Insights on the Lectionary
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Year B
June 24, 2012

Oh God you lay low the giant fears and sorrows that plague us.
You calm the storms that rage within our lives and souls.
Thank you for the grace to endure that which baffles us.
Help us to live the joy of a Christ-led life.  Amen 

In last week’s Old Testament lesson David, the young shepherd boy, was chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to become king of Israel.  In today’s text (1Samuel: 17:1. 4-11, 19-23, 32-49) King Saul’s forces are engaged in a “holy war”[i] with the Philistines.  The enemy’s champion, Goliath, a mighty warrior of giant proportions, had already slain all soldiers who went against him.  Saul was fearful and didn’t see how this puny little shepherd boy could defeat such a foe. He offered David his own weapons and armor; David refused them, preferring his familiar sling shot.  David reassured Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”   

I’ve never been quite sure whether David’s courage had to do with the innocent bravado of youth (they tend to think they’re invincible) or an infusion of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps despite his youth he was confident in his own expertise.  He had felled a lion while guarding his father’s sheep: Goliath probably seemed a similar challenge.  It was most likely a combination of all of the above.  God is used to working with the materials at hand to achieve God’s purpose.  David trusted in the Lord; he claimed the victory for God, stating that all those gathered there will know there is “a God in Israel”.   Most of us know the story: David defeated Goliath, laying foundations for his eventual Kingship.

This is a great action story and is appealing on that level alone. However, we all have experienced the puzzling dilemma that, in conflict, all parties feel their cause is righteous and God is on their side.  I tend to think that God is on everyone’s side; our goal as children of God is to live in relationship with the Divine, seeking peace and justice for all creation.[ii]  Like David, we are to trust in God, stand up to evil and oppression.  We all have been given the grace and the gifts to accomplish the tasks set before us.  Like David we can confidently proclaim there is “a God in (our home, church community, nation and world)”

In the Epistle (2^nd Corinthians 6:1-13) Paul emphasizes the importance of living the Gospel message.  He stresses that he and other missionaries to the Corinthians have provided a good example.  The apostle urges the Corinthians and us “not to accept the grace of God in vain”. There is also immediacy to accepting grace and salvation. “Now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation.”   We are to embrace the Gospel and those around us whole heartedly; “there is to be no restriction in our affections”.  When we live together in true charity, with patience, kindness, truthfulness and genuine love, we truly are the Body of Christ empowered by God. [iii]

Insights on the Lectionary
Third Sunday after Pentecost, Year B
June 17, 2012

All the trees of the fields shall know that I am the Lord.
I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.
I the Lord have spoken; I will accomplish it.
 Ezekiel 17:24

The above passage from Ezekiel reminds me of the Magnificat where the exultant Mary shouts that the Lord “has thrown the mighty from their seats and exalted the humble and the meek… and has filled the hungry with good things …the rich (God) has sent empty away!”

We must always expect the unexpected from our Most High God, who uses the most unlikely folk to work justice in the world.  As we read today’s passages, perhaps we will gain better understanding of who we need to be to do God’s work.[i]

In the reading from 1 Samuel (15:34-16:13), the prophet regrets that Saul was made king. Saul has been inadequate and has not followed the guidance of the Lord.  A change is definitely in order.[ii]  Samuel was sent by God to seek the new king from the sons of Jesse.  Seven fine men were brought before him, each with attributes that Samuel thought kingly.  Yet, the Lord did not pick them.  Samuel asked, have you no other sons?  So Jesse sends for the youngest, David, the skinny poet who watches the sheep.  He certainly didn’t look like a king, but “the Lord does not see as mortals see…the Lord sees the heart”.  As soon as young David arrived, the Lord said to Samuel “Rise and anoint him; this is the one!”   From that time on David was filled with the power of God’s Spirit.  I think that is a key factor.  God does choose the unlikely, but also provides grace sufficient to accomplish God’s purpose.

We need to learn to avoid judgment on outward appearances and worldly models alone. Think of times when you made choices based on the superficial.  Did you later learn that this judgment led you astray?  Many years ago when I worked in elder care, we had a family that admitted two relatives.  The family was not wealthy and their grammar lacked polish.  In fact, everything about them lacked polish.  And the staff (including me) feared they would be “a problem”.  However, these people knew how to love as God loves, even though we did not.  They volunteered their time.  They provided wonderful homemade food and a place on the lake for outings.  No, it wasn’t very posh, but it was homey.  Basically, they became “family” to residents and staff alike, and continued to do so long after their relatives were no longer with us.  I was humbled and learned a lot from the experience.  Can you think of other examples from your life or from history where the least likely were the instruments of God’s love and justice?

