Daily Lesson for the Day of Visitation, May 31, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 1 Samuel chapter 1 verses 1 through 3 and 9 through 20:

There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his town to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord.

9 After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. 11She made this vow: ‘O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.’

12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14So Eli said to her, ‘How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.’ 15But Hannah answered, ‘No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.’ 17Then Eli answered, ‘Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.’ 18And she said, ‘Let your servant find favour in your sight.’ Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.

19 They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked him of the Lord.’

Today is the Day of Visitation in the Liturgical Calendar, the time when Mary visited Elizabeth after the angel is said to have appeared to Mary and promised a divinely conceived child in due time. 

The phrase, “In due time,” is found in today’s Lesson from the Hebrew Bible and is a wonderful little string of words. Hannah has been hoping and praying for a child and anguishing over her and her husband Elkanah’s inability to conceive together. The frustration and disappointment was heart wrenching. Yet she continued to pray, bringing her sorrows and her heartache to the LORD, and in due time she conceived. 

There’s a danger in the text that must be avoided. Hannah is celebrated for her faithfulness. But faithfulness is never a guarantee that what we hope and wish for might happen. She was faithful in her barrenness. It is for this that she is a model, because she was faithful even amidst her sorrow and disappointment. 

Conception is a mystery. Life is a mystery. The due time of anything is always hidden in the mystery of God. The times we know not of. Our task for the time being then is always to work, to wait, to hope, and to pray. The future is in God’s hands. The day of birth for something new is unknown. The advent of God’s work is unrevealed and in the words of the Hymn of Promise “something God alone can see.”

God alone knows the due date for all things. And so to us belongs this day which we can rejoice and be glad in or sing psalms of longing and lamentation. In either case there is faithfulness, and hope in the one who in the end is always the Giver of Life. 

Daily Lesson for Ascension Day, May 30, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 28 verses 16 through 20:

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Today is Ascension Day in the liturgical calendar, when we remember how Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after Easter. This is a day of empowerment, coming at the time of graduation and commencement.  It is a day when Jesus says to us what we say to young people walking the stage to receive their diploma — “Now, you’ve been taught. You know everything you need to know for now. Life will reveal the rest along the way. So now go, and be not afraid.”

I love what the Lesson says today. When they saw Jesus “they worshipped him; but some doubted.” Isn’t that is? We worship. We profess. We believe. But we also doubt. We doubt ourselves. We doubt our readiness. We doubt our words. We doubt we’ll know what in the world to do. We doubt God. But Jesus doesn’t seem to be too much bothered by those doubts. All he says, “Now go; get at it.”

In the beginning of his time with the disciples three years before Jesus said, “Come and see.” Now he says, “Go and see.”  “Go and see for yourself. Go and see that you are enough. Go and see that this way and life is true. Go and see that God is true. Go and see and discover along the way that, behold, I’m with you always.”

And the next thing they knew the disciples had their diploma in one hand and a license to teach in the other . . .

Daily Lesson for May 29, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 2 Kong’s chapter 2 verses 1 through 15:

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel. 3The company of prophets* who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’

4 Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’ But he said, ‘As the Lordlives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho. 5The company of prophets*who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he answered, ‘Yes, I know; be silent.’

6 Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lordlives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. 7Fifty men of the company of prophets* also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.8Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ 10He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ 11As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, ‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

15 When the company of prophets*who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.’ They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

“He picked up the mantle.”

This is one of the most powerful and inspiring sentences in all of Scripture. Elisha picked up the mantle of his mentor Elijah. One generation took up the work and witness and the cause of holy trouble that the former generation began. 

I admire Elisha. He did not allow his doubts and fears keep him from taking the baton. He did not shrink from his own time. When his day came he stepped into it. When the mantle fell he picked it up and tried it on. He dared to believe in himself. He dared to believe that the Spirit that was on Elijah might also be on him. 

Daily Lesson for May 28, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Deuteronomy chapter 8 verses 1 through 10:

This entire commandment that I command you today you must diligently observe, so that you may live and increase, and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.2Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. 3He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell these forty years. 5Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the Lord your God disciplines you. 6Therefore keep the commandments of the Lord your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, 8a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. 10You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you.

Paula D’Arcy says, “God comes to us disguised as our life.”

Life always brings us into the wilderness. There is no other way around it. We cannot skip the wilderness if we want to get to the Promised Land. And that is because it is in the wilderness that we are shaped and formed and become a people.  It’s in the wilderness that we learn to depend upon God. God comes to us disguised as our wilderness way — uncertain, challenging, frustratingly long; yet also character and community-building, and faith-forming. In the wilderness we learn to give thanks for our daily bread and look deep within for springs of life. In the wilderness we learn to walk under the cloud each day and rest beside the pillar of fire each night.

