four women

Scripture;  Gospel of Matthew 1.

An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

Observation:
Matthew starts his gospel with this geneology. It connects Jesus, son of Mary, to some important characters in the Old testament:  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah.  Four women whose stories of sexual exploitation, rape, or foreign marriage for security were well known "sins of the fathers".  From Judah to David, the Messiah's line was riddled with questionable sexual ethics.  There were good men and wicked men, good kings and bad kings listed as his ancestors.  You can read their stories in Genesis, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and Ruth.  This ancestral history  connects Jesus to royalty, to priesthood, and to Abraham the founder of Israelite faith.   It also connects him to exploitation, abuse, and shame.  The women in Jesus' story matter.

Application:
Jesus' story is a family story.   But among all the men in the biblical history, it is the women who stand out here. Why?  Jesus' own parentage was questioned.  Who was his "real" father?  Was his mother a rape victim or a whore?  When we look back at Abraham and David, we see that the great ancestors of the faith came from a messy family; one that included sexual violence, marital infidelity, and mixed racial/ethnic marriage.  (Ruth was not Jewish).   Jesus' kingship comes through the human family---full of sin, corruption and brokenness.  Our royal status as children of God  is not granted to us because of our purity or our goodness.  It is bestowed on us as a blessing or gift.  But, as we will see with Jesus, the royal identity comes with responsibilities.  We are called as God's children to act out of our identity, to use our God-given authority to recognize and serve the vulnerable and the exploited. Jesus' own family history taught him that all God's children are beloved, even the rotten ones.  And that God can transform a family from one generation to the next.  And mothers are sacred. Patriarchy is disrupted by the presence of these women, including Mary the mother of the Lord.   

Prayer     
God, the human family is imperfect.  We see that Jesus' family story included sexual exploitation, rape, and coercion.  We pray for victims of sexual violence and abuse;we pray for women and children who are forced into marriages or sold as slaves. And we ask that you bring healing and an end to family cycles of abuse.  Amen.  

the with-ness of God

Scripture:  Matthew 11
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

Observation:
 Jesus offers a high invitation culture, in which he shares his life with other people. He "yokes"himself with us.  To share a yoke alludes to the farming practice of teaming a seasoned ox with a young ox to teach the younger ox how to work at a steady pace.  A young ox will overwork to exhaustion and be less productive in a long, hot day of plowing the field. So, a wise farmer teams a mature ox with a young one, in order to train the younger ox for an easier and more enduring pace.   The best way for us to learn is by imitation.  Like a master and apprentice.  This is the way of discipleship. One-to-one mentoring, walking side-by-side in the work of ministry to which we are called.  The field is the community in which we find ourselves.  The yoke is the practice of Jesus--to forgive, heal, and serve.  His yoke is love.  His yoke is easy and light because the love we offer others is merely a reflection of his never-failing, constant, consistent, complete love for everyone.  To love is to have been loved.  To love greatly is to realize how greatly you are loved. 
 
Application 

The bible is a journey story in which the creator God is companion with his beloved creatures, humans.  God is described as walking beside and with us.  God promises to be with God's people over and over again. In hardship, in suffering, in weakness, in fear, in danger, in struggle, in death itself--God promises to come with us.  The story of Jesus is the enfleshed with-ness of God.  Jesus is called Emmauel, which means God is with us.  The gospel of John says that in Jesus, God's Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.  Jesus calls companions to himself to teach them what it means to experience the with-ness presence of God in the world---in the flowers and birds, in the abundance of food, in the beauty of friendship, in words of forgiveness, in acts of mercy, in the face of the child, in the longings of the poor, in the suffering of the weak and vulnerable.  God is with us in these ways. Jesus teaches them how to embody as image-bearers, the presence of God for others.    Through acts of love, people encounter God-in-the-flesh.   Discipleship is our training in bearing the image/presence of God, walking beside us.  Going with us.  And, amazingly that is often enough.  Be with me.  Be my companion. Walk beside me.  Hold my hand.  That's really all any of us wants, isn't it?  Someone who cares enough to yoke him or her self to me.  So that I might learn my own belovedness as child of God.  Today, who are you walking with as companion in their earth journey?  

Prayer

 Jesus, walk with me.  Hold my hand.  Lead me.  Teach me to be like you.  Compassionate servant.  Patient friend. Constant companion. And when I fail, show me the way.   Amen.   

 

be loved

Scripture: John 14
‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.  ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Observation:

Jesus promises a spiritual presence in his physical absence.  He does not abandon anyone.  We are never alone in the spiritual journey.  His Word dwells inside the hearts and minds of those who love him.  His Word is love, shalom, peace, mercy, faith.  To love and practice what he commands is to love him.  To love him is to love God.  Jesus promises to make a home with those who keep His Word.  Christianity is not about Jesus making a home in heaven for the faithful.  It's not an evacuation plan for dying believers.  Instead, Jesus dwells inside those who are living the way he lived.  Jesus shows up in those who embody His Spirit of peace.We are invited to be the peace the world needs. A peace that knows no fear, no trouble, no despair.  

Application:

Jesus invites his followers to live with spiritual integrity---to live the way he teaches.  His commandment is to love others. The church, I confess, has not always practiced the love of Christ.  We are sinners.  Forgive us. Author and disciples Shane Claiborne says that the church taught him what to believe about God, but not how to love like Jesus.  But I believe we can learn.  Discipleship is to learn how to be loved By God and how to love others like Jesus.     
On my way out of court today (I was accompanying a friend whose husband is standing trial), two women and a man caught my attention. When they stopped ahead of me on the sidewalk, the woman saw me and said "God forgive me."  She noticed I was dressed like a priest or pastor.  I said nothing.  But as I walked to the parking garage I was moved to speak to her.  If I saw them in the garage, I thought, I would say something.  Sure enough, I practically ran them over and they spotted me.  I opened my window and said "God did, does, and God will forgive you."  They told me after she said it, they started talking about God and sins.  She was a formerly incarcerated, recovering addict, single mom named Jen.  She was also a person of faith without a church community.  I spent twenty minutes talking with them, inviting them to dinner church and the returning citizen support group. I gave them my number and asked them to call or text me.  Tomorrow she has to go to court at 9 am.  She's facing more trouble, more hardship.  I will be there, too.  Perhaps God is speaking to her through me, bringing her peace, hope, forgiveness, and love. God has not abandoned her, even though she admits abandoning God.  I believe this was a holy encounter, directed by the Spirit of Jesus. We crossed paths because she needed to hear a Word from Jesus--Peace.   

Prayer 

Lord, you breathe your Spirit inside us, send us out on your behalf, and command us to love as you love.  Make us aware of those to whom we are sent. Give us courage to speak your grace. I pray for Jen.  Amen. 

the Jesus way

Scripture: John 14
‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know^* my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’
 Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.


