Seeds, Soil, and Sailing

Reflection

Mark 4 really begins Jesus' teaching ministry.  He teaches in parables, illustrative stories set in a familiar context that point to another reality.  Jesus uses the language of seed and soil to teach about the kingdom of God.  From the indiscriminate scattering of seeds to the way seeds take root, emerge, and grow Jesus invites us to see God's activity in the world as a natural reality within and around us.  He also teaches that there is a kind of hidden aspect to God's activity.  It is not always overt, obvious, and clear that God is the active agent behind the good life.  Jesus' teachings are meant to shine light, to reveal what God is doing in the world.  Some will be given the ability to see, others will not.  We might wonder why some have faith and some don't.  We might wonder why God is obtuse or hidden from us. 
In the parable of the sower, Jesus suggests that the seed is scattered indiscriminately.  Only a quarter of the soil is good soil that receives the seed and produces.  Most of the soil is not good soil.  It's rocky or weedy.  Some of the soil isn't even tilled land, it's a path!  The point is that God, the sower, is not a good farmer. He scatters seed, even where it is not received or accepted.  There is no judgment on the "bad soil" and we ought not to think literally about the application of this story.  We are tempted to think of the different soils as categories of the human heart or mind.  And then we judge who is "good soil" and who is "bad soil".  Not Jesus' point.  Even in Jesus' interpretation of the parable that he gives to the disciples, he is not passing a judgment on those who do not receive the Word.  God sows lavishly, excessively, and foolishly in the world.  We are recipients.  Sometimes we're ready. Sometimes we're not.   What do you think God is sowing in the world?  I think God sows peace and mercy.
The two parables of the seed scatterer and the mustard seed show us that God's activity does not depend on our intervention or work.  There is mystery about some of the things tht God does.  God's activity is often subtle, missed, small, seemingly insignificant.  But what God starts, grows and becomes something large and significant.  Church started with a small group of students, following a 1st century Jewish Rabbi.  Now there are over two billion Christians in the world.  How did a movement so vulnerable and insignificant become something so important to so many people? 
Finally, the parable of the boat on the sea. Is this a literal event?  Or a teaching moment? Or both?  Jesus teaches his disciple that faith is the absence of fear.  It is peace in the middle of chaos, rest in the middle of life's storms.  Jesus is in the boat with us.  He signifies God's peaceful presence with us in the midst of life's turmoil and dangers.  To have faith is to trust that God cares that we are all perishing, enough to show up and take action! 
So, how do we begin to see with the eyes of faith, to trust that God is in the boat with us, and to receive what God is sowing into our lives, into the world?  How do we recognize the activity of God around and within us?  How do we become aware of the presence, protection, provision, and peace of God in daily life?  This is the art of discipleship.  To become aware.  To wonder about the soil of my own life.  What obstacles, barriers, trouble is preventing God's word of life from penetrating my life? 

Prayer.
Lord, let my heart be good soil, open to the seed of your word.  When I am afraid, drive my fear away.  When I am in need, provide for me and protect me.  When I am uncertain of your presence and activity in my life, awaken my inner senses to know you are near me.  Amen.     

 

Mark 4

Mark 4

The Parable of the Sower

4Again he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the lake on the land. ²He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: ³‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. ⁶And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. ⁸Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ ⁹And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’

The Purpose of the Parables

10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret^* of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; ¹²in order that
“they may indeed look, but not perceive,
   and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.” ’
13 And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴The sower sows the word. ¹⁵These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. ¹⁶And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.^{* 18}And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²⁰And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’

A Lamp under a Bushel Basket

21 He said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? ²²For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. ²³Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ ²⁴And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. ²⁵For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’

The Use of Parables

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Jesus Stills a Storm

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ ³⁶And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. ³⁷A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. ³⁸But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ ³⁹He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. ⁴⁰He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ ⁴¹And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

Questions for reflection:

What do you think Jesus meant by "the kingdom of God"?
Why does Jesus teach with parables? 
What do the disciples learn from Jesus on the sea? 

Opposition and Family. Mark 3

Reflection.

As Jesus' public ministry builds momentum, we see two things happen.  We see opponents resisting Jesus' teachings and we see a core group of twelve students coalesce around him.  These 12 disciples are also apostles.  They are both gathered around him as learners and sent from him as practitioners.  The learning model is an apprenticeship, action/reflection model.  He expects more from them than belief or faith.  He expects them to act---to do what he does, not just know what he knows.  His teachings are often examples.  When he heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day, he defies the letter of the law that prohibits work of any kind.  But, he redefines the spirit of Sabbath by asking, "Is it lawful to do good or harm on the Sabbath, to save life or destroy it?"  Who would suggest that  God's law permits one to destroy or do harm?  Jesus suggests that to do nothing is tantamount to doing harm or destruction.  So, he acts.  He sees that we create barriers that prevent people from getting access to health care.  By healing the man he calls these barriers unjust.  Whenever a leader publicly challenges systems of injustice, those who benefit from that system (and someone always does) become angry.  We haven't even gotten through the 3rd chapter and already people are plotting against him! 

We see a variety of opponents.  Jewish leaders.  Demons.  Jesus' family members.  His teaching practice is confrontational and controversial.  He is upsetting the status quo by healing people!  We can say that following Jesus will create opposition or resistance.  Why?  People hate change.  And people are invested in maintaining their own comfort, sometimes at the expense of others.  Jesus threatens the delicate imbalance that exists between the people at the top and the people at the bottom.  Jesus crosses boundaries, norms, and rules that define place.  The man with the withered hand was considered cursed by God.  It was assumed that some moral failure caused God to punish him.  So if Jesus healed him, he must be working for God's opponent---Beelzebul.  We see Jesus as a divine healer.  But they saw Jesus using demonic powers to oppose God.  That is why Jesus quotes Abraham Lincoln (a house divided against itself cannot stand).  Jesus sees the withered hand as a work of the devil not of a punishing God.  Jesus has a perspective on the human condition that says evil is at work in the world and it is not God's doing!  He has been sent by God to confront the evil forces at work in the human family by healing those who are suffering.           

