Lent 4 C - Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
The proper sons (Pharisees and scribes) were grumbling because Jesus was eating and drinking with the prodigal sons (tax collectors and sinners) without punishing them for their prodigal-ness. It could be that Jesus knows that being prodigal (wasteful, reckless) is punishment enough and that those who stay home can be just as lost and dead as those who spend all they have in distant lands and end up coming home hungry. Of course the point of the parable is that the party will not be a joyful family reunion until the brothers sit down to dine together. So while the younger son suffered from hunger and the older son suffered from resentment it was the father who suffered the most waiting for his children to love each other as much as he loved them. Sad to say God is still waiting. 

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

The apostle Paul makes it sound so simple. “If you are in Christ you are a new creation…” How is it then that so many new creations continue to live in old ways regarding themselves and others and even the Christ from a human point of view? It is because we continue to cling to our old skin, stretching or shrinking it to make it fit even when it is obvious to everyone else that it doesn't.  Becoming a new creation is as much a death as it is a birth and both birth and death are very difficult things to do. So how do old creations learn new tricks? It begins and ends with what sounds so simple – a new point of view. That is we no longer think of Christ or others or ourselves from the point of view that sees reconciliation as compromise and forgiveness freely given as cheap. Or the point of view that accepts reconciliation for self but withholds it from others. Or worse, the point of view that accepts reconciliation for everyone else but can’t quite come to accept it as true for self and so the old skin clings to us as much as we cling to it. But if we dare to shed the old skin, without fear of being naked, we will die to the human point of view of selfish ways (ways that are both self-serving and self-denying) and become the new creation we already are all because of who God is. God does not count your sins against you. You can stop counting them as well. 

Lent 4 C - Psalm 32

Psalm 32
The sad truth about ourselves is that we don’t get to “happy are those” until our bodies have done some wasting away. It comes from being so good at hiding iniquity or living “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” even though we've never left home. Hopefully sooner, rather than later, we come to our senses and realize that acknowledging our deceit has a direct effect on whether we live as “happy are those” or as those who are “dried up as in the heat of summer.” That is the gift of groaning all day long for if we were not made uncomfortable by a hand heavy upon us our ignorance would grow content with the bit and be curbed only when caught by torment or trouble. And so “happy are those” who both hear and tell the truth about themselves and determine to be less stubborn next time so that their groaning will give way to glad cries of deliverance.

Lent 4 C - Joshua 5:9-12

Joshua 5:9-12
Forty years of “what is it?” manna and now finally something new! Time and again in their wilderness wanderings the children of Israel lamented their meager fare. “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"” Complaining of their present they forgot the pain of their past as the memory of fish and fruit failed to recall the disgrace of Egypt. In reality the “no cost” meal was the manna God freely provided. The fish and fruit, the “no cost” meal in Egypt, was paid for by slavery and harsh treatment. Of course those who complained never did get off the manna diet and dying in the desert their only comfort must have been that at least their children would see the promised land. That hope did not disappoint as Joshua and the children of disgrace were set free and manna was forever off the menu in the land of milk and honey. When in our wilderness wandering we lose our appetite and mis-remembering the past long for something that never was God calls us back to faith through a “no cost to us” meal that cost God’s life. Sustaining us in our weakness God provides for the journey until manna is taken off the menu and we sit down to dine at the forever feast. 

Lent 3 C - Luke 13:1-9

Luke 13:1-9
There is no cause and effect between sin and a tragic death... but if you don't repent you'll suffer a tragic death. It seems as if Jesus' answer to why bad things happen to people raises more questions, but maybe that is the point. Jesus challenges the need for a reason for why bad things happen because for us even a bad reason is more comforting than no reason at all. But then we have been curious from creation and like the first humans we are not willing to live with God knowing something we don't, even it means getting kicked out of the garden. And so we keep trying to put the puzzle together, even though a good number of the pieces are missing. Jesus would have us live into God's answer to Job's why? "I'm not telling, but trust me anyway." The answer that wants us to live with the question is like a fig tree that has had enough time to get busy doing what fig trees are meant to do but has not. Cutting it down to make room for another is the correct answer to three years of wasted waiting. But the gardener wants the owner to live with the question, "will it produce?" for another year and while we would rush to the yes or no end of the parable I think as with most parables we too are supposed to live with the question, which, of course, is God's answer.

