Insights into the Lectionary
The Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B
February 19, 2012

O Lord and Master Jesus Christ, Word of the everlasting Father,
you have borne our grief and carried the burden of our weaknesses;
renew by your Spirit the gifts of  healing in your Church,
send forth your disciples again to proclaim the Good News
of  your kingdom and to cure the sick and relieve your suffering children,
to the praise and glory of  your holy name. Amen.
(Liturgy of St. Mark)[i]

The lections for this Sunday stress the unexpected manner in which God enters into our lives, holding us accountable, renewing us, healing us and forgiving us.  God exalts the humble and the meek.  God says yes to those to whom society says no.  Those who follow God often go against the status quo, throwing aside convention and embracing the downtrodden as God embraces them.[ii]

Isaiah 43 was written in the time of Babylonian exile; the Israelites seek God’s deliverance as in the Exodus of old.  They had fallen into misguided patterns of worship and feel burdened by the Law (God) placed on them.[iii]  God said, wait a minute – – it was not “to me you brought your burnt offerings, nor to me did you make sacrifices” (vs. 23).  Worship was ritualistic; perhaps they worshiped false Gods or ignored the needs of others.  The accusation here was that there was a lack of connectedness to God,[iv] but God graciously forgave them, blotting out their transgressions for God’s own sake (vs. 45), because God was about to do a new thing: they (we) are not to dwell on the past or to consider the old ways (vs.18).

It is so easy to fall into that which is comfortable and familiar, that it becomes hard to recognize when ritual has become rigidity, or when tradition has become stagnant.  Yet God is always ready to renew God’s people, sweeping in with a rush of waters and angels’ wings so that our faith can always be “a new thing”.  Like the people in Isaiah’s time, God forgives and renews us simply because that is what God does.[v]

In 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 Paul begins with the claim that God is an affirming God.  God is positive, God is a yes, not a no.  God is totally trustworthy; when we respond by trusting wholeheartedly in God our faith has a very firm foundation.[vi]  In verses 21-22 Paul describes how God works in the world.  God establishes, anoints, seals and gives. These are strong action words; God is not some illusive ethereal entity.  God through Christ Jesus acts with compassion and strength to make us whole people of God.

In the Gospel for today (Mark 2:1-12), Jesus is definitely saying yes to the sick and the sinful alike.  He is doing it in a manner so new that it is beginning to trouble the religious authorities[vii] who, like the people in Isaiah’s time, have fallen into misguided religious practice.

Jesus is back in Capernaum; the sick and the sin-sore flock to him, literally surrounding the home in which he resides.  A paralyzed man had been carried to Jesus by his friends  and they couldn’t get through the crowd.  However, they were thoroughly invested in bringing their friend to Christ, and they fervently sought his wholeness.  They couldn’t get through the door so they sent their friend down through the roof.  When Jesus saw him he said, “your sins are forgiven”.  The authorities challenged his right to forgive sins (only God can do that).  This may have been a “no kidding” moment for Jesus.  Certainly the Gospel writer is suggesting that, yes, Jesus is God incarnate.  Jesus simply said, “Which is easier to say: your sins are forgiven, or rise, take up your bed and walk?”.

It was widely accepted at that time that physical infirmity was a punishment for sin.  In fact, as I studied various commentaries to write this, there was much said about the illness we bring upon ourselves, and the relationship between spiritual or mental distress and physical illness.  Of course, we are simultaneously body, mind and spirit; what affects one part of us affects the whole.  Yet, when I pictured this scripture happening before me, I saw Jesus at first a little astonished at someone coming in from the roof.  Perhaps he was weary of the crowd.  Then he was aware of two things: the loyalty and persistence of the friends, and the pain and shame in this man’s eyes.  Whether he was sinful or not (and we are all sinners) he felt sinful.  He felt unworthy; he didn’t even recognize the value his friends placed on him.  Our compassionate Lord looked into the man’s soul, and knew he was as paralyzed with shame and fear as he was of muscle and bone.  He needed forgiveness, so Jesus said yes, you are forgiven, restored and healed.

He continues to do so and we are challenged to be like the friends of the paralyzed man.  We must be willing to carry the wounded to Christ, to be persistent in helping others to be whole.  Our faith is a participatory faith; when God acts we are to respond in kind.  God forgives, so we forgive.  God cares for us, so we care for others.  God has compassion, so we have compassion.  In every saving action Jesus demonstrated is the implicit “go and do likewise,” but even in that we are not dependent on our own strength: the Holy Sprit will sustain and strengthen us to achieve the goals God has set before us.

