Easter 4 C - Acts 9:36-43

Acts 9:36-43

Peter, the fisherman turned physician, may have been the rock upon which the church was built, but Tabitha was the one who made it work. Devoted to acts of charity, she takes Jesus’ at his word about the least of these, “when I was naked you clothed me” and does something about it. Her handiwork in the hands of weeping widows is a testimony to her devotion and remembered well for the good she did Tabitha will be missed. But this is a resurrection story and so like Lazarus and Jairus’ daughter Tabitha will live to sew again. Luke tells the story as if a person coming back to life when called by name and told to get up happens all the time, even though miracles tend to demand attention and get it. People like Tabitha, devoted to good works and acts of charity, do not draw attention to themselves and maybe that makes her life of service more of a miracle than sitting up at Peter’s command. The miracle of the church is that despite all of its drawing attention to itself, mostly for the wrong reasons, it still has a Tabitha or two quietly going about being church. A resurrection story is always more about this life then whatever comes next and though we might long for the day when we hear that final “get up” the world would be well served, and maybe even resurrected, by a church devoted to good works and acts of charity.

Easter 3 C - John 21:1-19

John 21:1-19

By the third appearance the disciples have gone back to what they know. “I’m going fishing,” is what you do when your world has been turned upside down and inside out and even though you've come through without a scratch you retreat to the security and comfort of the familiar. The rhythm of casting out and hauling in, casting out and hauling in, casting out and hauling in, even if you don’t catch anything, is simple and satisfying and safe. But Jesus just can’t leave them alone and appearing again turns the catch into an object lesson. Cast on the other side even though you've been fishing all night with nothing to show for it. Recognition comes with the catch. John wants us to know there were 153 large fish but the more important detail is that the net isn’t torn which is just another sign that what you should expect in the new reality is the unexpected. After breakfast it’s Jesus who goes fishing for the answer that is really a confession. “You know I love you” three times on the beach reverses the three “I do not know the man” in the courtyard and the curses Peter called down upon himself are lifted with the charge to feed and tend and feed . His fishing days are over and what will become familiar in following Jesus will be suffering and death. God still interrupts the familiar of our everyday with the extraordinary chance encounters that after the fact are encounters clearly not by chance. In all this we are invited along with Peter to stretch out our hands and be bound to something beyond our own doing and in that even the familiar is always something new.

Easter 3 C - Revelation 5:11-14

Revelation 5:11-14

I remember the sound of angels singing in our backyard years ago. They must have been around three and five at the time and they were singing “This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia!” That’s the only part they knew so they just sang it over and over again. Maybe that’s the only part we need to know when it comes right down to it. The Lamb who was slain is worthy and has won the victory over death so that songs of rejoicing might spring forth from children and angels alike. To that the living creatures say Amen which means Let it be so. To live into let it be so is to invite the future into the present so that we hear and sing the song in our everyday. Granted it is more difficult when life is anything but playful. In those times the invitation is a prayer and this is the feast is sung through clenched teeth. Which is why it is the only thing we need to know. Despite all the difficulties of the day the battle is done, the final victory won. One day the feast of victory will be for all of us as children playing and singing this is the feast over and over again and the sound of suffering and sorrow will be stilled. And so the memory of angels singing in the backyard in the past enters the present of this morning so that one is reminded of the future. Amen. Let it be so.

Easter 3 C - Psalm 30

Psalm 30
Psalm 30 is a song of deliverance sung in the key of joy. Rescued from the foe, helped by healing, brought back from the depths of the pit the psalmist has seen it all and is glad that the day of refreshment has finally dawned. But the worst of what was is perhaps understated. “When you hid your face I was dismayed.” Weeping through the night watches the psalmist is clothed in the sackcloth of God’s absence and the moment of God’s anger seems to last a lifetime. Crying into that silence for help the psalmist is not above making a deal. “What good am I to you dead?” When the morning of deliverance comes the rejoicing is unrestrained and one jumps for the joy of it, for even if silence and sorrow and suffering are remembered the new dawn trumps whatever one went through to see the sun rise.

