Easter 5B

John 15:1-8

¹"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.

⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Abiding and obeying!

Today is the 29^th day of Easter! Easter is 50 days!

This is very shorthand, but also broadly accurate.

The gospel account we have from the community gathered around the beloved disciple John conveys a different worldview from the synoptic gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

In contrast to John, despite each of them conveying at least some unique content and a particular perspective, you could say the synoptic gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke all bring us law and gospel – God's holy demands and God's mercy-filled, loving grace. We roughly can place the synoptics in the tradition of the first two parts of the Old Testament, Torah / Pentateuch and Prophets.

With its emphasis on God's ongoing presence and on the commandments, especially encapsulated with the charge to love, John's community offers ways to live faithfully and fruitfully with speech and action, rather than the articulation of law and gospel we find in the synoptics and in the apostle Paul's undisputed epistles. It emphasizes abiding and obeying; more than once John has been called the gospel of abiding presence.

The Revised Common Lectionary that provides our weekly scripture readings emphasizes in turn the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Every year it intersperses sections of John, but with Mark being shorter than Matthew or Luke, we get more John during Mark's [current] year B than during Matthew's year A, or Luke year C.

Today is the 29^the day of Easter, so we still can wish people "Happy Easter," yet as the church's year of grace eases into the Season of Pentecost, "Time of the Church," this scripture passage is from Jesus' farewell discourse on Maundy Thursday, after he washed the disciples' feet, before his death and resurrection.

Today we hear one of Jesus' I am declarations in which he places himself in the tradition of the Old Testament declarations from YHWH as I Am, as pure being. unmediated presence. Jesus lived and served in an agricultural, somewhat agrarian setting, so he used many images and parallels to farming practices in his talks and conversations. Today? Grapevines! Most Californians get the vineyard / grape / harvest concept. In addition, grape vines are one of the seven forms of produce God promises the people will find in the promised land. We find that people of God as branches of the vine in the Old Testament scriptures, too.

In this trinitarian passage, Jesus brings us God the Father as vine planter and grower, Jesus the Son as the vine itself, the people of God in the power of the Holy Spirit as branches of the vine, Jesus charges us to abide in him in order to bear fruit. How do we abide? By obeying, by keeping the commandments, especially the commandment to love God, neighbor, and self.

Do we always abide in Jesus, or do we sometimes abide in church traditions, practices, customs, habits? That can be a tough discernment, because as people of history and people with histories, we need to stay connected and in continuity with our own individual pasts, with the histories and practices of the communities and groups we belong to.

But what do we make most important? For a major example, Jesus commanded us to take, bless, break, and give bread, bless and share the cup of the fruit of the vine(!), and baptize. But do we insist on a particular type of bread, brand of wine or grape juice? Does the baptismal venue need to be the same every time?

For other instances, can the format for typing out minutes from a meeting vary? What about flower varieties at Easter? Some churches no longer use lilies because of human allergies and because of toxicity to pets that can be a major problem if people take their lilies home with them after services. Does Strawberry Festival always need to be on the Second Sunday in June? Etc.

We briefly discussed how the lectionary pairs this vine and branches reflection with Acts 8:26-40 account of Philip, the Ethiopian eunuch, water, and baptism. I mentioned the importance of the question, "what is to prevent," and also remarked that two millennia later, we'd have concerns about suddenly popping up with what appears to be an unauthorized sacrament. Pastor Peg observed that for us as branches of Jesus the Vine, as we abide in our baptisms, the Holy Spirit gives us water and other necessary nutrients. She observed how different trees (other plants, too), take in water in different ways.

Earth Day 2018

Earth Day 2018 :: Leave Only Footprints
#EndPlasticPollution

Romans 8:19-21

Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God … in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For Sunday School / Adult Forum on Easter 4 – Good Shepherd Sunday – we went off-lectionary because it was Earth Day 48! Our focus scripture was from Romans 8 that many times I've interpreted as when we claim the fullness of our divine nature and image, we'll steward creation more carefully and help restore, revitalize, and resurrect aspects of creation that are less than fully alive.

I'd asked everyone to bring an earth-related idea, dream, incident, or experience. For my contribution, I arranged a separate edition smaller (than my bigger) notebook portfolio with only Earth Day and Season of Creation-related design and briefly explained each piece in a show and tell presentation. You can see versions of most of them on my main theology blog: Earth Day Art and Design.

Easter 3B

Luke 24:36b-48

³⁶While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." ³⁷They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. ³⁸He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." ⁴⁰And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

⁴¹While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, [and of a honeycomb] ⁴³and he took it and ate in their presence.

⁴⁴Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.

Easter is 50 days, a week of weeks, 7 times 7. The third Sunday of Easter is the fifteenth day of the fifty days of Easter! The day of Pentecost is the 50^th day of Easter.

