Lessons for July 14, 2013

Today's Gospel contains the parable of the Good Samaritan which, together with that of the Prodigal Son are the two best known in the canon. Anyone who has attended church regularly has heard many sermons on both and probably feels they have heard it all and may safely sit back and catch 40 winks during the sermon. Certainly the lawyer knew his stuff, he had all the right answers and like most of us felt comfortable in the knowledge that he had made his peace with the world and was satisfied with the conclusions he had arrived at. Like us he did not want his world shaken up.

Today's lessons are a wake-up call for complacent Christians. Remember God can create believers from the stones at our feet or descendents of Abraham as the text says in Luke 3:8.

Mat 5:13 "You are like salt for the whole human race. But if salt loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. It has become worthless, so it is thrown out and people trample on it.

We in the Western World have become Cultural Christians. We assume we live in a Christian State, we have freedom of worship and we are not persecuted for our faith. Todays lessons ask the question, have we become too comfortable?

If you look at census figures the most common religious affiliation is fast becoming 'none'. More and more young people are deciding that conventional religion no longer has relevance to their lives. Churchly stands on human reproduction, sexuality, the status of women, serve to strengthen this discontent.

The implication here is that if we decide we have the answers and have nothing new to learn our faith becomes calcified and rigid. If we are not growing and learning and renewing ourselves constantly then we are falling by the wayside like the priest and the Levite who walked by on the other side.

Lessons for July 7, 2013

Jerusalem and the Temple are the Mother Church of Judaism, they succor Israelites just as a mother does her child. Local Congregations had Synagogues, Jerusalem the only Temple. We build beautiful structures here on earth in which to worship to lift and renew our spirits but our home in the Kingdom of God is not on this earth, these buildings are but symbols of the heavenly kingdom.

The Psalm reminds us that it is meet and right to give God thanks and praise, communally and individually in prayer. Not only is it the right thing to do but it is good for us.

Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

Sounds very much like the retributive justice of the Old Testament doesn't it. We are to support one another in the faith gently remonstrating with those who stray from the path being ever mindful that we keep watch on our own actions lest we stray as well and be an impediment to the community.

If nothing else today's Gospel serves to remind us that the twelve may have been Jesus' inner council but they were not his only followers. Even before the coming of the Holy Spirit these 70 are sent out 2 by 2 to witness and spread healing. They are given instructions as to how to proceed. They are to be Jesus' witnesses and to perform his work on earth. By implication this is our task as well.

I like to find a unifying force when I look at the lessons for a particular Sunday. What I find here is a discourse on the nature of Christian witness and service.

As Christians we like to build fine edifices honouring our God and while they serve as gathering places where we may meet to renew our spirits in communal worship God's work is not done within their walls but out in the community. It is good to renew our spirits by thanking and praising God always but we do so that we may go out and do God's work abroad with renewed vigor. As members of Christ's body, the church, here on earth we have a duty to support one another in the faith and admonish, gently, those who stray even as we may find ourselves in need of that admonition. It is not by coincidence that the 70 are sent out two by two so that they may support one another in the work they are to do. This principle was used before and has been since in many contexts. Finally, we are not to glory in our accomplishments or indeed the size of our church budgets, membership rolls, and attendance figures; nor in the good deeds we have done; but in the fact of our membership in the Kingdom of God.

Lessons June 30, 2013

Today's theme would seem to be the nature of our commitment as Christians. One of today's Commentators at Working Preacher quotes a bumper sticker: "If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict your." Much of the language used in today's lessons utilizes hyperboles and exaggerations for emphasis in making the point, they are not to necessarily be taken literally.

The calling of Elisha provides a commentary on the nature of vocation and discipleship. Unlike other prophets there is no anointing with oil, no visions, no blinding lights,no burning bushes, no dreams; Elijah tosses him his mantle and Elisha begins a life of service to his mentor, beginning with the slaughtering of the bullocks with which he had been plowing and the cooking of their flesh by burning his farm implements to make fire. As Jesus told his Disciples to "Follow me" so Elisha leaves his former life behind and learns his new trade by becoming Elijah's servant. There is little romance here, but Elisha does hang onto the mantle and later uses it in the performance of 'miracles'.

The Psalm lays out the benefits of a life lived in God's service and the pitfalls of straying from that path.

In the Epistle Paul lays out the limitations of the Freedom given us by the New Covenant. There is no such thing as absolute freedom as such license would lead to licentiousness. If we submit to the self-discipline of the rubric, "You must love your neighbour as yourself" in Gal 5:14 then we have freedom to live within that discipline, "There is no law against such things" Gal 5:23. He goes on to list the seven deadly sins and more besides, then the seven virtues plus. Those who live by these precepts are guided by the Spirit.

In the Gospel we join Jesus as he heads toward Jerusalem and his eventual crucifixion. The essential truth here is that to follow Jesus is to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; to be in the world but not of this world. Jesus' Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom and to enter it is to put our past lives behind us. We don't necessarily have to abandon our homes and professions as stated in the text but our goals and objectives, our wealth and possessions will become focused on Heavenly riches not earthly wealth, fame and fortune. The Kingdom of Heaven is not pie in the sky bye and bye but a state of mind we enter in the here and now. It sets our sights on heavenly goals rather than earthly ones for in a sense we have already entered Heaven.