Easter 3 C - Acts 9:1-20

Acts 9:1-20
Saul may be the one blinded but Ananias is the one who wants to make sure God sees clearly. "Here, I am Lord" is followed quickly by a just in case you don't know "Lord, I've heard of this man…" According to Luke's tale all Ananias needs is a little more information to call Saul brother but I image he had an exit strategy when he headed down Straight Street in Damascus. Even so his only scene in the Gospel is a story of faith that makes Paul's story possible as his baptizing "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me" means Paul can suffer for "the sake of the name" which in turn makes the name of Jesus known. Ananias could have said send someone else but he didn't and his act of obedience opened the eyes of Paul and the eyes of countless generations who would read Paul's letters. Maybe God seeing clearly is how we receive our sight. Here I am Lord.

Easter 2 C - John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31
There are those who say faith dare not doubt while others claim faith without doubt is no faith at all. I’m not sure I care to enter the debate. Thomas had good reason to wonder at this word, “We have seen the Lord!” and as the ten weren’t blessed until they had seen I’m willing to give Thomas the benefit of the doubt. Truth is there are times when I wonder at this word and question whether everything written is the Gospel truth. I don’t think that is as much a function of doubting as it is the product of the God given ability to think critically. God is not threatened by our questions and does not punish us for asking them.  Touch and see was what Thomas needed to do and touch and see is what Jesus offered him. And what seems like Jesus rebuking Thomas, “have you believed because you have seen me?”  is really an encouragement to those of us who given the opportunity would do anything to “trade places with Thomas and touch those ruined hands.” (Friederich Buechner – Peculiar Treasures) So we who live by faith and not by sight are free to question and in whatever way doubt and faith intersect find the place where the life of believing lives comfortably with questions.

Easter 2 C - Revelation 1:4-8

Revelation 1:4-8
We leave the letter to the seven churches behind when we translate it too quickly to a prophetic word about our time or anytime to come for that matter. Not that it is without a current or a future context. It's just that making it all about our time - or a time to come - does not do justice to John or those long gone who suffered tribulation in real time. John is as much a pastor as he is a prophet and his people are being put upon by the powers that be while he is exiled and far from the parishes that are his charge. In the spirit of the Lord he shares a vision where "goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death." (Desmond Tutu) Those who in our time have profited off this pastoral / prophetic work have missed the point. Endurance is not about escape. It comes from courage that engages the world as it is so that by the witness of perseverance the world might be convicted and given the chance to become what it was meant to be.

Easter 2 C - Psalm 150

Psalm 150

Psalm 150 is the alternate psalm for Sunday. It’s a noisy praise the Lord psalm and if you were at Calvary on Easter it should bring to mind cymbals and tympani and brass that made our singing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” rise to new heights. Or the strings and woodwinds that brought “Because He Lives” to life. Now I know the human voice can make a joyful noise all by itself – I've been to a Church of Christ service – but when it comes to noise the voice can’t compete with a clanging cymbal. The mighty deeds and surpassing greatness of God calls for an orchestra and everything that breathes as well. So if our praise of God is to be worthy of notice, as I suggested yesterday, we’ll have to make some noise. Not clanging cymbals alone, which Paul tells the Corinthians are as useless as noisy gongs without the melody of love, but grateful for God’s goodness and moved by mercy our praise should be a symphony of serving. 

Easter 2c - Acts 5:27-41

Acts 5:27-41

For a group of guys who didn't get it in the Gospels the disciples got going pretty quickly in the book of Acts. With a sound like the rushing of the wind and tongues of flames on their heads and languages not their own they were transformed from confused followers into bold witnesses who rejoiced that they were considered worthy of persecution. How do we enter such a text given that the message which caused such a stir has settled down to become the status quo? It may be that Gamaliel’s advice, ignore them and they’ll go away, accomplished what the Pharisees desired. The church becomes irrelevant to the culture when it is indistinguishable from it. I’m not nostalgic for the days when the Gospel attracted persecution but I would like to rejoice in being worthy of attention. If we tell the truth the journey of the last four days was mostly about us, the respectable church goers, and for many of our neighbors and co-workers and friends and even family it was just another weekend. If Monday happens right on schedule and holy week like Christmas is carefully wrapped and put back on the shelf until next year it will be just another, albeit it busy weekend for us well. But if we were to do something worthy of attention today, speak and act as those who have something worth living and saying, then like disciples we would rejoice in being followers who take the lead.

