Sermon Notes-Is. 5, Ps. 80, Heb. 11-12

Risk -Ps. 80, is a perfect prayer for the rust belt, as industrial might crumbles into disuse. Is. 5The owner of the vineyard made every possible preparation for a fruitful harvest -- picking a good site, preparing the land, choosing the best plants, arranging for protection and for processing the grapes. But what he got was "wild grapes," or more literally, "stinking things" (verses 2, 4). what God "expected" or "hoped for" does not happen;  God does not guarantee the results.it is precisely the people's freedom that means things can go wrong, and they do. , judgment is not to be understood as God's need to punish or to get even with the sinful people. Rather, judgment is the set of destructive consequences that result from the people's own choices.Instead of the "justice" (mishpat) that God "expected," God sees "bloodshed" (mispach). And instead of "righteousness" (tsedaqah), God hears "a cry" (tse'aqah). Instead of the goodness that God expects the people to enact and embody, there is violence that leads the victims to cry out for help.

The Hebrew word translated "cry" is particularly important and revealing. When God's people were being victimized by Pharaoh in Egypt, their response was to cry to God for help (see Exodus 3:7-Pat Miller).In short, the warning is that the monarchy itself will re-create the oppressive conditions of Pharaoh's Egypt. At its root prayer can be a cry for help, when it seems all of our resources are exhausted.

,I watch the Olympics and find myself caring about sports I never watch for four years. I so admire the skill and dedication that allows athletes for all nations to compete, to do their very best: , faster, higher, stronger. Heb. 11:29-12:2hat Hebrews invites us to “lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,” so that we might “run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (12:1).The writer of Hebrews has one final word of advice. "Let us run the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith." Pioneer- archegos. The archegos is the author, the beginner, , the impetus, the trailblazer who goes before us.But there is more. In the context of a race, the archegos is the team captain. he is also the perfecter(playing with name of Jesus as leader into Promised Land and as-Joshua, the first high priest after the exile. Priests perfect and complete what we lack, bringing us to our goal so that we may have full access to the presence of God.He takes our incomplete faith and makes it whole.

So when our knees are weak and our hands drooping, when we feel worn out in the journey of faith, wondering whether we can hold on and hold out, we hear again this clarion call from Hebrews. We remember our company. We remember our contest, but above all, we remember our captain who has run this race and who beckons us home.

Restoration-Notice here Scripture does not talk of a divine plan being worked out in every detail. It is the story of a divine plan gone horribly wrong, but god will not give up on the goal, the vision that animates creation and our relationships with God. is the goal of the race.Hebrews does not even imagine that we will win the race, but we will make it across the finish line.We do not give up.  We persevere.after all, jesus had but a short time in his life’s work, and then he was crucified. That did not end the story, He was restored, resurrected to new, full life.

Column on Assumption Day

“If Mary points us beyond our traditional divisions, ideologues of all persuasions—conservative and liberal, feminist and antifeminist—have long attempted to use Mary to argue their causes, with varying degrees of success. But Mary ultimately resists all causes” (Kathleen Norris)

As we approach the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, Catholics and Protestants (with the exception of many Episcopalians)  may well  mark the coming years for reflection of their mutual  traditions, their trajectories, and what has been lost and gained in each road of the Christian faith. Almost everyone knows the doctrine of papal infallibility. Few know that it has been used by a Pope only in 1950, on the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus, into heaven. August 15^th is a major Roman Catholic religious day, a holy day of obligation, the Assumption of Mary. When I was young in Catholic school, I was annoyed that it did not provide a day off from school.

The belief is fairly early in church history. For instance Gregory of tours wrote of it in the 500s.  It is also shrouded in pious legends. Some date her death at the year 48, in the presence of the disciples.  It is not quite clear if the Assumption of Mary is an event like the taking up of Enoch and Elijah in the Old Testament, or a special event after her death. The prayers say that her body did not see corruption, but that still leaves open her death. Some seem to read it as a sort of immediate resurrection from the dead. It is an assumption, not ascension, in that God took her up, body and soul, into the divine realm of heaven.

In the bible readings for the day, we find a fascinating set in the Psalms, in Revelation, and in the epistles. Revelation 12 leads one to see Mary as a queen of heaven. Psalm 45 shifts from a royal marriage psalm to one directed toward Mary as queen. At a different mass, Ps. 132 links Mary to the image of the Ark of the Covenant. First Cor. 15 is used to have Mary follow her Son in resurrection glory. The gospel reading is Lk. 1:39-55 to hold on to her great prayer, the Magnificat.

Protestants wonder if the exaltation of Mary threatens to displace Jesus as a focus. They tend to be perplexed by the emphasis on Mary in Catholic piety. They do not grasp the rosary’s repeated use of the prayer, Hail Mary, whose early words are Scriptural.

