Acts 1, 2
Overview: Acts begins with the disciples seeing Jesus ascend to heaven and then getting about the work of organizing themselves for ministry, starting by finding a replacement for Judas. Chapter two features the events of the Pentecost.
The disciples have a practical dilemma. Judas, who betrayed Jesus and then committed suicide, has left them a person short in their ministry. Having Jesus words of commission to them fresh in their ears and waiting as Jesus instructed them to for the gift of the Holy Spirit, they use the time to solve their personnel problem. They find two individuals who had been around them throughout Jesus time with them and have the two draw straws, with Matthias winding up in the empty slot. My mentor, Rev. Dr. Robert R. McGruther, used this passage when working with nominating committees. His point was that whether through a deliberative process as a committee or through casting lots as the disciples did, the goal is to trust that God's Spirit is at work in the process
Early on in Acts there is mention that Peter stands and addresses the assembled believers and sets their number at about 120. And then it grows. Acts makes a point of routinely mentioning that the ministry of the disciples is drawing people to Jesus and at the end of the second chapter we have the first of what will be a regular statement - "And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved." While numbers are not the be all and end all by which we measure the vitality of a ministry I am continually pursuaded by the witness in Acts that it is a legitimate measure and one we should pay attention to even when, perhaps especially when, it challenges us.
Monday, February 28, 2011
John 20,21
John 20, 21
Overview: Jesus' resurrection. Jesus shares a post-resurrection breakfast with his friends.
A couple of thoughts as we close out John's Gospel specifically and the Gospels in general.
First, love the last line of John's Gospel for the window it gives us into what a Gospel actually is. John writes that there is so much more that could be told if he were so inclined. The point of the Gospel - I think each of the Gospels - is not to tell a complete history or biography of Jesus. This is not to say that they do not want to portray things with historical accuracy, but that they are picking and choosing the stories they think will go the farthest towards convincing the reader of who Jesus was/is and what his ministry among us was all about.
Second, John is often characterized as the most theologically complete of the Gospels and there is clearly a level of theological reflection here that is not present in Matthew, Mark and Luke. However, there is also remarkable detail in these stories. Attention to particular words and actions and details and nuances in the stories that, in my mind, argue for their authenticity. John doesn't seem to be manipulating stories to make his theological points - instead he seems to be finding the theological depth that honestly exists in the stories he tells.
Have enjoyed making my way through the four Gospels - looking forward to one of my favorite books of the
Bible - the Acts of the Apostles.
Overview: Jesus' resurrection. Jesus shares a post-resurrection breakfast with his friends.
A couple of thoughts as we close out John's Gospel specifically and the Gospels in general.
First, love the last line of John's Gospel for the window it gives us into what a Gospel actually is. John writes that there is so much more that could be told if he were so inclined. The point of the Gospel - I think each of the Gospels - is not to tell a complete history or biography of Jesus. This is not to say that they do not want to portray things with historical accuracy, but that they are picking and choosing the stories they think will go the farthest towards convincing the reader of who Jesus was/is and what his ministry among us was all about.
Second, John is often characterized as the most theologically complete of the Gospels and there is clearly a level of theological reflection here that is not present in Matthew, Mark and Luke. However, there is also remarkable detail in these stories. Attention to particular words and actions and details and nuances in the stories that, in my mind, argue for their authenticity. John doesn't seem to be manipulating stories to make his theological points - instead he seems to be finding the theological depth that honestly exists in the stories he tells.
Have enjoyed making my way through the four Gospels - looking forward to one of my favorite books of the
Bible - the Acts of the Apostles.
John 18, 19
John 18, 19
Overview: Jesus' arrest, trial, crucifixion and burial.
Power vs. Truth.
True Power vs. The Perception of Power
Pilate thinks Jesus is harmless, if a little deluded. He's the person in charge, has a lot on his plate and would really rather not be sending off what he perceives to be a pretty much harmless man to be executed. Of course, when push comes to shove, he will do that if necessary and apparently it becomes necessary. Two thousand years later we are reading this account and we are all in on Pilate's confusion. Pilate, with all of his power and importance, is important to us from this distance for one reason and one reason only. His role in Jesus' story. Pilate comes across as a guy who likes being in charge, but isn't interested in being emeshed in the specifics of the story - he just wants it dealt with. Jesus does not respond to any of the buttons that Pilate is accustomed to utilizing. Pilate throw ups his hands with his response to Jesus - "What is truth?" (John 18:38) Pilate is used to being the one who names what truth is and having people fall in to their role in the reality that he has named. Jesus confounds Pilate and exposes him at the same time. Pilate, I think, knows how illusory his power is, but has never been in the presence of someone who seems to also know it. Jesus does.
Overview: Jesus' arrest, trial, crucifixion and burial.
Power vs. Truth.
True Power vs. The Perception of Power
Pilate thinks Jesus is harmless, if a little deluded. He's the person in charge, has a lot on his plate and would really rather not be sending off what he perceives to be a pretty much harmless man to be executed. Of course, when push comes to shove, he will do that if necessary and apparently it becomes necessary. Two thousand years later we are reading this account and we are all in on Pilate's confusion. Pilate, with all of his power and importance, is important to us from this distance for one reason and one reason only. His role in Jesus' story. Pilate comes across as a guy who likes being in charge, but isn't interested in being emeshed in the specifics of the story - he just wants it dealt with. Jesus does not respond to any of the buttons that Pilate is accustomed to utilizing. Pilate throw ups his hands with his response to Jesus - "What is truth?" (John 18:38) Pilate is used to being the one who names what truth is and having people fall in to their role in the reality that he has named. Jesus confounds Pilate and exposes him at the same time. Pilate, I think, knows how illusory his power is, but has never been in the presence of someone who seems to also know it. Jesus does.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
John 15, 16, 17
John 15, 16, 17
Overview: Jesus speaking to and praying about the disicples following the Last Supper.
These three chapter feature a good bit of somewhat dense theological reflection by Jesus about his mission and ministry, his relationship to his Father, his relationship to the disciples, the disciples relationship to each other and to the world and so on. There is a lot going on. At the same time you can hear Jesus very human concern and affection for those he has spent so much of his time with during his earthly ministry. He is one moment striving to give them one last thing to remember, one last truth to fall back on and the next praying earnestly for them and the work they will undertake in his physical absence. In these chapters we find prime examples of what sets John's Gospel apart from Matthew, Mark and Luke. There is a level of theological reflection and discourse here that is never so overt in the others.
Overview: Jesus speaking to and praying about the disicples following the Last Supper.
These three chapter feature a good bit of somewhat dense theological reflection by Jesus about his mission and ministry, his relationship to his Father, his relationship to the disciples, the disciples relationship to each other and to the world and so on. There is a lot going on. At the same time you can hear Jesus very human concern and affection for those he has spent so much of his time with during his earthly ministry. He is one moment striving to give them one last thing to remember, one last truth to fall back on and the next praying earnestly for them and the work they will undertake in his physical absence. In these chapters we find prime examples of what sets John's Gospel apart from Matthew, Mark and Luke. There is a level of theological reflection and discourse here that is never so overt in the others.
John 12, 13, 14
John 12, 13, 14
Overview: John's Palm Sunday account. Followed by John's Last Supper account - Jesus washes the disciples feet.
