tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47792105143426470362024-03-13T00:34:38.435-07:00Pastor Greg's Bible BlogPastor Greg's preparatory ruminations on next Sunday's Scriptures, usually based on the lectionary, and usually with an eye toward the role of the world of nature and agriculture in the Bible.Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-59847168275141305992011-10-15T19:31:00.000-07:002011-10-16T12:50:03.944-07:00Completely Aware<p>We sometimes use religious language like "glory" and "presence," "goodness" and "compassion" without opening ourselves fully to God's life with us and in us. We sometimes hide and sometimes God is hidden from us. When we are open to God's grace, it shows in our lives (and faces).</p>
<h2>Exodus 33:12-23</h2>
<p>We are in the time between Moses' successive trips up and down the mountain into the presence of God to retrieve the "two tablets of the covenant, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God, ...the work of God, ...the writing of God, engraved on the tablets" (Exodus 31:18; 32:15-16). That first set of tablets has been broken in the heat of an angry fit (32:19) and the people have suffered a plague for their unfaithfulness (32:35). Moses has not yet been instructed to retrieve a second set of tablets, so Moses is in between visits to see God and is in something of a quandary as our reading begins. Perhaps Moses senses that God is telling him and the people to continue their journey but he is not at all sure that God intends to continue the journey with them. (In fact, God had told Moses, "Y'all go ahead; I'm staying here!" 33:3) Perhaps Moses is a little put out because his assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will not leave the "tent of meeting" (where one can only presume he is enjoying the presence of God from which Moses feels estranged) to return to camp (33:11). Joshua seems to be taking his time, as Moses did on top of the mountain. (32:1) Whatever the case, Moses begins a wrestling match with God about God's availability.</p>
<p>Moses wants to know:
<br>
<ul>
<li>Whom will you send with me? (33:12)
<br><li>Have I (really) found <b>favor</b> (grace) in your sight? (33:13)
<br><li>May I (really) <b>know</b> you? (33:13)
<br><li>May I (really) know your ways? (33:13)
<br><li>May I (really) <b>trust</b> you to go with us? (33:15-16)
<br><li>May I (really) trust that we are special to you? (33:16)
<br><li>May I (really) see your <b>glory</b>? (33:18)
<br><li>May I (really) share this grace, faith and hope with your people? (33:13, 16)
</ul></p>
<p>God is faithful in his relationship with Moses, assuring Moses of the reliability of his presence, without allowing Moses to control God. God assures Moses:
<br><ul>
<br><li>I know you by name. (33:12, 17)
<br><li>You have found favor (grace) in my sight. (33:12, 17)
<br><li>My presence will go with you. (33:14)
<br><li>I will give you rest. (33:14)
<br><li>I will do what you have asked. (33:17)
<br><li>I will make all my <b>goodness</b> pass before you. (33:19)
<br><li>I will proclaim before you <b>the name</b>, the LORD. (33:19)
<br><li>I will be <b>gracious</b> [to whom I will be gracious]; I will <b>show mercy</b> [to whom I will show mercy] (33:19)
<br><li>You can<b>not</b> see my face. (No one shall see me and live; 33:20; see 32:11)
<br><li>You shall stand on the rock, <b>near</b> me, covered by my hand until I have passed by (33:21-22)
<br><li>You shall see my back. (33:23)
<br></ul>
</p>
<p>What are we to make of all this back and forth between Moses and God? If we pay attention to the details, it appears that God makes us most clearly and fully aware of God's presence in retrospect and prospect--and through the observation of others (e.g., 33:10)--and less clearly or directly in the moment. We may long like Moses for a directness that will remain elusive, except as it is mediated through a remembrance of those times when God has already been present with us (all God's goodness, faithfulness, grace, and mercy in the past...even some times when God spoke to us "face to face") and a vision of that future when God has promised to be with us again. Sometimes our situation is such that our awareness of God's presence is attenuated and obscured--times when we have experienced failure, doubt, fear, sin and disillusionment. [We are, as Calvin says in the Institutes [Prefatory Address], "perfectly conscious how poor and abject we are: in the presence of God we are miserable sinners, and in the sight of men most despised."] At those times, God sometimes answers our pleas with memory and hope, faith and reflection, promise and reminder. Moses will not see God today except as he reviews God's promises, God's goodness, God's identity (name), God's graciousness, God's mercy, and memories of God's glory--and as he catches a glimpse of God's "back," which is a sure sign that Moses had better break camp and start the journey. The question is not whether God will go with his people when they leave, but whether God's people will break camp and follow when God renews the journey. For now, there's rest in the cleft of the rock for Moses.</p>
<p>In the next chapter, God will again pass in front of Moses and when Moses leaves the presence of God, he is marked and changed, even if temporarily. His face shines because he has been in the presence of God (has seen God's "glory"), but still he does not know it. (34:29-35)</p>
<h2>1 Thessalonians 1:1-10</h2>
<p>Though Paul's letter to the Thessalonians opens with a prayer of thanksgiving rather than a prayer of intercession, Paul is also cultivating an awareness of God's presence for himself and for the church to whom he writes. Paul is sure that this God whom they serve is a "living and true God" (1:9). Paul is also aware that cultivating a complete awareness of God's presence requires the deployment of <b>faith</b>, a fundamental trust in God demonstrated in Jesus' faithfulness and obedience; <b>hope</b>, an orientation toward the future with a sense of certainty and anticipation that what God has promised God will do; and <b>love</b>, an orientation of service toward God and our neighbor. Paul is aware of the power of prayer to work with memory (1:3) and the Word through the Holy Spirit to make the presence of God come alive even (or especially) in times of persecution. (1:6) Practicing the presence of God requires a cultivation of "remembering" and "waiting"--as we said about Moses, it is retrospect and prospect--recalling how God raised Jesus from the dead while we wait for him to return to rescue us from the wrath to come.</p>
<h2>Renewing Awareness of the Presence of the LORD</h2>
<p>There are a few things to remember when we sense a need for renewed assurance that the LORD is present with us.</p>
<h3>Pray! | Thanksgiving and Intercession </h3>
<p>Moses and Paul demonstrate an active life of <em>prayer</em> as the key component for a living relationship with God. Nothing renews an awareness of God's presence like the practice of prayer. Moses carries on an in-depth conversation with God, laying out his need for knowledge, grace, guidance along the path, and assurance (especially that God will go with the people when they leave their present location). Moses is even so bold as to ask to see God's "glory" as an indisputable sign of God's presence with him (33:18). Paul uses an extended thanksgiving for the church in Thessalonica to renew his own sense of God's living presence--past, present, and future.</p>
<h3>Read Scripture! | Listen to the Spirit Breathe</h3>
<p>God manifests himself to our awareness in the Scriptures, when, as Paul says, the gospel comes to us not in "word only," but in power and with full conviction, with joy and inspiration. (1 Thessalonians 1:5-6) Again, such an awareness is one that requires faith, engenders hope, and works itself out in love. I may not experience the immediacy of God's presence while I am reading, as I so often long to do. No, it may be only long after the fact that I see the way the Spirit was using Scripture to bring me into God's presence--or it may only be in anticipation of the day when the veil will be lifted from my eyes and I will know as I am known. Either way, practicing an awareness of God's presence requires listening to God speak, being able to say as Moses did, "I know you have said 'Bring up this people'...and 'I know you by name' and 'You have found favor in my sight.'" Reading Scripture enables a conversation with God in which we hear and listen, becoming aware of God's presence in the process.</p>
<p>Marjorie Thompson uses the contrasting images of a "handwritten letter from a dear friend" and a "newspaper" to talk about the difference between reading for information and reading for relationship. There is functional reading and relational reading. Spiritual reading, says Thompson, is "concerned not with speed or volume but with depth and receptivity, ...because the purpose of spiritual reading is to open ourselves to how God may be speaking to us." (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0664229476/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tumbledownfar-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0664229476">Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tumbledownfar-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0664229476&camp=217145&creative=399369" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, p. 19). "It is not that the words magically or mechanically contain God's presence, but that as we allow the same Spirit through which the scriptures were written to inform our listening, the presence of God in and beyond those words becomes alive for us once more."(p. 22)</p>
<h3>Discern! | Listen to the People</h3>
<p>We have noted that Moses seems unaware of what others see. He and we need the help of the community to notice that whenever we enter the "tent of meeting" the presence of God, a pillar of cloud, descends on the tent. Or we need folks to tell us when our faces are shining with God's glory, when our own presence is reflecting time spent in the presence of God. Marjorie Thompson reminds us that when we enter the Shekinah (glory), the light and warmth of God's presence, we never do so alone: "We are there with all God's children held in the divine embrace." (<em>Soul Feast</em>, p. 45) Moses, feeling quite alone at the moment, is nevertheless involved in intercession on behalf of the people, God's people, God's children. It is as if he is lifting each of them into the light of God's glory when he prays for them to know the continuing presence of God. Is it any wonder then that the people of God are the first to notice when Moses has been in God's presence?</p>
<h3>Rest! | Play and Take Sabbath</h3>
<p>In our busy world, this is possibly the hardest word of admonition to follow. For that reason it is good to remember that Sabbath rest is a grace, a free gift of God to us, as it was to Moses. (33:14)
<h3>Stay Awake! | Awe & Wow</h3>
<p>Being aware of God's presence means staying alive to what brings us wonder and awe--and staying conscious of the contrast between God's majesty and our own insignificance. As Calvin reminds, "holy men [and women] were struck and overwhelmed whenever they beheld the presence of God." The glory of God reminds us that we are mere dust and ash. God's wisdom, judgment, mercy, and love remind us of what humbler stuff we are made. Even the moon is embarrassed and the sun ashamed in the light of God's glory (Isaiah 24:23). So, when we ask to "see God's glory" as Moses did, we should be prepared to be wowed and humbled. Awareness of God's presence is "bound together with a mutual tie" to knowledge of ourselves (Calvin), and so awareness of God's presence is a state of constant astonishment and embarrassment. Moses' discomfort is a fairly good sign that he is already in God's presence even as he asks to see God's glory.</p>
<p>The irony is that there is nowhere to hide from God's presence. Though we may not be always fully aware, we are always fully known (by name) to the same God who knew Moses; we have received favor (grace) from the same one who gifted Moses. There is literally no place to run; nowhere to hide from the face of God. At the very same time that we fear God's absence, we are the objects of God's interest and gaze. Psalm 139 says it best, ringing the changes on God's presence: <blockquote>Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. ...I come to the end--I am still with you.</blockquote> NRSV (139:7-10, 18)
<br>Like Moses, we may be afraid of God's absence because we are attempting (or are tempted) to hide, ashamed of what we have done and the tablets of the covenant we have fractured. As John says, we may prefer darkness to the light of God's glory because our deeds are evil. Still we know that we are in desperate need of the very One from whom we hide and so we pray, "show us your glory."</p>
<p>As Marjorie Thompson says in Soul Feast, "It would be nice if we could simply 'practice the presence of God' in all of life, without expending energy on particular exercises." <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tumbledownfar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0664229476" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe> "But the capacity ot remember and abide in God's presence comes only through steady training." (p. 12)</p>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com06634 Rosebud Lane, Indianapolis, IN 4623740.979898069620127 -85.07812516.706785569620127 -125.5078125 65.25301056962013 -44.6484375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-18012551352605801952010-12-04T13:41:00.000-08:002010-12-04T20:28:30.683-08:00Christmas Sensations: Taste Life!<p>Our Advent series this year is entitled <em>Christmas Sensations</em>. During the four weeks of Advent every year, the world is alive with the beautiful <em>sounds</em> of music and bells, delicious <em>tastes</em> of cookies and cakes, delightful aromas of baking and the cool, clean <em>scents</em> of evergreen, the loving <em>touch</em> of family hugs and reunions with friends, and the brilliant <em>sights</em> of brightly colored lights. The premise of the series is that every (pre-)Christmas sensation is an open <em>INVITATION</em> to relationship with God. At Christmas, our every sense is heightened in expectation that IMMANUEL will appear, God-With-Us, bringing hope, peace, joy, and love! Let's welcome Jesus into our hearts through a celebration of the senses.</p><p><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TOgqf6jmxXI/AAAAAAAADUo/1ZoHqtsEa00/s288/iStock_000014751307Medium.jpg"></p><p>On this Second Sunday of Advent, we want to <em>TASTE</em> Life in its fullness.</p><h2>Taste in Scripture</h2><p>Scripture uses good and bad tastes as metaphors for spiritual realities. When we are hungry, God gives good food to eat (Deuteronomy 8:3, Nehemiah 9:15). Manna, God's provision of food for Israel in the wilderness, tasted like honey wafers (Exodus 16:31) or rich cakes. The ability to discern the difference between good and bad by taste is something that we learn to do very early. Consider the well-known advent prophecy of Isaiah:<br />
<blockquote>Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil [bad] and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil [bad] and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. (Isaiah 7:14-16, NRSV)</blockquote>This "taste discernment" is an almost-universal human attribute. It is the plight of the omnivore to learn what is good and bad from the experience of tasting.<br />
<br />
<iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=tumbledownfar-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0143038583&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;"align="left" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br />
<br />
It is the plight of all humans since Adam and Eve (i.e., <em>ALL</em> humans!) to know the difference between good and bad by taste (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:22; Job 6:30). Taste is not an unmitigated blessing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TIzPjEn3pFI/AAAAAAAADOU/-7UnfQBmjYA/s288/iStock_000004350481Small.jpg"><br />
<br />
But the loss of taste is a harbinger of decline in human faculties and the approach of death (2 Samuel 19:35). Taste is one of the undeniable markers of "incarnate" human existence, one that is regulated by human law, custom, and convention (Colossians 2:20-23).</p><p>To "taste" something means to experience the whole--or at least to know its full character--through contact with a part. For example, if you "taste" even a morsel of bread during a fast, you may as well eat the loaf (2 Samuel 3:35, Jonah 3:7, Acts 23:14). And, of course, to "taste death" does not mean to be just a little sick (Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:27, John 8:52, Hebrews 2:9).</p><p>Among the good things we are urged to taste in life are the Word of God (Psalm 119:103, sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter!), Wisdom (Proverbs 24:13), and Love (Song of Solomon 2:3). </p><p>Disciples are salty (Matthew 5:13, Luke 14:34)--they produce thirst for spiritual things in others and they "savor" the environment in which they live. And eating with sinners is the way of the Lord (and thus, the way of his disciples; Luke 5:29). </p><p>Finally, a taste is a preview of full satisfaction. It is a preview of coming attractions. The first taste of a banquet (e.g., a "wedding banquet," Matthew 22:2-9, 25:1-10, Luke 12:36-37) whets the appetite, revealing just enough to stoke our desire for more. That is what Advent tasting is all about, whetting our appetite for the feast that follows. Our advent tasting is merely suggestive of the full riches of the royal feast that awaits.<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote>On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25:6-9, NRSV; see Luke 14:24)</blockquote><br />
