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

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 1:8-2:10
v. 8 The beginning of the Moses cycle/narrative. How might this verse describe the current nature of United States Politics?

vs. 9-11 Egyptian immigration policy?

v. 12 And the lesson is?

v. 15 Were Shiphrah and Puah the only two midwives? Were they Israelite of Egyptian?

v. 16 Why not the other way around?

v. 17 In thisw context, what does “fear God” mean?

v. 2 And if she saw that he was not a FINE baby?

v. 3 What else was once plastered with bitumen and pitch?

v. 6 How did she know?

v. 8 This sounds like a strange construction since this is the boys sister and thus his mother is also her mother.

v.10 Yes, this explains the name Moses, bit is there also some foreshadowing going on here?

Psalm 124:1-8
vs. 1-2a Sometimes when I begin a responsive reading and the response sounds shallow, hollow, and barely audible, I will repeat the call phrase of the call and repeat response. Might something similar be happening here?

vs. 2b-6 Why is a Psalm reflecting the Exodus paired with a First Reading about the birth of Moses?

v. 8 A familiar refrain.

Romans 12:1-8
v. 1 What is a “living” sacrifice? What is “spiritual” worship? Is there such a thing as unspiritual or spiritless worship?

v. 2 What is the difference between “conformed” and” transformed”? How are our minds renewed? Why does Paul write about the renewing of our minds rather than the renewing of our hearts?

v. 3 How do we measure our faith?

vs. 5-6 I understand the logic with the exception of the last phrase. How are weindividually members one of another?

v. 6 “We have gifts that differ” in the NRSV is “We have gifts differing” in the KJV, and the biblical phrase that inspired Myers and Briggs to title their book applying Jung’s type theory “Gifts Differing”. You may want to also look at 1 Corinthians 12.

Matthew 16:13-20
v. 13 Where did Jesus enter from? Is there anything special about the district of Caesarea Philippi? Why would Jesus ask his disciples this question? Does the average person in the pew or Bible Study have a clue about the baggage associated with “Son of Man” imagery?

v. 14 Apparently there were various views of who Jesus was. I guess times have not changed.

v. 15 The quintessential question. What is your answer?

v. 16 As usual, Peter is the first to speak up. Did he get it right, however, or did he stick his foot into his mouth?

v. 19 What are “the keys to the kingdom”? What does it mean to “bind” and “loosed”?

v. 20 Why would Jesus order his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah? Has this passage just equated “the Son of Man” with “the Messiah”?

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

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 45:1-15
v. 1 Much has transpired between this week’s First Reading and this week’s First Reading. Does any of what transpired between the two readings matter?

v. 3 Why were the brother’s dismayed by Joseph’s presence?

v. 4 Why does Joseph repeat himself?

v. 5 Is this an example of Joseph engaging in some theological reflection?

v. 6 This is beginning to sound like a description of the U.S. economy!

v.12 Why is Benjamin singled out?

Psalm 133:1-3
v. 1 Is this supposed to be a description of Jacob’s family? Before or after the reunion narrated in the First Reading?

v. 2 I have always appreciated the sensual nature of this verse.

v. 3 What and where is Hermon? What is significant about Hermon’s dew? What is the Lord’s blessing, life for evermore?

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
v. 1 Might have answered this rhetorical question differently after the shoah? Even though we are currently reading the Joseph narrative and the Pauline corpus lectio continua, the “Benjamin” connection between this Second Reading and the First Reading is a nice one.

v. 2 Foreknew?

v. 29 Christians in particular ought to remember this verse when engaging in dialogue with religious Jews.

vs. 30-31 Who are “they”?

Matthew 15:(10-20) 21-28
v. 10 I think every time Jesus says something like “listen and understand” that we can expect some enigmatic saying to follow.

v. 11 What comes out of the mouth?

v. 12 What did the disciples think?

v. 13 Does this verse reflect a negative view of the Pharisees?

v. 14 Leave them alone even though they are blind? Or “because” they are blind?

v. 15 What parable?

v. 16 Me thinks the answer is “YES”!

vs. 17-18 Oh, that parable!

v. 19 All these come from the heart? This is an impressive list. Is anything not mentioned that you might have expected to be here?

v. 20 Is this a comment about religion or hygiene?

v. 21 Is there anything significant about Tyre and Sidon?

v. 22 What makes a “Canaanite” woman different than any other woman, or a Jewish woman? What do you know about “the Jesus prayer” and Hesychasm and the Philokalia?

v. 23 Why does Jesus ignore this woman? Why do the disciples want to send her away?

v. 25 This is the second time this woman calls Jesus “Lord”!

v. 26 Did Jesus just call this woman a bitch?

v. 27 Did this woman just accept the insult of being labeled a bitch by Jesus yet still refer to him as “master”? Must “crumbs” refer to bread crumbs, or just any ole leftover?

v. 28 Now Jesus refers to her as “woman”! What makes her faith “great”? Instantly? Really? How would anyone know?

ADDENDUM
Can we draw any parallels between Joseph in the First Reading and the woman in the Gospel reading? How might the Second Reading enlighten our understanding of both the First Reading as well as the Gospel Reading?

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.

