The cross as control rodThroughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches. These are the suggested readings for March 26th: Psalm 71:1-14; Isaiah 49:1-7; and 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.
Today is Holy Tuesday. Yesterday’s newspaper headlines shared stories about the terrorist attack in Moscow last week that killed and injured indiscriminately, the fear and depravation in Gaza accompanied by Israel’s apprehension of the existential threat that surrounds it. The terrorist attack in Moscow was claimed by ISIS-forces responding to Russia’s attacks in Syria. Hamas’ attacks are claimed by forces responding to Israel’s attacks, and Israel’s attacks are based on the October 7th Hamas attack. This is the practical logic of the world. It is the quid pro quo of violence for violence. In this logic, do you see any endpoint, ever? It is often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. We are caught in a net of our own making. There are problems in the world, undoubtedly. Some of them seem intractable. However, the worldly logic of force rather than compromise, of force rather than dialogue, of force rather than forgiveness has only led to more force. It takes on a life of its own. Remember that the World War II Allied Commander Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who went on to become President, warned in his Farewell Address to the nation against “… the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” He saw that force takes on a life of its own and a logic of its own, even when that logic becomes the definition of insanity, that we can force security on the world no matter how often and how destructively that logic fails. Or, as it is written in today’s 1 Corinthians passage: “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing …” The cross is insanity in a world that is perishing and that calls the insanity of cyclical violence practical. My father once manufactured the control rods that are used in nuclear reactors. They are inserted to absorb neutrons, which stops them from splitting more uranium atoms. The control rods break the cycle of nuclear reactions. Jesus’ entire life, culminating in the ultimate witness of the cross, is the control rod that is God’s attempt to break the insanity of the world’s cycle of violence. When Paul writes to the community at Corinth, Jews and Greeks are the situation-appropriate euphemism for all humanity. Accordingly, to all people the cross will appear at first as an anomaly. Paul writes: “For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” The crucified Christ is the power and wisdom of God that is nonetheless seen as the weakness and foolishness of God by the world entranced by the insanity of cyclical violence. Lent is our blessed opportunity to see the cross as the control rod that breaks this insane cycle, that allows us to see past “human wisdom” and “human strength” so that what the world calls foolishness we can grasp as humanity’s hope. If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule: www.sneucc.org/lectionary.
0 Comments
Heroic as the "Suffering Servant"Throughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches. These are the suggested readings for March 25th: Psalm 36:5-11; Isaiah 42:1-9; and Hebrews 9:11-15. I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.
Today is the Monday of Holy Week. Yesterday, Palm Sunday, Jesus entered into Jerusalem. According to Mark’s Gospel (11:12), today is the day on which Jesus cleansed the Temple. He disrupts the Temple commerce. He yells, “‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a den of robbers.’” Jesus became enraged when He witnessed the corruption of religion by money. It would be easier to limit this righteous anger to the Temple, but it is an open-ended condemnation of any pollution of religion in which the faith is used to mask the abuse of power and to cover greed with a holy shroud. The cleansing of the Temple stands-out as the example of Jesus’ righteous anger. It is an important testimony at the start of the week to Jesus’ fearlessness. Jesus knows well that the Temple authorities are watching and that Fortress Antonia is situated above the Temple courtyard with its Roman soldiers. He had just paraded into the holy city the day earlier in a counter-procession to that of Pilate, the Roman Governor. Pilate entered with pomp and circumstance, surrounded by the conquering Roman army. Jesus entered “humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey,” (Zechariah 9:9; cf. Mark 11:7) surrounded by the masses proclaiming the Messianic attestation of “Hosanna,” which means, “‘Save, we pray’” (Ps. 118:25). Jesus is not frightened of the power situated in Jerusalem, and this is an important context established as the week begins. It helps to clarify Jesus’ passive acceptance of what will unfold at the end of the week. This needs to be stated and restated because of the violence-loving culture that pervades the world. Jesus’ fearlessness does not register as heroic. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, the son of a Lutheran clergyman, for example, was repulsed by Jesus’ example (and the Nazis glommed onto him as their “Superman”). To march in formation with weapons at the ready in imitation of Pilate is understood. Jesus’ passive resistance is confounding. Holy Week asks us which procession into Jerusalem we would have gone to see. Today’s Isaiah passage is one of the Suffering Servant epiphanies. As the earliest Christians read Holy Scripture, which would be what we call today the Old Testament, they recognized Jesus immediately as the Suffering Servant. In Isaiah we read today, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.” God reveals that in the Suffering Servant justice will be brought forth, not by amassing an always more powerful army, because rather the Suffering Servant will not “lift up his voice,” will not quench even a “dimly burning wick.” Justice will be brought forth not by power, but by the integrity of example, the world will “wait for his teaching.” When Jesus accepts the mockery, abuse and torturous crucifixion later in this Holy Week without replying in kind, it is not because Jesus lacks righteous anger, it is not because Jesus is afraid. It is because “he will bring forth justice to the nations” by another way. At some point, before it is too late, I pray that we may recognize and honour Jesus’ other way and see the truly heroic in it. If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule: www.sneucc.org/lectionary. Oh to see like blind BartimaeusThroughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches. These are the suggested readings for March 23rd: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Jeremiah 33:10-16; and Mark 10:32-34, 46-52. I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.
