus comes bearing the Magi gift of Myrrh. Bringing more than can be used, a prodigal amount. This is our last encounter with Nicodemus. He has questioned Jesus and stood up for Jesus’ judicial rights. Now he comes as a disciple to care for his body. When was this latest switch made? It wasn't a post-resurrectional experience. How close to the cross did it come? Did he hear the affirmation of the centurion? Did he see Jesus bind Mary and a disciple together as new family? This is a day of reflecting on what we have come to. What do you come up with regarding your own life? Is it time to huddle in fear, to run away, to chop off more ears, to address what needs addressing so health will flourish as long a possible? Hopefully this day of waiting will bring with it a particular action that will demonstrate our discipleship in the most difficult of situations - while bereft. Wesley White 1 Peter 4:1-8 It really isn't because Jesus suffered that we pay attention to drawing near to GOD and living appropriately to that relationship. Jesus' suffering points out the importance of so living, come what may. The suffering draws attention to living with GOD, not to the suffering, real as it is, itself. For the sake of our prayers to not give in to temptation (as instructed by Jesus in Gethsemane) we do lead examined lived that are disciplined by that prayer. When so living we will not do everything that is possible or attractive. Rather our keys will be loving one another (Mandate Thursday) and, if we can extend to verse 9, being hospitable (Jesus forming a new family while on the cross). Now that we are a day away from all the emotion, it is possible to look beyond the surface of the cross and the suffering to the fullness of life issues before us. This is a day of evaluation, just sitting with, our experiences, reflecting on the deeper meanings rather than the spin-doctor short-cut phrases. It is not all about the suffering; it is all about the living. March 27, 2005 - Year A - Easter Wesley White March 27, 2005 Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6 Moving on. Wesley White Matthew 28:1-10 “Don’t be afraid, I know you are looking for a way to GOD.” So says an angel. In this instance the way is Jesus. This searching was the saving for the women. In the midst of the earthquake, fire, or storm it is important to be looking for a way to GOD. It was important for Elijah. It was important for the Marys. It is important for you and for me, as well. With our eye so oriented we are open to see beyond the fearfulness of an earthquake, the finality of death. This openness is a key component to the readiness to see. Now they can go and see the place that is now over and done with. Now they can lift their eyes to aid others in seeing. Wesley White Colossians 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43 If you have been raised with Christ, you now show no partiality. Ouch! and Wow! Wesley White Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Ah, yes, steadfast love. It sees us through all parts of life -- softening trials, enhancing joys. It sees us through the part of life we call death. Ah, yes, steadfast love. It makes this day, of all days, a day of life of fullness. Ah, yes, steadfast love. Ah, yes. Wesley White Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6 The issue of loving one another is not just a matter of defining our in-group that we will love. The circle will not only be unbroken, but expanded. From long ago we have heard, experienced, everlasting love. In today's world we still are hearing that this everlasting love shows no partiality. The last can still be first and the first last without either gaining or losing this everlasting love. The victim and the perpetrator can both be loved. Those with and those without a living will are still loved. There is no stopping this unexplainable experience. Come, let us go, together, to the place of everlasting love - Paradise - right here. Wesley White John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-10 "Do not hold on to me." "Do not be afraid" Different stories, same dynamic. There are two different ways in which we can break the new family relationships Jesus has been attempting to bring together. One is to so focus on Jesus that we lose ourselves. The other is to so focus on ourselves that we lose Jesus. Insofar as we can't say, "Jesus," without also saying, "community of faith," we can always choose to so focus on others that we lose ourselves or so focus on ourselves that we lose others. Again and again, in many different ways we keep coming back to the dual commandment regarding GOD and Neighbor. Depending on the context we need to be able to so inhabit this wisdom that we can play either end by ear, not manuscript. Wesley White Colossians 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43 So how are we going to move on? Being open to a new future is the mechanism. Showing no partiality is the energy to move us on. When impartial we place ourselves in the middle of differences willing to let them inform us. We can see where to apply forgiveness that we receive and where to offer it. There is clarity regarding the dynamic new heaven and new earth and new you and new me and new everything. When we are seated at the right hand of impartiality, the life that was hidden to us, in our haste to control everything, is both nourished and revealed. Easter reorients our vision of what is possible and energizes us to move in that direction. May we know more this Easter about impartiality and dynamic possibilities than we did an Easter ago. |
Return to Current Lectionary Dialogue