Dear Lord, you perpetually heal and forgive us.
It is always a new thing to be infused with your loving Grace.
When we pray, Lord have mercy, your answer is always yes!
Sometimes it seems too hard to reach you.
Yet you provide us with loving friends who carry us on,
 Friends bold enough to raise the roof on our behalf.
Thank you yet again for entering into our lives and taking hold. Amen 

Insights on the Lectionary
Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B
February 12, 2012

 May all who feel invisible be seen by you, O Christ.
May all who are discarded believe you treasure them.
May the frightened feel safe, the bruised soothed, the forgotten
remembered in you and by you,
Christ of the cross in me and by me, O Christ of my prayers. Amen[i]

 There is a real physicality in today’s lections.[ii]  Elisha and Jesus heal leapers and Paul compares Christ’s followers to athletes who must take charge of their bodies (and their lives) to obtain the prize they seek.  It is good to be reminded that we are not merely spirits, but have bodies that can be strong or weak. It is good to remember that our Lord is incarnate, familiar with all matters of the flesh.

Probably there was no group of  people in bible times that were more discarded and/or invisible than the lepers.  Leprosy was highly contagious and greatly disfigured its sufferers.  Isolation was the only way known to contain it.  Lepers were banished to the outskirts of cities and required to announce their presence by shouting “unclean”!  Rigid health laws were developed to decide what constituted being healed or being cleansed from leprosy.

We tend to think of leprosy as ancient; yet, leprosy (Hansen’s disease) has only been controlled and contained through medication in relatively recent times.  I can still remember leper colonies existing when I was young.  It always seemed incredible to me at the time, that this horrible biblical disease still existed.  Too often we view scripture as either from another time or otherworldly or both.  It is true that culture changes, social mores change, technological and medical advances happen; yet human nature and the nature of relationships are timeless.  Most modern and ancient minds would  agree that there is a link between physical and mental health and spiritual well being.[iii]  We often have preconceived ideas about what constitutes healing or how wellbeing should be achieved, but today’s scriptures demonstrate the need to “think outside the box” and be willing to do what God asks even if it doesn’t fit our understanding.

In the OT reading, Naaman was a valuable warrior and statesman for the king of Aram, and he was afflicted with leprosy.  He heard from a slave girl that there was a prophet in Israel (Elisha) who could heal him but he has two strikes against him, according to most Israelites: he is a foreigner and he is a leper.  Naaman, the proud man of substance, seeks help through a slave girl. Certainly  this does not fit the accepted norm.   Naaman expected to be treated as an emissary of his king and that Elisha would heal him through some form of direct intervention.  He was quite insulted when he was met by a servant and told to go bathe in the Jordan seven times (remember, seven is the ritual number of completion or wholeness).  After all, there were rivers in his own country.  Who did this Elisha think he was?

Again a servant intervened and  reminded Naaman that he had  been prepared to give expensive gifts and do anything, no matter how difficult, to be healed.  Why not  do something simple – – like bathing?  He complied and  was healed.  Now he gave credit to the God of Israel, praising God and pledging to worship the one God.  He finally realized that he was not humiliated, but  humbled – – humbled  before God alone.  It doesn’t matter to God if one is foreign or a leper, a servant or a king.  God wishes to heal the whole world and has no favorites.[iv]

It might at first be difficult to see the relationship between the passage in 1 Corinthians and the other two readings.  As stated before, there is an established connection between body, mind and spirit.  Also, Elisha, Paul and Jesus all defy the boundaries set by society, whether they are political or national or religious.[v]  Paul wants us to realize that the race we run is life itself; the prize we seek will never wither or fade because it is a life in Christ.  Athletes practice discipline and self-control to prepare them for the race.  We worship a God who became flesh and dwelt among us.  What forms of discipline, self-control would allow us to have a theologically sound way of life ? [vi]  The readings over the past few  weeks have encouraged us to practice the faith and to keep company with those who do likewise.  Certainly, worship, prayer, stewardship, reading scripture and fellowship are all good ways to keep our “eyes on the prize”.

I also think self-care in matters of rest, diet and exercise allow us to be fit to serve and to enjoy our abundant life in Christ.  For many of us physical discipline is much, much harder than spiritual discipline.  I know they are both difficult for me, but God will fill in the gaps and help us.  We don’t have to be Olympic athletes; just rest when we are weary, eat when we are hungry, remember our limits, get help when we are sick and take time to walk, swim, or run if  we are able. Christianity is more than a series of ideas; “Christianity above all else is a life to be lived”.[vii]

In the Gospel, Jesus is confronted by a leper and is moved by his plight. Some translations say he is moved by pity, others say he is moved by anger.[viii]  Either way there is a sense of justice in Jesus’ understanding and action.  By touching a leper Jesus both interrupted and defied the existing social structure.[ix]  He entered into the life of the leper and took hold.  He healed him and the society which shunned him, through a simple act, an intentional touch.  Jesus cares more about the healing of the world then he does about his own reputation or safety.  He did not come to “fit in”; he came to spread and live the Good News and the world has never been the same since!