Easter Year C - conclusion

It seems strange to be blogging about Easter on Good Friday but then Easter is the only way this Friday can be called Good. Without resurrection his was just another crucifixion and while Jesus might have attracted a larger crowd it was business as usual for those who did the dirty work of death. So even though the ground shook at his passing as the sun’s light failed and his innocence was proclaimed in the end he was still dead. But in the pregnant pause of the Sabbath while the women wept and the disciples hid and the chief priests and scribes danced a jig the new thing was announced in heaven and cursed in hell for as in Adam all die so in Christ now all are made alive. And so in the pregnant pause of the Sabbath the songs of victory began to be sung by angel choirs while Jesus mocks the one who had tried to tempt but failed to seduce. Peter saw it coming. “I now understand God shows no partiality.” The psalmist saw it coming. “I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord” Paul saw it coming.” The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” The women no longer weeping tell the disciples who stop hiding and the chief priests and scribes have to pay the piper and dance to a different tune. It is the idle tale that informs every tale that ever was or ever will be told. “He is not. He is risen!”

Easter Year C - Luke 2:1-12

Luke 24:1-12

"It seemed to them an idle tale." Pastor Kyle looked up the Greek for "idle tale" and loosely translated it means BS, if you'll pardon my Greek. There are some who still think of it that way but you can hardly blame them given the lack of evidence to the contrary. But then the idle BS doesn't stop Peter from rushing out to see for himself so I guess even disbelief looks for proof. For Peter and the rest who will listen to his version of the idle tale the linen cloths lying by themselves is more than the mind can comprehend, which is what amazement means in every language. I think in some ways amazement is better than acceptance and if I could I would go back to a time when the resurrection was more than I could believe - not an idle tale mind you - but something so extraordinary that I might tremble at the thought of it. Maybe when my time comes to enter this story more fully, when my seeking the living among the dead is personal, resurrection will be beyond belief and not something I simply state as a fact of faith. In the meantime I seek to be surprised by a resurrection that is more than just a familiar (but not idle) tale.

Easter Year C - 1 Corinthians 15:19-26

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

To hope in Christ only for the next life is just as pitiable as to hope in Christ "only for this life..." To hope only for the future is to reduce the resurrection to a reward or some sort of panacea for the pain of the present. But the hope of resurrection has as much to do with the way one lives in this life as whatever life we will live in the next. The death that came through Adam is still a very real enemy that seeks to limit not just our mortal life but our spiritual life as well so that we never fully live the freedom that came out of the empty tomb with Jesus. But because Jesus died for all and rose above the boundary imposed by Adam’s rebellion we are free to live as those who have “already passed from death to life.” (John 5:24)  If by faith I am confident that the forever future imagined by God is a done deal then I am free to live as if death has already been destroyed. A life that anticipates resurrection is as much a resurrected life as the life that awaits us.

Easter Year C - Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
"There are shouts of exaltation in the tents of the righteous" is one of the verses from Psalm 118 that we read at graveside services where "I shall not die but live" takes on a new meaning for both the living and the dead. For those gathered to grieve it is a declaration of the hope of reunion with the one gone on before. For the one laid to rest it is the reality of life beyond the womb of the world that is as mysterious to us as this life must seem to the newly born babe. Since "we know in part" as we peer through "a mirror dimly" (1 Corinthians 13:12) everything we know about the next life can only be imagined from the context of this life. That is not to say we cannot confidently cast the vision of a future life without sorrow, sighing, tears or pain, a life where death dies and is buried forever. But the details of whatever is coming is beyond our knowing in the same way we could sense something on the other side while we were floating in our mother's secret place but had no frame of reference for what was coming next. Which is why the righteous live by faith and not by sight, trusting that the Lord who has made this day has made the next as well,  therefore we will rejoice and be glad in all our days.