"The Pharisees then said to one another, 'You see, you can do nothing. Look the world has gone after him.'"(12:19)
This line jumps off the page. It's reminds me of when they put a microphone on the coaches during a basketball game. On occasion, instead of getting a carefully considered and worded statement from the coach the microphone will catch the true thoughts and feelings of the person wearing the mic. Instead of the polite or brave public face you hear the real plan for attacking the other team or the real frustration the coach is feeling with one (or more) of the players. So here are the Pharisees caught saying what they really think. Not the "for public consumption" taking Jesus to task for healing that person on the Sabbath or for making some claim about who he is and who God is, but a relevatory moment - a window into their true thoughts and deepest fears. "You see, you can do nothing. Look the world has gone after him." They feel things slipping away. People are responding less and less to their institutional authority and more and more to this upstart preacher from the Galilee and his unorthodox methods and practices. They are uneasy and this can't be allowed to go on unchecked. When we really encounter Jesus we can probably identify with both the people who are captivated by him and with the Pharisees who have issues with him. Jesus personality and message are magnetic and compelling - we sense that in following him there is freedom. At the same time there is clearly something revolutionary here that pushes back the boundaries of what we've come to think of as normal behavior and practices. Jesus doesn't want us to live life as usual and sometimes life as usual may be predictable and boring, but it is also comfortable and secure if imperfect. The truly dazzling moments for us occur when we summon the courage or give in to the curiosity to follow Jesus up the road.
Overview: John's Palm Sunday account. Followed by John's Last Supper account - Jesus washes the disciples feet.
"The Pharisees then said to one another, 'You see, you can do nothing. Look the world has gone after him.'"(12:19)
This line jumps off the page. It's reminds me of when they put a microphone on the coaches during a basketball game. On occasion, instead of getting a carefully considered and worded statement from the coach the microphone will catch the true thoughts and feelings of the person wearing the mic. Instead of the polite or brave public face you hear the real plan for attacking the other team or the real frustration the coach is feeling with one (or more) of the players. So here are the Pharisees caught saying what they really think. Not the "for public consumption" taking Jesus to task for healing that person on the Sabbath or for making some claim about who he is and who God is, but a relevatory moment - a window into their true thoughts and deepest fears. "You see, you can do nothing. Look the world has gone after him." They feel things slipping away. People are responding less and less to their institutional authority and more and more to this upstart preacher from the Galilee and his unorthodox methods and practices. They are uneasy and this can't be allowed to go on unchecked. When we really encounter Jesus we can probably identify with both the people who are captivated by him and with the Pharisees who have issues with him. Jesus personality and message are magnetic and compelling - we sense that in following him there is freedom. At the same time there is clearly something revolutionary here that pushes back the boundaries of what we've come to think of as normal behavior and practices. Jesus doesn't want us to live life as usual and sometimes life as usual may be predictable and boring, but it is also comfortable and secure if imperfect. The truly dazzling moments for us occur when we summon the courage or give in to the curiosity to follow Jesus up the road.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
John 10, 11
John 10, 11
Overview: Jesus talks about himself as the Good Shepherd. Jesus, after waiting a couple of days, travels to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus and brings Lazarus back from the dead.
"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10
The concept of abundant life is one that I find both compelling and problematic. Compelling in the way that Jesus talks about it and the way that those in his life experience it. Problematic in the way that the term "abundant life" is sometimes used in ways that seem incongrous with the way in Jesus spoke of it. The confusion is not just ours - I think it crops up in scripture as well. Here we have some of the Jews (vs.22-30) pleading with Jesus to make it simple - just tell us if you are the Messiah - when will you tell us plainly. Jesus seems to respond that he can't be any more plain then he has been. The work of the Messiah will provide abundant life, but it will not provide (necessarily) a comfortable, secure, problem free life free of complexities. I don't know for sure what the people asking Jesus to be more plain were wanting, but I suspect that part of what they were wanting was to have things made simple. Jump to the next chapter and I think we have in Mary and Martha a snapshot of two women who are living the abundant life. They are deeply saddened by the death of their brother, even saying that if Jesus had arrived sooner their brother would not have died. But behind those words there is, in their words and actions, an underlying commitment to Jesus and to whatever he is doing. They don't doubt Jesus, they just long that this day to day matter had played out differently. There is an embrace of the complex here that is instructive. Life will sometimes move in ways that make us happy and sometimes it will go in ways that hurt us, make us unhappy and which we will not understand. However we are experiencing life at this moment, Jesus is still the Lord of all life. It doesn't change the complexity of this moment, but the underlying belief and assurance in God's plan means that whether today is a celebration or an uphill battle, life is still abundant because we, along with Mary and Martha and the disciples have bought into Jesus' message. I am convinced that struggling with and working out what abundant life means as we follow Jesus is central to being the followers we are called to be. And I am forever convinced that abundant life is not the removal of difficulties, challenges and other complexities of life. Be plain with us, if it is a yearning for understanding of God's plan that means we are willing to fully engage ourselves is a prayer that seeks after abundant life. Be plain with us, if it means make it easy for us, seems to me to bear little relation to abundant life as Jesus speaks describes it.
For a great contemporary illustration of a woman striving to live the abundant life follow the link below which should connect to the PC(USA) Mission Yearbook entry for today.
http://gamc.pcusa.org/yearbook/february-24/
Overview: Jesus talks about himself as the Good Shepherd. Jesus, after waiting a couple of days, travels to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus and brings Lazarus back from the dead.
"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10
The concept of abundant life is one that I find both compelling and problematic. Compelling in the way that Jesus talks about it and the way that those in his life experience it. Problematic in the way that the term "abundant life" is sometimes used in ways that seem incongrous with the way in Jesus spoke of it. The confusion is not just ours - I think it crops up in scripture as well. Here we have some of the Jews (vs.22-30) pleading with Jesus to make it simple - just tell us if you are the Messiah - when will you tell us plainly. Jesus seems to respond that he can't be any more plain then he has been. The work of the Messiah will provide abundant life, but it will not provide (necessarily) a comfortable, secure, problem free life free of complexities. I don't know for sure what the people asking Jesus to be more plain were wanting, but I suspect that part of what they were wanting was to have things made simple. Jump to the next chapter and I think we have in Mary and Martha a snapshot of two women who are living the abundant life. They are deeply saddened by the death of their brother, even saying that if Jesus had arrived sooner their brother would not have died. But behind those words there is, in their words and actions, an underlying commitment to Jesus and to whatever he is doing. They don't doubt Jesus, they just long that this day to day matter had played out differently. There is an embrace of the complex here that is instructive. Life will sometimes move in ways that make us happy and sometimes it will go in ways that hurt us, make us unhappy and which we will not understand. However we are experiencing life at this moment, Jesus is still the Lord of all life. It doesn't change the complexity of this moment, but the underlying belief and assurance in God's plan means that whether today is a celebration or an uphill battle, life is still abundant because we, along with Mary and Martha and the disciples have bought into Jesus' message. I am convinced that struggling with and working out what abundant life means as we follow Jesus is central to being the followers we are called to be. And I am forever convinced that abundant life is not the removal of difficulties, challenges and other complexities of life. Be plain with us, if it is a yearning for understanding of God's plan that means we are willing to fully engage ourselves is a prayer that seeks after abundant life. Be plain with us, if it means make it easy for us, seems to me to bear little relation to abundant life as Jesus speaks describes it.