Over the past few months we've experienced and discussed the examples, actions, instructions, and counsel Jesus gave his followers during his earthly ministry. But during the forty days (more or less) after his resurrection he needed to show them more; they still needed to learn how to be, to act, to serve, to be Jesus' crucified and risen presence. So for those approximately forty days he again walked the earth in a fully human body that showed scars from his crucifixion, in a similar way to how we serve and act as Jesus' presence on earth. Remember, we've been baptized into Jesus' death and resurrection; in baptism we've already received our first death and second birth.

Today's reading from (almost) the end of Luke's gospel again demonstrates Jesus' full humanity with the restoration of his physical body, though clearly it now has another dimension—we have accounts of Jesus' suddenly simply appearing in ways that weren't possible before his death and resurrection. Among other things, today's reading includes Jesus' second Last Supper. Most English bibles translate verse 43 to say Jesus took the fish and ate it in their presence, but more recent scholarship says they all ate the fish together. This sums up well Luke's emphasis on table fellowship throughout his gospel; people have observed Jesus always seems to be going to a meal, feasting at a meal, or coming from a meal in Luke!

This year's lectionary doesn't include the Emmaus Road account from immediately before this in Luke, but there and in today's lection Jesus again interprets scripture. As Christians, we read all scripture (both Hebrew Bible /Old Testament and New Covenant /New Testament) through the lens of Jesus' birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

Although it's not an ultra-major concern, Luke's ongoing emphasis and this reading's confirmation of Jesus' full humanity helps negate heresies of gnosticism (over-emphasizing the spiritual) and docetism (Jesus only appeared human).

As this year of grace continues through seasons of Easter and Pentecost, we'll hear many stories of resurrection, healing, and restoration. We can remember the risen Christ carried scars and evidence of the death he'd experienced. God gives us the Spirit of Resurrection as we continue our ministry as the presence of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. Not only do we ourselves as individuals (and as a community, too) already have quite a few scars; God particularly will call and enable us to help heal the earth. We've already discovered rivers, canyons, prairies, cities, and other aspects of natural and built environments can be revived and revitalized, but like Jesus and like us, they still will bear scars and other evidence of their pasts.

Next Sunday we'll be going off-lectionary to celebrate Earth Day 2018—the 48^th, so two years from now will make fifty years of Earth Days! Let's all bring a story, a picture, a hope, or a dream related to Earth, its waterways, or critters, the sky, any aspect of creation. Every year I design for Earth Day, so I'm planning a presentation of my art and design for the past dozen earth days.

Easter 2B

Acts 4:32-35

³²Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. ³³With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. ³⁵They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

The second Sunday of Easter concludes Bright Week. For a long time the church has celebrated especially important festivals in octaves of eight days—same as an 8-note octave in music.

Easter is 50 Days – 7 x 7, a week of weeks. The Day of Pentecost is the 50th day of Easter.

Every year on Easter 2, we hear the account of Jesus bestowing the Holy Spirit on Easter evening from John 20:19-31.

Although Jesus taught, demonstrated God's presence, and provided other evidence of the Reign of Heaven (Kingdom of God, sovereignty of God, etc.) during his earthly ministry, he still needed to show and teach and tell his followers more, because during that first part of his earthly ministry he hadn't yet been killed by imperial forces and raised from the dead. The approximately forty days between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension are especially important for us because Jesus calls and in the power of the HS enables us to be his crucified and risen presence in the world after his ascension. Jesus doesn't ask us to do anything he hasn't already done!

We need to keep in mind that we have written scriptures that include the four canonical gospels. However, those books within the big book of the bible didn't get written down until decades after Jesus, so his disciples' scriptures still were what we refer to as the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. People were in process of writing down stories and accounts of Jesus' ministry. The communities and individuals that brought us the four gospels drew upon scrolls or sources in compiling their accounts. Those writings partly came from the dynamic, fluid, oral tradition with its narratives that typically changed and morphed some in order to fit a particular context. Rather than being the kind of rote recitation we aim for when we memorize poetry (or a passage of scripture!) everyone told, retold, interpreted, literally incarnated and embodied Jesus in and for particular communities, times, and places.

Acts 1

⁶When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
⁷And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
⁸But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The Revised Common Lectionary that gives us our scripture readings assigns portions of the Acts of the Apostles during these Sundays of Easter, showing the style and substance of the post-resurrection, post-pentecost church. The approximately forty days between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension are especially important for us because Jesus calls and in the power of the HS enables us to be his crucified and risen presence in the world after his ascension. Jesus doesn't ask us to do anything he hasn't already done!

