Consolation and Blessing

2 Corinthians 1:1-11 (NRSV)

Shared suffering, unshaken hope

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout Achaia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.


Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again, as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. 

Suffering is inevitable.  We often question why, and especially in the midst of suffering, that's a fair question.  But as suffering abates, and strength begins anew, and we look back on our suffering, we often see it with new eyes.  New eyes because in many ways we are a new person.  Suffering can't help but change us.  And with faith, and yes, perseverance and hope, that suffering can change our hearts and make us ready to be there for the next person near us who is suffering.

I'm not a big fan of the "God bless America" slogan for two reasons.  The first is that as Christians, God's blessings shouldn't reign down on only our physical location - God's more global than that.  But more importantly for me is that that slogan is incomplete.

Paul reminds us today that the Father of mercies consoles us in all affliction so that we may then console others.  In the same way, God blesses us not as an end in itself, but so that we in turn may bless others.  Bless our neighbors.  Bless those who are hurting.  Bless those who are hungry for physical food as well as for the Word of God.  And sometimes, bless our enemies.  We are blessed to be a blessing.  God's blessing is meant to go on, not stopped at an end point.

Sometimes that blessing comes after suffering and struggle and tragedy and fear and sorrow have first had their way with us.  Have first done their work and left us vulnerable.  And hopefully in that time, someone has reached out as God's hand to console us and comfort us and help lift us out of the pit.  And then blessed us.  And then sent us on our way to do the same for someone else.  Console and bless.  It's a process that's been happening since time immemorial.  We will need that consolation and blessing more times perhaps in our lives than we would like.  But as we do, hold on to the hope Paul speaks of so that we can then be God's hand of strength for someone else.

Merciful God, you console us in our sorrow, both by your presence and by the people you have put in our lives to help us heal.  You have also blessed us richly and continually renew that blessing to strengthen us to be a consolation and blessing to others.  Send someone today into our lives if we are in pain to comfort us and console us, and then dear Lord, when it is time, send us on our way to do the same for others.  Amen.

Remembering

Matthew 21:28-32 (NRSV)

Faith of tax collectors and prostitutes

"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him. 

I've never like the phrase "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."  Maybe it's because in general I'm a bit scatterbrained.  I'm like an absent minded professor full of great ideas but not always following through, simply because I get lost in the maze of details and just plain forget.  I'd like to think the second son in this category is like this.  Forgetful. Not lazy or ambivalent.

But when the stakes are high, remembering is the gift of life. Jesus came proclaiming a kingdom that was the opposite of the rule that happened under the Roman occupation and under our system as well. Neither of those systems are centered on life.  They are centered instead on competition, politicizing, one-upmanship, hoarding, individualization.  Instead Jesus came to invite us into a new kingdom.  A kingdom where love, companionship, relationship, and caring for the outcasts of the world were all lifted up.  He came to remind us of God's unfathomable adoration of us.  He came to claim us and show us the way.

The prostitutes and tax collectors didn't need too much reminding it seems.  They believed and remembered.  Jesus is still involved in the remembering business, which is very good news.

We remember every time we sing a song of praise.  We remember when we gather around the table to share in our Lord's body and blood.  We remember when we serve in the world those who are forgotten and without.  We remember when we read scriptures and discuss them with our community.  We remember when we gaze upon the Cross.

We remember when we love.

I'm lucky that with all my absentmindedness that I have a God who remembers when I can't.  I have a God who is relentless in reminding and loving and forgiving and strengthening me so that I can remember as well.

Awesome God, you remember every hair on our head and fiber of our being.  You remember us and pursue us even when we forget you.  Forgive our forgetting you.  Forgive our forgetting to cherish our neighbors.  Remind us daily of the great love you bear this world that we can join you in your new way of living. Amen.

Writing on the Wall

Daniel 5:1-12 (NRSV)

A hand writing on the wall

King Belshazzar made a great festival for a thousand of his lords, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.

Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the vessels of gold and silver that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.


Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall of the royal palace, next to the lampstand. The king was watching the hand as it wrote. Then the king's face turned pale, and his thoughts terrified him. His limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners; and the king said to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever can read this writing and tell me its interpretation shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around his neck, and rank third in the kingdom." Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king the interpretation. Then King Belshazzar became greatly terrified and his face turned pale, and his lords were perplexed.

The queen, when she heard the discussion of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall. The queen said, "O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts terrify you or your face grow pale. There is a man in your kingdom who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father he was found to have enlightenment, understanding, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners, because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation." 

This scene reads like something out of a movie - or maybe Game of Thrones!  I always love the big scenes in scripture where one of God's servants is called to interpret a dream of the foreign king.  (Of course it never seems to go well for the king).

Here we also find an origin for the phrase "writing on the wall."  It's a phrase that in our culture usually is attached to bad news.  It's got a bit of a scary element to me - making me a bit thankful that directions from God aren't always so blatant and grand.

The truth is that we often ask God for clear "signs" or directions, but just as often seem to miss the writing on the wall.  We get muddled by all the conflicting forms of communications as well as the other things that steal our attention from God.  I'm not sure about you, but I have  a lot of them: house, family, pets, job, social engagements, smart phone, errands, bills, shopping, etc.  Maybe sometimes it makes us feel safe to have all those distractions that keep us from seeing the writing on the wall.

We don't so much need a Daniel in our lives as we need freedom from those distractions. Time spent with God in prayer - prayer that is a two-way street.  Prayer that seeks understanding.  Our God is a God of relationship: always reaching out and seeking to get our attention.  We might not literally see the writing on the wall, and the signs and directions we ask for might be subtle and gentle rather than big and grandiose.  But if we give ourselves the time spent on this relationship - the very foundation of our existence - we might just be surprised at what we find out.

God of mystery and relationship, you are the author of our being and seek us over and over to be your children and to be with us in life.  Help clear our lives from things that tear us away from you so that we might always my mindful of your love and presence.  Amen

Letting Go

1 Samuel 2:1-10 (NRSV)

Hannah's song

Hannah prayed and said,
"My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in my God.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in my victory.

"There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and on them he has set the world.

"He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness;
for not by might does one prevail.
The Lord! His adversaries shall be shattered;
the Most High will thunder in heaven.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king,
and exalt the power of his anointed." 

The Magnificat of Mary from Luke may be more well known, but it has as its sister song this by Hannah, the mother of Samuel who has been blessed by God, like Mary, with the promise of an unexpected pregnancy.  Hannah has been the barren beloved wife of Elkanah, suffering because of her barrenness.

For Hannah, her pregnancy came after prayer and supplication and promise - the promise to give her son to God as a priest.  For years, especially after I'd had a child, I couldn't imagine pleading with God for a child just to turn that child over to God.

But that's what we do anyway, really, isn't it?  Eventually I realized that as much as I hold fast and love and want to protect my child fiercely, she really belongs to God, not to me.

There's much about stewardship here in Hannah's song.  And it's hard to read perhaps in a culture that is so centered on individualization, the self, and power.  Letting go is something we have to learn, not something that like Hannah, we intrinsically know and feel.  We live in a world where the bows of the mighty seem to prevail; where the rich and powerful sit in the places of honor and where possessions are held tightly, and where the needy move from ash heap to ash heap rather than seeming to be lifted up.

It takes reminding daily that everything is ours - our children included - only through our roles as stewards of God.  It's an uncomfortable reminder.  It's one that Hannah was called to sing praise about as she let go of the son she had yearned for.  God shared with her a bounty beyond her imagining and all she could do was sing praise for that and let go of that bounty so he could in turn serve God.

Generous God:  All we have is yours.  Help us not to "hold tightly and let go lightly" but instead to let go and share with confidence in the knowledge of your promise that you provide us what we need.  Let us also see our children not as extensions of our selves, but instead as your beloved sons and daughters whose care you have entrusted to us, preparing us every step of the way as we set them on their path. Amen

Suffering, Salvation, and Healing

2 Timothy 3:10-15 (NRSV)

The persecution of the godly

Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 

Franklin said that the only thing you can count on are death and taxes.  I would add suffering to that, whether you are "godly" or "wicked."  (Of course, on my best day, I am also both godly and wicked myself.  It's tempting to want to divide folks into one or the other categories, but I wouldn't advise it).