In today’s passage the leper was not only physically healed and cleansed but restored to the community and to society.[x]  The healing that Christ brings is complete.  Once he was whole the leper just couldn’t help himself – – he had to spread the Good News!  This is another recurring pattern in recent lectionary lessons: once one has experienced the healing, redemptive presence of the Incarnate Christ, one is compelled to proclaim it.  This is the true nature of evangelism.  The best witnesses do not expose theory or condemnation; they share the joy that God has brought them.  They live the Good News; you can see it in their eyes, hear it in there voices and feel it in their touch. 

Take hold of us dear Lord.
Cleanse us and make us whole.
Give us hope, strength and courage.
We thank you for the privilege of proclaiming the
Good News and living our lives in Christ Amen

Insights for the
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B
February  5, 2012

Lord, you do not faint or grow weary;
 your understanding is unsearchable.
You give power to the faint, and you
 strengthen the powerless.[i]  Amen

The scriptures for this Sunday point us away from self and towards God. To do what God has called us to do and/or to endure the various difficulties and injustices present in society (“the world”), we must depend on God, aligning our will with the Divine will. Only God can supply the strength, patience and courage mortals need; only God has the capability to transform the human heart and provide true justice.[ii]

The poetry of Isaiah always moves me. “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”(Isaiah 40:28) These words grab the listener (reader) forcing one to remember the power and fathomless depth of God’s love and concern.  How do we come to know this God, who removes the bondage of fear and sorrow? We know and are known from years of living with God’s people (remember that faithful company we learned about last week?) and observing God’s work in the world. As we practice the faith, we learn to trust this everlasting God and when we do, we are lifted up on eagles’ wings and do not grow weary (Isaiah 40:31).[iii]

In 1Corinthians 9 Paul proclaims the freedom that comes from being God’s messenger. Paul could no more stop sharing the Good News than he could stop breathing; it would be agony for him not to preach. He needs no compensation save the Grace of God; he has no earthly master and therefore is free to be servant to all. (vss.16-19).  He wants the Corinthians (and us) to understand that how the community chooses to live their life together and how they relate to each other is how God chooses to heal the world.

Paul doesn’t expect everyone to agree; his challenge to us (the Corinthians) is to fully identify with others regardless of how they think.  If we are truly Christ in the world (and we are!) we must be ready to act on the behalf of those with whom we disagree.[iv] We are all members of the Body of Christ; that body must be whole and well so that the world will be transformed by the everlasting love of God.

I was recently made aware of the almost over-powering sense of urgency in this first chapter of Mark.[v] The Gospel writer gives quick concise descriptions of the first days (weeks) of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is on a mission, he is about his Father’s work and there is no time to waste! Like his later disciple Paul he just has to spread the Good News!

In this week’s lesson (Mark 1:29- 39) Jesus and his disciples left the synagogue and went “straight away” to the house of Simon and Andrew.  Simon’s mother-in-law was ill. Wasting no time Jesus took her by the hand and healed her. She immediately arose and showed her gratitude with action by tending to their needs. This is how Christ continues to enter into our lives; taking hold, healing all our hurts and infusing us with a passionate desire to serve. If we look closely at these ten verses they can be an example of how the church (the Body of Christ) and we, its members, can be “Christ in the world”. After proclaiming God’s word and demonstrating  God’s healing grace in the house of  worship (vss. 21-28), he tends to the needs of those who serve  and follow him ( his “household“, so to speak) enabling  them to serve God and each other.  He then tends to his own spiritual needs by drawing away for prayer and discernment (vs.35) Simon and his companions find him, saying “everyone is looking for you!”  It’s not clear if  “everyone” is Simon’s family or the members of the synagogue in Capernaum or both. But Jesus does not want God’s healing grace to be contained in one place[vi]  He wants to move on, seek out the neighboring towns and spread the word, “for that is what I came to do!”