Observation:
The gospel of John insists that to see, know, love, and trust Jesus is to see, know, love, and trust God.  Jesus embodies the vision and values of God the Father (creator of life).  To follow Jesus is to embrace a particular way of life.  This way of life is demonstrated by Jesus' teachings---both works and words. If we want to understand the mind and heart of God, see Jesus.  Jesus invites us into his life, because it is a good life.  With Jesus, we experience the fullest life possible---a whole life.  It is characterized by love.  Jesus is a master of human relationships, practicing forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation with others. Jesus called disciples and trained them in his competencies and character, so that they might carry on his works of love in the world.  He promised them a place with him---ongoing relationship and a sense of home.  He promises to authorize their prayers/works, as if he himself were doing it.  He shows us that God is a relationship---God is pure,constant , unending, unfailing love.

 Application:
Discipleship is about a relationship with Jesus.  He teaches what it is to be fully alive in God, to live as if people and places matter, to be dedicated to the healing and restoration of all that God has made. He says that light is stronger than darkness, love stronger than hate, life stronger than death.  Jesus' resurrection signifies that he still exists, that he is still available, and that we can know him two millenia after he walked among people. Resurrection means that we don't have to be afraid and that his teaching still matters.  It transcends its original context and audience.  If you want to know about God, listen to and look at Jesus.  He is available in the gospel stories of his life.  I continue to get to know Jesus every day.  And I learn something from him every day.  He teaches me how to love, who to live, and what love can do.  He gives me courage to love others with compassion and humility.   

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, your way is good, if not easy.  I am still learning and sometimes I feel like I'm just beginning.  But I trust your love.  I desire your peace.  I am amazed in your power to heal and to forgive. Thanks for including me somehow in your life.  Amen.   

he appeared to me

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15

Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.  For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.^* Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Observation:

Paul was sent to the Gentile world, religious outsiders, non-Jews- people who were not educated in the story of God and the faith of the Jewish people.  He was sent to share their message about Jesus, a Jewish Rabbi who was killed by the Romans for a crime he didn't commit.  He was raised from the dead and appeared to his followers.  Paul himself, a persecutor of the Christians, encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was on that road to find and arrest followers of Jesus who were spreading "the lie" about his resurrection. Then, Paul has a vision.  He sees Jesus.  And is struck blind.  He is led to a city, where a disciple of Jesus tends to him and heals his blindness.  And that changes the direction of his life.  He was not part of Jesus' inner circle, was an opponent to the Christian community.  And then, something happened to him that turned him around 180 degrees. He became the most important figure in 1st century Christianity, and the writer of 2/3 of the New Testament. Paul made the Jewish story of salvation accessible to everyone.  Because he believed if this was good news for him, it was good news for everybody. 

Application:

Anyone can become part of what God is doing to rescue the world from the powers of evil, suffering, and death .  The firmest opponent, anti-church person can become an integral part of the gospel mission.  Paul had a kairos, as one untimely born, and it changed his life.  Nobody is beyond the reach of Jesus, who desires that everyone experience the power and freedom of his resurrection. What would the church be without Paul's ministry, witness, and writings?  We all know someone who is not a "church person".  So, what good news do we have to offer people?  What kairos experiences of God's grace might we share?  Where have we seen the risen Jesus changing hearts and minds, inviting people into his life, giving peace and healing and love?  What great mercy work do we get to participate in and share with others?      

Prayer
Jesus, 2,000 years later you still come to us.  We see you.  In the homeless mother;  In the hospice nurse's compassionate care; in the lives of our friends doing what they can to serve their neighbors.  Help us to recognize you among us and tell others who and what we see.  Amen.   

Go

Scripture: Matthew 28
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Observation:

Jesus was crucified by the Romans and buried by his friends.  The following Sunday, the tomb is empty and he appears alive to his followers.  Men and women.  He has a glorified body, a different kind of body, wounded and healed.  He has broken the bonds of death.  His resurrection tells us that his life's work is ongoing, never-ending, and completely confirmed as right ad good and true---universally--for all people in all times and places.  Because his way and words and works were love, healing, forgiveness, mercy, peace, healing, friendship, sacrifice, welcome.  His way is the best way to be human in the world.  Some do not agree with that characterization.  I suspect the church's pale version of his love or outright perversion of his gospel over the centuries has done considerable damage to his message and reputation.    
At the end of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus gathers with his disciples on the mountain.  (Same place he taught the sermon on the Mount--see Matthew 5-8).  According to Matthew, his resurrection was divine authorization to continue the mission through the lives of his followers.  These people worshiped him and doubted.  Doubters and worshipers.  Sounds like church.  Jesus sends these people to make disciples.  Perpetuate his work by teaching others, showing others what he had taught and shown them.  Spread the love by loving others as he loved them.  Baptizing, reaffirm their birthright as God's beloved children.  Remind them that they are born children of the heavenly Father.  Adopt them as daughters and sons.  Wash away the stain of sin.  And teach them to obey. Notice he doesn't promise them success or acclaim or greatness.  Notice, he will not measure them by how well they accomplish them mission.  He just promises to be with them always.   

Application 
The church's mission is not to erect buildings.  It is not even to gather for worship.  It is not to convince doubters that they are saved.  It is to make disciples.  Only disciples can make disciples.  So, what did he teach?  What were his ways?  We must become learners.  Imitators. Apprentices to Jesus.  We won't get it right. Our imperfections and mistakes are anticipated.  It's why he was so forgiving and why he chose uneducated fishermen.  If they could do it, anyone can.  So it is with me and you.  If I can do this, anyone can.  What can we do as disciples of Jesus? 
Jesus healed and fed people.  He accompanied and showed compassion to abandoned, ignored, rejected, and despised people.  He saw their pain, their fear, and their anxiety.  He comforted them. He freed people from blindness, paralysis, prejudice, animosities, and distrust.  He told stories.
Maybe we can do these things?  Why don't we start with food.  Easy enough.  We feed people, especially hungry people. We don't have to count how many people we feed.  We don't have to publicize or start a program to do this.  One person.  Show the love of Jesus to one person. See what happens. 
We are learning together in huddle what it is to be a disciple of Jesus who makes disciples of Jesus.  Persist.  Practice.  Ask.  Reflect.  What is Jesus about?  How can I be about that, too?   

Prayer
Lord, help us to trust your ways and be like you.  What can we do today to show that we are your disciples, your apprentices?  Amen. 

             
    
    

by his wounds, we are healed

Scripture: Romans 7
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.