Jesus redefines the family, too.  Who is his family?  Those who do the will of the Father.  And what is that?  We look at Jesus to understand the will of God, assuming that he demonstrates it in his actions.  So, we might say the will of God is a reorienting baptism and time of wilderness trial; a public announcement about the coming of the reign or kingdom of God, works of healing and mercy.  Jesus will continue to show us what God's will looks like in action.  He will continue to redefine family.  Beyond blood and ancestry.  God's family is bigger than Israel. This is a major theme and a massive shift that Jesus proposes about God.  God may not look like, sound like, or think like us!  God may not be male or white or English-speaking or American, either.  Wait and see what happens in chapter four...
   
  
   

Opposition and Family

GOSPEL OF MARK 3

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ²They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. ³And he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come forward.’ ⁴Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. ⁵He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

A Multitude at the Lakeside

7 Jesus departed with his disciples to the lake, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; ⁸hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. ⁹He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; ¹⁰for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. ¹¹Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ ¹²But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve

13 He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles,^* to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, ¹⁵and to have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶So he appointed the twelve:^* Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); ¹⁷James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); ¹⁸and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, ¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus and Beelzebul

Then he went home; ²⁰and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’ ²²And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.’ ²³And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. ²⁷But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
28 ‘Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; ²⁹but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’— ³⁰for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’

The True Kindred of Jesus

31 Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. ³²A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters^* are outside, asking for you.’ ³³And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ ³⁴And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’

Reflection:  Who opposes Jesus?  Why? 
What is the emerging conflict in the story?
Some people suggest that there is something wrong with him.  Why?
Jesus calls 12 disciples/apostles to be with him and to be sent out to proclaim the message.  Why?
What do you think about the way Jesus describes 'his family'?   

Paralysis and Freedom

In Mark 2, Jesus is showing his people a new kind of freedom.  As he forgives sins, eats with sinners, and breaks the Sabbath day law.  Why does Jesus do these things?

Paralysis is not only caused by a spinal cord injury.  Many things paralyze us, prevent us from getting up and doing what we are made to do.  The people were paralyzed by moral religion and the rules.  They were paralyzed by internalized oppression and fear of the Roman army.  There was (and still is) a great deal of judgment, shaming, and hypocrisy going on in the religious community.  Sinners are law breakers, offenders, rule breakers, wrong doers.  Sometimes people are treated as criminals and not as human beings.  People are seen as 'bad' or 'dangerous' or 'offensive'.  They are treated as subhuman, untouchable, lost losers.  Minorities know what it is like to be abused to the point of paralysis, afraid to go out in public or to stand up for one's self. 
People are still paralyzed by abusers of power, by fear, by guilt or shame, by vulnerabilities, inadequacies, and perceived incompetence.  People are paralyzed by their own egos, their own need to be above the rest, their need to succeed.  The stress caused by these things is unhealthy.  Some people are even physically disabled by these spiritual, mental/emotional struggles.  I wonder if this person was depressed? Or grieving?  Or in pain?  Empathy never dismisses or ignores the other, but invites them in for healing and hope.  
Jesus sees people as children in need of forgiveness, so that we can stand up and live.    
I think the four friends who bring the paralyzed person to Jesus represent the mission of the church.  We are called to bring people to Jesus, who are paralyzed by shame, guilt, grief, anger, mistrust, fear, etc... 
Jesus represents the God who gives us freedom.  We are freed from the power of sin, telling us we are bad, broken, and worthless.  We are freed from judgment and condemnation--God's or other's.  We are free to be the person God made us to be, to exercise that freedom to become children
n of God and coworkers in the ongoing stewardship (act of love) of creation.  We are invited to stand up with those who are oppressed and broken, threatened and afraid.  We are challenged to confront hypocrisy and moral condescension.  We are invited to enjoy the fruit of the earth and to share it abundantly with those who need it the most, every day.  Nothing should prevent us from thriving or helping others to thrive in God's world.       

What paralyzes you these days? 
How do yo hear Jesus' message of forgiveness?  Does it free you to be your created self? 


 

Mark 2. Paralysis and Freedom

Mark 2
When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. ²So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. ³Then some people^* came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. ⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ ⁶Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ⁷‘Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ ⁸At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? ⁹Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and take your mat and walk”? ¹⁰But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the paralytic— ¹¹‘I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’ ¹²And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’

Jesus Calls Levi

13 Jesus^* went out again beside the lake; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. ¹⁴As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
15 And as he sat at dinner^* in Levi’s^* house, many tax-collectors and sinners were also sitting^* with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶When the scribes of^* the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat^* with tax-collectors and sinners?’ ¹⁷When Jesus heard this, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

The Question about Fasting

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people^* came and said to him, ‘Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ ¹⁹Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
21 ‘No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. ²²And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.’^*

Pronouncement about the Sabbath

23 One sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. ²⁴The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ ²⁵And he said to them, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? ²⁶He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.’ ²⁷Then he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; ²⁸so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’

Reflection Questions:

With whom does Jesus engage?
What are Jesus' core teachings in this passage?
Where is the trouble or conflict in the story?
How do you feel about Jesus' actions and words?  About those who question him? 

