Thursday Thoughts on the Readings for Sunday, April 8th, 2018

My apologies to all of you for not keeping up with this over the last couple of weeks.  The end of Lent and Holy Week are a very busy time for any pastor, especially a solo pastor.  Unfortunately, I was not able to share my sermon preparation process with you over the course of the last two weeks due to my busy schedule.  After a funeral this week, I am attempting to get back on track.

This week, the congregation celebrates Rogation Sunday, a traditional celebration in rural communities that asks the Lord's blessing on the crops that are being planted in this season.  This typically happens on the Sixth Sunday of the Easter season; however, the congregation I serve holds their Rogation Sunday earlier in the Easter season so that the congregation can conclude worship with a blessing of tractors and other large pieces of farm equipment.  Local farmers are invited to bring their large equipment to the parking lot and their hand tools indoors as part of the service.

For those who are new to my posts or just need a reminder, I will share the Bible readings that the Revised Common Lectionary designates for our upcoming Sunday worship service.  After each reading, I share my initial thoughts and responses to each reading.  I invite you to share your thoughts, responses, and questions in the comments below.

Acts 4:32 - 35

32Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Acts 4 is a second community of disciples that sounds like a commune (compare to Acts 2:42 – 47).  The people are united in Christ to the point where they share all property/resources from the sale of property.  While there are no claims of miracles, we do explicitly hear that the resurrection was proclaimed within the community (Easter focus).  Curiously, the reading stops short of the positive example set by a member of the community; this person sold a piece of land/property and gave 100% of the proceeds to the community.  Perhaps the RCL creators did not want us to start drawing in the Acts 5:1 – 11 story…

Psalm 133

 1 How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.

 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.

How good and pleasant, indeed!  Unfortunately, we have a tendency to disrupt such communities from within due to jealousy and selfishness.  But when we get to experience communities like this (I got to experience this while serving on camp staff and while attending seminary), the experience sticks with you for the rest of your life.

1 John 1:1 - 2:2

1We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—2this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—3we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

  5This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

 2:1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 1 answers the question of where we find some of the language within “The Brief Order of Confession and Forgiveness.”  The first chapter seems all over the place, like we have missed an organized introduction to the letter.  But 2:1 – 2 gets to the point: Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for all sin and the advocate for all people before the Father.

John 20:19 - 31

19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

  24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
  26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

  30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The verse before this Gospel reading is Mary Magdalene reporting her encounter with the risen Christ to the disciples.  Question: was Thomas with the disciples when Mary told them of her encounter?  If so, then what held Thomas back after hearing about a second, separate encounter?  I imagine that it would be harder to dismiss the disciples’ story if Thomas was present to hear Mary’s story.

Who in our lives tells the most/biggest “tall tales?”  How do we receive stories from this source?  How do we confirm/refute such stories?  If the story is confirmed by another, trustworthy source, what do we do?

Monday Thoughts on the Readings for Sunday, March 18th, 2018

This coming Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent before Palm/Passion Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week.  Our Gospel reading suggests that Jesus is ready for what is about to happen.  Throughout the early chapters of Gospel of John, we hear that Jesus' hour has not yet arrived.  But now, Jesus declares, the hour has arrived, and we begin the final journey to Jerusalem and to the Cross.  What else do we need to hear before we get to Holy Week?

As always, you will find the Revised Common Lectionary readings within the post.  In italics, I add my thoughts after each reading.  If you would like to add your thoughts, ask your questions, or critique my response(s), you can do so in the comment section below.


Jeremiah 31:31 - 34

31The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32It 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. 33But 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. 34No 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.

The covenant referenced here is the Lord’s covenant with Moses, which re-established the covenant with Abraham for Abraham’s family (the Israelites) to live in the Promised Land.  This covenant also came with a series of laws and regulations for the Israelites to live within this covenant.  The Israelites were not able to live up to this covenant, and so the Lord sent them into exile.  But the Lord will return the Israelites to Jerusalem and will establish a new covenant with them.  In the short term, this covenant is the restoration of the city and the Temple.  From a New Testament (i.e. a “New Covenant”) perspective, the new covenant is recalled within the sacrament of Holy Communion.


Psalm 51:1 - 12

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
 4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
 5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
 6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.

