Pentecost 11C

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23

Chapter 1

¹The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. ²Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. ³What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun?

¹²I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, ¹³applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. ¹⁴I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.

Chapter 2

2¹⁸I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me ¹⁹—and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun, ²¹because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²²What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? ²³For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.

Bible: a book of [66] books...

with many different types of literary genres, forms, styles. Quick overview includes psalms that themselves are prayers and songs; NT canticles in Luke are similar to psalms and modeled on OT sources. Bible includes history—some bureaucratic, some simple narrative, some historical accounts that are saga or myth and bring us the people's phenomenological experiences along with their emotional and psychological ones. We get prophecy with four Major Prophets, and the shorter Book of the Twelve, aka "Minor Prophets"—prophecy/speaking truth to power includes exhortation, diatribe, polemic, apocalyptic. Some biography/autobiography: parts of Job are biographical; so are a lot of NT epistles. Epistles are letters that mean "sent" writings! The NT includes four gospels. Gospel originally was the returning Roman general's victory proclamation about annihilating and vanquishing his enemies, an announcement of death. Starting with Mark, Christianity subverted gospel into a proclamation of the victory of life over death, an announcement of resurrection from the dead.

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23

Today's text from Ecclesiastes is in the group of Old Testament / Hebrew Bible writings that are neither Torah nor Prophecy. It's part of the Wisdom literature that also includes Proverbs, Song of Songs/Song of Solomon, and Job. The name of the book evokes "ecclesiastical," ecclesia, etc., descriptors we use for the church, the called-out assembly (City Council, New England Town Meeting, Church Council, Session, Consistory, Sacramento Assembly...). The Hebrew title of the book, Koheleth, Kehilleth, Qoheleth, means teacher/preacher, especially someone who address the gathered assembly, similar to a Minister of the Word in our traditions.

All three lectionary years feature Ecclesiastes 3:1-13, "To everything there is a season," as the first reading for New Year's Day, but otherwise this is the only instance of Ecclesiastes for all 36 lectionary months.

The book of Ecclesiastes opens with "The words of the teacher, the son of David, King of Jerusalem," but its vocabulary, syntax, sentence structure, general worldview and philosophy place it much later, way far post-exilic, probably two or three centuries before Jesus of Nazareth's birth. In some ways it's close to a parody of what the write imagined King Solomon might have said.

The recurring word "vanity" isn't what we think of as vain—for example, Carly Simon telling Warren Beatty (according to some sources), "you're so vain, you probably think this song is about you." It's not your household kitteh strutting around wanting admiration, or the allover style of one of the presidential candidates that also had gotten press for lots of other negative attributes. This vanity is something fleeting, ephemeral, can't be captured. 1:14 reads, "chasing after wind." We feel the wind, we know it's there, but it's beyond elusive.

Lectionary compilers placed this not very positive text alongside Colossians 3:1-11 about our identity in Christ and Luke 12:13-21 about the guy stockpiling lots of stuff he couldn't take with him. This passage comes across on the negative side, but the New Year's Day reading from Ecclesiastes tells us, "the gift of God is that all should [exhortation!] eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil." Ecclesiastes 3:13

Discussion. If you were writing your newsletter article or something similar, what would you reflect on this text?

Pentecost 10C

Luke 11:1-13

¹ He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John [the baptist] taught his disciples." ²He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. ³Give us each day our daily bread. ⁴And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial."

⁵And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' ⁷And he answers from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' ⁸I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

⁹"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? ¹²Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? ¹³If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

I.

In the church's year of grace we're well into the season of Pentecost that we often refer to as the Time of the Church. This is year C – "Luke's Year" – in the Revised Common Lectionary. Among other things, Luke emphasizes prayer, the Holy Spirit, and people who are more marginalized than centralized in society. In Luke's Christmas account, angels first announced Jesus' birth to shepherds, people definitely on the outlying fringes of society.

II.

Today our gospel text includes the Lord's Prayer; Matthew and Luke bring us slightly different versions. Like many rabbis and teachers of his day, Jesus offered his followers a way to pray alongside a way to be and ways to act. His prayer includes a request that the Kingdom of Heaven (Reign of God, Sovereignty of God, etc.) happen on earth.