 

the alternative empire

As we read the Gospel of Mark, a perspective drawn from historical context is important.  We may want to define the narrative to understand its meaning.  A gospel is a good news story. in the 1st century world, the Romans sent out messengers (evangelists) to share the good news of Roman expansion, military conquest, and Casesar's unyielding power.  Caesar was called Lord and a son of god.
The gospels about Jesus of Nazareth, therefore, stood as an alternative narrative to the gospels of Caesar.  These stories were, in their first context, about a subversive reality in which the God of the Jews had chosen a servant named Jesus to lead a liberation movement.  This liberation movement was not fought with armed resistance against the imperial powers' military machine.  It was fought with Words (teaching) and acts of healing, as we will see.
In the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark, recognized as the first of the four gospels that are part of the New Testament, Mark lays out a story that stands against the Roman imperial story.
He uses language like "Son of God", and "Kingdom of God", and "baptism of repentance" and "forgiveness of sins".  The first two phrases place Jesus in conflict with the identity claims of Caesar.  There is the Kingdom of Caesar and the Kingdom of God.  They are not the same.  We will see the contrast in the gospel of Mark.  Jesus will teach that "the kingdom of God is like...", and this will reveal a very different use of power and authority. This is political language, addressing power and authority over people and land.  How does God's kingdom and chosen ruler differ from Caesar?  The other two phrases discuss how one converts from allegiance to one authority to the other.  How one rejects Caesar's dominion and accepts Jesus' or God's dominion.  Baptism is the personal act of the convert.  Forgiveness is the merciful acceptance offered by the Lord to the one pledging allegiance to him.  Condemnation and punishment for past transgressions against the ruler and the Kingdom are expunged.  The record is reset.  Therefore, the convert is received as a trustworthy and loyal subject, not as a betrayer or turncoat. 

Sins are defined as the ways in which we think and act contrary to the expectation, demands, or rules of the God or Lord.  Everything from breaking the law to personal offense; from stealing to lying; harming others or selfishly hoarding.  Sin is defined as a state or condition in opposition to what is good, right, or true--as defined by the ruler or God.  One can sin by omission or commission---by doing what one ought not to do or failing to do what one ought to do.   To sin against God was to disobey the commandments found in the Hebrew Torah (books of the law).  To sin against Caesar was to fail to pay taxes, fail to acknowledge Caesar's supremacy, stand against the military occupation (i.e., open rebellion). 

The Spirit identifies Jesus as the beloved son of God and sends him to be tested in the wilderness.  This Spirit is understood as an extension of God's self will.  It is the sustainer of life and breath.  It is a source of internal strength, forbearance, and power.  His survival in the wilderness prepares him for his mission/quest.  And what is the quest?
To reclaim sovereignty over the people and land from those that have taken it from him.  This land and this people were occupied, possessed by the Roman Empire through the use of military force. They used violent punishment to maintain control of conquered populations.  Jesus will use nonviolence and compassionate service.  The gospel of Mark is a collision, a confrontation between competing claims of power---Caesar's and God's.  This confrontation will create conflict and tension.  Someone will die.  Will the death be the end of the proposed alternative kingdom or the beginning of a movement?   

Driving out unclean spirits (exorcism) sets people free from the internalized oppression.  They have accommodated themselves to the powers of the empire that oppresses them.  That the first exorcism happens in the Capernaum synagogue suggests that the Galileean Jews have internalized their oppression, adapted to it, accepted it, and need to be released from it.  Their minds and hearts have learned to accept Caesar's lordship and Rome's dominance.  Jesus' teaching will free them from their bondage to Caesar's ways.  For Caesar's ways are destructive, selfish, and emphasize social control through punishment.  His ways are hierarchical and authoritarian.  He is at the top of the pyramid.  The majority are at the bottom.  Rome made use of middle men, people who were part of the oppressed majority who could be persuaded to serve the interests of Rome.  Tax collectors were part of this group. 
The other difference between Caesar and Jesus is that Caesar used propaganda to oppress the people.  The evangelists who brought the "good news" of Caesar's recent conquest subjugate the people, making them feel powerless against Caesar's army.  Jesus, on the other hand, insisted that those he conquered through healing (instead of through physical torture like Caesar) were prohibited from speaking.  He insisted on their silence.  This only encouraged them to share public testimony about him.  But they were not forced or coerced into telling the news, as part of a propaganda machine.  Jesus was not a candidate.  But the people he healed exercised the freedom to speak publicly about him.  Jesus initiated free speech that promoted his mission and stood in contrast to Caeasar's.
Jesus touched untouchable people.  Lepers.  These people stood outside of the community.  They were marginalized because of their disease, twice oppressed---by the Romans and the Jews.  To touch the leper was to infect one's self, to assign one's self to their status.  Jesus became a "leper" by touching a leper.  Jesus also exercised personal authority and power when he healed the leper.  In so doing, he disrupted the accepted status quo.  He rejected the person's assigned identity as a leper and restored his identity as a human, a person with value.  He restored dignity and potential. 

Why does this matter?  Imperialism persists.  The values and actions of empire continue to oppress and limit people.  In the U.S., the original sin of slavery developed a way of seeing people of color as inferior to whites.  This value persists in the form of systemic institutionalized racism.  Internalized oppression continues to challenge racial minorities, long mistreated with disrespect and various forms of violent controls---from Jim Crowe laws to mass incarceration.
Imperialism builds an economy that favors the few at the top and disfavors the few at the bottom, who must work the hard labor to maintain the empire while not benefiting from it.  In the first century world of Palestine, Herod the great used his middle-man status as a puppet rule for Rome to build cities and forts, temples and palaces.  The notion that employment was itself a benefit is part of the economic propaganda that was sold to the people.  Work will make you free is always the propaganda of the empire.  The Jewish God subverted these claims by enshrining in their national charter (the ten commandments) a Sabbath day, a weekly day of rest.  And in order to overcome the imperial claim that work brings economic freedom, the Jewish God established laws of Jubilee.  A 50 year forgiveness of all debts.  In fact, lending was prohibited.  Generosity, the offering of gifts to the poor, characterized Jewish economics found in the Torah law.  