For a great contemporary illustration of a woman striving to live the abundant life follow the link below which should connect to the PC(USA) Mission Yearbook entry for today.
http://gamc.pcusa.org/yearbook/february-24/
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
John 8, 9
John 8, 9
Jesus teaches at the temple. Stops a woman from being executed. Mixes it up with the Jewish religious leadership. Heals a blind man. And you know there is going to be trouble when you start healing blind folks.
I'm a big fan of the comedy troupe Monty Python. Most of the bits I enjoy most from them have the common thread of John Cleese's presence. Which makes it no surprise that I am also a very big fan of Cleese's classic series "Fawlty Towers". Fawlty Towers is a flawlessly executed version of a very British form of humor relying on convention and set pieces and putting small pieces in place for the majority of the episode so that (kind of like the game Mouse Trap) it can all rain down laughter in a monumental payoff in the end. Which brings us to John 9. John 9 is certainly not intended to be a situation comedy, Jesus heals a blind man and deals with the fall out which is, of course, serious stuff. Except that there is humor here. There is irony here. There are people who are doing precisely what they think they ought to be doing while doing precisely what they ought not be doing. There are blind people who can see, sighted people who cannot see, and, along the way, people who can hear perfectly well and yet cannot hear at all. It is not hard to imagine Basil Fawlty (Cleese) in the role of a Pharisee ranting about blind people seeing while all the while having perfectly good eyesight and running into obstacle after obstacle in a way that can only indicate a certain kind of blindness. John is masterful in making his point here. And a bit funny along the way.
Jesus teaches at the temple. Stops a woman from being executed. Mixes it up with the Jewish religious leadership. Heals a blind man. And you know there is going to be trouble when you start healing blind folks.
I'm a big fan of the comedy troupe Monty Python. Most of the bits I enjoy most from them have the common thread of John Cleese's presence. Which makes it no surprise that I am also a very big fan of Cleese's classic series "Fawlty Towers". Fawlty Towers is a flawlessly executed version of a very British form of humor relying on convention and set pieces and putting small pieces in place for the majority of the episode so that (kind of like the game Mouse Trap) it can all rain down laughter in a monumental payoff in the end. Which brings us to John 9. John 9 is certainly not intended to be a situation comedy, Jesus heals a blind man and deals with the fall out which is, of course, serious stuff. Except that there is humor here. There is irony here. There are people who are doing precisely what they think they ought to be doing while doing precisely what they ought not be doing. There are blind people who can see, sighted people who cannot see, and, along the way, people who can hear perfectly well and yet cannot hear at all. It is not hard to imagine Basil Fawlty (Cleese) in the role of a Pharisee ranting about blind people seeing while all the while having perfectly good eyesight and running into obstacle after obstacle in a way that can only indicate a certain kind of blindness. John is masterful in making his point here. And a bit funny along the way.
Monday, February 21, 2011
John 6, 7
John 6, 7
Jesus feeds a large crowd and walks on water. He talks about himself as the bread of life.
Couple of mentions of the temple police in chapter 7. That always catches my attention and brings a smile. My mind speculates on who the temple police might be in 2011. It always seems a shame to me that Pentecost is the one Sunday where red is the color and I have a stole that I love that is red and was a gift from my youth group back in Missouri. I will often press my luck and where it for a Sunday or two beyond Pentecost. I will tell the congregation that we will go ahead and worship and hope the church police don't show up. So far, so good.
Jesus talks a good bit about himself as the bread of life here. This comes just a short time after he has talked about himself as living water and after he has miraculously fed a large crowd. All of this puts me in the mind of the sacrament of communion. I have always attended and then been pastor of churches that had an irregular communion schedule, usually celebrating the sacrament around eight times a year. When called to Hebron I found myself at a church that celebrated communion on the first Sunday of each month. I wondered at the time how that would feel over the course of time - whether it would seem like it was too often. It has not. I love the rhythm of starting each month with communion which keeps ever before us the bread of life that we need to feed us and nourish us and sustain us for the journey.
Jesus feeds a large crowd and walks on water. He talks about himself as the bread of life.
Couple of mentions of the temple police in chapter 7. That always catches my attention and brings a smile. My mind speculates on who the temple police might be in 2011. It always seems a shame to me that Pentecost is the one Sunday where red is the color and I have a stole that I love that is red and was a gift from my youth group back in Missouri. I will often press my luck and where it for a Sunday or two beyond Pentecost. I will tell the congregation that we will go ahead and worship and hope the church police don't show up. So far, so good.
Jesus talks a good bit about himself as the bread of life here. This comes just a short time after he has talked about himself as living water and after he has miraculously fed a large crowd. All of this puts me in the mind of the sacrament of communion. I have always attended and then been pastor of churches that had an irregular communion schedule, usually celebrating the sacrament around eight times a year. When called to Hebron I found myself at a church that celebrated communion on the first Sunday of each month. I wondered at the time how that would feel over the course of time - whether it would seem like it was too often. It has not. I love the rhythm of starting each month with communion which keeps ever before us the bread of life that we need to feed us and nourish us and sustain us for the journey.
John 4, 5
John 4, 5
Overview: Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well and heals a man at the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem.
"Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done."(4:29) These are the words of the Samaritan woman as she takes her leave of Jesus at the well and runs with excitement into her village to tell of the encounter she has just had. I'm a fan of David Blaine. Not avid mind you, but if one of his tv shows is on late at night, I'm likely to watch the sidewalk magician ply his trade. Card tricks, levitation and the like. Blaine's a fascinating guy. People respond to him with disbelief and excitement - "Can he really do that?" There is more going on in Jesus encounter with the woman at the well then what happens between David Blaine and his audience. When she heads off to the village to say "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done", I don't think she has in mind sharing the best card trick she has ever seen. He next words tell the story, "He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" which of course means she thinks he may well be the Messiah. What gave her that impression? I don't think it simply Jesus ability to site events from her past for her - I think what she really feels after this encounter is that, at last, she has met someone who really knows her. It's not about a trip to the well day after day for water. It's the thirst that she carries inside, the thirst that is built into each one of us by our Creator for something that food and water cannot touch. A desire to be known by God. It is uncomfortable to be this transparent when we spend so much of our time trying to keep our defenses in place. Here was someone with whom the woman did not need to keep up her guard, he already knew, he already knew her, and he was still there talking. God already knows us. It is very good to be known. And loved.
Overview: Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well and heals a man at the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem.
"Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done."(4:29) These are the words of the Samaritan woman as she takes her leave of Jesus at the well and runs with excitement into her village to tell of the encounter she has just had. I'm a fan of David Blaine. Not avid mind you, but if one of his tv shows is on late at night, I'm likely to watch the sidewalk magician ply his trade. Card tricks, levitation and the like. Blaine's a fascinating guy. People respond to him with disbelief and excitement - "Can he really do that?" There is more going on in Jesus encounter with the woman at the well then what happens between David Blaine and his audience. When she heads off to the village to say "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done", I don't think she has in mind sharing the best card trick she has ever seen. He next words tell the story, "He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" which of course means she thinks he may well be the Messiah. What gave her that impression? I don't think it simply Jesus ability to site events from her past for her - I think what she really feels after this encounter is that, at last, she has met someone who really knows her. It's not about a trip to the well day after day for water. It's the thirst that she carries inside, the thirst that is built into each one of us by our Creator for something that food and water cannot touch. A desire to be known by God. It is uncomfortable to be this transparent when we spend so much of our time trying to keep our defenses in place. Here was someone with whom the woman did not need to keep up her guard, he already knew, he already knew her, and he was still there talking. God already knows us. It is very good to be known. And loved.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
John 1, 2, 3
John 1, 2, 3
Overview: John's birth narrative. Jesus performs his first miracle in Cana. John the Baptist makes a few appearances. Nicodemus meets with Jesus.