Lent 3 C - 1 Corinthians 10:1-17

1 Corinthians 10:1-17
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, or in other words, “you better not shout, you better not pout, you better not cry, I’m telling you why…” What do we do with Paul’s warning, or veiled threat, depending on which side of the line you are standing? I suppose the first thing we have to ask ourselves is do we believe what Paul is saying? That 23,000 fell in a day for getting up from the table to play and others putting Christ to the test had good reason to fear snakes, while still others should have kept their mouths shut and their complaints to themselves. And further that this is a Divine object lesson to keep the Corinthians, and us I suppose, from making the same mistake and suffering a similar fate? From the perspective of God’s grace these verses carry less weight than the “still more excellent way” of the thirteenth chapter of this same letter but they cannot and I might add, dare not be dismissed so easily. The reason being, as Paul will tell the Romans, is that God has determined to be both just and the one who justifies. There will be a reckoning and therefore a pardon will be necessary for whether we think we are standing or not we have all fallen into temptation and are without exception guilty. To think or claim otherwise is to engage in theological immorality by testing the grace of God without accepting the consequence of sin or acknowledging the cost to Christ. In spite of our weakness God is faithful and the strength to be tested is not our will power but whether we endure our falling by trusting the way out God has provided.

Lent 3 C - Psalm 32

Psalm 32

The sad truth about ourselves is that we don’t get to be “happy are those” until our bodies have done some “wasting away” and I don’t mean the kind that comes naturally. The really troubling “wasting away” comes from being good at hiding iniquity by living life as if “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” even though we’ve never left home. Psalm 32 encourages us to come to our senses and realize that acknowledging our deceit has a direct effect on whether we live as “happy are those” or as those who are “dried up as the heat of summer.” That is the gift of groaning all day long for if we were not made uncomfortable by a hand heavy upon us our ignorance would grow content with the bit and only be curbed when caught by the bridle of torment or trouble. And so truly “happy are those” who both hear and tell the truth about themselves and determine to be less stubborn so that groaning gives way more quickly to glad cries of deliverance.

Lent 3 C - Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Lent has always been my favorite season of the church year. I attribute it to being fed a steady diet of sad country western songs as a child and having a fondness for hymns in minor keys. Or maybe it was all the effort that was put into Lent, the shrouded cross, the purple banners, the symbols of pain and suffering just made church more interesting. I do know I first came to love Jesus during Lent because the story was so sad and Jesus did it for me, though I’m sure as a child I didn't understand why. That is what is happening in this text. The giving of first fruits is connected to the story of Israel’s beginning so they will understand why they offer first fruits in the first place. We were treated harshly in Egypt but God heard our voice and saw our affliction and did something about it and so we do something in return. That distinction, the doing something in return, is what makes this a story of grace and not just paying for a piece of property. It is the gift of freedom, land flowing with milk and honey, which prompts the giving of a gift to the gift giver. Like the children of Israel we were in bondage to sin but God heard our cry and saw our affliction and did something about it. So in the giving up or the taking on, the effort put into Lent, we give a gift to the gift giver and enter more fully the sad story that has a happy ending.

