Tuesday Thoughts on the Readings for Sunday, December 2nd, 2018

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Aren't you a little early with that, pastor?

By the typical calendar year, yes, of course.  However, by the liturgical calendar, we wrapped up the year with Christ the King Sunday on November 25th and we begin a new year with the first Sunday of Advent on December 2nd.

Oh, Advent!  So we are preparing for Christmas, right?

Well, yes and no.  "Advent" comes from the Latin word "advenio," which means "to arrive."  Advent is the season of the Church where we focus on the arrival of Christ.  And yes, that does mean the arrival of the baby Jesus at Christmas.  But it also means the future arrival of Jesus, when he will raise the dead from their graves and bring the Lord's people into the complete Kingdom (or Reign) of God on Earth.  At the beginning of Advent, we are more focused on the future arrival of Jesus.  As the season goes along, we will shift our focus to the first arrival of Jesus.

Keep this in mind as we take a look at the readings for this upcoming Sunday, December 2nd.  While the world around us is charging ahead towards Christmas, our readings this week are more focused on the future arrival of Jesus.

What else do you see within these readings?  What questions are you left with?  Share your insights and questions in the comments below so that we can continue the conversation!


Jeremiah 33:14 - 16

 14 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."

- Oftentimes in the Old Testament, key ideas or claims will be repeated.  This is especially true in Hebrew poetry.  However, in this case, the “house of Israel and the house of Judah” are separate entities, reflecting the split in the kingdom after the death of Solomon.

- Interestingly, Jeremiah claims that Judah will be saved and Jerusalem, a city within the borders of Judah, will live in safety.  What has happened to Israel?  If my timeline is correct, Israel has already been captured by Assyria and no longer exists as an independent nation.  Therefore, the pledge to protect and preserve goes to the nation that still exists at the time of the proclamation.

Psalm 25:1 - 10

 1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

 2 O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.

 3 Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

 4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.

 5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.

 6 Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O LORD!

 8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

 9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

 10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. 

- I don’t understand the choice of the first ten verses of Psalm 25 to pair with the Jeremiah 33 reading.  If we wanted to use Psalm 25, the back half of the Psalm appears to be a better fit.  In the back half, we get the proclamation that those who fear the Lord “will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land” (verse 13) and the psalmist’s plea, “Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles.” (verse 22)  These fit the Jeremiah discussion of what is happening for the people of Judah.  The rest of Psalm 25 is a self-focused psalm that does not fit with Jeremiah 33.

1 Thessalonians 3:9 - 13

 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you?  10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

 11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you.  12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you.  13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

- This 1 Thessalonians reading is an odd choice as well.  There’s a token reference to the arrival of Jesus with all of his saints, but it merely introduces the topic rather than include more of the letter to further discuss the idea in detail.

Luke 21:25 - 36

 25 "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.

 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

 27 Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.

 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

 29 Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees;

 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.

 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place.

 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

 34 "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly,

 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.

 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

- “The Son of Man coming in a cloud” uses the same image that described a king or a general arriving in a city.  We saw this phrase twice in the readings for Christ the King Sunday.

- “Nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves” could be drawing on the sea as a symbol of chaos.  The nations are confused by the chaos around them.

- “Pass away” can be restated as “come to an end.”  Revelation suggests that heaven and earth will come to an end so that the New Jerusalem can be established on Earth.  These things will not disappear completely (though this is how the New Living Translation decides to translate/paraphrase this verse), but they will be so completely reformed that they must be identified as brand new.

Wednesday Thoughts on the Readings for the 2018 WELCA Thankoffering Service (November 18, 2018)

Every year, Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (also known as Women of the ELCA or WELCA) organizes a "Thankoffering" service.  The service comes from a 19th Century practice of women collecting pennies and other coins throughout the year and bringing these coins to the Church as an offering.  Through these penny collections, women raised the money to build new church buildings, send missionaries around the world, and fund many other ministries of local congregations and national church bodies.  Today, these "Thankofferings" are a major funding source for the national ministries of the Women of the ELCA.  You can learn more about the history behind the Thankoffering Service here.

In a service designed around a special offering, you might expect a strong focus on stewardship and generosity.  In the suggested readings, however, there is a strong focus on the image of water.  In many cases, we are talking about literal water; in other cases, water serves as the symbol of Baptism.  From there, we can make the claim that our freedom from sin and death, which is given to us in Baptism, frees us to be generous with our time and our resources.

As always, the readings for this Sunday are below.  My comments are the readings are in italics.  My comments are meant to be the starting point of discussions and not the ending point of discussions.  If you have an insight to share, a dispute with something I've said, a question to raise regarding one of the readings, or any other response to what is shared here, I invite you to post it in the comments below so that we can continue the conversation.


Exodus 17:1 - 7

 1 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
 2 The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?"
 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?"
 4 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me."
 5 The LORD said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
 6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
 7 He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"


- The whole point of this story is that the Lord will provide, even when it seems impossible.  Finding a source of water large enough for the Israelites within a random rock/cliff/boulder in the wilderness?  Impossible!  Until it happens.