Lent 4B

Ephesians 2:1-10

¹You were dead through the trespasses and sins ²in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. ³All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. ⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us ⁵even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ –by grace you have been saved– ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God– ⁹not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

We're still in the slowed down forty days and forty nights of Lent that emphasizes repentance, walking with Jesus to the cross and to Easter, as we spring clean every aspect of our lives. Decluttering! Lent is an old word for the season of spring; the music tempo lento means slow. The fourth Sunday in Lent takes a short break from the overall penitential feeling as the liturgical colors change from purple to rose or a deep pink. Sundays in Lent all have designations based on the traditional introits or entrance prayers of the liturgy; Lent 4 is Laetare or "rejoice," from Rejoice, O Jerusalem."

On Lent 1 we considered God's covenant with Noah; for Lent 2, God's covenant with Abram/Abraham. Last week on Lent 3, we reflected on the Ten Commandments or Sinai Covenant God gave us through Moses.

The second reading for today is from the epistle to the Church at Ephesus. Despite the header that denotes the Apostle Paul as author, he almost definitely didn't write Ephesians. Back in those days, attributing your writing to a teacher or friend or someone else you admired was commonplace and not considered wrong in the least; in fact, it complimented the person you designated as author. Although the theology of Ephesians generally piggybacks on Paul's undisputed letters, some of the vocabulary and sentence structure is quite un-Pauline. However, in alignment with the epistles to the churches at Rome, Philippi, Galatia, etc. the insistence on our already being redeemed by God's grace at no cost to us makes Ephesians very Pauline and extremely Reformation central.

In the wake of considering specific biblical covenants on Lent 1, 2, and 3, today's Ephesians passage logically develops from God freely coming together in grace-filled covenant or agreement with humanity and with all creation.

I hadn't done any serious research on the Ephesus situation, mentioned I only knew the city was a commercial crossroads (like literally every prominent city then and now) and had a temple to the goddess Diana; Barbara filled in by telling us Diana was the main deity out of thousands! We went online and discovered Ephesus is part of present-day Turkey.

The Greek text starts out by acknowledging we were dead. Throughout this selection, "dead" is nekros, where we get words like necrology, necromancer, necrologist. All the explanations related to "in which you once lived" "once lived among them" aren't zoë or life (the name Zoë means life); they're peripatetic, going about our daily walk, our routine, our generic lifestyles. However, in 2:5 in a word that contains the zoë / life root, God makes us alive, quickens us (you may know the version of the Apostles Creed that talks about "the quick and the dead" rather than "the living and the dead"?); in 2:6 God resurrects us and seats us together with Jesus Christ.

In this entire passage from Ephesians, all the words about God's activity are grace and gift. With its emphasis on salvation and the Savior as gifts of grace, this text is strongly Reformation Central, yet it concludes by reminding us God has created us to do good works that are the result of his graciously choosing us and saving us. God even already prepared those good works that help transform the world to be our way of life, our daily walking about – peripatetic – routine, our lifestyle. Theologian of grace Martin Luther insisted he loved good works so much he'd like to be called the Doctor of Good Works!

Lent 3B

Exodus 20:1-5a, 7-17

¹Then God spoke all these words: ²I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; ³you shall have no other gods before me.
⁴You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; …

⁷You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

⁸Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work. ¹⁰But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

¹²Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³You shall not murder.
¹⁴You shall not commit adultery.
¹⁵You shall not steal.
¹⁶You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
¹⁷You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

We're continuing in Lent as the days lengthen into Spring. Time to slow down to the music tempo Lento that means slow, and in many cases as Sara suggested, to ultra-slow Lentissimo. Lent features the liturgical color purple that denotes repentance; besides slowly becoming aware of our failing to miss the mark and slowly resolving to better obedience, better service to others, during Lent we remain very conscious of living in grace, of receiving life as gift.


Covenant

For the third Sunday in but not of Lent the lectionary brings us another covenant (on Lent 1 and Lent 2 we discussed the readings from Mark's gospel).

Lent 1: Genesis 9:8-17 – God's covenant with Noah

Lent 2: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 – God's covenant with Abram / Abraham

Lent 3: Exodus 20:1-5, 7-17 – Sinai covenant, also known as The Ten Commandments

Covenant comes from co and venire – a coming together agreement. The bible is full of covenants between God and creation, though just how many is up for dispute. All biblical covenants are covenants of grace; in many ways creation itself is a covenant. Although we know about the triune interrelationship of the Trinity / Godhead, God has such passion for giving, for relationship, for grace, creation is like James Weldon Johnson's poem that begins, "And God stepped out on space, and he looked around and said: 'I'm lonely—I'll make me a world.'"

As Christians we live baptized. Baptism is a sacrament that's also a covenant between God and the person being baptized and the assembly that agrees – or covenants – to support the newly baptized in their walk by faith. Christian marriage is a covenant.

