From Stone Soup to Shalom: Humility

Enjoy the kickoff to this three-week series offered by Rev. Dr. Angie Barker Jackson!

Life After God Week 5: own and poof!

What motivated you when you first embraced faith?  For some, it was simply part of the family tradition into which you were born.  I hear this a lot for folks raised Catholic.  Catholics have done a good job cultivating that with their rituals and sacraments.  I was a Baptist version of the same thing.  I grew up in the church – a pastor’s kid, no less.  It was a huge part of our life.  I have never really known a season of my life without the Church or faith. 

     Some people embrace the faith for purely practical reasons. They heard that heaven is in the balance of their decision.  So, even if they aren’t sure about the faith or heaven, what’s the harm?  This is reminiscent of Pascal’s wager that we learned about a few weeks back. 

     I knew another person who embraced the faith very late in life – deep into retirement – because he finally understood the magnitude of God’s grace and accepted, it, weeping.  He wept because of the release of shame and guilt he had carried for decades after the Korean War where he took many lives in battle.  He felt completely unworthy of God’s love and welcome due to his actions.

     I’ve also known people who were directly and indirectly told that they were no good from a young age.  Their parents and family, by their words and actions, created and reinforced an awful self-image that they assumed reflected God as well.  These people are victims of others’ awful behavior.  Hearing and believing that God loves them – that at their core they have value – is absolutely transformative. 

     What compelled you to embrace the faith?  Were any of the above part of the motivation?

     Jesus’ first sermon after returning from his post-baptism camp trip touched on some of these themes.  In that Nazareth Shabbat gathering, Jesus chose what text to speak on.  He was intentional when he read Isaiah’s vision of what God’s anointed one would be about (Luke 4:18-19 CEB):

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me.

He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,

to proclaim release to the prisoners

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to liberate the oppressed,

and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

     In another space, Jesus was remembered saying, “I am the Door; anyone who enters in through me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out [freely] and will find pasture... The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, until it overflows). (John 10:9-10 AMPC).  And in yet another, “This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God... I’m not asking that you take them out of this world but that you keep them safe from the evil one. They don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t belong to this world... I pray they will be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. (John 17:3, 15-16, 21  CEB)

     Mark Feldmeir, in his book, Life After God, notes what isn’t mentioned in Jesus’ borrowed vision of what he was to be about.  There is nothing about heaven, or saving your soul, or asking Jesus into your heart.  And yet for many churches, this has become a primary reason to embrace and nurture the faith.  In the 1800’s, preachers began using the threat of hell in earnest to coerce people into accepting Christ.  Billy Sunday led massive crusades in the 1920’s; Billy Graham picked up his mantel and packed stadiums for decades with this central question: are you going to say yes to Jesus or eternity in hell?  Fear is effective.  That’s why with every election cycle, we hear commercials for political candidates filled with fearful rhetoric.  Facts don’t matter much, apparently, because they don’t seem to make much difference in our current election.  They haven’t mattered a lot for many who were frightened into the loving arms of Jesus with the threat of facing a wrathful God if they didn’t.  The horrible logic in this sales pitch should have been enough to cause many to balk.  Yet millions have caved under fear.  Fear is powerful.

     How did fear factor into your decision to embrace faith?

     Jesus wasn’t about fear.  He won people to faith with love, welcome, hope, and what might be possible for the future.  For those of you who came to faith wooed by love and grace that overcame the shame and guilt of decisions past and/or the voices of many in the present, who were not so much won over with the promise of heaven but emotional healing now, consider yourselves lucky.  You experienced the invitation of Jesus that he extended to everyone.  If you embraced faith for lesser reasons, maybe it’s time to let go of the fear filled lies and trade up to unconditional love.

     Feldmeir suggests that our embrace of faith isn’t a singular decision, but a process where we decide again and again whether to follow Jesus.  It’s not so much about becoming born again as it is about being born again and again and again and again...  In the first death and birth of faith, we shed the lie that we are unworthy of love, acceptance, and dignity.  Religion wraps this in God language. We believe that God loves us unconditionally, wholly, which therefore means these things are true for us.  Some stay there, content with this very good news.

     In the second death and birth, we awaken to the truth that everyone and everything is loved as much as we are, worthy of love, acceptance, and dignity.  This is the beginning of the death of egocentrism and is difficult, because it feels like we are losing our specialness.  If we’re not more loved than others, that somehow devalues us, which is, of course, not true. Just because everyone is special doesn’t wipe out anyone’s specialness.  When this takes root, we begin to see and treat others differently, more graciously, because we recognize their inherent worth. This leads us to give people a break for being human just like us.  This allows room for the forgiveness process as well.

     The third death and birth: we die to self and embrace the vision of Jesus, willing to expand our personal vision to invest in the wellbeing of others, including our enemies. (Life After God, 187-189)

     Each of these moves and more require a death before a birth, a letting go of the past and an openness to the new.  Like a lobster molting out of its too-small-outer shells, the process is difficult, probably painful, and leads to an incredibly vulnerable in-between period as the new shell grows into place, only to happen again and again as the lobster grows. 

     Have you ever met a lobster who refused to leave its shell?  They are infamously grumpy.  So are Christians who refuse to grow, which requires letting go.  It’s hard.  It’s painful. Babies cry at the top of their lungs when they leave the womb, and we generally act like babies with every significant change.  By the way, Jesus let go of former ways to embrace the new.  He encouraged others to do the same – what do you think the parable of the wineskins was about?

     Where are you in your unfolding faith and life process?  According to theologian Bernard Loomer, a sign that we are growing is an enlarged heart, where we become increasingly concerned about the wellbeing of others.  Why is this a sign?  Because the salvation offered by God and proclaimed by Jesus was shalom for all.  Wellbeing.  Wholeness.  Equanimity. Healthy relationships. Healthy planet.  Love abounding. Peace.  I believe shalom is what we all truly want for ourselves and for everyone and everything.

   The late Will Campbell was a preacher and civil rights activist who escorted black students into the newly integrated Little Rock High School. As hate mail from conservatives came in, he recognized he hated the haters as much as they hated him and the integration itself. In his estimation, he was no better that those he was accusing of hatred. So, he began sipping whiskey with KKK members, even becoming known as the Chaplain to the Klan.  He slowly began winning them over. In time, however, he began receiving hate mail from more liberal people who challenged his relationship with the Klan members.  His response? “If you’re gonna love one, you’ve got to love ‘em all.” (191). That’s evidence of a person who has been born again and again and again and again.

     For many who came to faith based on the threat of hell and the promise of heaven, the above is hopefully a breath of fresh air.  Yet we also cling to the hope of heaven.  What do we do with that?

     Jesus is remembered as not shying away from the question about what happens when we die.  According to those who wrote down what they remembered of his teachings, Jesus believed there was more to come, all awash in the love of God.  We can often get caught up in literal details and miss the themes Jesus was trying to communicate.  In John 14, Jesus cast a wonderful vision of post-grave life as being spent in a sprawling complex built by God for us.  I hope that’s not literal.  Can you imagine how big that place must be by now? How long will it take to catch an elevator?  And what about parking?  Let’s hope and pray something more was being communicated.  Hint: it was.  The disciples would have been terrified after Jesus’ crucifixion and likely accused of being his followers, making them apostates as well.  Sure religious leaders would have told them of God’s coming wrath for their heresy.  In those moments, perhaps they would recall Jesus’s point: God accepts them now and forever. Believe it.  Trust in it.

     Yet my confidence is not only my intellectual conclusion that the God Jesus proclaimed is indeed experienced as graceful, loving, and forgiving, which means I will be allowed to pass through the Pearly Gates.  Jesus was offering a time-stamped expression of hope to his audience and all audiences who wonder about the nature of God as it relates to our lukewarm devotion to the Spirit.  The bottom line for Jesus was that everyone is loved even if not everything we do is lovely.

     My confidence is in my ongoing, growing awareness and experience of the “more” that we call God (to borrow a Marcus Borg phrase). The “more” is gracious and spacious, is present, is supportive, is the sense of love itself.  This love has held me my whole life, has shaped me, wooed me toward love for the sake of love. This love seems to be always flowing, has been forever, and will be forever.

     What, then, is the final act for me and the whole world?  It seems to me that Jesus’ insight and that of his followers was that love was the end goal: shalom for everyone and everything. I trust that.  If that means there will be a massive family reunion of sorts where everyone is somehow their best selves and still recognizable, and everyone gets along and forgets and forgives the reasons they haven’t before, I’m cool with that.  If the end is more like rivers flowing to the sea, becoming one, where all of our drips make up the whole, always part of the whole, becoming the ocean and discovering we’ve been the ocean? I’m cool with that.  If, when I draw my last breath, there is no breath here or beyond the grave, I won’t have any capacity to be anything other than cool with that!

    Regardless of the vision that will become reality, I live in hope and with hope. I trust love. I choose love as much as I am able, even if I struggle most of the time. Love has held me, saved me, continues to woo me. I don’t think love will ever let me go, and that gives me great peace. To not have any anxiousness about our end may not be possible. No getting around that. Yet I am okay trusting in the “thisness” that is the fabric of life itself. I am a part of it. It is part of me. That will never change. So, until I draw my last breath, I simply choose to breath.

Life After God Week 4: hum & buzz

If you have ever deeply loved a pet, you will resonate with this story.  We had a little dog named Banjo.  He was a “Chi-Weenie” – a mutt, really, but with some Dachshund and Chihuahua influence.  When my kids were in Middle School, they made it known that they wanted a lap dog.  Well, it was our daughter Laiken’s dream to have a lap dog.  We had a huge dog at the time, named Chico (which of course means small), weighing in at around 120 pounds before we scaled back the jerky treats...  Lynne did not want another dog, thinking the caring and feeding would largely fall on her.  CrossWalker Trudy Brutsche was rescuing a litter or pups and invited us to come take a look.  Banjo sort of chose us.  The kids and I won out, and we brought home a teeny, little puppy, somewhat to Lynne’s chagrin.  To make things easier, I brought the puppy with me to work for a couple of weeks (this is before we had to stop allowing dogs on campus).  My noon Praxis group got to cuddle with him, bringing a lot of love and joy.  Incredibly, Banjo somehow knew which Shaw family member he needed to win over – Lynne.  Long story short, before too long Lynne was head over heels in love with Banjo. She was his favorite.  She would never again sit on the couch alone.  We would never again have a bed to ourselves!

     When I was on a trip to Africa to visit a mission that CrossWalk supported, Lynne shared terrible news with me when I called home.  Banjo was not well. It turns out he had an auto-immune condition that affected his central nervous system.  Without help he would not be able to walk.  With help, there was a chance we’d have him with us for a year or so.  We chose to help, which meant that every month we would take him to UC Davis on back-to-back days, twice each day to get a shot that was used to fight cancer but was also effective at keeping the swelling around his central nervous system down.  The treatment cost a lot of money and time, but it worked!  Banjo remained a part of our family.

     The Banjo years saw a lot of change in our lives, and a lot of challenges that come with raising two very busy kids through their teenage years.  Banjo was there to provide comfort when Chico died.  Banjo was there to provide grief support when our beloved Karen died, who was a much of a grandma to our kids as their biological family members.  Other stressors crept in as well, and Banjo remained his loving, little self.  He acted as a conduit of love somehow that calmed things down when things were difficult.

     We had agreed from the beginning that we didn’t want Banjo to suffer, and that we would keep up his treatments so long as he could “be a dog.”  We had watched a neighbor keep his dog alive too long, in our opinion, because he couldn’t let go.  We wanted Banjo to live only if his quality of life was sustained.  The time came when it couldn’t be any longer.  We traveled one last time to UC Davis where the staff knew and loved him after five years of treatment.  I held him as he drew his last breath. I felt his heart stop.  I have never experienced greater sorrow. This shocked me, because I’ve lost very important people in my life who I have dearly loved.  Maybe it was in part because I was holding him, or maybe it was the absence he left us with.  I don’t know.