<br />
Death, often a time for the "survivors" to eat and drink (and in the aNE to "share" food with the dead), is not a time when the dead can "taste" what the living do. A shade's existence is diminished and tasteless. The promise of advent is the promise of an end to such tastelessness and an End in God that is bursting with the flavor of life.</p><p>The contrast between hunger and fullness, death and life, is stark. Nowhere is the contrast more striking than with the Last Supper that Jesus shares with his disciples. The Passover meal is a memorial of salvation from death, celebrated in this instance by One who would shortly die. The promise of God is that this meal is not only a memorial, but also a foretaste of reunion celebration. The end of the story is not death but resurrection life, not famine but a return to feasting. And so, at Advent especially, we raise the cup and the bread to taste the promise of Life.</p><h3>Psalm 34:1-10</h3><p>A Psalm of trust in the LORD. In the midst of a dark and still darkening world, the Psalmist offers praise and trust that the LORD will save. Psalm 34:8 famously says "Taste and see that the LORD is good." (Leading some to suggest that the original "cult setting" for the psalm was the sharing of a celebratory meal, the shared portion of a sacrifice made in the temple as a thanksgiving offering to the LORD.) Those who take the Psalmist's advice will "have no want." Others, even the strong, will suffer from want and hunger, but those who trust in the LORD and seek him will not do without any good thing.</p><h3>1 Corinthians 11:23-26</h3><p>Sandwiched between warnings about gluttony and disregard for the poor, Paul relays to the Corinthian church again what he has taught them regarding the Lord's supper. Their practice has in the past discriminated on the basis of wealth and prominence, in effect "selling" the good news rather than giving it away. This, Paul says, mocks the gospel and the death of Jesus, effectively nullifying the blessing that comes from participating in the Lord's Supper.</p>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-43984811211480781022010-10-18T12:24:00.000-07:002010-10-25T16:01:29.102-07:00The Tenth Word: Beware Desire!<h2>Beware Desire!</h2><p align="center"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TIzPjEn3pFI/AAAAAAAADOU/-7UnfQBmjYA/s320/iStock_000004350481Small.jpg" width=60%></p><p>Finally, we come to the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-tenth-word-beware-desire">10th Commandment</a>! We might have hoped that this last Word would be less demanding, but if anything it is more so. We have seen something of a crescendo, a climax, as we have neared the end. From an attention to actions, we have moved to the realm of speech (false witness) and finally, now, to attitudes of the heart. From prohibitions against <em>doing</em>, we moved first to a Word against <em>saying</em>, and now to a commandment against even <em>thinking about</em> harming our neighbor. The terrain for the race has changed, and not for the easier. It as if we have left the flats, moved through the hill country, and are now cycling through the mountains. The final leg of the journey is uphill all the way to the finish line!</p><p><br><br />
<br><a href="http://blog.10wordstoliveby.com">Listen to the Podcast!</a></p>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-9711709453304020802010-10-10T15:32:00.000-07:002010-10-10T15:32:00.253-07:00The Ninth Word: Tell the Truth!This week we look at the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-ninth-word-tell-the-truth">Ninth Commandment</a>: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Lying is generally wrong wherever and to whomever it is done, but the point of this commandment is lying about our neighbor, lying to harm our neighbor, in a context where the word may in fact cause harm.Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-28776849757813286002010-10-03T10:46:00.000-07:002010-10-03T10:46:27.485-07:00The Eighth Word: No Taking!<h2>No Taking!</h2><p align="center"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TKhJ_7W99xI/AAAAAAAADQo/eHP6BHhAq5g/s400/iStock_000002243963Small.jpg" width="30%"></p><p>This week we consider the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-eighth-word-no-taking">Eighth Commandment</a>. It is the fourth in a series of commandments that focuses on loving our neighbor.</p><p>This study is about possessions, and holding them loosely, so if you are looking for some music to accompany the reading, you could do worse than the "<a href="http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=37135">jazz-influenced musical gumbo</a>" entitled "Big Gap" by Dr. John and the Lower 911.<br />
<iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=tumbledownfar-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=B003PUBLU0" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><p>After having dealt with our first neighbor (our parents, the neighbors we are born with), our neighbor's life, and our neighbor's wife, the Second Table of the Ten Commandments shifts focus to our neighbor's stuff. As a goal, guarding our neighbor's stuff ranks a distant third place in terms of this commandment's priorities: the second priority is loving our <em>neighbor</em> as our self and the first is loving <em>God</em>!</p>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-14375100411614204892010-09-26T13:26:00.000-07:002010-09-26T13:26:36.366-07:00The Seventh Word: Honor Marriage!<br>(...or, "have no other mates")<br />
<br><br />
<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TJ8gfncMBtI/AAAAAAAADPY/9r4cTZJMgMY/s288/iStock_000010059328Small.jpg" width="30%"><br />
<p>This week we consider the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-seventh-word-honor-marriage">Seventh Commandment</a>. It is the third in a series that focuses on loving our neighbor. After having dealt with our first neighbor (our parents, the neighbors we are born with) and our neighbor's life, The Second Table of the Ten Commandments shifts focus to the most intimate aspect of our most intimate relationship--the one we leave mother and father for, the one we take vows to protect.</p><p><a href="http://blog.10wordstoliveby.com/">Listen to the Sermon Online</a><br />
</p><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blog10wordstolivebycom" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/Blog10wordstolivebycom" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe to the Sermon Podcasts</a></p>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-65673512168349433542010-09-19T15:07:00.000-07:002010-09-19T15:07:00.992-07:00The Fifth Word: Respect Parents!<h2>"Honor thy father and thy mother!"</h2><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TJX_3CxPkNI/AAAAAAAADOs/Q0g7EFxECYU/s1600/iStock_000000684615XSmall.jpg" width="80%"><br />
This week we consider the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-fifth-word-respect-parents">Fifth Commandment</a>. It is the first commandment that focuses on loving our neighbor, and it is a commandment with a promise attached. The Second Table of the Ten Commandments begins at home, where vital relationships are already established and likely to need attention, rather than with the stranger or enemy. We discover along the way that our expectations about who is addressed are being turned upside down. The commandment is addressed to the strong, the adults, so that children may learn and the aging, the vulnerable, and the poor be cared for.Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-68536464123706693392010-09-12T14:25:00.000-07:002010-09-12T14:25:35.017-07:00The Sixth Word: Protect Life!This week, we take things a little out of order. The sermon was about the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-sixth-word-protect-life">Sixth Commandment</a>, "Thou shalt not kill!" The theme is appropriate to a weekend on which we commemorated the events of 9/11, especially given the conflict that surrounds the building of a mosque at Ground Zero and the threatened burning of the Qur'an by a Florida pastor. According to Jesus, the command to "Protect Life!" includes a requirement to seek reconciliation with, and to pray for and to feed, our enemies.<br />
<br />
Next week we will study the Fifth Commandment. The remainder of the studies should follow in order!Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-33123136973594832892010-09-05T04:22:00.000-07:002010-09-05T12:53:49.373-07:00The Fourth Word: Hallow the Day!<p align="center"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TIE4XMhUdXI/AAAAAAAADMU/iczGwa-Pw00/s288/iStock_000010803719Small.jpg" width="40%"><br />
<br />
No Ordinary Appointment<br />
</p><p>This week I continue a study of the 10 Commandments at a website dedicated to the purpose: <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com">www.10wordstoliveby.com</a>. This is a small group fellowship and discipleship Bible Study designed for use by our church. I am publishing it on the web in draft form to invite public suggestions and comment. The study and the sermon go together, so if you are in the Indianapolis area, you are cordially invited to attend. However, even if you miss the sermon, a quick read of the lesson for the week and the ten accompanying Discussion Questions may be of interest to readers of this blog. I'll be back to my familiar routine of posting after the 10 Commandments series is wrapped up in 6 more weeks.<br />
</p><h2>Preview</h2><p>Just imagine! The same God who spoke the worlds into existence without a lot of fanfare, is speaking a creating word directly to us. God's purpose in these commands is to establish an exclusive, dynamic, respectful, intentional relationship with us! Today we come to the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-fourth-word-hallow-the-day">Fourth Commandment</a>. It is the final word written on the first of the two tablets inscribed by the finger of God on stone. In these first four commands, taken together, we now have a complete picture of the quality of the relationship that God wants to have with us:<br />
<br><br />
<h2>A <em>Passionate</em> Relationship is:</h2><ul><li>Exclusive (<a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-first-word-no-other-gods">The First Word</a>)<br />
<li>Dynamic (<a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-second-word-no-images">The Second Word</a>)<br />
<li>Respectful (<a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-third-word-treasure-the-name">The Third Word</a>)<br />
<li>Intentional (<a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-fourth-word-hallow-the-day">The Fourth Word</a>)</ul>God's desire is to begin this relationship with us today. Do not wait! Make (and keep!) an appointment with God today.</p>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-50642674002180141792010-08-29T13:25:00.000-07:002010-08-29T13:26:43.024-07:00The Third Word: Treasure the Name!<p>This week I continue a study of the 10 Commandments at a website dedicated to the purpose: <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com">www.10wordstoliveby.com</a>. This is a small group fellowship and discipleship Bible Study designed for use by our church. I am publishing it on the web in draft form to invite public suggestions and comment. The study and the sermon go together, so if you are in the Indianapolis area, you are cordially invited to attend. However, even if you miss the sermon, a quick read of the lesson for the week and the ten accompanying Discussion Questions may be of interest to readers of this blog. I'll be back to my familiar routine of posting after the 10 Commandments series is wrapped up in 7 more weeks.</p><p align="center"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/THpMvnmymMI/AAAAAAAADMA/pjzhPxAZwGw/s320/iStock_000013365090Small.jpg" width="40%"><br />
<br>(Engraving by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld <br>[March 26, 1794 - May 24, 1872]<br />
<br>Illustration was published in "Die Bibel in Bildern" [1860]. <br>Scan by Ivan Burmistrov.)<br />
</p><h2>The Third Word: Treasure the Name!</h2><p>This week our Small Group Fellowship and Bible Study groups take on the commandment that many people think of as the commandment against cussing. However, as we have learned about both the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-first-word-no-other-gods">First Commandment</a> and the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-second-word-no-images">Second Commandment</a>, there is more at stake for believers in this commandment than appears at first glance. This <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-third-word-treasure-the-name">Third Commandment</a> is also intended to safeguard and preserve our lives. The LORD our God desires a relationship with us that is living and passionate. God wants to be close enough to us that we know his name and call on it frequently. Join us this week as we learn to keep the Third Commandment!</p>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-8291542703262564852010-08-22T11:14:00.000-07:002010-08-22T11:17:54.959-07:00The Second Word: No Images!<p><img src="http://www.historywiz.com/images/neareast/baal-lg.jpg" width="20%"><br />
<br />
(Baal from Ugarit. Image source, http://www.historywiz.com/images/neareast/baal-lg.jpg)<br />
</p><h2>The Second Commandment: No Images!</h2><p>This week I continue a study of the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com">10 Commandments</a> at a website dedicated to the purpose: <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com">www.10wordstoliveby.com</a>. This is a small group fellowship and discipleship Bible Study designed for use by our church. I am publishing it on the web in draft form to invite public suggestions and comment. The study and the sermon go together, so if you are in the area, you are cordially invited to attend. However, even if you miss the sermon, a quick read of the lesson for the week and the ten accompanying Discussion Questions may be of interest to readers of this blog. I'll be back to my familiar routine of posting after the 10 Commandments series is wrapped up in 8 more weeks.<br />
<br />
This week our study groups take on the prohibition against the making of images. This <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-second-word-no-images">Second Commandment</a>, like the <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/the-first-word-no-other-gods">First Commandment</a>, is intended by God to safeguard and preserve our lives. The Second Commandment works by keeping our relationship with God from being stunted and remaining at one stage of development. The Second Commandment provides continued evidence that the LORD our God, the living God, desires a relationship with us that is living and passionate. God wants us fully present in this relationship, not fixated on our own "man-made" ideas and pictures of who God is.</p>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-1667524279256985692010-08-14T23:17:00.000-07:002010-08-14T23:26:42.892-07:00The First Word: No Other Gods!Finally for this week, I have posted the first full article in the Ten Commandment series with 10 Discussion Questions for small groups. The theme of the study is the "1st Word" (Protestant-Reformed ordering) of God to us: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (KJV)<br />
<br />
<font size="4"><b><br />
<br />
<div style="display: block; text-align: center; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Decalogue_parchment_by_Jekuthiel_Sofer_1768.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Decalogue_parchment_by_Jekuthiel_Sofer_1768.jpg" border="0" height="320" width="262"></a></div></b></font><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><font size="2">(Wikimedia Commons, 1768 parchment by Jekuthiel Sofer)</font><br />
<br />
</div><font size="3"><br />
</font>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-73655779437669976122010-08-14T23:02:00.000-07:002010-08-14T23:02:46.093-07:00Ten Words to Live By: The PrologueThe first post in my series on the Ten Commandments is an introductory article with 10 Discussion Questions following for small group study. <br />
<br />
<font size="3">Now Moses was there with YHWH forty days and forty nights. He did not eat bread or drink water, but carved the words of the covenant on the tablets, the '10 Words.' (Exodus 34:28; see Deuteronomy 4:13 and 10:4)<br><br />
<br><br />
<div style="display: block; text-align: center; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TGd_DiDNWWI/AAAAAAAADKw/gCfjTNtK2WI/s1600/iStock_000009489613Small.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TGd_DiDNWWI/AAAAAAAADKw/gCfjTNtK2WI/s320/iStock_000009489613Small.jpg" border="0"></a></div></font><br />
<br>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-49471755948029063362010-08-14T22:37:00.000-07:002010-08-14T22:56:59.419-07:00Ten Words to Live By: The Ten Commandments for Daily LivingFor the next 10 Weeks, I will be publishing a study for small groups on the Ten Commandments on a dedicated web site and will update the links on my blog. The home page for the new study is <a href="http://www.10wordstoliveby.com/">Ten Words to Live By</a>.<br />