How do we make the transformation from one who judges as the world judges to one who looks on the heart?  There is an answer in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” According to this epistle we are compelled by Christ’s love to embrace all people in the name of Christ. We have been saved by Christ’s death and resurrection. Therefore our souls hunger to do justice for his namesake.[iii]

In the Gospel (Mark 4:26-34) Jesus explains the Realm of God through parables.  “The kingdom of God is like this.  A man scatters seed on the ground” and miraculously the seed sprouts and grows overnight.  “As soon as the crop is ripe, he starts reaping, because the harvest time has come.”   In other words, how the kingdom is achieved (the ripe harvest) is divine mystery but, whether it happens quickly or slowly, we must be ready and willing to reap what has been sown.  Christians have varying understandings of what the harvest is and how one prepares for the coming of the Kingdom.  I tend to believe that one doesn’t just passively wait upon the Lord.  And although it is important to bring souls to Christ it is equally important to work for justice and peace for all of creation. When we do so, it is easier to see that the Kingdom is at hand.

In verses 30 -32 Jesus says, “How shall we picture the Kingdom of God?”  He then says it is like a mustard seed.  The mustard seed is very tiny, almost insignificant.  Like the shepherd boy David, it seems an unlikely candidate for greatness of any kind.  It seems preposterous that it could grow large enough for birds to roost in its branches.  However mustard seeds do grow that large and David became a mighty King who served the Lord.

When the seed of truth is planted in the heart of the faithful it has mighty and unexpected results [iv].  God will accomplish what God has set out to do. The kingdom is at hand. As God’s faithful, a remarkable life of service and grace is offered to us.  Just look – – the signs are everywhere![v]

Dear Lord,
 transform us into the image and likeness of
Christ that we may faithfully serve others in his name. Amen[vi]

Insights on the Lectionary
First Sunday after Pentecost, Year B
Trinity Sunday
June 3, 2012

 Almighty God, you have revealed to your
Church your eternal Being of glorious majesty
and perfect Love.
One God in a Trinity of Persons:
give us grace to continue steadfast in the confession of this faith,
and constant in our worship of you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit; for you live
and reign, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.^[i]

 The Christian Doctrine of The Trinity is unique in a monotheistic religion.  Our Muslim brothers and sisters pray, “There is no God but God,” and the Jewish affirmation is, “The Lord is One, Blessed be the name of the Lord”.  And we sing “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, God in three persons, Blessed Trinity.  Yet, we are all expressing belief in the same deity.  Confused yet?  You are not alone.  Explaining the triune God has proven difficult and intriguing throughout the centuries.  Legend tells us that St. Patrick used the shamrock to teach the concept.  I’ve heard others explain that it describes the functions or roles of God.  For example I am a daughter, a mother and a grandmother – –  but I am in the end one Lucinda.

Although I concede that this doctrine is difficult for many, it has always made “spiritual sense” to me: God nurtures, redeems and sustains us.  I feel at once: protected, championed and empowered, and/or created, sanctified and comforted by a loving God that defies definition.  But where did this doctrine come from?  Is it Biblical?  Is it uniquely New Testament?  “Our understanding of the Trinity… emerged from the creative struggles of…the church to understand and talk about the nature of God” [ii]

The term trinity is not present in the Bible; Tertullian (A.D. 145-220) is considered to be the first to use it in reference to God.^[iii]  However, there are Trinitarian formulas present in Matt 28:19 and 2 Cor.13:13.  The doctrine was formulated post- biblically in the fourth and fifth centuries through a series of councils which also developed the creeds and formed the canon which became the New Testament.

During Eastertide we focused on the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Christ.  At Pentecost we embraced the power of the Holy Spirit.  Now on this day we celebrate the full revelation of God.[iv]   How is God revealed to you?  Do you find God in nature, in the glory of Creation?  How has Jesus’ life and teachings brought God closer to you?  Have you ever felt the Spirit move you?  How does your faith community demonstrate the love of God?  These are good questions for Trinity Sunday.  As the Church, we are still creatively struggling to understand and express the nature of God.  How do you experience God “in different persons”?

