Monday, October 29, 2018

Monday Thoughts on the Readings for All Saints Sunday 2018 (November 4th)

All Saints Day, originally scheduled on November 1st and usually transferred to the first Sunday of November, is a day to remember all the members of the Church who have died and now participate in the Church Triumphant (what we mean by the terms "participate" and "Church Triumphant" is closely bound to our understandings of what happens to us between our death and our resurrection from the dead; discussing these topics is well beyond the scope of this post).  It developed from the practice of dedicating a day on the calendar to remember and celebrate the life of a prominent member of the Church.  The date chosen was usually the date of the saint's death.  After some time, the calendar was filling up with commemorations and the Church was still looking to celebrate the lives and gifts of those who had died.  Therefore, the Church established a day as All Saints Day so that all who had died could be remembered and celebrated.

This day comes with a specific set of readings, with themes of the Lord's power over death and the promise of resurrection from the dead.  These themes are meant to be sources of hope and comfort as we grieve the deaths of beloved Church members as well as family members and friends.

I also read and hear other things within these readings; these are shared in the italicized text below.  What do you read and hear?  What questions do you want answered?  What clicks for you in a new way that you had not realized before today?  Let's have these conversations and others in the comments below!


Isaiah 25:6 - 9

 6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples
 a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
 of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
 7 And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
 the sheet that is spread over all nations;
 8 he will swallow up death forever.
 Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces,
 and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
 for the LORD has spoken.
 9 It will be said on that day,
 Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
 This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

- A banquet is a traditional form of celebration in the Ancient Near East.

- The invitation for “all peoples” to be at the banquet is in sharp contrast to the series of woe oracles against many nations in Isaiah 13 – 23.  Does “all peoples” mean all nations?  That is unclear from the literal reading of the passage because of the description of “his people” in verse 8 unless “his people” and “all peoples” are two descriptions of the same group!

- A common belief at this time is that death separates us from God.  Therefore, the statement that the Lord “will swallow up death forever” is a promise that the Lord will prevent that separation.


Psalm 24

 1 The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;
 2 for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.
 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
 4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.
 5 They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation.
 6 Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
 7 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
 8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.
 9 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah

- Who may stand in God’s holy place?  In the life of the Temple, very few people could stand in God’s holy place.  One priest would stand in the Holy of Holies on one day of the year, and this priest would be chosen at random.  In the end, only one could stand in God’s holy place: Jesus, the son of God.

- The end of the psalm emphasizes the Lord as the warrior-God.  “The Lord of hosts” is a softened interpretation of YWHW tsavaot, which means “The Lord of armies/warfare.”


Revelation 21:1 - 6a

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
 "See, the home of God is among mortals.
 He will dwell with them;
 they will be his peoples,
 and God himself will be with them;
 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. 
 Death will be no more;
 mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
 for the first things have passed away."
 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."  6 Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."

- The sea was a symbol of chaos.  The disappearance/destruction of the sea means an end to chaos.

- Revelation 21:3 reminds me of the new covenant that was proclaimed in Jeremiah 31:31 – 34.  Compare the two passages:
1) “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer 31:33 NRSV)
2) “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Rev 21:3-4a NRSV)


John 11:32 - 44

32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.  34 He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."  35 Jesus began to weep.
 36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"  37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

 38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days."  40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"  41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me.  42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me."  43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

- The mention of “four days” is significant.  The common belief was that the soul or spirit of a person remained with the body for three days.  During those three days, there was still a possibility of the soul or spirit reviving the body.  But on day four, that hope was gone, and the person was considered truly dead.  Therefore, the resurrection of Lazarus is on a higher level than the stories of bringing back to life someone who had died earlier in the day.

- Does “see(-ing) the glory of God” and recognizing what we have seen depend on our belief?  Does it depend on the work of the Holy Spirit?  Or is there something else at work here?

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Wednesday Thoughts on the Readings for Reformation Sunday 2018 (October 28th)

As we approach Reformation Sunday, I have a couple of thoughts regarding the occasion itself.  My first thought goes toward the Latin phrase "ecclesia semper reformanda est."  This is usually translated for us as "The Church is always reforming," prompting us to think of ways we are reforming the Church.  However, the Latin grammar makes this phrase a PASSIVE phrase: "The Church is always being reformed."  By whom?  We are left to infer that the Church is being reformed by Christ and the Holy Spirit.  Certainly, Christ and the Holy Spirit may work through individual people to bring about reformation (such as what we saw develop through Martin Luther's writings), but we would miss the point if we claimed that the individuals were solely responsible for the resulting reformation.

My second thought goes to a sentiment we heard in greater volume last year.  Some suggest that the Church goes through a major reformation approximately every 500 years.  We saw this happen with the schism between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the 1000's.  We saw this happen again with the Protestant Reformation in the 1500's.  Perhaps we are living through a new reformation here in the 2000's.  It's hard to say what this reformation will look like because we are in the midst of the transition, which may be why the Church is facing many challenges today.

