I Peter 4:14-16. 5:6-11
1) Peter is demonstrating that the culture has nothing to fear from good, law-abiding Christians. This, of course, only heightens the irony of persecution for being a christian. It carries an echo of the end of the beatitudes. However, I don't know how it works well with the aliens in their own land theme.

2) Notice that our section follows directly on advice to elders and young men.Do males ask for or handle advice well? why then are we so good at offering it?

3) Humble oneself sounds here as an activity more than a virtue.(It is closer to say be humbled, as in obeisance)  I would like to lift up humility for our consideration. It is not a virtue that gets a lot of respect in our competitive, success-driven culture. yet some of the leadership books not that humility seems to be a virtue in some top CEOs. Humility is of the same root as humus. It is a good reminder that we are of the earth, creatures, not gods. At the same time, self-abnegation can be a sin against the god who made us in the divine image and likeness.
4) Casting anxiety on God is not always easy, is it? this is well-linked ot the God who cares for us.
5) Self-control too has lost some of it s luster in a time of letting one's thoughts and feelings spill out.Authenticity seems more highly valued than self-control.
6) Alert against evil-Peter has a sharp sense of evil prowling around us like a predator ready to strike.
7) Suffering makes yet another appearance in this letter, one which some consider a baptismal homily

 

Ps. 68:1-10, 32-5

1) rider on the clouds has a mythic ring to me. ( See Ps. 104) Baal was called the cloud-rider. it is entirely possible that the writer(s) took a good title and applied it to the god of Israel.

2) Along with the usual protection of the widow and orphan we expand to the desolate, to prisoners. God has power, but god empowers as well.

3) In recounting the deeds of God we go to the theophany at Sinai, then to a portion that sounds similar to Jdg.5:4-5

4) We have in 9-10 a dense set of images of abundance, prosperity, rain etc.

5) We return to the rider image, the phrase ancient heavens attracts me. One could use it as a crux to enter into a discussion of creation and science.

6) At the end, God's awesome power seems to be transmitted, a bit, to Israel. It ends with a stirring, Blessed be God.

 

Acts 1:6-11

1) We get a promise of the Spirit.Notice that this promise deflects the question about the restoration of Israel, almost the exact wording of the 2 disciples on the way to Emmaus.

2) With Ascension day on a Thursday, Protestant churches don't work much with this item of the faith. I remember a storm of protest when it showed up on the Presbyterian ordination theology exam. It may be a good time to work with it. Calvin was critical about Lutheran ubiquity of the presence of Christ, as he insisted that the seated at the right hand had a locative property for Jesus. With that, Calvin is assured that the gaze of God moves from a dreadful one to a graceful one. Christ represents all humanity in heaven. With the incarnate One in heaven, God demonstrates the import of our earthly lives. Jesus continues to intercede for us, to advocate for us in heaven. (See Hebrews,for instance) the ascension certainly brings up questions of presence, as in communion and prayer, but then opens up the issue of return as well.

Second  Cut for Tuesday Morning class
1) A superior way to use the word confession is to tell the truth. as it is in Latin, to really admit the truth or validity of something. would it be a good idea ot call our affirmation of faith, a confession of faith?
2) What would be the impact of heeding the advice of Jas. 5:16?
3) Read Psalms 51, 32, and 130 and discuss what jumps out at you. what does it say about God that we can be candid in our prayers? What prevents us from being candid in our prayers?
Ps. 51 gives 3 senses of sin:transgression is more like rebellion; iniquity/guilty is closer to bent out of shape;sin=miss the target. 3 words for forgiveness:blot=wipe away wash=scrub off;cleanse includes a sense of ritual purity as well as cleaning stains from clothes
4) At pg 2, col.1, the writer speaks of confession being good for the soul In part, we stop hiding from god. Why is this beneficial?
5) The selection of I Kings 8:23-53 is a good selection. Write out you prayer for your congregation. Create a group prayer by coming up with needs for our country.
6)We then move to Ps. 25. the writer calls it balm for the soul of people in pain. Why does lament work this way? What does it say about our spiritual condition that we cut out many laments in worship life? It is written as an acrostic, with a line starting with a letter in the alphabet, in order. In that sense, it is a teaching psalm. What are good and bad ways to teach prayer?
7) John 17's first section was just read on June 5 in many churches.It concludes the long goodbye section of 14-217. What does it mean to you that Jesus prays for you in this prayer?
Of course, one is surprised that the Lord's Prayer is not selected. How does the Lord's Prayer have an impact on your prayer life?
8) Finally 2 sections of Ephesians appear, 1:17-19, 3:16-19 What does it mean to you to pray for wisdom?
9) How do you deal with intercessory prayer not being answered?

