Presbyterian Bloggers

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 29, 2012, the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

2012-01-26T00:30:00.000-08:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Deuteronomy18:15-20

v. 15 Who is speaking?

v. 16 Is there any other reference to the people saying this?

v.19 What does it mean to be held accountable by God?

v. 20 What other gods? Do we ever presume to speak in God’s name when God has not commanded us to speak?

Psalm111:1-10

v. 1 Who are the upright?

v. 2 What are the works of the Lord? How does one study them?

v. 6 What is the heritage of the nations?

v. 9 What is meant by “redemption”? What is the difference between “Holy” and “awesome”?

v.10 What is meant by “fear”? What is meant by “wisdom”?

1Corinthians 8:1-13

v.1 When was the last time you were concerned about food offered to an idol? What is meant by knowledge?

v. 2 I think Socrates would have liked this verse?

vs. 4-6 what is Paul really saying about idols, gods and God?

v.7 what is the relation between knowledge and conscience?

vs.7-13 What is more pastoral, to dumb things down, or to set high expectations while helping people meet those expectatons?

Mark1:21-28

v. 21 Who are “they”?

v. 22 When was the last time you were astounded by someone’s teaching?. I’m glad I am not a scribe.

v. 23 How convienant!

v. 24 What is the irony here?

v. 25 What would Jesus rebuke this truth speaking spirit, even if it was an unclean spirit?

v. 27 Indeed, what is this?

v.28 When was the last time you associated the word ”fame” with Jesus?

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 22, 2012, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

2012-01-19T04:29:00.000-08:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Jonah3:1-5, 10

v. 1 What was the “word of the Lord” before the incarnation and how did it come to people?

v. 2 What do you know about Nineveh and what would be a modern equivalent?

v. 3 Three days to walk across? Really? Is this perhaps hyperbole?

v. 4 What is so special about forty?

v. 5 So ritual without real repentance is OK?

v.10 This verse must a Process Theologian’s favorite.

Psalm62:5-12

v. 5 Who or what else might your soul wait in silence? What does it mean to “wait in silence”? What do you know about contemplative prayer?

v. 6 Are rock, salvation and fortress merely poetic synonyms or does each noun offer a unique nuance?

v.7 Are deliverance and honor related?

v. 8 What times might we be tempted not to trust in God? How does one pour bout one’s heart before God?

v. 9 What is the difference between a breath and a delusion?

v. 10 Why would anyone put confidence in extortion? It is OK if riches increase, but if they do, do not set your heart on them. How does this verse counteract the prosperity gospel?

v.11 What is the meaning of “once” and how is it related to “twice.”

vs. 11-12 Is God’s steadfast love the source of God’spower?

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

v.29 What is “the appointed time” being referred to? How does any time grow short? So much for family values. This must be Newt Gingrich’s favorite verse!

v. 30 Let those who buy be as though they had no possessions? That is un-American!

v. 31 What is the present form of the world? How does it pass away? Are Plato and C. S. Lewis any help here?

Mark1:14-20

v. 14 Is “after” a chronos or a kairos reference? What is “the good news of God”?

v. 15 Is the good news of God the news that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near? How does the kingdom of God come near?

vs. 16-17 It sounds like Jesus had a thing for brothers. I wonder why.

vs. 18-20 It sounds like Mark has a thing for “immediately”.

v. 20 Why would Jesus call James and John but not their father or the hired men? I think it is a shame that the father’s name is not given here.

ADDENDUM

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 15, 2012, the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

2012-01-12T00:30:00.000-08:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore. http://summittoshore.blogspot.com/

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

v. 1 What does it mean that “the voice of the Lord was rare in those days”? What does the voice of the Lord sound like? Is the voice of the Lord rare today?

v. 3 What do you know about the spiritual discipline of incubation? Have you ever slept in the sanctuary of a church?

v. 4 Where have we heard “Here I am” before?

v. 7 How can God be calling a person by name if that person does not know God or the word of God has not yet been revealed to that person?

v. 8 Is there any symbolism behind the fact that God called Samuel THREE times?

v. 10 The Lord “stood” there? Physically? Is this a metaphor?

v. 11 What makes your ears tingle?

v. 13 Woe to the parents of pks!

v. 15 How many people do you think might of experienced a spiritual vision but are afraid to talk about it with anyone, even their pastor?

v. 16 Samuel still responds to Eli the same way he responded to God.

v. 19 Whose words, Samuel’s or God’s? How does one earn the trustworthiness of others?

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

v. 1 How does the Lord search us? What does it mean to be known by the Lord?

v. 4 How can God know what we are going to say before we ourselves know?

v. 5 What does it mean to be hemmed in by God?

v. 6 What was inscribed on the Temple at the Oracle of Delphi?

v. 13 What about in-vitro fertilization?

v. 14 Is the Human body, or the human eye, still enough evidence to support an argument for creation from design? What would Darwin say about this verse?

v. 15 Was the psalmist made in the depths of the earth or in his or her mother’s womb?

v. 16 Is this book available for kindle or the nook?

v. 17 How much do thought’s weigh?

v. 18 Do you recall the story of Augustine and sand at a beach?

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

v. 12 I think this might be Ron Paul’s favorite verse.

v. 13 What is the definition of fornication? Did it mean anything different in Paul’s day than it does today? How do we responsibly deal with this verse when many young adults are postponing marriage until they are in their late 20’s or even early 30’s?

vs. 12-18 Of all possible actions that might not be beneficial, why is Paul singling out fornication?

vs. 19-20 I think these verses have been used to speak out against the use of alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, meat, and who knows what else.

John 1:43-51

v. 43 What happened the day before this? Please note: Jesus found Philip. Philip did not find Jesus. I think I will market a new bumper sticker saying “Jesus Found Me”.

v. 45 Who are “we”? Son of Joseph? Why not son of the Virgin Mary?

v.46 Is this a rhetorical question? Is not “come and see” the quintessential invitation? I prefer it to “Are you saved?”

v. 47 How could Jesus know this?

v. 48 I think Psalm 139:16 would have been a better answer.

v.49 And Jesus did not even ask Nathaniel who people said he (Jesus) was!

v. 51 Was this ever fulfilled or is Nathaniel still waiting to see this spectacular thing?

ADDENDUM

Miracles?

2012-01-06T10:38:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about miracles. Can people in an age of science believe in miracles? What are miracles?
I want to offer three ways people might think about miracles ( You are encouraged to expand this list in the 'comments').

1. Miracles don't really happen. This view would contend that events which appear to be unexplainable and thus are attributed to God are simply events which are currently unexplainable. As our knowledge increases, science will be able to explain the 'miracle'. This is a variation of the God of the Gaps argument.

2. Miracles are or will be explainable and consistent with what we know about how nature works. But God is present in a particular way( for example the timing of an event) which makes the event a miracle. God works within natural processes, in particular and unique ways.

3. God sometimes intervenes in supernatural ways. God is the one ultimately in control, not the laws of nature, and so while the laws of nature may normally be operative, that doesn't exclude supernatural actions by God.

These three points are, obviously, the barest of a bare bones discussion about miracles. It seems to me that all three could be correct. Some things we call miracles, aren't. Some miracles occur within the constraints of natural processes. Sometimes God intervenes directly and supernaturally in human activities.

So readers, what do you think?
What are miracles?
Do miracles happen?
How do we know when something is a miracle?

I'm looking forward to reading what you think!

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 8, 2012, the Baptism of the Lord (Year B)

2012-01-05T00:15:00.000-08:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Genesis 1:1-5

v. 1 There are several ways the verb can be translated. Is it “when God created” or “when God began to create” or something else altogether? What difference does it make? Take a close look at the user notes in one or two study Bibles, or better yet, the gleanings and notes in The Torah. Why is thispassage paired with Mark’s account of Jesus’ baptism?

v. 2 What is the Hebrew word for “wind” and how else can the word be translated?

v. 3 What, if any, is the significance of light being the first thing created?

v. 4 What if God saw that the light was not good? How did God separate the lighgt from the darkness?

v. 5 Can there be day without night, or night without day?

vs. 1-5 How does one preach/teach this passage in a post Copernican and post modern world, especially considering there is at least one other Biblical (and different) account of creation?

Psalm 29:1-11

v. 1 Who are the heavenly beings?

v. 2 What is the name of the LORD?

vs. 3-11 How can one teach/preach using storm god imagery while recognizing that storm god imagery is not the only imagery applied to the LORD? Sleeping under a small tarp in the wilderness during a nighttime thunder and lightning storm and hiking on a high wilderness ridge during a daytime thunder and lightning storm has greatly influenced how I read this passage. What are your experiences of storms and how do those experiences influence how you understand this passage?

Acts 19:1-7

v. 1 Who was Apollos? What else do you know about him? Why does Paul mention him?

v. 2 How could someone be a disciple and never have heard about the Holy Spirit.

v. 3 Were these disciples actually baptized by John?

v. 5 Did Paul actually baptize them with water, or simply lay his hands on them? What is the difference between being baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus” and being baptized “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit”? What does it mean to speak in tongues? What does it mean to prophesy?

v. 7 “About” seems to be a relatively general term while “twelve” seems to be very specific and pointvto the twelve tribes of Israel and “the twelve” disciples of Jesus.

Mark 1:4-11

v. 4 I much prefer the descriptive phrase “John the baptizer” rather than the more usual “John the Baptist.” At least Mark agrees with Acts regarding a description of John’s baptism.

v. 5 “All the people of Jerusalem” seems to be hyperbole.

v. 6 Where does this imagery come from and what does it point to? Might locusts refer to something other than bugs?

v. 7 As I have asked in a previous rumination, what is so special about the thing of a sandal?

v. 8 Might this be some literary foreshadowing or reading developments back into the text?

v. 10 What do the heavens being torn apart look like? Is there a difference between the Spirit “descending like a dove” and “descending as a dove”? Did anyone other than Jesus see these things?

v. 11 Did anyone other than Jesus hear this voice?

ADDENDUM

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 8, 2012, the Baptism of the Lord (Year B)

2012-01-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Genesis 1:1-5

v. 2 What is the Hebrew word for “wind” and how else can the word be translated?

v. 3 What, if any, is the significance of light being the first thing created?

v. 4 What if God saw that the light was not good? How did God separate the lighgt from the darkness?

v. 5 Can there be day without night, or night without day?

vs. 1-5 How does one preach/teach this passage in a post Copernican and post modern world, especially considering there is at least one other Biblical (and different) account of creation?

Psalm 29:1-11

v. 1 Who are the heavenly beings?

v. 2 What is the name of the LORD?

Acts 19:1-7

v. 1 Who was Apollos? What else do you know about him? Why does Paul mention him?

v. 2 How could someone be a disciple and never have heard about the Holy Spirit.

v. 3 Were these disciples actually baptized by John?

v. 7 “About” seems to be a relatively general term while “twelve” seems to be very specific and pointvto the twelve tribes of Israel and “the twelve” disciples of Jesus.

Mark 1:4-11

v. 4 I much prefer the descriptive phrase “John the baptizer” rather than the more usual “John the Baptist.” At least Mark agrees with Acts regarding a description of John’s baptism.

v. 5 “All the people of Jerusalem” seems to be hyperbole.

v. 6 Where does this imagery come from and what does it point to? Might locusts refer to something other than bugs?

v. 7 As I have asked in a previous rumination, what is so special about the thing of a sandal?

v. 8 Might this be some literary foreshadowing or reading developments back into the text?

v. 11 Did anyone other than Jesus hear this voice?