Jesus taught an alternative political and economic system to the values of empire; one that offered freedom from oppression through punishment and healing from the wounds of marginalization and prejudice.  One that emphasized generosity and the sharing of resources/wealth.

Readers of the gospel of Mark might begin to recognize the marks of oppressive empire still at work.  We might also begin to see the proposed alternative laid out by Jesus of Nazareth as a viable way forward in human community. It is a proposed revolution, against the dominant culture's accepted status quo and the empire's logic of power by oppression.   

What questions emerge for you? 
Now on to Mark chapter 2.         


 

identity and calling

WORD: 1 Samuel 16

¹The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” ²Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” ⁴Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” ⁵He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
  ⁶When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” ⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” ⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” ¹²He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” ¹³Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

OBSERVE:

The covenant with God was not enough for the people.  They wanted a King.  They didn't know what they were asking for.  The Covenant with God was a binding relationship and promise made by God to the people.  This covenant gave them their identity as God's chosen people. 
Kingship entails responsibility to represent God.  The King idea was not Gods.  It was the people of Israel's complaint for a King, despite God's warnings.  Kings will take your sons and daughters, raise taxes, start wars.  God gives them a King.  King Saul, first of Israel's Kings, lost favor with God.  Saul's hubris, self-determination, and the misuse of power compel God to turn away from him.  He did not represent God's interests.  God is determined to replace Saul with a new King, from Bethlehem. 
Samuel the prophet/judge is sent to the household of Jesse, grandson of Ruth and Boaz, from the family of Judah, son of Jacob (Israel).  A procession of sons is brought before Samuel, God's representative. We are told God does not choose people based on outward appearance or stature, but God looks on the heart.  When all the sons of Jesse are rejected, the last son, the forgotten shepherd boy David is brought in.  He is young, ruddy, and handsome.  God chooses David to become King.  Unexpected.  The last son becomes the first.  Not unlike the story of Jacob or Joseph (Genesis 26-50).  God chooses what is foolish to shame the wise; the weak to shame the strong. 

REFLECT

In God's Kingdom, the last and the least become first. This pattern is critical in understanding the mission of God.  God chooses the weak, the small, the despised, the last, the least, the losers, the bottom, the desperate, the hungry, the humble shepherd to represent God's interests in the world.  Those who sit on thrones in halls of power in fancy clothes with rich foods and comfortable beds are not chosen by this God.  God empowers the powerless. God lifts up the lowly.  And the mighty are cast down from their thrones.  This theme, beginning with David, becomes the story of Jesus, a humble servant, carpenter's son, rabbi to fishermen and tax collectors. In Baptism, we are chosen and anointed to serve.  We are invited into the family of God and challenged to build the Kingdom.  We are given a new identity as sons and daughter of God.  We are called to a new obedience to represent God's interests in the world.  Jesus reveals to us God's interests, God's desire, God's hope and intentions for human kind.  He teaches us what God wants us to become and do.   He inspires us with His Spirit and words. 
We elect representatives in this country to represent our interests in the halls of power and to use the authority given them by their constituents to enact and enforce laws for the common good.  When those people fail to represent us, they are defeated in future election. 
What happens when we fail to represent God's interests in the world?  Can we be replaced?  Though our covenant identity as children of God never ends, we have responsibility to uphold as God's chosen ones.  Not to preserve ourselves, but to bless others.  That is the role of God's children--to be a blessing to others, a light to the nations, a feast of rich food, a well in the desert.  When we don't, God empowers others in our place.  Sometimes, God's people forget that we get to be part of God's kingdom-building work.  That we're charged to live as humble servants.  We are invited and challenged to embrace both our identity and calling; our relationship and role as God's  representatives. 

PRAY

 Father,  in Holy Baptism, we were anointed and chosen, identified as beloved children of God and sent to bless the world.  Claim us.  Empower us.  Send us.  When we fail, forgive us and give us another chance to represent you.  In the name of Jesus. Amen.   

Casting stones

WORD: Gospel of John 8
While Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ²Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. ³The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, ⁴they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. ⁵Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ ⁶They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. ⁷When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ ⁸And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground.^{* 9}When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. ¹⁰Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ¹¹She said, ‘No one, sir.’^* And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’

OBSERVE:
This confrontation occurs in the Jerusalem temple, where Jesus is teaching people. Religious leaders bring a woman before Jesus. They accuse her of a serious crime, adultery.  The scribes and Pharisees are under no obligation to ask Jesus what he thinks about the law.  They bring this case to him in order "to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him."  Presumably, they thought he would be merciful and, therefore, break the law of Moses that commands the stoning of adulterers.  That these religious leaders catch her in the very act of adultery is creepy.  How did they do this?  Why is there no male counterpart?  Who were they protecting?  It betrays patriarchy and their misogyny.  If this was a sex crime, how likely was it that she was the offender and a man was the victim?  Possible, perhaps. But highly unlikely.  And so, here is the rub. She could be punished for a sex act, while the man involved  is not.  Though the law prescribes punishment for both parties.  It betrays the sexism among the male religious leaders, doesn't it?  Jesus catches them in the act, too.  Hypocrites.  Self-protecting liars. Condemning a woman for sex is like condemning gay people and ignoring rape victims.      
Jesus writes something on the ground.  We don't know what he writes or why. But he answers their inquiry by encouraging the one who is without sin to cast the first stone.  The elders are the first to leave. They would know better than the youth how hard it is to keep the law. Jesus speaks with her.  "Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?"  And then he releases her, frees her, refuses to condemn her.  "Go, and sin no more," he says to her.  What if he writes his mother Mary's name?  A woman who was, perhaps, accused of adultery because she was pregnant outside of marriage.  Maybe he writes Joseph's name, the husband and father who ultimately protected them both.   