Let's look at the historical setting of the Sinai Covenant / Ten Words (decalogue) or Commandments. We're in the book of Exodus, which means "departure," in this case departing from slavery in imperial Egypt. After a series of devastating plagues that apparently came from the god of the Israelites (there needs to be cause and effect, correct?)…


Chronology

• Exodus 12: the Egyptian Pharaoh finally tells Moses, "Take all your people and get out of here right now."
• Exodus 13: celebrating Passover; God leads the people by going before them in a cloud by day, fire by night.
• Exodus 14: Israelites cross the Red Sea on dry ground.
• Exodus 15: Song of Moses; Song and dance of Miriam
• They arrive in the Desert of Shur. A fresh tree branch sweetens the bitter waters at Marah – nature healing nature.
• Then to Elim with its 12 springs and 70 palms.
• Exodus 16: another desert / wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Sinai.
• Bread from heaven, quails from the sky. Manna = "what is it!" probably coriander/cilantro seeds
...Sabbath-keeping
...Israel receives sustaining food as gift; then they know God is Lord.
• Exodus 17: another desert – Rephidim. God provides water from the rock for the thirsty people, "that the people may drink."
• Exodus 18: choosing elders / judges to help Moses
• Exodus 19: three months out of Egypt, Israel reaches the Sinai desert in the shadow of Mount Sinai.

Sabbath-keeping is a specific commandment, yet the Israelites already had been observing Sabbath during the three weeks before God formally gave them the Ten Commandments via Moses.


Immediate Setting for the Ten Commandments

Exodus 19: Moses consults with God, who tells the Israelites if they obey, they will be God's treasured possession (Hebrew segullah), a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. The baptismal hymn in 1 Peter 2:9 parallels this and describes us as a chosen generation, royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people. The people respond with, "We will do all the words the Lord has spoken." {Also in Exodus 24:3)

The desert became a place of trusting God for everything related to life. In the desert you can't plan or plant, administer or stockpile anything. You only can receive life as gift—similar to when we find ourselves in life's metaphorical or actual deserts.


Sinai Covenant / Ten Commandments / Exodus 20

God's ongoing presence and actions – maybe especially during the three weeks before they reached Sinai – set up Israel to trust God's supply, to convince them this was a God worthy of obedience, so the commandments became a gift of grace.

During Luke's lectionary year, we discussed neighborology, the word about the neighbor, about the other. We asked "And who is my neighbor" and considered Jesus' replying with the story of the Good Samaritan that's unique to Luke's gospel. This decalogue or set of ten commands is about living together in community, about receiving and giving life as gift, about considering and responding to the needs of our neighbor, the needs of the other.


We've observed that almost every time the Apostle Paul refers to law, he means ceremonial, ritual, sacrificial law and definitely not the commandments. However, when magisterial Reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin talked about the uses of the law, they meant the commandments. Their third use of the law is about the neighbor, about the other, about neighborology. The Ten Commandments literally are the working papers for life in covenantal community.

Exodus' commandments/ Sinai Covenant text begins by telling us "God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt..." therefore. This is a God worthy of trust, worth obeying.

Elsewhere in scripture we hear about ordinances, statutes, laws, counsels, ways, testimonies, precepts, commandments, paths, chart, guide, promises, commands, judgments, decrees. Pastor Eugene Peterson's Message version refers to course, map, road, road signs, directions, instructions, rules, revelations. You probably can find more words in other translations and versions.

God spoke the Ten Words - Commandments after Israel had enough experience with God's gracious provision to trust God, but before they reached the Promised Land where they'd begin a settled life together on the land, where they'd need to trust God and each other. In his Small and Large Catechisms, Martin Luther presents the commandments as the gifts of grace they are by telling us how not to break the commandments (what does each commandment forbid?) and how to keep the commandments (what does each commandments encourage?); the Shorter and Larger Westminster Catechisms do the same. So it's not only a matter of not breaking the commandments; it's even more about keeping the commandments.

Lent 2B

Mark 8:31-37

³¹Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

³⁴Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?

Today is the second Sunday in (but not of) Lent. Today's passage from Mark's gospel ends the first half of Mark's gospel. Maybe surprisingly, it comes before the Mark 9:2-9 Transfiguration account we studied two weeks ago. The peeps who assembled the Revised Common Lectionary that provides most of our scripture readings didn't include Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ that immediately precedes today's reading and that we'll hear next September 16 on Pentecost 17:

Mark 8:²⁷Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" ²⁸And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." ²⁹He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." ³⁰And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

As we discussed extensively last week, the word lent derives from days lengthening as we move toward spring in the northern hemisphere. Lent is a penitential time to repent of past misdeeds and turn around in the opposite direction to do better. Lent also is a time of awareness that we receive life as a gift of God's grace and mercy, and a time freely to offer grace, mercy, and life to others. Life as gift and not transaction.

