John 9.1-41....continued verses 24-34 courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
This is beginning to take on hints of an Abbot and Costello act. (Remember Who's on First?) This healed man just can't seem to answer their questions so that they will actually hear what he is saying. We will want to look at what impact their deafness has on his relationship with Jesus.
"Give glory to God' He has been! But since the questioners do not want to acknowledge Jesus' authority or person as Son of God, the testimony of the formerly blind man is discounted. A perfect case of not letting the facts get in the way of what you know to be true!
But notice the movement in the blind man's answer, "Do you want to become disciples too?" What is he thinking? Is HE thinking about becoming a disciple? And the absolutely worst question to ask this group of Pharisees. They are stuck on Moses - meaning they can't see the relationship between the ministry of Jesus and the ministry of Moses. They don't recognize one that stands in the tradition of Moses and the prophets.
A point the formerly blind man makes well as he places the facts before them. A true lawyer here, laying out the case so the others can see the implications of what has happened. "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
But that is NOT the conclusion that the Pharisees want, so once again, they reframe the situation. "You were steeped in sin from birth" Remember the connection between sin and illness? On the surface that is what they are referring to, but of course, we are all steeped in sin from birth - including these guys! What a conundrum!
And now the conclusion: v 35-41
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said,[a] “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
There is a connection between sin and blindness, but not the connection that everyone has been trying to make from the beginning. Here we must be careful to keep separate physical blindness and spiritual blindness. Physical blindness is what it is, it is not an indicator of a lack of faith. Spiritual blindness however is a willful turning away from the obvious before your face - rejecting the light that has come into your life - calling what is light (Jesus) darkness (not of God).
The formerly blind man did not receive his sight and immediately assume a solid, confident faith in Jesus as God's agent, and ultimately as the Son of Man. He walked slowly toward this understanding - each time repeating what had happened and what he knew about God. But not only were his eyes opened, his heart was opened as well. His eyesight was more than a new convenience in his life, it was now an encounter with God - and so he worshipped Jesus.
Jesus says he has come into this world for judgment. Substitute the word 'division' for judgment. When a person encounters the living Word, the light of the world, etc and walks away from it, they have joined a group who Jesus would describe as spiritually blind (even though they think they know and can physically see). When a person encounters Jesus and worships him (even if it takes a while to get there) then they have true sight. Jesus is the dividing point; those who turn away from Jesus (the light of the world) have already divided themselves into the 'blind' camp. Or as Jesus said previously those who have rejected me have already judged themselves.
What kind of darkness is in this story? (Since that is the theme I've been following this Lent.) Clearly it is more than the darkness that comes with physical blindness. This is a rejection of the light that is in front of your face; a clinging to who you think God is and should be instead of who God is revealing Godself to be. Rejecting Jesus as the Son of God is to willingly remain in the darkness.
Since our next story is Lazarus who is residing in the back of a tomb, we can see where rejection of Jesus can lead to a powerful and lasting darkness.
One challenge we face as 21st century believers is to come to grips with our understanding of those who walk away from God. Where do the non-believers fall in our concept of the universe and God's plan for the world? Is this something that would encourage you to work harder to bring Jesus' light into the lives of others?
Great text. John's stories are wonderful even if they are long!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Some spit, some mud and voila!
John 9. 1-41 NIV courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
I will divide this week's text into sections because of its length. Let's start with v 1-12. We open with a discussion about sin and this man born blind. Notice how often the phrase 'born blind' or 'blind from birth' occur in this story. It is critical to interpretation on all levels: the metaphoric/spiritual and the literal level of interpretation.
A man who came into this world blind - broken - was understood to have been the result of someone's sin. Sin and illness were joined in folks' religious constructs. Jesus immediately shifts the conversation to God's plan in his discussion of night (when no work can be done: even the work of God) and Jesus who is the light of the world. Using this image of Jesus as light creates a contrast with a man trapped in darkness.
Jesus as 'spiritual' light won't help this man see where he is going, so Jesus takes the practical step and heals the man. We might not be surprised at this, but I assure you, someone blind from birth rarely recovered any sight - the cause of the onlookers exclamations.
Notice how folks don't recognize him once he can see again. What is that all about? Could we be blind to the real person behind the begging bowl? Do we really see what we think we see?
Notice the man gives no spiritual explanation for his healing. He did what Jesus told him to do and now 'he is the man' who can see.
John 9.13-23
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Now the issue is healing on the Sabbath. Isn't it interesting that so much energy is invested in finding out what is wrong with a man who was born blind now seeing! It appears that the 'seeing' part is unimportant in comparison with healing on the Sabbath. He's not from God!!
So the pressure is on the formerly blind man. What do you say? Well, he'll only go so far. 'He's a prophet' is a fairly safe response even to the Pharisees. But notice the turn of conversation.....they didn't believe he had been blind! I can sympathise with them; it really is hard to believe that this has happened.
So the pressure turns to the parents. If you haven't read to the end of the story you'd find it hard to understand their 'non-response'. He was born blind, more than that, ask him. But notice, there was a threat that followers of Jesus would be put out of the synagogue.
Here history is a help. This mention of conflict within synagogues around followers of Jesus is an indicator that this gospel was written later than some of the others because this level of conflict took years to develop after Jesus' death. Remember that Jesus was a Jew claiming to be the Messiah. It was Jews who had prophesied the coming of a Messiah; this is a Jewish story from their story of faith. Not everyone agreed that Jesus was the Messiah, and in time, conflict arose within synagogues (local to each community) and eventually, followers of Jesus were put out of the synagogue. This was painful on a religious, social and community level. You'd have to be fairly firm in your faith in Jesus to take on the sacrifices that went with being ex-communicated from your local synagogue.
So while we are in the presence of an amazing miracle, everyone wants to talk about other issues!
Look to my second post today for the finale!
But the basic question for this story is.....Who exactly is the blind one(s) in this story? What does it mean to be blind? Does this give you some insight on why is it so important that the man has been 'blind from birth'? Does that make him more culpable or less?
On to the next post
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
I will divide this week's text into sections because of its length. Let's start with v 1-12. We open with a discussion about sin and this man born blind. Notice how often the phrase 'born blind' or 'blind from birth' occur in this story. It is critical to interpretation on all levels: the metaphoric/spiritual and the literal level of interpretation.
A man who came into this world blind - broken - was understood to have been the result of someone's sin. Sin and illness were joined in folks' religious constructs. Jesus immediately shifts the conversation to God's plan in his discussion of night (when no work can be done: even the work of God) and Jesus who is the light of the world. Using this image of Jesus as light creates a contrast with a man trapped in darkness.
Jesus as 'spiritual' light won't help this man see where he is going, so Jesus takes the practical step and heals the man. We might not be surprised at this, but I assure you, someone blind from birth rarely recovered any sight - the cause of the onlookers exclamations.
Notice how folks don't recognize him once he can see again. What is that all about? Could we be blind to the real person behind the begging bowl? Do we really see what we think we see?
Notice the man gives no spiritual explanation for his healing. He did what Jesus told him to do and now 'he is the man' who can see.
John 9.13-23
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Now the issue is healing on the Sabbath. Isn't it interesting that so much energy is invested in finding out what is wrong with a man who was born blind now seeing! It appears that the 'seeing' part is unimportant in comparison with healing on the Sabbath. He's not from God!!
So the pressure is on the formerly blind man. What do you say? Well, he'll only go so far. 'He's a prophet' is a fairly safe response even to the Pharisees. But notice the turn of conversation.....they didn't believe he had been blind! I can sympathise with them; it really is hard to believe that this has happened.
So the pressure turns to the parents. If you haven't read to the end of the story you'd find it hard to understand their 'non-response'. He was born blind, more than that, ask him. But notice, there was a threat that followers of Jesus would be put out of the synagogue.
Here history is a help. This mention of conflict within synagogues around followers of Jesus is an indicator that this gospel was written later than some of the others because this level of conflict took years to develop after Jesus' death. Remember that Jesus was a Jew claiming to be the Messiah. It was Jews who had prophesied the coming of a Messiah; this is a Jewish story from their story of faith. Not everyone agreed that Jesus was the Messiah, and in time, conflict arose within synagogues (local to each community) and eventually, followers of Jesus were put out of the synagogue. This was painful on a religious, social and community level. You'd have to be fairly firm in your faith in Jesus to take on the sacrifices that went with being ex-communicated from your local synagogue.
So while we are in the presence of an amazing miracle, everyone wants to talk about other issues!
Look to my second post today for the finale!
But the basic question for this story is.....Who exactly is the blind one(s) in this story? What does it mean to be blind? Does this give you some insight on why is it so important that the man has been 'blind from birth'? Does that make him more culpable or less?
On to the next post
Monday, March 28, 2011
Time to move on..........