Observation:
I said yesterday that I would write a little something about the human condition, Sin and goodness.   Easter faith is couched within a certain understanding of the human situation.  It is, after all, a Jewish story involving Sin, guilt, punishment, forgiveness, and redemption. 
In the letter to the Romans, Paul is making a case for the death and resurrection of Jesus as an antidote for Sin.  Paul is describing his personal inner struggle, a universal struggle to know and do what is right and good.  Paul is describing the human condition from a Jewish, biblical, theological perspective.  Jews and Christians believe that humans are made in God's image, there is goodness in our DNA; and we are tragically flawed creatures.  (See Genesis chapter 1-11).  We are capable of disobeying God and our own best inner voices.  We will kill in anger or envy when our egos are wounded.  Hatred is a kind of spiritual killing, isn't it?  We will sometimes ignore the right thing to do what is easy or safe or pleasing or more comfortable. We will remain silent in the face of great injustice.  And we can often know the difference between right and wrong, what is just and unjust, good or evil.   Jews believe that their God gave them a law (commandments, see Exodus-Deuteronomy).  This law set them apart as God's holy people, called into obedience as a sign of loyalty to this God.  But the people ignored the law.  Despite all that their God had done for them to secure their freedom and provision.  Sin, the condition that causes disobedience, could not be remedied by knowledge of God's law or by communal accountability.  National, systemic injustice plagued them as much as personal sins against one another.   
In Romans, Paul is describing this dual nature of the human mind and body---divided between what is Godly and what is Sin.  Sin is a condition of the heart and mind, an infection of sorts, that plagues all humanity.  It is a denial of God and the right way of God that has been revealed through the law of God (commandments) to God's people.  Sin distorts the law.  Sin ignores responsibility and rules and abuses freedom.  Sin is greater than immoral behavior or bad choices.  Those things are "symptoms of the disease." Sin is also corporate, national, and systemic.  Doing away with "bad people" does not reduce or eliminate the infection.  In fact, it multiplies its effect.   
Talk about Sin is unpopular today.  Some Christian leaders deny it, refuse to discuss it because they think that people don't want to be told how bad they are.  I disagree.  The Jewish/ Christian story compels us to wrestle with the flawed human condition---to see the world through the lens of sin, and injustice.  There is something beautiful about our flaws though.  We are like God, but we are not God.  We are capable of such goodness, such sadness, such anger, such passion, such mercy, and such depravity.  We are individuals and we share a common, universal truth---no one is without Sin. 

Application
The story of Jesus is set within a particular theological anthropology---a way of thinking about God and the human condition.  That way of thinking has lasted thousands of years because it resonates universally with so many people.  There is one God.  That God is the good creator.  But creation is imperfect, flawed, distorted.  Why?  Because it had to be.  In order for God to be God, that which God made could not be confused with divinity.  The gift of imperfection is that we can know God---that which is greater than all things. Sin is easily identifiable and seemingly incurable.  Certainly inescapable.  And yet the story of Jesus teaches us that "goodness is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, light is stronger than darkness, life is stronger than death." (Bishop Desmond Tutu). The biblical God provides a way out, an antidote.  It is found in Jesus.  And distributed through the waters of baptism and the bread and wine of communion.  "By his wounds, we are healed".  If we deny Sin, we do not need Jesus or salvation.  But denying an illness, living with the symptoms, and ignoring a cure does not seem like a way to live.  There is another way.  

Prayer    
Lord, we are sinners.  And we are made in your image.  And because of Jesus we are set right.  Reborn.  Renewed.  Reconciled.  Restored.  Help us to do what is right.  And help us to be grateful for the gift of forgiveness when we don't. Amen.  

believing is seeing

Scripture:  John 20
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
 But Thomas (who was called the Twin^*), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Observation:

The Easter experience was initially articulated as frightening, unbelievable, strange, and unexpected.  That Jesus died and was somehow alive again destroyed the natural order of things and upset those who were closest to him in ways that demonstrate their inability to believe the impossible.  They are, after all, only human.  And they were experiencing something abnormal and inexplicable.  He was somehow the same and different.  He was a physical body with wounds.  And he could somehow pass through solid walls.  He was present and absent to them at the same time.  He was recognizable as Jesus and also unrecognizable.  His resurrected body was both old and new to them. 
Some might argue that the first "believers" were somehow in a collective state of denial or a dissociative mental state, whereby they "experienced" Jesus as both alive and dead at the same time.  Psychology may suggest that their experience was of a community mourning.  But then we read the story above.  They didn't all share the same Easter experience, and yet they did all come to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Most of them would stake their lives on it.  
Thomas, one of the 12, was not with them in the room when Jesus first appeared to his disciples on Easter night.  They were afraid that they would be accused and punished as associates of Jesus.  They were so afraid that they remained behind locked doors.  Where was Thomas? Why was he absent from the group?  He refused to believe the others' story about Jesus.  Without physical evidence and proof, he could not believe it.  He sounds like any reasonable person in their right mind responding to this story.  Seeing is believing. 
 But a week later, he experiences the physical presence of Jesus.  And Thomas interprets this experience as a God-moment, a kairos.  All he can say is "O My Lord and O my God."
The gospel writers reported the experience with little interpretation or assignment of meaning. What they could say was Jesus was alive. The tomb was empty.  He was raised.  "I have seen the Lord" was the first Easter sermon, given by a woman named Mary Magdalene. 

Application:

Doubt and disbelief are real and reasonable responses to the story of Easter. In the above story, Jesus himself acknowledges their fear and doubt.  He offers them peace (an extension of his person, vulnerable and open for them to receive); he makes himself available to them physically; he breathes on them the Holy Spirit (invisible presence of God giving them insight and understanding); he reconnects them to his mission and sends them out to forgive sins.  (This emerges as an initial interpretation of the event of Jesus' death and resurrection; it produces or at least announces the full forgiveness of sins.  So, what is that about?  See my next post.)  For us, we might notice that the first believers were no more faithful than we are.  They struggled with doubt and fear.  They did not understand the meaning of Easter Sunday. That would come in time and we will pay attention to the emerging interpretation found in the New Testament witness in the days ahead. Suffice it to say for now, Easter provokes a response.  Doubt,faith, wonder, awe, fear, amazement.  Believing this is seeing God and the world in a whole new way.  It's THE kairos moment in history. 

Prayer:
Lord, I am sometimes skeptical, even doubtful of your resurrection. I want more proof of life.  I want you to appear to me, too.  I want to see and I am afraid to see, because if it is true then everything will and must change. On the days when I do believe, I do see things in a new way. Give me that kind of vision always.  Amen.    

impossible surprise

Scripture:  Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Observation:

3 women go to the tomb of Jesus to prepare his body for a proper burial.  They aren't certain how they will access the sealed tomb.  In their grief, they haven't thought ahead. When they arrive, the tomb is already open!  Inside, they find a man in a white robe.  It is not Jesus.  He says, "You seek Jesus of Nazareth who has been crucified.  He was raised.  He is not here."  He orders them to look at the place where they laid his body. His absence is supposed to mean something to them, remind them of what Jesus said to them before.  And then he orders them to go and tell the others that Jesus is going to Galilee and will see them there.  But, instead they say nothing to nobody, for they were afraid.  And that is the end of the story.  It begs a lot of questions.  1. Who rolled away the tombstone.  2. Who was the man in white?  3.  Why didn't Jesus himself appear to them?  4.  Why must they return to Galilee?  5. Why does God choose terrified women as the first witnesses of the resurrection?