     When we got home, we sat in the quiet sadness of grief, together, in our back yard.  As we mourned, a white moth flittered by, playing off the breeze.  We hadn’t ever seen a white moth in our back yard before, so it caught our attention.  It felt like any time we were down for the days and week s ahead, that white moth would show up.  Call us weird, but we placed meaning on the visit.  We embraced it as some sort of sign of love that brought comfort, sort of like a white dove representing the Spirit of God descending on followers.  Even though we know it’s a moth, whenever we see a white moth, we call it Banjo.  We accept the presence of the moth as a gift from God, a reminder that love lives on. Every instance a reminder of the love we had and shared for our beloved dog.  Was God in any way part of this?

     What do we do with “spiritual experiences” where we feel like we’re encountering some aspect of the divine?  Is this just wishful thinking?  Since the Scientific Revolution, as a culture we have become more and more rationally oriented as we have come to understand how the world works. So much so that when people speak of spiritual experiences, feelings, or things like I described above, they can be written off as wishful thinking, emotional nonsense, or just hogwash.  I get it.  Our culture’s rational bias has made me wonder the same.  Am I nuts or is there really something happening that appears to be a divine interaction of some sort?

     Our Jewish ancestors were quite intentional in their story craft.  Their primary name attributed to God - by far - was Yahweh.  As we noted last week, Yahweh as a word is more of a verb than a noun. I AM WHAT I AM refers to a presence that has been in the past, present, and future that flows and is constantly around, like wind.  Ruach, the Hebrew word for Spirit, also refers to wind and breath.  These are things that are experienced for than something you can turn into an object.  Perhaps this might be why making an idol representing God was forbidden – it cannot be done and also severely impedes our understanding of what we’re talking about. 

     Stories of a breathy, windy God show up in powerful ways in the Bible.  Creation in Genesis 1. The story of the parting of the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds) during the Exodus. Elijah’s hearing God in the sound of silence (where he could only hear his own breath). Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones becoming alive again only after receiving the wind-breath of God. Peter seeing the wind that was allowing him to walk on water and freaking out, sinking.  And Pentecost, with the sound of wind filling the room (along with tongues of fire and new tongues of language) all representing the Spirit’s overwhelming, unmistakable presence for all.  These are just a few of the mystical experiences from our deep tradition. The ancient world had no problem with such encounters – the world itself seemed magical.

     Today, we struggle with such whimsy.  But should we?  It seems to me that there will always be a tension between our experiences of Divine Breath and our rational minds wanting to discount it.  Surely even in the magical past the tension was also pronounced.  How was Abraham feeling about a strong sense of divine call leading his to start fresh in a new land?  Or Moses sensing a call to return to Egypt? Or Jesus saying yes to a countercultural, counter intuitive vision that would cost his life?

        We will never be rid of the tension.  We’re going to have to deal with that.  For those who are “all in” on mystical experiences, we need to embrace community who might help discern our experiences, so we don’t do something that is really stupid and overly driven by ego.  For those who are so questioning of Yahweh’s presence that they are practically deaf and blind to what they are swimming in, we need community to help recognize where the breeze of the divine has already been blowing in their lives to perhaps open their ears and eyes to things that have always been and will forever be. Insights on either side of the spectrum cannot be forced, and so we must walk together in humility and grace, following the breeze that will always feel like shalom, will always encourage shalom, and will always direct us tows shalom. 

    Today, may you catch the breezy breath of Yahweh that is always blowing.

Life After God Week 3: Hmm (the aim of god)

Psalm 139 is a very popular poem written about God, attributed to King David. We don’t really know what led to such a gushing of praise in prose, but it must have been something pretty powerful.  A moment of insight? Or a moment of conclusion after a long period of reflection?  We don’t know. Whatever happened, the poet was left extolling ideas about God that have  resonated with many people throughout the ages, even up to now, showing up in Ellie Holcomb’s song,Where Can I Go.  The poet offers his insights about God’s character and nature, believing that God knows everything about him – even the number of hairs on his head! He believes that God is absolutely everywhere, which is huge claim lost on us in our time – gods were largely understood to be regional in that time in history. He notes that he believes that God knows the future in advance, including every word that the poet would ever utter.  The poem is itself a declaration of adoration, but he goes further to say that he hates God’s enemies and wished them dead.  Kind of a dark turn before a more positive finish.  The poet is overwhelmed at what he perceived to be God’s knowledge, power, and magnitude.  Yet the poet doesn’t necessarily declare that God is good or kind or loving.

     At this point, it is good to remember that Psalm 139 is a poem, not meant to be doctrinal even if it certainly communicates aspects of the poet’s theology.  We need also remember that the Bible is a collection of books written over hundreds of years capturing roughly 2,000 years of ideas about God with multiple genres.  It is a marvelous collection of how people thought over time based on their learning and experience. God didn’t write the Bible; people like us did. With great care, I might add.  Sometimes what they wrote resonates so much with us that we might even say it was inspired. Yet it remains what it is, and that makes it a great gift and invitation to us.  A gift because we get a courtside view of the struggle people went through as they developed their thought. An invitation because the Bible itself displays contrasting ideas throughout, which means we are invited to wrestle ourselves with such big ideas about the nature of everything, including God.  We can take issue with the writers and craft our own poems and positions in light of our learning and experience, including what we have learned from them.

     So, where do you agree with the poet. And where don’t you agree?  If you wrote your own poem using Psalm 139 as a reference, what would you keep? What would you cut? What would you modify to make it your own? You are allowed to do this.  You already have over the course of your life, again and again and again.

     Sometimes we get tripped up by the Bible because we approach it wrongly, as written by God. When we do that, the ideas about God’s foreknowledge of everything becomes problematic. It implies that we really don’t have any volition in our lives. No agency. It has been written.  We are predetermined – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  If your life is awesome, good for you!  You won the lottery, apparently.  If your life feels sucky, well, that’s a bummer.  Too bad for you for getting handed that script.  Such thinking limits our personal responsibility.  “Hey, sorry for the pain my life has caused. But don’t get mad at me – I was just following the script – get mad at the author.”

     What do you think – is your life predetermined? Do you have relative agency over your own life? Are your decisions yours or were they scripted before “in the beginning”?

     We see a contrast in another popular passage of scripture coming from a time of agony. Israel was overtaken by the Babylonian Empire. Except for a small remnant of folk, most Jewish people were taken to Babylon as exiles.  They wondered what to make of it all, what it said about them, God, and their future.  The prophet, Jeremiah, in his reflection offered a beautiful word of hope about God’s position on the subject:

I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. – Jeremiah 29:11 CEB

     In other parts of Jeremiah, the idea is presented that Israel’s exile is due to their disobedience. If they had been more faithful over the centuries, they would still be in the Promised Land.  If only they had followed God’s plan.  The idea of God’s plan is a whopper for a lot of Christians.  I have watched people agonize over major decisions, wondering, “Is this God’s plan for me? What if I get it wrong?”  I have, at times, agonized as well.  Yet, as Mark Feldmeir correctly notes in his book, Life After God, Jeremiah isn’t referring to some already predetermined plan but rather hopes, dreams, a vision of something more.

     How does this change things for you regarding interpreting God’s plan for you or will for you?  On the one hand, it takes a lot of pressure off knowing that “plans” are really hopes and not a playbook we must follow or suffer God’s condemnation.  On the other hand, it implies we bear responsibility for our own lives.  We don’t have to entertain God’s hopes into our lives at all! We can do what we want.  We always do.

     The whopper question is, what do we want to do with our lives? What role does our understanding of God play in our decisions? Why would we care about God’s hopes and dreams, according to Jeremiah’s view?  Further, which view of God in the Bible do we choose to embrace?  Some passages portray God as a hot-headed, immature jerk that is incredibly temperamental and even untrustworthy, ready to punish us if we get out of step.  Maybe that’s why there are people of faith that are jerks – they are basing their belief on that understanding of God.  The Bible is a gift in that way. When we recognize that many people from the distant past had divergent views of God, it reminds us that we are on the journey, too, figuring out what we believe, why it matters, and what we are going to do with it.

     A major theme that shows up throughout the Bible is a very big idea wrapped up in the word, shalom.  Feldmeir expresses it this way:

Shalom means to make something whole. Shalom is an experience of fullness, completeness, contentment. Perhaps the closest word to shalom in the English language is something like well-being. But even that’s inadequate, because well-being doesn’t come close to capturing the radical and counterintuitive nature of shalom. In the Hebraic way of thinking, this fullness, completeness, contentment, well-being called shalom is the result of the joining together of opposites or ostensibly opposing forces. (74-75)

     For the Jewish people, shalom is salvation.  Even though there are references to an angry, judging, wrathful God waiting to strike (a reminder of the human origins of biblical text), there exists throughout the Hebrew scriptures a counterintuitive, countercultural vision of shalom as described above.  The theme continues throughout the Christian New Testament but using Greek words instead.  Salvation itself referred mostly to the themes of shalom – being healed, made whole, deep and abiding peace.  The salvation spoken of by Jesus was also countercultural and a direct challenge to the Roman Empire, which also claimed to offer salvation.  The Pax Romana – the Peace of Rome – was peacekeeping by force: obey the Empire unless you want to suffer the consequences.  The Salvation Jesus promoted was aligned with the Jewish shalom that he undoubtedly knew and embodied. This was not peacekeeping, but peacemaking.  Not a peace kept by force, but a peace cultivated by love.  Jesus was all about this kind of salvation, a holistic wellbeing, deep peace, and abiding love that invites, compels, and instructs our lives going forward.  Jesus lived this shalom, taught this shalom, and in inviting others to follow, he was wooing them to do the same.  This is a way of seeing and engaging the world that affects our intrapersonal lives (our relationship with ourselves), our interpersonal lives (our relationship with others), and also the global community (how nations and peoples get along with each other). I believe that while we often settle for a cheap imitation of peacekeeping by force, our heart of hearts longs for the deeply rooted peacemaking shalom of God.

     This shalom, by the way, requires some very hard work.  Bringing opposites together, shining a light on things we would rather avoid or deny yet are always with us, informing us.  Feldmeir speaks into this regarding our past.  He quotes William Faulkner who famously said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”  Feldmier goes on to suggest that “our past determines our present and informs our future possibilities. We are products of our past. We are the sum total of our past choices and experiences, and the sum total of the world’s past choices and experiences” (78).   As we move forward with our lives there are three variables that determine our future.  The past and what we do with it, the always present, shalom-oriented invitation of God, and ourselves. 

     What do you want for your life?  Feldmeir offers insight on the shalom-way forward:

“Shalom is refusing to get mired too deeply in the past and refusing to live too far into the future... Shalom, wholeness, well-being happens when we join our imperfect, less-than-ideal past with the more hopeful and real possibilities of the future and choose to live most fully in the real and present moment, deciding today who we will be, how we will live, whether we will pursue the aim or intention God has set before us” (80-81).  How is this landing with you today?  Perhaps there is unfinished business in your life, unresolved, unhealed wounds from your past.  Could the woo of shalom be inviting you to take steps toward healing, maybe with the help of a counselor or close friend or a journal or at minimum time and space where you no longer pretend it’s not there?  Perhaps today you are being wooed toward peacemaking instead of peacekeeping in your relationship with yourself, others, and in the way you view global turmoil. Sometimes peacekeeping is needed to stop bloodshed, but if that’s all we settle for, there will eventually be more bloodshed. Peacemaking leads to lasting peace.  Perhaps all of us today way be feeling the invitation to refresh our commitment to living our lives by the True North of shalom, which happens to be what we are agreeing to when we pledge our allegiance to following Jesus.  Perhaps declaring such commitment regularly – daily – will remind us to stay the course even when the prevailing winds of culture come at us with gale force, demanding a different direction.  These are the biggest questions of life, and they are always before us.

    May you trust in shalom, which is to trust in God. May you fully embrace the vision that shalom-God truly does have a vision for your life that does not harm but is full of hope. May you feel the fresh breeze of invitation to this life every morning, every moment, and may you say “yes!”

Life After God Week 2: Psst (the call of God)

This series is based on Mark Feldmeir’s book, Life After God.