1 Samuel 16.1-13 NIV courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
How long will you mourn for Saul?
Saul was the first King of Israel. Samuel tried to talk all the tribal leaders out of anointing a king. YHWH was the King of Israel, always had been. But Israel was certain that they needed an earthly king in order to compete with the other earthly kingdoms. They cried out to YHWH (God). Samuel was the number one prophet, a position of much power, and he continued to resist this idea. God finally told Samuel to give in and allow God to take care of the situation. God pointed Samuel to Saul and so Samuel anointed Saul king.
Saul was an incompetent king. He truly wasn't a leader and in time was overcome with paranoia, jealousy, fear and the results of his own limited abilities. This brings us to this point in the story.
God tells Samuel to go and anoint a new king. The problem is Saul is still alive, although I think that Samuel's reluctance is founded on more than simple self-preservation. Samuel mourns the failure of the Saul experiment both for Saul's sake (things are really falling apart in the king's house) and for the sake of Israel who wouldn't follow Samuel's advice from the beginning.
That brings us to this opening: How long will you mourn for Saul? I think God is telling Samuel it is time to move on, to trust (again, trust God) that God will take care of Saul and Israel. Samuel is to hold his allegiance first to God and God's instructions (just what Samuel wanted Israel to do, right?) and not to stumble over his attachment to the Saul decision.
Notice God doesn't wait for an answer. The time for moving on has come. GOD IS DOING A NEW THING. [this is the link to the gospel lesson] There is a good sermon in just that first verse!
Samuel has no idea who God has in mind for the next king; he goes to Bethlehem, assumes his role as prophet of the LORD and has no idea who he is there to anoint. Have you ever been there? Following what you truly believe is God's direction but having no idea what is going to happen?
And God is not interested in Samuel's evaluation of the candidates for king. Don't consider outward appearance, God says. God sees more than we do; God can see the heart.
And so the youngest, who had to be called in from the fields, is anointed King. Once again God has a plan that makes little sense to the humans standing around, even those who are faithful.
As a leader of a faith community, I am challenged continually to be in tune with God and God's leading. It is too easy to become comfortable with what I like, what makes my life easier. That is rarely what God has in mind as the kingdom is being built. there are always new fields to harvest, new people to invite into the community.
It is difficult to maintain that level of energy day after day, year after year. That is why in a community of faith it is important to carry the burdens together and be constanting listening for God's guidance, for there are times when God 'makes us to lie down in green pastures, and leads us beside still waters.' The liturgical calendar for worship can be a real aid here - to allow some portions of the church year to be times of contemplation and rest of the soul.
If you haven't read through 1 & 2 Samuel - they make great reading, and some insight into relationship of Israel with God.
1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
How long will you mourn for Saul?
Saul was the first King of Israel. Samuel tried to talk all the tribal leaders out of anointing a king. YHWH was the King of Israel, always had been. But Israel was certain that they needed an earthly king in order to compete with the other earthly kingdoms. They cried out to YHWH (God). Samuel was the number one prophet, a position of much power, and he continued to resist this idea. God finally told Samuel to give in and allow God to take care of the situation. God pointed Samuel to Saul and so Samuel anointed Saul king.
Saul was an incompetent king. He truly wasn't a leader and in time was overcome with paranoia, jealousy, fear and the results of his own limited abilities. This brings us to this point in the story.
God tells Samuel to go and anoint a new king. The problem is Saul is still alive, although I think that Samuel's reluctance is founded on more than simple self-preservation. Samuel mourns the failure of the Saul experiment both for Saul's sake (things are really falling apart in the king's house) and for the sake of Israel who wouldn't follow Samuel's advice from the beginning.
That brings us to this opening: How long will you mourn for Saul? I think God is telling Samuel it is time to move on, to trust (again, trust God) that God will take care of Saul and Israel. Samuel is to hold his allegiance first to God and God's instructions (just what Samuel wanted Israel to do, right?) and not to stumble over his attachment to the Saul decision.
Notice God doesn't wait for an answer. The time for moving on has come. GOD IS DOING A NEW THING. [this is the link to the gospel lesson] There is a good sermon in just that first verse!
Samuel has no idea who God has in mind for the next king; he goes to Bethlehem, assumes his role as prophet of the LORD and has no idea who he is there to anoint. Have you ever been there? Following what you truly believe is God's direction but having no idea what is going to happen?
And God is not interested in Samuel's evaluation of the candidates for king. Don't consider outward appearance, God says. God sees more than we do; God can see the heart.
And so the youngest, who had to be called in from the fields, is anointed King. Once again God has a plan that makes little sense to the humans standing around, even those who are faithful.
As a leader of a faith community, I am challenged continually to be in tune with God and God's leading. It is too easy to become comfortable with what I like, what makes my life easier. That is rarely what God has in mind as the kingdom is being built. there are always new fields to harvest, new people to invite into the community.
It is difficult to maintain that level of energy day after day, year after year. That is why in a community of faith it is important to carry the burdens together and be constanting listening for God's guidance, for there are times when God 'makes us to lie down in green pastures, and leads us beside still waters.' The liturgical calendar for worship can be a real aid here - to allow some portions of the church year to be times of contemplation and rest of the soul.
If you haven't read through 1 & 2 Samuel - they make great reading, and some insight into relationship of Israel with God.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Nobody gets it....or so it seems
John 4.27-38 NIV courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
I chose to break our discussion here because the main interaction is now occuring between Jesus and his disciples who came back from town having found something to eat and are quite incapable of understanding what is going on. They are struck that Jesus is speaking to an unaccompanied woman - but no one is asking any questions.
Then Jesus seems to have no need for the very food that they have brought. Instead, Jesus once again begins to speak in abstract, metaphorical, or one could say, spiritual terms.
Let's look at what Jesus says. 'My food is to do the will of the one who sent me.' Jesus 'hungers and thirsts after righteousness' - and (my interpretation) this conversation with this inquisitive Samaritan woman has absorbed all his interest; his need for food comes secondary. But then.....????? I can't really say that I am sure of this.
However, it does appear that Jesus looks around himself and sees the potential for a great harvest of believers (and this would be among the Samaritans remember). He is calling his disciples to harvest this great crop of believers - believers who have come to God through the initial work of others long ago. Now, it is up to the disciples to bring in the harvest - to help them come to Jesus.
But who really is the evangelist going to be in this story? Notice that the woman left her pot at the well and ran into town. She in on a new mission; she has a new calling and it is to bring others to hear and see Jesus. She does not mince words, "he told me everything I'd ever done" (giving witness to his credentials as a prophet at least) and in phrasing it this way she begins her testimony in truth.
So a liturgical/theological note here: truth is how we all begin our testimony of worship and to invite others into the company of the Christ. We call it confession. When we make our confession we are speaking the truth about ourselves. It is not necessary for God's sake. God already knows. Instead it is necessary for our sake - that we enter into this relationship with God with nothing hidden even from our own eyes.
Let's look at the end of the story............ John 4.39-42
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Notice it was her willingness to put aside her pride and privacy 'he told me everything I ever did' that enticed the others to come to the well to see and hear. Then they invited Jesus in (just think of all the barriers that invitation crossed) and listened for two days to his words. In the words of God in Jesus, they heard the call to faith, not forgetting the woman's first invitation, but not relying on it alone.
Whatever to preach on this complex and LONG story?
Clearly the preacher needs to focus on a particular theme. The theme of water links both the OT and Gospel lessons and so it is a possibility. Living water.....stagnant water. Could our baptism water have stagnated in our lives?
I introduced a theme of darkness last week with Nicodemus. What kind of darkness could we say this woman experiences? Could it be the darkness of moral and social ambiguity? An outcast even among her own?
[Although the gender restrictions she experienced could be nuanced as a form of darkness, I think it is a stretch in this particular story and misses some other important points. ]
Well, that is just what I am about to work on....so come Sunday and see where I end up.
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
I chose to break our discussion here because the main interaction is now occuring between Jesus and his disciples who came back from town having found something to eat and are quite incapable of understanding what is going on. They are struck that Jesus is speaking to an unaccompanied woman - but no one is asking any questions.
Then Jesus seems to have no need for the very food that they have brought. Instead, Jesus once again begins to speak in abstract, metaphorical, or one could say, spiritual terms.
Let's look at what Jesus says. 'My food is to do the will of the one who sent me.' Jesus 'hungers and thirsts after righteousness' - and (my interpretation) this conversation with this inquisitive Samaritan woman has absorbed all his interest; his need for food comes secondary. But then.....????? I can't really say that I am sure of this.
However, it does appear that Jesus looks around himself and sees the potential for a great harvest of believers (and this would be among the Samaritans remember). He is calling his disciples to harvest this great crop of believers - believers who have come to God through the initial work of others long ago. Now, it is up to the disciples to bring in the harvest - to help them come to Jesus.