What else can we say as we approach Reformation Sunday 2018?  Below, in italics, are some of my thoughts regarding the readings for Sunday.  I invite you to add your own thoughts and questions in the comments below.


Jeremiah 31:31 - 34

 31 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-- a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.  33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.


- Jeremiah 31:32 refers to the covenant with Moses.  In striking this covenant, the Lord gave to the people (through Moses) the Ten Commandments.  This is the covenant the people broke.  This is the covenant we continue to break, even if grew up reciting it every Sunday morning in Sunday School.

- Does Jeremiah 31:33 become a better indicator of the Gospel if we read it as the Lord putting the Lord’s “instruction” in our hearts?  Hearing the word “law” in this statement may pull us away from reading this as a precursor to “the new covenant in (Jesus’) blood.”

- Is there an example of “know(-ing) the Lord” through the Lord’s forgiveness?


Psalm 46

 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah
 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
 5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.
 6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
 10 "Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth."
 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah


- Psalm 46 is the textual basis for Martin Luther’s famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”

- “God is in the midst of the city.”  The psalmist was writing about the Lord’s presence on Earth, specifically in Jerusalem.  We can also hear this as a vision of the Lord in the midst of the New Jerusalem (i.e. heaven).  Which image is more comforting for you?  Why this image over the other one?


Romans 3:19 - 28

 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.  20 For "no human being will be justified in his sight" by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

 21 But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;
 26 it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.

 27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith.  28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.

- Romans 3 expands the promise of Jeremiah 31, discussing the limitations of the old covenant (that we could never keep our end of the bargain) and describing the new covenant.

- “…effective through faith.”  Whose faith?  Our faith or Jesus’ faith?  In my opinion, the sacrifice of atonement is effective through the faith of Jesus.  This matches Luther’s understanding of the sacraments, which are effective through what the Lord does in the water, bread, and wine, rather than being effective through the actions of the presider and/or the receiver of the sacraments.  The key is not what we do but what the Lord does.


John 8:31 - 36

 31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."  33 They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?"

 34 Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  35 The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.  36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

- In the larger context of John 8, there is a lot going on here.  The chapter starts with the story of the mob, the woman caught in adultery, and Jesus.  Jesus refuses to condemn the woman and prevents the mob from carrying out their plan to stone her to death.  Then there is a long discussion of death, life, sin, forgiveness, the Son of Man (i.e. the Messiah), and Abraham; our passage is in the midst of this discussion.

- The people protest that they are children of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.  This is incorrect: past generations of the children of Abraham were slaves of the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians.  The current generations of the children of Abraham are under the control of the Romans.  By no means are they “free,” even if some of them have been granted Roman citizenship.

- In baptism, Jesus frees us from sin, completing an act that began at the Cross.

Monday, October 8, 2018

Monday Thoughts on the Readings for Sunday, October 14th, 2018

There is a lot going on around us right now.  A new justice was just confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the confirmation process brought a great deal of contention and argument over past events, accusations, and counter-accusations.  We are entering harvest season, which brings a high level of stress and pressure for farmers.  We are about four weeks away from election day for federal, state, and local races.

In the midst of this, we get a shepherd/herdsman from Judah bringing a hard message from the Lord to the leaders of Israel, a psalm pleading for restoration, a Hebrews passage using the metaphors of a sword and a high priest, and Jesus again undercutting our assumptions of who is "blessed" and who will receive eternal life.

I have several initial thoughts as I read through these passages.  You can find my thoughts in the italicized text below each reading.  I would love to hear your thoughts and discuss your questions.  If you share your thoughts and questions in the comments below, I will respond and continue the conversation.


Amos 5:6 - 7, 10 - 15

 6 Seek the LORD and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.
 7 Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground!

 10 They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.
 11 Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.
 12 For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins-- you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate.
 13 Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time; for it is an evil time.

 14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said.
 15 Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

- The gate within the city wall was more than a doorway.  It was a passageway through the wall  and it was used like a town hall and a courthouse.  Town leaders would hold meetings here and judges would settle disputes here.  If you wanted to know what was happening within and outside of the town, you would hang out within the gate.

- Amos was a shepherd from the land of Judah (AKA the southern kingdom) who was called to be the Lord’s prophet to the leaders of Israel (AKA the northern kingdom).  He spoke as an outsider and was received as such (meaning the leaders of Israel received him as an opponent rather than as a friend).

- In time, Israel would be conquered by Assyria.  The leaders would indeed be forced from their homes and fields and sent into exile.

- We can read Amos 5:15 as a proclamation that a mass confession and repentance would be received like the confession and repentance of Ninevah in Jonah 3 or like other confessions and repentances led by the good kings of Judah.


Psalm 90:12 - 17

 12 So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.
 13 Turn, O LORD! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
 15 Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil.
 16 Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.
 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands-- O prosper the work of our hands!

- When paired with the Amos reading, we can hear this psalm as though we are one of the leaders sent into exile by the Assyrians and pleading to the Lord for relief.