The wilderness should never be romanticized. It’s hard. Many falter. If there were another way we’d take it. But there is no other way. There is no way other way other than struggle and doubt and the path of insecurity. No; we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But we trust God will come to us — disguised as a narrow path through a dry and weary land. 

Let’s stick to it . . .

Daily Lesson for Memorial Day, May 27, 2019

Today is Memorial Day and we remember the sacrifice of those who in Lincoln’s words gave “the last full measure of devotion” to our nation.

Yesterday in service I referenced a memorial plaque at Broadway with the names of 22 Broadway-related men who lost their lives in WWII and the Korean War. Another plaque beside records the name of an additional Broadway member who was killed in the Vietnam War. Beneath the words of WWII and Korean memorial plaque are these words: “Lest Ye Forget”.

Memorial Day is about not forgetting. More than glib patriotic speeches and saccharine salutes, Memorial Day is our reminder of the ultimate sacrifice some on behalf of a nation dedicated to freedom and justice for all and a constitution which guarantees equality under the law for all people — from the pauper to the president. We remember today, forgetting not the soldiers, sailors, and Marines who have nor what they died for — defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies — foreign and domestic.

At the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery Lincoln said the ground itself had already been hallowed by the blood of the fallen; it was now rather the living who must be dedicated “that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

It remains our duty to be so dedicated — to uphold this American experiment of democracy and all its traditions of rights and protections and the rule of law, and to keep striving to make it, in Jefferson’s words, “a more perfect union”.  This is what Memorial Day is about; it’s about remembering the ultimate sacrifices of others and also dedicating ourselves to the same good and noble fight.

Lest we forget, we remember. So let us remember well and always. 

Daily Lesson for March 24, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 8 verses 40 through 55a:

40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, 42for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying.

As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. 

43Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. 44She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her haemorrhage stopped. 45Then Jesus asked, ‘Who touched me?’ When all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.’ 46But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.’ 47When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’

49 While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.’ 50When Jesus heard this, he replied, ‘Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.’ 51When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, ‘Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.’ 53And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54But he took her by the hand and called out, ‘Child, get up!’ 55Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. 

Earlier this year a Netflix documentary about the stigma of menstruation in India won an Oscar. The film, “Period. End of Sentence”, tells the story of several Indian women fighting to change perceptions that menstruation is an uncleanness and/or an illness. Their work includes efforts to stop making women retire from society during their periods and also to make low-cost sanitary products accessible for all.

I tell you this because in today’s Lesson the woman in the story with the bleeding issue has a menstrual disorder. She has bled for 12 years without ceasing and her condition has left her both financially bankrupt and also socially shunned. She is perpetually unclean. Now, another young girl is ill. She is the daughter of the synagogue leader.  She is twelve years old. And because her age is mentioned and because her story is told intertwined with the story of the bleeding woman, many Biblical scholars believe she has begun her own menstruation. And now seeing her own 12-year-old bleeding body and knowing the social shunning the bleeding woman has faced for all those 12 years, the young girl falls into a deep fear-induced, psycho-social illness. Having now entered into the world of ritual uncleanness, she would rather die than be shunned.

Jesus, for his part however, touches and allows himself to be touched by both the unclean woman and girl. Jesus undoes the stigma associated with both and restores them each back into the community.

These stories are about so-called “womens issues”. But the one with the real issue is the community. Like the work of the women in India, the story is told to change perception, to de-stigmatize, and to bring about acceptance. Menstruation is natural.  A woman’s body and its functions are natural. They should never be seen as gross, stigmatizing, or socially-excluding. And their functions should never be used as excuses to ostracize, demean, disempower, or control. 

Period. End of sentence. 

Daily Lesson for May 23, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Romans chapter 14 verses 1 through 11:

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarrelling over opinions. 2Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgement on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. 4Who are you to pass judgement on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

5 Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6Those who observe the day, observe it in honour of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honour of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honour of the Lord and give thanks to God.

7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

10 Why do you pass judgement on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. 11For it is written,

‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

   and every tongue shall give praise to God.’

There is a wonderful little Latin saying which at its core seems to well-summarize today’s Lesson:

“in necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.”

It means, “in certain things unity; in doubtful things liberty; in all things charity.”

We can split hairs all day and argue about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin or fight over who can be a priest, pastor, deacon, or member of the church.

