Words 1.20

 Words Twice a Week        1.20

If you are more into listening than reading, Words Twice a Week is available, along with other good stuff, as a podcast from St Paul’s Episcopal Church.  Click here.

Some thoughts on the lectionary texts for this Sunday – Third after Epiphany

Psalm 19

+ “The heavens are telling the glory of God” – you can just hear the music swell!

+ vs1-6 is about the Creation, 7-11 celebrate the Law/Word, 12-14 recognize that we don’t know everything and thus need forgiveness.  I’m not sure that’s the attitude from which we usually pray vs 14!

+Thomas Berry said something along the lines of that we have spent so much time and attention on the written/Revealed word (ie, the scriptures) that we ought to just put the Bible on the shelf for a couple of years and pay attention to the first/Created word (ie, the Creation).  

+ On the other hand, experiencing Creation is not enough to know God and find the best/abundant life.  God has written a personal note to humanity.  Note “Yahweh”, the personal name for God  (LORD in NRSV) is used 6 times in vs7-9, no times in vs1-6!

+ How does it work to have speech without words?  What do sun, day, night tell us about God – that God provides energy, cycle of work and rest, day/night changes provide weather...

+ someplace I wrote or read – How does the bridegroom leave his chamber?  Lingeringly, wistfully, happily - Is he leaving his new wife behind and going to his daily work, or is he leaving his chamber to head for hers?

+ nothing is hid from the heat of the sun – is that a good thing?  Does it suggest there really is a solar power option?  And what about the animals that live deep underground?

+ the law, the decrees, the precepts…. Different words for the same thing, basically.  The law has a two-fold function – 1) to warn, provide boundaries within which to safely live, a canopy under which to be safe, and 2) “rewards” – not trophies or plaques, but the blessings of a life lived well.

+ “hidden faults” and “presumptions sins” (risks or acts of courage) – where would each of these fit in – eating the apple, splitting the atom, cloning a cell, burning fossil fuels, gene manipulation, artificial intelligence?

+ on vs13 – “the psalmist can be whole/perfect/blameless because God is graceful.  This abundant life results not from human achievement.  Rather it depends on God.  To be perfect/blameless/whole is not to be sinless, but to live in dependence on God.”   Texts

+ more valuable than gold (most coveted metal in ancient times), sweeter than honey (their primary sweetener)!  Is that how we think about the scriptures?  And what would be a “most coveted ____” today – platinum, titanium, rare earth metals?  Number of followers?  What would be a primary sweetener – maple syrup for me!

Nehemiah 8.1-3,5-6,8-10

+ backstory is that Ch1-7 of Nehemiah have told about getting the wall built around Jerusalem.  The wall would protect them from external threats (well, sort of), and now the law will protect them from internal and interior threats.

+ so I love this – the first thing you do when there are gaps on the lesson is look up and see what was left out or skipped over!  Here, it’s the names.  Why does the lectionary committee want to leave these people anonymous?  Who are these people?  Who gets to be anonymous in our world (disinformation/misinformation spreaders, talkless filibusterers,….?)  How is that a good thing?  How is it not?

+ probably some kind of description of early worship.  And in fact one of the first times we experience the people reading words to hear God’s voice.  Pretty much always before it had just been someone talking.  Now the words are written down and read out.  We begin to look to the scriptures.

+ It went on and on – early morning to midday!  We get upset if the service goes much over an hour.   There was a story in a youth ministry article once -

"What's the biggest number you ever counted to?"

   "12, 785"  (or something like that.)

"Why'd you stop?"

   "Church was over!"

+ three issues – 1) it was communal – men, women, children; 2) there was understanding [people used to say children shouldn’t take communion until they could understand it – but I’m not sure the adults really “understood” it, or what they would say if anyone asked them!], and 3) it led to action as a result.

+ The readers/lectors read from the book and the preacher interpreted what was read, so that people could understand – not just the meaning of the words, but what the passage meant for them, for their day.  It is not enough to read and even revere the scripture – it must be taught and understood.  A sermon does not just repeat the words of scripture – it applies, extends, explains, explicates, re-presents, ….?  That’s why it’s hard work.  Special thanks to those who preach!

+ Time to pause and honor one of my preaching heroes – Fred Craddock – who championed the shift from deductive preaching (where the preacher explained everything, 3 points and a prayer or poem) to inductive preaching (where the preacher leads the congregation on a journey of discovery.)  He also was a master of stories – he said to write down a story each day of something that you saw or experienced, and put them in a note book until the time comes when that story “asks to be included in a sermon.”  Well – he was just really good at biblical interpretation and at preaching.