- “Rock” does not tell us much about where Moses found the Lord’s source of water.  The alternate translations of “cliff” and “boulder” tell us more and are a better description of a location that can hold large amounts of water.

Psalm 104:1, 5 - 15

 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty.

 

 5 You set the earth on its foundations, so that it shall never be shaken.

 6 You cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

 7 At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.

 8 They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys to the place that you appointed for them.

 9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.

 10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills,

 11 giving drink to every wild animal; the wild asses quench their thirst.

 12 By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches.

 13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

 14 You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth,

 15 and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart.

- This is a long psalm.  Here, we focus on the portions discussing water and how the Lord has created, controlled, and used water for the sake of Creation.  We hear echos of the Creation story and the Flood.  We also see that water has a central role in Creation, for all of life depends on water.

1 Corinthians 12:12 - 31

 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-- and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

 14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.

 15 If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.

 16 And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.

 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?

 20 As it is, there are many members, yet one body.

 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."

 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

 23 and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect;

 24 whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member,

 25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another.

 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.

 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?

 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

 31 But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

- 1 Corinthians 12 does not reference a body of water, but Paul bases his entire argument on the fact that we are all baptized into one body.  The waters of baptism and the Holy Spirit mean that every person and every community has a role to play/serve within the Church.

- We often read 1 Corinthians 12 and apply it to individuals.  Does our understanding of the passage change if we apply it to congregations and communities?  Does our understanding of the passage change if we claim that every congregation has a role to play within the Church and that we cannot cut our congregation off from the Church without causing the Church and our congregation to suffer?

- The Thankoffering can be wrapped into this passage.  Though we wonder if our small gift means anything, the national WELCA organization thrives off of the many small gifts coming together to fund various ministries.

John 4:5 - 26

 5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

 7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."

 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)

 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)

 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

 11 The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?

 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?"

 13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,

 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life."

 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."

 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back."

 17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband';

 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!"

 19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet.

 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem."

 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.

 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

 25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us."

 26 Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."

- We again wrestle with the question of where water will come from.  Can Jesus draw water from this well when he has no bucket?  Impossible!  But in this case, Jesus is talking in symbolic terms, not literal terms.

- The living water of baptism will be the source of living water/eternal life within us.

- Our gifts can also be the spring of water that sustains others.

Monday Thoughts on the Readings for Sunday, November 11th, 2018

After two festival Sundays, we return to the letter to the Hebrews and the Gospel of Mark.  The letter and the Gospel have advanced a couple of chapters, so we will not be able to build upon the previous stories without telling the previous stories that we have skipped over.

Across the readings, we have a theme of sacrifice and sacrificial giving.  When it comes to the widows, we focus on their giving from the little that they have.  When it comes to Jesus, we focus on how he sacrificed everything for us and then testifies on our behalf.

As you read through these Bible readings, what stands out as important to you?  What leaves you wanting to know more or questioning the significance of a particular detail?  I invite you to start the conversation around these things in the comments below!


1 Kings 17:8 - 16

 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 "Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you."  10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink."  11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."  12 But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."  13 Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son.  14 For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth."  15 She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days.  16 The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

- The widow is down to the last meal for her and her son.  Without an intervention, they will die in days.  In her initial answer to Elijah, we can hear that she is without hope.  On one hand, why would she share from what little she has?  On the other hand, given Elijah’s promise, what does she have to lose?

- It is worth noting that this story takes place outside of Israel.  The Lord has brought a drought to the nation because the king and queen, Ahab and Jezebel, have led the nation away from the Lord.  They have worshipped other gods, especially Ba’al, and have abused their power.  The Lord could have performed this miracle within Israel, but the Lord chose to send Elijah away from Israel.  Here, we get a hint that people who are not Jews may also fall into the category of “the Lord’s people.”

Psalm 146

 1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!

 2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.

 4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.

 5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God,

 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;

 7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;

 8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.

 9 The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

 10 The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD! 

- Psalm 146 is something that we should read before we vote.  In the United States, we tend to turn our political opinions into our identity and idolize our political leaders.  Here, we are reminded to trust the Lord above our political leaders.

- Read Psalm 146:9 alongside the headlines regarding the immigrant caravan working its way to the U.S. – Mexico border.

Hebrews 9:24 - 28

 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.  25 Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26 for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.  27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

- Read the statement of Jesus entering heaven “to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” together with “…it is appointed for mortals to die once, and then after that the judgment…”  Jesus testifies on our behalf, covering us with his righteousness.  We are judged to be righteous only because Jesus gives us his righteousness.

- A connection to Holy Communion: we do not re-sacrifice Jesus when we consecrate the bread and the wine.  We tell the story and we celebrate Jesus’ sacrifice, but we do not re-sacrifice Jesus on Sunday morning.

Mark 12:38 - 44

 38 As he taught, he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!  40 They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."

 41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.  42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.  43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.  44 For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

- The widow likely gave away the money she would use for her food that day.  That is why her gift was so great.

- How much of your salary would you have to give away before it could truly be considered “sacrificial giving?”  10%?  30%?  50%?