Grounded and Rooted in Love

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 28), Year B

1 Samuel 1:4-20

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25 

Mark 13:1-8

 

From where does authority come?  What power does authority possess?  Are their indicators of authority?

 

In the readings this week, we see a number of different approaches to God -- through various chanels of perceived authority.  It just has us wondering how we shape our approach to God based on how we understand the authority of God and of others who claim authority related to God.  Is God found in a specific place, or is our approach more likely to be noted and get results in a certain place?  Are there people through whom our petitions move faster and with greater urgency?  Hmmm.  And what authority do we have and from where does it come? Our actions, our station in life, our faith?

 

This week, we have an extended reading from 1 Samuel.  The first tells a story somewhat familiar in Hebrew scripture.  Hannah is the second wife to Elkanah, and she has not been able to conceive.  She enters the temple and offers her prayers, and she commits that if the Lord will bless her with a son, he will be raised in the purest ways and prepared for service to God.  (Specifically, Hannah commits to raising her son as a nazarite, see Numbers 6:8).  Eli, the priest in the Temple at the time, observes Hannah's troubled behavior and accuses her of being drunk.  But Hannah doesn't back down, she explains her petition to Eli.  And his response is promising.  He assures her that the Lord will hear and grant her petition.  Now, Hannah chose to go to the Lord in prayer, and it seems odd that it was Eli that responded...but Hagar's story about praying for Ishmael's safety in the wilderness is similar - the Lord responds to the child, not to Hagar.  This is a time and place where women have little authority, and their direct approach was met with indirect response.  Now this promised son is Samuel, who will be last judge in the era of Judges among the Israelites. Judges represented the various tribes in a loose confederacy that was Israel at the time.  Samuel will also annoint the first two Kings - heralding a central strong authority among all of the tribes, and Kings are something promised by God way, way back in the journey to the promised land.  As a prophet, he heralds a new era of authority among the Isralites.  In some ways, the Lord's response is not specifically to Hannah, but to the Israelites as a whole. God's hand is very directly involved in the new direction of authority on the ground - or is it?

 

Instead of a selection from the book of Psalms, the next reading is a continuation from 1 Samuel, Hannah's song of praise in response to the good news she receives.  And she isn't just praising God for her own good fortune.  Her psalm of praise is full of signs of the Lord's righteousness.  And she offers it with such joy and passion.  Now she didn't go back to Eli to thank him, or to ask him to offer thanks on her behalf...she again goes right to God in prayer.  She is full of hope - and it is as if she sees the potential big picture - a time of righteousness reigning over the land where the poor are raised up.

 

In our continued reading of Hebrews, we read a pretty great insight about community and authority.  The writer describes a host of priests who offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins, but there attempts are futile compared to what is accomplished in the singular sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Sometimes, we have a hard time wrapping ourselves around that language - especially in this day and age.  But the people hearing this message had been deeply entrenched in a sacrificial system and they understood a certain hierarchy of petition, thanksgiving and related sacrifices.  The author of Hebrews is helping them to see Jesus' death as the final sacrifice needed.  And with that sacrifice, all are clean, all are forgiven, and all are empowered. And now their job seems to be to empower one another as community - provoking one another to good deeds.  Now there is a turn of terms - provoking goodness. You are forgiven and as such you should go encourage everyone to goodness.  The people are being given back a lot of authority, it would seem.

 

Finally in the reading from Mark's Gospel, Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple, and also warns the disciples that in the aftermath of such change, there will be false prophets and teachers and preachers about which to worry.  And he really saddles them with responsibility for discerning truth.  So the temple, a clear symbol of authority and power in their culture, would be destroyed. But that wouldn't mean an authority vacuum.  People would have to discern where authority existed, where it was authentic.  (A passing thought - given that dialogue, how do you suppose that they discerned Paul's eventual authority?)

 

The changing landscape of authority is a consistent theme across the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament.  What would writers say today about where God's authority resides?

 

How do you approach God?  Are there different "channels" of approach for you?

Where do you see shifts in authority occurring in the world around you?

Who do you see having no authority?  What does scripture have to say about that?

 

God,

Here I am.

Make me. Mold me. Use me.

Open my eyes and ears

So that I may discern

Where I have authority

To evoke your Kingdom

In this world.

Amen.