 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Psalm 51 is the psalmist’s confession of breaking the covenant and violating the Lord’s laws.  The psalmist asks for forgiveness and for the Lord to cleanse the psalmist from these sins.  The psalmist also asks for a new heart, which connects with Jeremiah 31’s mention of the Lord writing the new covenant on our hearts.


Hebrews 5:5 - 10

5Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, 
 “You are my Son,
  today I have begotten you”;
6as he says also in another place, 
 “You are a priest forever,
  according to the order of Melchizedek.”
  7In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews reads as if it suggests that Jesus was not fully divine when he was born (see verses 8 and 9: “Although he was a son, he learned obedience…and having been made perfect…).  The appeal to the order of Melchizedek (see Genesis 14:17 – 24) is a traditional appeal to authority: in Hebrew culture, authority came with age; the older, the greater the authority.  If Jesus is a “high priest according to the order of Melchizedek,” then the authority of his order is greater than the authority of the Levites (goes back to Moses and Aaron) and the Pharisees.


John 12:20 - 33

20Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

  27“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Philip and Andrew are still sitting there, wondering “Will you receive these Greek visitors who wish to see you or not?”  (a facetious thought, I know, but I notice that Jesus did not answer the question that they asked)


In the Gospel of John, we do not get the full story of John baptizing Jesus; instead, we get John the Baptist telling others about that event.  John the Baptist mentions seeing a dove and hearing a voice, but there is no sense that others heard the voice.  Here, the crowd also hears the voice of God/Holy Spirit.  Some dismiss this voice as thunder.  Others say it is the voice of an angel.  Jesus declares that this voice is for us so that we may trust and believe Jesus’ message that he will draw all people to himself after his crucifixion.

Wednesday Thoughts on the Readings for Sunday, March 11th, 2018

After a weekend during which I did not preach on Sunday because I was traveling to a continuing education conference, we return to look at the readings for the Fourth Sunday in Lent.  This is traditionally known as "Laetare Sunday," a day of hope within the dark season of Lent.  "Laetare" is Latin for "Rejoice!" (in the vocative case, meaning that it is a command or an order).  On this day, we rejoice and celebrate, pushing aside the gloom of Lent and looking ahead to the joy of Easter.  So as we read these reading for Laetare Sunday, we can look for themes and ideas within the readings that we can lift up as causes to celebrate with the Lord and rejoice.

Below are some of my initial thoughts: many of them were recorded last week, and some of them I have added as I typed up this post.  I invite you to share your thoughts, questions, and celebrations in the comments below.


Numbers 21:4 - 9

4From Mount Hor [the Israelites] set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.” 6Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” 9So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

Numbers 21 provides a number of places to run with an idea.  The people grumbling about the lack of good food and water remind us that many will not be able to hear our testimony about Christ before their need for food and water are satisfied.  The serpent on the pole was the inspiration behind the internationally-recognized symbol for medical personnel, two snakes wrapped around a pole.  We could also focus on the power of confession and repentance (which fits the season of Lent and is likely the reason why the story is included in the Lenten season) or the power of prayer.

Some will wonder why the Lord used a tool (snakes) that caused death.  I don’t have a good answer to this; we know that God has changed since this time, because God no longer causes the death of members of a community or nation to inspire (force) the confession and repentance of that community or nation.  But we cannot say why God chose to act in this way in the early years of the nation of Israel.


Psalm 107:1 - 3, 17 - 22

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, those he redeemed from trouble

 3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

 17 Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction;
 18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
 19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress;
 20 he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction.
 21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.

 22 And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices, and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

Psalm 107 reads like a poetic retelling of the Exodus story.  We have narrowed the psalm down to the parts that echo the first reading.


Ephesians 2:1 - 10

1You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—9not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Ephesians 2:8 is the theme verse for the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering, so that suggests that I should look here for the calling of the Holy Spirit to preach this Sunday.

There is a question of what is meant by “dead” and “alive.”  I notice that, in this telling, we are made alive NOW and we are raised up to sit with Christ in the heavenly places NOW.  Where and how do we experience this?

Does “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” mean that we are saved through the faith of Christ (which would not conflict with Paul’s theology even if we believe that Paul did not actually write this letter to the Ephesians)?  In this line of thinking, our good works do not save us, but we are created and saved so that we may do good works as a way of life.  That does change everything!  This frees us to do good works solely for the benefit of our neighbor(s) rather than concern ourselves with what reward in heaven we might earn through our good works.  And, in working for the benefit of our neighbor(s), we have the opportunity to demonstrate and share the love of Christ for all people.  This is something worth celebrating!