But in certain things unity; in doubtful things liberty; in all things charity.

Here are the certain things. God is love. We are to love God and neighbor with the same love with which we are loved. This love with which we love is the Spirit of God in Christ in us.

St Augustine said, “Love God and do as you please.”

There is freedom in Christ to do as we please. We make it so hard and controversial for one another. We argue and quarrel about tiny things. It’s a big, big cosmos out there (I’m reminded of that because today is the feast day of Copernicus); why argue over small things? 

Why not live and love and let love and let God be the judge?

Daily Lesson for May 22, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 8 verses 16 and 17:

16 ‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.

Marianne Williamson once wrote:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.”

The light within us was meant to shine.  It was given to us to be housed in the lamp of the human spirit. The lamp must be turned on, the spirit set free.

There is an artist in us who must paint. There is a poet in us who must write.

There is a dancer within us who must move.

There is a reformer in us who must organize and agitate and set the world afire.

The light shines in the darkness and darkness cannot overcome it. For light is the most powerful force in the world, strong enough to drive back all darkness and all fear and all the other things that keep us and this world from being what is intended. 

And God says, “Let there be light.”

And I say, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine . . .”

Daily Lesson for March 21, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Romans chapter 12 verses 14 through 21:

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ 20No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

There is a wonderful little phrase in this morning’s Lesson which is often overlooked amidst all the other good words about kindness and decency and seeking to live peaceably with others. The phrase is, “so far as it depends on you.”

Paul is saying that we have a responsibility to do all that is within our power to make peace. But with this little phrase — “so far as it depends on you,” — he acknowledges that peace is a two-way street. We can’t force it on others. And we shouldn’t think that doing more than what depends on us will get us any farther than simply doing our fair and honest share. Doing more crosses boundaries, and can venture us out of the place of what we’re responsible for and into the place of what others ought to be the responsibility of others. And that’s really too far.

There’s an old saying: “Everybody has a responsibility to sweep their own side of the street.”  In making peace, we have a responsibility to do all we can to make amends on our side of whatever happened in a relationship. We have to work hard at it. Paul says we have to work exceedingly hard to be kind to others — even those who are unkind.  At the same time, we can’t do everything. We can’t be entirely responsible for our neighbors’ reciprocation or action. We can’t enable their bad behavior with our own good. We can and should do only what is within our power to clean our side of the street, but we don’t have to clean theirs also. We take responsibility for ourselves and our wrongs and expect — insist — that they take responsibility for theirs. That way nobody gets abused and everybody puts in the work.

When it comes to relationships we all have our work cut out for us. We have to work hard; and so too does our neighbor. We all have to work as hard as we can — so far, and only so far, as it depends on us. 

Daily Lesson for May 20, 2019

Daily Lesson for May 20, 2019

36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. 37And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39Now when the Pharisee 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.’ 40Jesus spoke up and said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ ‘Teacher,’ he replied, ‘speak.’ 41‘A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?’43Simon answered, ‘I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have judged rightly.’44Then turning towards the woman, he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.45You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.47Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.’ 48Then he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’

So oftentimes our antipathy and resentments towards others have much more to do with us than it does them. Harsh anger and condemnation towards others are telltale signs of the presence of our own unresolved issues and hidden demons. As the old saying goes, when we point our finger at others, all the other fingers come pointing back at us. 

The Pharisee in today’s story is a moral crusader. He sees sin all around him. He sees the woman as a grave and repugnant sinner. And he saw Jesus the same. But, of course, the real problem was his own self. It was the log in his own eye that blinded him to the beauty and compassionate tenderness taking place in his own home. He called it inappropriate.  He didn’t know forgiveness when he saw it. How sad. 

“The one who is forgiven little loves little,” Jesus said. And by inference we can conclude that those who are forgiven much also love much. When we have most deeply received God’s good news about ourselves, the compassion and forgiveness of divine love, and the peace it affords then we are set free to love.  God is love. And love is a gift of God. And it comes through the alabaster jar of grace and mercy. 

Daily Lesson for May 17, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Colossians chapter 3 verses 5 through 11:

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. 7These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. 8But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.11In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

Paul is speaking of the character of a person with new life with God in Christ. The person is to strip away his or her old self, and put on someone new. The cruel and course is put away and they become like Christ.

How disappointing it is then when in a so-called Christian nation we favor media stars, opinion-influencers, and political leaders whose rise to fame has been based on all things Christians are supposed to be taking off.  Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language and lying — these are the things we’ve come to not only expect but even demand. While at the same time we’ve turned selfishness and greed into actual virtues! Wow.  We’ve actually come to a point of baptizing decadence.