Application:

Resurrection is not normal or natural.  It was unexpected, surprising, and terrifying.  His absence and their silence are about all Mark gives us.  Crucified and raised.  Two passive verbs describe Jesus' state of being.  Apparently, he is also traveling on the road to Galilee.  Dead people don't typically travel. 
Initially, Easter's message is delivered by an unknown surrogate. Is he an accomplice?  In Matthew's account, he is an angel. In Luke's story, there are two men dressed in white.  In John's story, two angels in white appear to Mary Magdalene.  In Matthew's and John's accounts, Jesus also appears outside the tomb.  In Luke's gospel Jesus appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, yet they fail to recognize him. He walks and talks with them.  And when they break bread for supper together, they see that this man is in fact Jesus, and then he disappears! The accounts differ.  Where the account of his final days and hours are strikingly similar, the accounts of Easter vary dramatically.  All four accounts suggest one thing though:  Jesus is no longer dead.  He is, somehow,  alive. 
The first followers of Jesus struggled (and even failed) to believe, understand, trust, recognize, and interpret what happened on the Sunday after his death and burial.  And yet without their testimony, their telling of the story, their interpretation of this surprising experience, would Christianity exist at all?  Why didn't the first century church edit these stories to tell a more favorable, consistent, and credible story?  Easter faith is a bold, audacious, foolish, unprecedented claim that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, died and was buried.  And that he rose from the dead.  The inconsistencies and blemishes point to two things:  the crazy realness of this experience and the need for faith to believe the impossible.  Before we consider the meaning of this story, we need to sit with it.  He was dead and was made alive again.  How do we feel about this story?  What response do you have to it? If you were hearing this story for the first time, what would you think?  What else is possible, if this is true? What can we say about Jesus, about God, in response?

Prayer
    It's hard to believe, Lord.  An impossible surprise.  What else compares to this story?  Easter faith is the news that the impossible has happened, a man was raised from the dead.  Help me to believe this news and see Jesus in a new way---as more than a teacher and leader and spiritual man and healer and prophet of divine justice/mercy, who was killed because of his work.  He is alive!  Amen.  

      
   
  

one who serves

Scripture: Luke 22

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it^* until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.^* But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!’ Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.
 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

Observation:

Known as the Last Supper, this is the Passover meal Jesus and his disciples eat together before he is executed.  Passover is the Jewish celebration of their liberation from slavery. (See Book of Exodus chapters 1-12).  God rescued them from their Egyptian oppressors.  That story is really very dark.  The order of Pharaoh to kill all firstborn male Hebrew babies, an order from which Moses was saved by Pharaoh's own daughter, was carried out years later by God against the Egyptians, including Pharaoh (who lost a son).   God sends death to Egypt to liberate the people of Israel.  In order to escape death, the Hebrews had to slaughter an unblemished lamb, eat it, and spread blood on their doorposts as a sign for death to pass over their homes.  The Passover meal re-presents these events.  Jesus was enacting this meal with his disciples when he changes the meal into something new---Bread and wine become flesh and blood.  He is becoming the Passover Lamb, slaughtered to save them from death and to set them free.  The new covenant is a new promise God makes with God's people; forgiveness of sins, an end to condemnation and punishment, and a way to total peace and life with God.  In the meal, we receive Jesus.  As they sit at the table eating this meal, Jesus teaches them about humility and service.  These are the qualities that characterize Christ and his followers. 

Application:

Meals are signs.  Food is more than physical sustenance.  It carries the weight of divine presence.  God is present in humility and suffering.  God is present in the family gathering around the table.  God is present in the one who serves.  This God is no all-powerful Genie, no warrior King.  This God is disguised as a humble teacher who gets executed as a criminal.  Before he goes, he institutes a new meal to remember him.  His body and blood, no one elses, sets us free.  You don't have to be a sacrifice or a scapegoat.  You don't have to try to save people.  You don't have to do anything at all.  Trust that God has done what was necessary for you to have life.  Trust that you are loved.  Trust that simple things like water and bread and wine carry the power of God to us.  Also, life is about service to others.  Your best life and mine comes when we attend to other people, when we put other people's needs before ourselves.  On Good Friday, we see a man who gave his life.  He did so because he loves us. 

Prayer:
Lord, on the night you were arrested, you took bread and cup, gave thanks, and gave it to your disciples saying; "Take and eat, this is my body for you", "take and drink, this is the new covenant in my blood for you", "remember me."  As often as we eat and drink it, we proclaim the saving power of your death.  Amen. 

washing their feet

Scripture: John 13

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet,^* but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.’ For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’ After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, “The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.” I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he.Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.’

Observation:

Jesus demonstrates love, affectionate and generous, by kneeling at the feet of his friends and washing their feet before dinner.  Roads in Israel were dirty, stony, and hard on one's feet. Walking in sandals meant dirt, cuts, scabs, blood, and blisters. Foot care was important because you were on your feet so much of the time, working or traveling about.  Infections or sore feet could prevent a person from carrying on.  It was customary to offer guests a way to wash their feet---sort of like taking off your muddy boots before entering the house.  In some homes, a servant would attend to a guest's feet.  But in most houses, a basin and towel were provided for guests to clean up dirty, sore feet themselves.
Jesus teaches them humility through service.  Notice Peter is embarrassed to have his teacher wash his feet.  He knows the social rules and the pecking order.  By denying Jesus, Peter is honoring his lower status and Jesus' higher one.  But Jesus is offering a new teaching about status and privilege that is critical to their life together.  Notice, Jesus washes all of their feet--even his betrayer and those who will abandon him in the end. Nobody is exempt from Jesus' loving care.

Application:

We've made the Christian life more complicated than Jesus' teachings. He practices an incarnate, bodily presence with humility and affectionate, compassionate love.  I think about the ministry of Mother Theresa, physically touching and loving the sick and dying of Calcutta.  I think of the ministry of Revolution in Lancaster, offering hand massages and friendship to the women staying in homeless shelters downtown. I think of Shane Claiborne's Simple Way community in Philadelphia living in close solidarity with the homeless and poor on the streets of Kensington.  I think of Pope Francis washing prisoners' feet, including a Muslim.
We don't see much humility from leaders these days.  They are detached from the hardship and struggle of people on the ground fighting to survive. And too many churches have preachers and hearers of the Word, but no doers of the Word.  Their faith in Jesus does not include humble service. This is because we have churches with no discipleship. Discipleship involves action, driven by compassion toward those who are in need and expressed in humility and self-giving love.  It's more risky, more challenging, more painful, and more beautiful when we walk with someone through suffering.  We are building a church of disciples here, learning to practice Jesus' brand of love, touching lives one person at a time.  It's not easy.  But it's good.  Whose "feet" are we "washing"? Tomorrow night at 7pm, we will practice foot-washing as part of our Maundy Thursday gathering.  