John 3:14 - 21

[Jesus said:] 14“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
  16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
  17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

John 3 is a well-known passage up through verse 17.  We don’t really like verses 18-21 because they talk about condemnation and judgment.  Verses 19-21 could be the inspiration behind the popular phrase about sunlight as the greatest disinfectant, meaning that removing evil deeds from their dark hiding places tends to end the deeds and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Thursday Thoughts on the Readings for Sunday, February 25th, 2018

Good afternoon, folks.  Thank you for taking the time to read these posts as I prepare to preach each Sunday.  For those who respond and/or ask questions, know that I read every comment, respond as I am able, and build your responses into my sermons.

This week, we get the third promise from the Lord to Abram/Abraham (though we skip over the sign of this covenant), Paul's reflection on Abraham and righteousness, and a big misunderstanding between Peter and Jesus.  Each of these passages is worth its own sermon, but I doubt that anyone will hang around long enough for me to preach three separate sermons this Sunday.  We will see where the Holy Spirit leads this week.

Below, I will share each of the Revised Common Lectionary readings (from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible) for the Second Sunday in Lent.  After each reading, I will share my thoughts in italics.  I invite you to share your reactions, comments, and questions in the comment section below.

NOTE: I will not have a post like this next week; I will return to my weekly schedule in the lead up to Sunday, March 11th.


Genesis 17:1 - 7, 15 - 16

1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 2And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” 3Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 5No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 6I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”
  15God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

The Lord gives Abram (“exalted father”) a new name, Abraham (“father of multitudes”), as well as Sarai  a new name, Sarah (both names mean “princess,” but Sarai suggests “my princess” while Sarah suggests “princess/mother of multitudes”).  These new names communicate the Lord’s promise to others, that from these two people shall many multitudes be born and create a new nation.  The missing portion of the passage discusses circumcision, the sign of the covenant that the Lord is creating with Abraham.


Psalm 22:23 - 31

 23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
 24 For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.
 25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
 26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!
 27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
 28 For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
 29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.
 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord,

 31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.

Psalm 22 is the psalm we read on Good Friday, but we stop just before this passage.  At this point, the Lord has saved the psalmist, and so the psalmist is proclaiming anyone listening what the Lord has done.  The psalmist calls all the nations and anyone who will go down to the dust to join him in worshipping the Lord.  The story is so great that it will be repeated for many years so that the peoples’ children and grandchildren will know what the Lord did for the psalmist.


Romans 4:13 - 25

13The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
  16For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Paul (and James (2:21 – 24)) glosses over Abraham’s relationship with Hagar and Ishmael and proclaims that Abraham was always faithful to the Lord.  But we know that Abraham had moments of doubt because he took the promise into his own hands, accepting Sarah’s offer and fathering a child with Hagar, Sarah’s servant (which sounds terrible to modern ears, but this was a common practice in those days).  If Abraham can have such a moment of doubt and distrust and yet still be upheld as faithful and righteous, shouldn’t we also forgive ourselves for our moments of doubt and distrust?


Mark 8:31 - 38

31[Jesus] began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

  34He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the Messiah (8:27 – 30), but here he shows that he has a different understanding of the Messiah’s mission in the world than Jesus.  Peter tries to “correct” Jesus by asking him to take on a different mission.  In this way, Peter becomes “Satan,” which has demonic overtones but may also be better understood as “the Satan” or “the Tempter/Tester” as we see in the early chapters of Job.  Either way, Jesus rejects the offer, proclaiming that his mission, by design, will cost him his life for the sake of “divine things.”  If we are to follow Christ, we are called to be willing to lose all things, including our lives, for the sake of divine things.

Another question: the translations I checked all interpret the Greek word “psuche” in 8:35 as “life.”  So why do many translations switch to “soul” when translating the same word in 8:36?  (It is one way to translate "psuche," but why the inconsistency between the two verses?)  It is likely a case of body/soul dualism creeping into Christianity.  The proclamation of the Church is that our entire selves, including our bodies, will be raised from the dead at the end of the age.  But there are many who proclaim that the resurrection at the end of the age will only raise our souls (or spirits, if you prefer) because the physical world, including our bodies, will not be needed after the resurrection.

