With our obsession about weight and healthy foods, we have turned gluttony into a general term about not eating right. B et you can;t eat just one is invitation to gluttony. If it is linke dot pleasure, the why do we permit it to go into pain so quickly? Motto: "any thing worth doing is worth doing to excess."

 

Think of how the language of temptation has become focused on food.  think of how we use sin language about not eating correctly. think of the ire that gets directed at fast food places or school lunches that don't measure up to standards. it has the feel of the old temperance/prohibition movement over alcohol.

 

Maybe we would do well to link gluttony to addictive behaviors. what do you think is the push for gluttony in the first place? Instead of self-control/ self-mastery, it is self indulgence.

 

Erik Erikson had the first issue we face as babies as trust v. mistrust. Gluttony would fit this for not moving from the demand for the breast milk. Early infancy will teach a child if the world should be trusted or not, especially those who care for the child. Unable to believe that one can rely on what one needs, we would move toward gluttony as one cannot rely on where the next meal is coming and if it will be sufficient. Gluttony tries to appease a hunger for trust and hope.

 

Gen. 22 Ps, 13 Sermon Notes 6/26

The Bible reflects the story of a people's relationship with God over time. The Bible  contains an often-unvarnished account, some very unpleasant material. Some would like it only to reflect the highest aspirations of spiritual life, but that is not true to the human experience.

We all know that life carries its troubles. With some, complaint becomes  an art form in the face of troubles. Can it be prayer, or mere whining to God? The Bible honors complaint as prayer, for any human response can be placed in the envelope of prayer. The  lament forms prayer-allows us to be candid with god-puts troubles into an envelop of prayer-Notice that the usual form has a surprise ending. They rarely end in gloom or despair. They end like our prayer of confession with a rousing gloria. Maybe it's cathartic, Getting things off one's chest is a step toward healing. When we are upset, sometimes, it is hard to put a prayer into words. The lament form gives a way to fit our experience into this honored biblical model of prayer. Lament unbinds our pent up feelings and places them in the safe envelope of prayer.

Gen.22 is a harrowing story of Abraham being put to a terrible test. How could Abraham be tested in sch a way?how could such a long delayed premise now be snatched from him? Moriah (teaching? place?) Note that he already allowed Hagar and Ishmael to  suffer.-This is a test of loyalty for readers too. Hear the artful slowing down of the narrative In Hebrew class we took some time to see how it becomes a series of verbs.  "God will provide, my son" is a counter game of chicken-Neither complain or lament that we hear. Abraham tries to bargain for Sodom, why not his own son? I think the answer lies there in his word to his son that God will provide.for Abraham this is a test of god too

What of Isaac (Laughter)? What sort of scars did this near death experience leave him with? What sort of psychic wounds needed to bind him to heal? Maybe his trust in his father was so complete that he never feared for a moment, although one of the words for God in Genesis is the Fear of Isaac.  Maybe heaven itself prayed a lament on Good Friday?

We consider it normal to make sacrifices for our children, but not of them.We can live through them vicariously a bit much. We sometimes project our dreams on to the screen of their lives.

To what degree do we sacrifice our children to the altar of our dreams? How we subject them to our harried lives We recoil from this story but do not flinch at the cascade of death we recall on Memorial Day not long past. It is no accident that we employ the religious language of sacrifice when we honor them. How do we bind them from becoming their best, fullest selves?  How have we been bound up with old tapes that run through our minds on an often unconscious reel? We underfund the public schools, yet shell out a fortune for private education, We made great strides in leaving a legacy of cleaner water and air and a more egalitarian social system. The difficulty of following greatness. Do you feel as if you ever measure up? JQA

Lament helps break the bonds that inhibit candid prayer. Awareness of them and determination to loose them is critical. Give sorrow words, said Shakespeare.We give them more strength than they possess. we do well to lament for people caught in a terrible vise of circumstance where no choice seems a good one, let alone the best one.

Gen. 24 Song of Song 2:8-13

 

The extended family of Abraham is an invitation to explore family systems ideas in families and in churches. Ron Richardson is accessible, as is Peter Steinke.
1) Isaac means Laughter. What if were an object of ridicule, one laughed at? Maybe he is a schlemiel, clumsy but ends up OK.
2) Why send the servant to get a wife? What do you think of the method of swearing an oath. Gives a new meaning to testify doesn't it?