But who really is the evangelist going to be in this story? Notice that the woman left her pot at the well and ran into town. She in on a new mission; she has a new calling and it is to bring others to hear and see Jesus. She does not mince words, "he told me everything I'd ever done" (giving witness to his credentials as a prophet at least) and in phrasing it this way she begins her testimony in truth.
So a liturgical/theological note here: truth is how we all begin our testimony of worship and to invite others into the company of the Christ. We call it confession. When we make our confession we are speaking the truth about ourselves. It is not necessary for God's sake. God already knows. Instead it is necessary for our sake - that we enter into this relationship with God with nothing hidden even from our own eyes.
Let's look at the end of the story............ John 4.39-42
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Notice it was her willingness to put aside her pride and privacy 'he told me everything I ever did' that enticed the others to come to the well to see and hear. Then they invited Jesus in (just think of all the barriers that invitation crossed) and listened for two days to his words. In the words of God in Jesus, they heard the call to faith, not forgetting the woman's first invitation, but not relying on it alone.
Whatever to preach on this complex and LONG story?
Clearly the preacher needs to focus on a particular theme. The theme of water links both the OT and Gospel lessons and so it is a possibility. Living water.....stagnant water. Could our baptism water have stagnated in our lives?
I introduced a theme of darkness last week with Nicodemus. What kind of darkness could we say this woman experiences? Could it be the darkness of moral and social ambiguity? An outcast even among her own?
[Although the gender restrictions she experienced could be nuanced as a form of darkness, I think it is a stretch in this particular story and misses some other important points. ]
Well, that is just what I am about to work on....so come Sunday and see where I end up.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
More husbands and needed
John 4.10-17 NIV courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
part II
"If you knew the gift of God..." How are we to read this? Is Jesus questioning her religious standing (implying that Samaritans were ignorant of God's real gifts)? In the Western world, this is easily heard as some kind of challenge, but what kind?
'living water' Living water is water that is flowing, not still. Living water is healthier (though not necessarily healthy) that water that is stagnant. But of course, Jesus isn't speaking in concrete terms; he has something else in mind.
Not the woman, she goes for the most obvious. Jesus has no bucket, how can he get this living water. She calls him on his boast. And goes on to say, don't boast to me, this well belonged to Jacob who gave it to us. It's been here a long time!
Jesus goes to the spiritual again, speaking of a well of water that will quench all thirst. This is a good example of how the reader knows what is happening while the characters don't. The reader has a different frame of reference, a different reality than the characters in the story.
Thirst is often associated with a desire for God, a searching after righteousness. Water is clearly critical for continued life from day to day. Jesus introduces the concept of life beyond this life.
Water had to be fetched every day. Anything that eased that work would be wonderful. So the woman boldly asks for some of his magical water.
Then Jesus asks about her husband. This truly complicates the story. Is Jesus trying to take this conversation to the next level by involving a man? Is Jesus trying to put this woman in her place? Is Jesus calling her bluff?
part III John 4.16-26
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Five husbands plus a sixth man with ambiguous standing. What are we to do with this? There are several explanations to how this woman got into this situation. Many have concluded that she was 'morally loose' or a prostitute. Some commentators note that divorce wasn't allowed in Samaritan belief so she might simply have been 'put out' by her husband with no place to go and so took up with another man. The sixth man could be polygamous and she might be without the bond of marriage.
The fact that she is at the well at noon - when there is no one else there - points to her ambiguous standing within the community. Women gathered water at day break and in the evening - not during the heat of the day. So either she was avoiding the other women, or they had made life difficult and had pushed out of their fellowship.
My question is: why this detail? How does this fact give depth to the story? What is John trying to tell us about God/Jesus by adding this?
If we go back to the contrasts between Nicodemus and the woman we will then note that Nicodemus is a man of standing within the community (a leader) and this woman (whatever her story) is not. It was assumed that Jesus would receive Nicodemus; it was unexpected that Jesus had any contact with this woman.
I am proud of this woman: she says, 'You got it right!' (I can see you are a prophet) and then launches into what she considers the more important part ofthe conversation: theology. Where are we to worship rightly? Mt. Gerazim? Jerusalem? Who's right?
Jesus replies, 'Where won't matter, it is how that is important. Worship with spirit and truth/' That truth will recognize Jesus as the Messiah - who is in the process of 'explaining everything.'
Now we have moved this conversation from a cup of water, to her living situation, to the truly important stuff: the Messiah. This woman doesn't get bogged down but pushes ahead to the important stuff. She's pretty impressive.
Tomorrow: How does this all end up? Does the woman come out of the darkness (what kind of darkness surrounds her?) and into the light of Jesus?
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
part II
"If you knew the gift of God..." How are we to read this? Is Jesus questioning her religious standing (implying that Samaritans were ignorant of God's real gifts)? In the Western world, this is easily heard as some kind of challenge, but what kind?
'living water' Living water is water that is flowing, not still. Living water is healthier (though not necessarily healthy) that water that is stagnant. But of course, Jesus isn't speaking in concrete terms; he has something else in mind.
Not the woman, she goes for the most obvious. Jesus has no bucket, how can he get this living water. She calls him on his boast. And goes on to say, don't boast to me, this well belonged to Jacob who gave it to us. It's been here a long time!
Jesus goes to the spiritual again, speaking of a well of water that will quench all thirst. This is a good example of how the reader knows what is happening while the characters don't. The reader has a different frame of reference, a different reality than the characters in the story.
Thirst is often associated with a desire for God, a searching after righteousness. Water is clearly critical for continued life from day to day. Jesus introduces the concept of life beyond this life.
Water had to be fetched every day. Anything that eased that work would be wonderful. So the woman boldly asks for some of his magical water.
Then Jesus asks about her husband. This truly complicates the story. Is Jesus trying to take this conversation to the next level by involving a man? Is Jesus trying to put this woman in her place? Is Jesus calling her bluff?
part III John 4.16-26
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Five husbands plus a sixth man with ambiguous standing. What are we to do with this? There are several explanations to how this woman got into this situation. Many have concluded that she was 'morally loose' or a prostitute. Some commentators note that divorce wasn't allowed in Samaritan belief so she might simply have been 'put out' by her husband with no place to go and so took up with another man. The sixth man could be polygamous and she might be without the bond of marriage.
The fact that she is at the well at noon - when there is no one else there - points to her ambiguous standing within the community. Women gathered water at day break and in the evening - not during the heat of the day. So either she was avoiding the other women, or they had made life difficult and had pushed out of their fellowship.
My question is: why this detail? How does this fact give depth to the story? What is John trying to tell us about God/Jesus by adding this?
If we go back to the contrasts between Nicodemus and the woman we will then note that Nicodemus is a man of standing within the community (a leader) and this woman (whatever her story) is not. It was assumed that Jesus would receive Nicodemus; it was unexpected that Jesus had any contact with this woman.
I am proud of this woman: she says, 'You got it right!' (I can see you are a prophet) and then launches into what she considers the more important part ofthe conversation: theology. Where are we to worship rightly? Mt. Gerazim? Jerusalem? Who's right?
Jesus replies, 'Where won't matter, it is how that is important. Worship with spirit and truth/' That truth will recognize Jesus as the Messiah - who is in the process of 'explaining everything.'
Now we have moved this conversation from a cup of water, to her living situation, to the truly important stuff: the Messiah. This woman doesn't get bogged down but pushes ahead to the important stuff. She's pretty impressive.
Tomorrow: How does this all end up? Does the woman come out of the darkness (what kind of darkness surrounds her?) and into the light of Jesus?
Something more than a simple request
John 4.5-9 NIV courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
There is so much in this long story from John that I will divide the text into several parts and comment on successive days.
Today we will start with the technical stuff. John gives us this story immediately following the story of Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night. John often places two contrasting stories directly next to one another.
Some contrasts with Nicodemus that we might want to consider
Nicodemus at night; woman at noon. Noon was the moment of death for Jesus and the time of day most in contrast to night. This well was right out in the open; nothing hidden about this encounter.
Nicodemus was a learned leader of Israel; the woman was a Samaritan. Samaritans and Jews did not mix; each thought the other was religiously wrong. A Jew would not accept a drink from the hand of a Samaritan.
Nicodemus was a MAN and the Samaritan a WOMAN. Very different status and social expectations. A Jewish man would not engage in conversation with an unaccompanied woman who was not a relative. Wasn't done.
Notice the location and identification of the well. This was Jacob's well - Jacob was an ancestor claimed by both Jews and Samaritans. It was where Isaac's servant found Rebecca drawing water and eventually led to their bethrothal and marriage. A lot of courtship takes place at wells.
Samaritans: Years of conflict had established deep divides between Jews and Samaritans who lived in close geographic proximity (Jesus didn't have to go through Samaria to reach Galilee, but cutting through Samaria shortened the trip considerably).