On the other hand, Christians could agree that Mary was vital in the birth and raising of Jesus and the birth of the emboldened group of disciples at Pentecost. As portrayed by Luke, Mary is the model, perhaps at a very young age, of a reflective  person, saturated in Scripture, who responds to her role in a powerful prayer of justice (Luke 1:35).  Just recently, in a bible study on Galatians we come to chapter two’s line: “Christ lives in me.” In that sense we are all part of Mary’s legacy. After all, she has been called mother of Christ, mother of god. In Paul’s view baptism makes us carriers of the living Christ.  Put differently, we are all mangers for the living Christ, but who placed Jesus in the manger but his parents? With a bit of soul searching, Mary is indeed a model, a pattern for the church. The astonishing amount of religious art with Mary offers a window into the spiritual use of imagery as an aid in prayer. Images of Mary remind us of God’s favor

. Mary is what it looks like to believe that we already are who God says we are.” 
― Nadia Bolz-Weber,

Column on violence

“Please be peaceful. We believe in law and order. We are not advocating violence, I want you to love your enemies... for what we are doing is right, what we are doing is just -- and God is with us.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

I was out early this morning and spotted a headline in the St Louis paper. Murders have increased this year in St Louis county, and the rate is n the city is unacceptably high. While so many religious organizations rightly oppose abuse of police discretion in the use of force, most will be silent on this headline. My denomination, the Presbyterians, will hold its General Assembly in two years there, and we have been silent on security matters. In our own community, folks were outraged that the crime rate in Alton prompted it to be ranked low as a desirable place to live.

I want to be careful here. The present crime rates have a disturbing uptick, but the violent crime rate is far, far better than it was in the 70s and 80s. In many places, murder rates are in the rates of my childhood. It seems that now we are content to accept the opening of new stories of assault and murder, as long as it is not in our own neighborhood.

I am sinfully amused at how so many Christians flaunt their Bibles like talismans but apparently are quite adept at picking and choosing what to follow and what to ignore.

What could be clearer than the consistent New Testament’s consistent opposition to human violence? We are willing to engage in exegetical gymnastics to justify the use of force. The Sermon on the Mount is a pacifist passage. Non-violence is its goal and its method. After all, Jesus was the victim of capital punishment. Jesus led no insurrection. Jesus healed victims of violence even as he faced arrest. For Jesus, non-violence was a step toward inner peace and social peace. Should not all Christians be conscientious objectors toward the use of violence?

Many folks draw a bright line between the Old Testament and new on violence. Yes, it does reflect the reality of war in its time. I cannot abide the easy equation of violence in the Bible to either justify violence or to make it comparable with other faiths who are more condoning of violence or those who run in more decidedly pacifist veins.

At the same time, the Old Testament/Hebrew bible issues clarion calls for peace, especially after the territory of the people of Israel was under assault and defeat through force of arms. Psalm 85 looks forward to a time when peace/shalom/well being will kiss justice. Its vision of the new age looks toward a time when even violence in nature would be erased, where the wolf will lie down with the lamb (Is. 11:6). Look at the succession of pictures of the “peaceable kingdom by the Quaker artist, Hicks, for the inspiration of this vision. Even the blood soaked apocalyptic vision of the book of Revelation draws upon the Is. 25, where neither death, nor pain will afflict us (21:4) In other words, the vision of the New Testament for peace has its roots deep in the Old Testament. How do we honor the One we dare call Prince of Peace?

“What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr's cause has ever been stilled by an assassin's bullet. No wrongs have ever been righted by riots and civil disorders. A sniper is only a coward, not a hero; and an uncontrolled or uncontrollable mob is only the voice of madness, not the voice of the people.” Robert Kenne

Week of Aug. 7 Devotional

Sunday-Ps.50  is full of a righteous indignation. At the same time, it speaks against a disconnect between worship, religious speech, and actions incommensurate with that religious stance. How consistent are we in walking the talk?

Luke 11:1-13 The best definition of prayer I ever heard was that prayer is "turning ourselves God-ward." Prayer is not simply an essay or petition, but our whole being turning towards God. When we do that, we surrender our own authority. This also means we assume we find God in whatever answer to our prayer may come. We pray for health and long life, and we presume God is present in our sickness and dying. We pray for peace and believe God is present in conflict and discord. We pray for the needs of life and believe God is present among the poor. In fact, there are many hints in scripture that we can expect to find God closest to us when we immerse ourselves in the needs of the neighbor--Peter Rogness

Tuesday-"John O’Donahue writes in one of his poems about his desire to live like a river, 'carried by the surprise / of its own unfolding.'"

Wednesday-Faith is a good airline.”I nodded and smiled, but I’m pretty sure she could tell I had no idea what she was referring to.She outlined the many remarkable, transformative things that had happened to her on her overseas journey. And she reminded me that before she left, when she had told me she was “going on faith,” I had responded by saying that faith was a pretty good airline, one that had carried many people to interesting places."