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TGa27M7NRKI/AAAAAAAADKg/ZzEexcyfXlo/s320/iStock_000000476180Small.jpg" width="65%">Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-33423063508394898842010-08-01T03:19:00.000-07:002010-08-01T03:19:13.721-07:00Vanity and EternityThe contrast between living for ourselves and living for the kingdom is stark. The things that seem to us most substantial are fleeting, no more permanent than the mist that disappears quickly in sunlight. The things that seem to us least substantial--the immaterial things--are eternal. Jesus says to invest in the kingdom for lasting results. <br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.eaglegiftsgalore.net/Papers/Morning%20Mist.gif" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.eaglegiftsgalore.net/Papers/Morning%20Mist.gif)<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12–14; 2:18–23</h2><p>Everything hinges in this week's reading on the meaning of the Hebrew word <em>hebel</em>, usually translated "vanity" (KJV and NRSV), "meaningless" (NIV and NIB), or "futility" (TNK). The word first appears in the Old Testament in Genesis 4 as the name of the <em>second</em>-born son of Adam and Eve, the younger son Abel. This Abel (<em>hebel</em>) is "disappeared" by his brother Cain, who, though he is the elder, disclaims any responsibility for "keeping" the life of his brother Abel. In Deuteronomy 32:21 we begin to see both the theological significance of the term and the sense that it has in the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament (Job, Proverbs, and especially Ecclesiastes). In Wisdom literature <em>hebel</em> is understood to be the natural result of foolishness, so it is not surprising to find Israel's "vanities" (<em>hablehem</em>) and the words "a foolish nation" (<em>goy nabal</em>) used as synonyms in parallel phrases. Moreover, since the "fear of the LORD" is "the beginning of wisdom," it should not come as a shock that vanity and foolishness are closely associated with the <em>opposite</em> of the "fear of the LORD," i.e., idols (not-gods). Quite often <em>hablehem</em> (their vanities) is often translated as shorthand for "their worthless idols" (1 Kings 16:13, 26; 2 Kings 17:15; Isaiah 57:13; Jeremiah 2:5, 8:19, 10:8, 14:22, 16:19; Jonah 2:9; Psalm 31:7). The pursuit of folly, which ends in futility, is idolatry. <br />
</p><p>Vanity is naught, nothing, nihil, and not. It is the <em>tohu wabohu</em> of pre-creation. It is the opposite of being, the opposite of full life.<br />
<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2418/2141358363_ec7054b590.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2418/2141358363_ec7054b590.jpg)<br />
<p>Vanity is...<br />
<ul><li>having beauty and charm, which are fleeting and deceitful (Proverbs 31:30)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01214/UltimateMirror_1214869c.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01214/UltimateMirror_1214869c.jpg)<br />
<br />
<br />
<li>having a so-called ally who does not (or cannot) come to your aid when you are attacked (Isaiah 30:7; Lamentations 4:17)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.khanya.co.za/blogs/images/head_in_sand_2.gif"><br />
(Image source, http://www.khanya.co.za/blogs/images/head_in_sand_2.gif)<br />
<br />
<br />
<li>working hard, toiling, laboring, spending your last bit of strength and energy, without seeing any result (Isaiah 49:4, note that in this case the "backstop"/insurance of payment is the LORD; if the LORD comes through, then the labor has not been in vain, though it may seem so now)<br />
<img src="http://stuffcalvinistlike.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Pilgrims-Progress.png" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://stuffcalvinistlike.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Pilgrims-Progress.png)<br />
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://jeweldiamondtaylor.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/pushing_big_rock1.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://jeweldiamondtaylor.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/pushing_big_rock1.jpg)<br />
<br />
<br />
<li>trusting in that which the moth eats, things that rust and decay (Psalm 39:12)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://i.ehow.com/images/a04/qg/7f/repair-moth-hole-knit-wool-200X200.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://i.ehow.com/images/a04/qg/7f/repair-moth-hole-knit-wool-200X200.jpg)<br />
<br><img src="http://www.chem4kids.com/misc/photos/rust1.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://www.chem4kids.com/misc/photos/rust1.jpg)<br />
<br><br />
<br />
<li>living as if this life were the reality and substance, though all of its hustling and bustling, to-ing and fro-ing is a mere shadow of existence, living as phantoms (Psalm 39:7, 144:4)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://getsortedmanufacturing.com/Images/shadow%20people%20working.bmp" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://getsortedmanufacturing.com/Images/shadow%20people%20working.bmp)<br />
<br />
<br />
<li>piling up stuff without any way of knowing who will benefit; showing distinction between high and low class; robbing others; getting a buck the lazy way (Psalm 39:7, 62:10-11, Proverbs 13:11, 21:6)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://images.oprah.com/images/tows/200909/20090910/20090910-tows-hoarding1-290x218.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://images.oprah.com/images/tows/200909/20090910/20090910-tows-hoarding1-290x218.jpg; see <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Buried-Treasures-Compulsive-Acquiring-Hoarding/dp/0195300580?ie=UTF8&tag=tumbledownfar-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969">Buried in Treasures</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tumbledownfar-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0195300580" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important; padding: 0px !important" />)<br />
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.chicagoboyz.net/blogfiles/Ski-Iowa-small.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.chicagoboyz.net/blogfiles/Ski-Iowa-small.jpg)<br />
<br />
<br />
<li>continuing to argue or trying to prove one's innocence after a verdict has been rendered (Job 9:29, closely related to the notion above of "toiling in vain")<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.webdesign-guru.co.uk/icon/wp-content/uploads/denied.gif" width="40%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.webdesign-guru.co.uk/icon/wp-content/uploads/denied.gif)<br />
<br />
<br />
<li>telling lies or babbling nonsense, words of comfort offered to someone who is inconsolable, pseudo-wisdom or advice from someone who does not know anything (Zechariah 10:2; Job 21:34, 27:12, 35:16; Proverbs 21:6)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.doughroller.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/credit-card-lies.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://www.doughroller.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/credit-card-lies.jpg<br />
<br />
<br />
<li>having a vision, hope, or promise that comes from your own head--going our own way, following our own thoughts and designs (the human imagination)--rather than from the mouth of God (Jeremiah 23:16; Psalm 94:11)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.thegrandplan.com.au/images/banner_new.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.thegrandplan.com.au/images/banner_new.jpg)<br />
<br />
<br />
<li>one's life (<em>hebel</em>, "a breath"; or <em>tephach</em>, a "handbreadth") in contrast to eternity or "in the sight of God" (<em>lo' le`olam</em>, "not for eternity"; Job 7:16, Psalm 39:6)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://scribblingpad.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/lifespan.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://scribblingpad.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/lifespan.jpg)<br />
</ul></p><p>The word <em>hebel</em>, vanity-meaningless-futile-worthless, occurs in some 30 separate verses in the space of twelve chapters in Ecclesiastes. We need only read the second verse to understand the conclusion reached by the preacher/teacher, Qohelet: <em><b>all</em></b> is vanity. Life is a zero sum game, for wise person and fool alike. There is no difference in the end (12:8). Whether pleasure (2:1) or work (2:11), no overall profit to distinguish one from the other (2:15).</p><h2>Luke 12:13–21</h2><p>At first glance, Jesus is a kindred spirit to Qohelet. He refuses to be exalted as arbitrator. He cautions against greed and accumulation of wealth, using Old Testament Wisdom to ask: after you have died, "whose then will these things be that you have prepared for yourself?" He points to the "Lilies of the Field" (think of dandelions!) and the birds of the air as recipients of God's provision. We too may count on God to provide, releasing us from every concern save one, striving for the kingdom of God (12:31 = being "rich toward God"). [But don't worry, even about this, for it is the Father's "good pleasure" to <em>give</em> you the Kingdom. 12:32] Of what does that kingdom for which we are to strive consist? The gospel of Luke has a few answers: 13:20, 18:17 (children) and 18:24 (those who are poor).Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-13047882649065401652010-07-24T21:18:00.000-07:002010-07-25T03:08:51.911-07:00Supernatural Growth<h2>Colossians 2:6–15 (16–19)</h2><p>As the writer makes clear in the prolog (1:1-2), the addressees are believers, "saints [<em>hagiois</em>] and faithful [<em>pistois</em>] brothers in Christ." That is why he so readily assumes (2:6) that they already "received" Christ Jesus the Lord. His concern is what course of life they will follow now. His exhortation is that these brothers and sisters in Christ live (<em>peripateite</em>, literally "walk") in Christ. It is as if Christ were one of two (or more) paths (courses or directions) in which their life might go. They, having received Christ, are encouraged by the apostle to continue on their way in Christ without hesitation, backtrack, detour, or regret.</p><br />
<p align="center"><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/Crossroads.jpg" width="75%"><br />
<br />
(Image source, http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/Crossroads.jpg)</p><br />
<p>The two images that follow supplement the metaphor of the pathway from two different realms of life. First, the apostle likens "walking in Christ" to putting down roots (<em>'errizomenoi</em>). In other words, life in Christ should be like life in God (Psalm 1), like the person who delights in the "Torah" (teaching) of YHWH" and meditates on that teaching regularly. Such a person is "planted" like a tree on streams of life-giving water. Such a person avoids walking, standing, or sitting on that other (bad/evil) path.</p><br />
<p align="center"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TEtJ0nWXI2I/AAAAAAAADII/HBPRgxV_ATI/s288/Tree%20Man.jpg"><br />
(Image source, iStockphoto.com, by John Woodcock)</p><br />
<p>The second image is drawn not from the world of nature, but from the world of human artifice. People who live in Christ are being "built-up" (<em>'epoikodomoumenoi</em>) on Christ.</p><br />
<p><img src="http://chestofbooks.com/architecture/Better-Homes/images/Concrete-Block-Foundation.jpg" width="70%"><br />
<br />
(Image source, http://chestofbooks.com/architecture/Better-Homes/images/Concrete-Block-Foundation.jpg)</p><br />
The apostle says that we should not be a bunch of loose bricks haphazardly stacked on a foundation. It does not help much for the foundation to be strong if the bricks are not "firmly attached" (<em>bebaioumenoi</em> means strengthened [reinforced], confirmed, or the like). It is right to think of the sequence that is still preserved today in Christian rites of initiation for children and youth: baptism, instruction in the faith, and confirmation. Reception is not the one sufficient response for all of life. The journey--the growth--continues. "Be confirmed in (the/your) faith!" says the apostle. Prove the faith reliable, validate it, attest it, have it ratified! It is not enough to receive the teaching about Christ Jesus the Lord; you have to put it into practice and verify that it is true for yourself. If you do that, the final words of Colossians 2:7 will be true of you: you will be "abounding in thanksgiving." In other words, having all that you need and more (<em>perisseuo</em>), overflowing with thanksgiving (<em>eucharistia</em>).</p><p>Like the wisdom psalm (Psalm 1), which gives equal consideration to both the good path and the bad, the apostle considers the sorts of things that might cause his brothers and sisters to stray from the good path (2:8, 16, 18, 20-21). These are things that might be used to capture and carry the saints down the path of slavery (<em>sulagogon</em>). Especially worrisome to the writer are "philosophy and empty deception," ways of life that are based on human tradition and how the world supposedly works, rather than on Christ. These other roads are not real roads. These false paths are, in reality, nothing of consequence. Any of them that might have been powerful enough at one time to attract and hold the saints have now been subjected to the rule of Christ. The holding power of human tradition and norms has been removed--de-clawed, de-fanged, and otherwise decommissioned with respect to our mode of living by our baptism (a spiritual circumcision that cut us off from the power of the flesh). The physical rituals that sometimes entice our interest as alternative paths are but shadowy outlines and weak imitations of powerful spiritual realities--i.e., food, drink, new moons, festivals, and sabbaths can only trip us up now if we allow them to be used to judge (<em>krino</em>) or condemn us (i.e., allow someone other than Christ to be our Lord). They are puny approximations. Christ is the reality. In the same way, we should not allow anyone to steal our prize (<em>katabrabeuo</em>).</p><p><img src="http://blog.masslive.com/leftbank/2008/05/small_051027_sn_UmpireTN.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://blog.masslive.com/leftbank/2008/05/small_051027_sn_UmpireTN.jpg)</p><p>There are those who will want to rule against us like a bad umpire whose ability to take away the win is limited to our acquiescence to his bad calls. In the day when this epistle was written, such umpires were calling the saints "out" (or "foul") when they did not make a show of humility (through physical abuse of the body; see verse 23) or show proper respect to angels, or put enough credence in elaborate visions.</p><br />
<img src="http://thebsreport.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/blind_umpire.jpg"><br />
<br />
(Image source, http://thebsreport.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/blind_umpire.jpg)<br />
<p>Such people, the apostle says, are too proud of their worldly intellect. They are ordering people not to handle, taste, or touch material things, as if such things matter. Do not listen to them or you will end up on the wrong path.</p><p>The right path involves grabbing hold of Christ, who is the head from whom the whole body--being held together and supplied by joints (<em>'aphon</em>, "connections") and fastenings (<em>sundesmon</em>)--grows with the growth that only God can give (see Ephesians 4:15-16 and Colossians 1:6, 10).</p><p>What sort of growth is that? It is the sort of weedy growth exhibited by the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:28, Luke 12:27), which receive and provide grace and beauty without toil. It is the sort of growth exhibited by the tiny mustard seed, which matures from the smallest of seeds to the largest of trees (Matthew 13:31-32, Luke 13:19). It is like the farmer's seed that falls on good soil (Mark 4:8), multiplying 40X, 60X, or even 100X. It is the sort of growth spurt that newborn babies have that first insatiable year of milk craving (1 Peter 2:2). It is the sort of growth spurt that a child who is favored and specially marked by the Holy Spirit will enjoy, gaining strength, wisdom and grace (Luke 1:80 and 2:40). But it is also the sort of growth enjoyed by the church in Acts, when "the word of God continued to spread [and] the number of the disciples increased greatly" (Acts 6:7, NRSV; also Acts 12:24, Acts 19:20). It is the sort of growth you see on a major construction site when the steel starts to go up (Ephesians 2:21). It is the sort of growth that requires multiple workers, often workers who are at odds with one another as well as those who are working in cooperation, always acknowledging and "overflowing with thanksgiving" always because it is God who actually provides the growth. One plants and another waters, but it is God who grows stuff (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). It is the sort of growth that results in more righteousness, good works, and stronger faith and an increase in all the other fruit of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 9:10, 10:15; Colossians 1:6, 10). It is the sort of increase that happens despite the odds against it, as in the case of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. In other words, it is the sort of growth that Pharaoh and his minions cannot kill (Acts 7:17), especially as the time grows near for deliverance.</p><p>Being on the right path means being on the path of growth in Christ, a path of supernatural growth. It is not natural. But neither is it artificial. The sort of growth imagined by Paul for the church, organic but supernaturally strong (not artificial), is had only by prayers such as the one Jesus taught his disciples and the sort of desire for the kingdom that he also cultivated in them.</p><p></p><h2>Luke 11:1–13</h2><p></p>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-78637751409205297522010-07-10T21:59:00.000-07:002010-07-10T21:59:14.391-07:00An Obnoxious Visitor<h2>Amos 7:7–17</h2><p>Amos, an accidental visionary, is assaulted with a prophetic image: he is shown the Lord standing on top of a vertical wall, with a "plummet" (<em>'anak</em>) in his hand. In the South, we sometimes call this rudimentary construction tool a "plumb-bob" (or "plum-bob," from Latin <em>plumbum</em>, lead [weight]; the Semitic cognates are also related to lead or tin). When Amos has made some sense of this uninvited visual stimulus, the Word of the LORD then invades the ears of the prophet with an obvious question, "What do you see, Amos?" To which this Southerner and would-<em><b>not</b></em>-be prophet replies, "A plumb-bob."<br />