In Luke's gospel the Reign of Heaven includes everyone, *but* especially those typically marginalized from society; it features inclusive table fellowship. In Luke's gospel and in Luke's second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, the icon of the visible reign of God, the church, is a community under the cross as it breaks bread and remembers Jesus. We need to remember these scriptures got written down half a century after Jesus's death and resurrection, so a lot of Luke-Acts is retrospective.

III.

On recent Sundays we've heard about Jesus sending out the 70 two by two and telling them to travel light; counseling them not to be so smug that even demons are subject to them, but to rejoice that there names were written in heaven; Jesus' summary of the ten commandments, aka The Great Commandment; Good Sam; Martha and Mary. Last Sunday we had Christmas in July, celebrating that Christianity is highly incarnational, featuring a God who lives on earth in a body made of stuff of the earth, a body that's decayable on every level, a body subject to death. Like ours!

Luke's gospel emphasizes the HS. As God's people in Christ Jesus, as people of the Pentecostal reign of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit lives within us, indwells our physical bodies.

We've previously discussed the Presbyterian Church USA's Great Ends of the Church that include the Church (that's us!) as the exhibition of the kingdom of heaven to the world. In other words, when people look at us as a gathered community, as friends, acquaintances, or individuals outside of the church campus, they can see (or are supposed to be able to see and experience) the Kingdom of God.

IV.

Today our gospel text includes the Lord's Prayer; Matthew and Luke bring us slightly different versions. Matthew talks about shortcomings and debts; Luke about sin in the classic NT sense of "missing the mark." We ask that God's name be hallowed, holy, set apart. God's name and all names describe and elucidate the person's essence, are identity markers, tell us who that person is.

V.

"Give us today (this day) our daily bread." In his Small Catechism, Martin Luther tells us daily bread includes food on the table, favorable weather and sufficient employment, a kind spouse, good kids, obedient servants(!), just government and civil leaders... Pastor Peg mentioned a recent version of the catechism includes friends among those daily life essentials.

VI.

We had an excellent discussion about the manner and content of prayer in general and I didn't even get to mention the jubilee imagery the Lord's Prayer contains.

Pentecost 9C

Celebrating Christmas in July with the Pentecost 09 texts!

I – Colossians 1:15-28

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

²¹And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²²he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— ²³provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.

I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel. ²⁴I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. ²⁵I became its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, ²⁶the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. ²⁷To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ²⁸It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

II – Christmas: Nativity / Birth / incarnation

Incarnation: enfleshment; embodiment. Carne is latin for meat. Carne Asada; Chile con Carne; Carniceria.

By definition Christianity is incarnational. On Christmas we celebrate Jesus's birth among us in a body made out of the stuff of the earth; a body that is finite, decayable, and will die.

A couple thousand years ago it was commonplace that you'd be talking or walking with a person who was half human and half divine. In Jesus Christ we meet someone fully human and fully divine.

III – Colossians

For today and the next two weeks the RCL includes readings from the Letter to the Church at Colossae. Today we're using the default lectionary readings; as we celebrate enfleshment / incarnation / embodiment, how apt that the Colossian community tended toward the heresy of gnosticism that somewhat denied the essential reality of the body and focussed instead on the supremacy of spirit.

Probably written two or three decades after Jesus' death and resurrection, in Colossians we find theology (the word about the divine), Christology (words about the Christ), and cosmology (word regarding the scope and reach of all creation) that anticipates the worldview of John's gospel a half century later. We sometimes talk about the Cosmic Christ!

The apostle Paul is about outward from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth; Colossians' author moves beyond planet earth and into immeasurable time and space. Colossians also contains many words not found in any of Paul's epistles as well as syntax and sentence structure different from Paul's.

IV – God Among Us: historical witness – OT/Hebrew Bible; NT

Colossians tells us about the image, icon, of God. What does God's image look like? Icon, logo examples: google; ELCA; other products. Not the entity itself but a pointer to it.

God's first act of covenant, creation itself shows God's passion to live among us. James Weldon Johnson's poem, The Creation opens with:

And God stepped out on space,
And he looked around and said:
I'm lonely—
I'll make me a world.

We find God's voice and physical presence in the prophets.

3 Samuel 7: 4-6

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David, "This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.

Later on the passage God via Nathan promises David a house, a dynasty, a lineage, that wouldn't be a building but would be enfleshed, incarnate, in Jesus of Nazareth, "Son of David."

After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, the inspired late exilic (or post-exilic community brought us Genesis 1, with all creation as God's home, God's temple.

God among us in Jesus' birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension.

