...from far away

Occasionally a former parishioner drops a note to keep us updated on their spiritual adventures. A lovely note came this week from someone now over 2,000 miles away who was moved to pray for us who are around the seats of power near our nation's capital.


"In the midst of home as we now know it, one week ago today, we were led to rise an hour earlier than normal for the sole purpose of praying for our nation.  We know you feel the unsettling nature of the transpiration of events on the national level much more intently, being in the thick of the battle out there. Somehow through this new practice, our hearts and souls have become reconnected to our National Capital; the place we both called home for more than 30 years. On this critical day, February 8, still on the cusp of a possible second shutdown, we find ourselves – mostly – thinking of you all.  Many faces crop to mind, both those still amongst us and those who have gone on to the other side awaiting us with joyful hearts."


If you are moved to pray about the State of the Union, you are in good company. Even as Jesus was moved to weep over Jerusalem, those who see injustices up close, even in the halls of power, can pray for hearts to be moved with wisdom. Keep praying...and ...

Just drop the blanket, Linus.

After preaching this morning on the story from Luke about the angels announcing the birth of Jesus to shepherds--you know it from Luke!-- I ran across this reference to "A Charlie Brown Christmas" from 2015. While watching that TV show, I was always amazed that a child--Linus, in this case, could recite scripture from memory. Some willing suspension of disbelief here. After all, it's "Peanuts."
Three years ago was the 50th anniversary of that Christmas TV classic. In one of many good commentaries on the show, Pastor Jason Sarokski noticed a visual cue that Charles Schultz had used to display a Christian truth. The animator had Linus drop his beloved blue blanket while he was reciting that story from Luke. The truth, from history and from the mouth of a child, is that God's coming to earth enables us to let go of the fake comfort, and embrace the radical truth of the story:
Like the hymn says...
Our hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood (death, for those of squeamish sensibility) and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Who needs blankets. 

Bible in a Year Homestretch

At the beginning of January, I took up a reading schedule that has me reading the whole of the biblical text by the end of 2018. A few years ago our little church had a push to read the whole bible in 90 days! This is a little bit slower.
What's been different this time through? A little more awareness for me of the vast spiritual landscape that is contained within scripture, and a little more sadness that more people don't have access to this wonder. I keep motivated by having a 'checklist' which gives me satisfaction when I see what's been accomplished in the 'to do' list. I wonder what's being accomplished in me. Is God looking at God's own checklist, to see my soul progress? This pilgrim feels like God is accomplishing something for my soul.
In a few weeks, it will be done. Then what is God going to do next?

July-Good inside reading weather

July starts out hot and muggy, perfect weather for indoors reading. If you're following the schedule with "the little church with a big mission" you'll be handed an opportunity to catch up.
We'll finish the Gospel of Luke, FINALLY finish the book of Psalms, tackle the little NT letters of Collosians and 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and complete 1 & 2 Chronicles.

Some questions to wonder about while you're reading:
1. You may notice that 1 & 2 Chronicles are a retelling of the history of the Kings (1&2). Why did our faith ancestors want to keep both the Kings and Chronicles in the bible, since they repeat many of the same events? That's a fair question. We sometimes ask the same question about the four gospels. Of what advantage to us is this diversity, and what, exactly is this diversity/difference between the Kings and the Chronicles?
2. Of the three NT letters for this month, only 1 Thessalonians is an 'undisputed' letter of Paul. The other two claim Pauline authority, and also include Timothy. What is at stake in understanding who wrote these letters?
3. Ending the Book of Psalms is a magnificent praise psalm, number 150, which has been set to modern music a number of times. Now that you've finished the book, can you imagine why our protestant ancestors used it as their only hymnbook?
4. I have asked us to reflect on each writing in the bible as being composed for a purpose. How can we imagine those writings being used? In what settings were they read or heard? The Gospel of Luke has sometimes been described as an "irenic" (peaceful) gospel, that is, written to propose that the followers of Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles, could have continued fellowship in their religious expressions in the synagogues. The split between Christians and Jews happened at some period, but it's hard to know the exact circumstances. Some point to the Council of Jamnia inserting a curse on Christians into the daily synagogue prayer, although that's disputed. How is Luke a gospel proposing peace?