+ so church is over, (vs10) “he” said to them “Go and feast!”  [Who was the “he” – Nehemiah (governor) or Ezra (priest)?  Heck, it’s Nehemiah’s book, we’ll say it’s him.]  But note that in vs1-6 it’s Ezra doing the talking, in vs 7 these other folks get involved, and in vs 9, Nehemiah (the governor also get’s into the act!

+ Go home for Sunday dinner, go hit the Sunday buffet – boy, it’s been a long time since we did that!

+ the people were upset when they heard what God’s word was (and what it said about who they were?) – but the leaders told them to be happy because of who God is.  Does that work for us – we’re upset when we see what life is, but can we rejoice because of who God is?  In any case, the quintessential Faith emotion is joy.  What feeling/emotion does our worship leave us with?

+ How can we send some of our feast to those who don’t have enough.  Is that just food, or other things as well?

1 Cor 12.12-31a

+ Paul continuing his thoughts on “spiritual gifts”/gifts of grace/gifted people.

+ differences are not limitations or barriers, but a gift from God.  How does diversity bless us?

+ the diverse members need each other.  Who is someone different from you that you need their gift?

+ there is no hierarchy of gifts/persons.  Who do we sometimes think of as more important, less important?

+ there should be mutual care instead of dissension and strife

+ “note to preachers – the imagery is enough – don’t let the preaching get in the way.”  Texts 

+ “These words of Paul, when taken serkiously, keep the church from developing a cookie-cutter mentality.  The missionary thinks leveryone in the church should become a missionary. Likewise the teacher, church musician, and so forth.  We all live with the tyranny of the specialties, each of us looking at the whole through the lens of our particular gift, wondering why everyone doesn’t aspire to it as we do.  But should every person in the church be a teacher?  Paul thinks not.  His is not a monochrome vision of the church.”  Preaching the New Common Lectionary

+ Kodachrome gives those nice bright colors…

+ but then Paul throws this curve ball – “Strive for the greater gifts”  What?

 

Luke 4.14-21

+ Jesus in Nazareth.  A little bit of backstory here, too.  Both Matthew and Mark tell a similar story, but later on in their gospels.  Note that Luke is a little confusing here, because the people in Nazareth ask about things Jesus did in Capernaum, but Luke hasn’t told us about that yet!  That comes up in vs33-44.  Is that a flashback, or has Luke created a different story order?  And note that Luke tells us what scripture Jesus read – a “servant song” from Isaiah. Mt and Mk didn’t have that.  Putting all of that together, some scholars think Luke has adapted and inserted this story at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry as kind of a prologue, preview, programmatic narrative, foreshadowing of what is to come – for Jesus and for those who follow him.

+ and note that this is just the first half of even the Nazareth event.  Next week’s lesson (vs22-30) tells of the congregation’s reaction.  You probably don’t need to look it up!

+ as in Nehemiah, Jesus stand up, reads, (sits), and teaches/gives the understanding.

+ Jesus goes to the synagogue, “as was his custom”.  1) he was firmly within his Jewish tradition – he was a reformer, not a revolutionary!  And 2) he fulfilled his “stewardship of presence” pledge!  With apologies to the folks who are working this weekend to put out The Messenger, there was the story about the “non-attender” who ran into the minister downtown and said “I don’t know why you mail out that newsletter – doesn’t seem very significant or substantial”.  (Theirs was not at all like The Messenger!).  The minister said, “What – you think we send the good stuff out to just anybody?  No, you gotta get up and dressed and show up at church on Sunday morning.  That’s when we hand out the good stuff.”   Thoughts?

+ Jesus says “Today…”  Fred Craddock says don’t turn it into a vague, distant “someday”. ‘The “someday” of hope is the “today” of fulfillment.’

+ And these words from MLKjr -

One day, youngsters will learn words they will not understand.

Children from India will ask: What is hunger?

Children from Alabama will ask: What is racial segregation?

Children from Hiroshima will ask: What is the atomic bomb?

Children at school will ask: What is war?

You will answer them.

You will tell them:

Those words are not used anymore

like stage coaches, galleys or slavery

Words no longer meaningful.

That is why they have been removed from dictionaries.

 Someday? Today?

That’s what I got for now…..

Comments are moderated – by me – and may take a day to appear