ADDENDUM

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, January 1, 2012, the First Sunday after Christmas (Year B)

2011-12-29T05:48:00.000-08:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Isaiah 61:10-62:3

v. 10 How does one’s whole being exult? Most Presbyterians only exult with the mind. I find it interesting that both bridegroom and bride imagery is employed.

v. 11 It seems righteousness must take root and grow and does not materialize out of thin air.

v. 2 What could this new name be?

Psalm 148:1-14

v. 1 Who, or what, is praising from the heavens? Or is it the heavens that are praising.

v. 2 How do you deal with angels?

v. 3 It seems that everything above the earth is praising God. What about everything below the earth?

v. 7 Now sea creatures below the surface of the earth join the choir.

v. 11 Some human voices finally join the chorus.

v.1-14 I think I would interpret this Psalm through an environmentalist’s lens.

Galatians 4:4-7

v. 4 What is”full” time? Is this kairos time or the eschaton? John Shelby Spong used a phrase from this verse as the title of his book about the birth of Jesus. Why would Paul refer to Jesus being born of a woman rather than of the Virgin Mary?

v. 6 What do you think about translating “Abba” as “Daddy”?

vs. 4-7 These verses seem to base adoption as God’s children upon Jesus’ birth. So why did he have to die?

Luke 2:22-40

v. 22 What time was this?

v. 24 Why two turtledoves but no partridge in a pear tree or three French hens?

v. 25 Is there anything special about the name Simeon?

v. 27 What was customary under the law?

v. 32 Gentiles? I think Luke might be the only Gospel that could say this.

v. 40 Luke is long on prose but short on detail.

ADDENDUM

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, December 25, 2011, the Nativity of Jesus Christ (Year B)

2011-12-22T18:45:00.000-08:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Isaiah 62:6-12

v. 7 Being a native of Appalachia, I resonate with this verse. How does the mountain reference resonate with people not familiar with, or who do not have an affinity for, mountains? Why are feet the body part mentioned?

v. 8 who are the sentinels? The sentinels do not talk or yell, they sing.

v.9 How can ruins sing?

v. 10 What does it mean to uncover an arm? Is this anything like the euphemism “to roll up one’s sleeve”? Is this a proof text for universal salvation?

Psalm 98:1-9

v. 1 I am drawing connections with Isaiah 52:8 and 9

v. 2 Why all this arm talk? (see Isaiah 52:10)

v. 3 Must God be able to forget in order to remember?

vs. 4-6 I think these verses call for joyous, hearty singing rather than shallow funeral dirges I usually hear.

vs. 7-9 I am thinking of musicians such as Paul Winter who incorporate animal sounds into their music.

Hebrews 1:1-4

v.1 How long ago? How many and in what various ways?

v. 2 Why the plural “worlds”?

v. 3 What do you make of “reflection” and “imprint”? How are sins purified?

v.4 What name has been inherited?

John 1:1-14

v. 1 Is this an allusion to Genesis 1:1, or something else? What do you know about the role of the logos in Greek Philosophy?

v. 2 Can we cite this verse to argue for the preexistent Christ, or only the preexistent Word?

v.5 How could darkness ever overcome light?

v. 7 Not all witnesses are called to testify, but John is. Who believes through you and your testimony?

v. 10 Another verse which seems to support the preexistent Word.

v.12 What is meant by “power,” how does the Word give it away, and how do people use it to become children of God?

v. 14 If the Word became flesh, then the word existed before becoming flesh.

ADDENDUM

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, December 18, 2011, the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year B)

2011-12-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references may be linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

v. 1 Is this the beginning of institutionalized religion and the placing of buildings over mission?

v.2 David seems to be speaking to Nathan as God might.

v. 4 What carries more authority, the word of the king or the word of the LORD?

v. 6 What seems to be at stake here?

v. 11 Might God better live in community rather than in a building? Note the play on the word "house.”

v. 16 Was this promise fulfilled?

Psalm89:1-4, 19-26

v. 1 How can the Psalmist, or anyone, sing forever and proclaim anything to generations? Is this nothing more than poetic hyperbole?

v.3 Apparently an allusion to the First Reading. Does this verse justify the lectionary pairing this Psalm with the First Reading? This Psalm is actually an alternate. Another possibility is the Magnificat, Luke 1:47-55. I have used the Magnificat the past few cycles and this year am opting to use the Psalm 89.

v. 19 Who is the faithful one?

v. 20 So David is the Son of God?

Romans16:25-27

v. 25 What does Paul mean by “My Gospel?” What is the mystery that has been revealed?

v. 26 What does Paul mean by “prophetic writing?”

Luke1:26-38

v. 26 Sixth month of what? Why Gabriel?

v. 27 How can we read this verse with 21^st century sensibilities without reading our prejudices back into the text?

v. 28 What does Gabriel mean by addressing Mary as “Favored One?”

v. 29 Apparently Mary did not know what Gabriel meant.

v. 31 Note that Mary “will” conceive. She apparently was not yet pregnant.

v. 35 Is there a difference between being proclaimed “Son of God” and actually being the Son of God?

v. 36 Apparently Elizabeth was between the second and third trimester.

v. 37 Could this be the key verse of the passage?

v. 38 Where have we heard “Here am I” before?

ADDENDUM

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, December 11, 2011, the Third Sunday of Advent (Year B)

2011-12-08T00:30:00.000-08:00

Physics and Faith

2011-12-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

One of the things people say about Christianity is that Christians believe odd, impossible things. And well, they’re right. We do.
Virgin birth.
A being who is both God and human.
The existence of miracles.
The resurrection.
That’s just off the top of my head.
If we thought more about it, I’m sure we could add to this list. We Christians believe some odd, impossible things.
And that’s why I find quantum mechanics so comforting. Yes, comforting. Because it is odd and and full of impossible things. Now, quantum mechanics doesn’t prove any of what Christians believe. What quantum physics does is show us the oddness of the world. It is proof that rational, logical thought doesn’t completely explain the universe.
Now some of you are thinking, “Wait a minute, quantum mechanics is based on math which is rational and logical.” And you are right (At least I think you are. The math required to understand quantum mechanics is well beyond my abilities. I believe have to believe physicists when they tell me that quantum mechanics is based and supported by math.)
What I am talking about is the sort of rational, logical processes that allow us to think our way into a subject and understand it. You can’t think your way into quantum mechanics. It is simply too much at odds with the way the world that we know works.
I’m no physicist. but I find quantum physics fascinating.
Light can be both a wave and a particle.
A particle doesn’t exist in a particular location in space and time until it is observed.
We cannot know precisely both the location of a particle and its direction of motion at the same time.
The physical properties of a “thing” don’t exist until they are measured.
In the quantum world, milk can unspill and eggs unbreak.
And of course Schrodinger’s Cat.
That is just odd. Impossible. Not logical. Not rational. And yet it’s true.
To quote British scientist J.B.S.Haldane, “Now my own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.” #
None of this proves Christianity, but it does undercut the argument that science is rational and Christianity isn’t.
We don’t “think” our way into quantum mechanics and we don’t “think” our way into faith. To be sure, we have to think and think hard about both. But thinking alone won’t do the job. At some point we have to do the work required to experience and understand both faith and physics. To truly understand, either quantum mechanics or Christianity, we have to enter into the practices, learn the disciplines of both.
The oddness of the universe makes the oddness of Christianity more believable. Physics doesn’t prove Christianity. But what quantum mechanics and Christianity both want to tell us is that the world isn’t exactly as it seems. It’s much, much more peculiar and much, much more wonderful than it seems.

# When Haldane lived the word “queer” meant odd or peculiar and was not a reference to one’s sexual orientation. Sometimes this quote is attributed to Arthur Eddington.
Here is a link to a video of a conversation between Stephen Colbert (out of character) and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. It’s a bit long, 84 minutes, but well worth your time. It’s funny, smart and informative.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, December 4, 2011, the Second Sunday of Advent (Year B)

2011-12-01T00:30:00.000-08:00

Lectionary Ruminations for for Sunday, November 27, 2011, the First Sunday of Advent (Year B)

2011-11-24T00:30:00.000-08:00

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, November 20, 2011, Christ the King (Reign of Christ) Sunday (Year A)

2011-11-17T00:30:00.000-08:00

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, November 13, 2011, the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-11-10T00:30:00.000-08:00

"God According to God"

2011-11-04T10:01:00.000-07:00

There is no shortage of books on the topic of science and religion, there is much to chose from. One of my goals with these monthly posts is to suggest resources that will further the conversation between science and religion. Many Christians (myself included) don't read much outside our own faith tradition. As a way to begin to remedy that oversight, I want to bring Jewish author Gerald L. Schroeder's book, God According to God: A Scientist Discovers We've Been Wrong About God All Along to your attention. Schroeder is a physicist (he has a Ph.D. in physics and earth science from MIT) and a bible scholar. He has spent much of his professional life searching for and exploring the spiritual and physical unity in the world.

Schroeder's students, like many of us, wonder if God is in control why isn't the world perfect? He suggests that the problem isn't with God, as that question assumes. Rather the problem is with our "stunted perception of the biblical God that we imbibe in our youthful years".

So we grow up retaining this childhood notion of an all-powerful, ever present, ever involved, never erring Creator. Unfortunately, that image fails when as adults we discover that the facts of life are often brutally at odds with this popular, though misguided piece of wisdom.... By abandoning preconceived notions of the Author of creation and replacing them with the Bible's description and nature's display of God- we will learn about God according to God.

I'll confess that I have not finished reading this book, but so far I'm enjoying it immensely. Reading Jewish commentaries on Old Testament texts have always been enriching experiences for me. I am finding the insights of a Jewish scientist on the relationship between science and religion equally enriching. You and I may or may not agree with all of Schroeder's ideas but our thinking about science and scripture and God will be expanded and enhanced by them.

What interfaith or non Christian resources have you found helpful as you think about the relationship between science and religion?

Thanks to the Grand Dialogue Book discussion group for introducing me to this book.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, November 6, 2011, the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-11-03T00:30:00.000-07:00

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, October 30, 2011, the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-10-27T00:30:00.000-07:00

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, October 23, 2011, the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-10-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, October 16, 2011, the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-10-13T00:30:00.000-07:00

The Planet Mercury

2011-10-07T05:40:00.000-07:00

Did you know this?

Mercury travels around the sun every 88 days.
Temperatures on Mercury can reach 800 degrees F during the day and then because the atmosphere is thin (and thus does not retain heat) temperatures can drop to -290 degrees F.
A day on Mercury is 58.646 Earth days or 1407.5 hours.
Mercury is just a bit bigger than our moon.
Messenger, NASA's mission to Mercury was launched August 3, 2004. On March 17, 2011 Messenger began orbiting Mercury. But before that happened the spacecraft did several "flybys" of Mercury, Venus and Earth. This link explains why the "flybys" are needed. Going into orbit around a planet isn't easy, this link explains how Messenger did it and stays there.

If you want to see Mercury for yourself, this link will tell you where to look.

The NASA Messenger site has all sorts of information. You'll be amazed at what there is to learn about Mercury.

Sometimes it's just good to ponder how big the universe is, and how little any of us knows about it.

Psalm 148

¹ Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

praise him in the heights!

² Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!

³ Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!

⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!

⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.

⁶ He established them for ever and ever; he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.^*

⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,

⁸ fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!

⁹ Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!

¹⁰ Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹ Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!

¹² Young men and women alike, old and young together!

¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted;

his glory is above earth and heaven.

¹⁴ He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful,

for the people of Israel who are close to him.

Praise the Lord!