Below are some quotes used in Sunday’s teaching.

Letting go...

Re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem. – Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

But before you dismiss everything or even anything you already believe, attend first to that which you know, through your lived experience, has gladdened your soul and added beauty and wonder and joy to your life. Consider the very real possibility that such experiences might be hints of the transcendent, holy epiphanies, divine encounters, the quiet, hidden work of God. Behold them with kindness and reverence and astonishment. Protect them fiercely, even if they do not conform to what tradition or convention or orthodoxy calls authoritative or even real. Love them for what they are, for their courage to have shown up, for their companionship, for their generosity. Hold them closely, tenderly. Give thanks. (44)

Tohu va-vohu

The preexistent, primordial chaos and disorder, the wild and waste, the empty and void between being and not-being. (49).

Let there be...

The God of the Bible is a God whose power is expressed not in the capacity to make something happen, to prevent something from happening, or to coerce anything or anyone to act, but in the power to persuade us to pursue the divine wish, dream, hope that the tohu va-vohu stuff of our lives and world would say yes to all the hidden possibility that only God can fully perceive. Some theologians call this divine power of persuasion the lure of God that draws, leads, entices, and calls us and all creation forward by saying, Psst! You can do this! You could be this! (52)

Unilateral v. Relational Power

The first, unilateral power, is the ability to produce intended or desired effects in our relationships through influence, manipulation, or control to advance our purposes.

Unilateral power is one-sided, one-directional, one-dimensional, non-relational in nature, and almost always diminishes or robs the agency of the other. It takes whatever is necessary to get whatever it wants. (55)

Relational power is the capacity both to influence the other and to be influenced by the other. Relational power is grounded in mutuality, openness, responsiveness, persuasion, and interdependence. It involves both giving and receiving. (56)

Creating God in Caesar’s Image

The early twentieth-century mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead reminds us where and when the Christian tradition departed from ancient Jewish thinking about God: When the Western world accepted Christianity, Caesar conquered; and the received text of Western theology was edited by his lawyers. . . . The brief Galilean vision of humility flickered throughout the ages, uncertainly. . . . But the deeper idolatry, of the fashioning of God in the image of the Egyptian, Persian, and Roman imperial rulers, was retained. The Church gave unto God the attributes which belonged exclusively to Caesar. (58-59)

Yahweh and El Shaddai

Yahweh means simply, I Am, or I Am What I Am. The ancient rabbis believed Yahweh was not a noun but a verb form that expresses past, present, and future tenses all at once. They said YHWH means something like the one who was-is-will be. I Am is everywhere, in all things, in every moment, for all time. (60)

El Shaddai is from the Hebrew root word, Shad, meaning breast. The Hebrews translated the name El Shaddai not as God Almighty, but as The Breasted God. Can you envision the divine as The Breasted God who desires to embrace and hold you like a mother or a father, to nourish and care for you with a deep and abiding love? (61)

Jesus’ Abba/Dad

Life after the God we can no longer believe in can be one of the most fertile seasons for claiming a life in pursuit of the God we have never met— a God who loves us too much to coerce or control us, a God who lures, beckons, persuades, and woos us toward the divine dream, calling us to becoming, to goodness, to beauty. (65)

All quotes are from Mark Feldmeir’s book, Life after God: Finding Faith When You Can't Believe Anymore. Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.

Questions to think about...

1. If you imagine organized religion as your “boat in the storm,” how do you decide when the challenge of hanging on is worth the risk of letting go?

2. Consider Walt Whitman’s advice to “Re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul.” What beliefs have you found to be insulting to your soul? How do you feel about the author’s advice to, before discarding, “give them permission to exist, to sit beside you, to just be,” and then, if you find they have no further value for you, “Tell them thanks for sharing, but it’s time for them to move on now”?

3. In contrast to those things that insult your soul, what has “gladdened your soul and added beauty and wonder and joy to your life,” as the author says?

4. Is there anywhere you see God currently at work in your life or in the world? Are there small or ordinary things presently beckoning or calling you toward greater meaning, beauty, or wonder?

5. What is the difference between a God who works through relational power and one who works through unilateral power?

6. What do you make of the ancient rabbinical idea that “God/Yahweh” is not a noun but a verb? How does that affect the way we might choose to relate to God?

7. Can you identify with a call from God that sounds like “Psst. You could do this. You could be this”?

Life after God: "shh" (the problem of god)

This series is based on Mark Feldmeir’s book, Life After God.

Some select quotes...

Theodicy

I’m sitting in a seminary professor’s office one afternoon when, all at once, he pulls a gun on me. He fishes it out of his desk drawer, points it at my chest, leisurely pulls back the hammer, and asks me if I believe in God. It’s all so completely unexpected and so seemingly out of character for a professor who is, by all accounts, a vegan and a pacifist and is known for being really into the universe and having lots of houseplants and smoking peyote in the desert and practicing tai chi and commuting to campus on an old Schwinn Wayfarer ten-speed and wearing a tan corduroy sport jacket with those brown leather elbow patches. He is that kind of professor. (10)

Pascal’s Wager: Better to believe in God, because if God actually exists, you’re better off as a believer.  But to not believe in God if God exists might result in eternal condemnation.

C.S. Lewis to write his well-known book, The Problem of Pain, to resolve this enduring theological puzzle. In it, Lewis wrote famously, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, and shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” But later, after the death of his wife, Joy, Lewis reconsidered his notorious megaphone theodicy. In his book A Grief Observed, as he pondered whether God might be the “Eternal Vivisector,” the “Cosmic Sadist, the spiteful imbecile,” he confessed that, in the end, “you can’t see anything properly while your eyes are blurred with tears.” (20)

When Pascal died, his servant found sewn into his jacket a brief document titled “Memorial,” which summarized his mystical experience and included the words— “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of the philosophers and scholars. . . . Forgetfulness of the world and of everything, except God.” (21-22)

No Hard Questions?

What? Why, Shh? Because we don’t talk about these things. I tell you all of this because chances are the Shh! is as real for you as it was for me, and because there is for all of us the gun and the bullet and the questions and the contradictions and the faint sound of your own voice whispering, “I want to believe but I don’t know what I believe or how to believe.” Maybe you see the beauty of God and you can’t say no, but you see the suffering of the world and you can’t stop asking why. Maybe you believe and doubt and despair and you want to know that even this is faith. But then someone, something, some collective voice says, Shh! And then you stop asking why. And then you stop saying yes. And then you just stop believing. (26-27)

The God we no longer believe in

The Jewish sages taught that Jacob’s story suggests there’s another world—a dimension of the spiritual—right here within this world, that lies open to us whenever we awaken to it and pay attention to it. Like Joseph, we can access that world from this world, if only we can learn to see differently. (31-32)

Book Quotes: Feldmeir, Mark. Life after God: Finding Faith When You Can't Believe Anymore. Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.

Questions to Consider

1. The author begins with the story of his professor’s hypothetical question about God stopping a fired bullet. How do you find yourself challenged by questions of theodicy, or why an all-loving and all-powerful God does not stop bad things from happening? Do you consider this a problem that must be solved?

2. What do you think of Pascal’s wager that it is safer or wiser to believe in God than to risk eternal punishment? Do you agree with Pascal that “reason impels you to believe”?

3. How might the opposite—“reason impedes your ability to believe be true instead?

4. Have you heard the “shhh” the author discusses—the implicit or explicit warning not to ask the hard questions about God? What questions seem most threatening to some people?

5. How would you describe “the God you no longer believe in”?

Divine Violence

Enjoy this lecture by scholar Eric A. Seibert that does not dismiss violence that is attributed to God in the Bible, but rather offers compelling ways to think about it. Below is the handout he provided for his presentation.

“The Lord Will Take Delight in Bringing You to Ruin and Destruction” (Deut. 28:63, NRSV):

The Violent Old Testament God as a Problem for Open and Relational Theologians

Eric A. Seibert

eseibert@messiah.edu

ORTCON 22

July 6, 2022 - Grand Targhee Resort - Alta, WY

I.               The Presence of Divine Violence in the Bible

A.             How many verses?

B.             How many casualties?

II.             The Cornerstone of Open and Relational Theology

A.             God is love.

B.             Quotes

 

God's unchanging nature is love.... love is what God does....love comes logically first among divine attributes....God cannot not love....open and relational theology says God must love (Oord, Open and Relational Theology, 124).

 

To love is to act intentionally, in relational response to God and others, to promote overall well-being (Oord, Pluriform Love, 28).

III.          The Problem

A.             Is God's violent behavior in the Old Testament loving? Does it promote

overall well-being?

B.             Violence: physical, emotional, or psychological harm done to a person

by an individual, institution, or structure that results in serious injury,

oppression, or death (Seibert, Disarming the Church, 10).

IV.           Three Possible “Solutions"

A.             Reject the Old Testament (change your view of the Bible)

B.             View God as both good and evil (change your view of God)

C.             Defend Cod's violent behavior as loving behavior (change your   interpretation of violent verses)

V.             My Proposal: Deconstruct Violent Portrayals of God

A.             Emphasize the human origins of the Bible,

B.             Contextualize violent Old Testament portrayals of God.

C.             Acknowledge God did not say or do everything the Old Testament

claims.

1.              Archaeological evidence

2.              The nature of ancient historiography

D.             Distinguish “between the textual God and the actual God.”

E.              Use the God Jesus reveals to challenge violent portrayals of God in the

Old Testament.

 

Premise 1: God's moral character is most clearly and completely revealed through the person of Jesus.

 

Premise 2: Jesus reveals a God of love: one who heals rather than harms, is kind rather than cruel, forgives rather than retaliates, and behaves nonviolently rather than violently.

Three Objections

(1)            The temple cleansing.

(2)            Not coming to bring peace but a sword

(3)            Eschatological judgment

Premise 3: God's moral character is consistent throughout time.

Interpretive Implication: The God Jesus reveals should be the standard by which all literary Portrayals of God are evaluated. Portrayals that correspond to the God Jesus reveals should be regarded as reliable rejections of God's character, while those that do not should be regarded as culturally conditioned understandings that do not reflect God's true nature.

VI.           Where Do We Go from here?

A.             Stop defending God's violent behavior in the Old Testament.

B.             Start publicly deconstructing violent portrayals of God.

C.             Offer a more accurate view of God as gracious, loving, and nonviolent.

D.             Do something creative, constructive, and responsible with Old

Testament passages in which God behaves violently.

Portions of this presentation were adapted from my previous work, most fundamentally from Eric A. Seibert, Disturbing Divine Behavior: Troubling Old Testament Images of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009).

This. Is. My. Body.

Enjoy this compelling teaching offered by Rev. Dr. Angela Barker-Jackson.

Faith in Process: Putting it all together

Faith in Process: Creating a Life in God

“The main thing is to have God; to live in God; to have God live in us; to think God’s thoughts; to love what God loves and hate what God hates; to realize God’s presence; to feel God’s holiness and to be holy because God is holy; to feel God’s goodness in every blessing of your life and even in its tribulations; to be happy and trustful; to join in the great purposes of God and to be lifted to greatness of vision and faith and hope with God – that is the blessed life.” – Walter Rauschenbusch, The Culture of the Spiritual Life, 1897

If we want a faith experience like Jesus, we need to follow his lead, to learn and include his rhythms into our lives.  The “salvation” he offered was a whole and lasting life, one filled with abundance of love, joy, peace, meaning, wellbeing, genuine relationships, significance – the things most people really want from life that money cannot buy.  Jesus’ earliest followers followed his teaching and example so fully that they were first known as the People of the Way.  Oh, that we might be known for that once more!

Jesus incorporated five movements into his life which produced the fruit of the whole-life salvation/well-being/spiritual vitality he was known for.  He chose to stretch his thinking (lifelong learning), kneel in service to others, stand for grace and justice, commune with God intentionally, and connect with others in genuine community.  Cultivate these movements into your life rhythm to foster the fruit of life in God.