It's probably already come out that I'm not a huge fan of the letters to Timothy.  They are highly contextual, and I don't think the meaning for us today is: "as a Christian you will be persecuted."  At least not in the US.  There are certainly many Christians around the world being persecuted today, but not so much here. Not in the way Paul is referring.  However, as Christians, we will face situations where our faith and the world will be at odds - and we will suffer for it.  Not torture most likely, but suffer nonetheless, whether that suffering be in the form of anxiety, fear, depression, loss of friends, loss of work, or simply just a challenge to our faith.

Faced with the world's ideas of how things are, and knowing Jesus calls us to something else can cause suffering.  There's no way around it.

But each moment of suffering gone through - each challenge to our faith faced and gone through - strengthens us.  In the end, with all of Paul's strident warnings and florid descriptions of life as a Christian, the line from this reading to land on is "salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."

We all suffer.  Sometimes we suffer when our faith is challenged, sometimes we suffer for reasons having nothing to do with our faith.  But we have this wonderful promise that goes with us each step of the way.  Oftentimes the word for salvation in the Hebrew was the same as the word for healing.  So our salvation through faith in Christ is healing balm for our suffering.  That's the something we can cling to throughout all of the suffering that comes our way.

Gentle Jesus:  You are with us always.  Remind us always of your presence in the midst of our suffering so that we can be made aware of the healing balm offered by the gift of faith in you.  Strengthen us when we are challenged in that faith, and walk with us in all moments of pain and uncertainty.  Amen.

  

Ways of Death and Hope

2 Timothy 3:1-9 (NRSV)

Godlessness

You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! For among them are those who make their way into households and captivate silly women, overwhelmed by their sins and swayed by all kinds of desires, who are always being instructed and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth. As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people, of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith, also oppose the truth. But they will not make much progress, because, as in the case of those two men, their folly will become plain to everyone. 

When I read a list like this, I find it easy to - at least momentarily - get discouraged.  That's a big list of negative descriptors and I'd be lying if I didn't own up to at least a few of those from time to time.

It's also discouraging because there are times that, despite what Paul says here, sometimes those adjectives describe a way of life that does seem to still be making progress.  The folly of those ways, at least so far, hasn't become plain to everyone.  We need only read the news each day to see that.

So taken as just this one paragraph, it's hard to remember that this snippet is from a letter that was meant to encourage.

If find when I read a paragraph like this, taken out of its original context, that I allow my eyes to fall naturally on the words or phrases that jump out at me the most.  For me, those lines are "holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power"  and "counterfeit faith."  The reality is that those truths do still exist today. Sometimes they exist in our workplaces.  Sometimes they exist in our homes.  Sometimes they exist in our churches, and sometimes, on my worst days, they exist in me.  

It's easy to point fingers when we read a text like this, but I don't believe that's the way it's meant to be read.  Instead, it calls us to reach for and cling to a honest faith. A faith that lifts up and does not put down.  A faith that is compassionate and forgiving and loving.  A faith that loves neighbor - even those neighbors who display much of these qualities.  A faith that loves and forgives ourselves when we display some of these qualities.

A faith that clings to resurrection hope that these ways of death do not have the final word.

Forgiving God: Forgive us not only for the ways in which we turn away from you, but also for forgetting the hope and love that you promise us in Jesus.  Help us to cling to that promise and forgive each other our trespasses as we pray earnestly that you forgive ours. Amen

Your Will

Luke 22:39-46 (NRSV)

Jesus prays for life 

He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, "Pray that you may not come into the time of trial." Then he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done." Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial." 

Luke is much more gentle on the disciples than Mark is.  Here, the disciples are sleeping because of grief rather than their simply their ongoing inability to do as Jesus asks.  I can identify with them here.  I can think of lots of times that I knew something bad was coming, and all I wanted to do was get into bed and pull the covers over my head and sleep.

