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Some thoughts on some of the lessons for this week -
Deuteronomy 18.15-20
+ These are some of Moses’ (and God’s!) words to the people as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. Israel will be in a land with magic and witchcraft and other seductions. How will they hang onto their identity as God’s people.
+ the example we used to think about was that when Israel’s neighbors were all going to the temple prostitutes to ensure their crops (and their crops flourished because they knew how to farm), that was a strong temptation!
+ so God promises a prophet like Moses to lead them, but note that Israel did not always welcome the prophets any more than we do.
+ the prophet will come from the worshiping congregation, not from the culture. Where do we see the congregation and the culture in harmony, in conflict, just concerned with different things?
+ Here’s a line from David Berry – When God, who created the entire universe with all of its glories, decides to deliver a message to humanity, HE WILL NOT use as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle.
+ Israel was led by the transcendent purpose of God expressed through a human agent. How does that work? What potential issues do you see? Is that how we understand the church today?
+ the prophet stands between; sees God’s vision, hears God word; proclaims
+ “prophecy is a form of clairvoyance that arises out of meditation on scripture” – so it speaks to what it, not what will be.
Psalm 111
+ this is kind of fun – Ps 111 is an acrostic, ie, each line (there are 22) starts with the corresponding letter of the alphabet. (In Hebrew). I didn’t have time to look for English translations that might try to reflect that. Is that just a curiosity? Is it a memory device? Does it reflect a universal quality?
+ the psalm encourages the congregation to be thankful and give praise to God for past actions – God provided food, God gave them a land that belonged to someone else (Ok, that is kind of problematic!)
+ the psalm also references the commands of the covenant. By reflecting on God’s acts in the past as the covenant understanding, we can come to an experiencing of God’s will – even the “clairvoyance” noted above. Is this what “the fear/respect of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” means?
+ the works/activity of God is a window into God’s nature. Because we trust works we can trust God’s teaching. We learn who God is by what God has done – and thus stay anchored in reality?
+ challenge for the week – write an acrostic psalm of thanksgiving. A “vowel” acrostic? “Your name” acrostic? “St Paul’s Church” acrostic? A “freedom in love” acrostic? See what you come up with.
1 Cor 8.1.13
+ the topic is food, but the issue is freedom, knowledge, and love. The word is that knowledge makes us proud but love makes us helpful. Freedom/knowledge leads us to individuality, not community or communion.
+ And here is something that could be right out of today’s news – “Freedom is not a personal abstract right, it is a concrete Christian reality shown appropriately in concern. Real freedom is being freed from the necessity to assert only, or primarily, one’s own rights.”
+ what does this say about wearing a mask!
+ knowledge can destroy or liberate, so must be subordinated to love. And Christians impose self-restraints.
+ although when you come down to it, there is no one answer for all times and places and people. If my not eating meat strengthens another in their misunderstanding, then maybe I should go out for a hotdog to challenge their misconception. And what about movies and dancing? Those were the topics I remember from Youth Group!
+ and beyond all this, what do we think about food? Where does our food come from; what issues are involved; what will be the next “new diet”; does organic make sense, does vegetarian/vegan make sense? And what percent of the grocery store is stocked with processed food vs ingredients? One food/health expert suggested we should buy (or grow!) ingredients and make food out of them.
Mark 1.21-28
+ Jesus starts teaching. This is the first of a number of stories where Mark describes Jesus as “the Teacher”. But note that he doesn’t tell us what Jesus was teaching, only how. Does that suggest that Jesus pretty much unloaded the whole package last week in Mk 1.15 – “The time has come, the Kingdom of Heaven (the Time of God’s Peace) is here/near, repent and believe the good news”? There are other stories where Jesus uses parables and such, but often Mk describes Jesus as Teacher without giving the content of the teaching.
+ What is significant is the authority with which Jesus preached. It was “clairvoyant”? His words and deeds in harmony? Note at the end, it was the authority of the teaching that impressed the crowd, more than the exorcism. Note that we don’t even hear what came of the man.
+ we often think, and sometimes read, of Jesus having compassion. It doesn’t say that here.
+ so this “demoniac” (I love the word!) comes in and disrupts the order. We’ve not very comfortable with that. Can you think of times when the worship has been disrupted?
+ he knows who Jesus is, although the religious people don’t! And why does Jesus silence him? (an example of what is called The Messianic Secret – throughout the gospels Jesus seems to not want to be publicly identified as the Messiah.) Possibly because Jesus doesn’t fit into any preconceived categories, but wants to define himself by what he does? In politics there is always the rush to be the one to define the issue. And here the issue is not that Jesus is the Holy One of God, whatever that might mean, it is the authority with which Jesus is teaching and living.
+ then I like this from Fred Craddock – “What are the forms and strategies of evil equivalent to 1st century demons. There is no service in simply announcing we no longer believe in demons. Not believing in demons has not eradicated evil from our world.” So how does the power of Jesus’ teaching confront evil today. Does truth overcome evil?
Here’s a prayer from the Vanderbilt Divinity School Revised Common Lectionary website -
Holy and awesome God,
your Son's authority is found in integrity and living truth,
not the assertion of power over others.
Open our imaginations to new dimensions of your love,
and heal us of all that severs us from you and one another,
that we may grow into the vision you unfold before us. Amen.
And I guess that circles me back to the question where do I acknowledge authority in our world today? Is it with powerful governments? Is it in the voice of the people? Is it in the teaching of the church? The scientists? Paul says we have the freedom to acknowledge authority in the works and words of God. Do we?
That’s what I got for now -
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