Thursday-Yann Martel-"At moments of wonder, it is easy to avoid small thinking, to entertain thoughts that span the universe, that capture both thunder and tinkle, thick and thin, the near and the far."

Friday-All things come and go.Whether this be a formula for weary resignation or for tranquil acceptance of the inevitable, the most we can hope for us that all things come and all things go, over and over again.”– John Stevenson Mogabgab

Saturday We need the gift of imagination if we are to see and hear God in the world about us. Poetry, art, and music can take us to places that literal and scientific truth cannot. when I gaze reverently at the changes in the clouds moved by wind, I do lift my soul to the Creator. A sense of wonder is God's gift to us. Do we pause long enough to grasp the awesomeness of creation?

Aug. 7 Sermon Notes Heb. 11, Lk. 12, Is. 1

Augt 7, Is. 1:10-20, Heb. 11:1-3, 8-16, LK. 12:22-34

Is. 1, Heb. 11, Lk. 12:32 let us reason together- worship without justice-wearying God.YHWH charges the children of Israel with rebelling against the Divine Parent’s loving care and instruction Justice:: everything is fair, even, balanced. Isaiah points out that doing justice is a grateful response of a people for whom God has already done much.God is fed up with worship that does not show itself i beyond Sabbath worship.  A generation of preachers drew the wrong lesson from this passage. They saw  the passage as de-emphasizing worship. No, no, no. God is asking us to walk the talk. God want everyday life to reflect what we do in worship. In worship we receive God's vision for our relationships with each other and with God. We act our worship every day, if we are being faithful to our worship goals and vision.

Heb. 11:1-3 This shows a discouraged people that other generations, who had every opportunity to be discouraged as well, kept the faith, kept on the road, kept on keeping on. They persevered.  Faith could be called fidelity to God and each other to get away from its sense of an affirmation of faith as doctrinal checklists.  Faith, rather than being something ultimately dependent upon us, comes to us at God’s own initiative which, mediated by God’s Word (cf. 1:2), engenders a hope-filled response to the promises of God. This response of trust in God makes “visible” -- through the lives of the assembly of believers -- what otherwise would remain “invisible.” In other words, one who trusts God’s promises is God’s own witness to the new creation that is breaking into our “everyday” visible world through the gospel of Christ Jesus. Here “resurrection,”  is not only a source of such faith, but provides a template, a pattern. .

In faith (as in resurrection) God calls new life out of that which is “as good as dead” (verse 12; cf. Rom 4:17b). The gift of faith is God’s work that witnesses to that very God who “is able even to raise someone from the dead” (11:19). In short, God’s invisible work of new creation becomes visible (incarnate) in the life of the one who trusts God. Faith is  ‘substance’ (hypostasis; in Latin, substantia) of things hoped for, the ‘proof’ of things not seen.”    

I think we made a mistake with the lectionary linking two disparate passages. We are better off hearing, again, what precedes the start of our passage.  Luke uncertainty and possessions heart and treasure-You can tell where your treasure is when it gets difficult to reason together. When emotion starts to flood your thinking, then you know that you are  in the thrall to a priority. Jesus does draw a distinction from last week in being rich toward God and rich in possessions.To God we matter so much more than possessions or other lements of creation.We don;t add an inch to the length of our lives with worry.For Luke anxiety ahs a sense of big up in the air. Yes, life is evanescent, but God has a long view for us, one that includes moving into the heavenly world of god.Possessions are ways for us to have a sense of security. Jesis says do not worry; do not be anxious. Peter Steinke in "Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times" quotes Henri Nouwen, "The more you feel safe as a child of God, the freer you will be to claim your mission in the world as a responsible human being." Knowing we are safe in our Father's flock, how will we claim our mission in the world?

devotional Points for week of July 31

Sunday-Ps.107 starts the final book of the Psalms, so it is perhaps a counterpart ot Deuteronomy, a recapitulation of the Torah for a new day. Here it speaks of the continuing help of god when people cry out in trouble.consider writing it in the first person as you sought and received help over a lifetime.