Being alone is not the same as being lonely, but a person can feel desperately alone in a crowd. It is not the proximity of others that is determinative. Isolation is the inability to connect with others. Jesus is alone and isolated as he proceeds closer to Jerusalem. On two prior occasions, Jesus had tried to prepare his followers by foretelling his suffering and death, and on both occasions he was met with incredulity. His followers could not process what Jesus was trying to reveal to them. They would not or could not let go of their own expectations of Jesus. And yet, the inevitability of Jerusalem was getting closer and closer. With each step forward along the road, Jerusalem loomed more imposing over Jesus, and the disciples’ intransience more disheartening. Thus, “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them [alone].” (10:32) The same Greek word is used here in vs. 32 to describe the amazement of the disciples as was employed to express their bewilderment at vs. 24 when Jesus had professed how hard it will be for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. They are culturally unable to process the revelation of a crucified Messiah, and their bewilderment isolates them from Jesus and Jesus from them. For the briefest of moments, Jesus had found solace in Peter’s testimony of “‘You are the Messiah.’” (8:29) Then, that hope careened over the cliff of “‘Get behind me Satan!’” (8:33) And Jesus continues to carry that wreckage with him as he climbs up the road to Jerusalem. Even the more casual followers of Jesus sense that something is awry, and they are “afraid.” (10:32) This group may simply be other Galileans taking the same pilgrimage route to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. They may have an awareness of Jesus as a wonder worker and may entertain notions of a hoped-for powerful intervention by Jesus on behalf of the Jewish nation; and because of their determinedly traditional Messianic expectations, they are made afraid by this sense of foreboding that engulfs Jesus and the disciples. And Jesus’ isolation grows deeper. At this point in the text, Mark informs the reader that this amazed and fearful crowd passes through Jericho. (10:46) Jericho is the last city before the traveling pilgrims enter the environs surrounding Jerusalem, which is but a day’s walk ahead. A great deal of psychological drama had been taking place on the other side of Jericho. It pulled us into the thoughts of Jesus, the disciples, and the crowd. In that contemplative space, we are startled by Bartimaeus son of Timaeus. Everyone in his or her own way is lost in his or her own thoughts. Then blind Bartimaeus shatters this solitude, shouting, “‘‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (10:47) Instinctively the crowd rebukes this intrusion and orders him silent. I think it would have been understandable for Jesus to have not responded, to maybe not even have heard the plea as he was lost in the thoughts of his own troubles, but Jesus is Jesus. He calls the blind man over. Even when lost in the thoughts of his own desperate situation, Jesus makes time for blind Bartimaeus. Jesus is contemplating giving everything he has as a ransom for the lives of others – others who cannot seem to understand, and yet Jesus still has the compassion to pause and heal Bartimaeus. The healing is granted and Jesus tells Bartimaeus “Go.” (10:52) Just like so many others who had been healed by Jesus and simply went on their way, Jesus says to Bartimaeus, “Go.” Here, though, something remarkable happens that maybe brought a bit of healing to Jesus the healer. Bartimaeus stayed. Bartimaeus followed Jesus “on the way.” (10:52) This may only refer to the road leading out of Jericho and on toward Jerusalem or “the way” may be a reference to the earliest iteration of Christianity (cf. Acts. 9:2; 18:25, 26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). We often do not know who the people are who Jesus heals, but here we know his name, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, and that he is from Jericho. This may well be an actual person familiar to the community of the Marcan church. Bartimaeus may well have shared this firsthand account with the original people of this Gospel. He had remained faithful to Jesus. He became a part of “The Way.” Bartimaeus saw Jesus’ psychological suffering and then most likely his physical suffering, and Bartimaeus knew that with all of this, Jesus still stopped to help him. And Bartimaeus “followed him on the way.” The Twelve could not