Easter Year C - Acts 10:34-43

Acts 10:34-43

When Peter says he “truly understands God shows no partiality” he understands God is no longer limited to a chosen nation (Israel) but now accepts people who “do right” no matter what nation they come from. Of course God has always been partial to people who do right so in some ways it doesn't seem like very much has changed at all. But if “no partiality” means Jesus “ordained as judge of the living and the dead” acts like the Jesus who went about “doing good and healing those oppressed by demons” then the “no partiality” clause is only limited by Jesus’ capacity to show mercy. “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” means mercy is shown even to those who “put him to death by hanging him on a tree” which truly is no partiality. 

The Feast of the Passion Year C - conclusion

Calvary hosted the Texas Lutheran University choir last night. The concert was (fill in the blank with over the top adjectives and then add a few more). However, one of our younger members, Miriam Etheredge, found me in the narthex to voice her concern about a song in the program. The next to last song was listed as a world premiere of an arrangement of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and Miriam pointed out that we put that word in a box at the beginning of Lent and were not supposed to say or sing it until Easter morning. I told Miriam she was quite right and should go tell the choir director. I don't know if she did or not but the choir didn't sing it so the world has to wait until next week for Hallelujah to come out of the box. Truth to be told I was disappointed we didn't get to hear it (and would have gladly made an exception) but maybe that is the point so that Miriam playing the part of "and a little child will lead them" reminds us all of the power of our Lenten rituals. This Sunday we will read the Passion Narrative at all our services, including our gathering at Zio Carlo Brew Pub where the story will be read in a public place and maybe be overheard by some who unlike Miriam do not know the story by heart.

The Feast of the Passion Year C - Luke 22:14 - 23:56

The Gospel according to Luke
Some of us remember when the Sunday of the Passion was called Palm Sunday and we didn't read the rest of the story until the Thursday we call Holy and the Friday we call Good. Some suspect the change from Palm to Passion allows the faithful to be less so and skip the Triduum (The Great Three Days). That may be true but it really doesn't matter (unless you are a liturgical Luddite) as Two out of Three Great Days happening on the Sunday before the Third Day still gets Jesus where he needs to be before Easter sunrise. But there is also a compelling reason to read the passion narrative all at the same time and out loud but only if the congregation speaks the part that belongs to all of us. Crucify! Crucify! CRUCIFY! It always makes me a little uncomfortable, as it should, and reminds me that given the same set of circumstances I would have deserted, denied and yelled crucify.

The Feast of the Passion Year C - Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5-11
The operative word in having "the mind of Christ" is "let" as in allow or permit. Or maybe a better way to think of it is to welcome or invite the mind of Christ to "dwell in you richly". (Colossians 3:16) It is not something that comes naturally to us as our minds resist being conformed to a way of thinking that would willingly let go of power (especially equality with God) for the sake of those who are always seeking to exploit even the illusion of power. It is out of vain ambition that our minds are occupied with all manner of self serving thoughts and subsequently destructive ways of being. We even think of God that way and imagine that after Jesus went back to wherever he came from he never again did such a foolish thing as empty himself. But if the mind of Christ reveals the mind of God then the exaltation of Jesus is to be continually emptied. I don't mean that Jesus is crucified again and again but that the power that God in Christ wields is the infinite capacity to love which never proceeds from a position of power. So God in Christ is emptied in order to be one with humanity hell bent on filling itself up in the Divine hope that we would grow weary of our futile way of being and let the mind of Christ do the thinking.

The Feast of the Passion Year C - Psalm 31:9-16

Psalm 31:9-16
There comes a point in prayer when the irresistible force of believing what one hopes will be runs into the immovable object of what is. The psalmist has not reached that point and judging from the litany of lament may never give up on the hope of deliverance. That is because the psalmist believes the last word belongs to God (my times are in your hands) so even a life spent in sorrow where continual misery saps one's strength while enemies conspire and friends betray can be endured as a "slight and momentary affliction" (2 Corinthians 4:17) The capacity to endure the terror that surrounds is not a given and takes an enduring courage beyond our ability, so the mere fact that the psalmist continues to pray would seem to say the prayer has been answered as the irresistible force of hope pushes back against the unmovable object of overwhelming trouble.