Stretch. How are you incorporating new insights about God into your life?  If you don’t make an effort to stretch in this area, it is likely that the faith you were born into will be the faith you take to your grave.  How tragic would that be? Invest in your theological perspective.  Check out our resources on CrossWalk’s website (CrossWalkNapa.org/Resources) for recommended books, podcasts, and online sources.  Make a plan for when you are going to read.  Get in on the Heart of Christianity class based on Marcus Borg’s book by the same name.  Take it again every few years. In my opinion, it is the most comprehensive book that helps with deconstruction and reconstruction of the faith.

Kneel.  We all have different capacities when it comes to serving others.  Our skills and passions vary to a person.  Our availability often is dictated by our stage of life and a wide range of issues like work, health, parenting, school, sports, an important TV shows we must stream or risk social ostracization (okay, the last one may not be true for everyone). Yet kneeling in service is as much a way of being in life as it is something to be accomplished or ticked off a task list.  When we carry an attitude of loving our neighbors wherever we go, life improves.  We look at everyone a little differently.  I believe that when we enter the world this way, we affect those we are around.  We become walking air fresheners wherever we go.  Of course, many of us have time and ability to serve.  Let CrossWalk know what your skills and interests are (if you haven’t already) and we will try to find a match.  There are also a lot of great organizations in our community that could also use volunteer support.  Check out VolunteerNow.org and find out how you can make a difference!

Stand.  We have neighbors in our community who have been told they are “less than”. They have been shamed. They have been “othered.”  They could use someone like you to proclaim a greater truth, that they are deeply loved as they are and are inherently worthy of abundant life.  You might get to be that person who makes another’s day that leads to a much better life, simply be speaking grace to those who need it.  Other neighbors face inequality, inequity, and are not included in decisions that impact their lives.  There are many issues and causes to champion, and often not enough time or resources to address them all.  Yet we can all do something.  Here are some things to consider:

·       Automate!  For the organizations you support financially, set up automatic contributions.  It takes it off your to-do list, and you’ll know you are supporting something you care about every month.  As an organization that offers scheduled donations, CrossWalk benefits from the consistency every month – thank you to all who have already automated!

·       Subscribe! For the organizations and issues near and dear to you, subscribe to their newsletters so you are kept up to speed on what’s happening and how you might get involved.  Here are some you might be interested in: Environment, Global Poverty, LGBTQ+,   Anti-Racism, Immigration Reform, Gun Violence, Human Trafficking, Food Insecurity, Women’s Rights.

·       Write! Know who represents you and contact them about issues you care about!  Use SmartVote.org to get started.

·       Gather! Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to peacefully assemble and let your voice be heard.

Commune.  Jesus regularly and intentionally spent time in solitude and silence for contemplation, meditation, and prayer.  When we begin our day with this practice, the likelihood of staying in the zone for the rest of the day rises significantly.  Here are some tips to help your daily commune work.

·       Protect the time and space. If possible, keep this time consistent.  It is difficult to pull off with interruptions. Choose a peaceful, tranquil space.

·       Swap “obligation” for “invitation.” When this daily exercise becomes a should, do whatever you have to do to get your head on straight, otherwise it won’t be of much worth.

·       Check in with yourself. Be aware of how you are feeling as you begin. Be honest with yourself. Your fake smile means nothing to God if your heart is breaking.

·       Spend “more” time on breath work.  Just do it.  Americans suck at being still and quiet.  You’ll be glad you did.

·       Incorporate devotional reading. Carefully choose a voice to invite into your head to guide and shape your thoughts.  The Center for Action and Contemplation offers a daily email that has helped hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Sign up!

·       Journal your thoughts and gratitude. Writing down our thoughts and gratitude is much more potent than thinking them.  Prove me wrong.

·       Transition with a benediction. Wrap your daily commune with a prayer to help you take your faith into your whole day.  Here are two from Rich Orloff – one to begin your time and the other to finish (or however you want to use them):

Daily Prayer

Thank you for this day
May I be aware of all of its blessings
May I notice each moment of love
May I appreciate each breath
May I see beyond my fears
May I recognize beauty
May I receive each molecule of joy offered
May I absorb kindness
May I not sabotage the happiness of myself or others

For the blessings of this day
I give thanks in advance
Today is an opportunity to experience
The miracle of every moment

Evening Prayer

May I recognize the blessings of this day
And of my life

May I absorb the blessings of this day
And of my life

May I always have access to the wisdom gained today
And use these blessings tomorrow

As I share my blessings with others
One love at a time
Till love blossoms into a field of joy
Covering the earth

Connect.  We need each other.  We are hardwired for community. We are interconnected and influence each other all the time – we may as well make the most of it!  Connecting with others increases our collective wisdom as we share our experiences with each other, especially when we invite different perspectives into the conversation.  Community can be incredibly helpful as we undergo unavoidable changes in life.  Community helps shape and support the ethics we live by – we are stronger in our resolve when we are together.  Connecting in a spiritual community especially help us learn to identify the nudge of the Divine in our lives and serves as a sounding board for discernment on what it might mean.   We also grow more as human beings when we are together, which is a key component of the abundant life Jesus’s Way offers.  How are you intentionally connecting with others?

Questions...

1.         Stretch. What am I going to read, watch, or listen to, to strengthen my faith over the coming months?

2.         Kneel. How am I going to kneel in service to others?

3.         Stand. How am I extending grace and supporting justice with my life?

4.         Commune. When am I incorporating quiet space to meditate, contemplate, and pray?

5.         Connect. How am I intentionally engaging others in community?

Faith in Process: Connect

Watch the video of this teaching here.

Key reasons why connecting with each other matters...

Interconnectedness and Mutual Influence. CrossWalk’s theological perspective emphasizes the interconnectedness of all entities. In this view, every individual and community influences and is influenced by others. CrossWalkers, who often embrace a vision of faith that includes social justice, inclusivity, and transformation, benefit greatly from being part of a community that supports these values. Community provides a space for mutual influence, allowing individuals to grow in their understanding of justice and love through the experiences and insights of others.

Shared Experience and Collective Wisdom. Our theological perspective suggests that truth and understanding emerge from the collective experiences and wisdom of a community rather than from isolated individuals. CrossWalkers might find that their spiritual and ethical insights are deepened and refined through shared dialogue and collective reflection. A community offers diverse perspectives that can challenge, enrich, and broaden one's own understanding of faith and morality.  Diversity is wonderful and should be celebrated!

Support in the Face of Change.  CrossWalk’s theological ethos views reality as constantly evolving, with a focus on becoming and change. We seek to engage with a world that is also in flux, advocating for change and transformation in societal structures. Community provides a crucial support system as individuals navigate these changes. It offers encouragement and solidarity, helping members sustain their commitment to progressive values even when faced with opposition or uncertainty.

Ethical and Relational Growth. In our view, the development of ethical behavior is seen as a relational process. We might engage in practices that promote social justice, equity, environmental stewardship, and much more. Being part of a community allows for the practice and reinforcement of these values in relational contexts, fostering a more robust and dynamic ethical life. The community serves as a forum for ethical discussion, accountability, and action, which can enhance individual and collective moral development.

Experiencing and Acting on Divine Impulse.  Our perspective posits that God is present in the ongoing process of becoming and influencing the world through what may be called divine persuasion: the nudging and wooing of God.  In this framework, CrossWalkers might see community as a critical resource to discern and act upon these divine impulses. By working together, they can better interpret the signs of divine activity and collaborate on initiatives that align with their vision of justice, compassion, and creativity.

Encouragement of Holistic Growth. Finally, our stance supports the idea that growth is holistic, involving intellectual, emotional, relational, and spiritual dimensions. Community provides a nurturing environment where CrossWalkers can develop in all these areas. It offers opportunities for communal worship, learning, service, and support, which together contribute to a richer and more integrated spiritual life.

I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.

– Jesus, John 13:34-35 CEB 

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially during challenging times like we are in now. – Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)

 A Prayer to Make Space for the Divine
(a response to Psalm 16)

As it is possible to walk through a field
Without seeing the grass
So it is possible to walk through life
Without seeing the Divine

I do not wish to believe in you
What I desire is to experience you
Not an idea in a prayer book
But a presence I can touch

Not above me
But beside me
Opposite me
Facing me
Surrounding me
Inside me
Not me
But available to me

Even if you are beyond definition
You are always within reach
Let me make a place for you
Let me be open to your voice

As I venture into scary places
Let me sense you alongside me
My prayer is simple:
Let your breath become my strength

What I Can Offer You

I cannot fix your pain
I cannot solve your problem
I can’t prevent the sorrow you’re feeling
Or even guarantee I’ll make you smile

However, because I’ve known
Joy embracing me and disappearing in the middle of the night
Feeling safe and despairing if I’ll ever feel safe again
Lowering my guard and being ambushed by camouflaged demons

And because I’ve also known
The miracle of healing when pain seemed inescapable
The joy of connection when isolation had me surrounded
Love returning and apologizing for its absence

Because I have experienced enough No in my life
To understand tragedy

Because I have been surprised by enough Yes in my life
To maintain hope

Because I’ve known
All these things
And more

I will gladly hold your hand
So you don’t have to face the pains of life alone
And I will wait with you patiently
Until the next miracle arrives

Faith in Process: Stand

Watch the video of this teaching HERE.

Today I shared the following poem, performed by the poet. I hope it moves you as much as it moved me.

Warsan Shire

Home

no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well

your neighbors running faster than you
breath bloody in their throats
the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory
is holding a gun bigger than his body
you only leave home
when home won’t let you stay.

no one leaves home unless home chases you
fire under feet
hot blood in your belly
it’s not something you ever thought of doing
until the blade burnt threats into
your neck
and even then you carried the anthem under
your breath
only tearing up your passport in an airport toilet
sobbing as each mouthful of paper
made it clear that you wouldn’t be going back.

you have to understand,
that no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land
no one burns their palms
under trains
beneath carriages
no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck
feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled
means something more than journey.
no one crawls under fences
no one wants to be beaten
pitied

no one chooses refugee camps
or strip searches where your
body is left aching
or prison,
because prison is safer
than a city of fire
and one prison guard
in the night
is better than a truckload
of men who look like your father
no one could take it
no one could stomach it
no one skin would be tough enough

the
go home blacks
refugees
dirty immigrants
asylum seekers
sucking our country dry
niggers with their hands out
they smell strange
savage
messed up their country and now they want
to mess ours up
how do the words
the dirty looks
roll off your backs
maybe because the blow is softer
than a limb torn off

or the words are more tender
than fourteen men between
your legs
or the insults are easier
to swallow
than rubble
than bone
than your child body
in pieces.
i want to go home,
but home is the mouth of a shark
home is the barrel of the gun
and no one would leave home
unless home chased you to the shore
unless home told you
to quicken your legs
leave your clothes behind
crawl through the desert
wade through the oceans
drown
save
be hunger
beg
forget pride
your survival is more important

no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear
saying-
leave,
run away from me now
i dont know what i’ve become
but i know that anywhere
is safer than here

Warsan Shire (born August 1st, 1988) is a British writer, poet, editor and teacher, who was born to Somali parents in Kenya, east Africa.  In 2013, she was awarded the inaugural Brunel University African Poetry Prize, chosen from a shortlist of six candidates out of a total 655 entries.  Her words "No one leaves home unless/home is the mouth of a shark," have been called "a rallying call for refugees and their advocates."

Many of us who were brought up in church in the United States were not exposed to the biblical texts that informed Jesus and his followers.  Take some time (for the rest of your life) and immerse yourself in this sampling of texts:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God? – Micah 6:8 NRSV

Say no to wrong.

Learn to do good.

Work for justice.

Help the down-and-out.

Stand up for the homeless.

Go to bat for the defenseless. – Isaiah 1:17 MSG

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;

ensure justice for those being crushed.

Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,

and see that they get justice. – Proverbs 31:8-9 NLT

“I can’t stand your religious meetings.

I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.

I want nothing to do with your religion projects,

your pretentious slogans and goals.

I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,

your public relations and image making.

I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.

When was the last time you sang to me?

Do you know what I want?

I want justice—oceans of it.