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, October 9, 2011, the Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-10-06T00:30:00.000-07:00

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, October 2, 2011, the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-09-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

v. 1 What might it mean that what follows are referred to as “words”? Why does he Revised Common Lectionary skip over some of these words?

v. 2 Why, in the NRSV and many other translations, does “LORD” appear in all uppercase letters?

v. 3 What about other gods “after” the LORD?

v. 4 What about imaginative or imaginary forms? Does Plato’s theory of forms have anything to say here? What about Anselm’s ontological argument? How do we make idols today? How do Moslems avoid making idols?

v. 7 What about making a rightful use?

v. 8 I think Seventh Day Adventists have a right to boast about this one. How do you remember the Sabbath and keep it holy?

v. 12 This one comes with a promise—or is it a reward?

v. 13 What is murder? We seem to have wordsmithed this one to death!

v. 14 What does this commandment have to do with premarital sex?

v. 15 Unless the thief is already rich and has the government behind them?

v. 16 What about bearing false witness against people who are not your neighbor? Does Jesus have anything to add here?

v. 17 Why does “house” appear before “wife”? What about anything that belongs to someone other than your neighbor?

vs. 18-20 What do these verses add to what precedes them? Early in my ministry, I discovered Jan Milic Lochman’s Signposts to Freedom: The Ten Commandments and Christian Ethics and I highly recommend it as a thoughtful interpretation of the Ten Commandments.

Psalm 19:1-14
vs. 1-6 Do we have to buy into a pre-Copernican three-tiered universe in order to read this as God’s word?

vs. 7-9 Were you aware there are so many synonyms for “law”?

v. 10 Since when is the law, any law, more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey?

v. 14 This verse is often quoted/prayed by preachers before they preach a sermon, and I think wrongly so. A Prayer for Illumination prior to the reading of Scripture is sufficientforboth the readingof the word and the preaching of the word.

Philippians 3:4b-14
v. 4b Is there a pun at work here?

v.7 What gains might Paul have had?

v. 10 How will Paul become like Christ in his death?

vs. 12-14 What is the metaphor Paul is employing?

Matthew 21:33-46
v. 33 If this is a parable, is it wrong to equate God with the land owner? If so, who might be the tenants?

v. 34 and likewise, who might the slaves be?

v. 37 A son, but not necessarily an only son.

v.42 Where might we read this in scripture?

v. 43 Is this parable a “kingdom parable”?

v. 45 If verse 45 is true, what, then, is the irony of verse 46?

ADDENDUM
In addition to serving as the half time Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, September 25, 2011, the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-09-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, September 18, 2011, the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-09-15T00:30:00.000-07:00

Memories and Dreams - A Sermon Ten Years Aftter 9-11

2011-09-11T04:33:00.000-07:00

Memories and Dreams

A Sermon by the Reverend John Edward Harris, D. Min.

Preached at the Whitestone Community Service of Prayer

In Remembrance of the Events of September 11, 2001

St. Luke Roman Catholic Church, Whitestone, NY

September 10, 2011

When the topic of the terrorist attacks of ten years ago comes up in conversation, as it has so often of late, what is one of the first questions we are likely to ask or to be asked? “Where were you when you first learned of the attacks?”

I was living in West Virginia, having started a new pastorate just the week before. As I was driving to the hospital to visit a member, I was listening to NPR, when an announcer broke in to regular programming to say that a plane had reportedly crashed into one of World Trade Towers, but that details were sketchy. A little later, as I was visiting the member and his wife in his hospital room, we were watching the coverage of the events on the television in his room when the second plane hit the tower. At least that is the way I remember it now ten years later.

Nearly two weeks later, I wrote in my journal for the first time after the attacks. Here is an excerpt from what I wrote. Please keep in mind that the chronology might be a little off because I was writing from memory.

“Tuesday, September 11, is a day that will live long in my memory and in the memory of all Americans. Around 9:00 AM, a 747 or 757, hijacked out of Boston, flew into one of the Twin World Trade Towers. Less than 15 minutes later, another hijacked airliner crashed into the second tower, a crash watched my millions, if not during the live coverage of the first crash, then on taped replay. Within the hour, a third hijacked airliner, out of Dulles, crashed into the Pentagon. And a fourth jetliner, hijacked out of Newark, crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew tried to retake the plane from the hijackers. Its intended target may have been Camp David, or the White House or Capitol.

Within an hour or two after being crashed into by the two planes, both Twin Towers collapsed in upon themselves to the ground. Two weeks later, debris is still being removed and any hope of finding survivors is nil. In total, over 5,000 people were killed or are missing from the result of the terrorist attacks.

The attacks are being linked to Saudi Arabian Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorist Osama Bin Laden, believed to be hiding out somewhere in Afghanistan.

President Bush has declared war on Terrorism and American Forces are being deployed to the Persian Gulf and Middle East for an expected retaliatory strike against terrorist camps and bases, an assault that will undoubtedly involve US ground troops and some US causalities.”

Ten years ago, we began a new chapter in America’s history. We are still looking back, still remembering, still asking questions, still wandering what it all means. The end of this chapter in America’s history has yet to be written, however. American troops are still in Afghanistan and still in Iraq in what is now the longest war in American history. As we live and breathe, and remember those who died on September 11, 2001, you and I, along with Government workers from the President of the United States to the Army Private serving in Afghanistan, along with Captains of Industry to the construction worker laboring to rebuild the World Trade Center, along with Bishops and Moderators and Church leaders to the average worshiper in the Synagogue, Church and Mosque, are still living in aftermath of 9-11 and wondering how to move forward, how to bring this chapter to an end.

This evening, in a small part of the great city of New York known as Whitestone, Protestants and Roman Catholics have broken down historical barriers that have divided us centuries and have come together to remember and pray for peace. We have gathered not just to look back and remember, but also to look forward and dream as we pray.

Yes, as Christians we do look back; back to God’s good creation broken by sin, back to God’s promises to Noah and to Abraham and Sarah, and back to the birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. We also look forward, however. Along with Isaiah, Joel, and Micah, we look forward to beating swords in plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. Along with John on the Island of Patmos we dream of a new heaven and a new earth. We dream of the holy city, not New York but the new Jerusalem, and in that city God will wipe away every tear. Death will be no more. Mourning, crying, and pain will have ended. In the midst of the city will be the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. On either side of the river will be the tree of life. The leaves of the tree will for the healing of the nations.

As disciples of the Prince of Peace, we must not only dream of peace, and pray for peace, but be peacemakers, asking for and offering forgiveness, seeking and working for reconciliation not only between Roman Catholics and Protestants, but also among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, indeed, among peace loving people of all faiths, and even no faith.

We who lived through the events of September 11, 2001 can never forget the events of ten years ago tomorrow, nor fail to remember the people who lost their lives that day and the days soon after. However, let us dwell not on what once was but on what shall be, looking not to the past but to the future, a future that for Christians is filled with hope and the promise of peace. Let us not ask one another “Where were you and what where you doing ten years ago tomorrow?” Rather, let us ask one another “Where do you want to be and what do you want to be doing ten years from tomorrow?”

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, September 11, 2011, the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-09-08T00:30:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Exodus 14:19-31
v. 19 Are the “angel of God” and the “pillar of cloud” one and the same; or, are they different manifestations of the same reality?

v. 20 What is the meaning of “army”? How could fleeing slaves have an army in the military sense of the word? How could the cloud light up the night? What did not come near the other?

v. 21 How might we variously understand the action of Moses stretching his hand over the sea? What, if any, is the significance of the wind? Might the causeway at Lindisfarne, off the eastern coast of England, in any way help us envision how God might have been working here?

v. 22 How might we variously understand “wall”?

v. 24 Why did the Egyptian army panic?

v. 25 Why did Captain Kirk, in a damaged Enterprise, enter the Nebula when Kahn, in a perfectly functioning starship, sought to engage him in battle?

v. 26 What is it about the hand off Moses?

v. 27 When did the water’s part and when did the water’s return? How might we variously understand “tossed”?

v. 28 Does this verse conflict with the one before it?

v. 30 If it was the LORD that saved Israel, why did Israel “fear” the LORD and believe in Moses as well as in the LORD?

Psalm 114:1-8
v. 1 When did Israel go out from Egypt?

v. 2 Is the reference to “Judah” a reference to a, to a people, or both?

v. 3 Does this verse conflate two events?

v. 4 How do mountains and hills “skip”?

vs. 5-6 Why are bodies of waters being compared, or poetically paired, to mountains and hills?

v. 7 Is this a reference to the God of the earthquake?

v. 8 When did God turn rock into a pool of water and flint into a spring of water?

Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21
v. 1b Yes, there are other psalms, or songs, in the Bible, other than in the Book of Psalms. Who first sang this one? This is an alternative to Psalm 114. Which of the two, if either, will you use, and why? How are they different and how are they similar?

v. 3 Must we maintain this militaristic image of God, especially on a day such as 9-11-11?

v. 6 What is the significance of the LORD’s ”right hand”?

v. 8 God has nostrils? The parting of the waters was the result of God sneezing?

v. 11 And the answer to the questions asked in this verse is . . .

v. 20 Miriam was a prophet? Why is she identified as Aaron’s sister rather than as the sister of both Aaron and Moses? When was the last time you heard a tambourine played in a service of worship?

Romans 14:1-12
v. 1 What does it mean to be “weak in faith”?

v. 2 This verse sounds shockingly timely.

v. 4 “Servants of another”? Who is Paul talking about? “Their” own lord? How many “lords” are there?

v. 5 Is Paul talking about the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day (Saturday and Sunday), or what?

v. 6 Do you know the meaning of the word “adiaphora”, especially as Calvin used it?

vs. 7-9 These verses are often used as part of the funeral liturgy. What do they have to do, however, with what precedes or follows?

v. 11 Where is this written?

Matthew 18:21-35
v. 21 Why might the word “church” seem out of place here? How might we account for it being used here? Is there anything special about the number “seven” in this context?

v. 22 Is there anything special about “seventy-seven”? Are there parallels to this passage in the other Gospels, and if so, how do they agree and disagree?

vs. 23-35 Does this qualify as a “Kingdom Parable”?

v. 35 Is this a threat? Does this verse suggest that forgiveness, even salvation, is revocable?

ADDENDUM
Asking the obvious, how do any of these Readings help us preach, and/or teach, ten years to the day, of the tragic events of 9-11-2001? Are you dumping the lectionary for other readings?

In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check out my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Why?

2011-09-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder why things are the way they are. Today I want to ask your thoughts on a particular question to see if you can help me understand. Why has it become so important that Genesis chapters one and two be interpreted literally? Why those particular chapters? This is not a science and religion question. This is a Bible interpretation question.

Many of us who take the Bible seriously believe that if our lived experience conflicts with what we believe a particular Biblical text says, we need to re-evaluate our interpretation of that text. It seems intuitively clear to us that there should be some congruity between the “real world” and what we believe God is communicating to us through the Bible. Of course sometimes the point of contact is that our ways and God’s way are quite different- but even then what is said about the human condition rings true to our experience.

Let me give you a couple of examples. A plain, literal reading of Mark 11:24 and Matt 18:19 suggests that if we and a couple of others, seriously, thoughtfully ask God for something or ask God to do something that those prayers will be answered. Now, I don’t know about you, but my experience is not that simple- I ask, God gives. It just doesn’t happen all that often to me or to anyone I know.