 

© matt & laura norvell 2009 www.settingourstones.org
we want to share this with you and hope you'll share with the world; we simply ask that you let people know where you found these words. May Grace & Peace be with you.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 28), Year B

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Psalm 127
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:38-44

So, the Scriptures are ancient texts written in another time and place with a context that is often really difficult for us to grasp in our present lives.  And so we try to remember to ask ourselves early and often what these texts might be saying to us today.  It's important to recognize when and where and why a text was written so that we are better able to identify our own response to it.  And we still probably need to ask, even if we can point to context and say - wow things were different then - why we get bugged by certain things.

The texts this week sort of fit into the category of contexts to which we have difficulty relating. 

The reading from Ruth gives us sort of a snapshot contextual snapshot of how two widows - a mother and her daughter-in-law - manage to survive the harsh realities of their society.  It's hard to imagine the fate that Ruth and Naomi encountered when their spouses died. Naomi has left her roots behind in Bethlehem to follow her husband and sons.  When they die, Ruth promises to stay with Naomi and leaves her own homeland to become a stranger in a strange land - to enter Israel with Naomi.  In turn, Naomi helps Ruth to attract the attention and affection of wealthy landowner Boaz, effectively bonding Ruth to the Israelites.  In the selection for this week, we are entering sort of an awkward point of the story by our societal standards.  Naomi has basically instructed Ruth to go lay with Boaz on the threshing floor.  Then we flash forward through the text to the point at which it is revealed that Ruth has conceived, she and Boaz have married and somehow Naomi ends up with the baby - a boy - to nurse.  Ruth has provided Naomi with something none of her seven sons were able to provide - economic security in their society.  Now, this is a tough story for us to wrap our 21st century norms around...and yet, it has stood the test of time, made it into the cannon and continues to be read.  What does this story - named for Ruth but as much about Naomi - say to us today? For one, there are some interesting questions to be asked about immigrants.  Ruth is an immigrant who completely adopts her new culture and invests herself in it for survival and out of loyalty to Naomi.  Does Ruth give up anything in the process?

The psalmist is echoing some of the themes about the importance of family and of sons in particular that we find in Ruth.  Also, the psalmist is naming the importance of keeping the Lord central to our comings and our goings.  Now all of this talk about "sons" as opposed to daughters is very particular to the culture in which this psalm was written.  Is it easy to substitute sons and daughters?  Are there other things that could replace "sons" in this text for today?

In the selection from Hebrews, the writer is establishing Jesus' death on the cross as the atoning sacrifice that wipes away all of our sins.  Now most of us cannot really grasp the importance of these passages referencing the High Priest entering the Holy Place or about Jesus entering the Sanctuary.  Even the High-est Church Folks of us today do not have the social / religious / personal reverence for the Sacred Places that the Jews of that time had.  It is so hard for us to grasp the comparisons that are being made in this passage.  Also (we....Laura and Matt) do not and cannot understand the importance and depth of the references to sacrifice here and how they connect to the Jewish expectations of the day.  Sacrifice was so much more real and meant so much more in that space.  Also, the writer of Hebrews is attempting to do something quite important here.  He is attempting to show a Jewish audience that the sacrifice of Jesus and by Jesus was an ultimate sacrifice for sins as opposed to the constant and consistent sacrifices for sins that were performed by the priests in the Temple.  Context is so important.

In the passage from Mark, the context is quite different, but it is fairly easy for us to relate to it we believe.  He was teaching the disciples about personal / social / financial responsibility using examples from what they saw around them.  It appears they are standing outside of the synagogue and he goes after the scribes (the folks who were responsible for literally keeping the law alive through repeating and recording) as models for how one ought NOT behave.  He was encouraging the disciples to not let power and authority and control go to their heads....to not let their job titles or the color of their robes determine how they should behave.  This example was immediately juxaposed against a poor widow who gave as all she had to support the synagogue...she was held up as the example of giving all to God.  Of course it is easy to draw our own contextual parallels to today.  You can choose your favorite: corporate leaders, government leaders, religious leaders, etc.

Do you have the same cultural curiosity and respect for the scriptures as you might have for a new friend from another country?
How do you take the stories and messages you find in scripture and apply them to your personal journey here in 2009 America?
How does a cultural awareness impact how you behave and respond to the world around you?

God, help us see how you continue to speak.
It is so tempting for me to believe you Have Spoken...
....and that is it.
But I know you continue to speak.
It is easier to believe you Have Spoken...
....that makes it eaiser for me...
....I could just study the scriptures thoroughly....
....and I would Know.
But realistically, I know you continue to speak.
You spoke to the darkness and the light.
You spoke to Moses.
You spoke to Mary.
You spoke to Martin Luther.
You speak to Me.
You continue to speak.
Help me to listen.
Amen.