Everything about this passage evokes not just strong emotion, but raw desperation and anguish.  It's visceral in its description of Jesus' agony.  In Luke we've followed Jesus in his strength - he always has inner resources that push his mission onward.  But here, those resources seems tapped out. It's an angel who ultimately gives him the support he needs to go on.

"Yet, not my will but yours be done."  We pray that frequently.  There have been those times when in my own grief, those are the only words from the Lord's Prayer that seem to come to me.  I hang onto them and I know part of that reason is that I know Jesus hung onto those words as well.  I trust in that when I find it hard to trust in most anything else.

God's will is something we often use as a cliche when something bad happens.  "Well, it was God's will."  That isn't what's happening here.

Instead, in those moments of pain and grief and sorrow, praying for God's will to be done in my life has been a source of strength.  Not because God wills the pain, but because the pain - the valley of the shadow - must be gone through.  We can't pull the covers over our eyes.  But trusting that God wills for us healing and hope and love can give us the strength we need to face whatever comes next.

Healing, compassionate God:  You are with us.  Help us to remember that in times of sorrow, pain, illness and anguish.  Help us to remember your will for us to have strength in you to face whatever comes ahead.  Amen

Abigail

1 Samuel 25:23-35 (NRSV)

Abigail pleads for life

When Abigail saw David, she hurried and alighted from the donkey, fell before David on her face, bowing to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, "Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. My lord, do not take seriously this ill natured fellow, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.

Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, since the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be like Nabal. And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your servant; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord; and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. If anyone should rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living under the care of the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. When the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel, my lord shall have no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for having shed blood without cause or for having saved himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant."

David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today! Blessed be your good sense, and blessed be you, who have kept me today from bloodguilt and from avenging myself by my own hand! For as surely as the Lord the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there would not have been left to Nabal so much as one male." Then David received from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, "Go up to your house in peace; see, I have heeded your voice, and I have granted your petition." 

Abigail isn't one of the first women of the Bible we tell stories about.  Her name isn't the first we think of.  Eve, Sarah, Miriam, Ruth, Rahab, Hannah, Deliliah, Jezebel, and among David's wives, Bathsheba…those names get more discussion and publicity.

But Abigail is one of my favorites.  In four short paragraphs, counting what we heard about her yesterday, we learn a lot about her.  She's resourceful, putting together in a hurry the gifts for David under her husband's nose.  She's brave: going to the camp of her enemy.  She's funny: playing on Nabal's name. She is peace-loving: trying to stop David from spilling blood not just for her peoples' sake, but also for his own.  And she's prophetic.  She knows God's hand is with David and that David is a man of God's own heart and the man whom God has promised a lasting legacy through.

I am so thankful for those in the church that are like Abigail.  They don't get glory or adulation, but you can see God's work being done through them.  They don't give up.  They keep on even when things seems darkest.  They confront leadership gently and peacefully to urge them onto new courses when needed, or to stay the course when that is the best for the community and mission.  They recognize the humanity of those around them, even when those around them have clay feet.

Mostly though they have faith and a prophetic voice that is still needed.  They trust that it is God's church and we are, with our clay feet and judgment and forgetfulness and procrastination and squabbles, nevertheless part of a work that is bigger than ourselves.  And they are willing to let go of whatever control they think they need in order for God to lead them where they work is taking them.

Loving Lord:  Thank you for the Abigail's of our lives.  Thank you for their faith and discernment and their prophetic voices.  Let their faith inspire us to serve in the places you have called us.  Amen

Hospitality

1 Samuel 25:2-22 (NRSV)

David judges against Nabal

There was a man in Maon, whose property was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was clever and beautiful, but the man was surly and mean; he was a Calebite. David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. Thus you shall salute him: 'Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. I hear that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing, all the time they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your sight; for we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.'"