The Book of Isaiah presents many images of God: father, mother, shepherd, potter, warrior and king.[v]  In today’s lection (Isaiah 6:1-8) the kingly image of God comes in the form of a vivid vision. Isaiah considered himself a man of “unclean lips”, a blatant sinner when compared to the majesty of the Most High God.  In his vision he entered the throne room of the Lord.  He saw the hem of the robe of God and was surrounded by six-winged Seraphim.  It was a shattering experience for Isaiah.  A seraph cleansed him by placing a coal from the altar fire to his lips, and he was now purified and able to answer God’s call- “Here I am; send me!”

Carefully read this scripture: what other images of God does it hold for you?  Do you with your “Christian eyes” see any expressions of the Trinity?

The reading from Romans (8:12-17) emphasizes new life in community using a Trinitarian formula.[vi] “All who are led by the Spirit…are children of God (who cry) Abba Father… heirs of God…united to one another in Christ”.  According to Paul, baptism is the element that unites us in this new life in the Spirit.  In Romans 6:3-4 he says that through baptism we are “buried” with Christ “so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life”.  It is a transforming event when we enter the new community, a new social order.  We are compelled to remain committed to our baptismal covenant, embodying the love and justice of our triune God in this world.[vii]

In the Gospel (John 3:1-17) Nicodemus sought out Jesus under the cover of darkness.  He wanted to know how to enter the kingdom God.  Jesus told him he must be “born anew …born of water and Spirit…born from above. The wind (breath) blows where it chooses, you hear…it but do not know where it comes from or where it goes …So it is with everyone born of the Spirit”.

God in three persons seeks us out so that God’s self can be revealed. We are to be active participants in the life of God. We do not earn this by actions, or knowledge or circumstance.  Like the wind that blows, we do not cause it.  God longs for God’s work to be done, Jesus came to save and renew creation and the Holy Sprit enables us to complete the mission.[viii]  So how do we participate in a life reborn?  How do we live in a world reborn not only for us but all of creation? How do we enter into the life of God?  How do we do God’s work?  I wonder?  I wonder?  I wonder?

May the living God,
Nurturer, Redeemer and Sustainer,
enter your hearts, minds, souls and lives
and bring you peace.  Amen

Insights on the Lectionary
Pentecost
May 27, 2012

As the wind is your symbol, so forward our goings.
As the dove, so launch us heavenward.
As water, so purify our spirits.
As a cloud, so abate our temptations.
As dew, so revive our languor.
As fire, so purge out our dross. Amen
(Christina Rossetti)

I love all the major feast days of the Church year, but there is just something about Pentecost that delights the “church girl” within me.  I love birthday parties and Pentecost is essentially the “Birthday of the Church”.  The church began with a passionate onslaught of the Holy Spirit which transcended the limitations of language and culture. The disciples were consumed with the fiery desire to spread the good news and everyone present responded with equal fervor.[i]

The lections emphasize the Holy Spirit as the harbinger of hope and possibilities.[ii]  In Acts 2:1-21, the disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to wait for their baptism by the Spirit.  It was the Festival of Weeks celebrated fifty days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Pentecost means “fifty”).[iii]  They were all together in one place.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.  Some translations say that everyone heard them in their own language. Either way we can be assured that the Spirit enables God’s people to understand each other. Later in the text Peter suggests that this is the out pouring of the Spirit foretold by the prophet Joel.  Women, men, Gentile, Jew, rich and poor alike are drenched in the power of the Holy Spirit, receiving many gifts. This allows the church to be a new or renewed fellowship, opened wide to all, eager to discern and participate in God’s work in the world.[iv]

The Epistle (Romans 8:22-27) speaks of our ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit.  In times of despair and fear we wait with patience for the unseen hope and likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.  I know that there are times when individuals and/or the community can be so weighted that prayer seems difficult.  I love the idea of the Holy Spirit easing into that space in our hearts and souls with a breath and a sigh leading us in prayer too deep for words.

The context of the Gospel (John 15:26-27: 16: 4-15) is the Last Supper.  Jesus wishes to prepare his disciples for the persecution, confusion, and suffering to come. He talks of the Paraclete (translated as Comforter, Advocate, Counselor and Spirit of Truth) he will send to testify on their behalf and establish Christ’s victory over the “world”.[v]

It is easy for human beings to misunderstand each other, especially in matters of faith.  It is equally easy to doubt our call, our ministry, and to wonder if we effectively serve our Lord. It’s nice to know that the Holy Spirit has been sent to help sort all of that out.  We have an advocate, someone on our side, but here’s the amazing thing: this Advocate, this Comforter is on everyone’s side!  That is the great truth that sets us free to look about, seeing situations and people with hearts wide open, knowing that God is guiding our sight.  The season after Pentecost is a time of action and growth.  The fiery passion of Pentecost makes us ready to go forth spreading the Word and trusting that we are not alone in this task.

