Revelation 3:1-6

Revelation 3:1-6New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:

“I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Revelation maybe more than some of the other books in Scripture, is a perfect example of how we can read God's word on multiple levels.  Perhaps no book in the Bible has been more misread or misrepresented, but even those misreadings and misrepresentations I think come from an honest attempt at connecting with this text.  

John of Patmos wrote Revelation to a specific audience - to specific churches, specific people in a specific time.  And yet there is still plenty for us to hear in our churches, among our people and in our time. "Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches."

That you can read scripture on multiple levels does not diminish the power on those pages.  In fact, I'd say quite the opposite.  Even God cannot be fully contained within its pages. That I don't believe that Revelation is a cut and dried picture of our end times, does not mean that I don't believe Revelation is important.  The Spirit, John tells us, is speaking.  

That's always important!

My experience has been that Revelation is best read in a group.  It is best read with others who can help you suss out the imagery and allegory.  It is best read with others who perhaps have some experience with the text, who can help you see God's words of gospel - good news - in the text.

It is best read as a book of faith and confession and hope, not as a book that seeks to condemn.

It's an intimidating book.  One I shied away from for a long time because for a while I thought the Left Behind series had cornered the market on it.

There is good news in Revelation.  The Spirit, John says, is speaking.  Speaking to the churches then and speaking to the churches now.

Our faith helps us to listen!

God of Revelation and hope, help us to listen as your Spirit blows through our lives.  Amen.

Jeremiah 14:13-15

Jeremiah 14:13-15New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Then I said: “Ah, Lord God! Here are the prophets saying to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you true peace in this place.’” And the Lord said to me: The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name though I did not send them, and who say, “Sword and famine shall not come on this land”: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.

Who are our prophets?

Here in Jeremiah, who the prophets definitely were not, were the guys bringing the good news.  Be wary of those promising peace?!?!

In turbulent times it would be nice to think the prophets were the ones bringing good news, but prophets - rather than being good news bringers, or even really bad news bringers - were bringers of truth.

We think perhaps of prophets predicting the future, whereas instead, prophets tell people the news God wants them to hear.  The truth God wants them to hear.

And most often, the news means that God is looking for a change of heart.  For repentance.  For a turning away from sin.

And to us, that often doesn't sound like good news.

Because when push comes to shove, we don't really want to change much do we?  It's scary and even if it isn't scary, it's hard.

So back to the question.  Who are our prophets?  How can we tell if they are from God?

As hindsight is 20/20 it is probably easier to note who was a prophet rather than who is one now.  Martin Luther King, Jr. certainly.

But not all prophets are the headline makers.  Some prophets might be just under our noses.  Who are those in your life that tell you the truth - even if you don't necessarily want to hear it?  I've seen a number of posts from friends on Facebook that sound like they were posted by prophets.  Those telling the truth of what it means for us a people if we don't deal with the racism in our nation.

Those telling us the truth about what happens if we don't take our environment seriously.

Those telling us the truth about how God wants us to care for the alien and the outcast.

Some of those telling us the truth are names that will never go down in history. Not like Jeremiah, or Isaiah, or Elijah.

So how do we know they are a prophet?

We can read what the prophets of Israel and Judah said to God's people.  We can hear the truth echo from down the millennia and see it.  We can hear the words of Jesus and look to the cross to see the lengths God would go to show us how turned around our way of doing things is, and how far God would go to bring us back.

Is there a prophet in your life?  It may seem as if the news they bring isn't good.  The truth often fails to impress as much as good, slick marketing.

But the real truth IS good news.  And sometimes we need a lone voice calling us from the wilderness to get us to pay attention.

God of life and truth, open our ears and our hearts so we can hear your call.  Amen.

Matthew 26:6-13

Matthew 26:6-13New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, “Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”

It is Luke's version of this story that has always been my favorite.  In Luke it is at the home of a Pharisee where Jesus dines, and he uses this woman's action to teach on forgiveness and love.  In Luke also, the woman bathed Jesus' feet with her tears, and the perfume also was for Jesus feet, not his head.  A big difference.

So Matthew's take has always seemed a bit sparse to me.  Here, the focus seems to be more on the cost of the ointment - an issue not raised in this particular story in Luke.  Instead, the disciples bring up the subject of the wastefulness of the woman's action.

And yet, for all the sparsity of his version of events, Matthew hits home a point that is worth looking at.  In these few lines, we have two issues that matter quite a bit in our current faith communities: how we spend our money and how we worship.  How many meetings have you been in where those have been the primary focus?  I'm betting more than a few!

The disciples really aren't so far off from viewing things the way any reputable treasurer we have in place at most churches would.  Waste isn't something most churches have the luxury for.

And this woman also touches a nerve regarding worship.  How she worships Jesus isn't what the disciples are used to.  It doesn't follow the right liturgy or format.  There isn't proper order or flow.

And yet with this woman's actions, the gospel, Jesus says, is told.  This woman, preparing Jesus for the burial to come, has become part of the good news.

For Jesus, through the actions of this woman, how we spend our money and how we worship are led by the gospel.  We are here to spread the good news.  When we ask about money and worship in our committees and our meetings, if the gospel leads the question, the answers may surprise us!

God of generosity and good news, help us to spread your gospel with the same love and abandon as the woman with the alabaster jar.  Amen.

Psalm 147:1

Psalm 147:1 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Praise the Lord!  How good it is to sing praises to our God!