Richard and Julie both mentioned being more thoughtful and intentional before saying anything to anyone; Pastor Peg explained Lent is like our personal spring cleaning time and if we don't slow down, we'll relocate the dust bunnies of various kinds instead of getting rid of them. Sara said she needs to do everything Lentissimo that's the extremely slow tempo designation in music.

Here Jesus talks to his disciples about the way of the cross, about paradoxically losing their lives in order to gain their lives. In verses 35, 36, 37 the word for life is the same as "psych" where we get a wide group of English words. It implies not only psychological and emotional, but every aspect of our being—similar to heart in Hebrew. It is not the Zoë life that brings us the familiar name Zoe.

During Revised Common Lectionary year C, Luke's year, we talked about neighborology, the word about the neighbor. During that year we heard a lot from the prophet Jeremiah with his concern for the neighbor, the other than us. In today's scripture Jesus essentially talks about giving up our own druthers and preferences to help take care of the needs of our neighbors.

For most of us, service to the neighbor begins where we find ourselves here and now. It's unlikely God will send us to spend a season with St. Teresa of Kolkata's peeps or on a mission of some kind to the people of Syria; it is for sure that God's calls us to thoughtful action and service in order to offer life as gift to those nearby us.

Today's scripture portion opens with Mark 8:31, sometimes referred to as Jesus' first passion prediction of three in Mark's gospel.

Lent 1B

Mark 1:9-15

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

¹²And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

¹⁴Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

The Church's year of grace has moved into the 40-day long season of Lent. "Lent" is an old word for springtime that refers to lengthening days and more daylight. The music tempo lento is a lengthening, slowing-down pace. Lent is one of the church's oldest observances that probably began not long after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension, although throughout the centuries lent has had different lengths ranging from a few days to our current practice of forty days minus Sundays. As our worship folder cover indicates, Sundays are In Lent but not of Lent, since every Sunday is a festival of resurrection.

Like 7, 40 is a famous biblical number. Moses spent 40 days of Mount Sinai; Elijah spent 40 days on Mount Horeb. (Probably different names for the same mountain.) Israel trekked through the exodus desert for 40 years. Jesus 40 days of being tempted in the wilderness.

Lenten practices and observances emphasize repentance – thus colors of purple and lavender – and baptism. Just as with baptism, the turning around, repentance aspect of Lent is one of daily walking and living bathed in grace. Traditionally Lent has been a time of preparation for baptism that historically happened during the Easter Vigil; it's also a time for those of us already baptized to remember how in grace God claims us, names us Christian, calls us to witness and service, and in the power of the Spirit sends us into the world to be the gospel, to live as good news to everyone everywhere we venture.

Every lectionary year (A, B, and C) the first Sunday in Lent features Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. The reading for Mark's year includes the account of Jesus' baptism we studied a few weeks ago. You probably remember Matthew and Luke both specify the exact temptations Jesus underwent; Mark doesn't. It's striking how we move from Jesus' baptism in the wilderness alongside the Jordan River to the Holy Spirit Jesus received in his baptism catapulting him out into a deeper, denser, level of wilderness.

After talking about the scripture text, we discussed some of our particular Lenten practices for this year and what we've done in previous years. Consensus was we need to slow down, be very thoughtful and intentional. As Pastor Peg observed, Lent is a kind of spring cleaning, and if you rush through the process you'll relocate all the dust and clutter rather than get rid of it.

Transfiguration B

Mark 9:2-9

²Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ⁶He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" ⁸Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

On this last Sunday in the season of Epiphany that's three days before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, Western Protestant churches celebrate the trinitarian feast of the Transfiguration. The Roman Catholic Church observes Transfiguration (T-Fig) on the second Sunday in Lent; Eastern Churches celebrate Transfiguration during August as an octave or 8-days long festival; it's that theologically important to them!

Jesus' baptism by John with its trinitarian theophany or revelation and Jesus' transfiguration with its trinitarian theophany bookend the Epiphany season. The declarative voice at Jesus' baptism speaks to Jesus, "You are my beloved son." The voice at T-Fig announces to everyone, "This is my beloved son."

"Six days later" happens after Jesus [in Mark 8] reminds his disciples about his feeding the crowd with a few loaves and fishes, after he heals a blind man at Bethsaida, after Peter's confession of Jesus as Messiah, after Jesus' talk about denying oneself, taking up a cross, and following him. Mark 9 opens with Jesus telling them some people in his midst will not taste death (still will be alive) before they see God's reign arriving in power. Death and resurrection!

All three synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – include similar accounts of Jesus transfigured on the mountaintop. The scripture passage is packed full of symbolism.