REFLECT:
We cannot follow and obey God's law.  The very clothes I'm wearing condemn me.  (Cotton/poly blend).  The food I eat condemns me (Bacon). There are 613 law in the Torah.  We do not get to choose which ones to obey and which ones don't apply to us.  We don't get to apply certain laws to condemn certain people, but ignore the ones in which we stand guilty. 
It is easy and tempting to cast stones.  We do it to protect ourselves, to defect our own guilt.  The pointing of fingers is the political strategy employed by many people in public office. We hide our sins behind our accusations of others, our judgments of others' actions and words.  How have you cast stones or accused others?  We find it too easy to see the bad behaviors in others, while ignoring our own offensive attitude, actions, and words. 
The good new is that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to free us from sin.  Forgiveness and mercy make it possible for this condemned woman to walk away.  She was saved by Jesus' teaching--let he who is without sin cast the first stone.  In other words, if you are obedient enough to escape the judgment of the law, in its totality, then you are able to judge someone else's sin.  Otherwise, you do not.  No one is above the law.  And under it, all of us fail.  But thank God our story is more than our moral failures and sins of omission.  Jesus sees her as a woman, not an adulterer.  She is not what her accusers said about her.  We are not what we do or fail to do.  I am a son, a father, a husband, a pastor/teacher.  We are different things to different people.  And I am these things, even when I fail to meet expectations.  To God, we are beloved children more valuable than our failures, faults, and fears.  We are not condemned.  We are set free!  Thank God.

PRAY:
For those who have been found guilty, condemned, and face punishment.  For their accusers and for victims of sexual crimes.  That your patience and forgiveness might give them peace and set them free.  Amen.        

Samaritan woman at the well: What she teaches us.

This week, the 3rd Sunday in Lent, we heard a story from the gospel of John, the fourth chapter.  It is an encounter narrative.  Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.  There is a conversation that reveals prejudice and resistance.  It also reveals an inner thirst for truth and grace that is both heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. So, here is what I heard in this story.  Please feel free to read the story here:  http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=John+4:1-42

1.  Jesus is thirsty and tired from a wilderness journey.  John has no trouble reminding us that Jesus is human, experiencing physical discomfort.  In other words, he is like us and with us.  He can empathize with our vulnerabilities, because he shares them.  All of us have needs. When was the last time you were tired or thirsty or hungry?  Who supported you? 

2.  The woman has no name.  In Judaism, she is invisible, untouchable, and unworthy of a gift from God.  She is thrice an outcast; a woman, ethnically and religiously Samaritan.  The text betrays the bigotry, misogyny, and religious rivalry that existed between peoples.  She is quick to point these things out to Jesus.  I believe she is hiding at midday.  Unlike the Pharisee, Nicodemus, who seeks out Jesus at night (In John chapter 3), she is hoping to be left alone in the light of day.  If the well was occupied in the morning, before the heat of the day and in order to obtain the day's ration of water, then her midday trip to the well may be seen as avoidance. She has no name.  She is invisible, untouchable.  She, like Nicodemus, has something to hide.   He was hiding his interest in Jesus' teachings, his feelings of incompetency and concern for him. He was embarrassed to confess his ignorance, because he was a Pharisee--a respected and educated teacher.  What was she hiding? Who's invisible in our world?  What does shame do to people?  Who has no name? 

3.  Despite her best efforts to deflect him, she cannot dissuade Jesus from offering himself to her.  Jesus ignores the conventional mores and rules about men and women, Jew and Samaritan.  He does so in private.  This is dangerous boundary crossing for Jesus.  She could make an accusation.  She could damage his reputation.  He doesn't care.  Somehow he knows that she needs what he can give.  What boundaries did Jesus cross to meet you?  What boundaries might you cross to meet someone on their journey?

4.  Jesus uses the well and the water as an analogy for his ministry/teaching.  I think the deep well represents the depth of human struggle and suffering that the woman has gone through.  The water is Jesus' life-giving relief---forgiveness, peace, mercy, and love that he offers us.  What is the well in your life?          

5.  She is interested in the living water he offers.  And then he reveals what she's hiding.  He tells her to go and get her husband.  Somehow he knew.  She has had 5 husbands and the man she is living with now is not her husband.  Her well is bad relationships with men.  This woman has been misdiagnosed unfairly by interpreters, suggesting that she is a whore, a harlot, fast and loose with the men.  More likely, she was victim to male domination and abuse.  Nevertheless, this was a source of shame for her.  Deep shame.  She was hiding at noon from gossipers, slanderers, and those who have rejected her.  And Jesus caught her.

6.  Jesus' offer of living water was really his way of saying that he was there to wash away her shame, her pain, her sadness, her weariness, her anger and resentment.  He was there to wash it away.  As he is there for us.  What would you like Jesus to wash away from your story? 

7.  She runs away, leaving her bucket behind.  Not in fear, but with hope.  Something has changed for her in this encounter with this jewish man.  She tells others, "He told me everything I have ever done."  This is an exaggeration of their conversation, but what she means by it is so clear:  Jesus saw her, heard her, knew her.  Jesus exposed her shame and her pain, not to cause more of it, but to heal her. 

8.  Lots of people are walking around trying to fill their empty buckets.  They're going to all kinds of wells---religion, relationships, online retailers, trying to cover the shame and quench the thirst.  And its never enough.  We can't fill our own buckets.  We can't heal ourselves.  We can't fix what's broken in our relationships.  We can't set right the wrong that has been done to us or by us.  No matter how hard we try.  And some are trying hard to look like they've got their shit together.  Don't believe them.  They don't. 