3) How would you describe Rebekah on first meeting?

4) How is she like Abraham? What do you think of Laban as a father-in-law to be? How is he like jacob who is to come there as well?

5) What do you think of Isaac's new in-laws? do they mean it when they see God's hand in the matter?

6)Isaac And Rebeca meet in a romantic way. Or do they? It is possible that meditating in the field is going to the bathroom and getting off the camel quickly is falling off.
7)I love the part where Isaac finds comfort from the death of his mother in the arms of his new wife.

 

Song of Solomon

I just read a good book by rodney Clapp, Tortured Wonders, that addresses sexuality and the church on the grounds that we are not angels.

1) I think of the late Peter Falk and Wenders's Wings of Desire.

2) The back and forth remnds me of popular song. Taht oculd be a really involving way of entgering the text.

3( We've been analyzing the 7 deadly sins. Is lust involved here? Why or why not?

4) Clearly the springtime is the blossoming of romance here.

5) What do you think of the long tradition of making this an allegory of the love of God for God's people? Bernard of Clairvaux did hundreds of sermons on this book.

6) While the church is correct in trying to channel romantic love, why doesn;t it celebrate it more?

7) How do you handle the long tradition of seeing the body as lower than spiritual desires?

 

Tuesday 6/21 Class Deadly sins/Saving virtues Lust
Must lust always be sexual? Is lusting making an object of a person, a relationship?

Is sexting lustful? to what degree is advertising based on lust?

How is it related to greed and gluttony and envy?
Jesus links adultery with lusting (desire/craving/coveting) in the heart in the sermon on the mount.
Our writer gives chastity as the opponent of lust. Can chastity ever be potentially harmful?

 

Donald Capps speaks, with Erikson, of fidelity as a saving virtue. Not surprisingly, he links it to the stage of adolescence. What are the difficulties in fidelity? Differences in male and female lust?

Emotional lusting in a marriage? Can one lust for one's partner in marriage?

Capps- lust enemy of intimacy-looks for unrestrained gratification of senses-isolates-may be self-socially irresponsible-overmastering desire,lust has no partners

All the deadly sins speak of an orientation to an orientation to life, not only discrete acts.

 

Gen. 22 Ps. 13    6/26

It is helpful for the interpreter to use the story of Hagar as an introduction to this story, of Abraham's willingness to let her and their son die in the wilderness. this really is a text of terror. Some rabbis said that this event is what killed Sarah. Still, no one dies in either chapter.
1) this story is often called the aqedah, the binding of Isaac (Laughter). What would the effect be on Isaac of the events of this story?
2)Is Abraham playing chicken with god? Note the part on the Lord providing, for instance. Do you play chicken with God? do nations knowingly play chicken with god?
3) Some say that this is an assault on the practice of child sacrifice by other religions. do you agree? In Jeremiah's time, he assaults the practice directly and has God having no thought for it.
4) As the story goes a triad a verbs slows into a group of seven. I do not think this an accident, but narrative art.
5) What is the sense of this testing of promise?
6) Of course, we can then move to a consideration of the crucifixion.
7) In the face of Abraham's response, God swears about an abundant progeny.
8) Janzen's Abraham and all the Families of the Earth p. 82 for a fascinating disquisition on hope and resurrection emerging from this story and the planting  of a tree.

9) I haven;t thought this through yet, but bear with me. What if this is a reach into the past from the exile? Even if Israel, the child of the Promise is threatened, God will not go through with the threat. After all, how much of a choice is left to Abraham? What kind of power position does he have, even if he has argued for Sodom earlier.

10) could Paul be reaching back to this story in I Cor. 10:13?

11) How do we put our children in a bind as persons and socially? think of vicarious participation in their lives. think of stage mothers and sports fathers. think of the hours of family tapes we saddle them with in view of conflicts or unresolved issues and roles.

 

 

Ps 13 is for me a good short introduction to the lament form. If you haven;t get a hold of the article, The costly Loss of lament. Migliore and Billman have a nice book on lament. Montreat ran a very good series on lament some time ago.