Now some of you are already forming a response to my example by thinking of an alternative understanding text. You might be thinking ,the plain reading of the text says this but it can also be read to mean something somewhat different, something more complex, more nuanced. And that is my point. When my experience of prayer doesn’t match what I think the Bible says, I re-evaluate my interpretation. I don’t assume my experience is false. I don’t assume the Bible is bunk. I assume my interpretation is flawed and needs to be rethought.

Here’s another example. In Matthew 10:34, Jesus says “Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” This statement is not in harmony with other things Jesus says. Such as blessed are the peacemakers. Love your enemies. And so on. Our experience of Jesus in the rest of the gospel doesn’t match with the plain, literal meaning of this text. So we have to think again about what Jesus might mean in Matt 10:34.

If you have spent much time in Bible study, it’s very common for someone at the end of the session to say something like, “I’ve read that story a hundred times. I always thought it was about A and today because of our discussion, it seems to be about B. I have never thought about it from this perspective before.” Someone thought they understood the meaning of a text and as a result of discussion and hearing other people’s experiences and their own experience, a new understanding emerges for them.

We change what we think various texts mean fairly often based on how our experiences and the text interact.

So here’s the question. Why are some of us so opposed to reinterpreting Genesis one and two? If a plain reading of the text doesn’t match with experience, in this case evolutionary biology and cosmology, why wouldn’t it be appropriate to adjust our interpretation of it? Changing our interpretation does not mean we do not take the Bible seriously. It does mean we don’t take our interpretation so seriously. We allow for interpretive mistakes, we allow for growth in understanding, we allow for nuance and complexity. Perhaps we even allow ourselves to say we don’t fully understand.

So here again is my question. Why, for some of us, are the first chapters of Genesis exempt from any re interpretation that moves away from a plain literal reading?

I’d like to know, what do you think?

Cross posted at Conversation in Faith

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, September 4, 2011, the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-09-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

Shaking Out the Welcome Mat

2011-08-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hello, all, I know it's been a long time!

I've been a little busy with the new baby, children home from school for summer vacation, travel, etc. But I have been checking in with the blog and noticed that it has been a long time since I've gotten a RingSurf request.

I decided to do a manual check, and . . . RingSurf is locked up. I can't seem to log in using our usual user name and password and the "reset password" button doesn't seem to be working, either. So we don't currently have access to the ring.

On the positive side, many of us use the blog roll more often than the web ring, anyway. So if you'd like your blog linked from here, please email PCUSAblog at gmail dotcom and send us your URL as well as a brief description of your blog. I'll add your link and welcome you here on a Monday morning.

Now on to introductions!

I'd like to introduce our newest member, Herb Swanson, who blogs at Rom Phra Khun: A Pastor's Blog.

"My name is Herb Swanson. I am the pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Lowville, NY. Rom Phra Khun is my personal blog although FPC's website links to it. The church is, of course, in no way responsible for these contents.

Rom Phra Khun is Thai. It means, literally, “in the shade of goodness/blessing” and is used in the Thai Bible to translate “grace,” as in the grace of God. It is a beautiful metaphor for that grace rooted in a semi-tropical environment where shade is a blessing. To stand in the shade of God’s grace is to stand in a cool, sheltered, and safe place. It echoes the 25 years that my wife, Warunee ("Runee"), family, and I spent in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Rom Phra Khun is meant to be a mindful, reflective playground—serious & not so serious all at one time. So, whether you come once or often, peace & blessings on the journey, Herb"

Welcome, Rev. Swanson!

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, August 28, 2011, the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-08-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Exodus 3:1-15
v. 1 The Moses saga continues with last week’s infant Moses now a married grown man. What other great figures from the Jewish Scriptures spent their early life as shepherd? Is the fact that Moses’ father-in-law was a priest a foreshadowing of Moses future role? Why would Moses lead his flock beyond the wilderness where there be dragons or deities? Did Moses know he was near Horeb, the mountain of God, or is this description hindsight?

v. 2 Note that in the NRSV it is “the”, not “an” angel of the LORD. Why do we usually refer to this as “the burning bush” rather than “the bush that was not consumed”?

v. 3 Turn aside? Where had Moses been looking before he looked at the bush.

v. 4 How often in the Jewish Scriptures does God call a person’s name twice? How many people in the Jewish Scriptures, and who, respond to God “Here I am.”

v. 5 Why do some people remove their shoes and socks when standing on holy ground? Why do Christians not worship barefooted?

v. 6 Who was Moses’ father? Abraham? Isaac? Jacob? Someone else? Why are only the men mentioned? Can we be faithful to Scripture and include Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel as well as Zilpah and Bilha? Why was Moses afraid to look at God?

v. 7 What took God so long to respond? How does God “know” their suffering?

v. 8 Where has God come down from and why did God need to come down at all? What is a land flowing with milk and honey like?

v. 10 So, God comes down (v. 7), but sends Moses!

v. 11 A perfectly good question.

v. 12 It sounds like the confirmation will be after the fact? It is like me telling you that you are a excellent Biblical scholar and you asking me how you can be sure that you are an excellent Biblical Scholar and me answering that you will know you are an excellent Biblical Scholar when you post a comment to this blog.

v. 13 Why does Moses refer to “your ancestors” rather than “our ancestors”? Why is knowing God’s name so important?

v. 14 “I AM WHO I AM”? Why, in NRSV, does this appear all in upper case letters?

v. 15 So, exactly what, is God’s name and title? Is God’s name and title the same?

Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c
v. 1 Why, in the NRSV, does “LORD” appear all in uppercase? What is God’s name? What are God’s deeds?

v. 2 This is beginning to read like a couplet.

v. 4 How does one seek God’s presence?

vs. 23-26 Is this merely a retelling of salvation history, or something more going on here?

v. 45c A budding psalmist can never go wrong ending a psalm this way.

Romans 12:9-21
v. 9 How can love not be genuine? Is “hating evil” the opposite of “holding fast to what is good”?

v. 14 What does Paul mean by “bless”and”curse”?

v. 16 What if we extended the admonition to “live in harmony with one another” to extend to other species? I think Socrates would have liked this verse.

v. 18 And what if by “all” we meant all living creation, not just other humans?

v. 19 What is the “wrath of God”? While Paul advises us to not avenge ourselves, what about state sanctioned punishment for crime? How many times is “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” quoted out of context and misapplied?

v. 20 Since when is food and water the same as burning coals? Is this good statecraft and foreign policy? What would H. Richard Niebuhr say about this?

v. 21 Paul is sounding like Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Or maybe King and Gandhi learned their non-violent civil resistance from Paul! Or Jesus?

Matthew 16:21-28
v. 21 From what time on?

v. 22 Why did Peter take Jesus aside? Why did Peter rebuke Jesus?

v. 23 Did Jesus just refer to Peter as Satan? What is the pun in referring to Peter as a stumbling block? What is the human thing Peter was setting his mind on? What was the divine thing Jesus wanted Peter to set his mind on?

v. 24 What does it mean to “deny” oneself? Is there a difference between taking up Jesus’ cross versus taking up our own cross?

v. 25 What is the meaning of this? Is this a paradox?

v. 27 Who is “the Son of Man”? Why this shift from moral admonition to apocalyptic language?

v. 28 How shall we interpret this passage nearly two centuries after the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ? What does it mean to “see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”? Can we read this as a reference to the Christian Pentecost of Acts rather than a second coming of Christ?

ADDENDUM
Many Christians along the east coast of the United States may be reading and hearing these passages following, or anticipating, the affects of hurricane Irene. Is there anything in any of these Readings to address this situation?

In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, August 21, 2011, the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-08-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, August 14, 2011, the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-08-11T00:30:00.000-07:00

A Leap of Truth

2011-08-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

When I began writing this monthly post, I promised to, from time to time, share helpful resources with you. And so…

The folks at Biologos are featuring short video clips from the forthcoming documentary “A Leap of Truth”. These short 5-6 minute clips are designed for use in small groups or high school and adult education classes. Here is the link to the first one, “Evolutionary Creation”. Subsequent video clips (to date) are “The Book of Genesis”, “The Fall”, “Paul’s Adam”, and “Framing the Debate”.

And just for completeness sake, here is a link to the trailer. It doesn’t appear that the documentary has been released yet. And of course these clips on the Biologos site are great marketing. Never the less, these clips are well done, and feature well know participants in the science and religion dialogue.

That’s all I have to say this month- short and to the point. I would prefer you spent some time watching these clips. Then come on back, and tell us what you think and how you might use them in your church or ministry.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, August 7, 2011, the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-08-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
v. 1 What about Jacob’s grandfather? Were not both his father and grandfather aliens?

v. 2 The beginning of the Joseph narrative. Is there anything significant about Joseph being seventeen years old? Why are Bilhah and Zilpah referred to a “His father’s wives”?

v. 3 Note in verse 1 that Joseph’s father is referred to as “Jacob” but in this verse he is referred to a “Israel”. This is beginning to read like the story of yet another dysfunctional family.

v. 13 What usually happens when people respond “Here I am”?

v. 15 Do you think this was an ordinary “man”?

v. 18 Note: Play ominous music here!

v. 19 Why do his brothers refer to Joseph as “this dreamer”?

v. 20 A conspiracy is hatched.

v. 21 What might have been Reuben’s motive for saving his brother?

v. 24 Why is this important information?

v. 25 Who are “Ishmaelites” and is their presence her at allsignificant?

vs. 26-27 Might as well make some money from our bother’s demise!

v. 28 Who drew Joseph up out of the pit, his brother’s or the Midianite traders? What is the difference between Midianites and Ishmaelites? I recommend you read up on both.

Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b
v. 1 In the NRSV, “LORD” is ”all upper case. Thereefore, what would be the “name” to call on? What are the LORD’s deeds?

v. 2 Are Hymns in worship sung “about” God or “to” God?

v. 4 How can we continuously seek God’s presence?

v. 5 So both “miracles” and “judgements” are among God’s deeds?

v. 6 Why is Isaac omitted?

v. 17 Now we learn why this psalm is paired with the First Reading.

Romans 10:5-15
v.5 From what does Paul quote?

vs.6-7 Is Paul quoting or composing?

v.9 So public confession as well as an interior faith are essential?

v. 10 What us the relationship between justification and salvation?

v. 11 What is being quoted?

vs. 14-15 The old “Can someone who has never heard of Christ be saved?” question?

v. 15 So all candidates for the ministry of proclamation should have their feet examined? It is no wonder Paul was once confused with Hermes.

Matthew 14:22-33
v. 22 I am always surprised when read “Immediately” in a Gospel other than According to Mark. Why might Jesus have sent the disciples off without him?

vs. 23-25 A “Summit to Shore” narrative! Thanks, Matt.

v. 23 Yes, this is why some of us go to the Mountains, not because they are there, but to find peace and solitude.

v. 24 meanwhile, back on the boat . . .

v. 25 So the disciples spent the entire night on a boat battered about by winds on the open water?

v. 26 Exactly what were the disciples afraid of?

v. 17 Another “immediately”. Is this the heart of the passage?

v.25 If? Peter did not know or was not sure? Why did Peter need to be commanded?

v. 31 Jesus should have remembered “Throw, Row, Tow, Then Go!” Was Peter’s faith really “little” None of the other disciples set out to walk on the water. What was it Peter doubted?

v. 32 Why might the wind have ceased when Jesus and Peter got into the boat?

v. 33 What convinced these disciples that Jesus was the Son of God, that he walked on water? That he “saved” Peter? That the wind stopped when Jesus and Peter climbed into the boat?