The Feast of the Passion Year C - Isaiah 50:4-9

Isaiah 50:4-9

The word that sustains the weary is that the teacher himself was wearied by beatings, insult and spitting. Wakened by the word, "the Lord God will be my help at the break of the day" the student who is at the same time the teacher set his face like flint and gave his back to the whip, his head to thorns, his hands and feet to nail. The suffering and sorrow of God is the word for those who are wearied by life contending against them, confronted by inconsistency, struck by down by grief, insulted by trouble. The Lord will be my help at the break of day because the Lord was broken for all my days. To waken to this word despite all that would weary the soul and crush the spirit is to be opened to the distant song of vindication that is always near. It is not an easy answer, a simple solution, a wish fulfillment. It is a Word that inhabits flesh and blood, yours and mine, for when one is wearied by weeping and too tired to sing, when the difference between giving up and continuing on hangs in the balance, we become for each other in shared sorrow and suffering the Word that sustains until the day when all weariness will be a thing of the past. 

Lent 5 C - John 12:1-11

John 12:1-11

What do you do when the man who raised your brother from the dead comes for a visit? If you are Martha you serve dinner. If you are Mary you spend more time at the feet of the teacher. It appears as if nothing has changed and yet everything is different. It is as it always was for Martha, table set, bread baked, food and fellowship with friends. A week before she could not have imagined it would ever be this way again. But now her brother, for a moment lost to life and here found again, sits at table with the One who weeping called him out of the tomb. And with laughter and much toasting “L'Chaim!” To Life! everything is as it was and she hopes always will be. And then Mary, perhaps weeping herself, does the unthinkable and brings death back to life. Nothing has changed but everything is different. Her act of extravagance, scoffed at by Judas, “What a waste” is prophetic. The one who raised my brother has a date with death himself but instead of the stench of four days the fragrance of perfume filled the house. You can’t think of death in the same way when Lazarus is sitting at the table with you. Like Lazarus Jesus will be lost for a time but when he is found again death itself will be defeated and everything will change and even what is the same will be different. The poor who you always have with you will be made rich to sit at the table as bread baked and wine poured ushers in food and fellowship and feasting like has never been before and will be forever and ever. Amen. L’Chami! To Life!

Lent 5 C - Philippians 3:4-14

Philippians 3:4-14
Paul doesn't know how to do anything half way. He spent all his time and energy amassing an impressive Hebrew of the Hebrew's pedigree but then in turning to Christ trashed it all. "I regard them as rubbish..." Granted he sees his former confidence as an impediment to knowing Christ and attaining an eternal inheritance and in that sense we all need to let go of whatever might stand in our way of taking hold of Christ. On the other hand I would not know Christ except for the teachers and preachers who in the past passed on the traditions that shaped their lives of faith. Even Paul would not have know the Christ who took hold of him apart from the storied history of the people that God called out of Egypt. So I will hold onto to my Lutheran heritage, but not too tightly, so that I can take hold of the Christ who meets us outside the boundaries of our particular and peculiar expressions of the faith.

Lent 5C 2010

Lent 5 C - Psalm 126

Psalm 126
The memory of mouths filled with laughter sustains those whose eyes brim with tears. A sustaining memory is a good thing in and of itself but in this case the memory of rejoicing in the past leads the psalmist to hope that the present weeping is also sowing seeds of future joy. The apostle Paul will say it this way. "...our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) Of course Paul is thinking of the ultimate rejoicing that will be revealed in the forever future and while I believe that to be true I am also confident that there are penultimate days of fortunes restored rejoicing that bring forth tears of joy and spontaneous laughter. While those days might be hard to come by and pale in comparison with what will be they do happen even in the midst of the most difficult of times whenever kindness is shown and love is freely offered and received. It could be a healing hug, a tender caress, a gentle smile or even (as strange as it may seem) a necessary word of correction that is accepted and acted upon. But however it happens rejoicing is always a gift and the fortune that is restored is hope.

