Exodus 32:7-14The worldview of Luke's gospel is wide, high, and inclusive. Remember Luke's emphasis? People who in general are marginalized, broken, outcast. Women, who were not society's elite in those days. The HS; table fellowship.
7The Lord said to Moses, "Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; 8they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt! 9The Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. 10Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation."
11But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, "O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people.
13"Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, 'I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'" 14And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
Jesus' first act of public ministry in Luke: reading from Isaiah 61. "I am the Jubilee Year; I am the Eschatological Feast." Liberation. Shalom. Inclusion.
Two weeks ago when we heard from Luke 14:1, 7-14 on Pentecost 15C, Jesus dined on the sabbath with the religious elite, with pharisees, at their elite homes. Today in Luke 15:1-32 we meet Jesus dining with tax collectors and sinners. Next section begins, "A man had two sons...." one of the stories unique to Luke.
Sunday was the 15 year anniversary of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center twin towers.
Exodus 32:7-14, "Moses, your people" ... and Moses reminds God, 'God, your people.'" It's always both/and.
We can define slavery, prisons, bondage, Egypts of all kinds. Not freedom. Not liberation. Martin Luther's famous Bondage of the will. Having a huge debt of any kind. Being literally stuck at a job you hate and that doesn't suit your skills because you need the income.
Yesterday some of us wore "God's Work / Our Hands" shirts for the denomination's God's Work / Our Hands weekend. We helped out at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore warehouse. A few of us wore our shirts to church.
"Moses, your people" ... and Moses reminds God, 'God, your people.'" It's always both/and. Could God accomplish God's plans and desires without human agency? of course! We mostly discussed ways our hands (feet, minds, creativity) can do God's work. Pastor Peg pointed out God always works through physical, earthly, tangible "means," so sacraments, preaching [the church's official Means of Grace], listening carefully, balancing books, designing and building houses, etc., child care, feeding people, are means or vehicles that carry and convey God's grace.
We spent the rest of our time remembering our original 9/11/2001 experiences and updating our emotions and intentions.
I didn't use most of my extensive notes, so won't blog them, as much because of only partial internet service as anything else, since I often include notes we didn't get to. However, I've filed my hand-written notes for reference three years from now.
No comments:
Post a Comment