9.  Jesus offers himself.  He is not demanding or coercive.  He wants nothing, but our acknowledgment that he is in this with us too.  Living in our tired, thirsty bodies.  And he wants us to take what he's giving. Living water. 

10.  Jesus says, "God is Spirit."  We cannot control, contain, or avoid God.  It's like trying to control, contain,  or avoid the wind. Religion attempts to do this when it is meant to draw us into the flow, blow us away, breathe life into our bodies, send us out with abandon and the wind of free speech telling others what God has done.  He sees me and loves me anyway.

   
 

Invitation/Challenge Matrix

Jesus was a 1st century itinerant rabbi.  But his practice depended on students.  What is a teacher with no students, no followers?  They were called disciples, learners.  And he taught them.
 How did Jesus teach?  This is as important to us as what he taught.  Content and methods both matter.  Jesus invited people into a relationship with him in which they were welcomed as sons and daughters of God.  Jesus also challenged them to live into that identity as faithful practitioners and responsible stewards of the gifts they received.  His practice was highly invitational--consistently welcoming,  patient, gracious, and loving. "Come to me all y uwho are heavily burdened and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:25.   And it was highly challenging; "If anyone wants to become my follower he (she) must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me." Mark 8:34.  We might say that High Invitation/High Challenge was Jesus' method of delivery. 
When we think about creating a culture or environment in which people will grow, evolve, and mature in their spiritual lives we notice that Rabbi Jesus creates a culture that is highly invitational and highly challenging for his followers.  In the Gospels, he invites fishermen to follow him and learn to "fish for people".  In John's gospel he invites potential followers to "come and see" where he is abiding and what he is doing.  In both circumstances, he meets people of peace (those who are ready for a life-change, are eager to learn, are already experiencing challenges that require them to learn/change.)  We'll discuss what makes a person of peace a potential learner/disciple next time. 
Jesus invites them to follow him.  They immediately do so.  Then he begins to act.  He heals sick people, drives out unclean spirits, feeds hungry crowds, touches lepers, talks to gentiles and women, and forgives sins.  He lets them observe and listen to him.  He gives them access to his life, his words and his work.  But eventually, he will send them out to do exactly what he was doing.  He challenges them to imitate him.  Jesus taught his followers to know what he knows, see what he sees, and do what he does.  He did so in the context of a relationship, the rabbi/disciple relationship.  They were on a journey together. Apprenticeship occurred in the context of their daily lives, as it does for us.

Many churches are High Invitation/Low Challenge cultures---leaders, pastors, staff do all of the work.  And the people are largely left to comfortable consumption of religious goods and services.  In order to keep everyone happy and to attract more and more consumers, leaders have to continue to perform and produce high quality stuff for the people.  Excellence is the mark of a consumer church, driven by the demands of consumers. 
When there is low invitation/low challenge life is boring, apathetic, and uninspiring.  Organizations in this place are dying.  This culture can change by becoming more invitational and more welcoming.  But you have to create a reason to invite and welcome.  The church should always have one reason:  The message of radically inclusive, irresistible love demonstrated by Jesus. 
When there is low invitation and high challenge, life is stressful.  Some families and a lot of work/career life is like this.  I suspect many middle class, working American families live in this space; it's discouraging.  Undervalued, unappreciated, and overworked.  Working to please someone else, to be productive, and to complete hard tasks.  Anxiety and depression are symptoms of life in this culture. 

Jesus calibrated a high invitation/high challenge culture.  Identity affirmation, patience, worth and value, compassion, forgiveness, and  welcome all characterized Jesus' invitational life.  He gave time to people.  A lot of time.  One- on- one time.  He listened. Because he was building authentic love relationships with people.  He wanted them to know that they belonged to the creator, the Father, the author and giver of life. He wanted them to know that they had gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit.  He wanted them to know that they had a calling, a mission, a purpose to live. He empowered them to stand up, to have courage, and to do what was right.   
He challenged people to confront their insecurities, their incompetency, and their prejudices.  A confrontation with one's self is scary.  When you look in the mirror, who do you see?  Is it who you want to see, to be?  There will be things Jesus challenges us to do.  We may not know how to do them yet.  Jesus is challenging me to feed hungry people by managing a farm in Elizabethtown. 
So, we will learn to hear and accept invitation and challenge; We will learn to give invitation and challenge to others.   
Some other language for invitation and challenge that we will use:  Gospel/Law;  Relationship/Responsibilities;  Promise/Command; Gift/Task; Identity/Calling;  Covenant/Kingdom.       
 Why do you think this method is effective?  Where have you experienced each of these four quadrants?  What questions emerge for you?        

Gospel of Mark chapter 1

Mark 1. 

The beginning of the good news^* of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.^*
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,^*
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,^*
   who will prepare your way;
³ the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
   “Prepare the way of the Lord,
   make his paths straight” ’,
⁴John the baptizer appeared^* in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. ⁸I have baptized you with^* water; but he will baptize you with^* the Holy Spirit.’

The Baptism of Jesus

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved;^* with you I am well pleased.’

The Temptation of Jesus

12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news^* of God,^{* 15}and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;^* repent, and believe in the good news.’^*

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. ¹⁷And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ ¹⁸And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. ²²They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ ²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ ²⁶And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He^* commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ ²⁸At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many at Simon’s House

29 As soon as they^* left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. ³¹He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32 That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. ³³And the whole city was gathered around the door. ³⁴And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

A Preaching Tour in Galilee

35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. ³⁶And Simon and his companions hunted for him. ³⁷When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’ ³⁸He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ ³⁹And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

40 A leper^* came to him begging him, and kneeling^* he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ ⁴¹Moved with pity,^* Jesus^* stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ ⁴²Immediately the leprosy^* left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, ⁴⁴saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ ⁴⁵But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus^* could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Questions for reflection:

What do we learn about Jesus through his words?  Through his actions?
What do others think about Jesus? 
What is the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist?  Between Jesus and Satan?  Between Jesus and the fishermen?  Between Jesus and a man with an unclean spirit?  Between Jesus and a leper?
What is Jesus' purpose or mission?
Why do people follow him? 
How does Jesus invite?  How does he challenge?   