Prayer:

Lord, your love is expressed in humble service.  Thank you for loving us when we are dirty, sore, and weary.  Thank you for washing us clean, tending our hurts, and providing us rest.  Let us live by your example, for our neighbors.  Amen.  
   

the king's authority

Scripture: Mark 11:27-33
Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.” They argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?” —they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Observation:
 The Jewish leaders had a problem.  Unauthorized, itinerant rabbis who attracted large crowds.  First, John was preaching and baptizing in the Judean wilderness by the Jordan River.  Crowds went out to hear him and be baptized as a sign of repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  If, however, they officially authorized John's ministry as God's work, the temple system and all of ritual Judaism would be called into question or even abandoned!  Jesus' works, words, and ways also confounded the authorized public religious leaders. He fed thousands and told them to practice personal piety, to ignore ritual cleanliness, and to serve others with humility--even those considered enemies or outcasts!  Who gave him permission to take public action as a rabbi? 
 Like the degree and certificate of ordination hanging on the wall of my office that say I am qualified to preach and teach, the office of rabbi was conferred on those who were properly educated, graduated, and authorized. The Pharisees exercised their office under the authority of the high priest and under the authority of the Rabbi in his school they studied.  They were highly educated men. Neither John nor Jesus practiced ministry under the authority of anyone.  They were not sanctioned by the religious institution. And so they question Jesus.  Who did he think he was anyway?  Who gave him permission to say and do these things?   Where was his certificate, his degree?
Jesus' authority came from God, His Father.  He says that he doesn't do anything unless it comes from the Father. But many leaders did not respect his authority or his powers.  Jesus was condemned and executed under the title "King of the Jews."  Christ is itself a title meaning anointed one or Messiah (also a Kingship).  The first Christian confession was "Jesus is Lord" as opposed to "Caesar is Lord."  Jesus' orchestrated a coup d' etat. Christians are those who have pledged allegiance to Him and work under His authority.     

Application:

Who is authorized to share God's grace; to offer mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation, and love to people who need it?  Ordained clergy?  The ones wearing the collar and the robe?  NO.  Everyone who has received it is sent to give it.  Jesus' movement of anybodies is for everyone.  Jesus talks a lot about the "Kingdom of God", or the "reign of God."  God's rule on earth is represented first by Jesus himself.  He shows us what it means to live under the kingly rule of the God of the universe, as a humble servant.  And then he invites and challenges disciples to do likewise.  His disciples were not authorized priests, but fishermen and tax collectors---uneducated anybodies.  He still recruits anyone and everyone.  The responsibility of the kingdom is ours to bear and share with Him  That's what he meant when he said, "Those who would be my disciples must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me." We all have a part to play, a cross to bear.  We don't carry Jesus' cross.  Only he does that.  But we are responsible for our part in God's restoration project. 
The King authorizes and empowers his disciples to continue his work in his absence. He told his disciples, whom he sent out to continue the love mission, that the Spirit would guide, equip, protect, and help them.  Christians are inspired to follow Jesus and continue his work.  Martin Luther called it "the priesthood of all believers" or "the vocation of the baptized." Jesus was under the authority of the Father and we are under the authority of the Son.  When we pray in Jesus' name, it's as if he is signing our requests himself.  Disciples of Jesus are sent out to serve others under his authority and with his power.  So, offer healing and forgiveness to people.  Tell them they are loved.  Show them mercy and generosity.  Stand against powers of injustice and oppression. Do Jesus' work until someone asks you, "who do you think you are, who told you you could do that?"  And then tell them, "Jesus did". Some will try to stop us. But we can trust the Lord to be with us even when it's hard.

Prayer
Lord, you invite me into your world, your works, your ways.  You challenge me serve others like you did.  Too often I fail to take up the responsibility that is mine as your authorized agent of grace. Send your Spirit upon me and empower me to do your work with my hands, my mouth, my feet, my heart and mind.  Amen.  

fruitful faith

^{Scripture: Gospel of Mark 11}

When Jesus and his disciples left Bethany the next morning, he was hungry. From a distance Jesus saw a fig tree covered with leaves, and he went to see if there were any figs on the tree. But there were not any, because it wasn’t the season for figs. So Jesus said to the tree, “Never again will anyone eat fruit from this tree!” The disciples heard him say this.

After Jesus and his disciples reached Jerusalem, he went into the temple and began chasing out everyone who was selling and buying. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of those who were selling doves. Jesus would not let anyone carry things through the temple.  Then he taught the people and said, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be called a place of worship for all nations.’ But you have made it a place where robbers hide!”

The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses heard what Jesus said, and they started looking for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him, because the crowds were completely amazed at his teaching.

That evening, Jesus and the disciples went outside the city.

As the disciples walked past the fig tree the next morning, they noticed that it was completely dried up, roots and all. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree. Then Peter said, “Teacher, look! The tree you put a curse on has dried up.” Jesus told his disciples: Have faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.

Whenever you stand up to pray, you must forgive what others have done to you. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.

Observation:

One of the teaching techniques Mark uses in his gospel is a sort of sandwich device, in which a story is interrupted by another story.  In this case,the story is about an unfrutiful fig tree that Jesus curses.  It is interrupted by a protest in the temple marketplace.   Mark wants to say that these stories interpret one another somehow.  In this case, the unfruitful fig tree is a reference to the temple market place.  And the curse on it is like Jesus' protest in the temple.  Jesus means that human institutions can become like unfrutiful trees.  And when they do, cut them down.  The temple had become a corrupt business in which the royal priesthood became wealthy on the backs of religious donors.  They had to pay temple taxes to keep it running. The selling of animals for the ritual sacrifices was becoming a massive market place for all kinds of transactions. Jesus condemned these practices because the temple was meant to be a place of communion with God and not a dehumanizing business transaction.  Somewhere along the way, the true intention of the temple was distorted or even abandoned because of greed and compulsion.  But Jesus invites his disciples into a life of forgiving prayer.  This was the heart of the temple's function, anyway.  Forgiveness of sins.

Application:
  
When religion becomes a stale list of "have-to's" and requirements to complete, it is as good as dead.  I think a lot of people have abandoned religious faith because all they see is a religion of "shoulds" and duties.  They hear churches asking for money to pay salaries and building maintenance costs. People become dollar signs.  Churches host events, but fail to build relationships with anyone.  Churches do transactional ministry for the "less fortunate", providing food or clothing or money for bills without any interest in the person- without empathy, affection, or care.  You can go to a church today and be unseen, unnoticed, anonymous.  This is the kind of religion Jesus protests against.  And we should, too.  
I hate that we count the number of people in our worship attendance and the amount of income we receive as signs of vitality or worth as a congregation. I hate that I think this way sometimes myself.
The true sign of a faith community's health is its fruit.  We are meant to live fruitful lives that produce the things that give life.  Paul called them the fruit of the spirit---love, peace, joy, patience. kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,self-discipline. We are made to grow in our understanding and practice of these characteristics.  Jesus intends for people to live in communion with God and one another. Our relationship with God is not meant to be like a transaction.  But sometimes we treat it that way.  This is why forgiveness is so important.  Forgiveness in our hearts changes hostility into peace.  Forgiveness embraces the one who hurt us.  Forgiveness releases us from the need to retaliate.  Forgiveness is the beginning of communion.  Forgiveness restores the relationship and makes us family to one another again.  That is the heart of religion, to bring the human family together again. Like a single tree bearing fruit for the world to enjoy. 