Lent 5 C - Isaiah 43:16-21

Isaiah 43:16-21

“Do not remember the former things…” is not so much forgetting the captivity of the past as it is putting the past in its rightful place. The things we have done or left undone or the things done to us or not done for us are former things and have no power except the power we give them whenever former things prevent us from perceiving present things. Not that we don’t continue to create former things in our present. It is an odd sort of thing that we often prefer captivity to freedom so that even when a new thing springs forth we slip back into the more familiar patterns of former things. That is why this new thing that springs forth begins with a promise. “Do not be afraid. I have called you by name. You are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1) God makes a way in the wilderness for us, maybe in spite of us, with the hope that one day we would leave the illusion of comfort in captivity to live as those known and named by God. “God has made a new beginning from the ashes of our past; in the losing and the winning we hold fast.” (J. Ylvisaker) The threatening things are extinguished, the wild things are tamed, the crooked things are made straight, the difficult things brought down and the rare resource of water in a desolate and dry place gushes forth in abundance. Every day lived in the promise of God’s abiding and healing presence is the new day that springs forth so that the siren call of former things might be drowned out by the sound of praise. 

Lent 4 C - Conclusion

Pr. Michael Coffey (1st English Lutheran Church, Austin TX) calls the prodigal son story the parable of the party. The texts for Lent 4c might be labeled in the same way even if the ecclesiological party word (it begins and ends with an A) has been put away for forty days. But then in the same way that the ultimate party (it begins with an R) follows death the preparation for all the Lent 4c parties begin with something that is put away for awhile until "surprise" there is a cause for celebration. Joshua presides over the end of the manna "what is it?" diet and the wandering people enjoy the produce of a promised land. The psalmist wasting away in silence finally speaks up and out of confession comes glad cries of deliverance. The apostle Paul proclaims good news to the Corinthians stuck in old ways that in the Christ they are a new creation and so is everyone else. And both of the lost boys in the parable of the party are gifted with a father who says, "everything I have is yours - always was, always will be. " Party on. Excellent.

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. 

Lent 4c 2010

Lent 4 C - 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

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 2010

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 of 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 are set free and manna is 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 - conclusion

I spent the first two days of this week in Chicago and only got back to Dallas on Tuesday night by the grace of God and the ability of a smaller carrier (Spirit) to avoid all the complications of multiple connections and options that make major airlines (American) more attractive but in this case more vulnerable to a Chicago snowstorm. There were a lot of unhappy people at ORD all trying to figure out what to do when what they planned to do was no longer an option. In the vast scheme of things it is only a vexing inconvenience to be stranded at an airport you were hoping to depart on time. But if you are a gate agent at the same airport it is equally vexing and requires quite a bit of patience – or perhaps thick skin - to respond kindly to people who are less so and have no one else to vent on but you. Maybe we should just go ahead and blame God who sent the storm in the first place and determined that some should be stuck and some (like me who has always, always, always flown American) should get home. The texts for Lent 3C – mid lent – ask and answer the questions that defy our ability to order the world according to simple – or even complex – algorithms. Isaiah explains it this way – God’s ways are not our ways. The psalmist thirsts for God like a west Texas rancher thirsting for water watches cloudless skies. It would seem that Paul who himself is saved only by the grace of God wanders back into the territory of the law but it is only to point out that the Corinthians are not ultimately in control of their own fate - even if they are not uninformed. And Jesus asks the question about the tragedies that happen without cause as a way of pointing us to the One who will dig around a tree that should have produced fruit long ago just to give it another chance.

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?" 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 1 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.