Jews saw Samaritans as mixed race people - impure, unclean. Samaritans drew their lineage from Jacob while Jews were descendents only of Judah. Samaritans only held the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) as inspired word of God, thus rejecting the rest of the Hebrew scriptures. The Samaritan version of the Pentateuch established Mt. Gerazim as the right place for worship; Jews held that Jerusalem was the only appropriate place.
[ An irony in this divisive relationship is that the Samaritans acknowledged the God of Abraham as did the Jews and yet instead of this being a point of unity, their other differences led each group to denigrate the other. Think Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims here.]
Get ready to have another classic Johannine conversation. Jesus is speaking metaphorically / spiritually/ abstractly and the woman receives his words and responds concretely. (just like Nicodemus) Thus we can see that Jesus is leading those he contacts to open their spiritual understandings - not just to these images - but eventually to include him as Messiah.
I am caught by Jesus' request for a drink. On the cross in John 19.28 Jesus calls out, "I am thirsty" What can we make of this?
The challenge as a preacher is to engage this story in a manageable way. It is long, complex and so full of images and nuances that keeping a single focus without doing harm to the larger story is difficult.
However, I am working with the concept of darkness: how people who encounter Jesus are called out of some form of darkness into the light of revelation. I will be watching for an image of darkness that I can use with this Samaritan woman who is standing in the noon sun in the middle of an open space. Got any ideas?
So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
There is so much in this long story from John that I will divide the text into several parts and comment on successive days.
Today we will start with the technical stuff. John gives us this story immediately following the story of Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night. John often places two contrasting stories directly next to one another.
Some contrasts with Nicodemus that we might want to consider
Nicodemus at night; woman at noon. Noon was the moment of death for Jesus and the time of day most in contrast to night. This well was right out in the open; nothing hidden about this encounter.
Nicodemus was a learned leader of Israel; the woman was a Samaritan. Samaritans and Jews did not mix; each thought the other was religiously wrong. A Jew would not accept a drink from the hand of a Samaritan.
Nicodemus was a MAN and the Samaritan a WOMAN. Very different status and social expectations. A Jewish man would not engage in conversation with an unaccompanied woman who was not a relative. Wasn't done.
Notice the location and identification of the well. This was Jacob's well - Jacob was an ancestor claimed by both Jews and Samaritans. It was where Isaac's servant found Rebecca drawing water and eventually led to their bethrothal and marriage. A lot of courtship takes place at wells.
Samaritans: Years of conflict had established deep divides between Jews and Samaritans who lived in close geographic proximity (Jesus didn't have to go through Samaria to reach Galilee, but cutting through Samaria shortened the trip considerably).
Jews saw Samaritans as mixed race people - impure, unclean. Samaritans drew their lineage from Jacob while Jews were descendents only of Judah. Samaritans only held the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) as inspired word of God, thus rejecting the rest of the Hebrew scriptures. The Samaritan version of the Pentateuch established Mt. Gerazim as the right place for worship; Jews held that Jerusalem was the only appropriate place.
[ An irony in this divisive relationship is that the Samaritans acknowledged the God of Abraham as did the Jews and yet instead of this being a point of unity, their other differences led each group to denigrate the other. Think Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims here.]
Get ready to have another classic Johannine conversation. Jesus is speaking metaphorically / spiritually/ abstractly and the woman receives his words and responds concretely. (just like Nicodemus) Thus we can see that Jesus is leading those he contacts to open their spiritual understandings - not just to these images - but eventually to include him as Messiah.
I am caught by Jesus' request for a drink. On the cross in John 19.28 Jesus calls out, "I am thirsty" What can we make of this?
The challenge as a preacher is to engage this story in a manageable way. It is long, complex and so full of images and nuances that keeping a single focus without doing harm to the larger story is difficult.
However, I am working with the concept of darkness: how people who encounter Jesus are called out of some form of darkness into the light of revelation. I will be watching for an image of darkness that I can use with this Samaritan woman who is standing in the noon sun in the middle of an open space. Got any ideas?
Monday, March 21, 2011
We thirst
Exodus 17.1-7 Water From the Rock courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?”
3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
5 The LORD answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah[a] and Meribah[b] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
Footnotes:
- Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing.
- Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling.
What we have here is a people who are thirsty. When you are traveling in that portion of the Middle East, getting thirsty is both a regular and potentially life-threatening experience. The air is so arid that it takes little to dry you out.
So although it is our inclination to read this text about the Israelites in the desert with a touch of condescension about their continuing complaining to Moses about their discomfort, we need to take into account that we have little experience with this kind of thirst, nor the negative impact of having no drinkable water available.
Furthermore, as their leader, Moses can only expect that they would bring their complaints and concerns to him. Not that I'm saying that leaders enjoy or desire this kind of constant need, but it is what it is and heeding the needs of your people is your call as a leader.
Moses chooses to see this as a test of God: the God who had already provided safety from Pharaoh and food when needed. And I suppose there is some truth in that - were the Israelites going to trust God to provide or not? But at the same time, a relationship requires on-going communication between parties; Israel makes sure that the message gets to God through Moses that they need some water.
God doesn't seem to be upset by this little drama, in fact, God promises to be present with Moses as he breaks open the rock to quench the thirst of the people. (this imagery is used in the hymn, Rock of Ages) Perhaps this is more a text about Moses' lack of confidence in God's continuing care. Later Moses is refused entry into the promised land by God because he struck the rock in anger. Somehow there is a failure here on Moses' part.
For me as a preacher, however, it is the imagery of I thirst from the crucifixion that opens up a path to communication with God. Remember in Matthew that Jesus speaks about those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Now all these references come from different books of the Bible (which means they might give some insight into each other, but were not intended to be interpreted as a part of a whole).
What could Israel be thirsting after? Could they, in fact, along with their need for water be in need of God's discernible presence? Is it Israel who needs God standing with Moses as he strikes the rock?
I read an article once that said we often eat when in fact we are not hungry but thirsty. I'm thinking that the low grade thirst that grows and persists is hard to identify as such, and this would point me to a similar situation in our modern lives: an unhappiness that we can't name, can't figure out its origin, don't know how to erase. A thirst......could it be for God's presence?
These simple stories from the OT give us a window to look at how different people, under different circumstances, relate to God, and grow in their faith, their commitment. These OT people really point us to look into a mirror and see ourselves. [except forthe fact that the men are all wearing dresses and sandals.] But, they are us....aren't they?
Monday, March 14, 2011
Confusion in the darkness.
John 3.1-17 NIV courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d]
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”[g]
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
When you first read this it appears that Jesus is not truly paying; it appears that Jesus' doesn't come close to answering the question asked.
Without a doubt, this is not unusual in the gospel of John. Instead of speaking in concrete, down to earth terms, Jesus speaks of 'bigger things' - you could say Jesus' takes a spiritual perspective, bringing a God perspective, an eternal perspective to the question at hand. He can leave the reader scratching her head.
The gospel of John is a different experience than the other three gospels. John's is a big picture gospel from the first verse, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." John paints a picture where Jesus has descended from heaven to bring God's plan to this world; Jesus will then ascend back to the divine places from whence he came.
John develops his story with a rich collection of symbols. The list of words or images to watch for in John is quite long: light v. dark; flesh v. spirit; abiding, signs, 'the hour' and several others. It means that any passage in John needs to be interpreted in view of the entire story and the rich nuances of symbolic language must be taken into account.
With that little bit of background, we turn to Nicodemus.
This passage is a good introduction to Johannine writing. Nicodemus arrives at night (darkness is representative of being closed to God, evil intent, poor understanding) because he has heard of Jesus' signs (healings, exorcisms, ???? not specified) and he wants to learn more.
But he can't wrap his head around what Jesus is saying, 'you must be born again.' Here Jesus (and John) are playing with us. In Greek, the word here translated again can also be translated above. Therefore Jesus is [not] clearly saying you must be born again/from above. Nicodemus takes this literally, speaking of re-entering his mother's womb.
Jesus then begins to speak about flesh and spirit. It appears that Jesus is speaking about a second birth of the Spirit (the first being a birth of flesh). But he goes on to speak about the wind - blowing where it will! And we are confused again. But once again John is playing with the words. Spirit in Greek is pneuma - the same word used for wind and breath. In fact in Genesis 2, God brings life to the person created out of dust by breathing into the little guy.
All well and good but what is Jesus trying to say? Is he reminding us that true life - that breath of life that comes at birth and leaves at death - is from God? Is there a more powerful/ different breath/Spirit that can give us life beyond the life that comes at our birth?
In other words, is this a different kind of birth? an additional birth? a better birth? Or as Nicodemus puts it, "How can this be?"