I want fairness—rivers of it.

That’s what I want. That’s all I want. – Amos 5:21-24 MSG

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me,

for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,

that the blind will see,

that the oppressed will be set free,

and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” – Luke 4:18-19 NLT

Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. – James 1:26-27 MSG

The LORD proclaims: Do what is just and right; rescue the oppressed from the power of the oppressor. Don’t exploit or mistreat the refugee, the orphan, and the widow. Don’t spill the blood of the innocent in this place. – Jeremiah 22:3 CEB

     “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’

     “Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

     “Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’ – Matthew 25:35-40 CEB

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. – James 1:22 NLT

     Standing for Grace and Justice was baked into Jesus’ cake because it is baked into the heart of God.  To neglect such things is to neglect a central concern of the Spirit. For some of us, these verses may be a revelatory kick in the pants to incorporate grace and justice into our rhythm of life.  If we want a robust, meaningful, world-impacting faith, we need to follow the model and invitation of Jesus.  For all of us, this is a call to action.  How are we addressing the injustices of the world and offering support to its victims?  How are we standing for grace and justice?

     "The problem with smart people is they can come up with a good reason for not doing anything. They are smart enough to find the cracks, to foresee the challenges, and to talk themselves out of the idea. They are experts at justifying their lack of courage or lack of action with an intelligent excuse. 

     But there will always be reasons to not do something, and this is particularly true of anything worth doing. We value those moments in which we overcame challenge, not those in which we avoided it. Ultimately, action is a choice. The choice to emphasize the reasons for doing it despite the reasons you have for avoiding it." – James Clear, Atomic Habits

Putting it Into Practice...

What areas especially tug at your heart? 

What are you doing already that others might learn from?

How are we continually gaining understanding about the issue and our relationship to it?

Is there someone within your reach directly impacted by the issue that you can learn from and find out how to be most helpful?

Who are we learning from and with?

What local initiatives are already happening?

What county, state, and national organizations might be good partners?

What government officials can be contacted to nudge toward justice policies?

() Anti-racism () Gender equity and inclusion () Immigration () LGBTQ equity and inclusion

() Environment () Gun safety policies () Reproductive rights () Houselessness () Hunger

() Children’s Rights () Anti-trafficking () Militarism of Law Enforcement () Economic disparity

() Education disparity () Other (list below)

Faith in Process: Kneel

Faith in Process: Kneel

A life-giving faith fosters “the blessed life” every person desires. A key component to that faith is loving, helpful service of others.

Some Benefits of Serving/Helping Others

Feels good. Keeps things in perspective. Builds self-esteem. Benefits your career. Connects with new people. Relief from pain. Volunteering combats depression. Lowers blood pressure. Reduces stress. More happiness. Develops sense of purpose. Giving triggers more giving. Fosters a sense of belonging. Altruism is contagious. Volunteering as a family is powerful. Longer lifespan.

Some Bible Verses about Serving/Helping Others

·       Matthew 20:26-28 (NIV): Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his... – Jesus

·       Matthew 25:35-40 (NIV): For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me... Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. – Jesus

·       John 13:12-14 (NIV): When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. 'Do you understand what I have done for you?' he asked them. 'You call me “Teacher” and “Lord,” and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.'" – Jesus

·       Galatians 5:13 (NIV): You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. – Paul

·       Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV): Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. – Paul

·       Colossians 3:23 (NIV): Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. – Paul

Things to think about...

1.         What have been among the most positive experiences of serving others for you?  What did you do? Why did you do it? How did it help others? How did it make you feel?

2.         Have there ever been times when you served out of obligation, and you didn’t really want to do it? What did you do? Why did you do it? How did it help others? How did it make you feel?

3.         How was “serving others” framed for you growing up? How was it tainted with obligation? How did that impact your desire? Your attitude? Your experience?

4.         When has service come especially easy for you? Why? What was/is your motivation to serve in those situations?

5.         How might you set yourself up for a more life-giving-and-receiving orientation toward kneeling in loving, helpful service toward others?

6.         Who in your world are easy to serve? Who are more difficult for you to serve? How might changing our vision and motivation alter our capacity to serve them in ways that benefit yourself and the “challenging” person?

Faith in Process: Stretch

“Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is — what is good and pleasing and mature.” – Paul, Letter to the Romans 12:2 (CEB) 

The main thing is to have God; to live in God; to have God live in us; to think God’s thoughts; to love what God loves and hate what God hates; to realize God’s presence; to feel God’s holiness and to be holy because God is holy; to feel God’s goodness in every blessing of your life and even in its tribulations; to be happy and trustful; to join in the great purposes of God and to be lifted to greatness of vision and faith and hope with God – that is the blessed life. – Walter Rauschenbusch, The Culture of the Spiritual Life, 1897

If you’re bored with your faith, or theology, or the Bible,

you’re doing it wrong.

May your curiosity lead you to discover more:

Who or what is God?

Where is God?

What are God’s primary characteristics?

What are God’s limitations?

What is the Bible and what is it’s role?

Who was Jesus and what is his role?

What is the goal of faith?

How do we live faithfully?

What does faith call us to do?

How does faith inform justice issues?

How does faith shape our spending?

Things to think about...

1.        How has the process of living through stages of life been like the process of growing in faith?  How has it been different?

2.        When have you been like Nicodemus, proactively pursuing understanding?

3.        When have you been surprised like the Samaritan woman, which led you to new insights about life and faith?

4.        When have you been like Peter and Paul, whose learning was prompted by failures?

5.        What keeps you from integrating intentional learning to develop your faith?

6.        What are some of the areas about your faith you are most curious about right now?

Resources...

·      The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg

·      How the Bible Actually Works by Pete Enns

·      Open and Relational Theology by Thomas Jay Oord

·      How I Found God in Everyone and Everywhere by Davis and Clayton (editor

Closing Celebration

Enjoy the wrap of a great week! Below the video of the entire service you can find the 10-minute video of the highlights of the week.

Unexpected Moments of Beauty in the Wilderness

What a treat to have Associate Professor Jenny Matheny, Ph.D., Truett Seminary (Baylor) , teach on a really inspiring-yet-very-human story found in 1 Samuel 25:1-35 NRSVUE: Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

     2 There was a man in Maon whose property was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife was Abigail. The woman was clever and beautiful, but the man was surly and mean; he was a Calebite. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. 6 Thus you shall salute him, ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your sight, for we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ”

     9 When David’s young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 But Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take my bread and my water and the meat that I have butchered for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David’s young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every one of them strapped on his sword; David also strapped on his sword, and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.

     14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master, and he shouted insults at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we never missed anything when we were in the fields as long as we were with them;16 they were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now, therefore, know this and consider what you should do, for evil has been decided against our master and against all his house; he is so ill-natured that no one can speak to him.”

     18 Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys 19 and said to her young men, “Go on ahead of me; I am coming after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 As she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely it was in vain that I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, but he has returned me evil for good. 22 God do so to David[a] and more also if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”

23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted from the donkey and fell before David on her face, bowing to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; please let your servant speak in your ears and hear the words of your servant. 25 My lord, do not take seriously this ill-natured fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he; Nabal[b] is his name, and folly is with him, but I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.

     26 “Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, since the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be like Nabal. 27 And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant, for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If anyone should rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living under the care of the Lord your God, but the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 When the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for having saved himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”

     32 David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today! 33 Blessed be your good sense, and blessed be you, who kept me today from bloodguilt and from avenging myself by my own hand! 34 For as surely as the Lord the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there would not have been left to Nabal so much as one male.” 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, “Go up to your house in peace; see, I have heeded your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

With Regrets

This week’s lectionary passage is a gory tale about the demise of John the Baptist and the surprising reaction of the one responsible for it.

Mark 6:14-29 MSG

     King Herod heard of all this, for by this time the name of Jesus was on everyone’s lips. He said, “This has to be John the Baptizer come back from the dead—that’s why he’s able to work miracles!”

     Others said, “No, it’s Elijah.”

     Others said, “He’s a prophet, just like one of the old-time prophets.”

     But Herod wouldn’t budge: “It’s John, sure enough. I cut off his head, and now he’s back, alive.”

     Herod was the one who had ordered the arrest of John, put him in chains, and sent him to prison at the nagging of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had provoked Herod by naming his relationship with Herodias “adultery.” Herodias, smoldering with hate, wanted to kill him, but didn’t dare because Herod was in awe of John. Convinced that he was a holy man, he gave him special treatment. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt—and yet he couldn’t stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back.

     But a portentous day arrived when Herod threw a birthday party, inviting all the brass and bluebloods in Galilee. Herodias’s daughter entered the banquet hall and danced for the guests. She charmed Herod and the guests.

     The king said to the girl, “Ask me anything. I’ll give you anything you want.” Carried away, he kept on, “I swear, I’ll split my kingdom with you if you say so!”

     She went back to her mother and said, “What should I ask for?”

     “Ask for the head of John the Baptizer.”

     Excited, she ran back to the king and said, “I want the head of John the Baptizer served up on a platter. And I want it now!”

     That sobered the king up fast. But unwilling to lose face with his guests, he caved in and let her have her wish. The king sent the executioner off to the prison with orders to bring back John’s head. He went, cut off John’s head, brought it back on a platter, and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and got the body and gave it a decent burial.

What regrets do you struggle with?

A Prayerful Process for Processing Regret

·       Acknowledge what you’re feeling – journal the complexity!

·       Fact-check your assumptions about your regret.

·       Practice forgiveness: of yourself, others, and for yourself.

·       Honor the loss of what might have been.

·       Broaden your perspective: you are more than your failures.

·       Connect with others who have been through something similar.

·       Learn the lessons your regrets teach you.

·       Allow regret to anchor you forward, not hold you to the past.

·       Repeat as necessary.

With Regrets

Regrets linger like shadows in the past,

Haunting the mind with memories uncast.

But rise above, let go of the pain,

For in the present, you can regain.

Embrace the lessons that regrets bring,

Use them as fuel to rise and sing.

Let go of what you cannot change,

And focus on a brighter range.

In the ashes of regret, find strength anew,

Forge a path that is wholly true.

Overcoming regrets, you shall see,

A future filled with possibility.

What I Can Offer You

Rich Orloff

I cannot fix your pain
I cannot solve your problem
I can’t prevent the sorrow you’re feeling
Or even guarantee I’ll make you smile

However, because I’ve known
Joy embracing me and disappearing in the middle of the night
Feeling safe and despairing if I’ll ever feel safe again
Lowering my guard and being ambushed by camouflaged demons

And because I’ve also known
The miracle of healing when pain seemed inescapable
The joy of connection when isolation had me surrounded
Love returning and apologizing for its absence

Because I have experienced enough No in my life
To understand tragedy

Because I have been surprised by enough Yes in my life
To maintain hope

Because I’ve known
All these things
And more

I will gladly hold your hand
So you don’t have to face the pains of life alone
And I will wait with you patiently
Until the next miracle arrives

No Room in the Inn, Again

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Mark 6:1-6 (MSG). He left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He stole the show, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!” they said. “How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?”

     But in the next breath they were cutting him down: “He’s just a carpenter—Mary’s boy. We’ve known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?” They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further.

     Jesus told them, “A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child.” Jesus wasn’t able to do much of anything there—he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that’s all. He couldn’t get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of the other villages, teaching.

What are some of your first reactions when you read this story?

How does this story resonate with you?

What questions does the story raise for you?

“Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is opposed. Third, it is regarded as self-evident.” – Arthur Schopenhauer (19th Century Philosopher)

Research on adult transformational learning, where a person truly experiences, embraces, and embodies a major paradigm shift in their lives note that if people are open to a new thought, they may first be very excited about it and engage it, referencing the “new” ideas using their held mental schema (the way they have previously understood things).  Eventually, they will struggle as the new idea cannot fit well into the old paradigm, which leads to some level of tension.  Most of the time, due to the level of difficulty inherent in truly letting go of the former paradigm for the newer, people give up and revert back to their former vision.  The overwhelming majority of people who successfully move into the new paradigm only do so with the support of a community who are witnesses and mutual adherents to the new way of seeing and being in the world. 