Psalm 63:1-8

Psalm 63:1-8
I'm sitting on the second floor of the Lutheran School of Theology Chicago welcome center. There's a plaque on the wall dedicated to The Reverend Doctor John Tietjen "who in the midst of strife and conflict advocated the unifying power of the Gospel..." John was the pastor of Trinity Church, Fort Worth when I first came to Calvary Lutheran and I was blessed to know him as a mentor, colleague and friend. Sometimes in the watches of the night when your soul thirsts and your flesh faints God is found through the wise council or loving care of a fellow pilgrim. Maybe God always refreshes us in that way so that even years later you remember a word spoken or an embrace shared and like a drink of water in a weary land your troubles seem less troubling and your burdens are more bearable. John lives where the saints of God rejoice eternally but on this cold Chicago day he's visited this pilgrim for a moment with warm memories that have brightened my spirits and refreshed my soul.

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 15:1-18

I'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 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 - conclusion

At first glance the lessons for Lent 1 C do not seem to have a central theme. The Old Testament gives instructions for the ritual of bringing of first fruits. The Psalm is a promise of providence despite the terror of the night and dangers of the day. The epistle is an assurance that the name of Jesus is more than able to save. And the Gospel recounts Jesus overcoming temptation in the wilderness. It’s as if the lectionary people, whoever they are, just opened the Bible at random and picked whatever popped up. But at second glance the epistle speaks of the word of God that is always near to you so that one does not have to live by bread alone. The first fruits ritual recognizes that God is the one who gave you the land flowing with milk and honey, therefore worship the Lord your God and serve only him. And while the devil uses the words of the psalm to tempt Jesus, Jesus is the one who believes the promise of providence without needing proof. So when in doubt remember the answer is always Jesus who in this case ties everything together quite nicely on Lent 1 C. 

Lent 1 C - Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1-13
Country singer Lari White sings 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 “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 we make choices based on our hunger, real or imagined, that demands to be filled.  We believe the lie because it promises everything 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 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 are hungry still. That is the truth about our lives. The first step in a different direction is admitting we know the old road all too well. Honesty stills the voice of our hunger, real or imagined, so that we hear the voice of Jesus singing a different song from another road that one day will be the only road we know. “Get thee behind me" Jesus says, "and I’ll show you the way.”

Lent 1 C - Romans 10:8b-13

Romans 10:8b-13

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” (Romans 10:15) My “beautiful feet” were freezing this morning at 6 AM at the Trinity Railway Express station in Richland Hills, TX as we offered the imposition of ashes to commuters. It was our third year to venture out in the predawn to remind anyone who cared to listen that they were dust and to dust they would return. That doesn't sound like good news and it wouldn't be if the ashes were imposed in any shape other than a cross. But since the announcement of our mortality is accompanied by the sign of the cross that could not conquer the Christ the good news about Jesus “He is Risen” allows us to hear the bad news about ourselves “to dust you shall return. "No one who believes in him will be put to shame" therefore the grave can do no harm to us. At noon time we were imposing ashes in Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth where a young waitress at the Flying Saucer entered the ancient Christian ritual by saying to Intern Ethan, “ash me”. Imagine that. Good news indeed.   

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 I sang “I am trusting thee, Lord Jesus” when I had to walk down our basement stairs in the dark. The snare of the fowler, the deadly pestilence, the terrors at night, the 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 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, strengthen the spirit in the unpredictable and unnerving, 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 find ourselves held in the palm of God’s hand 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 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.

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 when 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 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 instead.

The Feast of Transfiguration Year C - 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
When Paul writes to the Romans and thinks of his “kindred according to the flesh” his sorrow is unceasing and his anguish is great. So much so he would gladly be cut off from Christ and go back behind the veil, as it were, if it meant the children of Abraham would see clearly. The hope that makes Paul so bold is a confidence that the freedom of the Spirit will work its will, even on those whose minds are hardened and whose vision is veiled. Changed from glory into glory they will one day with unveiled faces gaze upon the glory that is the Lord. That is the ministry of mercy that makes Paul’s heart beat faster. And that is why we do not lose heart when friends or spouses or children or parents, our kindred according to the flesh, are veiled to the freedom in which we live. If one day we are blessed to see them gifted by sight it will not be by cunning or changing the Word to fit the world, but by living what we believe. We renounce the shameful things that promise much and deliver nothing and live the gift of freedom that is the law of love. And we trust that the glory to be revealed is bigger and better and more inclusive than we can imagine. For the open statement of the truth is that we love others so others will love Christ who has always loved them.