assuage Jesus’ anxiety, but this blind beggar outside of Jericho saw what they could not, and I hope this gave Jesus hope. I hope it made it just a little bit easier for the one prepared “to give his life as a ransom for many” as he was about to publicly, triumphantly and defiantly march into his enemy’s stronghold of Jerusalem. We can imitate Bartimaeus’ insight and appreciation by walking with Jesus as the church community remembers again these fateful days of Holy Week that begin with tomorrow’s Palm Sunday Worship Service. You are invited to join us whoever you are, and if you cannot or choose not to be with us in person, send an email to randyc1897@gmail.com for the Zoom login. If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule: www.sneucc.org/lectionary. God's power is not always the answerThroughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches. These are the suggested readings for March 22nd: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Jeremiah 33:1-9; and Philippians 2:12-18. I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.
It is hard to imagine the complexity of emotions Jeremiah must have faced. Jeremiah is God’s prophet to the people of Judah as their nation is facing imminent destruction. The prophet had advised Jerusalem to surrender to the Babylonians in order to prevent massacre and destruction. Understandably, this was viewed as subversive and traitorous, and Jeremiah was imprisoned. At the same time, buildings within the walls of Jerusalem were being destroyed so that the materials could be used to bolster the defenses of the city. Siege works were being constructed to breech or surmount Jerusalem’s walls. The military outlook was not good. This is the environment in which Jeremiah must prophesy. He must tell his fellow Jews that Jerusalem will be filled with dead bodies. This coming reality would be difficult enough, but Jeremiah must also share Yahweh’s words that these are the corpses “of those whom I shall strike down in my anger and my wrath, for I have hidden my face from this city because of all their wickedness.” It is God who sanctions this bloodbath in the unrestrained release of divine anger because of the people’s wickedness. Jeremiah is allowed to prophesy a future restoration: “This city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them; they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.” Maybe you remember the story of Job. As a test before a supernatural audience, Job loses his health, his wealth and even his children. At the end of the book, all of these are restored abundantly. However, can one set of children be replaced by another? Is suffering forgotten because blessings follow? Wouldn’t Job carry the lasting scars of the test no matter how richly they were bandaged? Jeremiah is a suffering prophet. He writes of the pain he bears in conveying the prophecies of judgment. It is a pain borne of the idea that God must be held responsible for everything that happens in the world. Read the accounts found in the Books of Kings and you will see that there is no real world correlation between the reign of faithful kings and prosperity and vice versa. Israel and Judah were small nations on contested lands between powerful empires. This was of real consequence. It is one thing for the people of Jerusalem to be slaughtered by the Babylonians. It is another to insist that God was responsible for it and condoned it, and promises of future restoration do not erase this misrepresentation. However, people of faith tend toward holding God always responsible. They do so to protect God’s power, but they sacrifice God’s justice. And so in the fullness of time God enters the world in Jesus of Nazareth, who ministers to all but especially the suffering and ostracized, and dies as one suffering and ostracized. To reject the theology foisted upon God of responsibility and complicity in atrocities, God acts definitively in Jesus’ gospel, ministry and most emphatically in His death. God does not cause suffering, and God endures suffering to make this point as strongly as possible. The world can be a mean place. Let’s not let that meanness infect God as well. If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule: www.sneucc.org/lectionary. That's old, but this is even olderThroughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches. These are the suggested readings for March 21st: Deuteronomy 16:1-8; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; and Philippians 2:1-11. I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.