Just as King did in a sermon/speech, we could select items in our national life and cry how long? doesn't time take on a different quality during times of  trouble?

When is lament in danger of merely whining, complaining? When does complaint stop to have a cathartic payoff and only feed trouble?

The enemy could be personal or a personification of say, an illness.

v. 2's bear pain could be hold counsel inwardly. So it could be working through an inward struggle.

I love its imagined good future based on god's steadfast love and trust in that love.

 

Dear God, Jesus called you father.
In part, that reflected what a good father he had in Joseph.

New fathers work and walk without a net.
They are making up new patterns as they go along.
Men like to be seen as and feel competent.
guide young fathers as they are making up]
the new ways as they go along.

Fathers worry; a father wants to share ideas and advice.
Fathers want to fix things.
Help us to know that relationships are not engines.
Help us to learn when to listen and when to advise.

May they have the strength to carry their heavy work.
Fathers are the bearers of the American dream.
Fathers are sillier, more physical with children.
Fathers can discipline with just a look.
May that difference always be an asset to raising our children,
from shooting baskets and tea parties to both
Girl scouts and Boy Scouts and stories of old times.,

Compared to mothers, fathers are looser on the reins.
they say, "work it out, dust yourself off, try again."
Don't be afraid.
Fathers work inside and outside the homestead.
Men are on a quest still, even as the search
moves to week in the yard and TV remotes for sports.

they wear public faces and private faces.
They often seem deep mysteries to us.

The bible is filled with fathers.,
models like Joseph and ones all too human.
Adam and Abraham, Boaz and Aaron,
David and Solomon, Isaac and Jacob.

Beaus may be threats and girlfriend a wonder.
My in-;laws be seen as a gift.
May man caves truly be sanctuaries,
a Sabbath place away from demands and pressures,
a place to enjoy the freedom of just being alive.
may they come to know they exceeded expectations;
they have handled their many jobs well,
in a way that would make their own fathers proud.

Father's Day lacks the cachet of Mother's day. We don't see the agony of gift choice for Father's Day that we do for its companion holiday. On average, Father's day gifts are $35 less than what is spent on Mother's day. That explains the ties that disappear from store shelves.Contemporary fathers have a tough road. With social patterns of old slipping away, it is not clear to many of us what it means to be a father. We are drawing up the blueprints as we go. I sympathize with those new fathers, as my father was killed when I was a toddler, so my sense of fathers came from observation and TV. It is to the good that fathers share more in domestic life as well as serve as models for public life. Paired with maternal care,  a father's urging to dust yourself off and try again helps instill confidence and competence in children. Men are enamored of the quest. That can get transmuted into encouraging a child's potential, seeking out a weed that defies a manicured lawn, or the perfect piece of golf equipment that will help cure a swing.

I tend to think that Joseph was an extraordinary father to Jesus, and that explains his ease in speaking of God as father. He could speak of god a a father giving good gifts. Other biblical fathers, be it the generational psychodrama of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or the failures of David present us with identifiable human realities. For any of us, growing up is learning to separate from one's parents, deciding what to keep and what to run from, and yet continue to bond with them. I like the posts on facebook with old pictures and kind thoughts gracing the pages. many fathers are simultaneously embarrassed and touched with the attention.

Some wonderful books continue to stream out on family life. The talented song writer and singer Rodney Crowell has a fine memoir of his family, open, honest, and deeply loving.    (available at the library). His former spouse, Rosanne Cash has  an equally wonderful memoir that touches on her own father, often a counter to her mother's anxieties. . It took a while, but she recorded some songs from a list he made her of around 100 basic American recordings.

Those of us who are older still aren't adept at speaking the language of emotion. so we hide in in things or roles and ask our children about their car or how the job's going.
gifts One of the reasons mentors have taken off is that they allow us to show younger people the ropes without the emotional hassles and expectations of family life. Look at the difference between the Springsteen intro to Independence Day on the fights over hair length or the songs Factory and the Gift. The great book flag of our Fathers uses a father in the Iwo Jima picture as the gateway to learn more about him and a whole generation. The previous generation of fathers were often a mystery ot their children, so many movies and books touch on discovering them late in life. I'm a little uncomfortable that today's more involved fathers are usually portrayed as laughingstocks on screen. Men feel pressured. The allures of the man cave offer relief from demands and pressures. Men  really do regard the home as a castle, as the place to let go of the demands of the pubic self. Sports offer clarity in a confusing world, a retreat into the serous world of play.