Prayer:

Lord, you despise religion that is dehumanizing, transactional, and greedy.  Forgive us.  And make us fruitful. Bring your children together in your way of peace. Amen.

I want to see

Scripture:  Mark 10

They spent some time in Jericho. As Jesus was leaving town, trailed by his disciples and a parade of people, a blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was sitting alongside the road. When he heard that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by, he began to cry out, “Son of David, Jesus! Mercy, have mercy on me!” Many tried to hush him up, but he yelled all the louder, “Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped in his tracks. “Call him over.”
They called him. “It’s your lucky day! Get up! He’s calling you to come!” Throwing off his coat, he was on his feet at once and came to Jesus.
Jesus said, “What can I do for you?”
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“On your way,” said Jesus. “Your faith has saved and healed you.”
In that very instant he recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road.

Observation:

Here, we see a man who is not treated with dignity.  We see a blind beggar, Tim's son, known by reputation.  I get the impression he had a reputation as a loud mouth public menace.  Why else would the people be so eager to shut him up when he calls after Jesus?  He's a disruption!  I wonder if people thought that he was faking blindness in order to beg for money?  I wonder if they maybe thought he was a charlatan?  (If you've been in the city you've passed by men with cardboard signs that read "Homeless vet.  Broke.  Need money. Anything will help. God bless.") Most of the time we ignore them, don't we?  
But Jesus invites him over to himself.  And when Jesus asks him what he wants him to do for him, he says he wants to see!  Jesus says, "your faith has saved you." And his sight is restored.  (How had he lost his sight?)  The man's faith in Jesus as 'merciful son of David' saves him.  He trusts that Jesus is the one chosen and appointed by God to bring about God's Kingdom, God's shalom.  He's also willing to give up the life of a beggar to see again---a sign to Jesus that his request was authentic.  He didn't want to live as a beggar with a reputation as a nuisance.  He wanted to see. He wanted to be whole.  He wanted to regain the ability to work and play and take part in community life more fully. 

Application

Healing miracles happen.  Tina has been struggling with eye problems for over two years.  She's been a nurse for 40 years and has been somewhat forced into retirement because of her eye problems and a recent back surgery. Tina has seen many specialists about her eyes because of severe double vision.  She's had multiple eye surgeries and no one has helped her.  When she went to a specialist with an article that described her condition, the cause of it, and the surgical cure, the doctor laughed at her.  But the doctor recommended another doctor, who he thought might help.  Unbeknownst to him, that doctor was the author of that article.  When she saw him, he believed her and told her he could fix her double vision!  She came into my office this week with tears of hope and thanksgiving.  She told be that before she went to see that doctor, she came into the church and prayed for God to heal her.  And God sent her to a doctor who could restore her sight!  And he did.  She had surgery on Thursday and has immediate restoration of sight.  Now she'll be able to resume the life she wants to live as a volunteer, a grandmother, and a nurse.  Thanks be to God.  
What blindness do we suffer from?  Who are we failing to see, acknowledge, encounter?  What do we need Jesus to do for us?  What miracle would we like Jesus to do for you, so that you might follow him with greater faith? 

Prayer:
Lord, healing miracles happen everyday.  Help us to see and announce your mercy, Jesus son of David, when they do.  Amen.  
Lord, healing is real. 

serving church

Scripture: Mark 10:32-45
Back on the road, they set out for Jerusalem. Jesus had a head start on them, and they were following, puzzled and not just a little afraid. He took the Twelve and began again to go over what to expect next. “Listen to me carefully. We’re on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Romans, who will mock and spit on him, give him the third degree, and kill him. After three days he will rise alive.”
James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came up to him. “Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us.”  “What is it? I’ll see what I can do.”
 “Arrange it,” they said, “so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us at your right, the other at your left.”
Jesus said, “You have no idea what you’re asking. Are you capable of drinking the cup I drink, of being baptized in the baptism I’m about to be plunged into?”
“Sure,” they said. “Why not?”
Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you will drink the cup I drink, and be baptized in my baptism. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. There are other arrangements for that.”
 When the other ten heard of this conversation, they lost their tempers with James and John. Jesus got them together to settle things down. “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around,” he said, “and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.”

Observation:

This is the second time Jesus has told his followers that their trip to Jerusalem is a mission that ends with his death.  He knew the danger he was in.  He knew that his work and words and way of living had attracted a lot of negative attention and resistance from the insiders--both political and religious.  They do not like his use of power to lift up the outliers, the poor and dispossessed.  They do not like that he uses power to empower and set free those who are the victims of injustice.  Or that he accuses the ruling class of misusing their power for selfish gain and oppression.  Maybe because empowering a large majority is threatening to the privileged minority.  When the 99% realize their potential, their value, and their own power to claim justice, the 1% will fall. 
But the disciples still don't understand that his mission involves his assassination.  They are dreaming of corner offices and seats of power and privilege.  They are vying for elite status as his campaign team, anticipating royal treatment.  Jesus response is that those who want to be great and first must become servants and slaves.  His own status and power were put to use to serve others.  He puts himself in the place of the victim, receiving the unjust treatment he seeks to destroy.  Maybe by doing so, he mocks them and reveals their weakness.  When one goes willingly to the cross, your oppressors have no power over you.  He is the example for them and for all who might follow.

Application:

The first mark of discipleship is service.  Disciples of Jesus, Christians, do not use their power for selfish gain or for recognition.  We use power to serve others, to heal and feed and endure suffering alongside our neighbors.  Christian witness is not first about worship or prayer or or sacraments or doctrinal belief systems or morality.  It is service.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  This is the commandment by which our love for God is made known in the world. Churches that do not serve the poor in their communities, that do not tend to the sick, the incarcerated, the underprivileged, they do not follow Christ.  They follow their own lord.  American Christianity has ignored the call to service on the streets and neighborhoods around us. We have isolated, insulated, and preserved ourselves while our neighbors suffered.  No wonder churches are dying.  The pulse of Christian community is service.  Without exercising our heart, the heart of Jesus for the poor, we die.  
The church of Jesus is first a serving community, characterized by humble hospitality.  That's what Peter's Porch strives to be---a community of servants offering hospitality to our neighbors. We offer it freely, generously, without expectation or reward.  We do it because it is right to share God's abundance with others. We do it because serving is its own reward. We do it because Jesus came as a servant and not an Emperor. 

Prayer:

Lord, you came not to be served but to serve.  Raise up a serving church with humble hearts and healing hands and hospitable arms reaching out with generosity.  Amen. 
  