God in our midst in Word and Sacrament.

V – Last week: Neighborology

Colossians tells us about the image, icon, of God. What does God's image look like?

Us as God's incarnate, enfleshed, presence in the world here and now, particularly in our very local communities.

Pentecost 8C

Deuteronomy 30:9-14

⁹and the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous [plenteous, surplus!] in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors, ¹⁰when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

¹¹Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. ¹²It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?" ¹³Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?" ¹⁴No, the word [dabar] is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

Neighborology: the Word about the Neighbor – Jeremiah / Deuteronomy

As sometimes happens, the RCL brings us texts closely related to the events of the past week in the USA. First, a relatively rare excursion into Deuteronomy, the covenantal, neighborly – neighborology – text par excellence, very much in the tradition of Jeremiah, despite its long historical sweep.

Deuteronomy is one of the five books of the Pentateuch, Ha Torah, the books of the law. However, rather than being rigidly legalistic, practicing Torah is a fluid, stretchy, flexible enterprise that's always on the side of grace, mercy, love, and distributive justice. Despite its being in the covenantal tradition of Jeremiah, Deuteronomy is compiled from sources that range over about five centuries, from the United Monarchy of Saul, David, and Solomon at least through the Babylonian exile and likely into the post-exilic period of Persian hegemony. Deuteronomy moves beyond theory and ideas to practice and reality, showing us covenantal neighborology in action. Deuteronomy demonstrates Torah neighborology lived out on turf and in time.

Deuteronomy 30:14 "No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe."

Better translation is "the word is very near you in your mouth and in your heart and you will do it." Double meaning of commandment and promise on You will do it.

Neighborology: the Word about the Neighbor – Good Samaritan

The Word for us as Christians? The Word very near us? Baptized into the Word of Life Jesus Christ, immersed in the Word, the word surrounds and engulfs us. The gift of death, the gift of resurrection.

Luke among the gospels uniquely brings us Good Sam: Jesus finishes his capsule description of the commandments that ends with "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," and the guy jumps in and asks, "but who is my neighbor?" Jesus famously replies, "A man went down to Jericho from Jerusalem..."

Mainly because of the past week's events, I'd planned to open the rest of the time to discussion if it felt right, and it did, so these notes are uncharacteristically brief.

Pentecost 7C

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

¹After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. ²He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. ⁴Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. ⁵Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' ⁶And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. ⁸Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; ⁹cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' ¹⁰But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'
16"Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

¹⁷The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" ¹⁸He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. ¹⁹See, I have given you authority [not power in the Greek] to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. ²⁰Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

RCL year C is Luke's year. recap about Luke: history; prayer; women; the marginalized; HS; Table Fellowship; hospitality; Jerusalem.

During this season of Pentecost, the church's year of grace still seriously moves into all the world and reaches way far out beyond "home base."

We've been discussing Galatians as an ethnic church in terms of geography and culture; they also were ethnos—gentiles. Paul gets the case of the Judaizers who required people to become Jewish before they became Christian. We talked some about requirements for people to join us and participate.

Today's passage from Luke contains lots to consider regarding outreach and others and us and our comfort levels.

"After this this" Luke 9:51 Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem. Jerusalem is far more prominent in the gospels of Mark and Luke than in John or Matthew.

Sending people out in pairs. seventy combines the numbers of perfection (7) and completion (10). why not go solo? Sometimes we do! Travel light, in terms of everything.

⁷Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. ⁸Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; ⁹cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

"eating and drinking whatever they provide." Yikes! what if they don't keep kosher! What if we know we don't like whatever it is! Conversing with strangers, experiencing their hospitality, eating their food — you are what you eat! You are your neighbor! "this is the body of Christ, given for you." We are the body of Christ!

What is this reign of God, kingdom of heaven? Where is it? Connecting with eternity right here and now. How?

Satan falling from heaven like lightning! The word for heaven is the same as heaven most places in scripture. Best to say it denotes authority, sovereignty, can be a cipher for power and reign. Satan now is earthbound.

Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Baptism? Identity and call. Word here is authority / exousia, not power /dynamos

Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem. Center of the known world. Axis mundi between heaven and earth.

A few weeks ago we talked about the New Jerusalem in the Book of Acts. Easter 5, Revelation 21:2

Pentecost 6C

Psalm 16

¹Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
²I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."
³As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.

⁵The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
⁶The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.