In judaism, mountains were places of divine revelation; examples include Moses on Mount Sinai [Exodus 20:1-17], Elijah on Mount Carmel [1 Kings 19:12]. Pastor Peg and Charlene told us Mount Tabor is the traditional site of the Transfiguration, though scripture doesn't cite a place. Related to mountains of God's self-revelation, the NT brings us Jesus' Sermon on the Mount; God's ultimate self-revelation in the cross of Mount Calvary.

Transfiguration in the Greek text is the familiar to us metamorphosis. The light show on the T-Fig mountain continues the epiphany theme of light as an aspect of God's revelation. Jesus appears with Moses and Elijah – the law and the prophets – yet ultimately we need to listen to Jesus, not to his antecedents.

Elijah represents or symbolizes the prophets; Moses the law. In Jesus we encounter the fulfillment and the embodiment of the law and the prophets. Three dwellings, small houses, tabernacles, refers to Succoth, the Jewish liturgical festival of booths that commemorates the exodus desert wanderings. Word here for dwelling is the same word John's gospel uses for Jesus dwelling amount us, "pitching a tent" a portable structure, as The Message expresses it. The tent or booth is open to the natural elements and it also shelters inhabitants from the elements. Peter was correct about Jesus' bringing a new exodus, a new liberation. The Hebrew scriptures feature the cloud of the shekinah, of God's presence. Today's lectionary passage ends with another instance of Mark's messianic secret: tell no one what you've seen and hear until Jesus (the son of man, the human one) has risen from the dead—until Easter, which is especially ironic since original versions of Mark's gospel don't include a resurrection account.

There are many possible interpretations of this passage. Let's move beyond the truth that you can't stay at the party forever, you can't remain on the mountaintop, engrossed in deep conversation (or whatever your pleasure) because you need to get back to real life, return to the daily walk of the public witness. Let's move beyond the fact you can't contain God, put God in a box, beyond the truth the God of the bible is not a place god for a particular location.

Ash Wednesday starts the 6-week long season of Lent. "Lent" comes from a word for the season of spring and refers to days lengthening. This is similar to the music tempo "lento" or slow.

One more thing! On Transfiguration we bury the alleluia because we don't sing or pray "alleluias" during the penitential seasons of Lent.

Epiphany 5B

Mark 1:29-39

²⁹As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. ³¹He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. ³²That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. ³³And the whole city was gathered around the door. ³⁴And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

³⁵In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. ³⁶And Simon and his companions hunted for him. ³⁷ When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." ³⁸He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." ³⁹And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

We're still in the liturgical season of Epiphany in the church's year of grace that began a couple months ago with Advent. Epiphany (revealing, revelation. manifestation) emphasizes the universalism of Jesus as redeemer, savior, sovereign for all people and all creation everywhere—not solely for his own ethnicity, nation, and geography. Epiphany features light! We know how far into the dark a tiny candle shines. Scripture readings for epiphany also include call stories that relate to God's calling people who lived long before us, and relate directly to places and ministries God calls us to shine as light in our own worlds.

Next Sunday the season of Epiphany concludes with the Feast of the Transfiguration. On Transfiguration (T-Fig) we experience a theophany, or trinitarian revelation. Earlier in the season at Jesus' baptism we also had a theophany of the triune God. That pair of manifestations of the Trinity basically bookend the epiphany season. Lent, the season of lengthening, longer days that initiates spring in the northern hemisphere) follows epiphany. Lent begins in ten days on February 14, Valentine's Day.

I asked Steve and Charlene to note highlights of the Gospel According to Mark from the intro to the gospel in their study bibles. Today's assigned text brings us a pair of Mark's ongoing emphases: resurrection and service. In 13 verses, we get a tremendous amount of action, several changes of scene. I asked Richard (who's a member of the Motion Picture Academy, grew up in the field and is an expert on most things film-related) if this would make into a 90-minute movie; he replied it would be two hours long. Mark uses the word for "raised up" we find in 1:31 sixteen times in his gospel; it means resurrection to new life. In fact, the theme of resurrection from death pervades both Old and New Testament.

Service is the second prominent biblical current in this particular passage. Diakonia / deacon and related nouns and verbs make a pathway through the entire New Testament; this includes Jesus' declaration he is among us as "one who serves." In today's text, Jesus raises Simon Peter's MIL to new life so she'll be able to serve again. Pastor Peg mentioned some very cool interpretations of this in her sermon! From the Acts of the Apostles, we learn the early church first ordained (laid hands upon and prayed over to authorize for a particular ministry) deacons or servants.

Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7

¹Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. ²And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, ⁴while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word."