Ash Wednesday

[Jesus said to the disciples:] ¹“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

  ¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Gospel of Matthew.

Lent is a time when we are invited to confront the truth about ourselves, to come to our senses, to acknowledge weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and incompentencies.  We observe Lent.  We pay attention.  We are mindful.  Therefore, it is not to be entered into lightly.  Giving up chocolate or cookies is not an observation, unless one recognizes the obsession with, the addiction to sugar that effects the body and mind.

 

Jesus asks us to consider what or who we treasure.  We have come to believe that the only treasure is that which is found on earth, in the flesh, in the material world, in possessions, in things, in stuff.  We treasure good things and bad things.  We treasure old things and new things.  We treasure people and we treasure our feelings.  We treasure our houses and our clothes and our cars and our technology and our pets and our books and our health. We treasure wealth and prosperity and security and safety.  We treasure what we do not possess and we envy our neighbors' treasures.  We hoard.  We devour.  We consume and we use up.  We waste and we protect.  What we keep for ourselves devastates our neighbors.  What we throw away, others long to receive.  We treasure what will not last and we ignore the things that endure.  We don't even know what is valuable, what is worth treasuring, worthy of our devotion, our adoration, and admiration.  The search for God starts with the desire to know what is most worthy, most valuable, of highest esteem.  And it continues with the truth that it is not me.   

Self-promotion and self-centered living characterize much of life today in the west. Social media and personal technology celebrate the individual, emphasize me.  I am the first priority; my needs, wants, actions, etc..

When we practice piety, when we pray and fast and give in a public way to be seen by others, we are promoting ourselves.  We are, therefore, not pious out of respect or love for God.  One can be pious and care nothing about God.  An atheist can be pious.  Piety can be selfish, doing spiritual or religious things for me, for my improvement or for my faith, my life, my status before God.    

But Lent is not for me.  It reminds me that my life is to God and for neighbor.  The ego longs to dictate and direct my actions and my thoughts, such that I spend more time focused on myself---my needs, wants, desires, struggles, pain, comfort, etc...and as little as possible on the other. 

But then there is Jesus, who focuses attention on God and others.  God and others.  God and others.  Jesus treasures creation, not as a means of existence, but as a gift from God. He does not use things.  He receives them and gives them.  Scripture is not a tool or a text book.  It is a message, a word, a revelation of God to God's people.  We hear and experience God's voice, demanding, calling, inviting, challenging, loving, pursuing, expecting, and saving.  Jesus images for us a God/man relationship that is authentic, complete, and very good.  He heals and forgives and eats and prays and dies and lives; always in contact with God and others.  His existence is bound to God and other.  His life in God directs his life toward others, such that there are no limits and boundaries to his reach, his touch, his circle of compassion.  Ever widening.  Reaching, even us.     

Return to God and others, this is the invitation of Lent.  We are made to live to God and for others.  Making room to practice that life is the promise of Lent.  40 days.  Enough time to change habits, to get out of something and into something else.  

What do you treasure in this life you've been given?  What would be impossible for you to give up?  That is your God. 


   

Beatitudes. Jesus', Mine, Ours.

Blessed are the spiritually poor, for God’s kingdom is theirs.

Blessed are those who mourn, they will be comfort.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed be the atheists, agnostics, doubters, and skeptics;

Blessed be those battling depression;

Blessed be the undervalued, unemployed, and invisible ones;

Blessed be the homeless, the hungry, the hopeless;

Blessed be the disabled, the unwanted, the rejected ones;

Blessed be the survivors of domestic violence;

Blessed be the black and brown-skinned children;

Blessed be our LGBTQ neighbors;

Blessed be those who experience hate because of their pursuit of social justice;

Blessed be the native people and their care for the earth;

Blessed be the women and children who walk many miles for water;

Blessed be those on the bottom of the economic ladder;

Blessed be those who long with hope and courage for equality and freedom;

Blessed be y’all, because God loves what God makes and calls it all good. 

Amen. 

Christmas is a Revolutionary Act of God

How many people here have experienced the sensation of déjà vu?  It seems to be a rather universal experience in which one feels as though one has already experienced the present, as if in a dream.  It’s a strange familiarity with a present scene, lasting no more than a minute or two.  Not like time traveling, but a faint memory triggered by some present scenario.  It could be a place, a person, a conversation…Its weird.  Science does not fully understand it.  It has something to do with the brain and memory, feelings associated with similarity.  But what if déjà vu signifies something more,  a reminder or a warning? 

Today’s story, Matthew’s Christmas story, is a bit like déjà vu.  The reader is meant to hear and see in this scene some familiar themes, characters, and events.  Paying attention to those connections is necessary in hearing the meaning of Christmas according to Matthew.  So, do you want to hear the meaning of Christmas one week early? 