Poor Nicodemus. It is all too much for him. It reminds me of my time in Africa when my hosts and I were both speaking English and we couldn't understand each other! It had to do with word choice (they use more British English) and pronounciation, but how comical and frustrating. Jesus is issuing a call to Nicodemus to come and discover true life from the one who was present at creation and can bring life wherever he wills - and Nicodemus is stumbling over the specifications and word choice.
But that shouldn't surprise us: the whole idea of God sending his son to us in order to save the world (v 16) is radical. We might know the individual words but the sum total of the gift is beyond our comprehension.
So how do we respond? We don't get a clear idea of Nicodemus' response in the 3rd chapter. But he defends Jesus against the Jewish leadership in chapter 7 and by the end of John he is traveling to Jesus' grave with spices.
Over the next four weeks we will be reading and thinking about 4 people who receive a call from Jesus to come to faith - and we'll watch their response. Perhaps Nicodemus can be seen as a 'newbie' - the earliest and first response to this call to faith, and therefore, he represents all of us when we first encounter Jesus. Clearly, all his learning does not ensure that he will 'get it' quickly or even correctly.
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d]
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”[g]
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
When you first read this it appears that Jesus is not truly paying; it appears that Jesus' doesn't come close to answering the question asked.
Without a doubt, this is not unusual in the gospel of John. Instead of speaking in concrete, down to earth terms, Jesus speaks of 'bigger things' - you could say Jesus' takes a spiritual perspective, bringing a God perspective, an eternal perspective to the question at hand. He can leave the reader scratching her head.
The gospel of John is a different experience than the other three gospels. John's is a big picture gospel from the first verse, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." John paints a picture where Jesus has descended from heaven to bring God's plan to this world; Jesus will then ascend back to the divine places from whence he came.
John develops his story with a rich collection of symbols. The list of words or images to watch for in John is quite long: light v. dark; flesh v. spirit; abiding, signs, 'the hour' and several others. It means that any passage in John needs to be interpreted in view of the entire story and the rich nuances of symbolic language must be taken into account.
With that little bit of background, we turn to Nicodemus.
This passage is a good introduction to Johannine writing. Nicodemus arrives at night (darkness is representative of being closed to God, evil intent, poor understanding) because he has heard of Jesus' signs (healings, exorcisms, ???? not specified) and he wants to learn more.
But he can't wrap his head around what Jesus is saying, 'you must be born again.' Here Jesus (and John) are playing with us. In Greek, the word here translated again can also be translated above. Therefore Jesus is [not] clearly saying you must be born again/from above. Nicodemus takes this literally, speaking of re-entering his mother's womb.
Jesus then begins to speak about flesh and spirit. It appears that Jesus is speaking about a second birth of the Spirit (the first being a birth of flesh). But he goes on to speak about the wind - blowing where it will! And we are confused again. But once again John is playing with the words. Spirit in Greek is pneuma - the same word used for wind and breath. In fact in Genesis 2, God brings life to the person created out of dust by breathing into the little guy.
All well and good but what is Jesus trying to say? Is he reminding us that true life - that breath of life that comes at birth and leaves at death - is from God? Is there a more powerful/ different breath/Spirit that can give us life beyond the life that comes at our birth?
In other words, is this a different kind of birth? an additional birth? a better birth? Or as Nicodemus puts it, "How can this be?"
Poor Nicodemus. It is all too much for him. It reminds me of my time in Africa when my hosts and I were both speaking English and we couldn't understand each other! It had to do with word choice (they use more British English) and pronounciation, but how comical and frustrating. Jesus is issuing a call to Nicodemus to come and discover true life from the one who was present at creation and can bring life wherever he wills - and Nicodemus is stumbling over the specifications and word choice.
But that shouldn't surprise us: the whole idea of God sending his son to us in order to save the world (v 16) is radical. We might know the individual words but the sum total of the gift is beyond our comprehension.
So how do we respond? We don't get a clear idea of Nicodemus' response in the 3rd chapter. But he defends Jesus against the Jewish leadership in chapter 7 and by the end of John he is traveling to Jesus' grave with spices.
Over the next four weeks we will be reading and thinking about 4 people who receive a call from Jesus to come to faith - and we'll watch their response. Perhaps Nicodemus can be seen as a 'newbie' - the earliest and first response to this call to faith, and therefore, he represents all of us when we first encounter Jesus. Clearly, all his learning does not ensure that he will 'get it' quickly or even correctly.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Three promises
Genesis 12. 1-4a NIV courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him.
Notice first that his name is Abram, not Abraham. The name change occurs later in the story. Here God is just getting started in this relationship - calling out of obscurity a man Abram and in exchange for Abram's obedience, God promises three things.
Now, leaving one's family behind was occassionally necessary - sometimes the flocks got so large that new land had to be found in order for all to survive. But remember that the extended family - (the next level up would have been the tribe) - were the Social Security system of its day. Family took care of family; they stuck together in times of sorrow, famine, invasion, disaster. To leave one's family behind - and to strike out on your own (without other family members to give aid) - was either an act of courage or foolhardiness. At that time, individuals took wives/husbands from within their extended family. Cousins married cousins. You can see the problem when you strike out on your own.
God's first promise was to show them a land for them to settle on. You won't go wandering around aimlessly. You won't face enemies who are unwilling to relinquish their land. I will show the land for you, which of course means that you will be able to support yourself.
God's second promise makes a great deal of sense. "I will make of you a great nation." We could focus on the ego portions of this, but I think that the reassurance comes from the security that a large family provided. In a time when having people remember you and the deeds of your life was the equivalent of 'eternal life' this promise of a great nation ensured that Abram would be cared for in his old age and not forgotten after his death.
Then an amazing promise: not the 'blessings/curses' portion but the part that goes "And all people on earth will be blessed through you." That is one amazing promise and perhaps harder to believe than the land and offspring promises. All people on earth - that's one huge promise.
That brings us to two important points.
#1 The people of Israel understood themselves to be the messengers of God's blessings for the world. It was to be through Israel that God's light was brought to others who knew not God. Aaron was called to be a priest to Israel (in the Moses saga) but it was Israel who was called to be a priest to the nations. This is an awesome honor, but a great responsibility as well. It was critical that Israel maintain a righteous relationship with God; if Israel failed then how would the world know? I believe that understanding this mindset is important to understanding the rhythm of faith and practice among the Hebrews. What would it mean to you if you understood yourself to be responsible for bringing holiness into the lives of others? (and is that not in fact your call?)
#2 As the apostle Paul was wrestling with the notion of Jesus as Messiah (being himself a devout Jew and Jesus a crucified criminal) Paul returns to this passage of blessing and promise. The people of Israel didn't take notice that God said 'all people' - not all the members of your tribe or all the people you know, but all people - and down the line that promise would include those outside of Israel. To be a light or blessing to all nations is to be a blessing to the Gentiles as well as the Jews - those who live inside Torah and those who do not. Or so Paul taught. Not every one bought the argument.
The apostle Paul uses this to indicate that Jesus is not the negation of God's promises to Israel but rather the one going ahead like Moses did to bring redemption and freedom to all people. In fact, as the named children of God, Israel has a special place in the great history of God and God's interaction with this world. We Christians are often guilty of failing to own the power and call of the Old Testament and the stories of faith that are found there - as if they are not important to the faith life of followers of Jesus. I would hold that we stand on the shoulders of these believers. Their stories help us live out faithful lives in the nitty gritty of this world even as we cling to Jesus and the power of his forgiveness.
A final note: if you spend any time in Genesis you will discover that Abram wasn't perfect; very few of the characters of the OT are. Faith isn't about our perfection. Forgetting that can lead us down some very dangerous paths.
Blessings to all.
1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him.
Notice first that his name is Abram, not Abraham. The name change occurs later in the story. Here God is just getting started in this relationship - calling out of obscurity a man Abram and in exchange for Abram's obedience, God promises three things.
Now, leaving one's family behind was occassionally necessary - sometimes the flocks got so large that new land had to be found in order for all to survive. But remember that the extended family - (the next level up would have been the tribe) - were the Social Security system of its day. Family took care of family; they stuck together in times of sorrow, famine, invasion, disaster. To leave one's family behind - and to strike out on your own (without other family members to give aid) - was either an act of courage or foolhardiness. At that time, individuals took wives/husbands from within their extended family. Cousins married cousins. You can see the problem when you strike out on your own.
God's first promise was to show them a land for them to settle on. You won't go wandering around aimlessly. You won't face enemies who are unwilling to relinquish their land. I will show the land for you, which of course means that you will be able to support yourself.
God's second promise makes a great deal of sense. "I will make of you a great nation." We could focus on the ego portions of this, but I think that the reassurance comes from the security that a large family provided. In a time when having people remember you and the deeds of your life was the equivalent of 'eternal life' this promise of a great nation ensured that Abram would be cared for in his old age and not forgotten after his death.