When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David; and then they waited. But Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are breaking away from their masters. Shall I take my bread and my water and the meat that I have butchered for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?" So David's young men turned away, and came back and told him all this. David said to his men, "Every man strap on his sword!" And every one of them strapped on his sword; David also strapped on his sword; and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he shouted insults at them. Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we never missed anything when we were in the fields, as long as we were with them; they were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. Now therefore know this and consider what you should do; for evil has been decided against our master and against all his house; he is so ill natured that no one can speak to him."

Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys and said to her young men, "Go on ahead of me; I am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. As she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them. Now David had said, "Surely it was in vain that I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; but he has returned me evil for good. God do so to David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him." 

Over and over again in the Hebrew Bible, and later by Jesus in the gospels, judgment often seems to come most swiftly after lack of hospitality.  Hospitality was and is critical for life when one lives as a nomad out in the wild, but it is a word that we have somehow tamed I think in Western culture.  Now it seems often that hospitality is equated with entertaining friends and relatives.  

Opening our home to strangers is just something we don't do.  And while the case can certainly be made for all of the modern security reasons why we don't open our homes to strangers, sadly I think we are missing something critical in our lives by not feeling we are able to live lives of generous sharing that Biblical hospitality calls us to.

I think of all the homes that were opened to me - a stranger - when I visited Tanzania during the times I went there.  Abundant meals shared by people who lived on meager offerings; the best portions of meat; every aspect of the home and farm opened for touring and sharing and sometimes staying the night.

And what those Tanzanian hosts had that I think we in the West don't often get to experience was a fullness of joy in sharing what they had.  The smiles and the brightness in their eyes all belied a love of neighbor that transcended any fear of stranger.  Living lives of generosity does that.  It frees us to love more fully and more deeply than fear or holding on tightly to what we have can.

It's unlikely that many of us will have the opportunity to open our home to a stranger, but there are ways that we can live lives of hospitality and generosity - sharing abundantly what we have with those who are the stranger - the other.  And in that sharing, we might find that joy that transcends as well.

Generous, loving God: You call us daily to lives of radical hospitality, a hospitality that you have modeled generously for us by sharing your son, Jesus with us.  Help us to live out that generosity with friends, neighbors, church, strangers and even those whom we might fear, so that we can experience the life changing gift that true hospitality brings.  Amen

Wrangling with words

2 Timothy 2:14-26 (NRSV) About the Christian life Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. Avoid profane chatter, for it will lead people into more and more impiety, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth by claiming that the resurrection has already taken place. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness." In a large house there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special use, some for ordinary. All who cleanse themselves of the things I have mentioned will become special utensils, dedicated and useful to the owner of the house, ready for every good work. Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.  As the first paragraph of this text reminds us, the letters to Timothy were specific and personal:  Paul giving advice to Timothy. However, there's some good advice here for everyone, isn't there?  How many don't know that wrangling over words does no good?  How many arguments have started as a disagreement over one or two words that were said? Growing up in Texas as I did, when I hear the word "wrangling," I think of the herding of cattle or horses.  I imagine cowboys trying to force the animals all in one direction.  That gives a good insight into what happens when we try to wrangle with words - we are trying to force conversation into one direction - OUR direction - rather than Gods.  Chaos ensues. The reality is that as much as Paul might wish that Timothy's folks weren't quarrelsome, or even that all of the followers of Christ weren't or aren't quarrelsome, we are.  Correcting opponents with gentleness I admit isn't generally my way.   But on those times when I have - when mercy and compassion comes before trying to shame someone into thinking they are wrong, great things can happen.  God gets to work and new things develop and grow. Gracious God:  forgive us when we think that our way is the only way; that our knowledge is the only knowledge that matters; that our words are the only ones that count.  Silence our quarrelsome tongues so that in that silence we can hear your will and see your grace.  Amen

Mar's Hill

Acts 17:22-34 (NRSV)

God has fixed a day of judgment

Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, "Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him -- though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.' Since we are God's offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, "We will hear you again about this." At that point Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. 

This is one of my favorite sections in Acts.  The Aeropagus is right below the Acropolis and was a space where court cases were tried.  The Romans called it "Mar's Hill" (the name some may recognize as the same as the church that Rob Bell started).