May the man caves truly be sanctuaries for sports, card games, beer of the month clubs and blessed peace from the demands of the world. May they be a place of laughter. May father's day be one where they truly know that they are honored, and loved.

June 19 Gen. 1-2:4A  Ps. 8 Baptism linked to creation Sermon Notes

 

The sacraments link our physical being to our spiritual being, make tactile an invisible touch. Baptism uses a fundamental element of creation for life to begin to touch on its depths. Water is a good image for Trinity Sunday  as it is liquid, solid, and gas Not knowing about outer space, the ancients thought we lived in a water world. The sky was like a plastic dome that protected us from it rushing in. Water imagery runs through the desert land of Scripture. Water is flexible moves with an attack yet can break down rock with freeze cycle and has tremendous force. Water flows and recycles. In that sense some of the water that evaporated during the baptism of Jesus may have eventually become part of the water we use this morning. 

One of the reasons we have an orderly service is to reflect this first creation account reveals a  God of order. In John's prologue, Jesus incarnates God's order, God's plan, god's logos. When Israel was in exile, they encounter the creation accounts of Babylon that had conflict among the gods as the primal force of creation, to counter it, Israel presents this stately carefully orchestrated symphony of creation.The Sacrament of baptism takes the ordinary element of water and makes it a spiritual gateway at the same creative hand of god. .
God's activity is triune in the Christian perspective from triune creation to triune consummation. The Spirit hovered over the waters. God continues to act continues to uphold continues to sustain this world-God calls this child. This child is part of the order of creation but is capable of surprise, of action in the new-Creation gives space for new life, for love to exist and to grow, to radiate out into this cosmos.

We are acting for the church universal in a clear way this morning. We have the privilege to baptize a child who lives in the Chicago area. When we baptize an infant, it is our prayer that the child will become well-rooted, well-grounded in the faith. Part of that grounding is to understand that we are called to love God with our hearts, our spirit, our bodies, and our minds. Trinity Sunday highlights the difficult mental exercise of "faith seeking understanding." Rylan's name refers to the earth, a field of rye, like Adam, but he is born into a scientific world.
Baptism not only is performed with the  name of the Trinity, it expresses its fundamental point. As members of a thinking faith, we cannot permit it to be stolen by apostles of ignorance. I pray that his will be a thinking faith. Christians see God involving three aspects of love, always tied together, a triple helix, if you will. In baptism, Rylan will be busy being born into his best self, one of deep relationships with God and his fellows who will vote in 2040 election. May he find the world well-watered with seeds of possibility, new horizons to explore, a world worthy and appreciative of his life and gifts.

Indeed, in this place we are just a little lower than the angels. What are we? In the eyes of God well worth the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ-well worth redemption. the Spirit hovered over the baptism of Jesus. The spirit will hover over Rylan all of his days. Rylan is marked as God's own anywhere. His middle name is David, which of course means beloved. May he live out that name as well, beloved by God and enmeshed in a world of love.Made in the image and likeness of God, equally men and women. Just as hydrogen fills in the gaps in the oxygen shells, so baptism begins to fill the God-sized gap in the human experience. Out of the immensity of creation, God calls this child by name, loves this child by name.

Pentecost Sunday-We could call this Holy Spirit Sunday. I would like to emphasize the nearness of the Spirit. The word in both Hebrew and Greek is the same for spirit, breath, breeze. In that case, consider that God is as close to you as every breath. Every once in a while do a breath prayer. Breathe in words or a sense of goodness; breathe out a sense of trouble or illness. yes, the spirit may arrive in a flash of power or ecstatic spiritual power. yes, the Spirit arrive sin the new that benefits all. yes, the Spirit hovers over us and in us all of the time, as we are embraced within the presence of a loving God. If you have trouble sensing the Spirit go to Is. 11:2, which we just read at baptism, or Gal. 5:22 on the fruit of the spirit and notice where you have been gifted by God.