Philippi was one of the earliest Christian communities established by Paul. We are dealing with a community that dates to the mid-first century. This would be within a generation of Jesus’ death. The Philippians are literally first-generation Christians. The Epistle we share today in the form we have received may date to circa 60AD. Philippians is among the earliest extant Christian writings we have. And it still takes us even further back in time to the earliest of the early church. I’m talking about Philippians 2:6-11. At the Sunrise Service on Easter morning (you’re more than welcome to join us), those of us gathered will sing the hymn “Amazing Grace.” It’s early, very early. It’s outdoors. There’s no accompaniment. Most of us are not choir members. We chose “Amazing Grace” because it is so well known. The melody and the lyrics are quite familiar, and this makes our singing easier. The earliest of the early Christian communities also had such familiar hymns. Obviously, they were not gathered in a printed hymnal. However, some hymns became so familiar that they became a part of the fabric of worship. Every believer knew such hymns. Paul writes Philippians from prison. His situation is uncertain and dangerous, but he holds onto hope. In order to share this sentiment and faith with the community at Philippi, and in a way that they will recognize immediately, Paul incorporates an early and familiar Christian hymn in his letter. In your Bibles, I imagine that Philippians 2:6-11stands out from the surrounding text. It is probably printed as poetry rather than prose. Paul is not the author of 2:6-11. This is the hymn that in the early 60’s was already established. This is the hymn that may date to the 30’s or 40’s. This is the hymn that speaks of the earliest of the early church’s Christology, how believers thought of Jesus as the Christ and as the Son of God. Jesus was in the “form of God,” but would not exploit His “equality with God.” Accordingly, Jesus “emptied himself” of that divine nature, and that word from the Greek is catharsis. Jesus replaces “the form of God” with “human form.” The divine nature remains, but Jesus’ humanity prevails. This is the will of God, that in Jesus God encounters the fullness of the human experience. This is intentional. This is the reason for Jesus. This is why Jesus’ humanity must be protected and preached. To believe in the premise of Jesus’ full humanity and the limitations it requires is not to deny Jesus’ divinity; it is to comply with the will of God that in Jesus the divine nature was emptied so that the human nature will be authentic. It is in this authentic humanity, sings the hymn, that Jesus even accepts our mortality, that Jesus “became obedient to the point of death.” Our shared mortality is probably where this stanza of the hymn concluded, but scholars postulate that it wasn’t enough for Paul. Paul inserts another line: “even death on a cross.” Imagine singing “Amazing Grace” when somebody adds a new and unfamiliar line. It will stand out. When the Philippians read the words of their familiar hymn and then Paul’s addition, the cruel reality of “even death on a cross” jumps off the page. As we move deeper into Lent, quickly approaching Holy Week, let us consider the teaching of the earliest of the early church that Jesus carries the divinity with Him, but Jesus does not exploit it, that Jesus’ humanity is full and authentic as He goes to the cross, as He carries God to the cross. What does this say about Jesus, and what does this say about God? And dare we even ask what is says about “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus”? If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule: www.sneucc.org/lectionary. And Jesus had to hideThroughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches. These are the suggested readings for March 20th: Psalm 119:9-16; Haggai 2:1-9, 20-23; and John 12:34-50. I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.
The one Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Scriptures consists of the writings of three separate prophets: one prior to Jerusalem’s defeat and exile, a second during the early years of exile and the third as the People of God prepare to return to the Holy Land. In the last chapter of that last prophetic voice, the one named Trito-Isaiah, he writes, “Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is my resting place?” (66:1) As Israel has known the depravations of defeat and exile, they hear of God’s righteousness and it is not in hopes of an opulent temple and the sacrifices offered. (66:3-4) And yet, once the people return to Jerusalem, a subsequent prophet, the one we read today, speaks instead of exactly what Trito-Isaiah had disparaged. Haggai writes of God’s revelation: “I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendour, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. The latter splendour of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.” What do you do when two canonical prophets disagree so clearly? If one is to refrain from choosing between biblical authors, a possible alternative is to realize that prophets are not so much about predicting the future, but speaking to the present. To see the present differently is to see it prophetically. The Lord speaks through Haggai: “Who is left among you that saw this house [Solomon’s Temple] in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? Yet now take courage …” The people had been impoverished. They remain subjugated. The temple they rebuild is poor in comparison with that of the one Solomon erected during Israel’s days of glory. Haggai promises that such glory will return in the future, while Trito-Isaiah cared little for the prospect. However, Haggai’s words may not be future oriented. To a discouraged people the prophet is offering encouragement. Obviously, their situation pales in comparison with the Jerusalem of old, but the prophet offers them hope nonetheless. It is the same with the people’s hope for the return of the Davidic king. In Zerubbabel, the people have a blood descendent of David, and of Zerubbabel the prophet writes, “On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts.” In history, Zerubbabel disappears. He is not the first of a restored dynasty. He fails. The prophecy of his future does not come to pass. However, to a people in need of hope, Haggai lifts-up Zerubbabel. Haggai is a warning against literalism and expecting too much of prediction in prophecy. God tends mostly to surprise. We can see this again in the life of Jesus. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus comes as a surprising Messiah and is accordingly rejected and conspired against by authorities who are confident they know what God should do. Jesus, realizing the severity of their threat, “departed and hid from them.” Jesus enters the world as the light of God, but to prevent a premature execution He must go into hiding. Jesus will now prepare a small cadre of followers so that when He is taken from them, they may continue the ministry and gospel Jesus began. It is a sobering thought to be reminded that God came into the world in Jesus and the world forced Jesus into hiding. This is not a charge limited to the Roman and Jewish authorities of millennia ago. Christians still today choose to ignore the radicalness, the originality, the strangeness and discomfort of Jesus’ gospel. We tame Jesus. We train Jesus to affirm what we choose to choose. I remember President Lincoln’s words that God was punishing both North and South in the Civil War because both were complicit in the sin of treating other people as property. That was prophetic. Lincoln didn’t use God to justify his side. Lincoln looked at slavery and realized that God was pleased with neither side. Lent is a time of deep introspection. It is a time to look past what we expect and what we imagine of ourselves. Lent is a time to look at the crucified Saviour and be as honest as possible about why He hung there, and to take that most-expensive revelation and try our best to live accordingly. If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule: www.sneucc.org/lectionary. Lent is an unexpected rebirthThroughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches. These are the suggested readings for March 19th: Psalm 119:9-16; Isaiah 44:1-8; and Acts 2:14-24. I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.
Lent is a word derived from the Old English word for Spring, which in turn is based on Spring’s lengthening days. Maybe you can still hear Lent in lengthening. Easter is derived from the name of the Roman goddess of Spring, Eostre. When Israel was young and more primitive, its festivals were associated with nature. The people depended on their harvests and they naturally turned to God at such times for benediction. As generations passed, Israel overlaid the nature origins of their pilgrimage feasts with historical references. It was no longer God acting through nature, but God acting through the history of Israel. Similar traditions are found in Christianity, such as the rebirth of the sun following the Winter solstice, which becomes Christmas, the birth of the Son of God. And as mentioned above, there is Lent and Easter’s association with renewal and rebirth. I would like to return to this in a moment, but first I mention Pentecost, which is the occasion of Peter’s speech in today’s passage from Acts of the Apostles. I won’t be writing these Lenten blogs on the 50th day after Easter, but today gives me an opportunity to share Pentecost’s amazing layering of stories. It begins as a joyous celebration before Yahweh upon the harvest of the first fruits of Spring. Eventually, in Jewish tradition, Pentecost became associated with the giving of the Law to Moses on Sinai. This is the historical overlay of the nature festival. Since the early followers of Jesus continued to share in the Jewish traditions that He and many of them were born into, they also celebrated Pentecost. Their translation of this feast day was to adapt the historical rendering of Pentecost as based on the foundational event of the giving of the Law, and Christianize it by making it the foundational event of the giving of the Spirit (as we have talked about previously). While I find this truly interesting, and probably the origin of the tradition that the Spirit was shared on Pentecost in particular, I also find meaning in the primitive tradition of early Christian converts who saw not only Easter but Lent as well in terms of Spring. It is not difficult to associate Easter’s resurrection with Spring. I think every pastor has made that allusion in some way at some Easter. But Lent, now that’s intriguing. As the Christian story was told to people unfamiliar with the layers of stories that preceded it, as missionaries and their converts translated these accounts into language more familiar to them, they saw Lent as a part of Spring’s rebirth. As this past Sunday’s Gospel mentioned, Jesus referred to His cross in terms that a seed is just a seed until it dies, falls into the ground and leads to a bountiful harvest. Not only the empty tomb, but the cross is an act of rebirth. To convince peoples unfamiliar with the gospel-story of a crucified Saviour and God was to fundamentally alter their understanding of God and of God’s followers. It would be in ministry and sacrifice that the new Christian life would be born. Still today, in a world in love with strength and the violence and dominance it allows, Lent’s message remains radical. Lent’s message is the path to new life. I for one do not feel safer because of the abundance of guns in our culture. I do not feel safer because of the nuclear umbrella. I do not feel safer when we often first look to arms rather than negotiation. To me it seems clear that this model has failed us and may end up destroying us. There truly is new life not only in Jesus’ promise of resurrection, but in Lent’s promise of living this life differently. If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule: www.sneucc.org/lectionary. We're still in Winter? It feels like Spring.Throughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches. These are the suggested readings for March 18th: Psalm 119:9-16; Isaiah 43:8-13; and 2 Corinthians 3:4-11. I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.