All Saints Day

Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21:1-6a
John 11:32-44

It would seem that this year for us is permeated by the end of life.  Perhaps it is something that happens as we approach what we sincerely hope is "EARLY middle-age."  Matt works day after day with families who are walking through the long journey that is the death of a child.  And this year, Laura's dad received a terminal diagnosis after surviving a grim diagnosis 25 years ago. Around us our community and our friends and co-workers are experiencing the loss of loved ones. We spend a lot of time considering this space.  Of course we do.  Death has certainty. 

One certainty of death is the physical body of a person that used to mysteriously work on its own no longer does.  Whatever it was that started the heart to beat has stopped.

And then what?

Then Faith, Hope, and Love.

We do not know for certain what happens to the individual...to the Spirit, the Soul when the body stops working.

We have Belief and Faith and Hope based on our experiences and our faith tradition and on the Beliefs and Faiths and Hopes of many who have lived before us.

This week we celebrate the feast of All Saints.  Now for those of us who grew up in protestant churches, dialogues about saints were pretty rare.  Those of us who grew up in Catholic churches might have found ourselves overwhelmed the the numbers of saints, their stories and their legacy.  The feast of All Saints evolved as the Christian churches response to an early world view that as the nights lengthened and the cold strengthened, evil walked the earth seeking destruction and havoc.  Halloween traditions are deeply rooted in this understanding.  But Christian communities believed that they had power over evil, that Jesus' resurrection was a triumph over death, and that each person was called to live in peace and love with their neighbor to ward off evil.  And so, All Saints Day evolved as a celebration of those Christian martyrs that had died defending the faith.  Over time and through the reformation, there was growing recognition that a "saint" was not a perfect or special person - that each of us as God's creation has the capacity to be a saint.  And today, All Saints Day can be a time to remember those whose physical bodies have stopped working, but whose time with others permanently marked the face of creation.  (And some believe that the best way to live out all that is encompassed in All Saints Day requires recognizing and celebrating some root traditions of Halloween [scary costumes and jack-o-lanterns], followed in quick succession by the celebration of the saints. So...maybe all of that Halloween stuff has its place.  OK, commentary over.)

So the readings for this week explore some really different views of what might happen when the heart beats its last.

The Wisdom of Solomon is actually a "deuterocanonical text" - a fancy word for an ancient writing that was accepted later than most of the rest by the councils that decided these things so many hundreds of years ago and as such is a bit of a rarity in the Lectionary cycle.  It is part of a body of writing in the Hebrew scriptures that begins to articulate an emerging Jewish understandings of life and death and afterlife that would have shaped the culture into which Jesus was born and taught.  The section prior to the selected passage describes some "wicked" folks who were plotting to see if a righteous person would really see the protection of God (interesting in light of the past few weeks spent reading Job).  They were planning to hurt the righteous man.  However the response of the writer here (2:21 - 24) says,
"Thus they (the wicked) reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hoped for the wages of holiness,
nor discerned the prize for blameless souls;
for God created us for incorruption,
and made us in the image of his own eternity,
but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his company experience it. "
This sets up a pretty clear understanding that death is the product of evil, and its experience is limited to those in the company of evil.  But everybody knew that people's bodies stopped working, right?  So the writer goes on to explain that righteous souls are in the hand of God, not to be tormented in death.  Somehow they have been tested and punished in some way, but they continue on and at some point (in the time of their visitation) they will "shine forth."  So those who are righteous and faithful will receive grace and mercy.  It all sounds kind of familiar, eh? 

The writer of the psalm seems to have a good grasp that death is a part of life and so he is working with how to best prepare for whatever is next.  He asks, "who shall ascend to the hill of the LORD?" "Those who have clean hands and pure hearts" "They will receive blessing from the LORD".  He does not talk much in this passage what "the blessing of the LORD" might be, but he does know it is something he wants to strive toward.

In John's Revelation we see a different hope / dream of how things work out after the last heart beat.  As John recounts his vision, he describes a new heaven and a new earth that is unlike the present reality where death does not exist and Jerusalem is adorned and elevated.  "First things" have passed away.  In this, there is some hope that all of this mixed up crazy conflict driven-reality is just one creation.  There is something that happens "next."  If you spend time in a study bible examining this text, you will appreciate the multiple allusions the writer is making to core texts in the Jewish tradition.  In particular, the writer is drawing heavily from Isaiah and the hope of a restored Israel.  This is a text borne out of the deep teachings and traditions of the Jewish community and casting hope for an early Christian community that was caught in the chaos of Roman domination and the destruction of the roots of their ancient culture and beliefs.