<br />
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TDjSzREOvsI/AAAAAAAADHk/59VyOicNbxw/s288/iStock_000010283194Small.jpg"><br />
(Image source, istockphoto.com, File#: 10283194)<br />
<br />
The Lord then brings Amos straight to the point: "I am placing a blumb-bob in the middle of my people, Israel. I will no longer forgive him." (<em>`abar</em> + <em>lo</em>, lit. "pass by ... to him," with the omission of <em>`al-pesha`</em>; see Micah 7:18 for an example of the fuller usage in a promise of salvation, rather than a judgment oracle. We have seen this verb recently, in the <a href="http://biblepasture.blogspot.com/2010/06/extreme-makeover-life-edition.html">story of Elijah at Mt. Horeb</a>.)<br />
<br />
This oracle to Amos appears on the surface to contradict the words of Micah:<br />
<blockquote>Who is a God like You, Forgiving iniquity And remitting transgression; Who has not maintained His wrath forever Against the remnant of His own people, Because He loves graciousness! (TNK, Micah 7:18)</blockquote><br />
Yet Amos persists in saying what he sees and hears, that the Lord will desolate (<em>shmm</em>) the "high places of Isaac" (<em>bamoth yischaq</em>, rather than <em>yitschaq</em>; see Jer. 33:26 and Psalm 105:9) and will destroy (<em>chareb</em>, lit. dry up, be laid waste, in ruins) the "sanctuaries of Israel" (<em>miqdeshey yisra'el</em>). In other words, the religious structures on which the Northern Kingdom of Israel depends are so out of plumb they will soon be falling down. And the Lord will attack the "house" (<em>beth</em>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche">synecdoche</a> for the full power and rule of the king and his court/heirs) of Jeroboam with the sword (<em>chereb</em>; note the play on words with <em>chareb</em>, above). In other words, the political structures are also in trouble. Everything in the Northern Kingdom is so out of kilter that it cannot last. It will fall...or, more accurately, be pushed and toppled. Ancient cities, like Samaria, depended on strong walls for defense. Jeroboam II and his court were responsible for the upkeep both of the walls and the religious structures. But here is this trouble-making southerner, pointing out the obvious based on his visions and auditions.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/above-ground-masonry-walls.shtml"><img src="http://images.oldhouseweb.com/stories/bitmaps/12164/ag3.jpg"><br />
</a><br />
(Image source, http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/above-ground-masonry-walls.shtml)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.reformationtours.com/site/490868/uploaded/leaning-tower-of-pisa.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://www.reformationtours.com/site/490868/uploaded/leaning-tower-of-pisa.jpg)<br />
<br />
Amos, who is a border-crossing rabble-rouser, quickly gets into trouble with the powers that be. He has crossed over (barely) from the Southern Kingdom of Judah into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and is openly criticizing King Jeroboam on his own turf (albeit close to the border; he's not in Samaria, the center of the king's power base). Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, who is Jeroboam's agent, tells the king what Amos is doing (i.e., <em>qashar</em>, hatching a conspiracy [a league or covenant bond] in the "middle [<em>qereb</em>] of the house [<em>beth</em>] of Israel." In other words Amos is, by his act of speaking out, performing the function of the plumb-bob that God has set in the middle of his people. The prophet is the plumb-bob. According to Amaziah, the weight of the prophet's words is also the very thing that will bring down the house. Amaziah concludes his letter to the king with a couple of choice quotes from Amos, words designed to ensure a swift, harsh verdict and imprisonment or death for the prophet.<br />
<br />
Amaziah also addresses Amos directly, telling him to go back home to Judah and to leave the people of the Northern Kingdom alone. After all, Bethel is the king's sanctuary (<em>miqdash</em>) and royal palace (<em>beth</em>). Amaziah seems maybe a little jealous of Amos and protective of his own privilege (as a priest at Bethel). Amaziah also seems oblivious and completely unconcerned about the veracity of the vision Amos saw--and that, if Amos is correct, this temple and palace are so out of plumb that they are falling down. <br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.tekoa.org.il/images/Tekoa-and-DeadSea.jpg" width="50%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.tekoa.org.il/images/Tekoa-and-DeadSea.jpg)<br />
<br />
Amos responds to Amaziah's command to leave by denying that he is a religious professional. He isn't into prophecy for money or as a result of heredity. He has a different (perhaps lesser) livelihood, as well as a different home. The only reason Amos has transgressed the border is that YHWH "took me" (<em>laqach</em>) and "told me" to go and prophesy to YHWH's people, Israel. Amos counter's Amaziah's claim of legitimacy from the king with a claim of legitimacy from God. The encounter ends badly for Amaziah, with a personal word of judgment to accompany the national calamity that Amos has seen coming.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.tekoa.org.il/images/tekoa/wadi4.jpg" width="50%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.tekoa.org.il/images/tekoa/wadi4.jpg)<br />
<br />
Amos is the quintessential bad guest. He acts like a mother-in-law wiping her white glove over the furniture. He takes a carpenter's level, square, and rule with him everywhere, pointing out the places where the walls are not plumb and, the walls not perpendicular and the corners not square. What are we to do with such a guest? Drive him away? ...or take his advice?<br />
<br />
<h2>Luke 10:25–37</h2><br />
We encounter a similar confrontation in Luke 10 between a lawyer and Jesus. Jesus is still on his way to Jerusalem, but traveling through Samaria. The lawyer wants to test Jesus with a question about how to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds (as usual), not with an answer but with a question that turns the tables on the lawyer: "What do you think?" The lawyer answers well, using the plumb-line of Scripture: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." (NRSV, Luke 10:27) Everyone, Jew and Samaritan, would agree that adherence to this commandment would build strong, tall, straight (plumb) walls. Jesus affirms the lawyer's answer: "Indeed, do this and you will live."<br />
<br />
But the lawyer wasn't satisfied with the Scriptural plumb-bob. He wanted to "justify himself," to judge what's plumb and what's not plumb using himself as the standard. So he asked Jesus another question: "And who is my neighbor?" To which Jesus replies with the story of the Good Samaritan. At the end of the story, Jesus holds the plumb-bob provided by a foreigner, a Samaritan's love, to redirect the lawyer's question: "Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" (Luke 10:36, NRSV) Again, the lawyer answers well, "The one who showed him mercy." To this, Jesus responds, go and do likewise. Go and be a plumb-bob.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.12stoneart.com/product_images/62/20061214_good_samaritan.jpg" width="70%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.12stoneart.com/product_images/62/20061214_good_samaritan.jpg)<br />
<br />
We are given the opportunity, like Amos was and like the lawyer was, or like the priest and the Levite and the Samaritan were, to respond to this call of God to be a "plumb-bob" in a world of leaning walls and unsafe structures. God takes us from whatever occupation we have and whatever place we call home to speak the truth about what we see and to love and show mercy both near at home and far away.Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-65266098424140803552010-07-03T19:41:00.000-07:002010-07-03T19:41:48.538-07:00The Advance Team<h2>2 Kings 5:1–14</h2><p>Let it never be said that the Bible lacks a sense of humor. Today's story is about Naaman, a Syrian captain, whose name in Hebrew means "beautiful" (masculine form of Naomi, mother-in-law of Ruth). The root occurs in Ugaritic (<em>na`amanu</em>) and (possibly) Amorite (<em>nachmanu</em>), and is the Semitic name for the deity also-known-as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adonis">Adonis</a> (Wikipedia link; note the two-fold connection of "rebirth" [killing and making alive, 2 Kings 5:7] and youthful beauty).</p><br />
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Aphrodite_Adonis_Louvre_MNB2109.jpg" width="60%"><br />
(Image source, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Aphrodite_Adonis_Louvre_MNB2109.jpg)<br />
<br />
<br />
<p>The crescendo of praise for Naaman that builds throughout the first verse crashes abruptly with a single word at the very end of the sentence: we are startled to learn that this foreign beauty is afflicted with leprosy, a terrible, disabling, disfiguring skin disease. This dream of a man, for whom the world is his oyster, who is an army commander, a V.I.P., always welcome in the corridors of power, a winner, a great warrior and a man of great strength, has been struck with the disease of those who are poor, malnourished, vulnerable and weak.</p><p>The irony of this story continues unabated as an offer of help comes to the great man Naaman in the form of a small, captive, nameless servant girl from a defeated country. In another reversal of great and small, the captive servant girl's own words are quoted verbatim in the court of the king. Then, when golden boy Naaman departs to obtain his healing, we come to the heart of things. Naaman expects to purchase his salvation from the prophet in Samaria with a boatload of stuff: ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten suits of clothes. These "things" are are the tools for Naaman's "advance team."</p><p>The irony intensifies as Naaman approaches the king of Israel with a letter (another thing that "prepares the way" for Naaman) demanding healing. How is Naaman (or his boss, the Syrian king) to know that the king of Israel and the prophet in Samaria (and the prophet's God, YHWH) do not get along well and are usually on opposite sides of Israel's wars of religion? The king responds to the letter immediately by tearing his clothes (a visible sign of distress) and tells the truth (at least rhetorically): Am I a God? Am I able to kill and bring back to life? I cannot save this man from leprosy! But the king in Samaria also assumes that the Syrian king has an ulterior motive in making such an unreasonable demand, to pick a fight, to create an excuse to invade this vassal kingdom again.</p><p>Elisha, who just last week <a href="http://biblepasture.blogspot.com/2010/06/grace-abounds-but-time-is-short.html" title="Elisha and Elijah">took on the mantel of Elijah</a>, saves the day. Elisha invites the king to send Naaman to the prophet's own house. So, Naaman and his stuff arrive, expecting hospitality befitting his V.I.P. status. But Elisha doesn't invite him to come inside. Instead he sends out a messenger (<em>mal'ak</em>, an angel, like the little servant girl from whom Naaman has already received help) with instructions to go and wash seven times in the river Jordan. Because the prophet himself did not come out (notice the parallel with Jesus' sending of the seventy in Luke 10), Naaman is angry. His expectations regarding the mode for his salvation have been disappointed. He is not being treated with the deference and respect he demands. In a huff of superiority, he declares that the waters of his own land are better than those of Israel. He sulks away in a smoldering rage.</p><p>In another reversal of big and little things, it is once again the servants who save the day, reminding their master that he would have gone to any (great) length to secure his health, so why not do this (little) thing? The reading ends with Naaman's obedience and healing. Like Adonis, he is reborn. His skin is new like a baby's.</p><br />
<img src="http://thedailychapter.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/pt08_congenital_pic0.jpg?w=300&h=200"><br />
<br />
(Image source, http://thedailychapter.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/)<br />
<br />
Our reading for today ends without telling us what happened to all the "stuff" that Naaman brought to purchase his salvation. For that, we must read the rest of the chapter. Note especially 2 Kings 5:19 and the connection to Luke 10:5.<br />
<h2>Luke 10:1–11, 16–20</h2><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TC_bk9-mtOI/AAAAAAAADG0/nKVBLuEJ8Eo/s288/Disciple_Feet_Sketch.jpg"><br />
© Copyright 2010 by Debbie Rockey. Disciple Feet, Luke 10:11. Image rights available ($2.50) for church use.<br />
<br />
<p>Once again, Jesus sends out disciples (see 9:2) to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal those who are sick, like Naaman. The difference is that whereas Naaman sought out the prophet (and people often sought out Jesus), these disciples seek out the sick. Going from town to town, they have the job of getting folks ready for the coming of Jesus. They are the advance team, testing the receptivity of the town and the hospitality of its people and providing a foretaste of the Kingdom that is coming near.</p><br />
<br><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TC_T-2VG4lI/AAAAAAAADGs/HJEjZjKlbVw/s288/July_4_List.png"><br />
© Copyright 2010 by Debbie Rockey. July 4 To Do List, Luke 10:4. Image rights available ($2.50) for church use.<br />
<br />
<p>Making preparations for an "event" can sometimes be as intense as hosting the party itself. It is in the making of arrangements that money is committed, relationships are formed, and the work of the advance team makes or breaks an event. Some venues and cities are better hosts than others, but even the best will not live up to full potential without good advance work.</p><p>The disciples could be excused for thinking that they needed "stuff" to roll out the red carpet for Jesus and the Kingdom. Like the <a href="http://www.our2012sb.com/">Indianapolis Host Committee for Super Bowl 2012</a>, they may feel the pressure to perform well.<br />
<br><img src="http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/images/news/logos/SuperBowlBidlogo.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/images/news/logos/SuperBowlBidlogo.jpg)<br />
And for that, they need "stuff," right? They need improved facilities, money, clothes, shoes, etc. They need to make a great impression, to polish their image, to "sell" the Kingdom event to those influential people whose acceptance or rejection of their message means so much.</p><p>But Jesus is having none of it. Like Elisha, he is refusing the "stuff" and reinforcing the message that the Kingdom of God comes to town on the dirty, dusty feet of little servant girls and poor disciple messengers. These are feet without shoes, people without money, without extra changes of clothes. They bring one thing only, the message of peace. As they heal the sick, they say that the Kingdom of God has come near. They eat what they are given and go where they are told, stay where they are welcomed and move on when they are not.</p><p>Discipleship does not require a lot of packing. Are you ready? Leave your stuff. Forget your list. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Have your feet been reborn? Are they in the picture? Is your name written in heaven? Then rejoice!<br />
<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TC_bnA2SFqI/AAAAAAAADG8/azFYTA8LyDg/s288/Disciple_Feet_Sketch_2_darkstrokes.jpg"> <br />
© Copyright 2010 by Debbie Rockey. Disciple Feet, Luke 10:2. Image rights available ($2.50) for church use.Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-16990504762812450542010-06-26T21:41:00.000-07:002010-06-26T21:41:53.496-07:00Grace Abounds but Time Is Short<h2>2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14</h2><br />
<p>The passage from 2 Kings begins much as today's reading from Luke 9 (below). When YHWH was about to take Elijah up to heaven in the storm wind, Elijah and Elisha [his disciple] set out from Gilgal on a journey. Elijah asks his student to stay put, while Elijah goes on to Bethel. But Elisha replies to Elijah much as Peter does to Jesus, and with the same desire expressed by two of the would-be followers of Jesus in today's reading from Luke, "I will <em><b>not</em></b> leave you." So they continued along the road to Bethel, ... and then on to Jericho (2:4-5), and finally to the banks of the Jordan. <br />
<img src="http://www.ecva.org/exhibition/substance/images/knippers.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://www.ecva.org/exhibition/substance/images/knippers.jpg)<br />
<br />