 
    

one thing you lack

Scripture: Mark 10:17-27

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ¹⁸Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.” ’ ²⁰He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ ²¹Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money^* to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ ²²When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ ²⁴And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is^* to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ ²⁶They were greatly astounded and said to one another,‘Then who can be saved?’ ²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’

Observation 
This seems to be a brief encounter between Jesus and this nameless rich man.   
Notice Jesus first words: "Why do you call me good?  No one is good but God alone."  Doesn't the man suggest that Jesus has somehow earned his respect as a teacher and is therefore worthy to respond to a question?   What does Jesus seem to think about that?  Notice the rich man's question; "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Another way to ask it is this:  How much good am I required to do in order to earn both worldly and heavenly blessings? An inheritance, after all, is bestowed by the deceased on a worthy loved one.   What am I required to do to obtain the best possible life, now and for the future?
"I have kept all these since my youth":  The man has decided that he has more than fulfilled his duty and can therefore expect to be rewarded.  Also, his wealth is confirmed as a blessing or acknowledgment of his good character, right?  Do the right things and you will be rewarded.
"You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." :  A man with wealth is lacking one thing.  What is it?  Humility?  Dependence on God alone?  Compassion for the poor? Love? 
Do we think of the poor as people who have done the wrong things and are, therefore,  getting the life they've earned?  Do we see the economy as a system in which everyone starts at 0 and you either go up or down based on your choices?   

Application:

This man's greed, his insatiable appetite for more good stuff for himself, his deep inner selfishness is contrasted by Jesus' love.  The rich man didn't come for transformation or to make amends.  He came to be affirmed in his self-righteousness and his privileged prosperity.   He wanted to be told that he earned God's favor and blessings by his goodness.  He wanted to feel like he was entitled to his life.
Jesus invites and challenges this man, and us,  to a changed life, a gospel life, a humble life, a generous life.  And the man can't stomach it.  He walks away.  Not everyone can be a disciple!  It's hard, says Jesus, for people addicted to prosperity, comfort, wealth, and privilege to be part of God's alternative economy---in which there is enough for all and no one is poor because everyone is rich.  (In the way real love makes one rich!)  It's hard because we feel that we've earned it.  I have a masters degree, damn it. 
I spent an hour at the Lancaster County Assistance office this morning with Mike and Jenna.  There were a lot of people there. And the crowd was diverse.  There were African Americans and Latinos, speakers of languages other than English, young adults, white senior citizens, and disabled people.  I began to feel self-conscious.  What more should I do for these neighbors? What am I lacking?  I felt inadequate and ineffective.  I was reading Shane Claiborne's book "The Irresistible Revolution" and thinking, "I'm no radical Christian. I'm too comfortable."  So I invited Mike and Jenna to dinner church.   Maybe God will save us all around that common table. 
   
Prayer
Lord, teach us your way of love. You love rich and poor alike and invite all of us into your alternative world---in which the hungry are all fed, the naked are all clothed, the sick are healed, and the prisoners are truly set free.  Help us to build that world one relationship at a time Amen.    

   

burning bushes

Scripture: Exodus 3

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ²There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. ³Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ ⁴When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ ⁵Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ ⁶He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, ⁸and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ ¹¹But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ ¹²He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’

Observation:

Before this, we have not heard God's perspective on the plight of the Hebrew slaves.  Now we know.  God has heard their cry.  God "knows their sufferings".  God intends to deliver them out of Egypt and into a good land.  AND, God has come to Moses in the wilderness.  God has interrupted Moses' ordinary life and work with a message.  This is Moses' Kairos moment.  It's the burning bush moment, in which Moses sees and hears God.  Here's the thing about it:  Moses has not seen, heard, or known this God before.  He has not been a faithful Jew all his life.  He has not read the bible. There was no bible to read!  He is not a religious man, though his father-in-law was a priest.   (That meant he offered sacrifices to a god in order to secure household blessings and avoid curses.  It is not relational, but transactional religion.  "If we do these rituals, the god will take care of us").  Moses teaches us that God will invite anyone into God's work---religiously faithful or not!  
Now Moses has a new, spiritual experience---a vision and a voice.  It is about the Israelites (an ancient tribe of people known in Egypt as the Hebrews.)  These Israelites have a God who listens and speaks! And this God has chosen Moses to go to Pharaoh and orchestrate the Exodus!  To which Moses says, "Why me"?  He is denying his own story, a Hebrew with direct connection to Pharaoh's house.  He is, of course, the ideal person to advocate on their behalf.  But God does not convince him that he is the right man for the job, only that God will be with him until the Exodus is accomplished.  In fact, God does not tell Moses HOW he will accomplish it, only that the people will worship their liberating God on that very mountain afterward.

Application:    

Kairos is about finding yourself at the right place at the right time.  It is the surprising intersection of your life and God's mission.  That mission is to embody liberating love, setting people free from whatever prevents them from experiencing the goodness and joy of life.  The Jews called it 'shalom'.  The Christians called it "grace and peace".   It is to live in a complete and healthy relationship with God and others.  We call it justice---to set the upside-down world right-side up. 
We see that there are many barriers, injustices both personal and systemic that prevent people from living.  We could name them, but instead we need to name the burning bushes, the kairos moments.  We need to pay attention, tune in, to the God who shows up and speaks to us. Someone reading this is Moses today.  God is calling you out of your life to join in the greatest mission ever undertaken:  A global revolution to restore humanity and all of creation to its right relationship to itself and the creator. How are you becoming aware, hearing the cries of the suffering, hearing the call to serve them?  We are a Church that seeks to embody that liberating love together.  If you're asking, "Why me"?  I would say, "Why not you?"  If you've noticed any burning bushes, then know that you are God's choice.  Ready or not. 

Prayer:
Lord, keep my eyes and ears open to your interrupting presence in my life.  Show me the way to love those you love, and especially those who suffer. Amen.
  

who am I?

Scripture: Exodus 2
 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. ¹²He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, ‘Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?’ ¹⁴He answered, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Then Moses was afraid and thought, ‘Surely the thing is known.’ ¹⁵When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses.
But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well. ¹⁶The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defence and watered their flock. ¹⁸When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, ‘How is it that you have come back so soon today?’ ¹⁹They said, ‘An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.’ ²⁰He said to his daughters, ‘Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to break bread.’ ²¹Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. ²²She bore a son, and he named him Gershom; for he said, ‘I have been an alien^* residing in a foreign land.’

Observation:

Moses, born a Hebrew slave, is raised in the house of pharaoh's daughter, raised in privilege and wealth.  Despite these circumstances, he identifies with the Hebrews and their plight of suffering.  So much so that he defends a slave and kills an Egyptian.  He is not accepted as a fellow Hebrew either, but seen as another violent abuser of power by the witnesses of the killing.  So he flees and settles in a foreign country.  He finds employment, marries, and has a child.  His extraordinary life in Egypt is transformed into an ordinary life of herding in the mountains and tending a family.  He is avoiding his life, ignoring his responsibilities, and forgetting his own people.  Will he have a role to play in the drama between Pharaoh and the Hebrews?  It seems inevitable, and yet he spends years as a resident alien far away from the problems of Hebrew slaves in Egypt. 