⁷I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
⁸I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.
¹⁰For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.
¹¹You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy;
    in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

In the church's year of grace we're now seriously into the Time of the Church.

Galatians

For the past few weeks we've been doing a continuous reading of Galatians with its emphasis on the gospel of death and resurrection, and its central theme of freedom. In Galatians the apostle Paul offers cautions about human-made laws such as sacrifice, ceremony, keeping kosher, and circumcision; last week in Galatians 3:23-29 Paul finally talks about law in the sense of the ten commandments of the Sinai covenant, as he juxtaposes law and gospel. We mentioned the three uses of the law that theologians in the traditions of the Reformation sometimes opine about.

In all of his letters, Paul makes a huge deal of our organic incorporation into Christ that happens in baptism. Today's second reading [Galatians 5:1, 13-25] brings us his famous fruits of the spirit. Check out different translations and versions of this text for some interesting ideas!

Psalms

In scripture the book of 150 psalms is 5 smaller "books" compiled into larger one.

Psalm dates range from the united monarchy of Saul, David, and Solomon through the post-exilic period, possibly as late as the Persian empire. The Babylonian empire had a large repository of psalms that strongly influenced Hebrew hymnody. The Psalter was the prayerbook and the hymnal of the Jerusalem Temple and later of the synagogue.

The church throughout the centuries has prayed the psalter several times through every year in the canonical hours of the divine office.

The Psalter was the hymnal of John Calvin's Geneva Reform.

Martin Luther described the psalms as "the bible in miniature." I mentioned Galatians as "Reformation Central" – everyone knows Martin Luther's paraphrase of Psalm 46, "A Mighty Fortress is our God," as The Reformation Hymn par excellence.

A lot of the songs in all the denominational hymnals are direct psalm versions or paraphrases or at least refer to a psalm. Or two. Or three.

Psalm 16

Psalm 16 connects especially well with Galatians, as it centers on monotheism, the acknowledgment and worship of only one God, and on the joy of obedience. Psalm 16:7 and 16:9 mention the human heart, which in Hebrew biology mainly is the seat of the will rather than of the emotions as modern Westerners think of the heart.

Psalm 16:7 for us to bless the Lord who blesses us!

Psalm 16:10 is a resurrection promise —"Sheol" historically has been the place of departed spirits, with probably no further connotation.

Psalm 16:11 tells us God shows us the path of life, the life we know as obedience to the commandments, and in God's presence we find "fullness of joy." In God's right hand (God's sovereignty) we discover "pleasures forevermore."

What psalms are your favorites? I especially love the Nativity Psalms 96, 98 and 148.

Pentecost 5C

Galatians 3:23-29

²³Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. ²⁴Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, ²⁶for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. ²⁷As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Backtrack:

We've talked about the church at Galatia as the first ethnic church in terms of culture and geography (they also were ethnos as gentiles). The words Galatia, Gaulle, Gaelic, Celt, Celtic all come from the same root.

We've mentioned the apostle Paul almost always refers to the sacrificial law, circumcision, ceremonial law, keeping kosher when he says law, but in this passage "law" does refer to the Ten Commandments of the Sinai Covenant. The commandments are the working papers for our life together, as they set limits and boundaries.

This passage brings us a typical Reformation contrast and dichotomy between law and gospel that we try to articulate in preaching.

Theological note:

Reformation theological traditions (specifically Lutheran and Reformed) often cite three uses of the law: to draw people to Christ; to convict us of sin; to lead people to correct behaviors.

verse 28:

Jew/gentile, male/female, slave/free brings us categories that were central and critical in the Greco-Roman world at the time of this letter.

One more time:

The apostle Paul anticipated that in baptism the solitary, isolated, individual would become part of the gathered body of Christ and assume one of many differentiated roles and positions appropriate to their gifts and experience; the movement is not from solitary, isolated, individual to becoming part of an undifferentiated blob. We retain aspects of our old identity and we keep our unique gifts (food, music, accounting, administration, hospitality, art, teaching, etc.), but our baptismal identity in Christ becomes central.

Discussion:

the USA has a history of geographically and culturally ethnic churches, maybe especially Lutherans and Roman Catholics who brought their spoken language and culinary propensities with them. We can welcome everyone, but is it possible for LCM to becomes all things to all people? Comments about responses to the pastoral search committee questionnaires.

Pentecost 4C

Galatians 2:15-21

¹⁵We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; ¹⁶yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ [more accurately, "by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ"], and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.