In the Gospel of John we see the example of what so many hope for in the face of death, that it can be physically overcome and avoided today.  And we witness the complication of human relationship as we face death.  Jesus has chosen to delay his return to Lazarus, knowing that he is ill.  When he arrives, he is told it is too late - Lazarus has already died.  Mary chides him - if you had only done something sooner. We also see here that Jesus is really sad about the loss of his friend.  Was he disappointed that he had not come sooner?  Did he know what he would do once he arrived?  If so, why the tears?  Jesus has left an audience that rejected him pretty soundly.  In the preceding verses, he has claimed that those who know him will never perish.  And so, in some ways, as readers of the story, we kind of expect Jesus to do something dramatic for Lazarus.  And he does.  He calls Lazarus from the tomb, and Lazarus comes.  Amazing.  Breathtaking.  Expected?

Our understanding of death is shaped by our experience and our Belief and Faith and Hope.  And our understanding of death shapes how we here Jesus' command, "Lazarus, come out!"

What has been your experience of death?  In what way has that experience shaped your Belief, Faith and Hope?

God,
Creator, Sustainer, Comforter,
keep us from grasping for immortality out of fear
and enable us to grasp instead for today
that we are unbound and let go
for your work in the world.
Amen.

© matt & laura norvell 2009 www.settingourstones.org
we want to share this with you and hope you'll share with the world; we simply ask that you let people know where you found these words. May Grace & Peace be with you.

28th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Proper 23), Year B

Job 23:1-9, 16-17
Psalm 22:1-15
Hebrews 4:12-16  
Mark 10:17-31

Sometimes we hear someone referred to as the kind of person who "goes looking for trouble."  But really, have you ever known anyone who actually goes out and looks for trouble?

Not to cause trouble...but to be In Trouble.

Trouble.  Say it out loud.  It is a Troubling word all by itself.

It conjures up images of pain and discomfort and distress.  It makes us think of being alone and shut out or singled out.  Being In Trouble sounds like something to be avoided.

From our experience, Troubling Times or being In Trouble or running in to Trouble are all things we hope will not be a part of our average days.

Do we have any control over Trouble?  What is an appropriate response to Trouble when it shows up or you find yourself in It?

As usual, our scriptures this week show us a couple of different possibilities.

We get to see another important part of the story of Job this week.  He is in Trouble.  Everything he had (except his life) is gone and he is surrounded by some friends that are badgering him and attempting to convince him that all of this calimity is his fault.  And at this point he has begun to question things for himself.  A modern psychiatrist might diagnose him as depressed and possibly suicidal.  Trouble has swallowed him and he is caught deep inside it.

The Psalmist writing in Psalm 22 has also found herself deep in Trouble.  It seem that all of the possible Light of life has been sucked from the world.  She continues to cry out to God, but she is questioning where God has gone and left her "in the dust of death."  What should she do in this situation?  Have you ever found yourself laid this low?  What do you do?

The writer of Hebrews seems to be offering some encouragement in these types of difficult times.  He is encouraging the followers of Jesus to take heart in difficult times because the one they are following understands the difficulty they are experiencing because he "has in every respect been tested as we are."  An important question (for us at least)--how does knowing Jesus endured similar difficulties of the human experience help you to face the suffering / difficulties of life?

And then in Mark we are presented with some of Jesus' most difficult teachings.  First, he is approached by a righteous rich young ruler who wants to know how he can enter the Kingdom of God.  Jesus' answer is not easy to swallow.  The rich, young ruller finds himself in Trouble.  In order to enter the Kingdom of God, he must get rid of all of his possessions, give his treasure to the poor. And he turns away, never found in the Gospel again.  That was a reality he could not accept.  Then the disciples, that quarrelsome lot, who had overheard all of this were perplexed.  How could this be?  (We presume they were somehow convicted by this teaching.)  They ask, haven't we given up enough? Jesus paints a picture of Trouble to come - persecution aplenty.  Trouble with a capital T, followed by some sort of peace and plenty.  But Trouble.  Somehow the Trouble of today is going to become bigger Trouble tomorrow.

And we wonder, what Trouble do we have today that has to get bigger before it ends?  We know we are pretty convicted by the story of the rich young ruler.  We have a LOT of things - treasure that we store up.  And it's certainly not protecting us from anything. 

How do you know when you are facing Trouble?  How do you respond?
How do you reach out to others in Trouble?
Are their Troubles looming?  What are they?  How are you prepared?

God,
Keeper, Creator,
Keep us from the time of trouble.
Keep us from creating times of trouble.
Keep us from overlooking others' trouble.
And keep us in our times of trouble.
Amen.