ADDENDUM
In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links. Beginning August 8, 2011, I will begin working three hours a day, five days a week, also teaching a GED preparation class to young adults. How the increased workload will affect my writing Lectionary Ruminations remains to be seen.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, July 31, 2011, the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-07-28T00:30:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore. http://summittoshore.blogspot.com/

Genesis 32:22-31
v. 22 Much has transpired with Jacob since last week’s Reading. How can we help people keep up and catch up between lectio-continua Lectionary Readings when so much transpires between Readings? Is there any significance to the fact that we all told it was night?

vs. 22-24 Why would Jacob send everyone else, along with his possessions, across the Jabbok, but stay behind and alone?

v. 24. Who,or what, might this “man” be?

v. 25 Is this the first Biblical documentation of a sports injury?

v. 26 What might be the significance of daybreak? What sort of blessing might Jacob be asking for?

v. 27 Why might the “man” want to know Jacob’s name. Is it all surprising that Jacob divulges his name?

v. 28 What is going on here? How can this “man” change Jacob’s name? What does it mean that Jacob has “striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.”?

v. 29 Why might Jacob want to know the “man’s” name and why does the “man” not divulge it?

v. 30 I thought Jacob was wrestling with a “man”. Was this “man” God?

v. 31 Did the preceding events occur in normal time and space or in a dream/vision? As Dumbeldore says to Harry Potter in the most recent Harry Potter Movie, “Just because something takes place in your head doe not men it is not real”. I cannot help but read this account from a Jungian perspective, reading this as a mythopoeic account meant to explain more than we might know about Jacob and his descendants’ special place in salvation history.

Psalm 17:1-7, 15
v. 1 This Psalmist sounds like a lawyer. Lips free of deceit? Really?

v. 3 Does the “if you visit me by night” phrase justify pairing this Psalm with the First reading?

v. 6 This reads like a call to prayer.

v. 15 When I awake? Another reason to pair this Psalm with the First Reading. This Psalm, paired with the First Reading, could easily provide the textual basis for a sermon on Biblical dreams and the spiritual discipline of keeping a dream journal and interpreting one’s dreams.

Romans 9:1-5
v. 1 I think thou doth protest too much? Who would have accused Paul of lying?

v. 2 Why such strong emotional language?

v.3 Could there be a pun in this passage?

vs. 4-5 What a list! Adoption, glory, covenants, giving of the law, worship, promises, patriarchs, Messiah.

Matthew 14:13-21
v. 13 Hear what? What can we learn from Jesus withdrawing in a boat to a deserted place? Excuse me while I either go kayaking or sailing in Jamaica Bay, NY. Note that “crowds” and “towns” are both plural.

v. 14 Does Christ like compassion always lead to curing the sick?

v. 15 Do the disciples express a totally utilitarian concern?

v. 16 What is the meaning of this?

v. 17 What do you make of the numbers “five” and “two” not to mention “five loaves” and “two fish”?

v. 18 Evangelism?

v. 19 “He ordered” sounds like strong language. I would much prefer “He invited”. But we get the language we get. What does the “blessed and broke” language remind you of?

v. 20 What do you make of there being twelve baskets of leftovers after the crowds shared fiveloves of bread and two fish?

v. 21 As usual, only the men count. Women and children are just accoutrements.

ADDENDUM
In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.
We have some GREAT Readings this week. Is there any way to tie them all together?

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, July 24, 2011, the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-07-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

v. 37 Wait, may not! Maybe Paul will pull out a great one liner.

vs. 38-39 Paul, can I quote you on that? Is there any thing missing from this list? I wish Paul had said “. . . nor things past, nor thingspresent, nor things to come”.

vs. 39 Is there anything not in creation?

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

v. 31 Yet another parable. Sometimes I wonder why we do not employ the parabola as a Christian symbol.

v. 32 Mustard seeds are small, but they are not the smallest of all seeds. This parable is tending to hyperbole.

v. 33 Remember that ratio, 1:3.

v. 44 If the person is honest and ethical they will buy the field.

vs. 45-46 Would this be a shrewd investment?

vs. 47-50 Something is smelling fishy. We have moved from “kingdom parables” to apocalyptic prognostications.

v. 50 Where have we seen this imagery before?

v. 51 Good question. I would love to ask this question after every sermon. Bad answer. These people need a lesson wisdom from Socrates.

v. 52 An entire sermon could probably be preached and an entire hour of education could probably be developed around this single verse. What is our treasure? What among our treasure is new? What among our treasure is old? What among our treasure is valuable and what is junk? Is anyone else thinking of Phyllis Tickle’s The Great Emergence?

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Go Fish!: Summertime Outreach

2011-07-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

If you’re church is anything like mine, you probably already enjoyed, or will soon enjoy, the annual church picnic. It’s that time the entire church family converges to share potluck potato salad and way too many cookies and bars from the dessert table.

Our church kicks off summer with the picnic, and ends the season with a three-day outdoor retreat over Labor Day weekend. Sometimes in between we share an outdoor dinner on Sundays after evening worship.

Those times of “family” are important to help us remain connected to one another. Breaking bread together is a crucial part of the Christian experience, and helps build the kind of community and connection God desires for the Church.

Yet it’s very important that we don’t get so caught up in “family” activities that we ignore others in our community who aren’t a part of our congregations.

Back in 2007 I attended The National Outreach Convention in San Diego. One of the workshop speakers, pastor John Angle, related how at one time he and his wife were so caught up in church family activities, they had no time to connect with people in their own neighborhood.

Angle vividly recalled one evening how as he and his wife pulled out of their driveway and drove out of the neighborhood for a church event they were obliged to attend, they passed by neighbors who were coming together on the street for an impromptu block party. They felt genuine pain that they weren’t going to be part of the party, and confided in one another that they really didn’t want to go to the church event.

That experience radically shifted Angle’s thinking about outreach and evangelism. He developed a whole new strategy for outreach based on neighborhood evangelism. His congregation went from planning everything at the church, to members hosting events in their own neighborhoods.

For example, Angle and his wife set up some food and drinks in their front yard on Halloween, so that neighborhood parents could drop by with their kids and hang out with each other before moving on for more Trick or Treating.

Their only agenda was to get to know their neighbors and build relationships. They did not force their faith on neighbors, but rather allowed room for spiritual conversations to emerge organically over time.

I’ve invested in getting to know my neighbors over the years. Several years ago, I decided I knew them well enough that I could bring up faith directly. My family braved inviting the neighbors to an Alpha Course introduction dinner at our house. A number of neighbors who never would have come to our church a few miles away came to the dinner on our street, and most came back for the 10-week course we hosted in our home. Even after the course ended, we continued with a Bible Study for several months.

It’s not too late. There’s still some summer left. If you haven’t already thought about how to connect with neighbors, consider planning a little summertime get together. It doesn’t have to be fancy or carefully produced. Maybe a few snacks and beverages, and the space to get to know one another.

On another note: Evangelism Sunday is coming up on Sept. 25. You can download the worship packet at http://www.pcusa.org/resource/2011-evangelism-sunday-worship-packet/.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, July 17, 2011, the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-07-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Genesis 28:10-19a
v. 10 Is there anything special or significant about these travel plans?

v. 11 Using a stone as a pillow? What do you know about “The Stone of Destiny” or “Stone of Scone”? Could this be an example of “dream incubation”?

v. 12 Is there any symbolic relationship between the Tower of Babel and Jacob ’s ladder? Do Angels really need a ladder to travel between earth and heaven?

v. 13 If Angels were ascending and descending via the ladder, how did the LORD end up standing beside Jacob? What about Sarah and Rebekah?

v. 14 Why does this sound familiar?

v. 15 Where have we heard this before? What if the Lord does not keep this promise?

v. 16 How could Jacob not have known God was in that place? Is it not true that God is in every place? What do you know about the Celtic concept of a “Thin Place”?

v. 17 When was the last time you, or anyone, walked into your church, or any church, and exclaimed “How awesome is this place”?

v. 18 What is the meaning and significance of this action? Is this an example of raising an Ebenezer?

Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24
v. 1 It sounds like God works for the TSA.

vs. 1-6 It also sounds like God knows us better than we know ourselves.

v. 5 What is the meaning of this verse? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

v. 6 From a Socratic perspective, this Psalmist was very wise.

v. 7 Are these rhetorical questions? What is the expected answer?

v. 8 What and where is “Sheol”?

v. 10 Proof positive that God is right handed and therefore all right handed people are created in the image of God and all left-handed people are evil. Or maybe not.

v. 12 So whether it is day or night makes no difference to God?

vs. 23-24 If we invite God to search us and know us in this way, if God knows our sins better than we do, then why do we confess our sins?

Romans 8:12-25
v. 12 If we are debtors, but not debtors to the flesh, what are we debtors to?

v. 13 What does it mean to “put to death the deed sof the body”?

v. 14 What is Paul contrasting when he contrasts “a spirit of slavery” with “a spirit of adoption”? Do Americans read and hear this differently due of our own nation’s sordid history of involuntary servitude? When do we cry “Abba! Father!”?

v. 18 But the sufferings of the present time are still sufferings. What would Marx say about this passage?

vs. 19-22 For the creation, not just humans, BUT THE CREATION, waits. From a theological and ecological perspective, can Global Climate Change be viewed not only as a result of sin, but a symptom of sin? If so, would there be a temptation to throw up our hands and say “There is nothing we can do about Global Climate Change. It is up to God to redeem the situation?”

v. 25 I hope for many things I can see. I can see them, but they are realistically out of my reach.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
v. 24 Another kingdom parable involving seeds, good seeds.

v. 25 Weeds, or Agent Orange? What does Just War theory say about such a practice?

vs. 25-26 So know you know how all those weeds ended up in your garden. It is no coincidence that species of plants that are not native to an area are referred to as “invasive species”?

v. 27 Oh no, more slavery language. Gag!

v. 30 I am hearing overtones of the hymn “Harvest Home” and we are still months away from Thanksgiving.

v. 36 Which house? Whose house?

v. 37-43 Jesus explains another parable.

v. 38 The field is the world, not the church. Does that mean there are no weeds growing in any churches? With all this talk about weeds, is anyone getting the munchies?

vs. 37-42How do these apocalyptic verses inform the popular image of hell?

v. 43 A truly Semitic rather than a classical Greek metaphor.

ADDENDUM
In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, July 10, 2011, the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-07-07T00:30:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.
Genesis 25:19-34
vs. 19-20 Last Sunday, Isaac and Rebekah got hitched. This week, we learn about their offspring. First, however, we are reminded of Isaac and Rebekah’s ancestry. Why such an emphasis on lineage?

v. 21 Where have we read about something like this before?

v. 22 Pre-natal care or pre-natal prayer?

v. 23 Is this an example of prophecy or foreshadowing?

v. 24 Did we not see this coming based on the previous verse?

vs. 24-26 What do these names, Esau and Jacob, mean?

vs. 27-28 Can you spell “conflict” “dysfunctional family”? What greater conflict might be represented by the personal conflict between Esau and Jacob?

v. 31 What is a “birthright” and what does it mean to sell it? How can such a thing be sold?

v. 34 If Esau despised his birthright, did Jacob despise his bother?

vs. 29-34 Is this an example of unbridled capitalism or exploitation?

Psalm 119:105-112
How does this Psalm serve as a commentary on or contrast to the First Reading? Does it make any difference that these verses are only part of a larger acrostic work?

v. 105 This is a rather well known verse, thanks to its use in the liturgy. Does such familiarity make it more difficult to read and hear it in new ways? What “word” is being referred to?

v. 106 What does it mean to “confirm” an oath?

v. 110 What might be the nature of this “snare”?