Mark has no birth narrative. Matthew has a brief account. Luke has the most detail. And John? Some might say that John, like Mark, has no birth narrative. I tend to think of John 1:1-18 as John's birth narrative. "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory." (1:14) Luke focuses the camera in close so we can see the particulars of the shepherds and the angels and the young parents in the stable in Bethlehem. John pulls the camera way back so that we can see the sweep of human history - "In the beginning was the Word" - and then brings his focus in on the familiar and elusive John the Baptist. This close reading in larger chunks of the Gospels in the past month has caused me to spend a lot of time thinking on the person and work of John the Baptist. I read a book (whose name I will have to track down) a few years back speculating on the role that John played in Jesus ministry and in the people's ability to understand who Jesus was and what his ministry was to be about. It had a good bit of speculation and was probably a bit over the top, but it did make a compelling argument to at least consider more closely the not incidental, but rather critical role that John plays in Jesus ministry. I am still probably not on board with all the conclusions of that work, but I buy in wholeheartedly to the central role of John.
We did not visit Cana of Galilee this trip to Israel. Technically we did - we drove through it - but we didn't get out and walk around. We have in the past. Here Jesus performs what John tells us is his first miracle. I've always liked the interaction between Mary and Jesus in this story. Mary, the mom, asks Jesus to do something. Jesus seems to decline. Mary tells the servants to do what Jesus tells them to do and then Jesus does what Mary asked him to do. John offers no explanation on Jesus' apparent change of heart, and for anyone who has ever witnessed a child and a parent, particularly a mother and a son, no explanation is needed. Jesus registered his thoughts on the matter, but mom's will was going to carry the day. So the water gets turned to wine and Jesus miracle working days are set in motion.
Overview: John's birth narrative. Jesus performs his first miracle in Cana. John the Baptist makes a few appearances. Nicodemus meets with Jesus.
Mark has no birth narrative. Matthew has a brief account. Luke has the most detail. And John? Some might say that John, like Mark, has no birth narrative. I tend to think of John 1:1-18 as John's birth narrative. "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory." (1:14) Luke focuses the camera in close so we can see the particulars of the shepherds and the angels and the young parents in the stable in Bethlehem. John pulls the camera way back so that we can see the sweep of human history - "In the beginning was the Word" - and then brings his focus in on the familiar and elusive John the Baptist. This close reading in larger chunks of the Gospels in the past month has caused me to spend a lot of time thinking on the person and work of John the Baptist. I read a book (whose name I will have to track down) a few years back speculating on the role that John played in Jesus ministry and in the people's ability to understand who Jesus was and what his ministry was to be about. It had a good bit of speculation and was probably a bit over the top, but it did make a compelling argument to at least consider more closely the not incidental, but rather critical role that John plays in Jesus ministry. I am still probably not on board with all the conclusions of that work, but I buy in wholeheartedly to the central role of John.
We did not visit Cana of Galilee this trip to Israel. Technically we did - we drove through it - but we didn't get out and walk around. We have in the past. Here Jesus performs what John tells us is his first miracle. I've always liked the interaction between Mary and Jesus in this story. Mary, the mom, asks Jesus to do something. Jesus seems to decline. Mary tells the servants to do what Jesus tells them to do and then Jesus does what Mary asked him to do. John offers no explanation on Jesus' apparent change of heart, and for anyone who has ever witnessed a child and a parent, particularly a mother and a son, no explanation is needed. Jesus registered his thoughts on the matter, but mom's will was going to carry the day. So the water gets turned to wine and Jesus miracle working days are set in motion.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Luke 23, 24
Luke 23, 24
Overview: Crucifixion. Resurrection. Post-resurrection appearances. Ascension.
My attention was most caught by the early verses of Luke 24. It is here that the women and then Peter make their way to the tomb to find a tomb, an empty tomb. The women also find angels - angels were there to announce Christ's arrival to the Shepherds and they were there to announce his resurrection to the women. Angels as sign posts to get people moving in the right direction. This section of the passage caught me as I reflected on just three weeks ago sitting in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and reading these same two chapters of Luke's gospel. One thing which I remember very clearly is that just as the women came and just as Peter came, people are still coming. In the middle of the day they come in groups and the place is full of pilgrims, lined up around the "tomb" awaiting their turn to go in. In the middle of the night when a man walked through the church (probably either just getting off work or going to work) and methodically prayed his way through the building, walking and touching the altars and paintings as he went. In the morning at 6:00 a.m. when a Catholic mass was taking place at the entrance to the tomb and when I climbed up the stairs to Calvary there were already women and men kneeling in quiet meditation. It is worth pausing for a moment at the tomb. Pausing to remember that Jesus died for us and was placed in the tomb. Pausing to remember that while there is a tomb - Jesus isn't in it anymore. Pausing to consider what happened there and how it wasn't something that was done for someone else - it was done for us.
Overview: Crucifixion. Resurrection. Post-resurrection appearances. Ascension.
My attention was most caught by the early verses of Luke 24. It is here that the women and then Peter make their way to the tomb to find a tomb, an empty tomb. The women also find angels - angels were there to announce Christ's arrival to the Shepherds and they were there to announce his resurrection to the women. Angels as sign posts to get people moving in the right direction. This section of the passage caught me as I reflected on just three weeks ago sitting in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and reading these same two chapters of Luke's gospel. One thing which I remember very clearly is that just as the women came and just as Peter came, people are still coming. In the middle of the day they come in groups and the place is full of pilgrims, lined up around the "tomb" awaiting their turn to go in. In the middle of the night when a man walked through the church (probably either just getting off work or going to work) and methodically prayed his way through the building, walking and touching the altars and paintings as he went. In the morning at 6:00 a.m. when a Catholic mass was taking place at the entrance to the tomb and when I climbed up the stairs to Calvary there were already women and men kneeling in quiet meditation. It is worth pausing for a moment at the tomb. Pausing to remember that Jesus died for us and was placed in the tomb. Pausing to remember that while there is a tomb - Jesus isn't in it anymore. Pausing to consider what happened there and how it wasn't something that was done for someone else - it was done for us.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Luke 20, 21, 22
Luke 20, 21, 22
Overview: Jesus teaches. Jesus shares a final supper with his disciples. Jesus is arrested and his trial begins.
"Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called."(21:37) This verse is one of those that takes on new life when you have an opportunity to stand on the Mount of Olives and to look across the Kidron Valley to the place where the Temple would have stood and imagine the spot on to the left of the Temple in the upper part of the city where the last supper would have taken place. The hillside was probably covered with Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem for the passover. A sort of religious KOA campground. Perhaps the place Jesus returned to following the last supper, the Garden of Gethsemane was a place near to a spot where his family had camped during his growing up years, a place he had developed a special affinity for and returned to now in the years of his public ministry. The places are close together - you can get from here to there - but also far apart when you begin thinking about Jesus beginning the day in one place, traversing the valley to get to the upper room, back across the valley to pray in the garden and then once more back towards the upper city when he is arrested and taken to Caiphus' house.