May 29-Acts 17:22-31-This remarkable vignette has Paul trying to speak to the sophisticated Athenians through their culture. Paul isn't entirely successful, but some are willing to hear more, and some come to the Christian faith. this strikes me as out task all the time. How do we speak the basic elements of the faith in language, and even style, that can get through to people? Another way to work with this is to ask yourself how you would try to explain something to a child, or if you were a missionary in a different culture.

Memorial Day-Joshua 24-Memorials can be made of many things, but the ones of stone are meant to last. We have all seen too many stone memorials of too many dead from too many wars. Most towns have a WWII memorial, and now we have a large one in the nation's capital.Cemeteries are fields of memorials. Living memorials, such as scholarship endowments, are a wonderful way to honor  memory. When the people of Israel's tribes gathered in a solemn ceremony, Joshua set up a stone to mark the occasion to give a lasting symbol of memory. On this memorial day, what are particularly effective memorials in your view?

May 31-Artwork available on the web-Susie does a great job in finding pictures to complement the theme of children's worship. One of the benefits of the web is instant access to all sorts of great art. As a spiritual exercise click on google images and pick a biblical scene. Then examine 3 painting/pictures that strike you and study them closely for a bit. What attracts you/ what takes you aback? If you did the painting, what would you emphasize? How do the artworks give you to angles to consider o bit of Scripture?

Wednesday-I have a small project for the Reformed Roundtable, a theology group chaired by our presbytery's own Mark Strothmann. I am comparing Calvin's look at some passages in Mark to a book written by the late, lamented William Placher. He is a sharp and careful reader of Scripture and quick ot note rough spots. I would encourage you to read Scripture with care every day, but not as a holy object, too sacred to be a source of questions. Work with it, question it, turn it it the light in different ways. the Spirit will uncover new riches with you.

Thursday-Mk4:35-41- The small boat was an early Christian symbol, a little ark perhaps. In this passage, the boat is in the midst of a terrible storm,but Jesus is asleep in the back, like Jonah in the old story. Like us, the disciples ask if Jesus does not care that they are in danger of perishing. Jesus gets up and tells the storm Peace. Be still. I leave it to your imagination to hear how Jesus sounded and looked when he quieted the waves. Consider using it as a mantra of sorts:peace, be still. let the words echo within.

Friday-Frustration dogs us all. It may be particularly difficult for active, energetic people who want to see more than progress, but something finished or settled. One way to handle it is to watch that our expectations don't outrun reality, especially the reality of delay. Frustration emerges from our desire to be in control, at times. it can also come up when we have a hard time accepting and dealing with our own limits. Sometimes, we are just too hard on ourselves. We learn from successes as well as failures.

Saturday-Spiritual practice of review can be really valuable. Some people do a review at the end of the day with the good and bad. I know one woman who uses a ritual of filling a bowl with water in the morning and emptying it with the cares of the day. I just heard a spiritually adept person say that she goes through the blessings of the day before retiring. That helps settle her for sleep. In some way, our confession in Sunday worship pushes us toward a weekly life review. When you run into good memories, know God celebrates with you. When you run into difficult ones, know that you are forgiven.

May 29   John 14:15-21, I Peter 3:13-22

When I was a boy, I went to Catholic school and was expected to attend daily Mass. As an altar boy, that was part of the rotation. So, i heard a lot of Bible. When we came to this selection, my little boy's ears heard the untranslated paraclete as parakeet, and I wondered why the picture on the wall had what looked like a dove or pigeon and not a parakeet, one of those birds kept in a small cage.

Recently someone was complaining to a group that we don't hear enough about hell, and we hear too much about a God of love. Maybe so, but our passages this morning don't move in that direction. I Peter offers some hope for him as a possible biblical reference for the descent into hell, but here it means the abode of the dead. The descent into hell shows  the upper reaches of sacrificial love(see Barth, von Balthasar, Lauber, and the Alan Lewis book on Holy Saturday) no where too deep, no where and no one too far gone, no where too dark for the light of God's love to penetrate.