Monday Thoughts on the Readings for Ash Wednesday (February 14th) 2018

We are quickly approaching Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent.  Ash Wednesday is a day where we remember that we are creatures who will eventually return to the dust, but we worship the Lord who created us and can raise us from the dust.  It is a day for confession and repentance as well as absolution.  The sign of the cross on our foreheads both reminds us of our sin and proclaims the source of our reconciliation and salvation.

This year, the community gathers in the shadows of the deaths of two congregation members.  Their respective funerals will take place in the days after Ash Wednesday.  What does this day proclaim in the midst of our grief and sadness?

As always, I invite you to leave your thoughts, comments, and questions below.  You can see my thoughts underneath each reading, and I will respond to all posts in the comments as well.

Joel 2:1 - 2, 12 - 17

¹Blow the trumpet in Zion;
  sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
 Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
  for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near—
 ²a day of darkness and gloom,
  a day of clouds and thick darkness!
 Like blackness spread upon the mountains
  a great and powerful army comes;
 their like has never been from of old,
  nor will be again after them
  in ages to come.
 ¹²Yet even now, says the Lord,
  return to me with all your heart,
 with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
  ¹³rend your hearts and not your clothing.
 Return to the Lord, your God,
  for he is gracious and merciful,
 slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
  and relents from punishing.
 ¹⁴Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
  and leave a blessing behind him,
 a grain offering and a drink offering
  for the Lord, your God?
 ¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion;
  sanctify a fast;
 call a solemn assembly;
  ¹⁶gather the people.
 Sanctify the congregation;
  assemble the aged;
 gather the children,
  even infants at the breast.
 Let the bridegroom leave his room,
  and the bride her canopy.
 ¹⁷Between the vestibule and the altar
  let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep.
 Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
  and do not make your heritage a mockery,
  a byword among the nations.
 Why should it be said among the peoples,
  ‘Where is their God?’ ”

Do we fear “the day of the Lord?”  Is this something we wish to delay as long as possible, or is this something we wish would arrive as soon as possible?  Here, in Joel, it seems like it is something to be feared.  Even those who are usually exempt from mass community gatherings (seniors, young children, and newlyweds) are required to come and plead for the Lord’s mercy.  There is a call for confession and repentance.  It is very similar to the themes of Ash Wednesday.  The difference is that the Church typically views “the day of the Lord” as something to celebrate, for it is the day the Lord will return to Earth, the Kingdom of God will fully arrive, and we will rise from our graves to greet the new age.

Psalm 51:1 - 17

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

 4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.

 5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

 6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.

 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

 14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

 16 For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

 17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalm 51 reads like a community proclamation at the gathering called for in Joel 2.  It also holds the words of the popular liturgical song “Create in Me.”  How confident are we in the request for the Lord to not cast us aside?  It’s another case of wondering whether we view “the day of the Lord” with dread or delight.

2 Corinthians 5:20b - 6:10

20bWe entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
 6:1As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2For he says, 
 “At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
  and on a day of salvation I have helped you.”
See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! 3We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; 10as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

This year, it seems like the important part of the 2 Corinthians passage is the first four verses, ending with “now is the day of salvation!”  Paul calls for the Corinthians to “be reconciled to God.”  This reconciliation does not come from us; it comes through the death and resurrection of Christ.  This is the Good News of Ash Wednesday (and of the upcoming funerals): it is Jesus who reconciles us to the Triune God.  “It’s out of our hands; we can’t stop what (God has) begun.”  (If you are familiar with the song "Looking Through Your Eyes" by LeAnn Rimes.)  We can confess and repent, asking the Lord to sustain us in our efforts.  But this is truly the Lord’s work, and the Lord is at work in the world and in the sacraments of the Church.

Mark 6:1 - 6, 16 - 21

[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
  2“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
  5“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
  16“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
  19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6 seems to speak against what we are doing on Ash Wednesday.  Pray in secret (but we are gathered as a community).  Cover yourself in oil as though you are being honored (but we are marking ourselves with ashes, the symbol of mourning).  It is definitely an odd choice for this night…and this year, I don’t think I want to dive into that oddity.