The connection between the Exodus of Elijah and that of Moses is cemented in Luke's gospel with the ministry of Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration, just prior to the passage we take up today (Luke 9:28-36). One similarity and a great difference between the departure of Elijah and that of Jesus is the effect it has on the disciples. The Spirit of Jesus does descend when the day of Pentecost "has fully come." And it descends with the promise of even greater works and the mantel of the authority of Jesus' ministry. But the journey of Jesus is not merely the journey of a servant of God. The Son of Man was God's own Son, and when we set out with him, it is the complete transformation of our lives and our world that ensues. It is we who are transformed. <br />
<br />
<img src="http://elaynelaporta.com/gallery/images/medium/ot_elijah-fiery-chariot_MED.jpg" width="50%"><br />
(Image source, http://elaynelaporta.com/gallery/images/medium/ot_elijah-fiery-chariot_MED.jpg)<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>Luke 9:51-62</h2><br />
<img src="http://ombudsben.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/foggy-boat-tall.jpg?w=500&h=878" width="45%" /><br />
(Image source, http://ombudsben.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/foggy-boat-tall.jpg?w=500&h=878, blog article at http://ombudsben.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/obviously-confused-sometimes-sunk/)<br />
<br />
Luke 9:51 begins with a time stamp, a captain's log. The days of (prior to, until) Jesus' "ascension" (lit. "taking up," <i>analempsis</i>) were filling up (<i>sumpleroo</i>). The latter verb is used three times by Luke, the first time in Luke 8, when Jesus falls asleep in a sailboat that is being swamped with water. The last time is on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), translated in the KJV as "when the day of Pentecost was <i>fully</i> come."<br />
<br />
The days are filling up--they are coming fast and furious--for Jesus, with the riskiness of a boat filling quickly with water, but Jesus is master of both waves and days. There is no panic, only a firming, or fixing (<i>sterizo</i>), of his orientation toward Jerusalem. Luke has already told us (9:31) that Jesus' departure from Jerusalem will be his Exodus (<em>'exodos</em>). Like the book of Mark, the book of Luke narrates one deliberate journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, after which in one eventful week Jesus enters on Palm Sunday is killed on Good Friday and raised on Easter Sunday.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.ohiobass.org/StateTournaments/Erie/PIC-1.jpg" width="50%" /><br />
(Image source, http://www.ohiobass.org/StateTournaments/Erie/PIC-1.jpg, article, http://www.ohiobass.org/StateTournaments/Erie/Erie.htm)<br />
<br />
Jesus sends (<i>'apostello</i>, from which we get apostle) messengers (<i>angelos</i>, angels; see Malachi 3:1 and 4:5, for the connection to Elijah) ahead into a Samaritan village to prepare the way (<i>'etoimazo</i>; see Luke 1:17, 1:76, and 3:4). Preparation is something the fool does to excess for himself (Luke 12:20), trying to preserve his own life, and preparation is something a servant dutifully performs for his master (Luke 12:47, 17:8). But in Jesus' <i>vita</i>, the notion of preparation seems to hover over that last week, the destination toward which he has now turned: the Last Supper with his disciples (Luke 22:9, 12-13) and his burial (Luke 23:56, 24:1). If there is foreshadowing about Jesus' death and resurrection in 9:51 it is strengthened by this command to the messengers in 9:52.<br />
<br />
Jesus' reception (<i>dechomai</i>, or lack thereof) in this Samaritan town is something of a surprise, given the crowds that follow him (Luke 7:11, 8:4) and the many miracles he performs, though we have already seen some ambiguity and outright rejection of Jesus (8:37, even from the very beginning of his ministry in his own home town, 4:16-30, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-According-Luke-I-IX-Introduction/dp/0385005156?ie=UTF8&tag=tumbledownfar-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969">Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tumbledownfar-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0385005156" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important; padding: 0px !important" />, p. 827). The reception of Jesus, his word and his servants, has become a recurring theme in Luke 8 and 9, starting with the parable of the sower (8:13, those who "receive" the word gladly, but have no roots) and continuing with instructions to the disciples who are headed out on a preaching and healing mission (9:5). Jesus tells the disciples to shake off the dust of any place that does not "receive" them as a testimony against the people of that place. This basic rule of hospitality is turned into a responsibility for all disciples in 9:48, where receiving "this little child" (or "the least among you") is tantamount to receiving Jesus and the One who sent Jesus. In this case, the people of the Samaritan village reject Jesus specifically because his traveling destination is Jerusalem (9:53). They are rejecting him and refusing him hospitality not because of his previous acts but because of his forward trajectory.<br />
<br />
James and John, those hotheads (Sons of Thunder, <i>boanerges</i>, in Mark 3:17), ask Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to consume the villagers, presumably a heightening of the instruction they had been given in 9:5 because the offense is aimed not at disciples but at their Lord. (And/or it may be another allusion to Elijah's ministry and words, "let fire come down from heaven and consume you," 2 Kings 1:10, 12.) But Jesus turns around (<i>strepho</i>) and rebukes them (<i>'epitimao</i>, used in response to fever [4:39], demons [4:35, 41; 9:42], the storm wind [8:24]). In 9:20-21, Jesus has already "rebuked" the disciples after Peter's confession, commanding them not to tell anyone that he is the Christ.<br />
<br />
Instead of calling fire from heaven, Jesus and his disciples simply leave the one Samaritan village (9:56) for another. The Son of Man, after all, has come to seek and to save (Luke 19:10), not to destroy. It is not clear whether Jesus and the disciples shake the dust of this town from their feet, but as they are walking along the road (toward Jerusalem), a new episode begins when an unidentified man says, "I will follow (<i>'akoloutheo</i>) you wherever you may be going" (<i>'aperchomai</i>). Jesus has already responded to similar initiatives, for example, the entreaty from the <a href="http://biblepasture.blogspot.com/2010/06/extreme-makeover-life-edition.html">demoniac</a>. Jesus sent the demoniac away, saying "go home" (<em>hupostrepho</em>, Luke 8:39) and tell what God has done for you. To this man who appears along the way to Jerusalem, Jesus gives a portrait of life as a disciple, which is borrowed from the world of nature:<br />
<br />
Foxes (and their kits) have holes.<br />
<img src="http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/0000_0000/0408/0965.jpeg" width="30%" /><br />
(Image source, http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/0000_0000/0408/0965.jpeg)<br />
<br />
<br />
Birds (and their hatchlings) have nests.<br />
<img src="http://www.ornithology.com/images/BabyBirds_Miller_061705.jpg" width="65%" /><br />
(Image source, http://www.ornithology.com/images/BabyBirds_Miller_061705.jpg)<br />
<br />
<br />
But the Son of Man (and his "followers" or "disciples") has nowhere to lay his head. <br />
<br />
We are not told what this man decided about "following" Jesus further toward Jerusalem after this off-putting response by Jesus, but no sooner has this conversation concluded than Jesus takes the initiative and says to another man, "Follow me." Instead of responding with an immediate "yes," this man wants to "go home" like the demoniac to his family, not to spread the good news about what God has done, but to "bury my father." The question seems to be one of priority, of least and greatest, first and last; what comes <em><b>first</em></b>, the Kingdom of God or the cares of this world (Luke 13:30, 14:18, and the parable of the sower)? The second man's answer makes it clear that for him, responsibility to family comes before "following" Jesus on his way toward Jerusalem.<br />
<br />
Then follows one of Jesus' most enigmatic sayings: "Let the dead bury their own dead" (Luke 9:60). But the upshot is clear: don't "go home"; instead, go announce the (good) news about the Kingdom of God.<br />
<br />
Yet a third man says (like the first) "I will follow you, Lord" but (like the second) <em><b>first</em></b> let me go back (<em>'epistrepho</em>, similarly to the demoniac in 8:39) and say good-bye to (<em>'apotassomai</em>, foresake and give up, Luke 14:33) those at home. To this man, Jesus says, "No one who puts a hand on the plow and looks to the rear is useful for the Kingdom of God."<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.wtpafm.com/morning/trucks/image004.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://www.wtpafm.com/morning/trucks/image004.jpg, blog http://www.wtpafm.com/morning/trucks.html)<br />
<br />
So, are you on the road with Jesus, following closely, so that when the "fullness of time" comes you too will be with him in Jerusalem?<br />
<br />
What road are you taking, a road of vengeance or of grace?<br />
<br />
What time is it for you? <br />
<br />
Do you feel your boat filling up?<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.navalassoc.org.au/nautical%20compass011.gif" /><br />
(Image source, http://www.navalassoc.org.au/nautical%20compass011.gif)<br />
<br />
What destination is your compass oriented toward? Do you have a solid fix on that location?<br />
<br />
These are "homecoming" days as Jesus makes his way toward Jerusalem. He forgives a lack of hospitality in a Samaritan town and almost in the same breath refuses the requests of disciples for more space or time with parents and domestic chores. The reading from 2 Kings allows the contrast with Elijah's ministry and his treatment of Elisha, a disciple who is allowed to return home to "kiss" his parents goodbye before starting on the path of discipleship.Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-88092770620820433162010-06-20T05:57:00.000-07:002010-06-21T07:57:32.022-07:00Extreme Makeover: Life Edition<h2>I Kings 19:1-15a</h2><p>We begin with the story of Elijah. While it is not our primary focus this week, the story does provide some serendipitous points of contact that may help to illumine our reading of the Gospel of Luke. Between the story of Elijah's raising of a dead boy (<a href="http://biblepasture.blogspot.com/2010/06/first-do-no-harm.html">I Kings 17:8-24, 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time</a>) and this story of Elijah's flight from Jezebel toward Mt. Horeb lies a mountain-top experience of another kind (Mt. Carmel, I Kings 18), a conflict between Elijah and the religious establishment of Israel in which Elijah very much enjoyed the upper hand. I Kings 19 begins with a reference to that prior victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, but then turns suddenly to the presentation of a contemporary threat. There is a sports cliche that comes to mind here: "you are only as good as your last game." In other words, Carmel is over--it is ancient history now--and Jezebel stands ready to challenge Elijah's freshly won claim that his God, YHWH, is superior to her god, Baal.</p><p>You might think that a guy who had recently resuscitated a corpse and called down fire from heaven might exude a little confidence. You might expect him to indulge a little swagger. But not today, not Elijah. His mental game is off. His mind isn't in it. He's not trying; he's stopped looking for a strategy to move ahead in the race. He's not even looking to tie. And he's given up on keeping body and soul (<em>nephesh</em>) together. He hasn't the courage, the strength, the heart, the ________ (you fill in the blank) that is required to keep going. He is ready to sit one out, to warm the bench, maybe to quit the team for good. He has lost the will to win. He is sated with the struggle. He says, "Enough already!" (<em>rab `attah</em>; see 2 Samuel 24:16 // 1 Chronicles 21:15) Elijah just wants to curl up under a broom tree and die. He needs someone who understands what he has been through. He needs someone to care that he's been trying all this time to make a difference, but that the cards seem stacked against him. I think he needs an Extreme Makeover.</p><p>You know the show.<br />
<br />
<img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNzY5OTY3NTk1MDQmcHQ9MTI3Njk5NzA4MDAxNiZwPTczMDM3MSZkPUFCQ19TRlBfTG9ja2VfRW1iZWQmZz*yJm89/YjkyNDY3NjRmYTljNDQyYjhjZDM3ZWIzMmJmODU2MzUmb2Y9MA==.gif" /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,124,0" width="426" height="260" id="ABCESNWID"><param name="movie" value="http://a.abc.com/media/_global/swf/embed/2.6.3/SFP_Walt.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="flashvars" value="configUrl=http://a.abc.com/service/sfp/embedplayerconfig/id/&configId=406732&playlistId=14088&clipId=VD5562290&showId=SH006334870000&gig_lt=1276996759504&gig_pt=1276997080016&gig_g=2" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://a.abc.com/media/_global/swf/embed/2.6.3/SFP_Walt.swf" quality="high" allowScriptAccess="always" allowNetworking="all" allowfullscreen="true" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="426" height="260" flashvars="configUrl=http://a.abc.com/service/sfp/embedplayerconfig/id/&configId=406732&playlistId=14088&clipId=VD5562290&showId=SH006334870000&gig_lt=1276996759504&gig_pt=1276997080016&gig_g=2" name="ABCESNWID"></embed></object><br />
<br />
It is a "reality show" (a misnomer of a genre if ever there were one). The show's premise is that there are real people in this world who are right now struggling against incredible odds to do the right thing. They may be winning a few battles here and there--they may even seem tragically heroic--but they are obviously losing the war. The whole of life seems hopelessly stacked against them. Without some "miraculous" intervention, without some sort of extraordinary good luck, they are going under. They may as well throw in the towel now unless they get help. And they do not need just a little help. They need a complete reshuffling of the deck. The genius of the show is that it has discovered the perfect symbol for this transformation: it is the demolition and rebuilding of the family's house. Given how we "worship" our homes (at least we did once, before the recent Great Recession), it is somehow deemed appropriate that the complete transformation of a family's life be narrated as the awe-inspiring story of a house transformed. In just a matter of days, in seemingly miraculous fashion, the family's old home is destroyed and a new home is constructed in its place, with the help of friends, neighbors, and community.</p><p>The question is whether Elijah gets this sort of transformational help when he calls out to God.</p><p>Elijah does get help. He receives a hot meal or two delivered by the deacons. (1 Kings 19:5-6, 7-8) He gets some much needed rest while he is "dropping out" and taking a little spiritual R&R. While on his "vacation" he attends the Mt. Horeb church, the same place where Moses went, for a spiritual retreat. He is hoping for a little revival of the spirit, some encouragement, maybe a burning bush or an eleventh commandment, earthquake, fire and smoke. But instead of allowing him to settle in and take his ease, God asks Elijah point blank what he's doing there. (<em>mah-lekah poh</em>; the only other time such a question is asked of someone seeking a refuge, Isaiah 22:16, it is clearly an unfriendly question: "What right have you to be here? Who gave you permission?")<br />
</p><p>Why are you here? God asks the question twice. (1 Kings 19:9, 13) Both times, Elijah answers the same. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.</blockquote>(I Kings 19:10, 14; NRSV)<br />
<br />
After the first answer, YHWH tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain in his presence, because YHWH is crossing over ("going through," <em>`abar</em>; <b>NOT</b> <em>pasach</em>, "passover"; see Exodus 12:23 for the difference). It is not altogether clear whether YHWH's presence is, at the present, a threat of curse or a promise of blessing for Elijah. Does this mean death or life? In the end, we are not sure whether YHWH has even shown up for the appointment. There have been great natural phenomena occurring, wind-shattering of rocks and the like, but YHWH is eerily absent (<em>qol demamah daqqah</em>, "the thinnest whisper of a voice"), as if we were waiting with Elijah for the other shoe to drop.</p><p>After YHWH repeats the question and Elijah repeats the answer, it seems that YHWH's "help" with Elijah's transformation comes in the form of an acceptance of Elijah's resignation. (1 Kings 19:16) However, two tell-tale signs contradict that assumption: first, Elijah is told to "go back the way you came" (<em>shub ledarkekah</em>)--in other words, go home, to your old place; and, second, he is commissioned to anoint two kings (Hazael of Damascus, a foreign king; and Jehu, king of Israel). This is perhaps the most significant assignment of his prophetic career; it is hardly a retirement. In fact, the anointing of his successor could be seen as "life insurance" taken out before embarking on hazardous duty. Whatever Elijah was seeking when he came; he received what he needed to continue as a prophet. Sometimes, perhaps, what we need is not an Extreme Makeover, but a swift kick in the pants.<br />