Monday-rooting for underdogs I've been rooting for Dallas in the NBA playoffs since they are the underdog. we identify with underdogs as we feel ourselves to be underdogs. We can live, for a bit, vicariously in the struggle and rarer\r victories of the underdog. we project our own struggles against the upperdogs of the world on to sports teams. We replay the biblical story of David and Goliath between the lines all the time. What sports moments have given you the most elation?

Tuesday- Elvis Costello and Burt Bachrach wrote songs for a movie Grace of My Heart. The best known one is "God Give Me Strength." It is a desperate plea, as it starts out with the singer having nothing, especially a love that has not worked out. It really is close to a lament psalm in its desperate pleas and candid emotion. It does seem true that trouble drives us to our knees, as we take credit for the good that occurs. What are some of your favorite hymns? What are some popular songs or classical pieces that touch your soul?

Wednesday-Summer spiritual practice when the living is easy. Consider paying some close attention to the look of the natural world in the summer, from haze on the river to the sound of cicadas to smell of barbecues being fired up. Consider a spiritual practice that tries to include our five senses. with the longer days, consider the use and practice of time. Is time really wasted that does not seem productive?

Thursday Rodney Clapp on the body. In a recent Christian Century, he writes of being on a catheter for some long weeks and his understandable relief at no longer needing it. He yelled 'thank you Jesus' the first time he went to the bathroom. He quotes an ancient morning prayer that praises God for the creation of "our intelligence and "many openings and hollow places. without which it would be impossible to survive and stand before You." we are part of nature, not above it.

Friday-Why is confession good for the soul? Adam and Eve hid when they heard the voice of God. We try to hide from ourselves and God when confronted with a sin. It is a form of denial, I suppose. Sometimes the weight of a sin becomes heavier over time. It is good to remember that the root of forgive in the new Testament is to let go, to not hold on tight. Nothing we have held in that hold us down with guilt cannot be released before the merciful roomy world of God. it deflates our ego, as we realize we share the same moral issues as everyone else.

Saturday Baptism is the initiation rite of the Christian Church. we perform baptism at any age, any stage of life. Our sense is that we can join a human family at any time, so we can join the family of God at any time. We emphasize that call makes the first move, the call, and we respond. We could consider our baptismal enrollment like a passport, as it announces our citizenship. as Paul says, our commonwealth is in heaven. In a way we have dual citizenship with our baptism.

Gen. 1-2:4a
I'm fairly certain I've posted some questions on this before,, but here's hoping we also get some new material.

1) If you wish to link this to Trinity Sunday consider the Triune Creator by Colin Gunton.

Sophisticated but accessible if you have some background. How would you link trinity, creation and redemption, say? Where does logos come in? Will you link it to Wisdom as in Prov. 8?

2) Do you consider creation finished or is it an ongoing project?

3) How do you look at creation and science? See the clergy letter project of Dr. Zimmerman at Butler for some fine resources.

4) What is your opinion of process theology? Much of it is unreadable, but it does come up with some intriguing proposals.

5) I am convinced by the argument that this account is a direct assault by Israel against the conflict creation stories of  Babylon. It is a sterling piece of cultural defense.

6) In that sense, then, it describes a god of order. At the same time, this is concerned with the abundance of life in a world beset with death.

7) How do you understand image and likeness of god. See Imaging God by the great Douglas John Hall. Why is this creation account of men and women at the same time not as familiar as the account of ch.2? Does it then promote a sense of equality? How do you understand the plural pronoun here for God?

8)This is already paired with Ps. 8. One could go past the lectionary and compare it to other OT creation material as in Brown's book 7 Pillars of Creation. 

9) I think v. 1 leaves an open question for creation from nothing. v.2 does point to a chaos myth with the formless and void phrase (tohu/bohu) Look to B. Anderson in a collection on creation for a good discussion of chaos, as well as J. Levenson on its persistent power. I think sea monsters on v.21 should not be equated to natural things but to a symbolic form of chaos, such as the Leviathan of Job or the great fish who swallows Jonah or the serpent of Is.27.

10) I don't think these were stupid people. They obviously know where light emerges, as they indicate in v.16. So I like this as a theological statement of God making light  as a sign of divine presence, or alternately making room for creation (see Moltmann on zimsum).