¹⁷But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor.

¹⁹For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; ²⁰and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Our discussion started late; several regular participants weren't in class because of traveling, because of the local Pride Festival, and because of being in the parish house but needing to continue preparing lunch. We formally wrapped up early because it was the final day the choir would sing until September and choir members needed to start getting ready earlier than they usually did, but the few of us remaining enjoyed another 20 minutes or so of discussion.


from my intro on Pentecost 2C

I Paul's letter or epistle to the Galatians is one of seven epistles definitely written by Paul. We call this an undisputed letter, as in undisputed authorship.

II Galatians was the first ethnic church, not in the sense of Jewish–gentile ethnicity, but of different cultures.

III Gospel means Good News. For Paul, the gospel is death and resurrection.

IV Almost every single time Paul uses the word "law," he refers to circumcision, sacrificial law, ritual law, keeping kosher, ceremonial law, and not to the ten commandments.

V Different gospel! Mostly refers to "Judaizers" who claimed people had to become Jewish before Christian, follow sacrificial law, be circumcised. In other words, they taught that Jesus Christ's death and resurrection was not enough, that redemption was as much by human works as it was by divine grace.

Emphasizing

One more time! God's primal people Israel and the apostle Paul always knew and always taught that salvation, redemption, always was by God's gracious initiative, God in the HS reaching out to claim humanity and creation. Sacrificial and ceremonial law, circumcision, keeping kosher, etc., were signs or symbols of God's grace.

Galatians 4:16 – best, most correct translation almost definitely is faithfulness of Jesus Christ (not faith in Jesus Christ). In other words, some of the Reformers' ideas aside, redemption is not another human work, but always the gracious initiative and work of God in the HS.

Fun Language Note:

just as in several other places in Paul's writing, 4:17 uses a construction called subjunctive of emphatic negation that expresses no, not, as strongly as possible. Translations into English include:

• may it never be

• certainly not!

• by no means!

• heck, no!

and Pastor-Scholar Eugene Peterson of The Message version fame's very vernacular—

• "hell, no!"

Reconciling in Christ Sunday

Ephesians 2:11-22

¹¹So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision” —a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— ¹²remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. ¹⁵He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. ¹⁷So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, ²⁰built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; ²²in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

backtracking

Today we celebrate the 15^th anniversary of LCM becoming an RIC congregation. Aspects of today's reading from Ephesians echo a couple of our recent discussions:

• Easter 5 about the homemaking God. Advertising habits and hype aside, we don't buy or rent a home; we buy or rent a house, an apartment or a condo and make it into a home after we move in.

• Pentecost 2, last Sunday: the church at Galatia probably was the first ethnic church in terms of cultural and geographical variety (typically scripture says "ethnos" to indicate non-Jews, gentiles). This concept points towards the gift of the diversity being an RIC church brings.

background

The letter to the church at Ephesus bring us language of the:

• Household – the more private, intimate sphere of life

and language of the

• Public Arena – the more commercial and more political places where we sometimes go

The author of Ephesians uses the word "law" in the same way as the Apostle Paul does. Here law (ordinances, etc.) does not refer to the Ten Commandments; it means ceremonial law, circumcision, sacrificial law, keeping kosher. At no time did people ever believe anything other than God's grace saved or redeemed them. Laws, practices, rituals, ordinances were signs that pointed to God's gracious action and provision. The Santa Monica Blvd sign on the street corner is not the long physical sweep of Santa Monica Blvd itself; in fact, the small dimensions of the street sign can't contain much of anything. The sign indicates we're close to or on SMB. After an African-American tradition, I wear a silver bangle baptismal bracelet. The bracelet reminds me of my baptism, points to God's irrevocable claim on my life. Like Israel's ordinances, the bracelet has no saving power, but in an extremely limited sense, it is a sign of God's grace in my life.

vocabulary

This reading is full of dynamic language; we had a lively discussion about many of the words and concepts. Richard said it can be "startling" to find a church that truly welcomes and includes everyone. Pastor Peg said access jumped out at her. I mentioned how baptism changes us from being isolated, solitary, atomized individuals as it (literally) incorporates us into the organic, interconnected, interrelated One Body of Christ—not as an undifferentiated blob, but with our unique gifts, talents, perspectives, experiences, and contributions.

My paper notes include many more ideas I'm not including here because we never got to them in class, but I've kept and filed them for future reference.