Then an amazing promise: not the 'blessings/curses' portion but the part that goes "And all people on earth will be blessed through you." That is one amazing promise and perhaps harder to believe than the land and offspring promises. All people on earth - that's one huge promise.
That brings us to two important points.
#1 The people of Israel understood themselves to be the messengers of God's blessings for the world. It was to be through Israel that God's light was brought to others who knew not God. Aaron was called to be a priest to Israel (in the Moses saga) but it was Israel who was called to be a priest to the nations. This is an awesome honor, but a great responsibility as well. It was critical that Israel maintain a righteous relationship with God; if Israel failed then how would the world know? I believe that understanding this mindset is important to understanding the rhythm of faith and practice among the Hebrews. What would it mean to you if you understood yourself to be responsible for bringing holiness into the lives of others? (and is that not in fact your call?)
#2 As the apostle Paul was wrestling with the notion of Jesus as Messiah (being himself a devout Jew and Jesus a crucified criminal) Paul returns to this passage of blessing and promise. The people of Israel didn't take notice that God said 'all people' - not all the members of your tribe or all the people you know, but all people - and down the line that promise would include those outside of Israel. To be a light or blessing to all nations is to be a blessing to the Gentiles as well as the Jews - those who live inside Torah and those who do not. Or so Paul taught. Not every one bought the argument.
The apostle Paul uses this to indicate that Jesus is not the negation of God's promises to Israel but rather the one going ahead like Moses did to bring redemption and freedom to all people. In fact, as the named children of God, Israel has a special place in the great history of God and God's interaction with this world. We Christians are often guilty of failing to own the power and call of the Old Testament and the stories of faith that are found there - as if they are not important to the faith life of followers of Jesus. I would hold that we stand on the shoulders of these believers. Their stories help us live out faithful lives in the nitty gritty of this world even as we cling to Jesus and the power of his forgiveness.
A final note: if you spend any time in Genesis you will discover that Abram wasn't perfect; very few of the characters of the OT are. Faith isn't about our perfection. Forgetting that can lead us down some very dangerous paths.
Blessings to all.
A Prayer for Japan
The news and pictures from Japan following an 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami are scarey. The death toll is rising as recovery and evacuation pick up speed.
The ELCA has reported that all of its 22 missionaries in Japan have reported in and are safe. However, Barb Edlund's daughter who lives in Japan with her husband has not been heard from. Although she had previously reassured her mom that they lived high enough up to be safe from a tsunami, we all want to hear that they are both safe.
To that end, let us pray for the people of Japan, for Barb and her daughter and son-in-law......
Loving God, in the communion of Christ,
we are joined with the trials and sufferings of all.
Be with those who endure the effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Protect those in the path of danger.
Open the pathway of evacuations
Help loved ones find one another in the chaos.
Provide asistance to those who need help.
Ease the fears of all and make your presence known in the stillness of your peace.
Amen
The Lutheran Disaster Relief will be assisting Japan as its needs are known. More information is available at http://www.elca.org/ and at church on Sunday. Donations are always welcome.
The ELCA has reported that all of its 22 missionaries in Japan have reported in and are safe. However, Barb Edlund's daughter who lives in Japan with her husband has not been heard from. Although she had previously reassured her mom that they lived high enough up to be safe from a tsunami, we all want to hear that they are both safe.
To that end, let us pray for the people of Japan, for Barb and her daughter and son-in-law......
Loving God, in the communion of Christ,
we are joined with the trials and sufferings of all.
Be with those who endure the effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Protect those in the path of danger.
Open the pathway of evacuations
Help loved ones find one another in the chaos.
Provide asistance to those who need help.
Ease the fears of all and make your presence known in the stillness of your peace.
Amen
The Lutheran Disaster Relief will be assisting Japan as its needs are known. More information is available at http://www.elca.org/ and at church on Sunday. Donations are always welcome.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Boot camp for Saviors
Matthew 4.1-11 NIV courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted [tested] by the devil." Rough start to a spiritual journey!
This is no happenstance. The Spirit - a gift from the Father at Jesus' baptism - is now leading him into the wilderness to encounter the tempter, AKA the devil. There is no question that Matthew, consistent with the other gospels' scenes of temptation, wants us to know that this encounter with the devil was planned, necessary to Jesus' spiritual development.
Now, you should have paused at that phrase "Jesus' spiritual development" because it implies a particular point of view regarding Jesus as savior and Christ (two different titles) which is a theological discussion. To be clear, I have no argument with Jesus as fully the savior and the Christ (anointed one - see his baptism) from the moment of his birth. However, I do believe we watch as Jesus becomes increasingly aware of what it will mean for him to faithfully follow in obedience as a Son of God.
As Jesus took on human form, he relinquished a portion of his power as God (note how Jesus will indicate that no one knows the hour that the end will come, only the Father in heaven knows). As Jesus lives out his calling, he comes to a better understanding, a more complete understanding of the details, the in's and out's, etc. Jesus intentionally obeys (note his request in the Garden of Gethsemane that this cup pass from him); he does the Father's will. But that doesn't always mean that he is aware of the implications of that faithfulness. Theologians would call mine a 'low Christology'; I honor the human limitations of Jesus more than some theologians.
So we begin with the temptations, a necessary starting point because this story is significantly about allegiance. To whom will Jesus give his allegiance? God or Satan? The divine Son of God is called to give allegiance only to God, and to put all things behind him in following that path of obedience. Satan is actually saying, SINCE you are the Son of God (not IF you are the Son of God). This is a special form of Greek that implies a positive answer to a question; it is not open ended.
The three temptations parallel the temptations of Israel in the wilderness. First is the manna episode. Second is the water which comes from the rock at Meribah. Third is the idolatry manifest in Exo 32.16. In each scenario, Jesus is tempted to decide for himself, that is, to choose for self-preservation rather than to trust in God's covenant relationship with him.
As I begin this week's sermon, several themes pop out at me.
Baby steps: Jesus is taking the first steps of his mission as Son of God. Finding his balance.
Fasting: a Lenten discipline. Jesus fasts for 40 days. This cleans out the old, makes room for the new in his world.
Stones: stones to bread. In the baptism scene, John the Baptist claims he could turn stones into Sons of Abraham; apparently being the Son of God is much harder. Later in Matthew, Jesus speaks of the stones of the temple when speaking of his mission.
Hunger and thirst after righteousness: in the next chapter of Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness - they will be filled.
In the next weeks of Lent we look at people who encounter Jesus in his ministry. Those texts are taken from the gospel of John. In those weeks we can see the response to Jesus' call to individuals. This week we are looking at Jesus alone. We are but spectators. How does this scene help us prepare for our journey of following and trusting?
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Footnotes:
- Matthew 4:1 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
- Matthew 4:4 Deut. 8:3
- Matthew 4:6 Psalm 91:11,12
- Matthew 4:7 Deut. 6:16
- Matthew 4:10 Deut. 6:13
This is no happenstance. The Spirit - a gift from the Father at Jesus' baptism - is now leading him into the wilderness to encounter the tempter, AKA the devil. There is no question that Matthew, consistent with the other gospels' scenes of temptation, wants us to know that this encounter with the devil was planned, necessary to Jesus' spiritual development.
Now, you should have paused at that phrase "Jesus' spiritual development" because it implies a particular point of view regarding Jesus as savior and Christ (two different titles) which is a theological discussion. To be clear, I have no argument with Jesus as fully the savior and the Christ (anointed one - see his baptism) from the moment of his birth. However, I do believe we watch as Jesus becomes increasingly aware of what it will mean for him to faithfully follow in obedience as a Son of God.
As Jesus took on human form, he relinquished a portion of his power as God (note how Jesus will indicate that no one knows the hour that the end will come, only the Father in heaven knows). As Jesus lives out his calling, he comes to a better understanding, a more complete understanding of the details, the in's and out's, etc. Jesus intentionally obeys (note his request in the Garden of Gethsemane that this cup pass from him); he does the Father's will. But that doesn't always mean that he is aware of the implications of that faithfulness. Theologians would call mine a 'low Christology'; I honor the human limitations of Jesus more than some theologians.
So we begin with the temptations, a necessary starting point because this story is significantly about allegiance. To whom will Jesus give his allegiance? God or Satan? The divine Son of God is called to give allegiance only to God, and to put all things behind him in following that path of obedience. Satan is actually saying, SINCE you are the Son of God (not IF you are the Son of God). This is a special form of Greek that implies a positive answer to a question; it is not open ended.
The three temptations parallel the temptations of Israel in the wilderness. First is the manna episode. Second is the water which comes from the rock at Meribah. Third is the idolatry manifest in Exo 32.16. In each scenario, Jesus is tempted to decide for himself, that is, to choose for self-preservation rather than to trust in God's covenant relationship with him.