Everything about this story reminds me of Jesus' call to the disciples "to go therefore and make disciples of all nations."

But what strikes me the most is how Paul does it.  Paul, the Jew of Jews, as he thought of himself in his previous life, goes to the Athenians and speaks to them in terms they know.  He goes into their religious spaces with reverence, not with condemnation.  He begins his speech with flattery and shows that he has taken seriously their religious convictions.  He uses places and things of their faith life that they know to proclaim the gospel to them in terms they can understand.  Even in terms of the judgment of God, Paul frames it in the assurance of the promise given through Jesus and the resurrection.

A couple weeks ago, when we were in State College, PA visiting our daughter Alex, a religious group had parked on one of the street corners carrying signs tell us all of our sinfulness and God's judgment.  A sight I'm sure many of us have seen.  

At the time, it made me think about how we dialogue with those who have other faiths than our own.  Paul's model of respect seems to not be the one lifted up, at least not publicly.  Even among different Christian groups we tend to hear in the news more about things like certain churches picketing funeral with signs of hate, rather than dialogue of healing and compassion.  But Paul was very public in his respect and slow to condemnation.

It's hard to speak of our faith sometimes to those who believe differently from ourselves. But starting from a place of curiosity and respect can bridge that gap and lead to a richer, more meaningful understanding.

Gracious God:  You love all your children.  Give us the humility to remember that and to seek out those from whom we can gain new understanding.  Remind us always to proclaim your good news with love and respect so that we can build more meaningful relationships.  Amen.

Go

Matthew 10:5-15 (NRSV)

Cure without payment

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 

During my first week of Seminary, during our orientation (called Prologue) we were sent out into the community of Mt. Airy in Philadelphia in small packs.  I was in a group of four.  We weren't sent to heal or cast out demons, but just to be present.  To engage in conversation.  To remind ourselves, and the community, that the Seminary was a part of that community.

It was scary.

So, I have to admit for all those times I think to myself when I read the Gospels, "those disciples…they just don't get it," I honestly have to admire their courage.  Jesus sending pep talk is a bit intimidating and yet it is also one full of trust.

Jesus send the twelve without reservation.  His instructions are clear, and though difficult perhaps in execution, simple in explanation.

And that's the thing.  Sometimes I think we get really wrapped up in doing our ministry the right way, and those ways are often complex and strategized and planned with the resources we think we need.  But everything really in this text hinges for me on this:  "Go and proclaim the good news."

Don't worry so much about the trappings.  Trust that God will provide what we need.  Easier said than done, I know.  But what we've been provided with is a treasure.  It's good to remember that.

Loving Lord:  You provide what we need to go out and make disciples of all nations.  As churches struggle with resources and membership, remind us that it is your good news that is really all we need.  Amen

Grace isn't fair

2 Kings 5:19b-27 (NRSV)

Greed brings leprosy to Gehazi

But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, "My master has let that Aramean Naaman off too lightly by not accepting from him what he offered. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something out of him." So Gehazi went after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he jumped down from the chariot to meet him and said, "Is everything all right?" He replied, "Yes, but my master has sent me to say, 'Two members of a company of prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim; please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.'" Naaman said, "Please accept two talents." He urged him, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them in front of Gehazi. When he came to the citadel, he took the bags from them, and stored them inside; he dismissed the men, and they left.

He went in and stood before his master; and Elisha said to him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" He answered, "Your servant has not gone anywhere at all." But he said to him, "Did I not go with you in spirit when someone left his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to accept money and to accept clothing, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you, and to your descendants forever." So he left his presence leprous, as white as snow. 

And addendum to the addendum to Naaman's story.

We don't like it when folks get off too easy, do we?  Our "innate sense of justice" is offended.

Can we blame Gehazi for being offended at Naaman getting off so lightly?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  I'm not so sure that under the same conditions I wouldn't have looked at this man - an ancient one-percenter with access to the best health care of his day - and wanted to cry foul.  All he had to do was dip in the Jordan river, and that's it?