Monday-This center isn't some thing. It is some one. The beloved son, Jesus Christ, is the glue, the cement, the coherence of the cosmos. For his sake alone God prevents the world from coming apart at the seams. And how do we dare believe that? Only because this cosmic Christ is at the same time the crucified-yet-risen one,

Tuesday-So many of our favorite hymns were born in the crucible of affliction. Take, for example, these beloved verses by the German teacher, musician and pastor Martin Rinkart (b. 1586). Rinkart's thirty-two-year pastorate coincided with the Thirty Years' War and the pestilence that devastated the walled city of Eilenberg. For much of his tenure Rinkart was the only pastor in the besieged city, sometimes conducting forty to fifty funerals a day. Even his wife was snatched away by the plague, and Pastor Rinkart himself fell ill but survived. The city fathers gave him little thanks for his service, and he died exhausted in 1649."And guide us when perplexed" in stanza two is perhaps the closest Rinkart comes to hinting at the chaos out of which this hymn emerged. Lawrence R. Wohlrabe

Wednesday-The most wondrous miracle here isn't that a gentle soul like Mary would sit still for Jesus in her living room--but that Jesus would sit still for Mary. We have in Jesus a God who graciously seeks us out, enters our space, pays deep attention to us--in order to speak his "I love you" to us again and again and again.  Now that is hospitality!

Thursday-Luke 10:38-42 "Don't just sit there--do something!" This activist credo has currency nowadays, especially among the young. Service to others is both an outcome of faith and a pathway to faith. The history of interpretation of this text reveals that the two sisters have been viewed as exemplars of two spiritual paths: activity (Martha) and contemplation (Mary). Which does Jesus commend here? Does he praise Mary at Martha's expense? That's much too facile. After all, Jesus and his apostles depended on the kindness and service of others. Surely the reflective and the active modes of discipleship need each other. Indeed, they feed off each other. "Don't just do something--sit there" is what we sometimes "Mary-deficient" folks need to hear, so that we remember the why of our engaged, grounded service in Christ's name. Lawrence R. Wohlrabe

Friday-The 7th day is like a palace in time with a kingdom for all, not a date but an atmosphere. - Abraham Joshua Heschel.

Saturday-Interdependence can also offer an ecological vision that integrates all aspects of creation in recognizing our mutuality and interdependence...All things are interconnected.  There is nothing in existence that is separate, fixed, or isolated.  Things only exist in relationship and connection with other things.”--- Christine Valters Paintner

Column on Vacation and Sabbath

“Sometimes I have loved the peacefulness of an ordinary Sunday. It is like standing in a newly planted garden after a warm rain. You can feel the silent and invisible life.” 
― Marilynne Robinson,.

Almost five years ago, my cancerous prostate was removed, and then I had 40 radiation treatments. Around that time, our youngest daughter said, at my advanced age, it was time to start checking things off the bucket list. To my surprise, most of that list included national parks. This year Olympic and Mt. Rainier National Parks were checked off the list.

For me, national parks are cathedrals of the natural world. While I have no patience for Christians who studiously avoid worship and say that they worship God by themselves outside, I do find them to be gateways of religious experience. Religion is about reaching out to  the beyond in some fashion. Years ago, Rudolph Otto called the religious experience of the divine, the holy to be the numinous. It has the sense of  placing our live sin the perspective of something larger and greater. What a pleasure to be captured within grandeur, apart from distraction and cries for attention. The parks provide such a chance for people to enter into a totally different environment, a different public space than the bustling activity of the normal day. it provides Sabbath time for the careworn soul. No campaign signs obscured vision along the trails or were reflected in the lakes.

How I have tired of the recent use of awesome as a word expressing mere approbation. for a while, contemporary church services seemed to make its constant repetition mandatory. How can a Biblically tutored viewpoint not think of Ps. 19 in Olympic? In one park one can see the glaciers off on the range that includes, yes, Mt. Olympus. Mountain goats gathered around the summit of the Hurricane ridge trail as fog from two directions started to shroud the walkways in mist. In another section at the huge Hoh Rain Forest, moss and ferns grow on 250 ft. trees. In its small section of beaches, cedar logs come crashing in with the tide and rocks of a hundred hues line the shoreline. At Rainier, if the weather is right, one can capture a  look at the mountain by peering at the Reflection Lakes. On a walkway, seals were  easily seen, and even humpback whales spouted and offered a glimpse of their enormous torso.

I am not romantic about nature. The system of aesthetic pleasure also carries cancer in it, and mosquitoes that harbor diseases, and wild animals may well attack. In Seattle, works of the glass artist Dale Chihuly are presented near the Space Needle. there his artistry fits in with garden landscapes, so natural forms are matched with human craftsmanship and artistry that fits our anthropocene age. The National Parks may have inns, often of local materials that allow tired travelers the chance to rest in comfort without the natural pleasure of sleeping on the rocky ground. So, wisdom indicates that we seek a balance between the artificial and the natural and realize that the wild and the safe in natural settings are balanced. Random events fit with predictable patterns constantly.

Human beings need and deserve Sabbath time, time to pray, rest, and reflect. Sabbath time offers recreation in the sense of re-creation. Sabbath helps us to discover, or re-discover the best parts of ourselves that get lost in the flurry of activity that we give such moral weight. “Sabbath is a period of 'trying on' God's promised completion, trying on God's future.  Sabbath is the inviting of all creation to be still and imagine the coming of God.”