Pentecost 2B

Galatians 1:1-12

¹Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— ²and all the members of God’s family who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: ³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—⁷not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! ⁹As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!

¹⁰Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. ¹¹For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; ¹²for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

I In the church's year of grace we've reached Ordinary Time. Ordered, orderly, in order, somewhat structured.
This is the green and growing "time of the church."
Preparation: Jesus Christ's birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension.
Our own baptism; weekly participation in word and sacrament. Gift of the Pentecostal Spirit of Life.

II Paul's letter or epistle to the Galatians is one of seven epistles definitely written by Paul. We call this an undisputed letter, as in undisputed authorship.
Galatians was the first ethnic church, not in the sense of Jewish–gentile ethnicity, but of different cultures.
Galatians is the Epistle of Freedom; Galatians was and still is Reformation central, vitally important to Martin Luther's theology.
Galatians has been called the Magna Carta of Christian Freedom. Just as the Magna Carta showed everyone lives under the same law and has the right to a trial, to be declared guilty or innocent, Galatians demonstrates we all live under the same law of God, with the same freedom or liberty in Jesus Christ.

III Gospel means Good News. For Paul, the gospel is death and resurrection.
Almost every single time Paul uses the word "law," he refers to circumcision, sacrificial law, ritual law, keeping kosher, ceremonial law, and not to the ten commandments.

Galatians famously brings us:

• Paul's only birth narrative: in the fullness of time God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law. Galatians 4:4
• Neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, bond nor free, for all are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28
• Fruits of the Spirit: By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23a

IV Different gospel! Mostly about the Judaizers who claimed people had to become Jewish before Christian, follow sacrificial law, be circumcised. In other words, they taught that Jesus Christ's death and resurrection was not enough, that redemption was more by works than by grace. For Paul, the gospel is death and resurrection.

V Outreach, evangelism in the church building and out in our everyday worlds: what demands do we make of newcomers? If not exactly a "different gospel" that Paul found the church at Galatia teaching, do we insist people look like us, talk like us, act like us, etc.? As the Reformers insisted, wherever you find Word and Sacrament you find the church. No Word and Sacrament? No church. No requirement for everyone to look, act, talk, think, feel the same as everyone else.

Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

¹When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." ¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" ¹³But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. ¹⁸Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. ¹⁹And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. ²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. ²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'"

Easter is 50 Days; the Day of Pentecost is the 50th day of Easter

The church's year of grace features a trio of major festivals that relate to each Person of the Trinity/Godhead:

• Christmas – Nativity – Creation

• Resurrection – Easter – Redemption

• Pentecost – Whitsunday – Sanctification / Theosis

Next week we'll celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity; after that we'll segue into the long, winding, growing greening season Ordinary Time, also known as the Time of the Church.

Last week we discussed Jesus' Ascension and the conversation (again!) beforehand. His earthly disciples asked Jesus if at this time he would "restore the kingdom to Israel," and Jesus told them to wait for the Descent of the HS and they would be his witnesses. In other words, they would help "restore the kingdom."

Remember the Golden Calf Event in Exodus 32? God said, "Moses, your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt." Moses replied, "God, your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt." Which is it? Moses' people or God's people? It's both/and.

Discussion of Icons and Images of the HS:

dove / wind / fire. Peace, comfort. Fire sears, burns, purifies. A year after a wildfire, new seedlings cover the forest floor. Some seeds need to be singed by fire in order to open. Controlled, prescribed burning by the Forest Service. Different forms wind takes. Do we resist the wind or move in its direction? Sun in your face, wind at your back?

In his book of the Acts of the Apostles Luke brings us the only scriptural account of the Day of Pentecost. The HS is prominent throughout Luke's gospel (and in Acts, of course). The apostle Paul and the gospel of John also tell us a lot about the HS.

Jesus says we will be his witnesses. What does witnessing mean? What does a witness do? Courtroom. The 12th apostle needed to be a "witness to the resurrection," someone who has experienced the risen Christ.

The past two weeks we've talked about the Church as the Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World. With its senses the world can witness – see, hear, touch, taste, smell – the church, and in the church's activity, hopefully the world will recognize the presence of God's Kingdom.

Will you at this time restore the kingdom? The question is wrong! Wait here in Jerusalem, and you shall be my witnesses. The HS makes witness possible. The converse? Without the HS there is no witness.