Love's communion knows no boundaries. Even time and space fall in its march toward fulfillment. Jesus offers an incredibly thick description of the relationship of love here. The love of Jesus and the Father, indeed a mutual indwelling, is for us as well. Put more starkly, divine love is made available to us through Jesus. The way is open ot us to have a relationship with God that could approach the one Jesus enjoyed. We have a sense of mutual indwelling in the language of romantic love when we say things like you will always be a part of me, or perhaps in the words of theologian Tom Cruise, "you complete me." Jesus invites us to join a divine community of mutual love, not unrequited love, mutual love.

Jesus knows that goodbyes are hard. He will not leave us orphaned-not alone-not bereft of help. We are not alone. We are accompanied with the presence of God. That presence here is pictured as helpful and encouraging for us to make good decisions for our benefit. We get another preview of Pentecost this morning. paraclete=called along side, on your side (CASA) calling in for help,comfort, guidance, counselor. an advocate (doctor, lawyer-interior design help)Instead of those annoying God is my co-pilot bumper stickers we could have God is my attorney. He says another paraclete will come. I would assume that means Jesus himself continues to be a counselor and advocate for us, as he was on earth for us. God and power of attorney. God is on our side. God looks out for our best interest. God takes a fiduciary responsibility toward us. Our Pentecostal sisters and brothers are right about the presence of the Sprint. They are wrong that it is available to all of us in God radical democracy, in ways that we require not imposed on us. Maybe we could use an image from musical accompaniment. it does not overwhelm the singer, but helps to carry the singer along and fortifies their song.

I am convinced the Paraclete accompanies us in worship. Worship makes furrows deep in the soil of the soul. Years ago, we tried to do Bible Study in a mixed group of dementia clients and the infirm in a nursing home. it did not work, as one would expect. I walked in around Christmas and said that we would start with a different prayer this morning. Let's sing Christmas songs. Almost every dementia patient could sing the first verse of a Christmas song. Memory was discovered like a paraclete called alongside of them to fill in Christmas. after all, in a way a counselor is a wise friend. Jesus said we are no longer disciples but friends, yet another word for paraclete.

Tuesday Morning Class May 24th Prayer-First cut-More may come up later, but here's a start for class

 

Patrick Miller has a compendium on biblical prayer in They Cried to the Lord.

OK our writer first has us  considering  praise (toward God's self and attributes)  and thanksgiving (directed at acts of God). Following from last week how would different personality types, intelligences, and sense orientation approach these two types of prayer?

the usual word for thanksgiving is todah, but our writer is correct that it is related to  the word yadah. That word comes from yad for hand. it is connected to prayer in both casting something with the hand but also the position of our hands. It then is a base for any prayer posture praise, thanks, confession, intercession. halal=praise as in hallejuah comes from  a word meaning to be clear (of sound0 but also with sight to shine, like a star and developed a sense of celebrating

1) One writer, Rolf Jacobson, in Theology Today, spoke of the "costly loss of praise" in prayer. what do you think the writer would mean by that?

2) What thoughts and feelings are to be evoked by praise/adoration?  How about thanksgiving?

3) Is it easy/natural for you to praise God and to thank God?

4) I am interested in the addition of music and motion into the prayer list.

5) Please, please do not let me forget to have us discuss some prayer sections form the beloved Presbyterian Book of Order.

6) Did you teach children to pray with praise and thanksgiving?

7) We will use psalms as giving structure to these forms of prayer.

8) Do you ever write your prayers out? do you ever record them?

9) In what areas does creation elicit prayers of praise and thanksgiving from you?

I Peter 3:13-22
1) Many consider this passage (v. 19) a possible source for the doctrine of the descent into hell. Barth extends the work of the reformers with an insistence that hell as utter alienation from God began at Gethsemane. One of the best books for me is Alan Lewis Between Cross and resurrection. von Balthasar does see the descent as a discrete event. Lauber's revised Princeton dissertation collects material from both. It seems fairly clear to me that the doctrine envisions hell in the sense of Hades/Sheol, the abode of the dead, more than the image of everlasting punishment.See later at 4:6.

 

2) It seems many of our sisters and brothers mistake cultural disestablishment for persecution.We have many over the globe who do suffer for their faith. Even if they do good, they suffer. If Jesus would suffer, why should we be immune? Further the suffering had some value, as it brought us to a new way of life.