For, Mat 25:40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

Mat 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
Mat 25:36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.

Such is our calling.

Lessons June 23

The theme today would seem to be the nature of faith.

Isa 55:6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.
In fact we know that the Lord is always near, it is we who by our actions, hubris, and willfulness place God at arms' length.

In today's Lesson Isaiah speaks for God. He does so in true Deuteronomic fashion starkly listing the consequences of ignoring the Lord's calling. God is reaching out, it is our duty and delight to hear him and obey.

The Psalm continues this admonition

The Epistle emphasizes that faith makes all true believers free, free from the law that would condemn us, free from sin and death. Continuing his message that the Gospel is for all people he declares that faith makes all equal in the eyes of God.

The Gospel has to be viewed in the context in which it was written. Epileptics were viewed as being possessed by demons and swine were unclean animals to the Jews and a fitting repository for the demons. I choose not to confront the loss the swineherds suffered or the inhumane treatment of their herd. What is important here is Jesus meeting the needs of the man possessed and healing him.

Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is not an intellectual accomplishment and does not admit of scientific proofs. Indirectly the OT Lesson in particular confronts one of the impediments to faith, that bad things happen to good people. Whereas the new Covenant we know in Christ Jesus frees us from the paradigm of law and judgement yet there is some truth in those thoughts. If society marginalizes people and makes them feel like outsiders, unwanted and alone; who then is responsible if they lash out. Who is responsible for the fact that guns and other weapons are readily available and that weapons manufacturers are motivated solely by the opportunity to make greater profits by selling to anyone who has the means of buying them. Who is reponsible for poverty, lack of education, and despair bred of lack of opportunity which is the breeding ground of disease, racism, terror, and violence.

How do we purge ourselves of our own demons be they alcohol, gambling, drugs, wealth, possessions, greed, self-centredness, sexual obsession.... defined as sin. AA subscribes to the 12 Steps.

All call for an admission that we alone are powerless without the aid of God however it be we conceive him/her. We need to seek the Lord and in Faith receive healing. It is our responsibility to seek that healing not just for ourselves but the world we live in, our environment and the society that surrounds us. Freed from the guilt of sin we are to go forth and spread that Good News to all peoples.

Lessons June 16, 2013

I find it amusing that the closest any of the translators come to calling the prostitute who comes to bathe Jesus' feet what she is, is to say she is a woman of the city. Jesus comes to eat with Simon the Pharisee who must have been more than a little put out at his guest Jesus for allowing the attentions of this lady of the night in his home at his table. We get the Parable of the Forgiven Sinner. Somehow I get the feeling that the men traveling with Jesus must have teased him just a little about all these woman pouring perfume on his feet. Named are several of the woman who accompanied Jesus and the Disciples on their travels. This is one of the few times that the women in Christ's life are freely acknowledged. One would suppose they cooked for the men and washed and mended their clothing and provided other services that would not be discussed in discrete society.

The OT Lesson is prefaced by the story of Uriah the Hittite whom David the King directs his General, Joab, to place in harm's way after David's adulterous trysts with Uriah's wife Bethseba results in her pregnancy. This after David clandestinely arranged for Uriah to get leave from battle during which Uriah abstained from having carnal relations with his wife.

Nathan the prophet comes and tells David the parable of the poor neighbour's lamb prompting David to condemn himself with the words of his own mouth. Omitted from today's reading is Nathan's full prediction of the retribution of the Lord upon David in verses 11&12. It would seem that frank discussion of David's wives having sex in broad daylight with another man is not considered proper for Sunday morning reading from the Lectern.

Instead the emphasis is placed upon David's contrition. Nathan prophesies that the child of Bethsheba and David's adulterous relationship would die and in the verses following today's reading that does happen. This is the Deuteronomic Principle at its best illustrating that not even the King is above the law.

Today's Psalm is one of rejoicing in the forgiveness of the Lord.

In the Epistle Paul makes the point that we are put right with God not by means of the Law or by the good works we do, but by the freely given Grace of God provided through Jesus Christ. We cannot buy God's Forgiveness or earn it by close observance of the law, it is freely given.

It would seem obvious that the framers of today's pericope intended a theme emphasizing the nature of sin and God's Mercy and Forgiveness.

Simon the Pharisee was a righteous man who had no time for a common tramp whom he felt demeaned Jesus by her very presence. David the King fell prey to his carnal lusts and was called on it by God through Nathan the prophet. In OT thinking a direct connection is made between David and Bethsheba's sinful act and the death of the child, the product of that act. In the New Covenant emphasis is placed on contrition and repentance. Go and sin no more. Even in the OT after the death of his child David mourns no more but goes to worship in the the Temple before returning to his beloved, Bethseba to beget another son who turns out to be Solomon.

Yes, we must confess our sins but having received God's freely given forgiveness we must not dwell on them but freed from guilt rejoice in that forgiveness like the Psalmist and respond to God's Love with lives lived in His service.