A Leap of Truth

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)

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)

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)

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 29:15-28
v. 15 It must be nice to be able to set your own wages.

v. 16 A story involving two daughters (not twins) in the midst of a story about two twin brothers!

v. 17 I think “lovely” is the preferable translation. Could the description of Leah and Rachel be seen at all as sexist or demeaning of women?

v. 18 Loved of lusted after? Is there any significance to the number seven?

v. 19 Is this the meaning of the question “Who gives this women to be married”?

v. 21 Biblical euphemisms for sexual intercourse can sound so . . . . biologically crude.

vs. 22-25 It is ironic that the trickster has been tricked. What goes around comes around?

v. 28 In the end, Jacob got what he wanted, and more so.

Psalm 105:1-11, 45b
vs. 1-3 Is this the song Jacob sang on his wedding night(s)?

v. 6 Is this why this Psalm was chosen to be paired with the First Reading?

v.8 The pairing of Jacob and Rachel can be seen as partial fulfillment of God’s Covenant.

v. 9 Why are the women/mothers hardly ever mentioned? Can the reader supply their names and still be faithful to the text?

Psalm 128:1-6 (Alternate Psalm)
v. 1 What is the meaning of “fear”? What does it mean to “walk in God’s ways”?

v. 3 Is this why this Alternate Psalm was chosen to be paired with the First Reading?

v. 5 A nice blessing/benediction for a citizen or inhabitant of Jerusalem.

Romans 8:26-39
v. 26 We do not know how to pray as we ought. That is why the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. That is why Teaching Elders and Educators ought to be educated in the school of prayer and prepared to teach others how to pray. Yes, that was me standing on my soap box. My D. Min. project at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (2004) was GUIDANCE IN AND EXPERIENCE OF LITURGICAL PRAYER AS AN ELEMENT OF PERSONAL AND COMMUNAL WORSHIP IN THE REFORMED TRADITION. If you are within commuting distance of NYC and would like me to lead a workshop or retreat on prayer, please let me know.

v. 27 How does the Spirit intercede for us?

v. 28 Do we really know this?

v. 29 There is that Presbyterian word “Predestined”! What do you make of that?

v. 30 And there is that other good Presbyterian word “called”! What do you make of this progression: Predestined → called → justified → glorified.

v. 31 One of my favorite verses. Does the second question answer the first? Is the second question rhetorical or does it assume the answer “No one.”

v. 33-34 Interesting verses to someday juxtapose with the Rules of Discipline in the Bookof Order.

v. 34 In verse 26,Paul writes that the Spirit intercedes for us. Now he writes that Christ Jesus intercedes for us. Can Paul not make up his mind, or was he just not being careful? Why would he intentionally say both?

v. 35 Paul asks “Who” but answers with a list of “whats”. This reads like a “Vince Lombardy before the big game in the locker room” sort of speech.

v. 36 Oh well, there goes the momentum of v. 35

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

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)

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)

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

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)

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)

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 22:1-14
v. 1 Is this why we pray, “lead us not into temptation”? What was the alternative response, “I am not here”?

v. 2 How has this verse informed the Christian understanding of John 3:16? How has john 3:16 influenced how Christians read this passage of Hebrew Scripture?

v. 4 “On the third day.” Very Interesting! I am not sure I have ever noticed its presence before. Have you?

v. 5 Was Abraham lying, or prescient, when he said to the young men “we will come back to you”?

v. 7 I find it interesting that Abraham responds to Isaac with the same words he uses to responds to God.

v. 8 Again, was Abraham lying or prescient when he told Isaac “God will provide the lamb for a burnt offering.?

v. 9 Thus the usual way of referring to this passage: The Binding of Isaac”. What was the age of Issac when this took place? Do you think Isaac physically resisted when his father started to bind him?

v. 11 Is the “Angel of the Lord” the same as God? Earlier, God called to Abraham once. Earlier, Isaac addressed his father once. Why does the “Angel of the Lord” address Abraham twice?

v. 12 How do you understand the word “fear”? Do you “fear” God?

Some of called this the most dangerous, and scariest verse, in the whole Bible. What do you think?

Psalm 13:1-6
v. 1 If this Psalm is in the lectionary today to function as a response to or interpretation of Genesis 22:1-14, then I would rather God forget me than call me to sacrifice my only child (if I had a child). What does it mean for God to hide the divine face?

v. 2 A verse that resonates with my soul. You?

v. 3 What is the “sleep of death”?

vs. 5-6 What in the world is going on with the verb tenses here?

Romans 6:12-23
v. 12 I hate it when lectionary readings, especially from the Pauline corpus, start with “Therefore”.

v. 12 and v.14 How do you reconcile these two verses?

v. 16 How do we deal with this slavery language?

v. 19 “Natural limitations”? I would say more , but I feel limited by my human nature.

v. 23 Let’s cut to the chase and simply quote this verse

Matthew 10:40-42
v. 40 A welcoming verse for a welcoming church.

v. 41 In the name of?

v. 42 Who are these “little ones”? Which disciple’s name would you like to affix to the water fountain? What is the reward that won’t be lost?

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!: "Where are the churches?"

“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)

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)

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

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

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)

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.