Keep asking questions. Matthew 7:7-8 ^"‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. "

"Take and Read"--an invitation to the summer book club

If you are reading along the bible in a year schedule, you'll notice the four tracks that happen this month:
1. the gospel of Luke
2  two of the Pauline letters--Ephesians and Philippians
3. a look at a special Psalm--#119
4. the OT stories about the Kings (books 1 & 2) who succeeded King David, whose stories we read in 1 & 2 Samuel.
It's a lot to take in, but take heart! I want to continue to encourage your reading by promoting a 'summer book club' for June/July/August where those who feel led can meet in person on Sunday mornings for the book club discussion at 10am at Church of the Covenant. It's hard to do bible reading by yourself. I've always found that reading with a club enhances the experience. There are always people who see new things in scripture and whose experience can speak to my understanding. Last Sunday we touched on the experience of St. Augustine, whose life was transformed when he heard an invitation to 'take and read' the letter of Paul to the Romans as a young man. [See Augustine's Confessions, Book 8, Chap 12] Coffee will be served.

Mark's Gospel

If you are reading the bible in a year with LCWABM ("little church with a big mission"), you are finishing the Gospel of Mark during May, ticking off those reading boxes as we make our way through the scripture. Being "methodical" is not the only way to appreciate the scope and power of the Gospels. Another way to appreciate the bible is to read it with mystics and poets. Macolm Guite is such. His blog post St. Marks Day included a sonnet and commentary about the evangelist represented by the lion.
The four evangelists--Matthew, Mark, Luke and John--are represented in our sanctuary by the four medallions behind the pulpit.

Being Methodical in May!

When the whole world is turning pink, it's hard to concentrate on the sedentary practice of reading. I want to be outside, enjoying the weather. Spring has finally come. How can I keep up the motivation?
But she persisted!
I am a person motivated by methodology. When I can break up an assignments into smaller parts, and tick off a list of each task done, I can move through a long project with gusto. In fact, the physical action of checking off boxes actually motivates me to keep going. Do you have a similar way of rewarding yourself with accomplishment? Take advantage of knowing your motivational way and you'll be able to follow through on many projects. I like the method we've chosen to read the bible in a year, because it moves in 4 separate tracks: 1) the gospels, 2) the letters and other writings of the NT, 3) the wisdom literature of the OT and 4) the rest of the OT grouped by history and and prophets. It seems to me that the emphasis on the gospels being our primary biblical writings is the right one.
In May, the Bible-in-a-year readers move into the second half of the Gospel of Mark, keep moving through the letters of Paul in the NT by looking at 2 Corinthians and Galatians, and also tackle the history of the early kingdom of Israel by the book of Samuel, conveniently divided for us into parts 1 and 2 by the Greek translators of the Hebrew text in the version known as the Septuagint.
As we saw in Joshua and Judges, the books of 1 & 2 Samuel, and later 1 & 2 Kings, will continue a particular point of view--that of a theoretical Deuteronomic historian. The story keeps asking the question "What is God doing in our history that forms us as a people?" Are kings good or bad? It depends. We can ask why the Jews considered it important to preserve this point of view in their history.  The Book of Samuel is a theological evaluation of kingship in general and of dynastic kingship and King David in particular, the most celebrated King in all of Israel's history. The Kingdom of David lasted barely 40 years, but it became the touchstone of all history of the Jews. The main themes of the book are introduced in the opening poem (the "Song of Hannah"): (1), the sovereignty of Yahweh, God of Israel; (2), the reversal of human fortunes; and (3), kingship. These themes are played out in the stories of the three main characters, Samuel, Saul and David.
By reading the ending of the Gospel of Mark this month we have an opportunity to discuss the way in which early Christians encountered teachers and disciples. How did the church keep going after the death of all the earthly witnesses of Jesus?
The letter writing Paul is certainly part of the answer. His letter(s) to the church at Corinth and to the Galatians keep being relevant to gatherings of Christians today. Even as our electronic age makes the art of letter writing less and less practiced, more and more people have access to literature and literacy than ever before. How are we curating the collection of letters today? Paul's letters themselves are an amazing testament to the story of Jesus.
Finally, this month, we'll get all the way up to Psalm 118 in the Wisdom literature track. Keep singing! And yes, it's ok to read outside.