Jesus was right when he said that you cannot put new wine into old wineskins – the old will burst and the wine lost. – Mark 2:22

“A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponent and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die.” – Max Plank (Quantum Physics Pioneer)

God does not override our will. We can accept or reject God. How can we prevent limiting the work of God in our lives due to our struggle to desire and adopt new insights?

May we be grateful for what we know, and open to learn what we don’t.

A Request from a Former Caterpillar

by Rich Orloff

Recently I imagined I was in a cocoon

About to transform

With my family yelling at me

“When are you going to come out of that cocoon already?

“Stop acting like a baby and metamorphosize!” 

I don’t know much about metamorphosis

But my gut tells me that no butterfly

Would feel safe emerging from a cocoon

If you yelled at it to come out

So if you see my cocoon cracking a bit

My antennas peering out of the crack

My thin, fragile body starting to emerge

My wings still crumpled and wet 

Do me a favor and shut up!

I’ll still be getting used to the newness of it all  

My whole training has been as a caterpillar

And as much as I look forward to flying 

I doubt I’ll ever be able to do so in a straight line

And if you want me to land on you

Be patient

Don’t make sudden moves

Recognize the sacredness of the moment

And if you wish

You may weep with joy

Solo. Tzitzit. Kanaph.

This story we’re looking at this week has so many interesting details. Let’s just walk through it and I’ll make some comments as we go...

 Mark 5:21-43 (NRSV). When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.

     Comment. Before this episode, Jesus had sailed to the other side of the lake/sea, where the wind stirred things up which Jesus calmed down.  On the other side of the shore, he healed a Gentile guy struggling with demonic possession. That healing, like the wind-calming, freaked out the onlookers, who then asked him to leave the region, which is why Jesus was returning to the Jewish side of the lake.

     Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” So he went with him.

     Comment.  Jairus was undoubtedly a big deal in the community, highly respected, and probably wealthier than most.  He was likely accustomed to having people come and beg him for help. Imagine how desperate he must have been to become so humble as to fall at Jesus’ feet!

     And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.

     Comment. This kind of chronic condition was bad enough to endure on its own, but it had other ramifications.  At a time in history when women were valued primarily by their fertility, this dream likely died for this woman as the months turned into years.  Her condition also meant ostracization, since strict adherence to Jewish law required her to keep her distance as an “unclean” person. Everything and everyone she touched became unclean – a game of tag that had real consequences, as being unclean forced you out of community.  She apparently had money enough to consult physicians, but to no avail.  How many people have been wiped out by health care costs? As we remember the repeal of Roe v. Wade, we are now aware of who that hurt the most: women of color and lower income.  This story resonates on many levels.

     She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.”

     Comment. Consider the scene for a moment.  Jesus had renown for being a powerful healer, so much so that throngs of people wanted to be near him.  For this woman to get to Jesus, she had to brush up against and through many others in order to touch his robe.  How many people did she make unclean through her act of faith?  What does that communicate about her level of courage given the risk?  If her hopes were dashed, how many people would be deeply angry with her for her significant social disregard? Further, she made Jesus unclean at the same time – she risked offending the one from whom she sought healing!

     Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

     Comment. The text itself speaks to the fact that the woman experienced healing in her body – she knew her hopes were fulfilled.  The text also notes how ridiculous Jesus’ question must have appeared to the disciples given the pressing crowd.  The woman was then faced with another opportunity for bravery.  She got busted.  Would she slink away, hoping to get away with stealing some healing? People would figure it out.  Then what? Better to own up, even if it results in the ire of Jesus (and the crowd).  She was hoping for discretion start to finish. Ugh.  Did she know about Jairus’ request? Can you imagine his frustration and anger over such a delay knowing his daughter’s life was in the balance? Talk about a charged moment!  Jesus treated her with grace and dignity as we would expect.  Further, he didn’t take credit for the healing, but rather acknowledged her faith as the genesis of the miracle.  He sent her away with a benediction to go in peace and be healed of her disease.  I find that a bit interesting. Why tell someone who has just been healed to be healed as she goes?  Could it be that healing is more than meets the eye? I wonder how many other aspects of her life would now change, would need healing, now that her hemorrhages were over?

     While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?”

     Comment. What range of emotions were going through Jairus’ mind at that moment? The woman’s healing probably didn’t prevent Jesus from healing the girl since the heralds had to have been walking awhile to find Jairus, but it still may have stung a bit, right?

     But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

     Comment.  Limiting the audience as he did tied this event to similar healings by Elijah and Elisha, and also displayed these disciples’ significance as they also witnessed the transfiguration at a later point.  When Jesus took the dead child be the hand, he became unclean all over again, according to the law. Prior to this scene, Jesus had previously touched a leper and also a Gentile – two egregious fouls violating Jewish law and social sentiment.  Jesus made the decision to honor the higher/highest rule of loving others even if it put him at risk.  The result was the healing of a woman who had been bleeding alone for 12 years and bringing back to life a 12-year-old girl who was too young to die, who perhaps wasn’t old enough to become pregnant yet. Two lives saved in different ways. Traditions boldly broken. Passionate faith expressed by those who sought healing and those who offered to facilitate it.

The Sozo in the Tzitzit on the Kanaph..  If you attended the services in person for this teaching, you were given a tassel as an object lesson that has particular relevance to this story.  From The Bible Nerds:

     The ancient Hebrews were commanded by God to place special tassels on the corners of their garments.  These tassels – called tzitzit – were a symbol of their commitment to obey the commandments of God, found in the Torah.

     The tzitzit consists of a specific set of knots and threads.  Each one of these is symbolic:

·      5 Knots – The first 5 books of the Bible (Torah)

·      4 Spaces – The Name of God (YHWH)

     The value of the word “tzitzit” is 600.  If you combine that value (600) with the 5 knots, made from the 8 threads of the tzitzit, you come to the number 613.  This is the most important number in the entire Hebrew world.  There are 613 commandments in the Torah.  So, the purpose of the tzitzit is to remind Israel that they are to honor the commandments of God, and the very numerical value of the word “tzitzit” equals 613 – the number of commandments they are to obey.

     It’s also very important to understand where the tzitzit are attached.  The Hebrew word for corner is “kanaph”.  This word is used in various other ways throughout Scripture, as we will soon see.

     Cutting Corners (1 Samuel 24:1-15).  David was anointed future king of Israel, after Saul ignored God’s specific commandment regarding the Amalekites.  After that, Saul became more and more angry and paranoid.  This resulted in his seeking to kill the one man who most clearly understood the unique anointing of God that the king had – David.

While Saul was pursuing David, he entered a cave in the oasis of Ein Gedi.  Unbeknownst to him, David and his followers were also hiding in the cave.  David’s men tried to encourage him to kill Saul, and be done with the whole problem.  But David understood that this would be using his own power and strength to deal with his trials, rather than allowing God to take care of it.  Instead, he snuck up to Saul and cut off the corner of his robe, removing the tzitzit from Saul.  In doing this, he was declaring for all to see that Saul was not honoring the commandments of God.

     The Coming Son of David – The Prophets.  It wasn’t long after Ein Gedi that David ascended to the throne.  He ruled in righteousness and honored the commandments of God.  And while his son, Solomon, started out well, eventually things deteriorated into pagan worship and the rejection of the commandments.  The nation became divided, the Temple of God was destroyed, and judgment came.  

     During the time of the captivity in Babylon, the prophets of God began to foretell of another “son of David” who would come and restore the kingdom to Israel.  He would be the Messiah – the Anointed One – who would rule in true justice and righteousness.  He would properly teach the commandments of God to the people, and Israel would finally fulfill its calling to be a light to the nations.

·      He will bring the political and spiritual revival of Israel, returning them to the land and restoring Jerusalem. (Isaiah 11:1-2; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5)

·      He will establish a government in Israel that will be the center of all world government – both for Jews and Gentiles (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:10; 42:1)

·      He will rebuild the Temple and re-establish its worship (Jeremiah 33:18; Ezekiel 40-50)

·      He will restore the religious court system of Israel and establish Torah as the law of the land (Jeremiah 33:15)

     In essence, they prophesied that the Messiah would return Israel to obedience to the Torah; to keep the commandments that were symbolized by the wearing of the Tzitzit.

The Sun of Righteousness – Malachi 4:1-2

     In the final writings of the period of the prophets, Malachi foretold of the “sun of righteousness” who would arise with “healing in His wings.”  This prophecy immediately became associated with the coming Son of David – the Messiah.

     As we saw earlier, the Hebrew word for corner is “kanaph”.  Hebrew is considered a “poor language” – meaning that it has many fewer words than languages like Greek, Latin, or English.  That means that one word must be used to describe several different things.  Therefore, in addition to “kanaph” meaning corner, it also means wings.

The Hebrew sages taught that this meant that the coming Messiah would have special healing powers in the tzitzit that were attached to the corner of his robe.

Many Pharisees who wanted to be considered candidates for the role of Messiah, would attach especially long tzitzit to their robes, suggesting that they had these special healing attributes.  (Matthew 23:5-7)

     The Hem of His Garment – Matthew 9:18-21.  One day when Jesus was making His way through the crowds to heal a young girl who was on the verge of death, a woman reached out and grabbed hold of his tzitzit.  In doing this, she was doing much more than believing that He could heal her.  The woman was declaring to all that she believed Jesus to be the promised Messiah [with healing in his wings].

     Consider the Irony: The bleeding woman’s reaching out to touch the representation of following the Law was itself an act of not honoring the law.  Jesus, whose robe was embellished with the symbols of the Law, disregarded the law as he held the girl’s hand.  Jesus was one who was famous for choosing to obey the spirit of the law over the letter.  This allowed him to think broadly and live in a spaciousness that treated everyone as deeply loved and valued.  The bleeding woman was so full of faith that she violated her faith and thus affirmed it.  Jesus was so full of faith that he violated the faith and thus affirmed it.

     So, what’s this have to do with us?  You tell me.  What parts of this story are relevant to your life? What are you desperate enough to pray for audaciously, requiring both humility and great courage? The Greek word Mark uses for “save” is sozo, which can be translated as healing, save, made well, made whole, etc.  What sozo are you seeking, and are you open to the sozo that is always available and present for us and to us? Maybe holding the tassel will inspire your prayers, remembering that there is still healing in the wings – healing, saving, making whole in ways you might not expect or know that you need.

     On another level, who are today’s bleeding women and dying children that need people of faith to embrace even if it appears to deny faith even as it lives it out? Perhaps holding the tassel will embolden you to be Jesus to the LGBTQ community directly and/or as an ally, to stand for justice and grace for those in our nation who have been denied such a promise.  Maybe the most Jesus thing you can do is to deny the letter of social and religious laws as you honor the higher spirit of the Way of God embodied in sozo, leading you to think and act in ways that bring healing, wellbeing, honor, restoration, and dignity to those who have not yet experienced it.

Commentary from SALT (Matthew Myer Boulton)

Sixth Week after Pentecost (Year B): Mark 5:21-43 and Psalm 130

Big Picture:

1) We are almost exactly in the middle of an eight-part portrait of Jesus’ early public ministry, exploring a series of chronologically selected passages from the Gospel of Mark. The outlines of Jesus’ mission are becoming clear: as we saw last week, he’s just calmed a storm at sea, and since then, he’s healed a Gentile man afflicted with an “unclean spirit” (Mark 5:1-20). Both of these events portray the expansive, surprising, barrier-breaking nature of Jesus’ healing, saving work — and this week’s passage continues to develop this theme.

2) Mark frequently composes stories in a “sandwich” form, nesting one episode inside of another. This strategy has at least three primary effects: first, it ratchets up the suspense, as one cliffhanger pauses while we turn to another; second, each story throws light on the other, like a diptych with two images side-by-side; and third, the two stories together create a more-than-the-sum-of-their-parts unity. In fact, Mark’s artistry is such that we should resist thinking in terms of “two episodes”: as we’ll see, there’s really one story here, not two.