11) Some maintain that the bringing forth of v.20,24 is a maternal one.

12) Don't rush to the end and forget abut sabbath as built into the very fabric of creation.

13) Summertime and the living is easy. Maybe this is a good time to make an attack on the attempt to impose a wooden reading of this chapter as a science text on  students and religious folks in general.

Ps.8
1) Ps. 8 is on a disk left on the moon by Apollo 8.
2) Note that God does crafts here. the work of fingers and the work of hands.
3) We have the best sense of the scale of the expanding universe ever. Do a bit of research to speak of a light year and a picutre from Hubble
4) In the midst of this immensity, we are charged wiht taking care (dominion)  of htis corner of creation
5) Job makes a parody of these words of god being mindful of us.

Pentecost 2011 Acts 2:1-21, Numbers 11:24-30


We have some serious work to do with this day of Pentecost, including the name. (It's Greek for fifty days, after Passover)  Christmas and Easter are bursting at the seams with activity. Part of that is that the culture has not picked up on Pentecost as it has Christmas and Easter. It feels a bit forced, imposed fun and novelty to me; art invites us to feel, but  advertising tries to tell us what to feel. The Spirit seems like  a distant relative in the family of faith. Fearful of being labeled  as pentecostal, the older Protestant churches keep a proper formality when even lightly touching the Spirit.

We learn of the Spirit in our reading from Numbers. Moses can;t do it all alone. Just as his father in law Jethro asked him to get some dispute mediators, now God takes a direct hand in responses to his complaint of the burden of leadership.. It spread out. Then it takes a democratic turn as it flows out  to Eldad (Loved by god) and Medad (Loving/affectionate), even though they skipped the meeting where the Spirit was bestowed. . Joshua (God helps/saves/delivers)  is concerned about this abrupt power shift, but Moses is more sanguine and wishes that everybody had the spirit. the spirit should not, cannot, be contained or constrained for one alone, so it is shared, divided up, but not diminished.No velvet rope divides us, but each gets a share that fits them.The spirit is a personal force, not an impersonal one. though it is a personal set of forces, it is anonymous, and self-effacing, like the picture of John the baptist always pointing away from himself. The Spirit pours out increased virtue and ability that fit the needs of the community,

Pentecost started small. Its democratic movement went worldwide. It is a celebration of understanding cultures and tongues Pentecost is a mixture of celebrating individuals and community. They are in a room together, but instead of a consuming blaze, individual tongues of flame appear over each.  (domesticating fire and playing with the words little fires on each (Bowker 148-9) Spirit has the 12 ordinary apostles do extraordinary.The Spirit lives in order and freedom, and within that  constant tension. Pentecost has  Scripture, the living word, takes on new shape and meaning. Speaks to different languages and customs, to the young and old, to the rich and poor. This is how we often divide each other up. Lately, it has become fashionable to wonder if the social gulfs are so wide that different groups cannot comprehend each other. Pentecost says that we can understand each other. God's spirit bridges the gaps of biology, culture, and experience. This global understanding could be a bridge for us to come to grasp other faiths not only from a position of privilege but from the inside out and find what they can teach us about our own journeys in faith (Willimon quote from thoughtful christian) .

The fresh breeze of the spirit blows right through this sanctuary. The spirit can blow through a committee meeting, and yes, even a Presbyterian session meeting. Inspired v. dispirited, vivifying and revivifying, befriending and gracing, empowering and sharing. 2011 is a year for turning a page here. The next page, the next chapter of the life of this church remains unwritten. We do not enter into the future alone or without resources. The spirit breaks open a sense of possibility, of "moving outside the box" as has become a mantra in corporate circles, of all places. In time, the spirit will help us together to discern what we should keep and treasure and where we need to move into the undiscovered country, the future.