When someone puts on Christ a kind of moral reformation is supposed to take place. We are no longer to live as we did. We are to no longer live as a selfish and greedy world lives. We are to live as Christ — reshaped into the image of the one who remade us. 

I really think we ought to expect more from ourselves and one another. We ought to demand more. And we ought to quit giving so much oxygen and adulation to those who do nothing but play on our baser instincts, using and abusing the name of Christ but showing nothing of His light or way. 

Daily Lesson for May 16, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 6 verses 43 through 45:

43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; 44for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”

Maya Angelou used to say, “The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.”

The words coming out of the mouth really ought to be enough to tell us what a kind of person it is who is in front of us. Are they cruel, crude, belittling, demeaning, lying, and full of contempt?  That really ought to be enough for us to know who they are. 

But our minds make all kinds of excuses and justifications usually because the other person is handsome, or powerful, or popular, or in our same party, or of our own ideology. So we’re willing to lie to ourselves in order to give them a pass. We’ll sell out all our own personal values to make an excuse for someone else. This is rampant in relationships, business, in politics. We keep disrespecting ourselves in order to stay in a bad relationship. We keep deceiving ourselves into believing grapes will sprout from the bramble bush.  No, thorns come from a bramble bush; and when they cut it hurts. 

Jesus said, “Judge a tree by its fruit.” That should tell us everything we need to know about the tree. And when the tree tells us, we really ought to believe it. 

Daily Lesson for May 15, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 6 verses 37 and 38:

37 ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’

Today’s Lesson is a call to live and treat others with integrity and not expect grace for ourselves while demanding full-letter-of-the-law justice for others. It seems only fair and logical, yet I’m always baffled by how we judge others in ways we would not wish and could not stand to be judged. It’s like we have two different Bibles — one for ourselves with all the grace and love and prodigal returns parts and one for others with clobber texts and eye for an eye penal codes. We throw the book at others, while begging for pardon for ourselves.

Jesus said the measure we give will be the measure we get. It was a call to live honestly, with integrity, and with greater humility and self-awareness. Justice and judgments are necessary in this world. Society could not function without them. But grace and forgiveness are necessary also. And there ought not to be the latter of these for me and my family, class, race, etc. and only the former for others. 

In the end God is the final judge. I wish God to be fair and gracious and too harsh with me; how can I hope for that for myself if I haven’t been the same for others?

Daily Lesson for May 14, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 6 verses 12 through 16:

12 Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God.13And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles:14Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,15and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, 16and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus lived a life of deep and frequent prayer. And at certain times he very intentionally withdrew to be alone with God.  “The Father and I are one,” he told his disciples. Jesus’ oneness with God was due to the deep well of spiritual energy he drew from in prayer. 

So it very much surprises us that with all His deep connection with God Jesus should come back from his mountain of prayer with Judas listed amongst the names of his newly-chosen apostles. And later in the story it will surprise us even more that Jesus will pray so deeply that the cup should pass and he be delivered from his suffering, yet it not happen. 

We learn something very important here about prayer. We pray to God for discernment and direction for our lives. We ask for wisdom in the way to go and the choices to be made. We ask for protection and deliverance from evil. Sometimes — most times — our prayers are answered. But sometimes our requests are not answered, at least not in the ways we would have liked or chosen. They were not even for Jesus. And in these times of seemingly unanswered prayer, we see the ultimate gift of prayer — the gift of the deeply abiding sense that come hell or high water God is with us and we are at one with God and no matter what happens God will give us the strength and courage to pass through. 

Daily Lesson for May 13, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 6 verses 6 through 11:

6 On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. 7The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. 8Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come and stand here.’ He got up and stood there. 9Then Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?’ 10After looking around at all of them, he said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was restored. 11But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Now here is the irony Jesus sees in what is happening with these Pharisees. They say they are protecting the Law by condemning Jesus’ work on the Sabbath. Yet, while Jesus’ work is for health and wholeness and restoration, their work condemnation. They say they are defending the Law when in fact they are the greatest Law breakers. It reminds me of those politicians who speak out against gay rights in defense of the “institution” of marriage, all the while themselves being thrice or more divorced. It’s head scratching. 

The Law is not an end in itself. It was made to protect and give life.  It was made to serve humankind and not make humankind its subservient. 