Are “word”, “ordinances”, “law”, “precepts”, “decrees”, and “statutes” mere synonyms, used for poetic reasons, or are there nuanced differences being suggested?

Romans 8:1-11
v. 1 I hate it when readings begin with a “therefore” because I always wonder what came before.

v. 2 What is the “law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus”? Is there an assumption of contrast?

v. 3 How was the law weakened by the flesh? What is the meaning of “likeness”? Does “likeness” suggest anything less than full humanity?

v. 4 What is the “just requirement of the Law”?

vs. 3-11 In our day and age, how do we deal with all this “flesh” and “spirit” language?

v. 11 This sounds like life now, not everlasting life later. Is it also true that those whom the Spirit does not dwell in are already “dead”?

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
v. 1 What same day?

v. 2 Why did Jesus get into a boat?

v. 3 If Jesus told the crowds many things, why is this parable, and not some other parable or parables, included in the Gospel? Is this parable about a sower, about the seeds, or about something else all together?

v. 9 Maybe the sower was sowing seed corn.

v. 18 does the fact that we have this verse mean that Jesus knew or assumed we do not have ear>

v.19 OK.

vs. 20-21 Alright, I know some people who were like that.

v. 22 Makes sense.

v. 23 So not all seed, even if it falls on good soil, bear the same quantity? What about quality?

In retrospect, was this parable about a sower, about the seed that was sown, or about the soil where the seed was sown, or something else all together? Why did Jesus tell this particular parable? What was he trying to tell the crowd that he could tell them only through this parable?

ADDENDUM
In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Neurobiology and Free Will

2011-06-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

Whoops, I'm a day early....

Theologians love to debate issues of free will, human agency and sin. Neurobiology has much to add to the conversation. Consider this case study.

In 2003, neurologist from the Virginia Health System reported on a forty-year- old male schoolteacher who, throughout the year 2000, collected pornographic magazines and increasingly frequented pornographic web sites emphasizing images of children and adolescents. He also solicited prostitution at “massage parlors.” He later noted that he regarded these activities as unacceptable, and that he had gone to great lengths to conceal them, but found that he was unable to stop himself from acting repeatedly on his sexual impulses. “The pleasure principle overrode” his urge restraint, he explained.

When his stepdaughter reported his subtle advances toward her to his wife, his wife discovered his growing preoccupation with child pornography and called the police. He was legally removed from the home, diagnosed as a pedophile, found guilty of child molestation, and sentenced either to an in-patient rehabilitation program for sexual addiction or to prison. Despite his strong desire to avoid jail, he was unable to restrain himself from soliciting sexual favors from women at the rehabilitation center, both staff and other clients, with the result that he was to be imprisoned.

On the eve of his sentencing, complaining of a headache, he went to the emergency room of a local hospital; admitting to suicidal ideation and a fear that he would rape his landlady, he was admitted for neurological observation. The medical staff reported that, during examination, he solicited female members of the neurological team for sexual favors. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan found an egg-sized tumor displacing the right orbitofrontal lobe, an area of the brain commonly implicated in moral-knowledge acquisition and social integration. Upon removal of the tumor, his sexually lewd behavior receded to the point that he was believed no longer to pose a threat to his stepdaughter and he returned home. Within a year, he developed a persistent headache and began collecting pornographic materials. Magnetic resonance imaging disclosed tumor regrowth, resulting in further surgery to remove the regrowth, after which his symptoms subsided. *

Was this school teacher responsible for his actions? Was he capable of free will? However philosophers parse the term “free will”, it seems clear enough that, in this case, the capacity to choose was lacking. As the attending neurologists Burns and Swerdlow comment, that his symptoms resolved with the tumor resection, twice, established a causal relationship from this man’s tumor to his sociopathic behavior. What is more, the narrative of his medical and behavioral history demonstrated that his sociopathy was the product of his loss of impulse control rather then a loss of moral knowledge or moral compass.

From Joel B. Green’s Bible, Soul, and Human Life:The Nature of Humanity in the Bible (Baker Academic:2008):73-74.

While we don’t want to claim that all immoral or illegal behavior is “nothing but” biology, neither can we claim that our decisions are unaffected by biology. Green’s example is unique but it does raise interesting questions about free will and personal responsibility. New information about the way our brains work may require us to think in more complex and nuanced ways about sin, free will, consciousness and what it means to be human.

How do we help each other think about these issues in ways that take both science and the Christian tradition seriously? What might we lose and what might we gain from bringing neurobiology into theological conversations?

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, July 3, 2011, the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-06-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
Even after skipping some verses in this chapter, this is still the longest of the day’s Readings.

v. 24 Who is speaking?

vs. 35-40 Is sounds like things have turned out pretty well for Abraham and Sarah. Almost sacrificed, Isaac is now of marrying age. What to do? He cannot marry one of the locals, can he?

v. 42 What is it about springs?

v. 42-44 Do these verses remind you of any verses in the NT? What about John 4:1-42?

v. 45 What does it mean to speak in one’s heart?

v. 47 Who are these people and why are they being named? What is the significance of the ring and bracelets?

v. 58 Can we consider this “The call of Rebekah”? Why does Rebekah have a nurse?

v. 60 Can we read this as the blessing of Rebekah?

v. 65 Why was Rebekah not veiled until she was about to meet Isaac?

v. 67 His mother’s tent?

Psalm 45:10-17
Is it ironic or symbolic, or just an example of synchronicity, that this reading, and its alternate, would appear in the Lectionary just a little over a week after the New York Senate passed, and the Governor signed, same sex marriage legislation?

vs. 10-15 While these words were not originally addressed to Rebekah, they do seem to fit. This reads like a liturgy from a royal wedding.

vs. 16-17 The psalm seemed to have been speaking to and of the Bride. Now it seems to speaking to the Bridegroom/King.

Song of Solomon 2:8-13
This alternate reading is suggested by the love mentioned in Genesis 24:67.

vs. 8-13 Can you hear these words coming from, perhaps, Rebekah’s mouth? These are some of the most sensual passages in Scripture. I think we do them disservice to spiritualize them and see them as anything less than biblical erotica.

Romans 7:15-25a
v. 15 Finally ,some Pauline verses I can identify with!

v. 18 Yep!

v.19 Ditto.

v.20 I doubt if the “sin” defense would stand up in a court of law.

vs. 22-23 What is the contrast being made between “inmost self” and “members”?

v. 24 Could we ever use this liturgically as part of a Confession of Sin?

v. 25 A catch all phrase. How does it add to, or end, Paul’s argument?

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
v. 16 Why might I read this differently in my 50’s than I would have in my 30’s?

v. 17 Is this a quote? From what or where?

vs. 18-19 Damned if you don’t and damned if you do? Son of Man? “Her” deeds?

v. 25 What “things” have been hidden from some and revealed to others? Who are the “wise and intelligent” and who are the “infants”? Does the mention that the Lord of heaven and earth has “hidden” these things place this in the genre of apocalyptic literature?

vs. 28-30 These verses seem to stand on their own. Are they out of context? Do they naturally and logically follow from what precedes them? How might they add to our understanding of the previous verses? I think a whole sermon could be preached, a whole lesson developed, around these three verses.

ADDENDUM
Does the fact that Churches in the United States will be encountering these readings the day before Independence Day influence at all how we might interpret and apply them?

In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, June 26, 2011, the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

2011-06-23T00:30:00.000-07:00

Go Fish!: "Where are the churches?"

2011-06-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

“Where are the churches?”

That was my question as several hundred people swirled around me at the recent 8^th annual Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp in San Francisco.

Boot Camp is a one-day conference for staff and volunteers from a wide variety of nonprofit organizations. It includes speakers and workshops designed to give nonprofits the tools and skills needed to help communities. It’s also a great place for like-minded people to network and collaborate.

One of the amazing things that struck me was that in the sessions I attended was that I heard a government official and leaders of secular community groups say they wanted to collaborate with churches. They encouraged their audiences to invite congregations into partnerships to bless (my word) surrounding neighborhoods.

Yet, as I met people and heard people introduce themselves in the workshops, I wasn’t hearing or seeing representatives of churches or faith-based groups. That’s not to say they weren’t there, because they might have been and I just didn’t see them.

About mid-afternoon I thought, my church should be here. Which led me to my question above: “Where are the churches?”

Here were secular folks, the ones we often think don’t want to work with us, and they were encouraging other secular folks to reach out to churches.

One reason given for why government, nonprofits, churches and businesses need to work together is that the problems we face right now are too big for any one entity to solve them. Only through partnership and collaboration can we make communities whole and healthy again.

Toward the end of the day we broke up into groups to reflect on what we had learned during the day. One woman shared that she experienced an epiphany.

“As a librarian I go to a lot of library conferences,” she said. “I realized today I’m sick of going to library conferences because we talk to each other and never grow.”

Whoa.

Her words hit me hard. I could have taken out the word “library” and inserted “church.”

I go to a lot of church conferences. We talk to each other and we never grow.

I’m not suggesting that we stop going to church conferences. We need to come together, worship together, learn from each other, and be encouragers of each other.

But I would say don’t only go to church conferences. Seek out the places local government, community groups and businesses are hanging out together. Start brainstorming how all of you can work together to bless your community.

Just before I went to Boot Camp, I reported on an amazing community event put together by a faith-based organization called Beautiful Day. It’s a prime example of how churches, local government, and nonprofits can work together. More than 2,400 volunteers worked on 17 projects to refurbish schools and homes, help the homeless, minister to disabled youth, and more.

If you’re interested in learning more, you can see the two stories I wrote. One is about the event itself. The other is focused on one project, in which two retired police officers commanded 600 volunteers to refurbish an entire neighborhood. The photo above is from that project.

Where are the churches? Let's answer that question out in our communities by saying "Here we are!"

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, June 19, 2011, Trinity Sunday (Year A)

2011-06-16T00:20:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross-posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Genesis 1:1-2:4a
For once, the lectionary prescribes that the First Reading of the Day begins where the Bible begins, “In the beginning” at Genesis 1:1. This is also, perhaps, one of the longest Readings in the lectionary outside of Lent and the Passion narrative. Am I stating the obvious when I note that this is the “first” creation account? I take the Bible too seriously to take it literally. Thus, I read Genesis 1:1-2:4a as a mythopoeic reflection on human origins rather than a scientific explanation of them. Can we read and interpret this passage without reference to Genesis 2:4bandfollowing? How does reading this on Trinity Sunday influence our understanding and interpretation of the passage and how does this passage inform our understanding of the Trinity?

v. 1 What is the better translation, “when God created” or “when God began to create”?

v. 2 What is a “wind from God”? How else might we translate the Hebrew word sometimes translated “wind”?

v. 3 Creation ex nihilo! Can we read this without also thinking of the prologue of John?

v. 4 What would have happened if God saw that the light was NOT good?

v. 5 Are you familiar with this three tiered cosmology?

v. 15 The roots of both astrology and astronomy.

v. 16 So where did the light come from in day one if God did not create the Sun until day four?

v. 22 Who, or what, are told to be fruitful and multiply?

v. 24 Note that sea creatures and birds are told to be fruitful and multiply in verse 22, but here, animals of the earth are NOT told that.

v. 25 Us? There is that “dominion” word that has caused us so many environmental problems and which we will encounter again in Psalm 8:6.

v. 28 Note that we are not told that God blessed any other creatures or parts of creation. In light of how we have historically interpreted and applied the admonition to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion,” I think this has been more of a curse than a blessing as far as we “exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.”

vs. 29-30 It sounds like we have been given plants to eat, but not animals.

v. 3 Another blessing. So what did God do on the eighth day?