There are several challenges going around Facebook these days.  These things take off like wildfire.  For the most part, I enjoy seeing them, though I'm usually not one to get involved in chain emails or mail or posts or challenges.

The Ice Bucket challenge might be the most famous one, but the one I'm getting some enjoyment out of reading right now is the gratitude challenge.  This is where someone has to post 3 or 4 things that that are grateful for each day.

It's a habit I've taken on myself privately in my prayer life.  While I've always known and believed the importance of it, I've been even more convinced by Lutheran Theological Seminary President David Lose in some of his recent blogs.  He's cited studies that show that it isn't happy people who are grateful.  It is grateful people who are happy.

And these days, when the headlines every day seem so dire, I think it is an especially important challenge to take up.  When I'm inundated with sad and bad news every day, sitting down and taking some time to be grateful is a freeing experience.

And once I've established what I'm grateful for, praises to God seem to flow more easily from my lips.

Not perhaps that it should be that way.  I'm sure God wishes that praise for creation, for God's grace, for love, would come naturally from our lips all the time.

But the truth of the matter is, we live in a world where we are pulled away from praising God constantly.  And a reminder of all the ways in which God deserves our praise might be a journey worth taking for our own spiritual and mental health.

The Psalmist certainly new how good it felt! 

God of grace and love, praise your name forever!  I am grateful for your love!  Help me to remember that gratitude always!  Amen. 

Exodus 19:3-6

Exodus 19:3-6New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

There's a lot in these few verses.  

As I am in the midst of thinking about a memorial service for my grandmother, God bearing the Israelites on eagles' wings is certainly the image that sticks in my head primarily.  The hymn that is a favorite at many funerals is hard not to think of when reading this text.

Also here is yet another reminder of the breadth of God's saving love.  The Israelites are God's treasures possession, and God promises to make them a holy nation.

But the whole earth, God reminds them, is mine.

Being a holy nation, a priestly kingdom doesn't translate to exclusivity of love.  The whole world is mine, says, God.  This is another fair reminder of God's love for the outsider, not simply the insider.

My grandmother had a sometimes challenging relationship with God.  The last time I spoke to her on the phone before her memory began to fade and she didn't know who I was any longer, she confided in me that she wasn't sure God would want her with him.  She hung on at the end out of a kind of fear that she wasn't "in."  Grief and loss in her life had left her unsure and depressed.

I told her then what I knew for certain.  That God loved her.  That was really all I could say that she was ready to hear.

She was God's.  Those who worry and fear are God's.  Those who are depressed and sad and grieving are God's.  Those who are part of a holy nation and those who are not, are God's.

I'm not sure if we will sing "On Eagle's Wings" are her memorial service yet.  But I do know that God's love for her bore her up even when she didn't realize it just as it bears us up when we least expect it and when we need it most.

God of infinite love, bear us up when we just don't think we can stand it anymore.  Bear us up when we fail and fall and when our legs just give out from under us.  Amen.

Romans 12:2

Romans 12:2New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Are you at all like me that when you see the word "perfect" in the Bible you get a little nervous and twitchy?

This verse from Paul isn't quite as hard for me as Jesus saying "Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect," but yet it is still there.  That word facing me when I know full well that I'm far from perfect.

Unfortunately I think that the word "perfect" has lost a lot of its meaning these days when perfection seems to be the unattainable goal that the world has foisted on us.  God's perfect doesn't mean the same thing world's perfect. 

It isn't the "perfect" body we see in fitness magazines or the "perfect" vacation we dream of.  Or the "perfect" wife who cooks, cleans, drives the carpool and still holds down a full-time job and has time to look desirable every day.

It isn't the "perfect" husband who works 80 hours a week to provide his family the perfect living. 

It isn't the "perfect" student who gets into Harvard with a 2400 SAT score.

It's not the "perfect" beauty in Hollywood or on the cover of Glamour.

It's not the "perfect" child who never acts out or the "perfect" parent who never yells.

It's not the "perfect" government or political system.  

It's no wonder we get nervous when we hear God wanting perfection from us.  We are inundated daily with claims for perfection, and experience has told us they are unattainable.  And some of us - perfectionists - know this and still search for that elusive, unattainable goal.

Instead, God's perfection means something else.  And it's something that shouldn't make us nervous or twitchy.

In the Old Testament it means being complete.  Finished.  

Whole.

And for Paul here too, in the Greek, it is having gone through a process.  Metamorphasizing.  Moving toward completion.

Be perfect for God means be "whole."  Be who I created you to be.  Mind, body, soul.  Not free from mistakes, but free from being a slave to your mistakes.

Seek then, Paul is saying, that which transforms.  What is good.  What is whole.

It may still seem elusive to some of us, and each day may end in a kind of disappointment that we yet again missed wholeness that day.

It is a process.  It is the process of new creation.  Begun at our baptisms and worked out by God in the daily dying to our sins and rising to new life.  Again and again and again.

New Creation.  Whole.  Seeking in our live the things that feed that wholeness.

And knowing that sometimes - indeed most of the time - being whole and complete is going to mean being the opposite of the world's idea of perfection.

God of wholeness and truth, I am your creation, made new and perfect every day.  Help me to see the wholeness not just in myself, but in others, and to surrender the idea of conforming to the world's idea of perfection.  Amen.

It's back to college time!

We are getting ready to send our baby girl back to college and so I'm taking the next few days to get my Alex fix!  So will be back early next week...