3) Mark’s early audiences would have been at least loosely familiar with the purity practices recorded in scripture: menstruating women were allegedly “unclean” (Leviticus 12:1-8; 15:19-30), as were corpses (Numbers 19:11-13), such that anyone and anything they touched also became “unclean.” Jesus overturns these ideas in this story, and bearing them in mind helps highlight the tensions pushing the narrative forward. Did she, an unclean woman, really just touch him, the Holy Teacher? And did he really just touch a stranger’s corpse?

4) Psalm 130 is a classic plea for divine rescue “out of the depths” (Ps 130:1). Its superscription, “A Song of Ascents,” is common to Psalms 120-134 — and it may refer to the “ascent” of pilgrims to the city of Jerusalem, and perhaps to a sanctuary located there. As such, these psalms may have comprised a kind of hymnal of songs sung by pilgrims as they traveled on the way, approaching Jerusalem with every step…

Scripture:

1) Having just underscored the barrier-breaking character of his ministry by healing a Gentile man in Gentile territory, Jesus now crosses back over the Sea of Galilee into Jewish precincts — and now he will dismantle at least two other kinds of barriers: one between “clean” and “unclean,” and the other between life and death.

2) Jairus, a “leader of the synagogue,” falls at Jesus’ feet, pleading that he come to his house and save his daughter, who is “at the point of death" (Mark 5:22-23). Even as he calls “out of the depths” of desperation, Jairus’ plea is a reminder that Jesus’ mixed reception among Jewish leaders sometimes included trust and respect (Ps 130:1).

3) The underlying word Jairus uses here (translated as “be made well” in the NRSV) is the Greek word, sozo, which can also be translated, “save,” “heal,” “preserve,” or “rescue.” The word appears repeatedly in this passage, blurring any sharp distinction between “salvation” and “health,” “saving” and “thriving.”

4) Jesus agrees to go with Jairus to the dying girl, but along the way, the crowds — perhaps emboldened by Jairus’ example — press in around the holy teacher. To get to him, a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years pushes through, in her own way silently calling “out of the depths.” The fact that she’s “endured much under many physicians” suggests she was formerly a woman of some wealth and status — and now has become an outcast, declared “unclean” by holy writ (Leviticus 12:1-8; 15:19-30). Her persistence and audacity is striking: not only does she push through the crowds, she pushes through the words of Leviticus, too, the ancient ideas that not only is she “unclean,” but anything she touches will become “unclean” — including the one whose clothing she seeks to touch!

5) It’s worth pausing here to let this sink in: everything in the story so far suggests that what the woman is doing is wrong, or dishonorable, or both. An “unclean” outcast, she pushes through a crowd, disobeying ancient, scriptural prohibitions. She audaciously touches a holy teacher without his permission, apparently desecrating him in the process. And as it turns out, she thereby delays him on his journey to the home of a local religious leader. And so when Jesus stops, turns, and demands to know, “Who touched me?” — we can imagine a collective gasp from Mark’s early audience. Jesus must be angry! And look, she knows it, too: she’s coming forward “in fear and trembling”… (Mark 5:30-33).

6) And now the story pivots in a stunning, scandalous direction. Jesus is not angry. On the contrary, with the crowds and Jairus looking on, Jesus praises the woman for her audacity, her daring, her persistence, her “faith”: “Daughter, your faith has made you well” (again, the word is sozo) — a remark that is yet another surprise, since the story to this point seems to suggest that Jesus’ “power” is the source of her healing (Mark 5:30). But Jesus strikingly draws attention not to his power, but to hers.

7) And at that very moment, Jairus receives news that tempts him to despair: Your daughter is dead. You’re too late. You’ve taken too long. But Jesus, overhearing the news, says to Jairus: “Do not fear, only believe” (Mark 5:36). Because of what’s just happened, the choreography is clear. It’s as if Jesus says to Jairus: Look — this woman has just shown you what genuine faith looks like: audacious, daring, persistent trust in God. No barrier can constrain God’s graceful mercy. Even the barrier between life and death, in the end, can and will be overcome.

8) And so even this last barrier will be broken. At Jairus’ house, Jesus sends away everyone but the family and the disciples Peter, James, and John — the same trio invited to the mountaintop at the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2), a sign that the events in Jairus’ house have a similarly iconic, revelatory status. Taking the dead girl’s hand in his and calling her to rise (Talitha cum! Little one, get up!), Jesus breaks two barriers at once: the barrier between “clean” and “unclean” (Numbers 19:11-13), and the barrier between life and death. In both senses, the story foreshadows Jesus’ resurrection, as well as the broader promised resurrection to follow.

Takeaways:

1) As Mark arranges them, these two episodes form a single story: a vivid picture of Jesus’ expansive, barrier-breaking, healing, saving, life-giving ministry. Is Jesus more interested in “eternal life” or “life here and now”? This story helps clarify that this is a false choice; sozo carries both connotations at once. Likewise, just as Jesus breaks ethnic and sociopolitical barriers between Jews and Gentiles, he also breaks barriers within religious life that contemptuously demean and separate. For Christians today, the task is most definitely not to criticize Jewish practices (thereby falling into the contempt trap all over again!), but rather to identify and root out Christian practices that implicitly or explicitly create walls between “outsiders” and “insiders.”

2) This story is also a glimpse of how Jesus thinks about scripture. He engages it not with uncritical obeisance, as if every word in Leviticus (or any other book) is to be taken at face value, but rather with wise rabbinical judgment, carefully weighing which passages are most important, which passages help throw light on other passages — and then applying the results at the right time, in the right place, and in the right way (remember, “love your neighbor as yourself” is from Leviticus, too! (Leviticus 19:18))

3) “Faith” is cast here as a form of barrier-breaking courage, daring, and persistence — and the woman is cast as an exemplar, all the more surprising because of the presence of a religious leader, Jairus, who effectively becomes her student. An outcast is thus brought center stage. A consummate insider is encouraged to learn from her. And the very act of reaching out to God in bold tenacity, even and especially “out of the depths,” is spotlighted as a pivotal power possessed by each and every human being: “your faith has made you well [sozo]…”

4) Finally, the fact that sozo has such a wide range of meanings in this story — from salvation to health to resurrection to thriving to restoration to community — should stand as a guardrail against concluding that, in our own lives, the absence of a “cure” means afflicted people are to blame for their “lack of faith.” Healing comes in many different forms, physical, emotional, social, and otherwise, and we can trust that our most daring, faithful efforts will be met with God’s merciful healing touch. For that, after all, is Jesus’ message of encouragement here, the good news of the Gospel in this story: Even “out of the depths,” my children, take heart, reach out, push through, and dare to touch God’s garments — for God is already reaching out to you, and will yet take your hand, both today and in the end, to say, “Talitha cum! Little one, get up!”

Giant Storms

Maybe you saw the recent article about a piece of manuscript found in Egypt depicting a story from Jesus’ childhood?  Dating from the 5th Century CE, the story talks about the boy Jesus playing with clay bird-toys and then miraculously bringing them to life.  The story can be found in the Gospel of Thomas – it’s not new – and reminds us why that Gospel didn’t make it into the Canon, the books deemed to best represent our faith that comprise our Bible.  The story is likely folklore yet serves to communicate to the readers that Jesus was special, endowed with the Spirit of God even from childhood.  It is difficult for us Westerners to handle the tension in such texts.  We are hard-wired to want to read something historical as literally true, and all things folklore we deem as fiction, or not true.  In matters of faith, we want to base our theology on things that are true and reliable.  That’s what led our predecessors to demand a view of the Bible as inerrant and infallible – if we can’t trust the Bible to be true, what value does it really hold?  It is imperative that we remember that this is not how Jesus or his contemporaries viewed sacred text.  They weren’t Westerners.  They weren’t obsessed with the need for literalness and absolute certainty.  As an Eastern tradition, they appreciated the value of story to communicate many truths without having to be factually accurate.  If you are new to CrossWalk, you may want to sit with this for a while, because it can feel incredibly startling if you’ve always been taught to never question the Bible’s accuracy.  That line of thinking has never been in line with Jesus, the rabbis that preceded him, or even the Apostle Paul who provided the scriptural weaponry to proof-text our modern claim that God essentially wrote the Bible.

     It’s hard to know how literally to take these two remembered stories, one from the childhood of Israel’s favorite king, David, and the other from a time when Jesus was crossing Lake Galilee after a busy time of ministry (see full text below).  Nobody hade cell phones with incredible cameras built into them to capture either scene to be posted to TikTok or YouTube or FB or IG or X.  To spend too much time debating literalness is a fool’s errand.  The better use of time is to lean into the midrash approach, appreciating all that the stories have to offer regardless of their literal, historical merit.  As Marcus Borg would say, we choose to look for more than the literal meaning, onto the metaphorical, which is where we always end up anyway. We can engage sacred scriptures seriously without taking them literally.

     We have two stories about facing daunting threats: a giant and a storm.  We can relate to that, because throughout our lives we face unavoidable giant problems and severe storms.  While there are many moments of love and joy, we will struggle and face sickness and death.  This is simply part of the human experience.  What struggle are you facing right now?

     What do these stories have to teach us?  I see several things that resonate with me.  I see people calling on God in faith, which is an important move for us and for God. I see people acting with the wisdom available to them. I see people acting in courage, which is always required when facing giant storms.  I see people using their gifts and strengths. I see people finding themselves in an awe that delivers deep peace.

     Calling on God matters.  We may think at times that since God knows all there is to know, why bother calling on God for help?  The reason is not to inform God or persuade God to act.  The reason has more to do with being honest about what we are going through.  When we keep our lament to ourselves, I don’t think it helps. In fact, I think it may really cause more harm.  When we express our struggle, fears, doubts, and desires to God, however, it puts it all on the table instead of taking up so much room in our heads.  The act of prayer alone can be cathartic.  That’s why journaling can be so helpful – it gets stuff out of our heads.  But since the address of our lamenting is God, it also opens us up to the Spirit of God to comfort us, receiving our pain, at times helping us see things differently which serves to help align us with God’s shalom. There’s also the potential of peace as well – more on that later.

     Wisdom matters.  During the storm, the disciples were doing all they knew to do as experienced people in the fishing industry.  We can be certain that they were busy doing everything they could to keep the boat afloat, like bailing water out with whatever they could use to scoop – and it surely helped.  David showed great wisdom as he shed the armaments that were placed upon him.  He knew right away that the armor may have been the right fit for someone else, but not for him.  The garments designed to preserve his life would only serve to hasten his death.  We look at this from the vantage point of our place in history and readily agree, minimizing how difficult it might have been to say no to the presumed importance of armor and sword.  Had he chosen to wear what others insisted he must, he would have been a sitting duck. David also showed wisdom as he determined his strategy.  Bigger, stronger men had obviously failed to be victorious over Goliath in hand-to-hand combat.  David knew he didn’t stand a chance if Goliath got that close to him. Malcolm Gladwell suggests in his book, David and Goliath, that the giant likely had very poor eyesight, which people may have learned from experience with other people who grew to such size.  David needed to use Goliath’s poor eyesight to his advantage.

     Courage.  It’s hard to appreciate David’s level of courage here, but it had to be high. Everyone has courage from the comfort of their La-Z-Boy watching competitors in the arena.  Stepping into the arena where there are real consequences?  Courage required. As Theodore Roosevelt quipped, “It is not the critic who counts… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena… who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again... If he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

     Gifts and Strengths.  David was still young, still more adept at shepherding sheep than fighting men (other than his brothers!).  He probably wasn’t very good with a sword. But as a shepherd boy, he surely learned how to use a sling.  It was his best weapon against predators from a distance, before they could overpower him.  Even today, boys who are well-trained with a sling have tremendous accuracy and speed with their shot.  It is not inconceivable that David could fell the giant with a great shot.