Of course, Gehazi's sense of justice seems ultimately not about righting a wrong done to his master, but as a means to line his own purse.  Wanting those in power to pay their due is one thing.  Wanting to use their wealth for our own gain is another.

God's justice is different.  God's gift of grace is different, and sometimes, God's grace falls on those who maybe we might not have chosen.

That grace is so bountiful, so overflowing, and so generous, that it spills over places and people we might not think of.  Like the lavish seed scatterer of Jesus' parable, God throws that grace far and wide.  On us, and on our "enemies."  We are called to proclaim that abundant grace, even when we aren't sure we think it's fair.

Grace isn't fair.  It's love.

Generous and loving God: Help us to be partners with you in the spreading of your good news, telling others of your generous, spectacular grace.  And when we think that grace isn't fair, remind us of the love you bear all of your people and invite us to love them just as abundantly.  Amen

Backtracking

2 Kings 5:15-19a (NRSV)

Naaman seeks to repay Elisha

Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant." But he said, "As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing!" He urged him to accept, but he refused. Then Naaman said, "If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god except the Lord. But may the Lord pardon your servant on one count: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I do bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant on this one count." He said to him, "Go in peace." 

This addendum was, I think, better being left off yesterday's Old Testament reading for worship.  It is almost like an unsatisfying additional ending to a movie you thought ended already.  I've left many a movie where I thought "why did they bother with that last five minutes?  They already had the perfect ending"

I liked the ending of Naaman's story yesterday.  He'd found faith in the true God and his pride had been healed along with his leprosy.  Happy ending!

But this…it sounds almost to like Naaman backtracking.  Who wants to read about that?

Well the reality, is, that's kind of what happens, isn't it?

I've had some pretty powerful moments of full charged grace in my life.  Those moments feel often like happy endings.  But the reality is that sin always seeps its way back in.  Bargains form on my lips again with God and I am always reminded that I am still on this journey of faith and am still both saint AND sinner.  Life is continual death to sin and then resurrection.  The cycle of death and new life happens over and over and over.  Sin sweeps in, but Grace continually makes her presence known and shows who's in charge.

I can't be too hard on Naaman.  His faith has been born on that day in the Jordan river.  But as with rivers, he would find many twists and turns along the way as death and resurrection, sin and grace, end and beginning, would lead him down occasional rapids in the ongoing journey of that life of faith. 

That journey is what leads us onward to wholeness as our "old self" continually dies to sin along the way.

Gracious God, we thank you for the patience you bear us throughout our journey of faith.  Forgive us when we stumble.  Be there to pick us back up and set us back on our way with your grace, keeping us ever mindful of your desire for nothing else than for us to be the whole, beloved creatures you intended us to be.  Amen.

Wholeness

2 Timothy 2:1-7 (NRSV) Share in suffering You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier's aim is to please the enlisting officer. And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules. It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all thing I've been reading a lot of Richard Rohr and Brian McLaren lately, as well as just finished reading Nadia Bolz-Weber's memoir, Pastrix.  And while they all might say it differently, what comes always through loud and clear is that there is no path to "salvation" except through suffering and pain.  There is no resurrection without the cross.  There is no wholeness without first going through division.  There is no spring without winter.  You don't fathom the magnificence of the light without experiencing darkness. In the same way that you can't get to a finish line without running the race or reap your crops without the toil that goes into it, you don't ultimately get "saved" without first going through the valley of the shadow.  There's no way around it. This is not, I truly believe, a passage claiming "do the work, get the prize" or work's righteousness.  Instead it is a truth that is much more profound than that.  It is that pain, brokenness, suffering, harsh conditions, and death are true.  They are a reality we can't get around.  But without them, we'd not be able to experience that salvation of grace. This isn't salvation simply meaning "getting to go to heaven."  This is salvation meaning experiencing the fullness of life that only grace can bring.  It means wholeness both now and not yet. Gracious God: When the valley of the shadow comes, you are with me.  Prepare for those times, and walk with me during the valleys, and let me be ever mindful of those who need me to walk with them.  Amen.