<h2>Galatians 3:23-29</h2><p>According to Paul, the coming of Christ, our faith in Christ and our baptism into Christ, represent an Extreme Makeover. Our lives have been transformed from their former state of slavery and imprisonment to a state of freedom as adopted children and heirs of God's promise. We were sinners under a great debt and in danger of immediate foreclosure and homelessness; but now we are justified, paid up, by faith with a new lease on life. In our new life in the Spirit, there is no prejudice, no distinction, based on the old realities that had things stacked against us: there just isn't a difference now in our family between Jew and Greek, male and female, slave and free. We are all one in Christ. Even our closets have been transformed, even our clothes have changed, to demonstrate this new reality.</p><h2>Luke 8:26-39</h2><p>But before we get too comfortable with this new life, we should ask whether there is an example of the aftermath of such a complete life transformation. Have others survived it?</p><p>Between last week's <a href="http://biblepasture.blogspot.com/2010/06/hosts-inhospitality.html">table talk (Luke 7)</a> and this week's demoniac comes the parable of the sower (8:4-15) and the comment from Jesus about setting one's light on a lampstand (8:16) and (on hearing that his mother and brothers are looking for him) that his real family is "those who hear the word of God and do it." (Luke 8:21) Then we come to the story of the demoniac, which coincidentally begins with a change of scenery. Jesus and his disciples set out across the lake in a boat and while they are under sail Jesus falls asleep. When a storm blows up and threatens to capsize the boat, the disciples call out for help. (<em>'apollumetha</em>, "we perish"; it is the equivalent of the "demolition" required by an Extreme Makeover.) Jesus quickly comes to their aid, not transforming their lives, but rescuing them from impending death in the storm. The winds and the waves, and their obedience to Jesus, are impressive and clearly connected to the transformational power of faith, but they leave the disciples, like Elijah before them, with more questions than answers. (Luke 8:25)</p><p>When they arrive, Luke points out again that they are not at home. They are in the country of the Gerasenes (or Gadarenes), which is the opposite (<em>'antipera</em>) side of the Sea of Galilee. (Luke 8:26) A man comes out to meet them who is in dire straits. Even the Extreme Makeover folks would have difficulty knowing where to start because the man has neither home to demolish nor clothes to throw away. His home is in the tombs. (<em>mnemasin</em>; Luke's only other use of the term in the gospel is for the tomb of Jesus, the sepulcher with the stone across the front, Luke 23:53 and 24:1, and for the tombs of David [Acts 2:29] and Abraham [Acts 7:16]). Having just read I Kings, we cannot avoid hints of Elijah's cave on Mt. Hebron here. But the demoniac in Luke throws us a curve. The demoniac demands of Jesus an answer to the same question God posed to Elijah: "What are you doing here?" More to the point, "What do you want with me?" This is, I think, a clear indicator of the sort of Extreme Makeover Jesus brings, the kind in which he himself participates. The demolition of our old life (crucifixion) and construction of our new life (resurrection) is one in which he has gone before to pave the way, so that we too may experience new life.</p><p>See the entry for <a href="http://biblepasture.blogspot.com/2010/06/haunted.html">Mark 5</a> for a riff on the full story of the demoniac.<br />
<p>A question remains: How does one cope with a total transformation of one's life? Stress, even good stress, can be "bad" for you. It is good that Jesus sends folks "back home" in their "right mind." What's our role in welcoming such folks who have been changed and transformed by God's grace? Going "home" to a new life in Christ has consequences. What should we do to accept and receive someone who's been "born again" and whose life has been redeemed? How often do we invite Jesus to leave and go somewhere else to practice his transforming work?<br />
<br />
Just a little nod to Father's Day, note 1 Kings 19:4!Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-32601013595425198552010-06-20T05:56:00.000-07:002010-06-21T07:51:19.182-07:00Haunted<h2>Mark 5:1-20</h2><p>Time was, when I was a boy of 9 or 10 or 11, that this was my favorite New Testament story. There were perhaps two reasons. First, I was the son of a Pentecostal preacher and had seen much evidence of the dramatic effects of the <em>Holy</em> Spirit on many people—so it was not a great stretch, with a boy’s overactive imagination, to conjure a vivid picture of the sort of havoc an <em>unclean</em> spirit might produce. Here was a New Testament story—and there weren’t many—to rival the Old Testament stories of David and Goliath (where, much to a young boy’s delight, the giant literally loses his head) and the so-called witch of Endor. Secondly, I think my fascination with the demoniac’s story derived also from a Pentecostal penchant for archaic language. The Holy Spirit was for us during my formative years the Holy <em>Ghost</em>—and Mark 5 (//Luke 8:26-39), read from the King James Version, the Bible of my youth, was inhabited by a man “possessed with <em>devils</em>”—and those “<em>devils</em>” appeared in the text quite frequently, even in verses where I now know that the Greek text is more restrained. Nowadays the Greek is “more faithfully” rendered by the NRSV’s antiseptic “they.” The KJV was so much better, don’t you think, for a boyish imagination?—far better “devils” than “they.” What my friends and I discovered back then was a <em>ghost</em> story to keep a boy up at night and <em>devils</em> enough to keep him whispering solemn speculations for hours into the night.</p><br />
<p>So, when, somewhat desperate for a text for this sermon before Presbytery (Middle Tennessee, 2003; Year 1 of the Revised Common Lectionary [RCL] Daily Lectionary, Week following Sunday between July 17 and 23 inclusive) I noticed that Mark 5 appeared as Thursday’s Gospel reading, I took it as a providential sign and was once again enticed to “turn aside to see” this strange text that “burns, yet is not consumed.”</p><br />
<p>We children of the Enlightenment, denizens of the 20th and now the 21st century, no longer believe in ghosts and devils. We assume that we have exorcised (that’s exorcise, not exercise) or can successfully exorcise all the devils from their hiding places in Mark 5. We are, after all, and with apologies to Amy Jill Levine, “the very model of a modern Bible exegete.” Naturally, we no longer subscribe to a literalistic reading in which two or four or six thousand demons drive two thousand swine off the side of a cliff and into the sea. We are older now, more mature, more civilized and sophisticated. We know all too well that what the ancient writers understood as spirit possession would likely be diagnosed today in a sterile, clinical hospital ward as some sort of mental illness—-though, if we are honest, we will also admit that it is no less terrible and terrifying for its diagnosis. We Presbyterian exegetes know to ask all those “who, what, where, and when” questions that domesticate and bind this text to its ancient context. And we know that we should not move on to a consideration of what the text means here, to us, today, until it has been “successfully” bound, gagged, and interred in the city of Gerasa or Gadara or Gergesa, in the region of the gentile Decapolis, between Galilee and Judea, under Roman Imperial administration, some two thousand years ago. We know all that.</p><br />
<p>Still, there are ghosts in this text that haunt me. This text, like the demoniac himself, refuses to stay confined to its modern shackles. Though commentary after modern commentary warns us against misreading this story as a condemnation by Jesus of an economic system in which 2,000 swine are more valuable than a single, though deranged human life, still pulpits resound with this “misreading” every time the text is read (though that may now be rarely done). Why does such an economic “misreading” persist? Perhaps the Spirit of Christ seeks once again by the reading of his Word to confront the very demons that possess <em>us</em>—our material possessions. Knowing full well that consumerism destroys our bodies and our spirits—and more so the bodies and spirits of our homeless, mentally ill neighbors—our modern reaction to the arrival of Jesus may be to run to him with the magic of rote prayers begging that he not torment us by “freeing” us of our possessions. Deluded, we may even say that we prefer our life in the caves, bound by our possessions, but free of God and one another. And, like the residents who found the man clothed and in his right mind, we may catch a serious case of NIMBY (not in my back yard) when cured demoniacs try to rejoin polite society—even polite church society.</p><br />
<p>Yes, there are still ghosts in this text that haunt me--21st century ghosts and devils aplenty. Horizons may have shifted with the computer age, but we still have horizons. We still, and with reason, fear loss of mental capacity, aging, and loneliness. We still succumb to sickness and pain, despite extraordinary efforts to avoid them. And we still loathe and fear death, that most fearsome and seemingly most invincible of all devils.</p><br />
<p>Friends, the good news is this: Jesus still confronts and casts out devils. Jesus is still the one who calms the storm and raised Jairus’s daughter. Jesus, though he died, lives forever more—and gives us life eternal. We, like the demoniac, are charged to go home to our friends to tell how much the Lord has done for us. I find it is ironic, then, that this text may NEVER be read in our churches, since Mark 5:1-20 conveniently drops out of the RCL for Sundays and Festivals somewhere between the 12th and 13th Sundays in Ordinary Time in Year B. Did we notice?<br />
<br />
Note: the parallel text in <a href="http://biblepasture.blogspot.com/2010/06/extreme-makeover-life-edition.html">Luke 8:26-39</a> does appear on the <a href="http://biblepasture.blogspot.com/2010/06/extreme-makeover-life-edition.html">Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C</a>.Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-44423505579236067132010-06-12T22:23:00.000-07:002010-06-14T08:40:20.269-07:00A Host's InhospitalityA bit of "table talk" by Jesus in Luke 7 sets up three points of contrast: an ungracious host (showing how little forgiveness he has received), a woman whose love for Jesus shows (prior to the fact) how much forgiveness she is open to receiving, and Jesus our guest. (Brendan Byrne, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hospitality-God-Reading-Lukes-Gospel/dp/0814623905?ie=UTF8&tag=tumbledownfar-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Hospitality of God: A Reading of Luke's Gospel</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tumbledownfar-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0814623905" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />, Liturgical Press) Who knew that hospitality is such a yard stick (measuring cup) for forgiveness?<br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=tumbledownfar-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0814623905&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
But before we turn to the Gospel of Luke, we pause for a moment to consider the Psalmist's cry of desperation.<br />
<h2>Psalm 5:1-8</h2>The Psalmist begins with a prayer for attention, which moves from a plea for God to take the earplugs out and turn to face the supplicant ("give ear") to a plea for God to take enough interest in what is being said that the prayer will register on the divine radar. The psalmist wants God to listen with understanding and discernment, to distinguish (<i>binah</i>) the individual words, phrases, and sentences so that sounds of the supplicant's prayer will be intelligible to God. The psalmist wants God to understand the prayer, not merely to hear the sound of praying.<br />
The psalmist's prayer is characterized as a cry for help by someone who has been hurt. (<i>shewa`</i>; the root occurs 11 times in the book of Job and 10 times in the Psalms, but only rarely elsewhere.) Such cries of distress have a purpose and that purpose is to summon a strong helper, a hero. In this case the hero is God, who is envisioned in his role as king. (A warrior and defender; someone with great power; if the king cannot help, who will be able?)<br />
<br />
<object height="300" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/all/modules/swftools/shared/flash_media_player/player5x1.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="bgcolor" value="282828"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="flashvars" value="config=http://www.whitehouse.gov/xml/video/13157/config.xml&path_to_plugins=http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/modules/wh_multimedia/wh_jwplayer/plugins&path_to_player=http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/all/modules/swftools/shared/flash_media_player/player5x1.swf"></param><embed src="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/all/modules/swftools/shared/flash_media_player/player5x1.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="300" flashvars="config=http://www.whitehouse.gov/xml/video/13157/config.xml&path_to_plugins=http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/modules/wh_multimedia/wh_jwplayer/plugins&path_to_player=http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/all/modules/swftools/shared/flash_media_player/player5x1.swf"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Scroll to 3:11 for the relevant section.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Even though I'm president of the United States, my power is not limitless, so I can't dive down there and plug the hole. I can't suck it up with a straw. All I can do is make sure that I put honest, hard-working smart people in place ... to implement this thing.</blockquote>(President Barack Obama)<br />
What sorts of things, other than oil spills, merit such a cry? The need for mercy (from a judge; Psalm 28), the need for healing (Psalm 30), and the need to be found or located (e.g., when lost at sea; Psalm 31), among others.<br />
<br />
<img src="http://nbcsportsmedia2.msnbc.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/100612-sunderland-bcol-9a.standard.jpg" width="100%" /><br />
<br />
(Image source, http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37650809/ns/sports-othersports/)<br />
Photo: 16-year-old, Abby Sunderland, in her wrecked sailboat, Wild Eyes. She is now on a French fishing vessel, which rescued her half way between Australia and the coast of Africa. She spent two days without communication and sent out distress signals before she was rescued.<br />
<br />
The Psalmist ends on the same theme we will see soon in the gospel reading, the one who has been saved from much also loves much. Gratitude is the hallmark of the life saved.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>Luke 7:36-8:3</h2><p>It helps first to remember the Roman setting of Jesus' party invitation. Often we make unfounded assumptions that can be dispelled with a few images, imaginative reconstructions of the Roman <em>triclinium</em>, the arrangements of the three couches, the placement of the table, the open end from which food would have been served. <br />
<br />
<img src="http://library.thinkquest.org/22866/Dutch/Plaatjes/aanlig2.gif" width="85%"><br />
(Image source, http://library.thinkquest.org/22866/Dutch/Plaatjes/aanlig2.gif)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston180.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston180.jpg)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston179.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston179.jpg)<br />
<br />
<blockquote>306. The places on each couch were named in the same way, (<em>locus</em>) <em>summus</em>, <em>medius</em>, and <em>īmus</em>, denoted respectively by the figures 1, 2, and 3 in Figure 179. The person who occupied the place numbered 1 was said to be above (super, <em>suprā</em>) the person to his right, while the person occupying the middle place (2) was above the person on his right and below (īnfrā) the one on his left. The place of honor on the <em>lectus summus</em> was that numbered 1, and the corresponding place (1) on the <em>lectus īmus</em> was taken by the host. To the most distinguished guest, however, was given the place on the <em>lectus medius</em> marked 3; this place was called by the special name <em>locus cōnsulāris</em>, because if a consul was present, it was always assigned to him. It was next to the place of the host, and, besides, was especially convenient for a public official; if he found it necessary to receive or send a message during the dinner, he could communicate with the messenger without so much as turning on his elbow.</blockquote>(<a href="http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston_8.html#306">Johnson's Private Life of the Romans</a>)<br />
<br />
Roman dinners were social events, with guests. We too often forget in this age of home theaters that home entertainment in the Roman world was of necessity live entertainment. There was music and dancing. ("`We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.'" Luke 7:32, NIB) There was recitation of written work, poetry and speeches, plays and the "good" parts of the best tragedies and comedies. And there was Jesus. He could be counted on for a miracle, a sign or good work, an exorcism, a good parable, a provocative statement, or something else altogether unexpected. You have to wonder from all the dinner invitations he received whether Jesus was considered by some of the rich folks of his day as just another form of entertainment. ("The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" Luke 7:34, NRSV) For a good description, see the Wikipedia article on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_cuisine">Roman cuisine, table culture</a><br />