Luke 13:31-45

Luke 13:31-35

If the Pharisees, who know a thing or two about plotting to kill Jesus, are concerned maybe Jesus should pay attention. After all the only hope a hen has is in hiding and praying the fox isn’t as crafty as, well, a fox. And although the lament of Jesus, “how often I have longed...” ends with a word of judgment, “have it your way” the image of Jesus as a chicken should do more than cause us to chuckle. It is always surprising to me, and not a little troubling, that we often miss all the ways in which God’s self-revelation sets aside what we think of as God like qualities for the less than majestic and powerful. None are more striking than Jesus as a mother hen and Herod as a fox. But then if we miss the most obvious, God choosing to die exposed and shamed, hanging naked between common criminals, then I suppose it follows that we would gravitate towards what our youth and family director Janelle might call a Big Dog God for that’s what we think we need to send foxes into hiding. To be gathered under the wings of Jesus is to accept God as God chooses to be revealed which is always different from what we expect and when gathered under those wings we get it and begin to look less like foxes and more like chickens.

Lent 2 C - Philippians 3:14-4:1

Philippians 3:14 - 4:1
Pressing on towards the prize requires desire and will power and physical fitness which doesn't happen overnight. The apostle Paul had more than a little practice pressing on as many pressed in on him for his holding fast to heavenly citizenship. It may be that without opposition it is more difficult for us to keep spiritually fit as minds set on earthly things dull our desire, sap our will power and weaken our resolve. So what are we to do? Stand firm in the Lord, Paul would say, but that doesn't mean stand still. Pressing begins with our sight, not on the prize but on what made the prize possible. "Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith" or so goes another Biblical running text. So if you have taken that first step to be more spiritually fit during Lent don’t let yourself go just because Easter rolls around. The race isn't over until you cross the finish line.

Lent 2 C - Psalm 27

Psalm 27
"One thing I ask of the Lord...." If you ask me this psalm asks too much. “No Fear” might work as a bumper sticker for a pick up truck but I’m afraid I would experience more than a little fear if evildoers sat down to dine on me. And while the adversaries and foes stumble and fall in verse two they are back on their feet breathing violence in verse twelve. Even the Lord’s face is hidden and to the psalmist, cast off and forsaken, the light of salvation should seem dim and distant. Which is why the psalm needs to begin where it ends. Waiting. Wait for the Lord; be strong for the Lord is your light and salvation. Wait for the Lord and let your heart take courage for the Lord is the stronghold of your life. So is that it? We just grit our teeth and bear whatever life throws at us or take a deep breath and go to our happy place when all around is chaos? No. Confident waiting hope does not depend on our own strength or ability to endure. It depends fully on the One who has prepared a place for us and has himself waited through all this psalm asked Him to endure. Surrounded by enemies, forsaken by family and friends, accused falsely by witnesses breathing violence he was forsaken even by God. But for the joy set before him Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice as his head, crowned with thorns, was lifted up above the enemies he was dying to forgive. And dying our death he became our life so that our waiting would not be in vain. No Fear? Maybe so.

Lent 2 C - Genesis 15:1-18

Genesis 15:1-18I'm not sure I'd care to pass through half a heifer even if the birth of the promised heir depended on it. The Bible contains a lot of material that I find odd or even offensive and when I read stories like this I can’t imagine God needs to be so dramatic just to make a promise come true. So if we were to demythologize this story, or take out the bits that don’t fit our view of what is real and what might not be quite the way it reads, what would be the harm? Maybe it is because we need the bits “beyond our knowing” so that we can live more fully into the part of this story that is real to us - when we like Abraham find ourselves between what is and what we hope will be. If we have worked out all the details, made God fit our way of thinking, what do we do when we don’t fit God’s way of being? Abraham’s faith reckoned to him as righteousness, or right relationship with God, depends on believing the promise when the promise is not yet. It means trusting God is present when all evidence would indicate that God is not. Faith lives between what is and what is hoped for, between the revealed Word and the mystery of the Word invisible yet somehow present. So Abraham believed what he knew could not be and we are the offspring he was promised, counted among the stars he could not number. 