Psalm 8:1-9
v. 1 “O LORD” = Tetragrammaton. Are Christians bound by the Hebrew tradition of not pronouncing the majestic name of God?

v. 2 What do babes and infants speak other than gibberish?

v.3 Is there a difference between “creating” and “establishing?

vs. 3-4 I will never forget my sense of awe and wonder the first time I looked through a telescope and saw for myself the rings of Saturn. I think I have heard it said that the Hubble telescope enables us to look back through time to the first moments after creation.

v. 6 Need I say anything about “dominion” other than that an ecological awareness forces us to abandon outdated understandings?

2 Corinthians 13:11-13
This short Second Reading and the short Gospel Reading compensates for the long First Reading.

v. 11 Final words.

v. 12 What is a “holy kiss”?

v. 13 Is this verse, a Trinitarian blessing, the only reason this Reading appears on this day, Trinity Sunday?

Matthew 28:16-20
v.16 Which mountain would that be?

v. 17 Some of the eleven doubted? Doubted what? Doubted whom?

v. 19 Is this Trinitarian baptismal formula the only verse that commends this reading as appropriate for Trinity Sunday?

v. 20 What and when is the end of the age? What is an age? When did the age begin?

ADDENDUM
How much does this being Trinity Sunday influence our interpretation and application of these Readings? In other words, would we read these passages any differently if we were reading them on any other Sunday than Trinity Sunday?

In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for for Sunday, June 12, 2011, the Day of Pentecost (Year A)

2011-06-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

The Day of Pentecost offers a variety of readings with several possible permutations. Here are the options
First Reading: Acts 2:1-21
Or alternate First Reading: Numbers 11:24-30
Psalm: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
Or alternate Second Reading: Acts 2:2-21
Gospel: John 20:19-23
Or alternate Gospel: John 7:37-39

I will ruminate only on the four passages I will be using.

Numbers 11:24-30
v. 24 Is there anything special about the number 70? Is there any story like this in the New Testament?

v. 25 In the NRSV the “Lord”, not LORD, comes down. Does this make any difference? Why did the Lord take some of the spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders? Was there not enough Spirit to go around, so it had to be rationed? What does it mean to prophesy?

vs. 26-29 OK, PC(USA) Presbyterians, this would have been an argument for the the passage of 10-A, but now that it has already been approved, I will not go there. Why are these two men named when the seventy are not named? Why might they have remained in the camp? Registered?

v.27 A young filer of complaints.

v. 28 And this be Moses’ successor?

v. 29 Indeed, would that all. We can only hope and pray that it be so.

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
v. 24 How could this verse serve as an interpretive lens for Numbers 11:26-29?

v. 25 The sea kayaker and sailor in me is nodding his head.

v. 26 Was this verse Thomas Hobbes’ inspiration for the title of his political treatise?

v. 29 What does it mean for God to hide God’s face?

v. 29-30 I love the juxtaposition of these two verse, especially the imagery of breath/death and spirit/creation.

v. 32 Storm God imagery.

vs.33-39 Even these are the concluding verses of today’s Psalm, they could easily be adapted to function as a Call to Worship.

Acts 2:1-21
v. 1 What was the day of Pentecost before the coming of the Holy Spirit?

v. 2 This verse might be especially poignant in light of recent devastating tornados.

v. 3 What is a divided tongue? How does a tongue, even a tongue, as of fire, rest on someone?

v. 4 What does it mean to be “filled with the Holy Spirit”. Rosetta Stone, eat your heart out!

v. 5 So?

v. 6 Have you ever been bewildered? What bewilders you?

v. 7 Similarly, amazed and astonished?

vs. 9-11 Lay readers, and even some clergy, hate reading these verses. I think, however, that this list serves a very important theological purpose.

v.11 What are God’s deeds of power?

v. 12 Earlier it was bewildered, amazed and astonished. Now it is amazed and perplexed. What does this mean?

v. 13 Thus most PCUSA Presbyterians shun offering fermented wine at communion, for fear of appearing to be filled with new wine. Instead, we are filled with Welches grape juice, a nice, safe alternative void of all power and warmth, like the spirit in most of our congregations (note to self: get off your soap box).

v. 14 Peter, always the first to open his mouth.

v. 15 Like people are not drunk at 9:00 AM? Some people are just coming home from all night parties at that time.

v. 16 You cannot go wrong by quoting from Jewish prophets when your audience is filled with devout Jews.

vs. 17-21 Is this a case where a prophecy in the Hebrew Scriptures prefigures a later event, or where a prophecy is used as an apology for a later event?

John 7:37-39
v. 37 And what festival would that be?

vs. 37-38 Is it at all problematic that today’s readings are mixing fire, wind and water metaphors?

v. 38 What Scripture passage does Jesus quote and what is the original historical and literary context of that passage?

v.39 Did the author of the Gospel know this at the time Jesus quoted scripture, or does this comment make sense only in hind sight?

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Grounded Scriptures: Kick those Cans

2011-06-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

Bold statement of the day: storing up too much extra food can be theologically dangerous.

I’m talking about those cans and boxes in your pantry. Yes, you. Your little Annie’s Mac & Cheeses, lentil soups, refried beans, ricearonis, whatever it is you store up. Theologically dangerous. Yes, I said it. Watch out.

I wouldn't counsel utter foolishness, of course. I know a good deal when I see one. As a matter of principle I won’t say no to 75% off. And certain places can really get me going. When I’m house shopper (we divide it up – one person to the farmer’s market, one to TJ’s, one to Safeway) I find it much harder to shop at Safeway than the farmers’ market. At the farmer’s market, you look around and see what’s good, and guess how much a hungry household will eat in a week, and I almost never have a problem with going over budget. We can only eat so much in a week. At Safeway I’m constantly tempted. They know how my brain works. They offer 50% off sales, or even worse, they say “buy one get one FREE” and my brain sees “free” and says “well it would be a sin to leave that to go to waste, I’d better help them out here.” I end up spending way over the weekly budget and we end up with stacks and stacks of 60-percent-off pasta. We eat it, eventually, of course.

There is a theological side of this story. Ellen Davis talks about the “manna economy” of the desert, and the “empire economy” of Egypt. When the Israelites were enslaved, they looked around and saw silo after huge silo of stored grain. They may not have had direct access to it, but it was there in case of famine, courtesy of Pharoah’s food policy programs. In the desert it was the polar opposite – their manna was not physically capable of being stored. It would rot overnight. Forget building a silo – you'd have to live day to day. The manna story shows the economic implications of relying on your food directly from the hand of God – if there is no storing it up, there is no taxing it either, or running an overpriced supply chain out of Pharoah’s silos. Everyone gets what they need - no more, no less.
The manna economy does not come easily in the real world. We are keepers, storers, hoarders - and recently TV shows have shown us the dark underside of that strain that runs through our culture. It is not that unusual for people to have cans in their closet that end up expiring before they can eat them all – because so many sales have convinced them they absolutely MUST take this cheap little can of food home with them, store it up, feel secure against potential disasters.
It’s a funny philosophy… to think that God would somehow love the perishable food more than the imperishable… and might even want us to face the world without a prudent reserve… but it must come from something like the same theology that says “blessed are the poor” and other such backwards things.
What is your personal food theology? What does your pantry or fridge say about your relationship to God? Or have you intellectualized it out of that realm completely?

Notes of a Biology Watcher

2011-06-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

There are many quite good books about science and religion around these days. (Not to mention several not so good ones). This month I want to call your attention to an author from the ‘70s, Lewis Thomas. Thomas was a physician and a cancer researcher who began writing essays for the New England Journal of Medicine. Those essays were collected and published as several books, the first of which was The Lives of a Cell. You can read more about Lewis Thomas in his New York Times obituary and in this article by Roger Rosenblatt.

What was cutting edge scientific discovery when Thomas wrote these essays is now “old” science. Some of it may have been significantly modified by more recent research. What hasn’t changed is how amazing our world is and the way scientists feel about their work. And this is why I want to suggest that you read a bit of Dr. Thomas’ work. He doesn’t write about “science and religion”. I’m not sure if he would have considered himself a Christian, all though I don’t think he did. But if you want insight into the way biologists feel about biology, no one does that better than Lewis Thomas.

I read Lewis Thomas’ books years ago when they were first published. They have sat in my bookcase for many years. A friend’s post on Facebook caused me to remember Dr. Thomas and to take his books off the shelf and dip into them once again. I was in high school when The Lives of a Cell was published ( 1974). My aunt gave me a copy because she thought I might like the book. It was, for a high school student, a somewhat challenging read because Thomas was writing for fellow physicians and assumed a certain knowledge base. But he wrote so beautifully. This book was the first time I encountered someone who gave voice to my developing sense of the beauty and wonder of biology. He, in many ways, gave me the courage and permission to think about science as more than mere facts. His work nudged me to begin thinking more holistically and less compartmentally about my life and my work. It took me decades to work much of this out, but Lewis Thomas’ sense of the complexity and interconnectedness of the world opened my eyes.

Some things are difficult to explain. Faith can be hard to explain to those who don’t believe. That biology as a scientific discipline that is full of beauty and worthy of our absolute amazement can be difficult to explain. If you are not a scientist ( or even if you are), I encourage you to read one –or more- of Lewis Thomas’ books. You will receive a wonderful insight into the mind of a scientist. Few scientists are as articulate as Lewis Thomas was. In fact, few essayists are as articulate as he was. He spoke eloquently of the experience that is common to his colleagues.

Let me leave you with an excerpt from his essay, “On Embryology” found in The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher. This essay was written just after the birth of the first “test tube” baby. Lewis reminds us that the technology shouldn’t amaze us as much as the biology should.

For the real amazement, if you want to be amazed, is the process. You start out as a single cell derived from the coupling of a sperm and an egg, this divides into two, then four, then eight, and so on, and at a certain stage there emerges a single cell which will have as its progeny the human brain. The mere existence of that cell should be one of the great astonishments of the earth. People ought to be walking around all day, all through their waking hours, calling to each other in endless wonderment, talking of nothing except that cell. It is an unbelievable thing, and yet there it is, popping neatly into its place amid the jumbled cells of every one of the several billion human embryos around the planet, just as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do.

If you like being surprised, there’s the source. One cell is switched on to become the whole trillion-cell, massive apparatus for thinking and imagining and, for that matter, being surprised….

No one has the ghost of an idea how this works,and nothing else in life can ever be so puzzling. If anyone does succeed in explaining it, within my lifetime, I will charter a skywriting airplane, maybe a whole fleet of them, and send them aloft to write one great exclamation point after another, around the whole sky, until all my money runs out.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, June 5, 2011, the Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year A)

2011-06-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Acts 1:6-14
Will you handle this verse differently depending on whether or not your community observed and celebrated Ascension Day last Thursday?

v. 6 Who has come together?

v. 7 Take that, prognosticators of May 21being the end of the world!

v. 8 Do you have the power? Note the progression from the local to the global.

v. 9 In the NRSV, the action is in the passive. Must we read “lifted up” as a physical reference? In English, we occasionally say we “lift up” things without physically touching them or physically moving them. What might the cloud symbolize?

v. 10 Were the two wearing white robes really men?

v. 11 A good question. Is this a reference to the coming of the power and Holy Spirit mentioned in verse 8, or the second coming?

v. 12 Is the mount of Olives really a sabbath’s day’s journey from Jerusalem? What is a Sabbath day’s journey?

v. 13 What is the significance of the naming?

v. 14 Constantly? Who might the other women have been in addition to Mary? His brothers?

vs. 13-14 That eleven men are named, but only one woman, in my mind makes this a sexist and patriarchal passage. What would your reaction be if the passage read, “When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs were they were staying. All of them were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, Martha, and Salome, as well as his brothers.”?

Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35
v. 1 Is this Psalm paired with the First Reading only because of the “Let God rise up” language?

v. 4 Now we have “cloud” imagery to pair with the First Reading.

v. 8 When was the last time you heard someone begin a prayer with the address “God of Sinai” or “God of Israel” rather than “Father”?

v. 32 Not only Israel but “kingdoms of the earth” are called to sing praises to God.

vs. 33-24 Here we have “rider in the heavens” and “skies” language to add to the “rise up”language of verse 1 and the “cloud” imagery of verse 4.

v 35. My God is “awesome”! How do you understand this affirmation? What does it mean to be “awesome”?

1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11
v. 12 What is meant by ‘the fiery ordeal”? Shall we read this any differently in light of the Holocaust/Shoah? Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

v. 13 “Rejoice”? Really? Is this supposed to a pep talk?

v. 14 I find this verse easier to take than the one before it.

v. 7 What would a Psychiatrist say about this verse?

v. 8 In other words, “Pay attention. There be Lions” and tigers, and bears.

v. 9 “all the world”? Really?

v. 10 Now I hear a word of hope rather than resignation.

John 17:1-11
v. 1 What “words”? Ah Jesus, can you not just once in a while pray using more inclusive language when you address God? What “hour”? Quid pro quo?

v. 2 Jesus referring to himself in the third person?

v. 3 I like this image of eternal life more than eternal habitation on clouds playing harps.

v. 5 Jesus had glory in God’s presence before the world existed? Oh, that is right. I forgot. This is the Gospel According to John.

vs. 7-8 I think Jesus is attributing more knowledge and understanding to his followers than they really possessed at the time, or now.

v. 10 How has Jesus been glorified in others?

v. 11 God has given a holy name to Jesus? What was that name? How can those for whom Jesus pray in any sense of the word be “one” as Jesus and “his Father” are one?

ADDENDUM
In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, May 29, 2011, the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year A)

2011-05-26T00:05:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Acts 17:22-31

v. 22 Last week we learned that Paul stood by while Stephen was stoned. Now, Paul is preaching in Athens before the Areopagus. The transition and the symbolism are startling.

v. 23 If Paul were to walk through one of our cities, what would he identify as the objects of our worship?

vs. 24-29 What is the content of Paul’s preaching? What does he not say? Is Paul’s sermon more Theistic than Christocentric?

v. 24 Can we still talk about God, who made the world and everything in it, without positing a six day creation and getting sidetracked into the creationism/evolution debate?

v. 26 Who is this ancestor?

v. 27 What does it mean to search and grope for God? Is this still a valid argument in the post-modern world?

v. 28 An appeal to secular/pagan poets. Have we in the church forgotten how to employ the artistic expressions of contemporary culture?

v. 31 Bote that Paul refers to a “man” God raised from the dead. Paul seems not to here assert any divinity to this “man”.

Psalm 66:8-20

v. 8 This sounds like, and could be used as, a Call to Worship.

v. 10 What does it mean to be tested and tried? What testing and trials might the Psalmist be referring to?

v. 11 Last week the net was hidden. This week, the people have been in the net.

v. 12 What and where is the spacious palce?

v. 13 What does it mean to pay vows?

v. 16 Another Call to Worship? What does iot mean to fear God?

v. 20 Does God ever reject prayer? Can steadfast love ever be removed?

1 Peter 3:13-22

v. 13 Is this a rhetorical question, or what? It sometimes seems, in life, that no good deed goes unpunished.

v. 14 Who are “they”? What do “they” fear?

v. 15 How does one sanctify Christ in their heart?

v. 17 Does the reason for suffering in any way affect the moral value of our suffering?

v. 18 What does this verse say about the nature of the resurrection?

v. 19 “He descended into hell”? “He descended to the dead”?

v.21 Some interesting words about baptism. Just as there are many understandings of the Lord’s Supper, are there also many understandings of Baptism?

John 14:15-21
v. 15 A big “if”? What is the nature of this love? What are Christ’s commandments?

v. 16 Is Christ’s intercession contingent on our keeping his commandments? Why, in the NRSV, is “Advocate” capitalized? Can we read and interpret this verse without being informed by the Doctrine of the Trinity?

v. 17 Notice that in the NRSV “Spirit” is capitalized.

v. 18 “Orphaned” could be an often overlooked but powerful image. Is Jesus talking about the coming of the Spirit, the Second Coming, or something altogether different?

v. 20 What day is “that day”?

v. 21 Is this free grace or does there seem to be an element of works righteousness, an element of conditionality?

ADDENDUM

In addition to serving as the half time Designated Pastor of North Church Queens and writing Lectionary Ruminations, I also tutor part time. If you or someone you know needs a tutor, or if you would like to be a tutor, check our my WyzAnt page and follow the appropriate links.

Go Fish!: What Are We Known For?

2011-05-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,

Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

-- Peter Scholtes, “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love”

What am I known by? Do people know I’m a Christian? If they do, what face of Christianity am I projecting to others? The face of Christ? Or something different? Am I known for love? If not, what am I known for?

It’s scary to think about, because when it comes down to it, we may have to take responsibility for actions (or inactions) we aren’t always proud of. Of course we can’t completely control others’ perceptions of us, but we can control our own decisions and actions that can take a role in shaping perceptions.

I am a member of “The Media”, and I grow tired of people blaming “The Media” for a litany of woes. To me it often smacks of “killing” the messenger. Sometimes we (as the public) just don’t like what’s being reported, because it brings uncomfortable situations and truths to light. By blaming those who report those situations, we avoid having to take responsibility for our own actions.

While covering a local city council meeting recently, an official chastised “The Media” for focusing on a particular point he didn’t like. I knew he was referring to something I had written; I was in fact “The Media” he was referring to. But I didn’t make the point up; I was quoting directly from something another public official had said both in a public meeting, and an open letter. He didn’t like the fact I had reported it, because it cast his agency in an unflattering light. Rather than take responsibility for the issue, he was blaming "The Media" for bringing it into the light for the public to see.

Earlier this week I listened to a podcast by a national Christian leader I respect and admire very much, but I winced when he commented that “The Media” had given Christians a bad name. While I’ll admit there are those in “The Media” who have openly criticized and been disparaging of Christians, and portrayals of Christians on television and on film are not always flattering, I think we need to confess that Christians have in fact given media organizations some fodder over the years.

One of the most egregious recent news examples include the man who claims Judgment Day is tomorrow, May 21. To many of my Facebook friends and Tweeps, he comes off as completely nutty. Another tragic example is the church from Kansas that protests at military funerals in an utterly offensive way.

More subtly, the infighting that often goes on within and between denominations also paints an unflattering picture to the public, whether we realize it or not. Instead of projecting love, we project disharmony and disunity. Not attributes people would be attracted to.

We need to ask ourselves honestly: “What are we known for?” Or better yet, we need to ask nonbelievers and listen to what they say.

Some have already asked for us, like Dan Kimball, They Like Jesus, But Not the Church, or David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, Unchristian. They report a pretty good list of some unflattering things Christians are known for.

I can’t control how our larger denomination, or other denominations act and portray themselves to the public. I can only control my own actions of sharing God’s love with others, or help my church to share God’s love with the community.

This weekend in my area there’s a community organization, spearheaded by a church, which is sharing God’s love in a big way through numerous acts of service. From a blood drive, to fixing up local schools, to electronics recycling, to helping a homeless encampment, this group is helping thousands of local residents over the next few days. They are sharing Jesus’ love, his servant’s heart, with those who are in need of that love.

It would be great if “The Media” would report on all these actions the organization is doing, but even if it doesn’t get widely broadcast, thousands of folks in this area will still be touched, and on Sunday morning (if we’re all still here) hopefully those folks will have a better idea of who the followers of Jesus are.

“We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand

 And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land

 And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love

 They will know we are Christians by our love”

Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, May 22, 2011, the Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year A)

2011-05-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross posted on my personal blog, Summit to Shore.

Acts 7:55-60
v. 55 This verse offers us the opportunity to enter into all sort of speculation about the Holy Spirit. When reading this for worship, you may want to substitute “Stephen” for “he”. Do people in the Bible Study and in the pews need to be reminded what “right hand of God” symbolizes; the absolute superiority of right handedness and right handed persons and the total degenerate nature of left handedness and left handed persons?

v. 56 can you spell r-e-d-u-n-d-a-n-t? What purpose does this verse serve?

v. 57 Is this a literal or a figurative covering of ears?

v. 58 If we knew nothing about the rest of the story, would we even notice that a young man is named? Note that this young man casts no stones.

v.59 Certainly the prayer of a martyr. Is this not also the prayer of anyone near death?Is it not the prayer of all Christians?

v. 60 what does the mention that Stephen “cried out in a loud voice” remind you of? Take a look at Luke 23:46. Compare the conclusion of verse 60 with the conclusion of Luke 23:46.

Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
By the Lectionary pairing this Psalm with Acts 7:55, are we to read this Psalm as a commentary on what else might have been going through Stephen’s mind but not recounted in the Acts passage?

v. 1 What is “refuge”? The most contemporary example I can think of is a “wildlife refuge”.

v. 2 “Incline your ear”? Is this a petition? How can a rock be a refuge? Is there such thing as a weak fortress?

v. 3 Rock/fortress and lead/guide seem to be poetic constructions.

v. 4 What is the imagery here? How can one be taken out of a net if the net is still hidden?

v. 5 Does this verse sound familiar? Where else are we used to hearing it?

v. 16 What does it mean for God’s face to ‘shine” on a person?

1 Peter 2:2-10
v. 2 What is a “babe in Christ”?

v. 4 How can a stone live? Come to think of it, I do remember one episode in the original Star Trek series where stones were living. How can we be built into a spiritual house? Is there such a thing as an unholy priesthood? What sort of sacrifices are spiritual?

vs. 6-8 Is this proof texting or the imaginative play and interplay of biblical images from several sources?

vs. 9-10 These are two of my favorite verses of Scripture. Where Does Peter get these images?

John 14:1-14
vs. 1-7 I have probably read these verses more at more Services of Witness to the Resurrection than at Services for the Lord’s Day. Maybe it is time we hear them in the context other than one related to death.

v.2 What do make of there being “many dwelling places” in God’s house?

v. 3 If we are reading this in worship on Sunday, May 22, that will mean that Jesus did not return the day before to take us to himself. Of course he did not return at that time. All along, I have known that he will return at five minutes after 5:00 am on the tenth day of October in the year 2020, Jerusalem time.

v. 6 Another one of the “I am” sayings” found in John. So much for universalism!

v. 8 How can Philip say this after what Jesus says in the previous verse? Is Philip dense?

v.9 Apparently Jesus thought the same way about Philip as I do.

v. 11 Do we take Jesus at his word or do we need works?

v.12 This formulaic phrase, “Very truly, I tell you” (Αμήν Αμήν λέγώ ύμίν in Greek) is found 25 times in John’s Gospel and nowhere else in the Bible. What do you make of this fact?

vs. 13-14 Whatever? Really? I want a new car, new house, and to win a major lottery prize, even though I do not play the lottery. What does it mean to ask in Jesus’ name?

ADDENDUM
My comments pertaining to the right hand of God in Acts 7:55 and the return of Christ in John 14:3 are obviously tongue in cheek and meant to see if they motivate anyone to take me to task with a comment.