Jesus saw the Law clearly. He understood its purpose and its limitations. He knew it wasn’t God or greater than God. And, importantly, he knew it wasn’t greater than human beings either. 

Jesus saw the hypocrisy of those who made the Law an instrument of oppression. He called them out for their dishonesty. You cannot honor the Sabbath while at the same time colluding on it to decide what is to be done to someone you say broke it.

But then again, it really wasn’t about honoring the sabbath.  It was about control. It was about power. 

Jesus was a threat to their power. That was the real crime. And something had to be done about it — even if it meant doing it on the sabbath. 

Daily Lesson for May 10, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 2 John verses 1 through 5:

1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, 2because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us for ever:

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

4 I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. 5But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another.

John is concerned about the truth. In just five verses he mentions truth no less than three times. Truth, in John’s mind, is in jeopardy.  John wants to reclaim truth as a virtue of the Christian community.

But John knows that the truth is never far away from love. Truth is relational and social, something, as Bonhoeffer said, distinct from mere facts. For facts can be manipulated and twisted to be anti-social.  Thus the saying, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”  Statistical facts can be used to tear down and destroy; the truth, however, exists to protect and build up. Truth exists in relationship. It is social. It is life-giving. It is the way of Jesus, who is “the way, the truth, and life.”

Truth is at risk now in our country and world. It’s said to be in dispute; but it is not. Facts are in dispute. From which sources we get accurate facts is in dispute. But truth is itself is not in dispute. It is not debatable. Truth is whatever gives life and does not take it, it is whatever blesses and does not curse, it is whatever honors the divine in others and does not denigrate. 

Paul said, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — think about such things.”  We must learn to think on what is noble, what is lovely, and what is loving and learn to live — insist on living — accordingly. For truly, truly, I say to you, the Son of Man came on earth “full of grace and truth” and too should all the children of God come to live also. 

Daily Lesson for May 9, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 1 John chapter 5 verses 14 through 17:

14 And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.15And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. 16If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one—to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. 17All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal.

In the Catholic Church a distinction is made between what is called mortal sin and venial sin. Venial sin is anything which weakens one’s relationship with God. Mortal sin, on the other hand, is that which in and of itself separates one from the grace of God. That does not mean a person is altogether separated from grace.  For they are still the recipients of general grace — the grace or sun and rain for example.  But they are separated from the grace of abiding life with and in God. Only sincere contrition can restore such a one. 

In the Protestant tradition we have tended to speak of all sin as all equally destructive in nature. We have said that even the most heinous crime and the least peccadillo are essentially the same in nature. For this reason Protestants have largely rejected the distinction between mortal and venial sin. 

But I think keeping the distinction is important — and Biblical. All sin, however large or small, is symptomatic of a deeper disorder within us all.  It is a part of the human condition to be inherently sinful — though not, as the Catholics believe, entirely sinful. So all sins are symptomatic of a deeper disease.  Yet, just as with a disease some symptoms are minor and others deadly in and of themselves, so too are some sins more deeply destructive of the human being than others. These are the sins which drive one deep into darkness and shame and the clutches of evil. What actually constitutes such a sin cannot be listed because they may be person specific; but in general these are sins which rob its perpetrator and/or its victim of their personhood. They are mortal sins, meaning they carry death within them — death of spirit and self, death of others, death of community, death of relationship with God and others.

In today’s Lesson John speaks of mortal sin. He speaks in distinction and gradation, though he acknowledges that all sin is “wrongdoing”.  All sin is wrongdoing, but some sin is deadly.  I appreciate the distinction and wish more Protestants knew such a distinction existed in the Bible. On a theological level this means every minor sin is not worthy of penalty of death, and especially not eternal separation from God. For if such were the case how in the world could we live with ourselves day in and day out with all the little minor lies we tell or thoughts we have. And on a practical level, recognizing different kinds of sin opens a way for us to deal more fully and completely and responsibly with sin which is truly destructive in its nature. This seems to be the major point of the distinction in the Lesson.

“Sin is sin!” Yes; but there is certain sin which is so vile and destructive that a simple little prayer and the promise never to do it again will not suffice. That is how abusers are allowed to go on abusing, without the community properly dealing with the perpetrator.

“If  you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one—to those whose sin is not mortal,” John says. John wants us to know that in most situations we are free to encourage and minister unto others that they might know and understand God’s love and grace and not beat themselves up (and down).  When we restore such a one they are restored.

On the other hand, there are certain cases where soul is so sick and the sin so grave that it’s really best that the situation be dealt with by the church in consultation with the leadership of the church, experienced mental health professionals, and quite possibly law enforcement and the criminal justice system. 