Lent 1 C - Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1-13
Country singer Lari White sings a song about temptation but she doesn’t need any help from the devil. “Lead me not into temptation I already know the road all too well. Lead me not into temptation I can find it all by myself.” Of course she’s singing about a “good looking thing” that caught her looking at him but she’s the one who will tell him to “just get thee behind me and I’ll show you the way.” That is true for us as well. We know the road all too well and despite the best of intentions make choices based on our hunger, whatever need real or imagined, that demands to be filled. We believe the lie because it promises much and even though the lie never delivers we are willing to take whatever crumbs it offers. Tempted to live for self we turn stones into bread but are hungry still. Lusting after power and wealth and possessions we sell our soul but are hungry still. And when in the practice of our faith we look for proof of God in emotional experiences or carefully constructed theologies or lives of rigid rules with self-righteousness as our reward we find we are hungry still. That is the truth about us and the first step in a different direction is admitting we know the old road all too well. Honesty stills the voice of our hunger, whatever need real or imagined that demands to be filled, so that we hear the voice of Jesus singing a different song from another road that will one day be the only one we know. So hear the voice of Jesus say, “Just get thee behind me and I’ll show you the way.”

Lent 1 C - Psalm 91

Psalm 91
I can’t read Psalm 91 without humming “On Eagles Wings” and rightly so. This is a psalm that has to be sung in the same way as a child I sang “I am trusting thee, Lord Jesus” walking down our basement stairs in the dark. The snare of the Fowler, deadly pestilence, terrors at night, arrows by day and the charge of the light brigade can only be faced by a chorus like, “And I will raise you up on eagle’s wings.” And while it is true that the only way out is up, it takes some going through before the Lord can be the wind beneath your wings. That is what songs and psalms like this are for, the going through times. Such songs and psalms encourage the heart in the dark and difficult times, strengthen the spirit in the unpredictable and unnerving times, restore hope in the face of despair, faith in times of doubt. The only thing better than a song sung in such times is a song sung together. One day when raised on eagle’s wings, borne on the breath of dawn, shining like the sun we will find ourselves held in the palm of God’s hand and we’ll sing a new song with a chorus that never ends. In the meantime this one will see us through.

Lent 1 C - Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Lent has always been my favorite season of the church year. I attribute it to being fed a steady diet of sad country western songs as a child and having a fondness for hymns in minor keys. Or maybe it was that all the effort put into Lent, the shrouded cross, the purple banners, the symbols of pain and suffering just made church more interesting. I do know I first came to love Jesus during Lent because the story was so sad and Jesus did it for me, though I’m sure as a child I didn’t understand why. That is what is happening in this text. The giving of first fruits is connected to the story of Israel’s beginning so they will understand why they offer first fruits at all. We were treated harshly in Egypt but God heard our voice and saw our affliction and did something about it and so we do something in return. That distinction, the doing something in return, is what makes this a story of grace and not just paying for a piece of property. It is the gift of freedom, land flowing with milk and honey, which prompts giving something to the gift giver. Like the children of Israel we were in bondage to sin but God heard our voice and saw our affliction and did something about it. So in the giving up or the taking on, the effort put into Lent, we give something to the gift giver and enter more fully the sad story with a happy ending.

The Feast of Transfiguration Year C - Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

The lectionary allows the option of including the verses that describe what happens after Jesus comes down the mountain and while it might appear to be two different stories they belong together. The transfigured Jesus talking with the law giver and the end of all things prophet is sent to be with and bear with the faithless and perverse generation. “How long…” is a lament not a rebuke and has more to do with Jesus than the perverse generation for Jesus knows he will be with this perverse generation until he bears their perversity in his own person. How do you give up glory when you know that? You do it for a father who cries out “Teacher, I beg you…” You do it for an only son convulsed and mauled and beaten by a demon. You do it for well meaning but ineffective disciples. You do it because that is what love does. The beloved only Son is convulsed and mauled and beaten and killed for the faithless and perverse of every generation, every last one of us. If the disciples want to stay on the mountain and bask in the glory how much more so Jesus who has every reason to stay in the booth Peter offers to build but chooses to come off the mountain so that he can eventually climb a lonely hill.