"When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time."(Luke 4:13) Remember this verse from earlier in Luke? The devil was by no means giving up, simply waiting for an opportune time. Foreshadowing? Perhaps. "Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve."(Luke 22:3) No subtle larger point to be made. Simply, this is a reminder that the devil is always looking for opportunities. We talk, sometimes, abstractly about evil. As though evil is a random occurence that unfortunately springs up and intrudes in our lives. These passages argue otherwise. Evil is not random. The devil is calculating and patient and looking for openings. We do ourselves no favors when we play down what we are up against.
Overview: Jesus teaches. Jesus shares a final supper with his disciples. Jesus is arrested and his trial begins.
"Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called."(21:37) This verse is one of those that takes on new life when you have an opportunity to stand on the Mount of Olives and to look across the Kidron Valley to the place where the Temple would have stood and imagine the spot on to the left of the Temple in the upper part of the city where the last supper would have taken place. The hillside was probably covered with Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem for the passover. A sort of religious KOA campground. Perhaps the place Jesus returned to following the last supper, the Garden of Gethsemane was a place near to a spot where his family had camped during his growing up years, a place he had developed a special affinity for and returned to now in the years of his public ministry. The places are close together - you can get from here to there - but also far apart when you begin thinking about Jesus beginning the day in one place, traversing the valley to get to the upper room, back across the valley to pray in the garden and then once more back towards the upper city when he is arrested and taken to Caiphus' house.
"When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time."(Luke 4:13) Remember this verse from earlier in Luke? The devil was by no means giving up, simply waiting for an opportune time. Foreshadowing? Perhaps. "Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve."(Luke 22:3) No subtle larger point to be made. Simply, this is a reminder that the devil is always looking for opportunities. We talk, sometimes, abstractly about evil. As though evil is a random occurence that unfortunately springs up and intrudes in our lives. These passages argue otherwise. Evil is not random. The devil is calculating and patient and looking for openings. We do ourselves no favors when we play down what we are up against.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Luke 18, 19
Luke 18, 19
Overview: Jesus tells a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector who go to the temple to pray Jesus says little children will enter the kingdom of God and wealthy people will have a hard time doing so. Jesus meets a tax collector named Zacchaeus in Jericho. Luke gives his account of the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday and Jesus weeps over Jerusalem.
Jesus offers a few sayings about the kingdom of God that discourage those who are listening to him. "Truly I tel you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."(v.17) This on the heels of people bringing their children to Jesus to bless them. The disciples try to run them off so he can do more important things - Jesus tells them to stop running the kids off, that actually it's to the little ones that the kingdom belongs. The saying itself is quite specific in its use of the word never. Receive the kingdom as a child or never enter it. Never. Further on, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God."(v.25) This is an ominous statement if you happen to be wealthy. A little less exact then never, but still Jesus says it will be hard.
The people listening to all of this get a little discouraged and ask, "Then who can be saved." The more Jesus has talked about it, the more challenging it seems to be - perhaps impossible. Jesus answer is one we can hang our hats and our hopes on. "What is impossible for mortals is possible for God."(v.27) A great escape hatch from the whole problem of how we are able to negotiate a path into the kingdom. The possibility of the journey being successful doesn't depend on us - what is possible - even if we imagine it to be impossible - is possible because it is God's work and God's will.
Overview: Jesus tells a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector who go to the temple to pray Jesus says little children will enter the kingdom of God and wealthy people will have a hard time doing so. Jesus meets a tax collector named Zacchaeus in Jericho. Luke gives his account of the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday and Jesus weeps over Jerusalem.
Jesus offers a few sayings about the kingdom of God that discourage those who are listening to him. "Truly I tel you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."(v.17) This on the heels of people bringing their children to Jesus to bless them. The disciples try to run them off so he can do more important things - Jesus tells them to stop running the kids off, that actually it's to the little ones that the kingdom belongs. The saying itself is quite specific in its use of the word never. Receive the kingdom as a child or never enter it. Never. Further on, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God."(v.25) This is an ominous statement if you happen to be wealthy. A little less exact then never, but still Jesus says it will be hard.
The people listening to all of this get a little discouraged and ask, "Then who can be saved." The more Jesus has talked about it, the more challenging it seems to be - perhaps impossible. Jesus answer is one we can hang our hats and our hopes on. "What is impossible for mortals is possible for God."(v.27) A great escape hatch from the whole problem of how we are able to negotiate a path into the kingdom. The possibility of the journey being successful doesn't depend on us - what is possible - even if we imagine it to be impossible - is possible because it is God's work and God's will.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Luke 15, 16, 17
Luke 15, 16, 17
Overview: Jesus is teaching. Several well known parables in these chapters. The prodigal son. The lost sheep and the lost coin. The story of Lazarus and the wealthy man.
"But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him."(15:20) I love this moment in the story of the prodigal son. Of the many sermons I've heard on this passage the one that made the greatest impact on me was the one that focused heavily on this verse. The son has been gone - off in the far country. Who knows how long - long enough to squander his inheritance and to arrive at a point of desperation and hopelessness. And yet the father sees him while he was "still far off". Did the father just happen to look off into the distance on the right day? I don't think so. I think the father had been looking up that road every single day. Every. Single. Day. With love in his heart and hope that perhaps this would be the day that his heart would not be broken again. And then came this particular day. And the father is off the out the door, off the porch and up the road, because what he had hoped for and lived for and somewhere in himself believed against all odds was happening - his son was returning home. Is there a more poignant illustration of God's love for us. A better illustration of our unworthiness and yet God is watching and watching and hoping and waiting.
"Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming and he answered, 'The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed, nor will they say 'Look here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.'"(17:20-21) When the world seems really broken it can be tempting to hope that one day we will be able to simply say "There it is!". Jesus points to an experience of the kingdom that is no less powerful, but is, perhaps more subtle and more nuanced. The kingdom is not alien, the kingdom is among us. I've been mesmerized by the people of Egypt this past several weeks. Who would have imagined a month ago what would be transpiring in Egypt today. And yet there it is. It was in their midst taking form and preparing to make it's presence powerfully known. I will not forget the moment when I happened to have on MSNBC and the commentator was telling us tha the Vice President of Egypt was making a statement and as the announcer was stumbling through the interpreters version of the statement words became unnecessary. There was born such a roar from the people in the square in Cairo whose name is translated Liberty, a roar that grew and grew and grew and was filled with such pure, untainted joy. And it went on and on and on. It wasn't here or there. It was among them. The kingdom of God is among us.
Overview: Jesus is teaching. Several well known parables in these chapters. The prodigal son. The lost sheep and the lost coin. The story of Lazarus and the wealthy man.
"But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him."(15:20) I love this moment in the story of the prodigal son. Of the many sermons I've heard on this passage the one that made the greatest impact on me was the one that focused heavily on this verse. The son has been gone - off in the far country. Who knows how long - long enough to squander his inheritance and to arrive at a point of desperation and hopelessness. And yet the father sees him while he was "still far off". Did the father just happen to look off into the distance on the right day? I don't think so. I think the father had been looking up that road every single day. Every. Single. Day. With love in his heart and hope that perhaps this would be the day that his heart would not be broken again. And then came this particular day. And the father is off the out the door, off the porch and up the road, because what he had hoped for and lived for and somewhere in himself believed against all odds was happening - his son was returning home. Is there a more poignant illustration of God's love for us. A better illustration of our unworthiness and yet God is watching and watching and hoping and waiting.
"Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming and he answered, 'The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed, nor will they say 'Look here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.'"(17:20-21) When the world seems really broken it can be tempting to hope that one day we will be able to simply say "There it is!". Jesus points to an experience of the kingdom that is no less powerful, but is, perhaps more subtle and more nuanced. The kingdom is not alien, the kingdom is among us. I've been mesmerized by the people of Egypt this past several weeks. Who would have imagined a month ago what would be transpiring in Egypt today. And yet there it is. It was in their midst taking form and preparing to make it's presence powerfully known. I will not forget the moment when I happened to have on MSNBC and the commentator was telling us tha the Vice President of Egypt was making a statement and as the announcer was stumbling through the interpreters version of the statement words became unnecessary. There was born such a roar from the people in the square in Cairo whose name is translated Liberty, a roar that grew and grew and grew and was filled with such pure, untainted joy. And it went on and on and on. It wasn't here or there. It was among them. The kingdom of God is among us.
Luke 12, 13, 14
Luke 12, 13, 14
Overview: Mostly teaching by Jesus either directly or by way of parables. Jesus offering instruction on the kingdom of God.
Some interesting interactions with Pharisees. "At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, 'Get away from here for Herod wants to kill you.'"(13:31) Worth noting that there are some Pharisees who seem to be concerned for Jesus well being. The Pharisees often come across as opponents of Jesus, sometime almost to the point of caricature; this helps with some sense of balance. Jesus eats at the home of Pharisees and, again, here they seem to have his best interest at heart.
Jesus offers a number of ways to approach thinking on the kingdom of God throughout this reading. Luke 12 in particular offers strong distinctions between the things that are important in the world and the things that are important in the kingdom of God. Too often, Jesus teaches, we are consumed with worry over things that are not worth the time, effort or stress. God has a plan and has our best interest in mind, but something within us either does not trust this or just cannot help worrying. "'And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life.'"(12:25) The question is as relevant for us today as it was when Jesus first said it.
Overview: Mostly teaching by Jesus either directly or by way of parables. Jesus offering instruction on the kingdom of God.
Some interesting interactions with Pharisees. "At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, 'Get away from here for Herod wants to kill you.'"(13:31) Worth noting that there are some Pharisees who seem to be concerned for Jesus well being. The Pharisees often come across as opponents of Jesus, sometime almost to the point of caricature; this helps with some sense of balance. Jesus eats at the home of Pharisees and, again, here they seem to have his best interest at heart.
Jesus offers a number of ways to approach thinking on the kingdom of God throughout this reading. Luke 12 in particular offers strong distinctions between the things that are important in the world and the things that are important in the kingdom of God. Too often, Jesus teaches, we are consumed with worry over things that are not worth the time, effort or stress. God has a plan and has our best interest in mind, but something within us either does not trust this or just cannot help worrying. "'And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life.'"(12:25) The question is as relevant for us today as it was when Jesus first said it.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Luke 10, 11
Luke 10, 11
Overview: Jesus sends out 70 on a mission in pairs. They come back excited about what they are able to accomplish in their time in the field. Jesus responds to a question with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord's prayer and has some back and forth with the Phrarisees.
Jesus sends out seventy folks on a mission project. The text says a couple of interesting things. First, he sends them as advance prep teams to places he intends to go. Jesus is not randomly walking around and showing up places. This points to a strategic approach - the advance team goes in and gets the lay of the land and prepares the town or village for the time when Jesus will arrive. Second, he sends them in pairs. He doesn't send them out alone - he sends them with a companion. Stan Ott, the person behind the Acts 16:5 Intiative for church vitality, has something he calls the "with me" principle. Stan says we are far more effective when we do things with someone else then when we set out on our own. He points to texts like this one to demonstrate that Jesus saw the value of mutual support and encouragement.
Luke 10 ends with the wonderful story of Mary and Martha. Martha, who is sure that Jesus will back here in taking her sister Mary to task, and instead is gently told that she is the one who is distracted and that there is "need of only one thing" - the thing Mary has chosen to place herself in the presence of the Lord. I can read this story again and again, because I need to hear it and internalize it again and again. There is one thing that is needful. And it's not the busyness of all the tasks that need to be done and all the tasks clamoring for attention. The needful thing is to place ourselves in the presence of the Lord.
Overview: Jesus sends out 70 on a mission in pairs. They come back excited about what they are able to accomplish in their time in the field. Jesus responds to a question with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord's prayer and has some back and forth with the Phrarisees.
Jesus sends out seventy folks on a mission project. The text says a couple of interesting things. First, he sends them as advance prep teams to places he intends to go. Jesus is not randomly walking around and showing up places. This points to a strategic approach - the advance team goes in and gets the lay of the land and prepares the town or village for the time when Jesus will arrive. Second, he sends them in pairs. He doesn't send them out alone - he sends them with a companion. Stan Ott, the person behind the Acts 16:5 Intiative for church vitality, has something he calls the "with me" principle. Stan says we are far more effective when we do things with someone else then when we set out on our own. He points to texts like this one to demonstrate that Jesus saw the value of mutual support and encouragement.
Luke 10 ends with the wonderful story of Mary and Martha. Martha, who is sure that Jesus will back here in taking her sister Mary to task, and instead is gently told that she is the one who is distracted and that there is "need of only one thing" - the thing Mary has chosen to place herself in the presence of the Lord. I can read this story again and again, because I need to hear it and internalize it again and again. There is one thing that is needful. And it's not the busyness of all the tasks that need to be done and all the tasks clamoring for attention. The needful thing is to place ourselves in the presence of the Lord.
Luke 8, 9
Luke 8, 9
Overview: We get a report on the women who support Jesus ministry. Jesus tells a parable about a sower. Jesus calms a storm, casts out a demon and brings a girl back from the dead. The disciples get sent on a mission and Jesus is transfigured on a mountain while in the company of Moses and Elijah.
Peter and James and John accompany Jesus on to the mountain that will become the Mount of Transfiguration. This little nugget in the midst of that story that caught my attention on this read through is "Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but since they stayed awake, they saw his glory...."(9:32). This is something of the flip side of what will transpire at the Garden of Gethsemane. In the garden, Jesus will ask them to stay awake with him and they will fall asleep while he prays more than once. Here while Jesus goes off, they are apparently exhausted, but they stay awake and as a result they witness this amazing event. There is encouragement here for us when we are weary ourselves, physically, emotionally or spiritually that if we persevere we may experience something beyond our imagining.
Also in this reading is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture, Luke 9:51. "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." This is the point from which there is no turning back. He didn't decide to go back to the Galilee for another year. He set his face to go to Jerusalem. The power of these words goes well beyond a decision to go and celebrate the Passover. This is Jesus making the decision to embrace the most demanding and painful portion of his mission. We move now into Luke's traveling Gospel as Jesus and his followers make their way to the Holy City and the events that will unfold there.
Overview: We get a report on the women who support Jesus ministry. Jesus tells a parable about a sower. Jesus calms a storm, casts out a demon and brings a girl back from the dead. The disciples get sent on a mission and Jesus is transfigured on a mountain while in the company of Moses and Elijah.