Hebrews 4:12 - 16

 12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  13 And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

 14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.  15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.  16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

- Hebrews 4:12 is a well-known passage regarding the word of God.  However, there is much confusion regarding what it means for this word of God, this sword, to “(divide) soul from spirit, joints from marrow.”  Do we take this literally, figuratively, metaphorically, or some other way?

- Another passage claims that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek.  Melchizedek is a mysterious figure in Genesis who runs into Abram after he has defeated and plundered an enemy who had captured his nephew, Lot (Genesis 14:10 – 20).  If Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, then he has greater authority than the currently-serving high priest in Jerusalem because that high priest serves in the order of Aaron because Melchizedek appeared and served generations before Aaron became a priest.

- The author of Hebrews claims that Jesus is able to forgive, redeem, and reconcile us to the Father because Jesus lived a fully-human life and experienced the full range of human activities, life stages, and emotions.


Mark 10:17 - 31

 17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  18 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.  19 You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'"  20 He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth."  21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."  22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

 23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"  24 And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!  25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."  26 They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?"  27 Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."

28 Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you."  29 Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age-- houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions-- and in the age to come eternal life.  31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."

- By all appearances, this man wanted to ensure that he was doing enough to earn his way into the Kingdom of God and eternal life.  When Jesus stated a new hurdle to clear before this was possible (i.e. sell everything you own, give the money to the poor, and follow Jesus), the man was not prepared for the standard to be so high.

- Some have argued that the “eye of the needle” is not an actual needle but a specific gate within the city of Jerusalem.  This gate was narrow enough that a camel loaded with baggage could not walk through it; to get the camel through this “eye of the needle,” the rider would have to stop the camel, fully unload all of the baggage, move the camel through the gate, and load everything back onto the camel.  Only then could the journey continue.  In recent years, however, scholars have debated whether such a gate ever existed.

- Some have used Mark 10:28 – 30 as a justification of “prosperity gospel,” the term for a believe system based on the claim that the Lord will financially bless true followers of Jesus.  In doing so, they conveniently ignore the phrase “with persecutions” in verse 30 as well as the reversal of fortunes in verse 31.

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Wednesday Thoughts on the Readings for Sunday, October 7th, 2018

This week brings a challenging set of readings.  While I recently read and preached upon two of these readings at a wedding, the lectionary extended one of the readings which puts the topic of marriage into the very different context of divorce and what is allowed by Jewish law.  How does Jesus' answer to the Pharisees (and later, his disciples) become good news for us?

Meanwhile, Psalm 8 pairs well with both the Genesis 2 reading and the commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4th; St. Francis was known for many things including his love for animals.  One of the ways that the Church commemorates St. Francis is with a Blessing of the Animals on October 4th, the date of his death.

And Hebrews 1 and 2 offer plenty of theological weight as well.

As always, I invite you to read the Revised Common Lectionary readings for Sunday, review my first impressions after each reading, and share your thoughts and questions in the comments below.


Genesis 2:18 - 24

 18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner."  19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.  20 The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner.  21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.  22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.  23 Then the man said,
     "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
         this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken."
 24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.


- Do you notice differences in yourself when you are alone compared to when you are with company?  What are they?

- What is meant by "helper?"  Is the role of the "helper" subordinate to Adam or equal to Adam?                      Who else is called a "helper" in the Bible?



Psalm 8

 Psalm 8:1  O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
 2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
 4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
 5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
 6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,
 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
 9 O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!


- Does Psalm 8 describe humans as having dominion or domination over the rest of Creation?  How we understand our role in Creation greatly impacts our level of concern over pollution and other environmental issues.


Hebrews 1:1 - 4, 2:5 - 12

 1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.  3 He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

 5 Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels.  6 But someone has testified somewhere,
       "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them?
       7 You have made them for a little while lower than the angels;
                   you have crowned them with glory and honor, 8 subjecting all things under their feet."
Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, 9 but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

 10 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.  11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying, "I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you."

- The Hebrews reading says a lot, and yet I have very little to say in response.  Perhaps I would find the material in the gap more interesting.

- Or look at Hebrews 2:16 – 18: “16 For it is clear that (Jesus) did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham.   17 Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.   18 Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.”   We often rely on the promise that Jesus is there to help us; the author of Hebrews makes the claim that Jesus is able to help us because Jesus became human like us and went through human challenges, situations, and conditions, including death.  This goes to why it is important for the Christian faith to proclaim that Jesus is fully human as well as fully divine.


Mark 10:2 - 16

 2 Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"  3 He answered them, "What did Moses command you?"  4 They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her."  5 But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you.  6 But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'  7 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
 8 and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."

 10 Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.  11 He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

 13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.  14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."
 16 And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

- The first part of the Gospel reading must be handled with care.  In any congregation, we are likely to find several divorcees.  Many of these divorcees are now remarried.  How can we address this topic and affirm marriage vows without shaming them for being previously divorced?

- Do we treat children like they are the future of the Church but unimportant to the present of the Church?  Or do we treat children like they are the present of the Church and are full members of the Church right now?