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.

Lesson Commentary 13-06-09

This passage, Luke 7:11- 17, was alluded to recently in a passage in Luke 4:25-26 and serves to re-enforce Paul's assertion that the Gospel is for all nations. Elijah could have gone anywhere but God sends him to a non-Jewish Widow in Sidon.

Today's Psalm contains many familiar phrases:

Psa 30:5 His anger lasts only a moment, his goodness for a lifetime. Tears may flow in the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Psa 30:4 Sing praise to the LORD, all his faithful people! Remember what the Holy One has done, and give him thanks!

Today's Epistle is a continuation of last week's. Paul continues to defend his ministry and message. Not certain that this relates in any way to the other 3 lessons.

Today's Gospel is a continuation of last week's as well. In parallel with Elijah in Kings he raises a widow's only son from the dead ensuring her future support for children were a parent's only means of aid in old age and in the case of a widow in the present as well. Documenting such healings is important as a means of legitimizing his messianic activity.


Working Preacher insists on discussing the Gospel first. I always start with the OT Lesson finding nothing in the New that isn't already accessible in the Old. I could have comfortably been Jewish, or at least Reformed Jew. I'll bow to WP.

Isa 35:5 The blind will be able to see, and the deaf will hear.
Isa 35:6 The lame will leap and dance, and those who cannot speak will shout for joy. Streams of water will flow through the desert;
Isa 35:7 the burning sand will become a lake, and dry land will be filled with springs. Where jackals used to live, marsh grass and reeds will grow

As compared with:

Luk 7:22 He answered John's messengers, "Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor.

All these are signs that the messiah has come. The verses quoted, of course are all outside today's lessons.

Working Preacher fails to comment on the Epistle as it has no relevance to the other three lessons unless you wish to harp upon the legitimacy of Paul's ministry and Elijah's actions on behalf of the widow proving his veracity as a Man of God. If you wanted to pursue this vein then Christ's miracles underpin his messiahship.

I would prefer to point out that Elijah truly cares for the plight of the widow just as does Jesus. It is this caring that gains emphasis in both stories, the sons are secondary characters in both cases. The Psalm emphatically re-enforces this message. To quote a soppy old Gospel Hymn:

"His eye is on the Sparrow
And I know he cares for me!"

The OT Lesson sees Elijah going to stay during a famine with the widow of Zarephath. The alternative lesson 1 Kings 17:8-16 tells the story of the cruet of oil which lasted throughout the drought, 17-25 that of the healing of her only son. These events serve to confirm for the widow that this truly is a Man of God. And once more we are reminded that she is not Jewish.

Psalm 30 is a Psalm of Thanksgiving. It had never occurred to me before, there are 150 Psalms and 52 weeks in a year, how convenient for a three-year cycle of lessons.

June 2nd 2013

The festival season has come to an end and we enter ordinary time. Call it Sundays in Trinity or Pentecost given the early arrival of Easter this year we get a longer than usual such season and we will be getting around to lessons normally bypassed.

The Gospel reading begins by setting the scene, "He went to Capernaum". What is seen as remarkable in this story is the fact that this foreign instrument of Roman Opression showed more faith than the followers among Jesus own people. We see that faith can appear in the most unusual places, that God can use even our enemies to do good things, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you." Luke 6:27

The OT Lesson from Kings re-enforces the theme that God's faithfulness to his people Israel is a message that penetrates to far-flung places. We are to welcome these strangers and our keeping of the covenant is to be a witness to all that God has meaning in our lives. God's Holy Temple is both a testament to God's importance in our lives and a symbol of God's presence with us. God is present with us, we have a duty to live in a way that witnesses to that presence. We have here but a snippet of the complete lesson.

Psa 96:2 Sing to the LORD, and praise him! Proclaim every day the good news that he has saved us.
Psa 96:3 Proclaim his glory to the nations, his mighty deeds to all peoples.

(Psa 96:9) Bow down before the Holy One when he appears; tremble before him, all the earth!

Verse 9 is from the Good News Bible. An interesting interpretation as contrasted with the following from RV:

(Psa 96:9) O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: tremble before him, all the earth.

I would ask, just how does God appear? Is God's presence made known by the witness of his followers? How great then is our responsibility to make His presence known through the way we live our lives. The wonders of God's creation bear witness to his presence. God created the world and every living thing in it and continues to support and sustain it, to make all things new.His act of creation continues to this very day.

In the Epistle Paul is writing to the Galatians in response to an attack made upon him. It would seem obvious that Paul's past as Saul the prosecutor of Christians has caught up with him and the legitimacy of his message is being challenged. In particular a new message was being spread that to be a Christian one must first be circumcised. Paul protests his calling as a witness to Christ. Paul's message is not one of exclusivity but one of inclusiveness. God's grace is for all people, Jew or Gentile, slave or free. Implicit in the Epistles of Paul is the message that if Christ can use even me to spread his message then this message must be for all peoples.

The unifying theme then? The message of God's Grace is for all people. God's people have a responsibility to live lives that reflect that this grace is active in our lives. We should not be surprised when belief in this grace shows up in unexpected places and be prepared to welcome the foreigner into our midst.

Notes on Lessons for Feb 12, 2012

Why do Jesus and the prophets perform signs and wonders, miracles?

Have modern Christians lost the power to heal the sick in similar fashion or was this more meaningful in the context of the ancient understanding of illness?