     Peace.  The result of both stories was peace.  David’s victory ended the battle that season.  Jesus calming the storm brought peaceful seas and hearts among those who were terrified.  The Apostle Paul, who suffered severely for proclaiming the Good News Jesus lived and taught, wrote to the Philippian church that there exists a peace that is beyond understanding, and urged them to be faithful in prayer:

     Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

      And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7 (AMPC)

      That peace is real, and I believe it comes from the heart and presence of God.  I have experienced this untold numbers of times throughout my life.  It doesn’t make everything all better, but it absolutely helps us get through our giant storms that we all face in life.  Even facing the fear of death, I have experienced it personally and seen it experienced with many who were about to die.  If that were the only thing that faith had to offer, it might be enough.  Gratefully, our faith offers much more regarding living life well and helping others do the same – the “death benefit” is simply icing on the cake.

     What giant storms are you facing right now?  How have you expressed your struggle and requests to God? No fancy words required. Sometimes no words are even necessary. In another letter, Paul writes that our sighs too deep for words are prayers.  What wisdom are you respecting as you face this threat?  What healthy next step do you know to do? What wisdom is offered by experts and those who know more about this than you? What gifts and talent can you add to the mix as you face down your giant? These are among the things you can do as you face your storms.  As you do, and especially as you continue to bathe it all in prayer, may you genuinely experience the peace of God that holds you now and holds you forever:

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Paul’s Letter to the Romans (15:13), NLT

1 Samuel 17:1-11, 19-23, 32-49 CEB

     The Philistines assembled their troops for war [in] Judah. The Philistines took positions on one hill while Israel took positions on the opposite hill. There was a valley between them.

     A champion named Goliath from Gath came out from the Philistine camp. He was more than nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore bronze scale-armor weighing one hundred twenty-five pounds. He had bronze plates on his shins, and a bronze scimitar hung on his back. His spear shaft was as strong as the bar on a weaver’s loom, and its iron head weighed fifteen pounds. His shield-bearer walked in front of him.

     He stopped and shouted to the Israelite troops, “Why have you come and taken up battle formations? I am the Philistine champion, and you are Saul’s servants. Isn’t that right? Select one of your men, and let him come down against me. If he is able to fight me and kill me, then we will become your slaves, but if I overcome him and kill him, then you will become our slaves and you will serve us. I insult Israel’s troops today!” The Philistine continued, “Give me an opponent, and we’ll fight!” When Saul and all Israel heard what the Philistine said, they were distressed and terrified...

     [David heard that his brothers were] with Saul and all the Israelite troops fighting the Philistines in the Elah Valley.”

     So David got up early in the morning, left someone in charge of the flock, and loaded up and left, just as his father Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp right when the army was taking up their battle formations and shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines took up their battle formations opposite each other. David left his things with an attendant and ran to the front line. When he arrived, he asked how his brothers were doing. Right when David was speaking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came forward from the Philistine ranks and said the same things he had said before. David listened...

     “Don’t let anyone lose courage because of this Philistine!” David told Saul. “I, your servant, will go out and fight him!”

     “You can’t go out and fight this Philistine,” Saul answered David. “You are still a boy. But he’s been a warrior since he was a boy!”

     “Your servant has kept his father’s sheep,” David replied to Saul, “and if ever a lion or a bear came and carried off one of the flock, I would go after it, strike it, and rescue the animal from its mouth. If it turned on me, I would grab it at its jaw, strike it, and kill it. Your servant has fought both lions and bears. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them because he has insulted the army of the living God.

     “The LORD,” David added, “who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.”

     “Go!” Saul replied to David. “And may the LORD be with you!”

     Then Saul dressed David in his own gear, putting a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David strapped his sword on over the armor, but he couldn’t walk around well because he’d never tried it before. “I can’t walk in this,” David told Saul, “because I’ve never tried it before.” So he took them off. He then grabbed his staff and chose five smooth stones from the streambed. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag and with sling in hand went out to the Philistine.

     The Philistine got closer and closer to David, and his shield-bearer was in front of him. When the Philistine looked David over, he sneered at David because he was just a boy; reddish brown and good-looking.

     The Philistine asked David, “Am I some sort of dog that you come at me with sticks?” And he cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said to David, “and I’ll feed your flesh to the wild birds and the wild animals!”

     But David told the Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel’s army, the one you’ve insulted. Today the LORD will hand you over to me. I will strike you down and cut off your head! Today I will feed your dead body and the dead bodies of the entire Philistine camp to the wild birds and the wild animals. Then the whole world will know that there is a God on Israel’s side. And all those gathered here will know that the LORD doesn’t save by means of sword and spear. The LORD owns this war, and he will hand all of you over to us.”

     The Philistine got up and moved closer to attack David, and David ran quickly to the front line to face him. David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone. He slung it, and it hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

Mark 4:35-41 CEB

     Later that day, when evening came, Jesus said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” They left the crowd and took him in the boat just as he was. Other boats followed along.

     Gale-force winds arose, and waves crashed against the boat so that the boat was swamped. But Jesus was in the rear of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. They woke him up and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re drowning?”

     He got up and gave orders to the wind, and he said to the lake, “Silence! Be still!” The wind settled down and there was a great calm. Jesus asked them, “Why are you frightened? Don’t you have faith yet?”

     Overcome with awe, they said to each other, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

Commentary from SALT (Matthew Myer Boulton)

Fifth Week after Pentecost (Year B): Mark 4:35-41 and 1 Sam 17:1-49

Big Picture:

1) We’re in the midst of an eight-part portrait of the early phase of Jesus’ public ministry, exploring eight chronologically selected passages from Mark’s Gospel. Jesus has emerged on the scene as a celebrated healer and teacher — and now, with this dramatic story, the vast scope of his work comes into view.

2) Mark was likely written during or just after a period of intense, almost unimaginable upheaval in first-century Palestine, near the year 70 CE: a Jewish revolt against the Roman imperial occupation rises up, and the empire’s might comes crashing down, desecrating and destroying the Jerusalem Temple — which is to say, from the Jewish point of view, desecrating and destroying the heart of the world. To put it mildly, the atmosphere of Mark’s world was full of fear, grief, lamentation, and dread. Death-dealing forces were swirling through everyday life, like a chaotic storm at sea.

3) As we’ve seen, Mark figures death-dealing forces as “demons,” and heralds Jesus as the “Son of God” sent to heal and liberate human beings (Mark 1:1). One of his first acts of public ministry is to drive out a man’s “unclean spirit”: Jesus commands the intruder to “Be silent, and come out of him!”, and the crowds are astonished, whispering about how Jesus “commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him” (Mark 1:25-27). This week’s story reprises these basic themes — though now at an even larger scale.

4) The story from 1 Samuel is the well-known tale of David and Goliath, a legendary turning point in Israel’s war with the Philistines, and in David’s rise from obscurity to the throne. Reading these passages from 1 Samuel and Mark side by side makes their similarities stand out: each takes place in a context full of intense conflict, and each features an apparent underdog who triumphs over what initially appears to be an overwhelming adversary.

Scripture:

1) Jesus has just told several parables about the “kingdom” or “reign” of God, and now, that very evening, he instructs the disciples to take him across the Sea of Galilee by boat. It’s as though the parables flow directly into the journey, as if to say, God’s reign has come, and this is what it’s like in parable form (sowing seeds, graceful growth, a weed subversively taking over a field) — and now, this is what it’s like in the form of action. Though night is falling, we’ll head across the sea into Gentile territory, where we’ll confront even more death-dealing adversaries. Even tonight’s journey itself will take on this death-defying character of adventure and struggle: we’ll sail into the shadows of a storm, with the wind and sea against us…

2) As the waves bear down on the boat, Jesus is asleep in the stern, an ancient sign of equanimity and trust in God (compare Job 11:18-19 and Psalms 3:5 and 4:8). The disciples are understandably distraught, and their cry, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” echoes the ancient Israelite tradition of lamentation (compare Psalms 35:23; 69:1-2,14-15; 107:26-28).

3) The disciples’ lament elevates this episode beyond a mere “complaint” story about the disciples’ lack of faith, or even a mere “miracle” story about Jesus’ power. There’s something deeper here. The essence of God’s mission is distilled down into a single scene: the apparently invincible adversary of the storm (a kind of “Goliath”); an apparently clueless central character (Jesus sleeping like a kind of “David,” a shepherd boy without armor, shield, or sword); and then a jaw-dropping reversal of fortune, itself reminiscent of the Psalms: “he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed” (Psalm 107:29).

4) And then there’s the way Jesus stills the storm and hushes the waves. As Mark puts it, he “rebukes” the wind — the same term, epitimaó, “rebuke,” Mark uses to describe what Jesus does to the “unclean spirit” in Mark 1:25. Likewise, what Jesus says to the sea — pephimōso, “be muzzled,” translated “be still” in the NRSV — is exactly what he says to that “unclean spirit” (Mark 1:25; here the NRSV translates pephimōso as “be silent”). Finally, in case we missed it, Mark underscores the point by having the onlookers react almost identically in the two stories: in Mark 1, the crowds whisper, “What is this?… He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him”; and in Mark 4, the disciples whisper, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 1:27; 4:41).

5) The upshot of these parallels is that what happens on the Sea of Galilee is no ordinary miracle story, but rather a kind of exorcism or healing story writ large. The reign of God has come near; it will meet with fierce, overwhelming opposition, as wide and fearsome as a nighttime storm; and yet, the new world will prevail. The world’s death-dealing forces are no match for the God of life.

Takeaways:

1) At the beginning of a musical or film, sometimes the orchestra plays an “overture,” a kind of preview of the main themes we’re about to hear in the production. That’s what this story is like in the Gospel of Mark. It boils everything down to one dramatic episode: the powerful opposition, the disciples’ fear and doubt, and Jesus’ serene triumph. Viewed this way, the story also foreshadows Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.

2) Mark clearly wants us to understand this episode not as just another “miracle story” (as in, There he goes again, doing something amazing!), but rather as a kind of healing story writ large, a liberation story writ large — and this has at least two implications. First, the story suggests that the world’s death-dealing forces aren’t limited to afflicted individuals; they are also much larger, interpersonal, communal phenomena, more like enveloping storms than personal maladies. And second, the story suggests that the essence of Jesus’ mission is to confront such forces — not with military might, but with a calm, courageous campaign of healing and liberation.

3) In a world reeling from polarization and division, rife with racism and other forms of communal inequality, poisoned with rancor, conspiracy theories, and despair — we all know a thing or two about how death-dealing forces take broad, enveloping forms. Mark’s world was full of fear, disorientation, and lament; and in its own way, so is ours.

4) The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus is with us in the boat; indeed, one of the earliest symbols of the church was a boat or an ark (it’s why a cathedral’s central section is called a “nave” — as in, “navy”). But please note, Mark strikingly adds that there are also “other boats” in the storm with us (Mark 4:36). In his time and in ours, when Jesus proclaims the words of healing and liberation — Peace! Be still! — he calms the wind and waves not only for our sake, but for the sake of the life of the world.

Sowing Seeds

Here are the texts we are looking at this week as found in the lectionary, along with some preliminary questions.

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven’t selected him. God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the LORD sees into the heart.”  – 1 Samuel 16:7 CEB

Q: Why does it matter that God sees into the heart?

     Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

     Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”

     Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.

– Mark 4:26-34 NLT

Q: What are your initial thoughts about these parables?

Nerd Notes:

·       “The Lord sees into the heart.” The context is Samuel anointing David as the future King of Israel. He was just a boy at that time, with older brothers who towered above him.

·       Sowing seeds. A major point here is that we can never be sure what will happen with the seeds we sow – the future is largely out of our hands. But we still need to sow, and we always are sowing some seed – but what? What do we make of this? How does the idea that what we sow may have significant impact – despite the apparent smallness of our seed-sowing? How does that impact our choices? How does it empower us?

·       Mustard. Scholars still debate the plant to which Jesus refers.  Mark’s account sticks with the mustard bush, which nobody would choose to plant because it was seen as an invasive weed (think Ivy) that is nearly impossible to get rid of. What do we make of this? How has the invasive weed of the grace of God made its way into your life? How have you tried to limit its spread? How might we welcome its spread? What are the ramifications of going with the flow of the Kin-dome of God spreading like an invasive weed?