⁵What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. ⁶They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. ⁷The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Deacons daily model Jesus's act of foot washing – towel and basin ministry – that many churches demonstrate during their Maundy Thursday worship. The church didn't first ordain Ministers of Word and Sacrament that we tend to think of as the church's primary "ministers"! Created in the image of God and called to lives of neighbor-oriented service as God acts, the servant class or group or tribe of deacons historically has had a world-facing, world-serving call. To the world the church is supposed to look like people called to serve. Of course, that includes Ministers of Word and Sacrament or pastors when they're out in the world, too, although the Minister of Word and Sacrament's primary stance is facing the church.

Stay tuned for next week's Transfiguration!

Epiphany 4B

Mark 1:21-28

²¹They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. ²²They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." ²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" ²⁶And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." ²⁸At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

We're still in the liturgical season of Epiphany and counting Sundays according to the Feast of Epiphany that's 06 January every year (we celebrated on the closest Sunday 07 January). Epiphany especially reveals Jesus as light for all people and all creation everywhere—not only for ethnic, religious, and geographical people like him! Scripture readings bring us images of light and also a series of call stories that remind us of God's call to everyone to live as light to the world. During this entire year of grace that opened with the First Sunday of Advent on the first Sunday of December (Sunday closest to St. Andrew's Day on 30 November), our gospel readings mostly come from Mark's Gospel; today we hear about Jesus' first act of public ministry. He's in the synagogue after calling Simon (Peter), Andrew, James and John, which happened after John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the River Jordan. We find a contrast between the Holy Spirit of God and an Unclean Spirit Jesus casts out of the guy in the synagogue. Countless interpretations of the unclean spirit have been suggested and insisted upon.

I mentioned how each of the four gospels brings us different stories and a different overall view of Jesus—even the synoptic gospel Matthew, Mark, and Luke with their basic "one eye" overview also have marked distinctions. Our major discussion for Epiphany 4 was what each of us would choose for our gospel account: particular stories, parables, events? Since I sprung the idea and hadn't even considered my own response, I plan to talk more about it on Epiphany 5.

Epiphany 3B

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

¹The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ²"Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." ³So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across. ⁴Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"

⁵And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

¹⁰When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Jonah!!!

The church's relatively new year of grace still is in the season of Epiphany that emphasizes God as God for all people and all creation, Jesus as savior and redeemer for all the world, not only the Jewish people. Scripture readings for epiphany emphasize a far-reaching universal salvation; they include several call narratives—God calling all of us to be light to the world, especially the world that immediately surrounds us. Last week we celebrated the Baptism of Jesus that's a call – and identity – narrative, just as our baptisms are.

The Revised Common Lectionary that chooses our scripture readings brings us a chunk of Jonah only once in the 3-year cycle, and it's more of a very small sliver than a substantial chunk. Let's do a quick summary of the entire book of Jonah today. Jonah is about God calling Jonah to a particular task more than once; Jonah is about God's love for the brutal Assyrian empire that's an enemy of Jonah's people. Who are our brutal enemies? Do we want to tell them about and show them them God's infinite, expansive love and mercy?

Maybe you know about what we sometimes refer to as types or icons of Jesus Christ in scripture? For example, Moses as liberator and law-giver is a type of Christ. David is a type of Christ as ruler or sovereign. Adam, the first human is an icon of Jesus Christ, the new human. Jonah spent 3 days and 3 night in the belly of the great fish, just as Jesus spent 3 days and 3 nights buried in the ground. Beside God call to Jonah and God's love for all people and all creation, something else we find in Jonah? Death and resurrection! BTW, Middle-eastern culture considers a day or a part of a day an entire day. Also, semitic languages have no word for "some, a few, or several," so they use the expedient "three."

Over the past two plus years, we've studied many (many) passages from the apostle Paul. For Paul, the gospel is death and resurrection! For us as well, the good news of the gospel is our dying in every way possible, God raising us to every possible kind of new life. I asked Steve W to read short passages from Matthew and Luke along with the commentary in his study bible.

Matthew 12

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." ³⁹But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!"

Matthew 16

¹The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ²He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' ³And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. ⁴An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." Then he left them and went away.

Luke 11

²⁹When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation."

Long ago I learned a Vacation Bible School song about Jonah by the late (as in deceased) pastor Ewald Bash.

Jonah

1. We sail a ship with a man named Jonah... early in the morning.
2. Lord, our God, have mercy on us, ... early in the morning.
3. Fall on your knees, for the sea is raging ... early in the morning.
4. Who is the guilty one among us?...
5 Cast the lot, and the number's Jonah ...
6. Row, men, row to save this Jonah! ...
7. O Lord God, we've got to drown him ...
8. Done, and the sea has ceased its raging ...
9. Lord, send a fish and a resurrection ...
10. What shall we do when the world is drowning?...
13. Lord, send a fish and a resurrection ...
12. Lord, our God, have mercy on us, ...