3) We get a reading of baptism that reaches back into the primordial story of Noah and the great symbol of water. Even thought the primordial flood was so destructive, it seems that all those "spirits in prison" have a chance at release, indeed redemption. If one chose, the spirits in prison could extend to living now imprisoned by various forces, including self-imposition of a sentence of say, guilt. One could speak of the church as an ark, or a little boat.

 

4) The exaltation of Jesus from the depths is a constant theme in the early Christian literature.

Acts 17:22-33
1_ This fascinates me. Paul tries to work into Athens by using some of their own religion as an entry point. How different is this from our wholesale adoption of marketing and American cultural idiom and understandings as a lens for the gospel?
2) Here we are reminded of the Tertullian  question, what has  Athens to do with  Jerusalem? In our time, perhaps more to the point what has Mammon to do with Jerusalem?

3) Paul goes after idolatry and emphasizes the Creator god.

4) v.27 is striking about seeking the one who is near.

5) for those who wish a demarcation of secular and sacred Paul links two quotes into his religious argument from non-Jewish sources.

6) Is it an accident that this reading on fixing a day comes a week after May 21?

7) It is of some comfort for preachers that some scoffed but others wanted to hear more.
8) Luke is clearly adopting rhetorical styles and strategies here. Again note  much work is being done on this feature, or look at the award winning book by Luke timothy Johnson on Christianity within the Greco-roman world.

 

Devotions for the week of May 22

May 22-Rob Bell has encountered praise and intense criticism for his new book, Love wins. He says the germ of the book started when someone pointed to a picture of Gandhi and said with certainty, that he was in the fires of hell. Bell reflects his Calvinist roots when he comes to realize that a God who desires that the whole world be saved (I Tim. 2;4) will not be thwarted. How much deterrent impact does the doctrine of hellfire have? How doe sit apply to justice denied in this world? do you fear it, or are you confident of the grace of god?

Monday-John Bowker in A Year to Live says (p.138) that everyday we wake up Christ is calling us out into our world, "the stupendous moment of miracle...each day, and each moment of the day,to respond ...as he calls us to a new ordering of our life." Even if we wake with aches and pains, how do you embrace that miracle? How does the ordering of our life in terms of a calendar demonstrate our faith? When do you notice the call of Christ into the world?

Tuesday-Aging is not easy, as we accumulate new limitations almost daily, it seems. Aging had better contain wisdom, or how else will we adjust to all of its cruel tricks? Aging does bring a deeper perspective on time, especially as the sands in the hour glass finally seem finite.For some, it finally offers us a less harried life with time. I have long wondered if we have unwittingly offered ourselves the monastic gift of time for prayer for us when we are older? One good way into a longer prayer life is to pray the newspaper, for the joys and crying needs you encounter there.

Wednesday-Gregory the Great asked why we take such good daily care to feed our bodies, but we neglect feeding the spirit with good works? How do you think doing good feeds our spiritual lives? If you are limited in what you can do outside the home, what good works are available for you there? Especially consider the good work of praying for others, of praying for the differing needs of our world, local and global.

Thursday-Complaining can be an art form. I think of the old story where  a person survives a shipwreck but is far from shore. He prays and a wave magically deposits him right on the shore of an island. he gets up and gets himself together and prays, "I had a hat." The book of exodus is filled with complaint. when opponents of Jesus murmur, that's another locution for complaining.What evokes your most heartfelt complaints. do you complain in prayer? What annoys you about the complaints of others?

Friday-Reinhold Niebuhr had connections with nearby Eden Seminary. I've been thinking about him lately as the President says he has been influenced by him and also the reactions ot the death of Osama. Niebuhr refused to allow Christians the ease of easy decisions. He fully realized the pacifist course in christian ethics but was convinced that we could not apply that standard when facing menacing, militarist evil. At the same time, he would not permit us the illusion that whatever our country does is somehow pre-approved by God. Further, even good intentions can go astray. Unanticipated consequences are part of a complex world made up of limited decision-makers.

Saturday-We talked in the Tuesday morning class about different factors in our spiritual lives. Our worship comfort zones  are dictated not only  by convention but our personality. an extrovert may love being in a huge crowd, but an introvert may needs some quiet. A person who learns by touch may prize communion but doesn't hold on to much of a sermon. How do your spiritual practices fit, or not fit, your personality?