Ascension

On Easter 7 we discussed the Feast of the Ascension. Traditionally the Sunday after Ascension has been Exaudi, From the first word of Introit that comes from Psalm 27:

"Hearken, O Lord, unto my voice which has called out to you, alleluia; my heart declared to you: "Your countenance have I sought; I shall ever seek your countenance, O Lord; do not turn your face from me, alleluia, alleluia." The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?"

Acts 1:1-11

¹In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning ²until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; ⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" ⁷He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." ⁹When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

Easter is 50 days; Ascension Day is the 40th day of Easter—another instance of the biblical number 40.

Ideas on ascendancy? Authority, reign, sovereignty, power, kingship, lordship.

Backtracking through the church's year of grace, we started with Advent when we wait for and anticipate God's arrival in our midst; then it's nativity /Christmas, with Jesus' birth as God-among-us. Next, Epiphany that starts demonstrating in a visible way how God is for everyone, for all the people of all the nations, not solely for God's original people Israel. Then it's Jesus' public ministry with his disciples among all kinds of people. Holy Week, the journey to the cross, Friday's crucifixion, Saturday – the day nothing happens yet everything happens – Easter/resurrection Sunday. Post-resurrection appearances begin with people Jesus knew during his earthly ministry, and then draw a broader, wider circle that embracing all people from everywhere.

Next Sunday we'll celebrate the 50th day of Easter, the Feast of Pentecost that along with Reformation is one of the major festivals of the Spirit. Finally, it's the long "Time of the Church" or Ordinary Time that mostly features green vestments and paraments that remind us of growing and becoming.

Over the past few Sundays we've discussed texts from the book of Revelation specifically in terms of how they help us learn how to live baptized amidst empire. The canon of scripture begins with tree of life, river of life, and a garden. The canon of scripture ends with tree of life, river of life, and a city.

In today's scripture passage from Luke's book of the Acts of the Apostles, again the disciples think Jesus came to restore political power and glory to Israel. Jesus tells them "the question is wrong!" and advises them to wait in Jerusalem until the power of the HS comes upon them and enables their witness as his presence over all the earth.

Charlene recapped the Golden Calf event from Exodus 32. Toward the end,

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?..."

Last week we talked about the PC(USA)'s Great Ends of the Church that conclude with the Church is the Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World. That's us!

The Heidelberg Catechism tells us by faith we share in Christ's anointing—anointed to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.

Easter 6C

Revelation 21:10, 22 - 22:1-5

Revelation 21

¹⁰And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.

²² I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ²⁵Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Revelation 22

¹Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; ⁴they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Easter is 50 days, a week of weeks, 7 x 7. The Easter season began with accounts that mostly featured people who followed Jesus during his earthly ministry. As the weeks rolled by, the stories reached further outward, and began embracing people from other places and cultures. Two weeks from now we'll celebrate the 50th day of Easter, the Day of Pentecost (wear red!) that initiates the long "Time of the Church" liturgical season, with its mostly green Sundays. Everyone is an insider to God; God has no outsiders.

We've been discussing Revelation as a kind of guidebook, almost a roadmap (but not quite) for living baptized amidst empire. Last week we talked about a God so in love with creation God chose and still chooses to live with and to "indwell" creation; a God so passionate about creation God even chose to live amidst creation as one of us in a body formed out of the stuff of the earth.

Last week: enthronement psalms, with creation as God's dwelling place, God's temple, "throne." Last week Revelation 21:3 told us God makes a home on earth.

Genesis 1 and 2, the first books in the canon of the bible bring us the original creation with:

• tree of life
• river of life
• a garden

Revelation, the last book in the biblical canon, bring us the new creation with:

• tree of life
• river of life
• a city (is this a new Garden of Eden? Not quite.)

Today's text from Revelation brings us a portrait of a city literally descending from heaven. A city of safety, a place that welcomes and includes everyone. A city where it's light and bright all the time, without the dangers night and darkness in an urban area often bring.

What are characteristics of a city?

• ethnic and cultural and income diversity • buildings of every kind • government on local, regional, national levels (esp these days) • a literal crossroads with multiple ports of entry • infrastructure, "streets and roads" and other services • cash economy rather than a barter economy, etc.

As we read the bible, we discover a lot of very similar passages in different books. Today's reading from Revelation is very similar to one from Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a priest in the holiness tradition of the Jerusalem temple. By the time God gave Ezekiel this vision, the Jerusalem temple was gone, sacked and destroyed by Babylon, yet Ezekiel trusts this glimpse of a restored creation where God dwells, with similar imagery to the enthronement psalms.