Exuberant Spirit of God,
 bursting with the brightness of flame
into the coldness of our lives to warm us with
a passion for justice and beauty, we praise you.
Exuberant Spirit of God,
 sweeping us out of the dusty corners of our apathy to
breathe vitality into our struggles for change, we praise you.
Exuberant Spirit of God,
speaking words that leap over barriers of mistrust to convey
messages of truth and new understanding, we praise you/
Exuberant Spirit of God, flame, wind, speech.
burn, breathe, speak in us:
fill your world with justice and joy. Amen
(Jan Berry)

Insights on the Lectionary
The Ascension of Our Lord
May 17, 2012

 Almighty God, your blessed Son our
Savior Jesus Christ,
ascended far above the heavens
that he might fill all things.
Mercifully give us faith to trust that…he abides with
us on earth to the end of time…Amen[i]

The Gospel according to Luke and the Book of Acts were written to “Dear Theophilus”; Theophilus means “friend of God” or lover of God”.  Was it someone’s name or merely a salutation– “most excellent Theophilus (most excellent friend of God)?  How wonderful to be considered God’s friend. Jesus said to his disciples (and to us) “I have called you friends”?  Friends stand by us and support us as we struggle for justice or when we just plain struggle, usually within ourselves.

The lections for today stress the Sovereignty of Jesus.  He ascends into heaven and sits at the right hand of God. In the ancient Near East, the right hand signified power and authority. [ii]  So does this mean we’ve a friend in high places? Yes, but not in the usual sense.  An old hymn says “what a friend we have in Jesus all our sins and grief’s to bear, what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer”.[iii]  We are very privileged indeed to lean upon our sovereign Lord.  But friendship is reciprocal; how does the ascension define our role in this divine friendship?

Acts 1:1-11 summarizes the post-resurrection appearances and says there was ample proof that Jesus rose from the dead.  In vs. 4-11, when he was in the company of his disciples sharing a meal; he told them to wait for their baptism by the Holy Spirit and then to bear witness, to spread the Good News throughout Judea, Samaria and to the very ends of the earth.  He was then lifted up into heaven. The disciples stood gazing up as he ascended. Then two white-robed beings appeared beside them (angles or saints perhaps)  saying “why do you stand there looking?”

So as friends of God, we are not to just hang around waiting for Jesus to return. We are to bear witness through our words and deeds.  We are to love as Christ loves.  But we are not alone in this venture; we are guided and led by the Holy Spirit.  How do we do this?  Well, we look to Jesus’ ministry: he and his disciples walked all over Galilee, bringing comfort, hope and the reality of a living and lively God to others.  Although many people are called to global ministry, it isn’t always necessary to literally go to the ends of the earth.  We can go to the homeless shelter, the food pantry, tutor at the local school or be kind to friends and family. Just remember to leave room for the Holy Spirit in our plans and actions.

In Ephesians( 1;15-23)  Paul states that through the “eyes of a heart enlightened” and “a spirit of wisdom and revelation” believers will discern the hope, power and sovereignty of Christ Jesus.[iv]  As God’s friends we are to look at things differently and come to new understandings.  I find this to be an ongoing process.   We constantly need to seek out guidance and wisdom to discern how we are to act in a given situation, and/or where and when our help is needed.  When we do this, we feel both empowered and at peace able to do that which is set before us.

In the Gospel reading (Luke 24:44 -53) Jesus affirms that “while still with you“  he proved he was the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.  Then while blessing them with hands uplifted he ascended.   The disciples’ last glimpse of their dear friend Jesus was the act of blessing.  He didn’t bless them and then leave; it was (is) continuous. That is the memory they carried with them; that is the story they shared.[v]   That is what we are called to do as friends and witnesses.  We are to remember. We remember our living Lord by what we say (or not say) do (or not do) and by how we remember.[vi]  We remember in the Eucharist.  We remember in worship.  We remember in fellowship.  We remember with service and hospitality.  As friends of God we live in Christ’s ongoing blessing.

The risen Living Christ calls us by name; …
renews that which feels drained within us;
empowers that which is newborn within us;
consecrates and guides that which is strong within us;
 restores us to this world that needs us (and)
 reaches out in endless love through us[vii].  Amen