Application :

Moses has privilege and power but identifies with the powerless and underprivileged.  Who will Moses be?  Hebrew or Egyptian?  Will he retain his adopted status or will he accept his lot as a slave?  Will he use his power and privilege to help the Hebrews?  Or will he hide in Midian among the flocks and hills?
Vocation is an important part of the human experience.  We ask ourselves, "What am I meant to do with my life?"  It is an essential aspect of faith, too. Vocation comes from the latin 'vocare' to call.  Moses' life points to a higher calling.  For what or whom has Moses been born?
It is temping to ignore injustice, to choose comfort and safety over struggle and resistance. I am a white male and, as such, I experience invisible privilege.  I can choose to ignore racial and economic injustice.  Or I can accept my role to confront it.  My life and yours are meant to be extraordinary.  In the midst of ordinary callings, as spouses--parents, professionals---a higher calling awaits. Like Moses, we are free to choose whether we will live God's call or avoid it.  Sometimes shame and our own sense of inadequacy stand in the way of embracing your true self and divine calling.  Our flaws and failures tell us we're not good enough.  Moses was a murderer.  God calls broken, flawed, messed up people to embody God's liberating love.  There are people depending on us to express our faith by surrendering to a calling to live justly and mercifully for others. To find out what God has made you to be and do, this is an essential act of faith.  We took the five-fold survey (http://fivefoldsurvey.com/) to begin thinking about ourselves as called and sent by God with a mission or purpose.  I'm still learning what God is calling me to do and be.  Its a lifelong journey. 

Prayer:  
Lord, you have called us to an extraordinary life of public ministry with your children who suffer injustice.  Help us to discover and embrace our calling to confront evil and give hope.  Amen.

mothers, sisters, daughters and God

Scripture: Exodus 2
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. ²The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. ³When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. ⁴His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. 5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. ⁶When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. ⁷Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ ⁸Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. ¹⁰When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses,^* ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out^* of the water.’

Observation:

Fearing a growing population of Hebrews, Pharaoh ordered that all firstborn male infants be destroyed at birth.  The midwives of the Hebrews, Shiphrah and Puah by name, refused to obey the order.  When questioned by authorities they said that the Hebrew women gave birth before they arrived on the scene.
In another family, a priestly family, a baby boy was born. After three months of hiding, the mother sealed the baby in a basket and placed him along the Nile river bank.  Pharaoh's daughter found the basket and the crying baby and felt pity.  Knowing he was a Hebrew child, she asked her servant to find a nurse mother.  Moses' own mother was summoned to nurse the child and was then paid by Pharaoh's daughter to do so. Eventually she adopted Moses and brought him into Pharaoh's own household.  A Hebrew enters Pharaoh's own household, not as a servant, but as an adopted son. 

Application:
 
The bible is not the story of a male deity.  God's will is revealed through women as often as through men.  Exodus is the story of the liberation and empowerment of an oppressed people.  Moses was never supposed to take a breath.  He was supposed to be killed at birth, by order of the Pharaoh.  Ironically, Pharaoh's own daughter rescues Moses and raises him as her own son.  Moses' mother and sister were even allowed to care for the baby until he grew.  Patriarchy and the power of a male ruler is undermined by these women---Hebrew midwives, mothers, sisters, and daughters.  Their collaboration with the creator and each other seems to transcend their obedience to male authorities.  This story shows how resilient and resourceful oppressed women are by showing them exercise the power to give life and nurture children. The God of the bible understands the role and importance of women in the ordering and nurturing and multiplying of life.  Sometimes their resistance to patriarchy reveals the very will of God.  Moses is drawn out of the water, a kind of second birth, from Hebrew slavery to Egyptian royalty.   The implications of this plot twist will be significant. God's rescue plan needs these disobedient women, whose innate desire to save a baby will save Israel.  I read this with thanksgiving for all the faithful women and mothers, doing God's will every day. 

Prayer:

Thank you God for faithful women, who give and protect life.  We pray for women in childbirth, for adopted children and their mothers, and for women who live in abusive households.  Show mercy and bless them with your creative and nurturing powers. Amen.    

Prayer

the way out, part 1

Scripture: Exodus 1
⁶Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and that whole generation. ⁷But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.
8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ⁹He said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. ¹⁰Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.’ ¹¹Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. ¹²But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. ¹³The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, ¹⁴and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.

Observation:

Exodus is a word that literally means "The Way Out".  The first chapter begins where the book of Genesis left off. Joseph was the great-grandson of Abraham and Sarah--the one's to whom God promised descendants as numerous as the stars and a land flowing with milk and honey as their home.  God promised to be with them in times of trouble and to bless all nations on earth through their faithful obedience to God.  (See Genesis 12-39).  Joseph's story (Genesis 39-50) is a powerful story of sibling jealousy.  His own brothers, envious of Joseph's special relationship with their father, sell Joseph into slavery and tell their father he was killed.  Joseph becomes a servant in Egypt, but because God is with Joseph and gives him the gift of dream interpretation, Joseph rises to the rank of Pharaoh's assistant in charge of the whole agricultural economy of Egypt.  He later reconciles with his brothers, who come to Egypt for food during a time of famine.  Joseph rises from slavery to power, using his power to serve the nations--including both Egypt and Israel.
Now, the story continues several generations later.  And the numerous people of Israel, now immigrant workers in Egypt, are enslaved for purposes of political control.  Their status as respected foreigners is denied and they are forced to make bricks and build Egyptian walls.  In spite of the ruthless Egyptians harsh treatment of the Israelites, they continue to multiply and spread.  The population growth was alarming to the Pharaoh, who feared that they might become an opposing army and a threat to his rule.

Application:  The fear politics of Pharaoh persist today in our own country.  As we hear Presidential candidates talk about deporting hard-working immigrants from this country;  as we hear Donald Trump say that as president he would force Mexicans to build a border wall; As we realize that the mass incarceration of people of color in the U.S. is a new form of white power and control over them; As we hear anti-Muslim rhetoric and the suggestion that a proper use of power would be to round up, identify, or even ban Muslims from the U.S., we hear this Exodus story and don't have to wonder whose side God will be on.  Empire will protect itself at its own destruction.  (As we will witness in the Exodus story).  God provides a way out for those who are oppressed, enslaved, and abused.  We see the growth in the Hispanic population in the U.S. over the last few decades right alongside the fear politics.  Reading the bible alongside current events can reveal God's mind and intentions in the present day, as in the past.  The bible is not a self-help book on personal growth, contrary to what many evangelical leaders might suggest (Joel Osteen, in particular).  It has political stories in it that reveal divine justice.  It tells these stories from the perspective of the marginalized, the oppressed, the bottom of the human pyramid.  We see a God who lifts up those who are pushed down by the powerful and privileged.  For us, the sign of God's grace is found in the multiplication of his people.  Even in times of suffering, God's plan to spread his promised blessings persist and overcome.  No ruler on earth can deny God's power.  All we can do is surrender to it.  So, do not be afraid.  God will establish justice, sometimes with us and through us and sometimes in spite of us.  May it come to us and through us and for us all. 

Prayer:  Lord, we pray for immigrants and their families; we pray for Mexicans and Muslims.  We pray that you would raise up faithful leaders in this nation, who will treat all people with dignity and respect.  Amen.