As a child of the TV era, I tend to envision this with the theme of Rawhide ringing in my ears. “Head ‘em on up! Move ‘em on out!”  He wants his disciples then and now to keep on “moving, moving, moving! And “so he went through all of Galilee preaching in the synagogues and driving out demons”.  Sometimes modern Christians have difficulty with terms like “driving out demons”. Again many of us have big screen images of Linda Blair, turning her head backwards and vomiting green liquid, embedded in our memories.  But if we back up to last week’s reading (vss. 21-28), we see that what Jesus did was set afflicted minds straight.  Like with Simon’s mother-in-law, he took hold and healed. The crazy thoughts that kept the man (or was it the crowd?) fearful, disruptive and skeptical, of and toward Jesus, were removed, setting him (them) free to love and serve the Lord.

It is easy to forget, amid the familiarity of our ordinary lives, that we practice an amazing, earth-shattering, transforming faith. Every day we bring Christ to the world, as others bring Christ to us. Every day we entertain angels unaware and every day miracles large and small happen all around us. The very good news is the Good News. We do not bring these things about by our will but by the Divine Will. When we grow weary and all humans grow weary (especially when doing “good deeds”), God does not ever grow weary. Christ continues to take hold of us, heal us and fill us with the passionate call to serve God. How could we not?

Thank you for being constant throughout the ages.
When we are friendless, you are our friend.
When we are orphaned, you are our parent.
When we are happy. you are our joy.
When we are homeless, you are our home. Amen[vii]

Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B
January 22, 2012

O’ Lord, here I sit in the dark belly of a very big fish
or so it seems.
I wish I could stop avoiding your call.
In my heart’s dreams
I would give all to simply follow Jesus.  Amen

(Lucinda Stevens)

Last week’s scriptures were about being “called” to follow God. This focus continues in the Old Testament and Gospel readings for this Sunday.

The Book of Jonah was written in protest of the harsh separatism that became attached to the religious revival led by Nehemiah and Ezra[i].  There was a ban on intermarriage and it was deemed prudent to avoid outsiders (such as the people of Nineveh).

Jonah is a very reluctant prophet who, after enduring his “imprisonment “inside the big fish, goes to Nineveh.  He calls them to repent, delivering probably the shortest sermon on record: “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed!”  He thinks God should destroy them. He is actually very angry when they do repent.[ii]   It is important for us to realize that this story emphasizes that God cares for all people.  There are no outsiders for God.  God calls everyone to repent, to turn around, to change their thinking and their ways.  When it comes to listening to God’s call and being willing to repent, the people of Nineveh are certainly a better example than Jonah.

It is very interesting that he offers them no hope, gives them no explanation of what will happen if they repent.[iii]  They simply repent. I like to think that God was already working in their hearts and minds.  Perhaps they were spiritually hungry for something more, desiring a deeper walk, a different understanding of God.  Perhaps there was an inner restlessness which stirred them to follow God’s commands?  I’ve known that restlessness, haven’t you?  Usually when I reflect on the Book or Jonah, I look at Jonah: his prejudices, how he hides from God, and how God uses even the reluctant and the prejudiced to do God’s will.

However, there is another message here. This is a story about God caring for the outcast and calling them home to live deeply in God’s love and forgiveness.  When we read this  story sometimes we  identify with the  people of Nineveh and other times we (with brutal honesty) must admit that we act  more  like Jonah.  Is our society that much different from that of the time of Ezra and Nehemiah?  Who are the outcasts, spurned by “good people”?  Who are the forsaken that God is calling us to serve?[iv] Are they and we being called to something more? Could we all become closer to God by following the call to care and be cared for?

The Gospel (Mark 1:14-20) occurs after the arrest of John the Baptist. Jesus is preaching in Galilee: “The time is at hand, the kingdom of God is upon you.  Repent and believe”. What a powerful statement! What you’ve always hoped for is happening. God is present now in your lives. Claim the moment! Rethink your relationship with God and others. Dare to believe the Good News!  God has broken into history and the world will never be the same again. God is the absolute authority, ruling and guiding every human heart for all time![v]

The passage that follows (the calling of Simon, Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee,James and John) demonstrates what it means to repent and believe. For the Christian, getting closer to God means attaching oneself to Jesus. We are compelled to follow where Christ leads even unto the Cross.[vi]  In this passage there is no mention of Andrew being a disciple of John the Baptist, there is no reference to a prior relationship. The Gospel writer stresses that Jesus simply called and they cast down their nets and followed him. Amazing!  Like the people of Nineveh they just did it, they turned their lives around and satisfied the deep longings of their hearts.

Can it really be that simple?  Christ calls and we follow. I long ago came to the realization that simple and easy are not the same. Attempting to live a simple life in Christ is hard for us.  Once God breaks into history nothing is the same. We have to set aside our prideful assumptions about the world and learn gradually to be humble before God.  Yet at the same time we are called to be bold in the Spirit.  Spiritual boldness is a gift allowing us to go where angels fear to tread. Spiritual boldness allowed the people of Nineveh to repent for repentance’ sake alone.  Spiritual boldness allowed the fisherman to follow Jesus simply because he called. Spiritual boldness allows us to attach ourselves to Jesus and live deeply our new life in Christ.

