The Sunday of the Passion Year A - Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5-11

Though he was in every way God, Christ Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be exploited but emptied himself of power and taking on the form of a servant was himself exploited by the cross. It is beyond our ability to comprehend for we are inclined to hang onto every shred of power we can get our hands on and take on the servant’s form temporarily anticipating a heavenly reward for our humble efforts. None-the-less Paul exhorts his Philippian “partners in the Gospel” and by extension all who read these words to have the mind of Christ that is described in what most believe is a hymn of the ancient church. To have the mind of Christ means more than playing nice or letting others have their way. Jesus emptied himself of the kind of power the world lusts after to pick up the cross which in the end was the power of God no one anticipated or indeed, understood. In what appears to be defeat love conquers hate; light banishes darkness; life destroys death. All because Christ Jesus let go of being God in order to pick up our humanity. Which means the mind of Christ is the mind of God, and that is good news indeed.

The Sunday of the Passion Year A - Psalm 31:9-16

Psalm 31:9-16

Even well meaning, close friends have come to dread asking the psalmist weak with sorrow, consumed by anguish, “how are you?” The answer is always the same. “Not good.” Derided by neighbors, abandoned by friends, surrounded by enemies, as useless as a broken pot, the psalmist is forgotten as one long dead. And then after venting a laundry list of lament there is the word that denies despair the final say and brings some measure of comfort and not a little bit of hope to the psalmist’s desperate existence. But. But I trust in you. Why? Because my times are in your hands. Not the hands of my enemies, even if they manage to take my life. Not the hands of neighbors or friends to whom I have become an object of derision and dread. Not the hands of the sickness that saps my strength or the grief that grips my heart. No. I trust in you for my life is in the hands of your unfailing love that will not abandon me or flee from me in all my distress.  Of course the faith that leads the psalmist to declare “But I trust in you” also allows for “But hurry up and help me, O Lord!”

The Sunday of the Passion Year A - Isaiah 50:4-9

 

Isaiah 50:4-9

The teacher who sustains the weary with a word was himself a student of suffering. Gifted by the Lord God with the teacher’s tongue he endured spitting and insult. He gave his back to the whip and his cheeks to those who pull out the beard. But the word that sustains the weary is not in the suffering itself but in the confidence that despite trouble and trial the Lord God is not far off. Therefore the teacher endures the taunting of those whose power is temporary by trusting that his vindication will have the last word. It is “the Lord God who helps me”. We would prefer not to suffer at all and go to great lengths to avoid it, medicating our pain whenever possible. And the disgrace we experience is not due so much to the actions of others but rather our own rebellious ways. For this reason the innocent teacher was crucified as one guilty so that morning by morning the obedient Word made flesh might sustain all who are wearied by the world or their own rebellious ways. In the end the ones who breathed out threats and violence and consumed by hatred did their best to do him in have themselves been taught the lesson of love. The tongue of the teacher, “Father, forgive them…” interceded even for his adversaries.

Lent 2a - Psalm 121

 

Josef Žáček b. 1951 - Resurrection 1988

Psalm 121

Psalm 121 is read at graveside services even though it would seem help from the hills is a little late in arriving. But then funerals are for the living, not the dead. It is the living who struggle to hold onto to “my help comes from the Lord” in the sight of loved ones laid to rest, even when death is a welcome release. To speak of our God who neither slumbers nor sleeps In the face of life’s inevitable end denies death the last word for the deceased as well as those who mourn. There are times, of course, when the ancient words alone fail to help, when desperate prayer is spoken into deafening silence, when the Lord awake seems absent.  It is for those trying times that God gifts us with help closer to home than the hills. Speaking the ancient words of faith together, even with weeping eye and through clenched teeth, keeps us from the evil of hopelessness and in the life of the community our lives are kept.  All of which remembers the help that came from the holy hill of Calvary when the Lord who neither slumbers nor sleeps slept in death and three days later rose again so that our final “going out” would  be our forever “coming in”.

Lent 2 A - Genesis 17:1-16

 

Genesis 17:1-16

Ninety-nine is not too old for a new life and a name change, though Abraham might have preferred to be circumcised as an infant. I’m just saying. Of course Abraham wouldn’t be the father of many nations without Sarah and even if Isaac is named for her laughing at the thought of a child in her golden years it should be noted that Abraham laughed out loud at the thought as well. But that’s the way it is when you’ve spent a lifetime waiting for a promise to come true only to be disappointed time and again. And I imagine it became more difficult after Hagar bore Ishmael for then there was no doubt as to who was to blame for Sarah’s barren womb. But somehow through all the years Abraham and Sarah endured the sideways glances and whispered comments for the sake of the promise they barely believed. When the promise came true they were just as surprised as everyone else and we are as blessed by their laughing as their believing for if God allows room for disbelief in the mind of father Abraham and mother Sarah perhaps our believing has room for the doubtful laugh.