<br />
<p>So, Jesus received yet another invitation to dinner, this time from a Pharisee. He accepted, Luke says, taking his place (which one?) and reclining with the other guests at the table. (Luke 7:36) About that time a woman who has heard that Jesus will be reclining on that couch at dinner in the Pharisee's house shows up with an alabaster bottle of ointment or perfume (<em>muron</em>) she has bought for the occasion. It is strongly aromatic, often used for anointing dead bodies (Luke 23:56). </p><br />
<b>The Expensive Stuff</b><br />
<img src="http://www.christies.com/lotfinderimages/d49742/d4974297x.jpg" width="20%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.christies.com/lotfinderimages/d49742/d4974297x.jpg)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The Cheap Stuff</b><br />
<img src="http://www.jerusalem-antiquities.com/images/Roman%20Glass%20Perfume%20Jar6.jpg" width="15%" /><br />
(Image source, http://www.jerusalem-antiquities.com/images/Roman%20Glass%20Perfume%20Jar6.jpg)<br />
</p><br />
<p>The woman with her alabaster jar walked into the room in full view of the guests and made her way around the table until she stood behind Jesus. There she took her stand, weeping, and began to shower his feet, drenching them with her tears. She was wiping them dry with her hair. And she was kissing his feet and anointing them with the perfume. <br />
</p><p>The host, taking it all in, says to himself, "He's no prophet! Or he would know what sort of woman is touching him (7:39, <em>hapto</em>, most often of people "grabbing" Jesus, hoping he will "touch" and heal them: e.g., Luke 5:13; 6:19; 7:14; 8:16, 44-47; 11:33; 15:8; 18:15; and 22:51). This is nothing new or out of the ordinary to Jesus. People in need are always grabbing for him. Parents are always bringing their babies to him so that he may touch them. But this woman's a sinner! (<em>harmotolos</em>, see 5:30, 32) Jesus was always being accused of fraternizing with sinners and publicans by the Pharisees; yet, whose table is he sharing today?</p><p>Jesus turns to his host and says, "Simon, I have something to say to you." Now we get to glimpse the guise under which Jesus has been invited, because Simon responds, "Go ahead, teacher!" (<em>didaskalos</em>)</p><br />
<p>Jesus offers an after-dinner parable:</p><br />
<img src="http://newportricheyflforeclosures.com/images/forecloserichie.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://newportricheyflforeclosures.com/images/forecloserichie.jpg)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://housesforeclosure.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/bungalow.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://housesforeclosure.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/bungalow.jpg)<br />
<br />
<p>A man who owed (<em>chreopheiletai</em> $500,000 and a man who owed $50,000 both had their loans re-negotiated with the bank (see Luke 16:5). (<em>charizomai</em>, generously, graciously, forgave and pardoned.) Now neither man owes anything, both have unblemished credit scores, and both can keep their houses. Tell me, which will love the banker more?<br />
<br />
Jesus replies, "You judge correctly." (Similar to the way the Psalmist prays that God will hear and understand his prayer.) Then Jesus convicts Simon: "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave (<em>didomi</em>, echoing the inability of the debtors to "repay," <em>apodidomi</em>, their obligation) me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair." (NRSV, Luke 7:44) Jesus continues enumerating the host's many obligations, a kiss and oil for his head, which Simon had failed to perform. Her many sins have been forgiven, for she loves much. ...and then he trails off, ...but the one who has been forgiven little loves little.</p><p>Perhaps the most astonishing thing about the story is the order in which the statements occur. Jesus makes the declarative (objectively real) statement to Simon that the woman's sins have been (perfect! / past) forgiven before he turns to the woman and informs her (subjectively real) that her sins are (now) forgiven (perfect!). <br />
<img src="http://test.huntmuseum.com/qzty2o/2276.jpg" width="35%"><br />
(Image source, http://test.huntmuseum.com/qzty2o/2276.jpg)<br />
<br />
<img src="http://www.carlos.emory.edu/files/05classic05L.jpg"><br />
(Image source, http://www.carlos.emory.edu/files/05classic05L.jpg)<br />
</p><p>The other guests are flabbergasted, asking, as will often be the case with Jesus, "who is this who even forgives sins?" Jesus, not missing a beat, says to the woman that it is her faith that has saved her. Her love for Jesus is an expression of the depth of that faith. Her love is deeper, it seems, than the love of Simon, and so is her faith.</p><br />
<p>How deep is my love?</p><img src="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/files/2009/01/img_0166.JPG" width="65%" /><br />
<p>How much faith do I have?</p><img src="http://images.crateandbarrel.com/is/image/Crate/AngledMeasuringCupMiniF7?$lg$" width="35%" />Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-56113587469690726352010-06-05T21:08:00.000-07:002010-06-05T21:08:43.522-07:00First, Do No Harm!<p>If our mission is to be/make disciples (it is), we must examine carefully those things that may impede our mission and get in the way of extending help and hospitality. One of those things is fear. Sometimes we fear the angry responses that we may receive from hurting people. But sometimes we also fear our own inadequacy and inability, worrying that we may only make matters worse if we try to help. Because we do not know and cannot know always the full impact of our attempts to help, we may be tempted to avoid those people who are hurting. Instead, we must focus first on meeting the needs of the people whom God sends our way; putting them first--before our fear--is akin to putting Christ first. We must overcome any negative (-) response in ourselves and any fear of a negative response from those whom we would help, so that God's help and grace can triumph (+) over our fear and over the bitterness of hurting people.<br />
</p><br />
<h2>I Kings 17:8-24</h2><h3>Crying Bitter Tears</h3><p align="center"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TAr9N8UCXuI/AAAAAAAACwM/hCsqN-vMyaY/s288/HiRes.jpg" title="woman crying, istockphoto.com"></p><p>The bitter question that a grieving widow and mother asks Elijah is the sort of response we sometimes fear from those in pain whom we would like to help. The woman is understandably bitter and angry. She had been prepared to lose her son to famine when the prophet of God (the man of God, <em>'ish ha'elohim</em>) had first appeared (I Kings 17:12). The prophet--without invitation--had offered her help and a promise: "thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth." (NRSV, I Kings 17:14) That promise must have seemed like salvation to her, especially when the jar of meal and the jug of oil did not run out after the first day and the second and the third. Her confidence, hope, and faith grew. She began to trust the Word of the Lord and the words of the prophet (I Kings 17:16). Now a fate worse than dying with her son suddenly confronts her. The widow's son has died; she must live on alone, so she lashes out at the prophet: "What did I ever do to you, that you come here and expose my sin to kill my son?" (I Kings 17:18) Elijah, instead of taking offense or meeting her bitterness with his own bitterness, takes her son compassionately into his arms and calls out to God on her behalf. Life reenters the boy and new life animates the widow, who says "now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth [<em>'emet</em>, trustworthy]." (NRSV, I Kings 17:24) <br />
</p><br />
<h2>Galatians 1:11-24</h2><h3>Resisting Grace, Hissing and Scratching at Jesus</h3><p>We read again, now from Galatians instead of Acts (<a href="http://biblepasture.blogspot.com/2010/04/guest-with-bad-reputation.html" title="Acts 9:1-20">9:1-20, Third Sunday of Easter</a>), about Saul's persecution of the followers of the Way and his remarkable conversion. One of my favorite images of Saul the Persecutor is from Fred B. Craddock's sermon, "Praying Through Clenched Teeth" (Twentieth Century Pulpit, Vol. II; also available in Eugene Lowry's <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Preach-Parable-Narrative-Preachers/dp/0687179246?ie=UTF8&tag=tumbledownfar-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969">How to Preach a Parable</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tumbledownfar-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0687179246" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important; padding: 0px !important" />).<br />
<br />
<p align="center"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIugPxzqyJDiwyvpds-q2nWt0TKfeHC8QHzBlPrLXzZxVRn-DbBP0c-g6rLy7yKvZj8Fp48kC7H5-SmmqHllhz3egqCyIcHCn5ct9Vpynt3v2_s1Z4SqfGWWHjh2sDh51re_oBjIS7QeM/s400/angry_cat.jpg" width="60%"></p><br />
(Image source, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIugPxzqyJDiwyvpds-q2nWt0TKfeHC8QHzBlPrLXzZxVRn-DbBP0c-g6rLy7yKvZj8Fp48kC7H5-SmmqHllhz3egqCyIcHCn5ct9Vpynt3v2_s1Z4SqfGWWHjh2sDh51re_oBjIS7QeM/s400/angry_cat.jpg)<br />
<br />
The image of Saul (or Paul) presented there is of a wounded animal hissing and striking out at the hand that would save it. Craddock concludes his sermon like this:<br />
<blockquote>Not too long ago God reached out his hand to bless me and my family. When he did, I looked at his hand; it was covered with scratches. Such is the hand of love, extended to those who are bitter.</blockquote><p align="center"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TApG4KuEvJI/AAAAAAAACv0/G2-6Xvz8TWk/s288/Crucified%20Hands.jpg"></p>(Image, "Crucified Hands," © Copyright 2005 by Debbie Rockey. All rights reserved.) <br />
<br />
The "revelation of Jesus Christ" (<em>apokalypsis</em>, Galatians 1:12) of which Paul speaks in Galatians is the means by which he received the gospel (<em>euangelion</em>, good news, Galatians 1:11) that he now preaches. As Paul puts it, the new thing that happened on the Damascus road was that God revealed "his Son to [or in] me." (Galatians 1:16) Jesus is now the source and the content of Paul's preaching. But at the precise moment of that revelation, Jesus was unwelcome to Saul. The good news was resisted. Saul was still hissing and scratching and striking out against Jesus (persecuting [<em>kath' hyperbalen 'ediokon</em>] and trying to destroy [<em>'eporthoun</em>] the church; Galatians 1:13, 1:23). Craddock suggests that Paul's overreaction (<em>kath' hyperbalen</em>) to the good news of Jesus was a result of the threat Paul perceived to the-world-as-he-knew-it (Judaism), including his understanding of who God is and what God requires. The gospel threatened Saul's sense of self, his core identity, because it showed that the things in life that Saul most avidly pursued were in truth non-essentials (Galatians 1:14). For that reason, Saul struck out. But God persisted for Paul's own sake, and for the sake of the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and for the sake of creating a church among the gentiles (Galatians 1:16).</p><h2>Luke 7:11-17</h2><h3>Showing Mercy with Courage and with Gracious Abandon</h3><p>As Jesus nears the gates of Nain, he encounters a burial detail removing a corpse from town. It is not just any corpse, but a widow's "only begotten" (<em>monogenes</em>; see Luke 8:42 and 9:38) son who has died. All children are unique, special, and irreplaceable. The loss of an only child to a parent whose childbearing years are over simply underscores and emphasizes the bitterness of such a loss with terrible loneliness and finality. It is right to concentrate on Luke's concatenation of specific descriptors, especially the pairing of a "widow's (<em>kai 'auten en chera</em>) only begotten." It is to this situation in which a woman is left without both husband and son (e.g., Naomi; Ruth 1:5) that Jesus responds with deep compassion (<em>splagchnizomai</em>, like Pharaoh's daughter does as she rescues a crying baby Moses from the Nile basket, Exodus 2:6). In Proverbs 17:5, the LXX adds a contrasting line after the two negative statements that are in the Hebrew text: "Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished" (NRSV, following the Hebrew) "and the one who shows compassion (<em>episplagchnizomai</em>) will receive mercy" (LXX). Compassion and mercy go together. That is why compassion is forbidden at the destruction of the temple in Ezekiel 24:15-24; until chastisement is over, there is no mercy (and also, therefore, no compassion). Compassion includes the promise of concrete help (e.g., by the Ziphites to Saul when he is chasing David, 1 Samuel 23:21; ironically not shown by Saul at any time to David). This verb for compassion is only used by Luke again at 10:33 (the Good Samaritan) and 15:20 (the father for his Prodigal Son). This should not come as a great shock to those who are familiar with the Lukan narrative.</p><p align="center"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/TAsA9HTOAOI/AAAAAAAACwQ/fHCkEi1N4eo/s288/iStock_000012038549Small.jpg"></p></p><p>Jesus tells the widow not to weep (<em>me klaie</em>), an imperative repeated in the NT only at Revelation 5:5 to John, who had begun to despair that the scroll could not be opened. The root occurs, of course, in the Sermon on the Plain. (Luke 6:21, "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.") It occurs twice more in Luke 7, in the enigmatic saying at 7:32 and in 7:38 with the sinner woman who stood behind Jesus weeping, washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair.<br />
<p align="center"><a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/woman crying/beautifulwonder3/Jagged Reflections/woman_crying_1.jpg?o=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss88/beautifulwonder3/Jagged%20Reflections/woman_crying_1.jpg" border="0" width="55%"></a></p><p>At issue throughout this chapter is the identity of Jesus as a Great Prophet (Luke 7:16, 7:22, 7:39). His response to the widow from Nain and the sinner woman are woven of the same cloth: forgiveness and healing, resurrection and salvation.Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-5730063391383305882010-05-10T07:47:00.000-07:002010-05-15T21:39:45.151-07:00Success Signs<h2>Is success a sign for us? </h2>Moses is told that the arrival of the Hebrew people at the mountain again (his return to the same place with them) for worship will be a sign that God had sent him on his mission to deliver the Israelite captives from Egypt. What are our after-the-fact signs that God has sent us on our mission? What is the sign that we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews)? Is it our unity? (John 17) <br />
<br />
<h2>Exodus 3:1-12</h2>One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is the one where Moses encounters the bush "that burns but is not consumed." The classic scene portrays Moses with his sheep near Mount Horeb, catching sight of the burning bush: immediately Moses is both attracted to the sight and a little apprehensive.<br />
<p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/CofSBurningBushLogo.JPG" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/CofSBurningBushLogo.JPG) </p><p>[Both the the Church of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the roots of our own Scotch-Irish Presbyterian churches in the USA, have in their seals and logos this burning bush. It is a symbol of the kirk. The motto of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is <em>Ardens sed Virens</em>, "burning but flourishing."]<br />
<p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7e/Pci_burningbush.PNG"><br />
(Image source, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7e/Pci_burningbush.PNG)<br />
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/Presbyterian_church_in_ireland_logo.png"><br />
(Image source, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/Presbyterian_church_in_ireland_logo.png)</p><p>Perhaps Moses knew the reputation of the place. After all, this was Mt. Horeb, "the mountain of God." Perhaps Moses experienced something like the attraction that children in an old black and white haunted house movie do, who peer through the wrought-iron fence toward an old house that exercises their imaginations. They pass the ever-growing reputation of the place back and forth among themselves in whispers, while daring one another to trespass onto the estate and perhaps even to spend a whole night inside the house. Sooner or later, they see a light shining in a window or out on the grounds, and they are drawn reluctantly but inexorably inside.</p><p><img src="http://www.cyberhomes.com/CONTENT/Libraries/Blog_Pictures/Haunted_House.sflb"><br />
(Image source, http://www.cyberhomes.com/CONTENT/Libraries/Blog_Pictures/Haunted_House.sflb)</p><p>While Moses has been inspecting the attractive-repulsive phenomenon of the burning bush, God has also been taking stock of Moses. And when Moses gets close enough, God calls out to remind Moses to mind his manners. Moses is not in his own home; he's at God's place. But God's invitation also means that Moses has finally arrived back at home; until now, in Pharaoh's court and in Egypt, Moses has not felt at home or connected to family. Now he is welcomed with a gesture of familiarity and a certain amount of intimacy. Taking off your shoes as a guest in someone else's home meant both that you honored your host--that you would follow the host's rules while you were in their home, receiving their hospitality--but also that you felt comfortable enough (un-threatened, at ease) to accept the familiarity and intimacy of removing your footwear and leaving it at the door.</p><p><img src="http://wordincarnate.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/burning_bush.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://wordincarnate.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/burning_bush.jpg)</p><p>The more usual scene in classical artwork has Moses closer to the bush, engaged with God, but with his sandals removed and his face covered/shielded, and/or his eyes averted from looking directly at God. <br />