Peter and James and John accompany Jesus on to the mountain that will become the Mount of Transfiguration. This little nugget in the midst of that story that caught my attention on this read through is "Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but since they stayed awake, they saw his glory...."(9:32). This is something of the flip side of what will transpire at the Garden of Gethsemane. In the garden, Jesus will ask them to stay awake with him and they will fall asleep while he prays more than once. Here while Jesus goes off, they are apparently exhausted, but they stay awake and as a result they witness this amazing event. There is encouragement here for us when we are weary ourselves, physically, emotionally or spiritually that if we persevere we may experience something beyond our imagining.
Also in this reading is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture, Luke 9:51. "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." This is the point from which there is no turning back. He didn't decide to go back to the Galilee for another year. He set his face to go to Jerusalem. The power of these words goes well beyond a decision to go and celebrate the Passover. This is Jesus making the decision to embrace the most demanding and painful portion of his mission. We move now into Luke's traveling Gospel as Jesus and his followers make their way to the Holy City and the events that will unfold there.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Luke 6, 7
Luke 6, 7
Overview: Jesus teaches, offering blessings and woes. He goes to Capernaum where he heals the slave of a centurion who helped to build the Synagogue there. He heals the hand of a man on the Sabbath and he goes to dinner at the home of a Pharisee.
Two verses, on in Luke 6 and one in Luke 7, that catch my attention as I read through them today. First, Luke 6:19, "And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them." And in Luke 7:39, "Now when the Phrarisee who had invited him saw it he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet; he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him - that she is a sinner.'" I am drawn to language in both of these verses that again points unblinkingly to Christ's physical presence. To his ability to touch and be touched. God came as Christ with a message, but the message was delivered by a real live human messenger. One who could touch and speak and see and be touched and seen and heard. Jesus is a not an intellectual experience, Jesus engages all the senses. There is an echo here of the woman who touches Jesus hoping to be healed and whose presence he detects when she touches him. The power flows out of him to those around him in need of healing. The Pharisee expects that Jesus should know this woman anointing his feet by the virtue of her touch alone - that is he should know she is a shady person of questionable background. Jesus in fact does know her by her touch, not in some mysterious reading of her character, but in a more fundamental way - her touch conveys her compassion as she ministers to him in a way that his host had not.
All of this touching and pointing to the engagement of the senses reminds us that we are folks who see, feel, touch and so on, walking around amongst other folks who do likewise. However we bear witness to Jesus, if it is to be believable must be consistent with what folks can see and feel and experience of us. Our aim must be to emulate less the Pharisee host and more the compassionate woman as we live our faith from day to day.
Overview: Jesus teaches, offering blessings and woes. He goes to Capernaum where he heals the slave of a centurion who helped to build the Synagogue there. He heals the hand of a man on the Sabbath and he goes to dinner at the home of a Pharisee.
Two verses, on in Luke 6 and one in Luke 7, that catch my attention as I read through them today. First, Luke 6:19, "And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them." And in Luke 7:39, "Now when the Phrarisee who had invited him saw it he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet; he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him - that she is a sinner.'" I am drawn to language in both of these verses that again points unblinkingly to Christ's physical presence. To his ability to touch and be touched. God came as Christ with a message, but the message was delivered by a real live human messenger. One who could touch and speak and see and be touched and seen and heard. Jesus is a not an intellectual experience, Jesus engages all the senses. There is an echo here of the woman who touches Jesus hoping to be healed and whose presence he detects when she touches him. The power flows out of him to those around him in need of healing. The Pharisee expects that Jesus should know this woman anointing his feet by the virtue of her touch alone - that is he should know she is a shady person of questionable background. Jesus in fact does know her by her touch, not in some mysterious reading of her character, but in a more fundamental way - her touch conveys her compassion as she ministers to him in a way that his host had not.
All of this touching and pointing to the engagement of the senses reminds us that we are folks who see, feel, touch and so on, walking around amongst other folks who do likewise. However we bear witness to Jesus, if it is to be believable must be consistent with what folks can see and feel and experience of us. Our aim must be to emulate less the Pharisee host and more the compassionate woman as we live our faith from day to day.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Luke 4, 5
After dipping liberally into my 24 days of grace for the trip and to complete the blogging about it, back to reading through the New Testament today.
Luke 4, 5
Overview: Luke's account of the temptation of Christ. Jesus teaches in Nazareth to a poor reception and then moves down to Capernaum. Jesus helps his will be followers fish for fish and then calls them for other purposes.
I want to hold the verse that ends the temptation story up against the verse that follows it that begins the next phase in Jesus' ministry.
"When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to the Galilee...."
The way I read these verses the temptation experience was not draining for Jesus, but rather was energizing. It was not that he was left in need of further renewal after encountering the devil and the devil's temptations it was that he was "filled with the power of the Spirit". When we meet temptation head on and respond, as Jesus did, with faithful Scriptural responses, the outcome can clearly be more than survival. It can be growth. It can be the strength and stamina - the power of the Spirit - to do new things.
I'm also captivated again by Jesus fishing lesson for the disciples. Here was something they did not need help from Jesus to do. They were fishermen. They could use his help on lots of things, but this they could handle on their own. Or maybe not. Having caught nothing, Jesus chips in with his instruction and, suddenly, fish. Of they myriad lessons in this passage one may well be the reminder that we need Jesus in every way in all that we do. Not just in the areas we struggle. Not just in our growing edges. Even in the things we think we do well. The things that we've got covered. Whatever we are capable of, it can be better with Jesus direction.
Luke 4, 5
Overview: Luke's account of the temptation of Christ. Jesus teaches in Nazareth to a poor reception and then moves down to Capernaum. Jesus helps his will be followers fish for fish and then calls them for other purposes.
I want to hold the verse that ends the temptation story up against the verse that follows it that begins the next phase in Jesus' ministry.
"When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to the Galilee...."
The way I read these verses the temptation experience was not draining for Jesus, but rather was energizing. It was not that he was left in need of further renewal after encountering the devil and the devil's temptations it was that he was "filled with the power of the Spirit". When we meet temptation head on and respond, as Jesus did, with faithful Scriptural responses, the outcome can clearly be more than survival. It can be growth. It can be the strength and stamina - the power of the Spirit - to do new things.
I'm also captivated again by Jesus fishing lesson for the disciples. Here was something they did not need help from Jesus to do. They were fishermen. They could use his help on lots of things, but this they could handle on their own. Or maybe not. Having caught nothing, Jesus chips in with his instruction and, suddenly, fish. Of they myriad lessons in this passage one may well be the reminder that we need Jesus in every way in all that we do. Not just in the areas we struggle. Not just in our growing edges. Even in the things we think we do well. The things that we've got covered. Whatever we are capable of, it can be better with Jesus direction.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Shalom Holy Land
The final day. All of the conflicting emotions of a great adventure coming to a close. Certainly looking forward to being home and seeing Cameron and Eliza, but reluctant to say goodbye to Jerusalem. Don't know why, but there is something of home in this place, there is that sense in my mind that I will be back. I hope so.
Up early for morning prayer in the Old City. Made a quick walk up to see the Western Wall again, and got a look at the old Jewish Cardo in the Jewish quarter. There is so much here to call for your attention that you have to be careful not to lose track of time. Got to the Holy Sepulcher about 6:30 a.m. - back to the hotel by 7:15 a.m. to get bags together.
