Daily Lesson for February 28, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verses 3 through 6:

3and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ towards God. 5Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, 6who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Richard Rohr once said that just as Catholics made the word of the Pope infallibly united with God, we Baptists did the same with the Bible. 

The Bible is not equal to God. We have to come to understand that both to better understand the Bible and also to better understand what its many books and voices have to say about God. 

Paul writes in today’s Lesson of a new covenant, written not with ink or chiseled into tablets, but inscribed into the very hearts of God’s people. This is not to say Paul was simply throwing out the Bible.  On the contrary, he was using the Bible (specifically, one of the Books of Moses) to make his case. But he was making it from a point of view of “less to greater”. The chiseled tablets Moses came down the mountain with had their glory.  Yet they were less than the words God desired to inscribe into the very hearts of God’s people by the spirit. If the old covenant came with glory even while in stone, then how much more would the glory of the new covenant have. 

Indeed, the old words came in glory, Moses said, but they also came with death. This is an amazing statement and also a caution against setting the words of a stone or page up to be the same as God. For indeed, they may have been given in glory, but they can end in death. “The letter killeth,” Paul says, “but the Spirit giveth life.”

We see the glory of Scripture. But we do not worship it. For the Spirit gave the Scripture. And the Spirit gave us the Scripture. And the new covenant is a gift of the Spirit, that words of God Be written in all their glory, not on tablets or paper, but in the hearts and minds of God’s people. 

The letter kills; the Spirit gives life. And the glory of God, as Ireneaus said, is a human being fully alive with the Spirit of God. 

Daily Lesson for February 27, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Ruth chapter 2 verses 1 through 10:

Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favour.’ She said to her, ‘Go, my daughter.’ 3So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, ‘The Lord be with you.’ They answered, ‘The Lord bless you.’ 5Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, ‘To whom does this young woman belong?’ 6The servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, ‘She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7She said, “Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.” So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now, without resting even for a moment.’*

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped, and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.’ 10Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, ‘Why have I found favour in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?’

Our second son Bo is named after Boaz in today’s Lesson. I swore I would never have a Bo, partially because the name reminded me of Bo Duke — a good old boy never meaning no harm, but with his General Lee car not necessarily someone Irie and I wanted to name a child after. Nevertheless, in utero it became clear that Boaz would be the baby’s name, and that we would call him Bo.

Boaz means strength. And indeed Bo is strong and so was his namesake. He was strong and we liked that. But more importantly he was good; and we liked that even more. We liked how Boaz treated the vulnerable woman Ruth who worked for him. We liked how he protected and watched over her and did not allow the men he employed to harass her.  We wanted to communicate a message to Bo and his brother and sister that Boaz was an honorable man and that we wanted and expected our boys to grow up to be honorable men. We wanted to tell them how important we thought it was to be strong — not so much in body, but in decency and moral character. We wanted to teach them; and we wanted to begin by teaching them with a name. 

Six years after Bo’s birth, and a year and a half after the beginning of the #metoo movement, we see just how needed morally strong and decent men like Boaz really are.  I am proud of the name Bo. And I’m even more proud of the name Boaz. And I pray our Bo will grow up to be a Boaz. I pray that he will grow up to be strong; and even more I pray that he will grow up to be good. 

And really, I say this in all candor, nothing else really matters. 

Daily Lesson for February 26, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Ruth chapter 1 verses 15 through 18:

15 So [Naomi] said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ 16But Ruth said,

‘Do not press me to leave you

   or to turn back from following you!

Where you go, I will go;

   where you lodge, I will lodge;

your people shall be my people,

   and your God my God. 

17 Where you die, I will die—

   there will I be buried.

May the Lord do thus and so to me,

   and more as well,

if even death parts me from you!’ 

18When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

Today’s Lesson is a dissenting opinion. 

Prominent Biblical scholars now agree the book of Ruth was written sometime amidst the Israelites’ return from Babylon to the Promised Land, where in an effort to cleanse the nation from all impurity the Governor Nehemiah with the priestly blessing of Ezra built a wall around the City of Jerusalem and forced all the men of Israel who had intermarried with other nations to dismiss their wives and abandon their children.

And how many times have we heard Nehemiah preached as a great hero for such patriotic rule?

But Ruth brings a dissenting opinion. 

Ruth tells the story of Israelite Naomi and her Moabite daughter-in-Law Ruth, who after Naomi’s son and Ruth’s husband die, return from Moab to Israel, where Ruth is protected by and later marries Boaz, Naomi’s distant cousin. Boaz and Ruth then have a Son named Obed who has a son named Jesse who has a son named David — yes, THAT David. 

And because this story was apparently written during the time of Nehemiah’s purging, it’s as if the writer of Ruth is saying, “You say dismissing these people is the patriotic and Godly thing to do; but let us not forget that the greatest king this nation ever had was himself a product of a mixed-marriage. Let us not be too set on building the wall of exclusion, lest the ones we exclude be our very own.”

‘Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you!” the Moabite Naomi says in today’s Lesson. “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”

These a words we sometimes hear read at a wedding, and we all nod our heads. But more than a sentimental word, it was actually a subversive one when it was written. And it’s meaning was indeed a dissenting opinion, a minority report, reminding the people that though what the Governor and Priest were doing was very popular, it could also undermine the nation’s own history.