<p><img src="http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/2008/07/01-07/shoes-ath-001.JPG" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/2008/07/01-07/shoes-ath-001.JPG)</p><p>For weeks now we've been talking about the need for hospitality--both receiving and offering hospitality--for life as a disciple of Jesus. Today, somewhat unexpectedly, the first thing we run into is another sign of the importance God attaches to what we might consider small acts of welcome and respect. The invitation to take off your shoes is at once both a sign of respect for God's holiness (no need to track up God's floor with the accumulated dirt of our living) and an invitation to make ourselves at home. It is a small act of intimacy (something that strangers, the uninvited, and the unwelcome are not invited to do) that shows respect for someone else's home.</p><p><img src="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/la/102709shoes-01.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/la/102709shoes-01.jpg)</p><br />
<p>Although Moses would appear to be alone at Mt. Horeb, enjoying a one-on-one visit with God at home--this friendly, cozy scene is disrupted by the return of a vision shared between God and Moses of "the misery" of Hebrew slaves in Egypt, making bricks for the Pharaoh.<br />
<p><img src="http://www.mitchellteachers.net/WorldHistory/AncientEgyptNearEastUnit/Images/EgyptDailyLife/AncientEgyptDailyLifeHousingPic_large.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.mitchellteachers.net/WorldHistory/AncientEgyptNearEastUnit/Images/EgyptDailyLife/AncientEgyptDailyLifeHousingPic_large.jpg)</p><p><img src="http://www.bible.ca/archeology/archeology-TT100-tomb-of-rekhmire-vizier-thutmosisIII-hebrews-making-mud-bricks-thebes-luxor.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.bible.ca/archeology/archeology-TT100-tomb-of-rekhmire-vizier-thutmosisIII-hebrews-making-mud-bricks-thebes-luxor.jpg)</p><p>God comes quickly to the point of the visit:<br />
<blockquote>I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:7-10, NRSV)</blockquote></p><p>In other words, God wants to bring his people home to himself and to Canaan.</p><p>Moses objects strenuously. He agrees that the work needs to be done, but he objects to the idea that he, Moses, is qualified to do it. (Exodus 3:11) He anticipates that the Israelites will be reluctant to follow. (Exodus 4:1) Moses recognizes his own lack of eloquence. (Exodus 4:10) He even asks God to send someone else. (Exodus 4:13)</p><p>God responds directly to each of Moses' objections, providing assurance that the mission is indeed possible with God's help. Though much could be said about each of these assurances, I want to focus on one that most often gets overlooked, the assurance in the interim that he is on the right track, that he has indeed heard the Word of the Lord. That assurance comes as a promise that Moses will return to this very place, and when he does he will not return alone.<br />
</p><p><img src="http://awtravelogues.com/RegionsOfTheWorld/MiddleEast/Exodus%20Photos/MtSinaiValley.jpg" width="65%"><br />
(Image source, http://awtravelogues.com/RegionsOfTheWorld/MiddleEast/Exodus%20Photos/MtSinaiValley.jpg)</p><p>In other words, God's house, Mt. Horeb, is a place very much on-the-way and in-between slavery in Egypt and life in Canaan. It is an oasis, a way station, a half-way house. It is not Canaan, their final destination, a land "flowing with milk and honey." But it is the mountain of God, Mt. Horeb; it is the place of burning bush and flourishing people. It is a place of escape and regrouping for the next part of their journey with God. They will stay for a little while at the very spot where the burning bush once stood, so that Moses and the people may be reassured that God is the author of their journey and the one who will bring them safely to its conclusion.<br />
<h2>Hebrews 12:18-29</h2><br />
The writer of the book of Hebrews refers directly to the Exodus experience. The scene is one of modern worship and service with our shoes off, our eyes averted, and our faces hid from the presence of God. The writer of Hebrews (a preacher of long sermons) compares his readers (listeners) favorably to the Hebrews of the Exodus, but he also notes a significant difference. The burning bush and smoking mountain were physical realities at Mt. Horeb (the intermediate mountain, the mountain on-the-way to the promised land) in the Old Testament. The mountain to which we repair (come) is symbolized as Mt. Zion (the final destination, the promised land). This mountain is not physical, it is invisible. But the God we serve is no less alive than the fire that burned in the bush, and Jesus still offers himself to us, even from his place of ascension (heaven). It we refuse this offer, our world will be shaken. All that we know and cherish is temporal, fading, and subject to entropy. It will soon be gone. The only thing that will remain is his kingdom and our investment in it by his grace. So, heed the call to find those places near to Mt. Zion, places of acceptance, thanksgiving, offering, worship, reverence and awe. For our God too is a consuming fire. <br />
<br />
<h2>John 17:20-26</h2><br />
Jesus prays for a different kind of proximity to God--and different signs of mission success--for his followers. Instead of returning to camp near a holy mountain (either Horeb or Zion), Jesus prays that his disciples will take up permanent residence "in" God and God take up residence "in" them. He prays that they may immerse themselves completely in this Burning-Fire-of-a-God through the passion of their love for one another. By doing this, they become the holy mountain and the burning bush for others, creating a holy place known as "unity" toward which others are attracted to see this strange sight.Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779210514342647036.post-17352177114302997882010-05-02T05:19:00.000-07:002010-05-02T05:51:58.855-07:00Exponential Hospitality<h2>Acts 11:1–18</h2><h3>Peter's Defense</h3><p>Peter, who is back "home" in Jerusalem with his friends and relatives, the other "apostles" and the "circumcised believers," now has to defend his actions in baptizing and welcoming Cornelius, a centurion, to the Way. Luke is careful to describe Cornelius as an "upright" and "God-fearing" person, but the only characteristic of Cornelius that the Jewish church leaders can see is that he is "uncircumcised," and therefore "unclean." The real question for Peter is, "Why did you eat with them?" (Acts 11:2)</p><p>Peter, whose temporary address "in Joppa, with Simon the tanner by the sea" we discussed <a href="http://biblepasture.blogspot.com/2010/04/staying-with-glover.html" title="sermon notes for 04/25/2010 on Acts 9">last week</a>,<br />
<p><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/S9Nme5dzczI/AAAAAAAACuQ/KsVQDa1sPqQ/s400/DebbieRockey1_LD_Web.gif" title="Peter at Simon the Tanner's House, Acts 9:43, by Debbie Rockey"></p><p>© Copyright 2010 by Debbie Rockey. Peter at Simon the Tanner's House, Acts 9:43. <a href="http://store.payloadz.com/go?id=802274" title="Payloadz download of Peter at Simon the Tanner's House, Acts 9:43">Image rights available ($2.50)</a> for church use.</p>takes his friends through the journey step-by-step. Like a scientist or mathematician explaining a complicated formula or a coach diagramming a complicated play, Peter recounts the journey from Dorcas to Simon's house to the house of Cornelius. He tells how he was praying (he leaves out the part this time about being up on Simon the Tanner's roof and hungry) when he fell into a trance and saw a vision.</p><p><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_OuMenN15Zh8/S9NmhHe9fHI/AAAAAAAACuc/i9d8bDPjZj8/s400/DebbieRockey3_WaterPaper.gif" title="Peter's Vision of a Large Sheet filled with unclean animals, four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds of the air, Acts 10:11, by Debbie Rockey"></p><p>© Copyright 2010 by Debbie Rockey. Peter's Vision of a Large Sheet, filled with unclean animals, four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds of the air, Acts 10:11. <a href="http://store.payloadz.com/go?id=802316" title="Payloadz download of Peter's Vision of a Large Sheet, filled with unclean animals, four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds of the air, Acts 10:11">Image rights available ($2.50)</a> for church use.</p><p>One of the details that stands out in Acts 10 (and in the shortened re-telling in Acts 11) is Luke's focused attention on <em>hospitality</em>:<br />
<ul><li>Arrival of the Needy. Acts 10:17 (retold in 11:11). "Real men" don't ask for directions, especially when they can just follow their noses! But these men, who were sent (<em>apestalmenoi</em>) by Cornelius, arrive at the right place by asking about the location of the house. These ambassadors arrive "at the gate" (<em>pulona</em>, Greek; Vulgate, <em>ianua</em>, door; see Luke 16:20, where Lazarus is laid at the "gate" of Dives).</p><p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Meister_des_Codex_Aureus_Epternacensis_001.jpg/410px-Meister_des_Codex_Aureus_Epternacensis_001.jpg" width="60%"><br />
(Image source, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Meister_des_Codex_Aureus_Epternacensis_001.jpg/410px-Meister_des_Codex_Aureus_Epternacensis_001.jpg)</p><p>Their arrival on the threshold demands a response of hospitality.<br />
<li>Multiplication of Hospitality: The Power of Exponential Growth. Acts 10:22-23 (retold in 11:13).<br />
--Summoning a Good-News-Speaker. Cornelius is instructed by an angel to "send for" Peter. (<em>metapempo</em>, a compound used only by Luke in the New Testament, also used of Felix summoning Paul to "listen to him speak about faith in Christ," Acts 24:24.) Cornelius brings Peter "into his house" (something done also by Jairus to Jesus in Luke 8:41), so that Cornelius may hear what Peter has to say (<em>rhemata para sou</em>). The Greek word <em>rhema</em>, like the Hebrew word <em>dabar</em>, may take on specialized meanings according to context. The basic meaning is "word, saying, expression, or statement of any kind" (BDAG), but it can mean prophecy, prediction, commandment (as in the Ten Commandments, "words"). In this case it probably means preaching or teaching. It appears in some well known sayings, such as "Nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:37, more woodenly and literally translated: "For every word [<em>rhema</em>, thing] will not be impossible with God.") In other words, what God says is true, and comes true (Luke 1:38, 2:15, 17, 19, etc.). Divine words spoken will be realized. Divine words will become real things, events, objects, matter--just as the world itself was "spoken" or commanded into existence.</p><p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlU_IcGeNqLSvAk6mPnTmrjEdGWRwjcyuS9ERrzZ4by4-yGlcEdWI8LeS5beL7hxstyLrur_9Qf-9EnuI-KwjF8TQ3IKpOLavK7Gc2lRSxhKYWsyMjVLULFagBSD84A_oc7HDpcvZKqU/s1600/Peter-teaches-Cornelius'-household.jpg" width="70%">><br />
(Image source, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlU_IcGeNqLSvAk6mPnTmrjEdGWRwjcyuS9ERrzZ4by4-yGlcEdWI8LeS5beL7hxstyLrur_9Qf-9EnuI-KwjF8TQ3IKpOLavK7Gc2lRSxhKYWsyMjVLULFagBSD84A_oc7HDpcvZKqU/s1600/Peter-teaches-Cornelius'-household.jpg)</p><p>--The Recipient of Hospitality Offers Hospitality. Peter, a guest himself with Simon the Tanner, offers the new arrivals hospitality--which will also be reciprocated by Cornelius when Peter arrives at his house. Luke tells us first that Peter is "staying with" (<em>xenizo</em>, receiving hospitality from, being entertained as a guest by) Simon the Tanner (Acts 10:6; also 10:32). Then, as we've said, that the men asked if this is the house where Peter is "staying" (Acts 10:18). And, finally, that Peter invites the men to "stay" with him at Simon the Tanner's house. (Acts 10:23) Luke uses this word <em>xenizo</em> advisedly. Luke is pointing out that Peter is staying as a "stranger" in Simon the Tanner's house, and that Peter is entertaining people he has not previously met in the house of someone he does not know. What's more, Peter will speak words that are "strangers" to their ears, as Paul did to the people of Athens in the Areopagus (Acts 17:19-20).</p><p><img src="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23580/23580-h/images/illus373.jpg" width="80%"><br />
(Image source, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23580/23580-h/images/illus373.jpg)</p><p>According to Luke, Peter and Simon the Tanner and Cornelius are all heeding the as-yet-unwritten admonition of the writer of the book of Hebrews: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:2, NRSV)<br />
<li>Entertaining Angels, literally! Acts 10:30 At first glance this verse has no other import (as if it needed any more) than to indicated the means by which (a divine messenger) Cornelius was directed to Peter. However, the messenger's "fine clothes" (<em>en estheti lampra</em>) are an indicator of high social class, wealth, and prominence. We know that Cornelius, a Roman centurion, will welcome someone who is well-dressed to his home, but will he also welcome Peter, whose clothes still reek of Simon the Tanner's profession?<br />
<blockquote>My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favouritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1-4, NIB)</blockquote>The whole of James 2 is a condemnation of any sort of favoritism. Favoritism negates the good of our hospitality as a demonstration of faith. So the question becomes whether Cornelius will take the angel's advice to seek out Peter, a man he doesn't know, whose address at the smelly home of Simon the Tanner who lives by the sea. (Acts 10:32)<br />
<li>Responding Well by Doing Good and Being Present. Acts 10:33. Cornelius commends Peter (<em>kalos epoiesas</em>, "you did well") for making the right choice to respond to the summons and demonstrates his own response both in sending for Peter and in gathering his house (<em>enopion theou</em>, "before God") to hear the strange words that Peter brings ("whatever the Lord has commanded you to say," <em>panta</em> + <em>prostasso</em>).<br />
<li>Staying. Acts 10:48. The sort of work that is done by the <em>rhema</em> has both its immediate results (reception, initiation, baptism) and its longer-term effects. God's initiative in this sequence of events is clear to Peter, in the vision of the lowered sheet, in the knock of strangers at the door, in the visit of an angel to Cornelius, in the receptivity of Cornelius and his family to the Word of faith, and in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit "just as on us at first." For the Word to take root and grow in Cornelius and his family, however, Peter cannot be a "hit and run evangelist." Peter must remain ("abide") for a few days with these new gentile disciples, eating and drinking with them. The work begun is too important to leave immediately. Peter is an instrument of the word proclaimed, it is God who has begun and will complete this good work in them.<br />
</ul></p><h2>John 13:31–35, 36-38</h2><p>The scene is the table for the Lord's Supper after communion is over (bread mostly eaten, cup mostly empty), Judas is leaving or has just left to betray Jesus. Jesus gives the disciples a "new" commandment that they love one another just as he has loved them. He promises that this love will be their identifying mark as disciples of Jesus in the world. The shadow of the cross of Jesus falls heavily in anticipation across the scene. It falls across Jesus and the disciples, including Peter. (Peter vows that he will follow Jesus to the death. Jesus' response makes me wonder whether we can relate the three times Peter denied to the three times the sheet was lowered and the three men who arrive at the same moment from Cornelius' house.) The scene of the foot-washing is a preview of the sort of sacrifice required to form the sort of community God desires, full of the sort of love that engenders hospitality for the stranger and fellowship without partiality. The growth of the kingdom is based on this deep love, hospitality and fellowship.</p><p><img src="http://images.theage.com.au/ftage/ffximage/2009/10/14/supper_narrowweb__300x446,0.jpg">
Peter Greenaway has created a 'son et lumiere' of Leonardo's Last Supper, http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/arts-reviews/leonardos-last-supper/2009/10/12/1255195742166.html?page=fullpage. (Image source, http://images.theage.com.au/ftage/ffximage/2009/10/14/supper_narrowweb__300x446,0.jpg)</p><p>Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. Who is my neighbor? My neighbor is the stranger who offers me hospitality in his stinky house, the people who show up on my doorstep, people with whom I have major disagreements and minor squabbles, people whom I cannot stand but for the grace of God. In order for the wind (Spirit) to continue blowing as it did at first, love must continue strong among the disciples of Jesus.</p>Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05581508504799752924noreply@blogger.com0