Today is technically the last full day of winter, technically because Spring does not officially arrive until tomorrow at 11:06pm when the day is nearly complete. I have a friend who is a meteorologist. I think he was the one who alerted me to the difference between the astronomical Spring that arrives tomorrow at 11:06pm and the meteorological Spring that arrives on March 1st. The astronomical Spring occurs in the Northern Hemisphere when the Sun crosses the celestial equator going south to north. Meteorological Spring is the three months of March, April and May when it feels Springlike. The meteorological seasons are based on how it feels based on annual temperature cycles rather than on the position of Earth in relation to the Sun. The former is based on the hard facts of the earth and sun’s location and orientation. The latter begins when it starts to feel Springlike. Astronomically it is winter, but already it feels like Spring. Today is the last full day of winter, but anthills are showing up in my yard, the daffodils around the house are getting closer to blossoming and you can often get by with a sweatshirt outside rather than a winter coat. Today Paul shares with us a wisdom that springs from his own experience. Paul calls himself an apostle, one sent out by Jesus to proclaim the gospel. His apostleship is different from that of the Twelve, the disciples who followed Jesus during His earthly ministry. Acts 1 offers a traditional definition of an apostle as one called forth from those who accompanied Jesus from His baptism through His ascension. Paul never met the historical Jesus. Paul’s conversion is based on an ecstatic experience of the glorified Jesus of heaven. Additionally, Paul’s gospel is a departure from that of the other apostles. Paul is referred to as the apostle to the gentiles, the non-Jews, because Paul separates faith in Christ from the explicit practice of the Mosaic Law. His provenance and proclamation both lead to confrontation with contemporaneous Christian leaders. However, the reality of Paul’s spiritual encounter with Christ was judged by him and the earliest Christians to be profound and authentic, otherwise we would not be reading a selection like 2 Corinthians today. Paul’s personal experience affects his teaching. He realizes that Christ’s ministry continues past the cross. Jesus is not a physical presence, but remains a powerful spiritual one. Jesus continues to speak. And Jesus remains present through the sharing of the Holy Spirit. Where the Spirit is active, there is a vitality and innovation that constantly renews and reforms the church. Thus, Paul writes for us today, “To be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” He draws out the imagery of commandments written in stone as unchanging while the new covenant is “of spirit” and “the Spirit” and “gives life.” This is what we call the still-speaking Word of God. It is the reason that change is tradition in our faith. It is why we consider the past, but are not locked into it, as we express the faith in every new today. That freshness and relevance come through a lived faith, and thus to all of us together as church Paul calls us out “to be ministers of a new covenant.” As we live into the Spirit the Spirit then breathes through us, freeing us from an unnecessary devotion to the idol of literalism, to the “letter [that] kills,” so that the church may minister to and teach with relevance in every generation. Lent is our chance to live more deeply into “the Spirit [who] gives life,” to wonder how the words on the pages of the Bible share the still-speaking Word of God, to wonder how Christ crucified lives in and through us for today. Just as it is beginning to feel more Springlike even though today is still winter, we can’t let what feels to arise and reflect the Spirit today be rejected because it’s of the wrong time. If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule: www.sneucc.org/lectionary. |
NewsFaith, love and chitchat. Categories
All
Archives
February 2024
Follow
|
SERVICE TIMES
Sunday 9:30-10:30am Children Sunday School 9:30-10:30am Nursery care available during worship DONATE Make a single or recurring contribution by clicking here |
FOLLOW
|