Let’s start with the obvious one.  Matthew gives it to us.  “The Virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” A citation of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 7.  We heard it earlier.  Isaiah, however, was suggesting something more than a “miraculous conception”.  He was talking about the birth of the next King.  He was telling the current King, Ahaz that His replacement was about to be born.  He would be overthrown and his power was coming to an end.  Isaiah may have had an actual person in mind, someone born in the royal family itself perhaps.  So the first familiar scene is the connection to King Ahaz and Isaiah:  A change in the Monarchy, a new King is on the way.  This is bad news for the sitting ruler.  It suggests the toppling of an ineffective government, one that has been full of corruption, idolatry, and bad decisions. He paid the Assyrian empire to conquer smaller neighbors that threatened Israel. Seeing Israel as weak under Ahaz opened the door for Assyria to conquer Israel and divide the kingdom. But God is going to establish another ruler, a new King.  He will rule with equity and justice.  Bad rulers will have their power taken from them.  A good king is born.   

We have to back up, though.  Because the first memory we must confront is of Joseph and his dream.  We must remember the story from Genesis.  Jacob also called Israel had 12 sons.  His favorite was Joseph.  Israel gave him a coat.  Joseph had dreams in which he saw his own superiority over his brothers.  Angry and jealous, they beat him and sold him as a slave to traders, who took Joseph to Egypt.  In prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Joseph interprets the dreams of two inmates, both workers for Pharaoh.  When the dreams came true, the released prisoner returned to work for Pharaoh.  When Pharaoh had 7 nights of bad dreams, his cupbearer remembered Joseph.  Joseph was brought to Pharaoh and he interpreted the dreams to be a warning of a coming famine.  Pharaoh appointed Joseph secretaries of Agriculture and treasury, making him second in command of all Egypt.  Joseph was a wise steward and saved Egypt from famine.  IN fact, when the famine spread north to Israel/Judah, Joseph’s brothers came begging Egypt for food.  Joseph, generous, forgiving, and obedient to God never waivers in his faithfulness.  In the end, Joseph saves his family and reconciles with his brothers and father.  They all move to Egypt and prosper there.  The end. 

Except its not the end:  On account of the dreams, Joseph is sent to Egypt, imprisoned, rescued, and empowered.  As a result the Israelites emigrate to Egypt, where in subsequent generations, they are feared—because people fear growing populations of immigrants.  As a result the government establishes a work camp program, stripping them of human dignity and rights and limiting births.  Infant Hebrew (Israeli) boys up to age two must be killed.   

An infant boy, Moses is rescued by four brave Hebrew women and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter.  Raised as royalty, he identifies with the slaves, kills an Egyptian slavedriver, and flees.  He settles in the land of Midian to a life of shepherding in a good family.  But, God confronts Moses in a burning bush, reminds him that his people suffer in slavery, and commands him to obey. Moses is empowered by God to return to Egypt and confront Pharaoh.  He does.  God helps, A lot.  Frogs, locusts, flies, thunderstorms with hail, diseased cattle, it was a bad time in Egypt.  When the firstborn sons of Egypt are found dead one morning, including Pharaoh’s own son, he relents and lets God’s people go.   They go.  Following Moses.  The army gives chase.  God parts the red sea and they walk through the waters to safety, as the army of Pharaoh drowns.  Moses sister Miriam, or Mary, sings a triumphant song of freedom on the banks of the sea.  Moses leads Israel out of slavery in Egypt as the great liberator, on a spiritual journey that will last a generation.  Joseph’s dreams and his brother’s jealousy lead them to slavery in Egypt.  400 years later, God intervenes and rescues them by rescuing Moses and preparing him to lead the people in the wilderness. 

There is a pattern in the Hebrew scripture:  Corporate sin and unfaithfulness, consequence and suffering, grace and liberation, and finally a call to new obedience.  This pattern rings true within the personal family story and within the larger political story of Israel and its neighbors, throughout the Old Testament this pattern is repeated.  And so, we return to Matthew:

We see that this birth is not a miracle, but a sign that God is about to repeat the second half of the cycle.  For the people were suffering under oppressive rule from a mighty foreign power (Rome, which reminds us of Egypt) and under a bad Jewish rule by Herod the great (which reminds us of guys like Ahaz).  The people were suffering.  God hears and responds to suffering. Always with mercy.  Often with a great liberating act of restoration.  As God saved Israel from itself, with Joseph and Moses, God will come again.  A child, a son will be given.  He will save his people from their sins.  He will be called Emmanuel, God with us.  Christmas is the story of God’s liberating grace act, enfleshed in the birth of a King, chosen before birth to liberate, lead, and call the people to a new obedience. 

And so, we are invited to see the birth of Jesus as the beginning of the end of tyranny, suffering, violence, hatred, political corruption, ineffective rule, and slavery to systems of injustice and mass production that costs people their dignity and humanity.  So long as "work" is the solution to poverty, we will not see peace.  Work is not the solution.  Grace enacted through love is the solution to every form of suffering.  Billionaires and generals are not the solution.  A poor, middle eastern peasant child is God's intervention into human suffering.  This may be hard to see and believe, given the state of the world today.  This is the scandal of Christmas. A baby, born 2,000 years ago, is our saving grace.  Not Trump. Not the Pentegon. Jesus.   

So, remember that God interrupts the pattern of sin and punishment/consequence with grace and a call to obedience.  See that Christmas is that interruption.  Notice that we are called to follow this King Jesus as God’s appointed savior.  Realize that we are called to a new obedience to Him and in Him we will live in peace.  So are you feeling like things in the world are off the rails? Violence, political scheming, and economic inequality are rampant.  Billionaires and generals are abusing power. But, their time is limited.  Trust that God acts against threats, powers of injustice, and evil.  God will not let the children suffer forever.  God comes for us.  God has done it before.  God will do it again.  Like déjà vu, or a repeating dream.  What we destroy, God rebuilds. The ones we enslave, God sets free.  The ones in power are cast down from their thrones and the rich are sent away empty.  This is the subversive story of Christmas.  It is the revolutionary act of God.  An end to tyranny and oppression.  The beginning of the way of salvation. Do not be afraid.  God is with us.  Amen.