Ezekiel 47:1-12

¹Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. ... ⁷As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other. ... ⁹Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. ... ¹²On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.

We've been discussing Revelation as kind of a guidebook to living baptized amidst empire. The Presbyterian Church (USA) brings us the six Great Ends of the Church that essentially focus on our baptismal call and covenant: worship; word and sacrament; working for justice, righteousness, truth; identifying with a community of faith; caring for and nurturing all creation. But the sixth Great End is "The Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World." That means when the world looks at us, the church, it looks like the best place possible, it looks like heaven on earth. As Barbara exclaimed about the city in Revelation, "who wouldn't want to go there?" When people look at us as the church, is it "who wouldn't want to go there?"

Discussion of different ways to welcome newcomers to worship without being too intrusive.

One more note on stewardship of creation:

• In the wilderness exodus narrative, we read about water from the rock; manna and quail from the sky that were sheer gifts from God.

• The promised land with its rivers, hills of grain, trees (pomegranate, fig, olive, date), milk and honey required people who had received it a gift to care for and steward it.

• God has given us land and waterways as gifts; God calls us to careful stewardship of all creation.

We've started a list of 52 ways to steward the earth; the poster is in the narthex so we can add our own line items.

Earth Day • Easter 5C

Revelation 21:1-6

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; ⁴he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."

⁵And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, 'Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." ⁶Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."

Every day is Earth Day, but on Friday 22 April we celebrated the 46^th official formal Earth Day. The Earth Day theme this year is #Trees4Earth that relates closely to #FaceofClimate for 2013 and #GreenCities for both 2014 and 2015. Trees and forests are earth's respiratory system, this planet's lungs.

from "Let us Talents and Tongue Employ"

Jesus lives again
earth can breath again
pass the word around
loaves abound!

Fred Kaan, 1975

For Easter 5 and Earth Day we mainly discussed Revelation 21:1-6, and also considered creation-themed Psalm 96, Psalm 98, and Psalm 148, as well as the beginning of James Weldon Johnson's poem, The Creation. All this poetry is about a God so in love with Creation that God chooses to make a home on earth in the midst of creation. This contrasts with the way temples for other nations and for the Jerusalem temple featured a small physical space with the deity contained and confined to a tiny place.

Most likely from the period of Babylonian exile, Psalm 96 and Psalm 98 are Enthronement Psalms about God's reign over creation. Although Psalm 148 is probably post-exilic, it carries a similar theme of all creation joining in praise of God; Isaiah brings us similar imagery. Hebrew Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann says, "Of course the oceans roar—no more pollution!" "Of course trees sing and clap their hands—no more clear-cutting!"

Sacraments depend upon a healthy creation.

New Song in scripture is not so much a tune and lyrics no one ever has heard before; a new song is a new era, renewed perspective, different paradigm, transformed worldview.

Very briefly from last week: the book of Revelation shows us how empires everywhere operate; it provides not quite a road map, but it's somewhat of a guide book for living baptized in the context of empire. This week and next week the passages from Revelation especially show us ways to live baptized into the new creation.

Bookends in the canon of scripture:

• Genesis 1 and 2: Tree of Life, River of Life, and Garden.

• Revelation 21 and 22: Tree of Life, River of Life, and City (that grows out of a well-tended garden).

Empire? I had Egypt, Babylon, Rome (John on Patmos recorded Revelation during the reign of Roman emperor Caesar Domitian), Spain, Netherlands, UK, USA in mind; Richard mentioned Ottoman Empire.

"Ocean no more" in Revelation 21:1 isn't about ecological disaster! It's a code word for untamed chaos. In the famous passage that opens Genesis 1 the Spirit of God hovers and breathes and speaks over the "deep," the unordered chaotic waters. In our baptism with Water and Word, God calls and enables us to speak words that tame and order the chaos of empire.

More discussion of how physical, earthbound, and incarnational Christianity is. God so in love with creation God chose and still chooses to make a home on earth in a body formed from the stuff of creation. I quoted the Heidelberg Catechism, "we move from Christmas with the mystery of spirit in flesh, to Ascension with the mystery of flesh in spirit."

A had a lot more notes and ideas than we discussed this morning, but happily most of those will work well next week on Easter 6, so I didn't include them here.