I mentioned how in the early days of Christianity if someone wondered if their conversation partner was Christian or not, they'd casually draw half of a simple fish in the sand with their foot; if the other person was Christian they'd complete the fish figure from their side—if not, nothing subversive had been revealed. They did this because the Greek word for fish spells out the first letter of each word in the phrase, "Jesus Christ God's Son Savior." (Ichthyology is the study of fish.) It's a bit crazy that when I finally looked at our Sunday bulletin, beyond ascertaining it included the text I planned to discuss, it mentioned this Fish Fact! Cool!

Baptism of Jesus B

Mark 1:4-11

⁴John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. ⁸I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

This week for the baptism of Jesus, we continue in the gospel according to Mark—the short, direct, energetic account for texters and tweeters.

We're still in the liturgical season of Epiphany. Last week we discussed the "epi" (upon) and "phan" {revealing, revelation) roots of the the word. The feast and the season of epiphany specifically brings us the revelation of Jesus as savior and lord for all the world. On the Day of Epiphany (or the nearest Sunday, as we observed Epiphany last week), we hear about the wise guys, star gazers, astrologers, Zoroastrians, foreigners to Israel (etc.) from the east visiting Jesus. That event has become an icon of God's gracious universalism that in Jesus Christ redeems all people and all creation. We know how a special star guided the magi from their country to Jesus; then we discussed choosing a star word, or a word to guide us through this year, which several of us did.

Today for Jesus' baptism by his cousin John the Baptist, we experience a trinitarian theophany, or revelation of the trinity: the voice of God the Father; the presence of Jesus God the Son; the familiar dove symbol or icon of God the Holy Spirit / Holy Ghost. Mark 1:10 brings us the heavens torn apart with a word that means a rip or rupture that can't be mended. I asked Steve W to read from Mark 15 in his study bible along with the commentary:

³⁷Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ³⁹Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was God's Son!"

This "tear, tore, torn" is the same word for an irreparable rupture or break. I explained how important the temple imagery is; Israel built the Jerusalem temple modeled after temples of other religions because they wanted a contained place where God (actually the name of God that in Hebrew Bible theology is God's presence, identity, etc.) could reside and be kept safe. HIstorically, only the high priest had access to the central chamber of the temple, the Holy of Holies, and only one day each year, the Day of Atonement. Tearing or ripping wide apart the temple veil or curtain that separate the holy of holies from the rest of the world revealed the reality of a God of all, God for all, who cannot be limited or contained anywhere. Another revelation of God's universal salvation and redemption of all creation.

Epiphany 2018

Isaiah 60:1-6

¹Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. ²For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. ³Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. ⁴Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms.

⁵Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. ⁶A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

epiphany, epiphanies, darkness, light, stars star words

Let's start by looking at the word epiphany:

epi – upon

episode / epistle / epiclesis / epistle / epistemology / epigraph / epigram / epiphany

phan / fan – appearance, revelation, showing, manifestation, etc.

tiffany / theophany / fantasy / fancy / epiphany / phantom / phenomenon

I mentioned a fan that gives us a breeze isn't from the same root. Steve asked about fanatic, and I promised to check it out—but I'm posting this blog before researching fanatic.

The early church numbered Sundays according to Epiphany, Easter, and the Day of Pentecost. Epiphany was a huge deal!

Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany that emphasizes Jesus as savior to all nations, a light to all the world. Technically Epiphany is the twelfth day of Christmas, but that was yesterday, so we're having thirteenth night rather than twelfth night. Epiphany is Three Kings Day, when we remember magi (astrologers, wise guys, stargazers) visiting Jesus from an country east of Judea. Scripture doesn't tell us how many there were, but they brought three gifts, so tradition again sings about and talks about three kings. Their religion probably was Zoroastrianism. Today's passages from 3rd Isaiah and from Matthew both emphasize east, dawn, rising, light. As you know, it takes only a tiny amount of light to begin transforming darkness; only a small candle or flashlight literally to light our way, at least to the next step or two we need to take. I mentioned the city of Tucson is an official International Dark Sky Place that forbids businesses and buildings to emit more than a limited amount of artificial illumination—a formally protected nightscape. Being able to see that many stars within the city limits is astonishing! Pastor Peg mentioned a stargazing area outside Holden Village that's famous for blankets of stars covering the sky.

Immediately after God speaks through a dream to the rulers from the east, Matthew's gospel brings us another of Joseph's dreams, telling him to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt.

On the festival of light that's Epiphany, a new tradition has started of choosing star words to guide us for the calendar year. You can ask someone else to choose your word; you can look over the past year and at your current situation and in the Spirit decide on an emphasis to guide you the way a star led the magi. Particularly throughout scripture (and in the world of design, as well), we know word holds source (origins / beginnings), and immanence (future /possibilities). That's also the case with our star words.