Pentecost Paper-first cut

1) OK Pentecost means fifty days (after Passover). why does it not have the impact of Christmas and Easter?
2) When you hear the word Pentecost what comes into your mind?
3) Do you think that Pentecost deliberately echoes a harvest festival, not of grain but of people?
4)Notice that tradition has it as the gift of Torah (law/teaching) Some of the words applied to Torah=bread of life are also applied to Jesus. Compare Pentecost to the appearance on Sinai in exodus 19-20.
5) David , the descendant of Ruth (contra typo in paper) may have died on Pentecost. he was a noted liturgist and part of the line of Jesus. Any significance there?
6) To what degree was the first outpouring of the Spirit a "cacophony" and where is it the exact opposite?
7) Answer her questions at the end of the second full paragraph on pg. 3.
8)How is today's church in a similar position ot the first community?
9) Discuss her last two paragraphs.
10) Recently we read the new statement of faith's section on the spirit. Let's look at it again.
11) What is your conception of the Holy Spirit?

Numbers 11:24-30

1) Eldad and Medad both have names meaning beloved. Moses is an Egyptian name but sounds like Hebrew to draw out. Joshua is the name of Jesus-God helps.saves.delivers
2) The people have been complaining about no meat. Moses is exhausted. God promises to take some of the spirit of Moses and distribute ti so he won;t a "nursing father" all by himself but they can share the burden.
3) they can tell  when the spirit rests on the for they prophesy for a bit.
4) Even though Eldad and Medad are not at the meeting, and we are not told why (that in itself is grist for the sermon mill)the spirit does not respect borders.
5) Joshua wants to stop them. What obstacles do we place on the work of the spirit?
6) What do you think of Moses's democratic response to the spread of the spirit, even though it is not "decently and in order?"
7) OK now how is this similar and different than Pentecost? Pay particular attention to communication

June 5 Jn. 17, I Peter 4:7-10, 5:5-11 Baptism of Mallory and Mimi
The Easter season is a good time for a baptism, as it underscores the new life presaged by baptism. In concluding the set of speeches, Jesus prays. The prayer has a nostalgic ring to it, of looking back and finding solace that he has worked hard and faithfully for us.  Paul says Jesus continues to pray, to intercede for us for us-I say, without hesitation,that Jesus continues to pray with and for Mallory and Mimi. These children are every bit as much disciples as those to whom Jesus spoke all those years ago. Easter life is prayer with the living God. Notice that eternal life here is defined for us as knowing God and Jesus. This prayer is the basic rock of prayer, of talking and listening to God, in other words communicating with God.

This sacrament enacts prayer, even as it is also a gift from God to these two children.

 

Most epistles end with advice on how to live well.  I want to emphasize the stewardship of the manifold grace of God here in baptism. Easter life is living life in the light of god within the darkness of suffering. Prayer helps us to live the kind of life Peter imagines. It also helps us to weather the storm of suffering that touches us all. Self-examination is part of prayer. Prayer done in the same confidence of Jesus of contact with God allows candor with ourselves and with God. Baptism is a continual process of growing in Christ.

Humility is a difficult virtue to sustain in our culture, especially with its mania over heightened self-esteem. Prayer itself is an act of humility in the first place. At root is the truth that we are limited creatures. it comes from the root for humus, earth, ground. human-it leads us to be more gentle with the faults and foibles of others, and the few that we realize we carry ourselves. We emerge from water, as does all life. Our blood is the salinity of the ocean. The water is less for cleansing, though it does remind us that a new self, a new life, is constantly within us, being drawn out by God, the agent of life itself.. Better to think of the water as permitting life and growth, nurturing them in their spiritual development as they grow in body, mind and mature in emotions. Some worry about baptism prior to  adulthood. I wonder if anyone is adult enough, knows enough, is mature enough, for baptism. it is a start, not the conclusion of our walk with God. they may not know everything, but they certainly apprehend love in many dimensions. They did not choose ot become part of a family, and now the voice of Jesus calls out to their family.

Peter advises to cast anxiety on to the God who cares for us. Parents have so much anxiety about children. We present a candle to assuage some of the anxiety as light in the darkness, their connection to the light of the world. Marked as God's own. What need we fear of 666 when the number 777 is inscribed on these children? their family is incalculably bigger now, joined with people all over the world, the living and the dead. the community is a big larger this morning. Heaven itself takes a breath and I like to imagine her ancestors crowding about crowing to everyone there how beautiful the children are. The angels hush their singing when the water is poured over them, and the sound of the water echoes in the halls of heaven, as more people with the name christian are added to the world. Once again the heavens open. God says, these are my beloved, in whom I am well-pleased. All their lives, the Spirit hovers over them.