Our group, all six busses, are to gather at the Garden Tomb at 9:30 a.m. for a worship service and communion. I have mixed feelings about the Garden Tomb. It is a beautiful place and it does give you a look at what it might have looked like, but my affinity is strong (clearly) for the Holy Sepulcher. Some folks imagine that the Garden Tomb must be the site of the crucifixion/resurrection as the Holy Sepulcher is so ornate and filled with things that we don't find as much in western churches - in particular western protestant churches. It has the feel of authenticity to me if for no other reason than the weight of the veneration of pilgirims for some 1600 years.
(I like this picture a lot. At the Garden Tomb they have excavated a wine press. This is our communion elements, with the excavated wine press in the background. The gifts of God for the people of God.)
After the Garden Tomb we had a couple of hours of free time - some went to a store, some went back to the Old City one last time. Guess where I went? Uh, yes, back to the Old City and back to the Holy Sepulcher.
(inside - The Dome of the Holy Sepulcher)
(exterior of the Holy Sepulcher)
(courtyard of the Holy Sepulcher)
(crosses carved into the wall of the Holy Sepulcher by early Christian pilgirms)
(place where this present day pilgrim accepted the invitation to leave my own mark at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - GCL and cross)
From there, on to lunch at a place near the hotel and then to Yad Vashem - the Holocaust Museum. We were alotted a couple of hours at Yad Vashem. What a tremendous memorial to those who died and to those who lived and a stirring call to never forget what we humans are capable of, both at our worst and at our best. The exhibits themselves are deeply moving, the architecture of the place is stunning and is not only viscerally engaging, but also participates in the total experience of the museum. One walks out the doors at the end of the journey to a stunning vista of the land of Israel. No words for this.
(view from the exit of Yad Vashem)
Dinner at the Olive Tree (our hotel) is followed by a bus ride to Ben Gurion Airport and after a bit of uncertainty at the airport (due to bad weather in the United States) our plane is on time and on schedule - we are headed home.
Shalom Rula (our guide), Charlie (our bus driver), and the wonderful people of the Holy Land. It was every bit of what I had hoped for and beyond.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Heading Into the Judean Wilderness Towards The Dead Sea
Holy Land Trip, Day 6, January 26, 2011
The optional trip to Masada day. I was torn on this one. Having been to Masada twice, it is amazing and awesome, but having the day to just be in the Old City of Jerusalem also held some allure. Having the time to do the ramparts walk on the Old City walls yesterday made the decision a lot easier - I'm in for the trip.
Started the day by getting up and going to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for morning prayer at 6:00 a.m. Again enjoyed great singing by priests who were conducting a worship service near the Tomb.
We left about 8:00 a.m. for the Dead Sea. Great drive through the Judean wilderness. It can look in places like the lunar landscape. Passed several encampments of Bedouin shepherds. The trip takes about an hour from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea and the drop from one to the other is significant as the Dead Sea is 1300 feet below sea level - the lowest place on earth. At it's deepest spot the Dead Sea is 1200 feet deep. As the name suggests it's chock full of salt and other minerals and is dead, dead, dead. We drove along the Dead Sea to get to Masada, a giant rock - really giant - on top of which Herod built a spectacular palace - because he could, and on top of which Jewish zealots made a final stand against Roman soldiers - because they had to. The Roman siege lasted three years at the end of which the Zealots (with the exception of just two or three) committed suicide. You can still see remains of Herod's rockin' palace and of the Roman encampments down on the ground along with the ramp they built to try and storm the place. There is also a Synagogue up here that the Jewish zealots used and a Byzantine church. Awesome stuff.
After lunch we went to Jericho, home of Zacchaeus, and place which Jesus passed through. Additionally it was near to Jericho where Jesus spent the time in the wilderness and where he faced the temptations. With that in mind we ate at the Temptation Restaurant.
After lunch we went back towards the Dead Sea to the site of the Qumran Community. Qumran was the place where a splinter Jewish group called the Essenes lived in a communal environment, removed from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. They saw themselves as Children of Light and outsiders as Children of Darkness. They spent a good bit of their time making copies of scrolls of Scripture which when they saw that they were going to be attacked by Roman soldiers they hid. A Palestinian shepherd boy found a scroll of theirs in a cave where they hid it which led to the discoveries of many more scrolls which we know as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These are in many instances some of our best, earliest manuscripts of Scripture.
The countryside and the amazing views from Masada were superb - making the trip was the right choice.
(The streets of the Old City are locked up and quiet at 6:00 a.m.)
The optional trip to Masada day. I was torn on this one. Having been to Masada twice, it is amazing and awesome, but having the day to just be in the Old City of Jerusalem also held some allure. Having the time to do the ramparts walk on the Old City walls yesterday made the decision a lot easier - I'm in for the trip.
Started the day by getting up and going to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for morning prayer at 6:00 a.m. Again enjoyed great singing by priests who were conducting a worship service near the Tomb.
(Church of the Holy Sepulcher is majestic in the morning.)
We left about 8:00 a.m. for the Dead Sea. Great drive through the Judean wilderness. It can look in places like the lunar landscape. Passed several encampments of Bedouin shepherds. The trip takes about an hour from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea and the drop from one to the other is significant as the Dead Sea is 1300 feet below sea level - the lowest place on earth. At it's deepest spot the Dead Sea is 1200 feet deep. As the name suggests it's chock full of salt and other minerals and is dead, dead, dead. We drove along the Dead Sea to get to Masada, a giant rock - really giant - on top of which Herod built a spectacular palace - because he could, and on top of which Jewish zealots made a final stand against Roman soldiers - because they had to. The Roman siege lasted three years at the end of which the Zealots (with the exception of just two or three) committed suicide. You can still see remains of Herod's rockin' palace and of the Roman encampments down on the ground along with the ramp they built to try and storm the place. There is also a Synagogue up here that the Jewish zealots used and a Byzantine church. Awesome stuff.
(view from Masada where the cable car let's you out)
(remains of front portion of Herod's multi-tiered Palace - below is where the Roman's who were laying siege to Masada would have been and in the distance the blue is the Dead Sea)
(Me at Masada. Go Reds!)
(Temptation Restaurant. Really. See Zacchaeus tree in the middle.)
(Market outside of the Temptation Restaurant in Jericho.)
After lunch we went back towards the Dead Sea to the site of the Qumran Community. Qumran was the place where a splinter Jewish group called the Essenes lived in a communal environment, removed from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. They saw themselves as Children of Light and outsiders as Children of Darkness. They spent a good bit of their time making copies of scrolls of Scripture which when they saw that they were going to be attacked by Roman soldiers they hid. A Palestinian shepherd boy found a scroll of theirs in a cave where they hid it which led to the discoveries of many more scrolls which we know as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These are in many instances some of our best, earliest manuscripts of Scripture.
(One of the caves where the Essenes hid their scrolls - what we know as the Dead Sea Scrolls. In this same area, in caves like this David hid with his men in the days when Saul was searching for him to kill him. When you see the terrain you can imagine how hard it would be to find someone who knew the area and didn't want to be found.)
The day wound up with folks who wanted to floating in the Dead Sea, which I've never seen the charm in, so I watched and also found a coffee bar that had passable latte from a machine.
(folks checking out the Dead Sea - our guide, Rula, told us that it would make us ten years younger - so the tips of my fingers on my right hand should be feeling very youthful)
The countryside and the amazing views from Masada were superb - making the trip was the right choice.
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