Daily Lesson for February 25, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 5 verses 1 through 11:

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I think today of my friends in the United Methodist Church who are gathering this week in St. Louis in important deliberations about the future of LGBTQ persons in the communion.

I have heard from many of my own LGBTQ friends who tell me how painful it is, not only to be excluded from church, but even to have the merits of their inclusion debated. I pray for the UMC as a whole; and I pray especially for the LGBTQ community within the UMC. 

In today’s Lesson Jesus calls those who are persecuted and reviled “Blessed”.  Another way of saying this might be “Worthy”.  Or even, “Beautiful”.

No matter how this week’s voting turns out, and what the days ahead might look like in the UMC or any other denomination or church, I pray our friends and family in the LGBTQ community might hear these words again and know in their deepest selves that their dignity does not hang in the balance of a ballot or the margins of a majority.

You are already worthy, my friends; you are already blessed. For God has called you blessed. 

And blessed are we too when we finally come to see just how beautiful you truly are. 

Daily February 22, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 1 Timothy chapter 5 verses 19 through 22:

19Never accept any accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest also may stand in fear. 21In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, I warn you to keep these instructions without prejudice, doing nothing on the basis of partiality. 22Do not ordain anyone hastily, and do not participate in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

The Lesson this morning is sobering advice on misconduct in the church, and practical advice for addressing misconduct in other places as well. 

Addressed specifically are the triplet dangers of rushing to judgment, judging with prejudice and partiality, and coverup of patterned behavior. 

I have shared much in the last year on the evil we as a church — most visibly Baptist and Catholic expressions — have tolerated and even abetted. I believe we are under a judgment from God for the things we have done and the things we have left undone in regards to our obligations to protect the most vulnerable. Instead, we so often chose to protect the institution and even the offender.  

In the words of today’s Lesson we have participated in the sins of others. The common word for this is complicity.  And the question we as Baptists might ask is how could a people so supposedly dedicated to the Bible for a guide to faith and practice so grossly fail to follow so important a word as this?

We strain gnats and swallow camels, throw out churches for ordaining women pastors and having gay members while at the same time having no say whatsoever when multiple victims come forward with allegations against prominent denominational leaders and clergy. 

The Lesson calls us to go and read again, study again, study and put this wisdom into practice and also into policy.

Daily Lesson for February 21, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Mark chapter 12 verses 13 through 17:

13 Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. 14And they came and said to him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? 15Should we pay them, or should we not?’ But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, ‘Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.’ 16And they brought one. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ 17Jesus said to them, ‘Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were utterly amazed at him.

“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Now here is a famous Scripture which has been made much of in relation to the principle of Church and State — too much, in fact. For Jesus did not live in a time where religion and state were at all separate and he was not interested enough in political theory and framework to be setting down some kind of principle for governance. 

What Mark’s having included this passage in his account of Jesus’ life was meant to do was to show how sick and colluding a system it was that attempted to use the contentious question of taxation to discredit Jesus. Taxes to the Empire — this was the original wedge issue in 1st century Judea.  And the question was put to Jesus, not because his interlocutors wanted the problem solved, but because they wanted to impugn him with his answer to it. 

Jesus showed his brilliance with his creative and also evasively street smart answer. 

“What do you think about our support of Israel?”

“What about the flag in the sanctuary?”

“What about kneeling at the National Anthem?”

I wonder if we really want the answers — often nuanced and not altogether “Yes” or “No” — or if we just want the soundbites as ammunition in a larger game of gotcha politics and gotcha religion. 

Jesus refused to play the game — and very brilliantly so.

All money belongs to Caesar because it has Caesar’s image; and so too for the same reason do all people belong to God.

All patriotism is about Caesar.  Be very careful when you hear it being made out about God.

Daily Lesson for February 20, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 64 verses 6 through 9:

6 We have all become like one who is unclean,

   and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.

We all fade like a leaf,

   and our iniquities, like the wind, sweep us away. 

7 There is no one who calls on your name,

   or attempts to take hold of you;

for you have hidden your face from us,

   and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 

8 Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;

   we are the clay, and you are our potter;

   we are all the work of your hand. 

9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,

   and do not remember iniquity for ever.

   Now consider, we are all your people.

We are living now in a time of great institutional church indictment. 

As we see story after story of survivors of abuse coming forward, the church can no longer turn a blind eye to its own coverups and its profound failure to protect the young and vulnerable.

For this I believe we live in a time of severe and necessary judgment by God.

As the Prophet Isaiah says from exile in today’s Lesson:

 “We have all become like one who is unclean,

   and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.

We all fade like a leaf,

   and our iniquities, like the wind, sweep us away.”

We have all become like one who is unclean —whether or not we ourselves were directly involved. We as a church have become unclean.  We have become unclean by our commission and omission, complicity and silence, by failing to be our brother’s keeper and our sister’s protector. And regardless of how fair or unfair it might seem to us, we have all become unclean.

The Prophet speaks for his people. He does not make excuses. He does not pass off responsibility. He does not refuse accountability. 

No. He laments. He confesses.  He shows contrition and repentance and the active plea for mercy and commitment to profound change.

He laments.

And perhaps that is what we most need now in the church — people who dare to lament, to wail, and grieve, and sorrow, and dare to look down deep into the darkness that change might truly come to pass and our iniquity not imprison us forever. 

God is the potter and we are the clay. And should the potter decide we need to be broken first before we can be remade then so let it be. For brokenness is path to wholeness and exile the only way home.