Why does so-called ‘faith-healing’ invoke connotations of charlatanism?

In the context of these healing acts what factors at play have prominence:

God’s healing power
The ability of the ‘healer’ to channel that power
The faith of the person seeking healing

Has medical science supplanted our trust in God’s healing power and the power of prayer to effect a change in our lives?

To what degree is the individual responsible for making wise decisions regarding lifestyle, diet, exercise, sleep to maintain health. Viz 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

What part does our participation in the life of the church and worship in particular play in maintaining a healthy outlook, a positive attitude, coping with life’s stresses?

2 Kings 5:1-14

If you take your malady to a surgeon you are likely to be given a surgical intervention, an internist will have medical recommendations, a psychologist may deal with psychosomatic disorders, a chiropractor will adjust your spine, a herbalist doze you with naturopathic remedies, an acupuncturist insert needles. How would we describe the spiritual modality?

Are there any limits to God's healing resources, or are there limits we place upon God's ability to heal.

How important are our expectations and atitudes to the healing process?

Naman's King sends his general to the King of Isreal as an enemy general entering his kingdom would have alarmed any king. It seems Elisha was unknown to his King. It is noted that Elisha never meets Naman.

Psalm 30

A song of praise for God's Healing Power

Tears may flow in the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Mourning is a necessary process but through it all our faith leads out of death to life, from sorrow to joy, from sickness to new life, from mourning to dancing.

The exegete splits the Psalm into 5 stanzas:

1 1-3 song of thanksgiving
2 4-5 hymn of praise
3 6-7 retrospection on taking good times for granted
4 8-10 recalling the prayer for help
5 11-12 song of rejoicing

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

What is important here is not winning but how one runs the race. One trains with a purpose in mind, we exercise self-control and discipline. The race Paul is involved in is the proclamation of the Gospel.

Mark 1:40-45

Again the disease is leprosy. The man is healed but ignores the admonition that he tell no one but his priest of his good fortune. The fact that the man spreads the word makes it impossible for Christ to do his work as his fame drew dangerous crowds around him forcing Jesus to flee the district. It is noted that the leper's and Jesus roles are reversed. The leper is freed to enter society, Jesus is forced into isolation.

I've been to Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal and seen the cript storing the items left behind by those healed, half the size of this church. Similar storage areas grace St Marie among the Hurons in Midland and St Anne de Beaupré in Quebec. I wonder if such organizations require liability insurance in Canada. I can imagine the circus that would result if someone actually began performing successful prayer-healing here.

Keeping the Commandments

Mat 5:21  "You have heard that people were told in the past, 'Do not commit murder; anyone who does will be brought to trial.'
Mat 5:22  But now I tell you: if you are angry with your brother you will be brought to trial, if you call your brother 'You good-for-nothing!' you will be brought before the Council, and if you call your brother a worthless fool you will be in danger of going to the fire of hell.
Mat 5:23  So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you,
Mat 5:24  leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God.
Mat 5:25  "If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute while there is time, before you get to court. Once you are there, you will be turned over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail.
Mat 5:26  There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine.
Mat 5:27  "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'
Mat 5:28  But now I tell you: anyone who looks at a woman and wants to possess her is guilty of committing adultery with her in his heart.
Mat 5:29  So if your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell.
Mat 5:30  If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose one of your limbs than to have your whole body go off to hell.
Mat 5:31  "It was also said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.'
Mat 5:32  But now I tell you: if a man divorces his wife for any cause other than her unfaithfulness, then he is guilty of making her commit adultery if she marries again; and the man who marries her commits adultery also.
Mat 5:33  "You have also heard that people were told in the past, 'Do not break your promise, but do what you have vowed to the Lord to do.'
Mat 5:34  But now I tell you: do not use any vow when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven, for it is God's throne;
Mat 5:35  nor by earth, for it is the resting place for his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36  Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Mat 5:37  Just say 'Yes' or 'No'---anything else you say comes from the Evil One.
Mat 5:38  "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'
Mat 5:39  But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too.
Mat 5:40  And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well.
Mat 5:41  And if one of the occupation troops forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles.
Mat 5:42  When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him.
Mat 5:43  "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your friends, hate your enemies.'
Mat 5:44  But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Mat 5:45  so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.
Mat 5:46  Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that!
Mat 5:47  And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that!
Mat 5:48  You must be perfect---just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

"We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done and by what we have left undone."

The 'Good News' of the Gospel is generally seen as freeing us from the legalism of the Old Testament to respond in love to Christ's message of salvation. If you can indeed

Luk 10:27 " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind'; and 'Love your neighbour as you love yourself.' "

then you may fulfill the Law and the Prophets.

The passage above which quotes yesterday's Gospel and following verses demonstrates just how difficult a task that may be. In this passage Christ makes clear that in freeing us from the letter of the law he holds us to an even higher standard. We are held responsible not only for our sins of commission but for our sins of omission, the good we might have accomplished but failed to do because it was deemed inconvenient or unpopular. We are also held responsible not only for our outward acts and statements but also for our inward thoughts and desires. You are, for example, held culpable for your grudges as much as is the person who may have wronged you.

I found it interesting that in yesterday's Adult Bible Study there were persons who found the concept of being held responsible for their thoughts difficult to grasp. There are many senses in which keeping the Ten Commandments may be an easy task compared with this standard.