The Feast of Transfiguration Year C - Psalm 99

Psalm 99

The Lord is enthroned above angelic beings, terrifying in their own right, and the mere thought of the Holy One causes people to tremble as the earth quakes. Before the Lord, who is exalted over everyone and everything, praise is not an option. You will be still and know that I am God. Kings of the human variety, with far less power and majesty, tend to magnify themselves at the expense of their subjects. Not so with the Holy God, the lover of justice, who hears the cries of those pleading for mercy and grants forgiveness. That doesn't mean forgiving wrongdoing is the end of the matter. The equity of justice is that the scales are balanced and righteousness is established when the forgiven responds to the debt forgotten with hearts of thankfulness and “go and sin no more” acts of repentance. The Holy One becomes unholy so that the unholy ones will become Holy. So while the cross is forgiveness once and for all it is also God’s hope that in the shadow of the cross we will love justice as much as God does. 

The Feast of the Transfiguration Year C - Exodus 34:29-35:

Exodus 34:25-39

This is a strange story, but then the Bible is no stranger to strange stories. A burning bush, a plague or ten, fire and smoke on a mountain, a glowing face; the Holy shows up and things happen that can’t be explained and people change. That’s the whole point of a theophany or a close encounter of the Holy kind. You are supposed to be changed and people are supposed to notice. But we tend to take the unknowable, undefinable, indescribable and contain the Holy in nice, neat doctrinal box. Like the veil that hid the effect of the Holy, all our musings on the mystical are ways we come to God on our own terms. With the effect of Holy hidden behind the veil we can keep our religion hidden less we practice it and people notice. But when in an encounter of the Holy kind we catch a glimpse such that we see as we are seen, and know as we are known, if only for a moment, then like Moses we are changed and people are supposed to notice.

Epiphany 4c - conclusion

The lessons for Epiphany 4c remind me of one of those questions on a standardized test. Which of the following four items does not belong to the group? The obvious answer is C or 1 Corinthians. The messenger Jeremiah is blamed for the message. The psalmist is threatened by the wicked, unjust and cruel. And Jesus, the home town prophet, is treated as being too big for his britches. The epistle with its poetic description of a still more excellent way seems too sweet to belong. But if you place “Love is gentle and kind” in the context of the conflicted Corinthian congregation it belongs with Jeremiah and the Psalmist and Jesus. Love that bears, believes, hopes and endures is not sentimental but suffering. Love that does not insist on its own way is emptied of power to take on the form of a servant. Love that keeps no records of wrongs forgives those who “know not what they do” even when they do it on purpose. Love that never ends dies that others may live. So if C is understood in the context of conflict then it belongs with A,B, & D the answer is E or none of the above. And Love will tell you if you really want to pass the test… Go and do likewise.

Epiphany 4c - Luke 4:21-30

Luke 4:21-30

The sermon that began so well has taken a turn for the worse and Jesus has no one to blame but himself. Somewhere in the well speaking and amazement his gracious words have taken on an edge and the home town crowd is not amused. At first glance it looks like Jesus is provoking without provocation. So maybe Luke the historian left out some details. Maybe there’s a heckler in the last pew or shouts of “prove it” when Joseph’s boy claims his real father is a higher power. On the other hand Jesus is not doing something here that he won’t do elsewhere and for the next three years a lot of places will begin to feel just like home. Before we judge the home town crowd too harshly we might ask ourselves what words of Jesus might prompt us to do him in? Given our ability to rationalize hard sayings and contain the difficult in dogmatic boxes it’s more likely that nothing Jesus’ says can upset us very much unless of course it’s about someone else. Then we puff up with self righteous pride and use Jesus’ words to throw the less pious or too pious or not pious enough off the hill upon which our rigid theologies are built. The word of Jesus is that God stepped outside the boundaries of God’s own people to bless a foreigner and an oppressor. In the same way God will not be contained within our constructs of who is deserving and who isn't  who belongs and who doesn't and even who is saved and who isn't because that right belongs to the One who climbed another hill and didn't come down until he was finished.