For God alone I wait silently; my hope comes from him…

On God my safety and honor depend.

On God who is my rock of refuge…

Trust in him at all times…pour out your hearts before him;

God is our shelter. Psalm 62:5-8

INSIGHTS
for the
Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B
January 15, 2012

 Dreams and Calls
In the night a voice calls clearly,
a young boy answers here I am.
On a bus ride, on a march, in a church, a dream of freedom beckons,
 a preacher calls others to live the promise.
At the seaside fishermen cast aside their nets to follow Rabbi Jesus.
Open our hearts, Lord, free our minds and stir our souls to listen to your call,
to follow the dreams you send us,  to stand and answer here am I. Amen
-Lucinda  Stevens

The primary theme of today’s lections is call.  Receiving a call from God, whether it is to an overall ministry (the priesthood, nursing, or teaching) or a specific ministry (teaching English for immigrants in Spokane), is often difficult to define and to discern.  It often takes some help from others and a little time to sink in.  In the Old Testament lesson (1 Samuel 3:1-10) young Samuel hears a voice calling his name in the night.  He goes to Eli, his mentor and priest, thinking it was Eli who called him.  Eli sends him back to bed.  After happening three times, Eli realizes that it is God who is calling and tells Samuel how to respond.
Samuel was called in a time of when “the word of the Lord was rare”.  There was much political and social upheaval.  Eli was old and sick, and there was no one to guide Israel. When God raised up Samuel it was a sign that despite various evils God was still present with, and in, God’s people.[i]  Samuel’s call can be seen as a threshold to a new era, a new beginning.  It is important to realize that Samuel’s faithfulness and devotion to God was nurtured in the context of community.  He is grounded in his parents’ faith and devotion (1:28).  He grew in favor with, and was guided by, the priest Eli.[ii]  All of this formed him and brought him to a place where he could hear and follow God’s voice.

We need always to remember that the community of the faithful is charged to support those who nurture young children so that they may grow “in stature and favor with God” (2:26).  Who knows?  The next time you are kind to the parents of that very active toddler; you just might be helping a future prophet of the Lord!

The call of the disciples in John 1:43-51 is very closely linked to the prophetic voice and ministry of John the Baptist.  John pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God, the one who will baptize with Spirit.  When he does this, the message implied is that John’s true followers will now leave him and follow Jesus, and they were invited to come and see, not only with the physical eye but with the eye of faith[iii].  The directions of our call may change, but we continue to be led to God.   Andrew couldn’t wait to tell his brother Simon that he had found the Messiah and took his eager brother to the Lord.

The next day Jesus, as he traveled to Galilee, called Phillip to follow him. Phillip ran to get Nathaniel.  “We’ve found the one foretold by the prophets: Jesus of Nazareth”.  Nathaniel was less enthusiastic than Simon.  Prejudiced by the class system of his time he wondered if “anything good can come from Nazareth “.  Nevertheless, he went with Phillip.  He was so amazed that Jesus knew him, because he “saw” him under the fig tree, that he proclaimed Jesus as “the Son of God and King of Israel”.  Jesus, in effect, said, “Oh, Nathaniel, you ain’t seen nothing yet!  Before we are through you will see heaven open and the angels descending upon the Son of Man”.

So there is a pattern to be seen here for how disciples are formed and called.  The absolute joy and amazement of being touched by God drives one to share that Good News.  Brother tells brother and friend tells friend and as they are led to Christ they and the world are transformed, angels descend and heaven shouts out the glory of the Lord.

Sometimes we think that faith is a very private thing and often it is.  On the other hand, the word evangelism can bring forth images of angry preachers who shout on street corners and sometimes they do.  Yet our great Christian faith is meant to be shared, proclaimed and witnessed.  Our call to Christ, our joyful sharing of our faith experience, which can be quiet and dignified as well as exuberant, could be like that of the disciples of old who led others to come and see and to follow our Lord.  We also can proclaim that we have found the Messiah and urge others to come and see.

Lord you have examined me
 and you know me…there is not a word
I speak but you Lord know all about it.
Knowledge so wonderful is beyond my grasp…
Your eyes foresaw my deeds… Examine me,
God, and know my mind…
understand my anxious thoughts.
Watch lest I follow any path that grieves you;
lead me in the everlasting way.   Amen– Psalm 139

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