As I begin this week's sermon, several themes pop out at me.
Baby steps: Jesus is taking the first steps of his mission as Son of God. Finding his balance.
Fasting: a Lenten discipline. Jesus fasts for 40 days. This cleans out the old, makes room for the new in his world.
Stones: stones to bread. In the baptism scene, John the Baptist claims he could turn stones into Sons of Abraham; apparently being the Son of God is much harder. Later in Matthew, Jesus speaks of the stones of the temple when speaking of his mission.
Hunger and thirst after righteousness: in the next chapter of Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness - they will be filled.
In the next weeks of Lent we look at people who encounter Jesus in his ministry. Those texts are taken from the gospel of John. In those weeks we can see the response to Jesus' call to individuals. This week we are looking at Jesus alone. We are but spectators. How does this scene help us prepare for our journey of following and trusting?
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
An apple a day
Genesis 2.7-8
Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
Genesis 3.1-7
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
[This Sunday's OT (Old Testament) lesson is taken from two different chapters in Genesis.]
OK, OK I know there is nothing said about an apple....it's just a fruit.....but who am I to try to fight thousands of years of error. I guess all those painters made the fruit an apple because a red apple looks so good against a green tree!
I suppose you could figure out that the theme of this Sunday, the first in Lent, is temptation. The passage that we have is commonly known as "The Fall" and speaks of the fall from grace (or into sin) by the two first human people: Adam and Eve.
There is much to be noted about the text. Note that the serpent (NOT Satan) was one of the created animals. Note that the serpent begins the conversation as if this were an episode of Jeopardy. "What did God say to you?" Is this a test (another interpretation of the idea of temptation) or some kind of game?
Then the serpent claims that God's prediction that eating of the tree would lead to death is WRONG! What do we do with that? Is the serpent claiming to know more than God? Does the serpent know that God will look upon these folk with mercy and not claim their lives? Because, the serpent is right. They do not die - although they might wish that they had.
Adam and Eve consider what God has told them. They consider what the serpent tells them. They consider the benefits of the apple for their well being. Then they chew on it all for a while.
And it all comes tumbling down. Humans are exposed to one another (saw their nakedness) as vulnerable, weak. They know shame for the first time in God's presence. They are banned from the garden. And all of us have continued to face down temptation with limited results most of our lives.
Let me share a wonderful passage from a book by Barbara Brown Taylor, a superb preacher. The Preaching Life, p. 172-3. In a sermon she speaks of legends that exist about Adam and Eve after 'the incident'
'According to one of them, God gave Adam and Eve a cave to live in just east of Eden, where they sat in shock for months after their eviction from paradise, reciting every detail they could remember to each other: the shade of the trees, the warmth of the sun, the beauty of the land. Eve offered to kill herself if God would let Adam back into the garden alone, but Adam would not hear of it, although he tried to end his own life soon after by jumping off a cliff. When both of them had failed to die, they wept and beat their breasts and both together begged God to let them return to Eden. But God said, with enormous divine sadness, that it was impossible - that once he had given his word even he could not take it back.
Instead he sent them angels to sing to them and sprinkle scented water on them to cool them. He reconciled the beasts of the earth tothem, telling the animals to be gentle with them, but Adam and Even could not be roused from their despair. For 83 days they languished, refusing all food and drink for fear they would sin again. God gave them a fountain of living water to drink, but took it back when they tried to drown themselves in it. He sent them figs from the garden to eat, big as watermelons, but they left them for the crows.
Finally, the legend goes, when their bodies were stained from exposure and they were speechless with heat and cold, Adam and Eve let God teach them how to sew, using thorns for needles and sheepskins to make shirts for themselves to cover their nakedness. It was a big step. Having lost paradise, having run out of bushes and alibis to hide behind, having all but killed themselves through guilt and exposure, Adam and Eve decided to let God clothe them. "Fear not," an angel sang to them that night, "the God who created you will strengthen you."
This world was patched back together again, but humans have never again known the clear, pure joy of being in God's presence that was spoken of in the story of Adam and Eve. That is where we hope to find our selves one day, again in paradise and in the presence of the Lord. That is the life Jesus made possible and calls us to.
Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
Genesis 3.1-7
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
[This Sunday's OT (Old Testament) lesson is taken from two different chapters in Genesis.]
OK, OK I know there is nothing said about an apple....it's just a fruit.....but who am I to try to fight thousands of years of error. I guess all those painters made the fruit an apple because a red apple looks so good against a green tree!
I suppose you could figure out that the theme of this Sunday, the first in Lent, is temptation. The passage that we have is commonly known as "The Fall" and speaks of the fall from grace (or into sin) by the two first human people: Adam and Eve.
There is much to be noted about the text. Note that the serpent (NOT Satan) was one of the created animals. Note that the serpent begins the conversation as if this were an episode of Jeopardy. "What did God say to you?" Is this a test (another interpretation of the idea of temptation) or some kind of game?
Then the serpent claims that God's prediction that eating of the tree would lead to death is WRONG! What do we do with that? Is the serpent claiming to know more than God? Does the serpent know that God will look upon these folk with mercy and not claim their lives? Because, the serpent is right. They do not die - although they might wish that they had.
Adam and Eve consider what God has told them. They consider what the serpent tells them. They consider the benefits of the apple for their well being. Then they chew on it all for a while.
And it all comes tumbling down. Humans are exposed to one another (saw their nakedness) as vulnerable, weak. They know shame for the first time in God's presence. They are banned from the garden. And all of us have continued to face down temptation with limited results most of our lives.
Let me share a wonderful passage from a book by Barbara Brown Taylor, a superb preacher. The Preaching Life, p. 172-3. In a sermon she speaks of legends that exist about Adam and Eve after 'the incident'
'According to one of them, God gave Adam and Eve a cave to live in just east of Eden, where they sat in shock for months after their eviction from paradise, reciting every detail they could remember to each other: the shade of the trees, the warmth of the sun, the beauty of the land. Eve offered to kill herself if God would let Adam back into the garden alone, but Adam would not hear of it, although he tried to end his own life soon after by jumping off a cliff. When both of them had failed to die, they wept and beat their breasts and both together begged God to let them return to Eden. But God said, with enormous divine sadness, that it was impossible - that once he had given his word even he could not take it back.
Instead he sent them angels to sing to them and sprinkle scented water on them to cool them. He reconciled the beasts of the earth tothem, telling the animals to be gentle with them, but Adam and Even could not be roused from their despair. For 83 days they languished, refusing all food and drink for fear they would sin again. God gave them a fountain of living water to drink, but took it back when they tried to drown themselves in it. He sent them figs from the garden to eat, big as watermelons, but they left them for the crows.
Finally, the legend goes, when their bodies were stained from exposure and they were speechless with heat and cold, Adam and Eve let God teach them how to sew, using thorns for needles and sheepskins to make shirts for themselves to cover their nakedness. It was a big step. Having lost paradise, having run out of bushes and alibis to hide behind, having all but killed themselves through guilt and exposure, Adam and Eve decided to let God clothe them. "Fear not," an angel sang to them that night, "the God who created you will strengthen you."
This world was patched back together again, but humans have never again known the clear, pure joy of being in God's presence that was spoken of in the story of Adam and Eve. That is where we hope to find our selves one day, again in paradise and in the presence of the Lord. That is the life Jesus made possible and calls us to.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Anointed for death.........Ash Wednesday
Mark 14.3-9 NIV courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you,[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
This is not the lectionary assigned text for Ash Wednesday. I chose this text for preaching reasons. Throughout Lent's mid-week services, we will be looking at stories of faith from the Bible: Noah, Moses, Abraham, the Israelites and then Jesus. I wanted to begin with an additional person who had an encounter with Jesus; I chose this text because the character is a woman and she is preparing Jesus for his death, an appropriate text for Ash Wednesday.
In the Ash Wednesday service, a cross is drawn on the penitent's forehead. (The ashes are made out of burned palms from last year's Palm Sunday.) The presider says something similar to 'Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.' This liturgical piece mirrors a passage in Genesis when God tells humankind that 'from dust you came and to dust you shall return.'
Ash Wednesday is a solemn day of remembering - remembering that we are frail and finite and that death alone is our exit from this world. We receive ashes following an extensive time of confession and then we are joined into Christ in the meal of communion. It is Christian ritual at its best.
So what do we do with this woman? Well, in spite of Jesus' promise that because of her actions she will always be remembered, she is anonymous in this story (as is often the case for women in the scriptures). In Mark's version of this story, Jesus is at Simon the Leper's house while a plot to kill Jesus foments in the streets. There is death all around, filling the air. In fact, with the violent unrest currently in the Middle East (think Libya) we might be able to imagine the tension of this scene with the appropriate Middle Eastern background.