Daily Lesson for May 8, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 1 John chapter 5 verses 1 through 4:

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ* has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. 2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4for whatever is born of God conquers the world.

There is a fairy tale I love about a little tailor who went on a journey with all manner of things he sewed into his pockets to help him make the trek. In one part of the fairy tale the tailor comes across a giant who won’t let the tailor pass by without beating him at a feat of strength. The tailor agreed and suggested a rock throwing contest. Elated, the giant bent down pulled up a giant bolder and then hurled it into the air almost as far as the eye could see before it finally came crashing down. The tailor nodded respect at the giant and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a little piece of thread. Then he reached into another pocket and pulled out a dove. Finally he reached down to the ground and picked up a tiny pebble. Then using the thread the tailor tied the tiny pebble to the leg of the dove. Then he let go of the dove. The bird never came back. Neither did the rock. 

If something is meant to fly it will fly. But no matter how hard we heave gravity will eventually bring a boulder crashing back to the earth. 

And the question for us is to decide if the thing we’re trying is being done with our own efforts and energy or if the thing actually has the wings of a dove. 

It’s an important distinction.

Daily Lesson for May 7, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 1 John chapter 4 verses 16 through 18:

16So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

What a tremendous statement. “We have known AND BELIEVE the love God has for us.” For it is truly one thing to know something intellectually, but it is quite another to believe it in our deepest selves. 

John the Apostle wants us not only to know the teaching of God’s love for us, but to actually allow it to permeate our entire way of being. He wants it to revolutionize our whole theological, psychological, and emotional framework. He wants our theology and the theology or our church to no longer be based on fear. For perfect love casts out all fear.

“Believe this Love,” John tells us. “Believe in it when you fall short. Believe in it when you think you aren’t enough. Believe in it when you think more blood must be sacrificed. Believe in it when you say anything to a child about salvation. Believe in it when you say your prayers at night. Believe in it when you say your prayer at death.”

Fear has so deeply permeated our religious thought for so long that it is hard for us to break free from it. It’s somehow in our evolutionary makeup. It’s literally in our genes. We are deeply afraid psychologically that God is out to get us should we stumble or fall. But John says, “God is Love.”  Know this. Know it deeply. Believe it. Know and believe the love God has for us. And then allow that belief to be the building block for all other things. Build your life around it. And if anything else in the world creeps into your mind other than God’s Love then learn AND DARE to flat-out tell it no. 

Daily Lesson for May 6, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 4 verses 20 through 30:

20And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ 23He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.” ’ 24And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. 25But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land;26yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ 28When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

Jesus’ exposition of the Hebrew Bible is fantastic, yet also disruptive. He takes old and familiar stories — the healing of a leprous enemy general and the feeding of a foreign woman — and posed disruptive questions. “Were there not also many lepers and widows among our own people in those days?  Yet the prophets went to the foreigners?  Why?”

The questions are indeed disruptive.  They are unsettling. Now the folk in Jesus’ hometown synagogue call him a “troubler of Israel” just as King Ahab called Elijah. It is not a compliment. 

Jesus is now in trouble. But it’s good trouble. It’s holy trouble. For troubling questions call into question the status quo.  They cause us to see the past, as historian Jon Fea says, not through the lens of nostalgia but actual history. And they expand the borders of our understanding of God’s work in the world. 

When Jesus raised his troubling questions the Scripture says the people were filled with “rage”?  Why? Because suddenly they could now see their own blindness?  They could now see their nation’s indictable history. They could now see that the prophets had passed judgment. They could now see these things; but they didn’t want to look.

We have to think on these things now. What questions about our own history as a nation enrage us? What questions about our own people’s past do we not want to hear or answers do we not want to see?

These are troubling questions indeed. But it’s good and holy trouble. It may be disruptive to the status quo. But the disruption is probably exactly what we need to see ourselves and our history more accurately.

But in order for these things to happen we must welcome the prophet into our own hometown — and that is a mighty daring choice. 

Rachel Held Evans

I wonder if Rachel Held Evans knows now how many of us read and were inspired/encouraged/challenged by her witness week in and week out, year by year. She was truly as close to an ecumenical archbishop as one can be without being ordained. Or was she? A kind of theological Joan of Arc.

Rachel now joins that great cloud of witnesses.  The church at rest, but whose voice is never too far away from the church that is still on the battlefield. May we continue to fight the good fight, drawing inspiration from such a saint as this.

Well done, good and feisty servant. Well done.