Simon is a leper - a form of living death. The woman is anonymous - another form of living death. The onlookers add to the tension with their vocal opposition to her actions, to the waste of her act of anointing. Then Jesus says what everyone else is only thinking....'she has anointed my body for burial.' v8 Who was talking about burial? Who was speaking about Jesus' death? No one. Everyone.
And death as end is all that they know. Most of us look at death as not just an end, but the end. Certainly those gathered in that room thought of death as end, and I would guess that many thought Jesus was in danger of becoming its next victim.
So we have this intersection of opposites: the scent of costly perfume poured out in an act of love and devotion while the scent of death wafts around their heads.
We are caught at this intersection: the reality of death in our lives and in the lives of those we love and the challenge of faith in this Jesus, this Son of God, this Messiah. She anoints with oil but the sweet smell of death lingers. There is no path around this dead end; we can only travel through it and we only do that with Jesus. How hard to believe in the scent of life instead of the scent of death.
So as much as Ash Wednesday is about the reality of death it is also about how we are living our lives: poured out in love and devotion or ducking our heads thinking we can avoid the birds of death circling around us. Living as if we believe in life or living as if we are held captive by death?
As a rule I am saddened by the scriptures' practice of leaving the women in its stories unnamed. But perhaps this anonymous woman allows each of us to fill in our own story, our own profile, our own name as she anoints Jesus. Then we can pray that in the face of all that frightens and threatens us, we might love, honor, and serve the Lord who will carry us home.
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you,[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
This is not the lectionary assigned text for Ash Wednesday. I chose this text for preaching reasons. Throughout Lent's mid-week services, we will be looking at stories of faith from the Bible: Noah, Moses, Abraham, the Israelites and then Jesus. I wanted to begin with an additional person who had an encounter with Jesus; I chose this text because the character is a woman and she is preparing Jesus for his death, an appropriate text for Ash Wednesday.
In the Ash Wednesday service, a cross is drawn on the penitent's forehead. (The ashes are made out of burned palms from last year's Palm Sunday.) The presider says something similar to 'Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.' This liturgical piece mirrors a passage in Genesis when God tells humankind that 'from dust you came and to dust you shall return.'
Ash Wednesday is a solemn day of remembering - remembering that we are frail and finite and that death alone is our exit from this world. We receive ashes following an extensive time of confession and then we are joined into Christ in the meal of communion. It is Christian ritual at its best.
So what do we do with this woman? Well, in spite of Jesus' promise that because of her actions she will always be remembered, she is anonymous in this story (as is often the case for women in the scriptures). In Mark's version of this story, Jesus is at Simon the Leper's house while a plot to kill Jesus foments in the streets. There is death all around, filling the air. In fact, with the violent unrest currently in the Middle East (think Libya) we might be able to imagine the tension of this scene with the appropriate Middle Eastern background.
Simon is a leper - a form of living death. The woman is anonymous - another form of living death. The onlookers add to the tension with their vocal opposition to her actions, to the waste of her act of anointing. Then Jesus says what everyone else is only thinking....'she has anointed my body for burial.' v8 Who was talking about burial? Who was speaking about Jesus' death? No one. Everyone.
And death as end is all that they know. Most of us look at death as not just an end, but the end. Certainly those gathered in that room thought of death as end, and I would guess that many thought Jesus was in danger of becoming its next victim.
So we have this intersection of opposites: the scent of costly perfume poured out in an act of love and devotion while the scent of death wafts around their heads.
We are caught at this intersection: the reality of death in our lives and in the lives of those we love and the challenge of faith in this Jesus, this Son of God, this Messiah. She anoints with oil but the sweet smell of death lingers. There is no path around this dead end; we can only travel through it and we only do that with Jesus. How hard to believe in the scent of life instead of the scent of death.
So as much as Ash Wednesday is about the reality of death it is also about how we are living our lives: poured out in love and devotion or ducking our heads thinking we can avoid the birds of death circling around us. Living as if we believe in life or living as if we are held captive by death?
As a rule I am saddened by the scriptures' practice of leaving the women in its stories unnamed. But perhaps this anonymous woman allows each of us to fill in our own story, our own profile, our own name as she anoints Jesus. Then we can pray that in the face of all that frightens and threatens us, we might love, honor, and serve the Lord who will carry us home.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
God's glory.....or King of the mountain
Matthew 17.1-9 NIV courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead
Here's the challenge: How do we in the 21st century connect with this scripture? What message does it have for us?
So that's where I'm going and I"ll start with just a few observations.
After six days.....this reference comes out of nowhere. We have no idea 'six days after' what? Of course, there are lots of biblical references to what was, in fact, the 7th day. Creation is the first that comes to mind. So is there a connection between this manifestation of God in Jesus and creation?
Up a mountain......if you have read the assigned Exodus text you'll get the connection to Moses immediately. Moses went up the mountain and met God. There was a cloud surrounding the scene. God spoke. Moses received a message for the people of Israel.
Up a mountain....look back at Matthew's account of the temptation of Jesus. Satan takes him up a mountain and offers all the world and its splendor if Jesus will simply bow down and worship Satan. Matthew4.8-11. So mountains can be a place of temptation as well.
" This is my son the beloved with him I am well pleased; listen to him" If you look back to Mt 3.17 you'll find exactly the same pronouncement. (Don't be fooled by the slight difference in translation. Don't know what the translators were thinking but the Greek text is exactly the same.) So clearly we are to make some kind of connection between Jesus' baptism (the inauguration of his ministry?) and this time of transfiguration.
Elijah and Moses. Why these two? Two possible explanations (and I'm sure more are out there). Moses is the great law giver about whom it was said 'never has there been raised up a prophet greater than Moses'. Elijah was no slouch in the prophet department, and could himself represent the combined wisdom of the prophets. (thus we would have the Law and the Prophets). But Elijah was also the one who would return (he is already dead) before the Messiah could come. So Elijah was a signal of the Messiah's imminent return. Therefore, all that was needed was in place for the Messiah, the Anointed one. We are to conclude that Jesus is that Messiah.
But all that wisdom simply leads me back to my original question: What are we to do with this text? What could God's message be to us today?
And so I am taken with the image of the mountain as both a place of glory and a place of temptation for Jesus. How many stories are out there of folks who are corrupted by fame or wealth? We would certainly understand that scenario.
Could this be part two of the temptation of Jesus? The Transfiguration of Jesus is generally a dividing point in the gospel's story - from that point on the opposition gets stronger even as Jesus' teaching gets more pointed. Although it is not literally true in each of the gospels, figuratively, Jesus leaves the mountain and begins his last journey into Jerusalem.
What do you think?
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead
Here's the challenge: How do we in the 21st century connect with this scripture? What message does it have for us?
So that's where I'm going and I"ll start with just a few observations.
After six days.....this reference comes out of nowhere. We have no idea 'six days after' what? Of course, there are lots of biblical references to what was, in fact, the 7th day. Creation is the first that comes to mind. So is there a connection between this manifestation of God in Jesus and creation?
Up a mountain......if you have read the assigned Exodus text you'll get the connection to Moses immediately. Moses went up the mountain and met God. There was a cloud surrounding the scene. God spoke. Moses received a message for the people of Israel.
Up a mountain....look back at Matthew's account of the temptation of Jesus. Satan takes him up a mountain and offers all the world and its splendor if Jesus will simply bow down and worship Satan. Matthew4.8-11. So mountains can be a place of temptation as well.
" This is my son the beloved with him I am well pleased; listen to him" If you look back to Mt 3.17 you'll find exactly the same pronouncement. (Don't be fooled by the slight difference in translation. Don't know what the translators were thinking but the Greek text is exactly the same.) So clearly we are to make some kind of connection between Jesus' baptism (the inauguration of his ministry?) and this time of transfiguration.
Elijah and Moses. Why these two? Two possible explanations (and I'm sure more are out there). Moses is the great law giver about whom it was said 'never has there been raised up a prophet greater than Moses'. Elijah was no slouch in the prophet department, and could himself represent the combined wisdom of the prophets. (thus we would have the Law and the Prophets). But Elijah was also the one who would return (he is already dead) before the Messiah could come. So Elijah was a signal of the Messiah's imminent return. Therefore, all that was needed was in place for the Messiah, the Anointed one. We are to conclude that Jesus is that Messiah.
But all that wisdom simply leads me back to my original question: What are we to do with this text? What could God's message be to us today?
And so I am taken with the image of the mountain as both a place of glory and a place of temptation for Jesus. How many stories are out there of folks who are corrupted by fame or wealth? We would certainly understand that scenario.
Could this be part two of the temptation of Jesus? The Transfiguration of Jesus is generally a dividing point in the gospel's story - from that point on the opposition gets stronger even as Jesus' teaching gets more pointed. Although it is not literally true in each of the gospels, figuratively, Jesus leaves the mountain and begins his last journey into Jerusalem.
What do you think?
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