© matt & laura norvell 2009 www.settingourstones.org
we want to share this with you and hope you'll share with the world; we simply ask that you let people know where you found these words. May Grace & Peace be with you.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 22), Year B

Job 1:1, 2:1-10
Psalm 26
Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12 
Mark 10:2-16

It is really hard to remain blameless and upright and full of integrity.

Or so we are told.

Both of us have had periods in our lives where we worked hard to be blameless and upright and full of integrity.  And when that didn't work out we both worked hard to at least APPEAR blameless and upright and full of integrity.  In that process (looking in the rear-view mirror) we can see we were working toward the acceptance and approval of others and we were WORKING toward the External acceptance and approval of God.  When all of that didn't work out we have finally found some ways to accept the reality of being flawed humans who are (even in all our humanness) loved and forgiven and accepted by God.

In this week's readings we see folks who are struggling with these issues and ideals of perfection and flaws.  We see folks struggling with what it means to follow the rules.  And we see folks struggling with what it means when following the rules does not suddenly create a life free from suffering.

Job is a classic story.  The story and troubles of Job get quoted by people who have never even read the story in the bible.  Most folks know his story - trouble upon trouble is heaped upon him and in his misery and his confusion, he remains faithful to God.   And there really never is a good answer to why Job suffers the way that he does.  Good things happen and bad things happen, and still there is God.  Being upright and full of integrity didn't serve Job particularly well...at least it didn't keep him from suffering.  But that is not to say that turning his back on God would serve him better.  Life is hard that way.  All of Job's good works could not move God from what God would do.  What motivated Job's faithfulness? Is it possible that his motivation was really the source of his troubles? That seems a lesson learned the hard way (and aren't the best all learned the hard way?).

In Psalm 26 we find someone who is so confident in God and in his ability to be faithful to God and he is asking for the type of tests Job was put through.  And something we wonder is whether anyone is capable of really trusting God's power until they have been through a time of trial, a time when they seemed to be experiencing one tragedy after another, when they have truly had to rely on the fabric of God's love as their only cover.

In the passages from Hebrews the writer is describing and admiring the perfection of Jesus and the cosmic work of salvation that came in and through Jesus, and specifically through Jesus' suffering. It is no wonder, when reading outtakes like this, that much of mainline Christianity has regarded Jesus' suffering as some of his most important work...and somehow that got skewed over time as an endorsement of a certain level of pain and suffering to achieve salvation.  But in total, Hebrews encourages covenant faithfulness in God, following Jesus' example even in persecution.  And at the time it was written, Christians were really struggling to shape there identity and to be accepted.  These words were written to people facing very real persecution - persecution because of their desire to be faithful followers in Jesus' example. We wonder what we are really called to suffer today, and whether perhaps the act of trying to be righteous for the purpose of finding love and acceptance that is already ours doesn't sometimes create more suffering than peace.

And in Mark we see a conversation between Jesus, the Pharisees, the disciples of Jesus, and Moses (sort of).  They are talking about divorce and adultery.  This is another in a string of situations where Jesus is taking the questions of behavior and rule-following and elevating them to the ultimate level (remember poking your eye out and cutting your hand off?).  When the Pharisees were trying to catch Jesus in a trap by asking him about a question of adherence to religious law, convention, and culture he responded by reminding them that what they were looking at was also a spiritual question.  They were asking what was Permissible and Jesus was telling them what it took to be Blameless.  Next, Jesus is scooping up children that the disciples would keep from him.  Children by nature are better able to see true good (until they achieve some age...we're still investigating when that begins and ends in our house) and true evil as opposed to the permissive space that the Pharisees were examining.  Have you ever felt like a child could see right through a situation? 

We've been reading a LOT about Works and Grace over the past few weeks.  This weeks readings have us reflecting and remembering that we are beloved and it is from that place that we can reach out into the world and BE.

How hard to you work to be blameless, upright and full of integrity?  How is that working for you?
What does it mean for you to be flawed?  How do you value yourself as a flawed human?
What are the benefits of knowing your flaws?

Grace-filled and loving God -
Spirit, Breath and Presence...
Help us to settle into our own imperfection
and to understand the gift
that is in that settled space
and then to turn that gift loose
to Love others
without Condition
or Judgment.
Amen

© matt & laura norvell 2009 www.settingourstones.org
we want to share this with you and hope you'll share with the world; we simply ask that you let people know where you found these words. May Grace & Peace be with you.

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 21), Year B

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 
Psalm 124
James 5:13-20
Mark 9:38-50

Do you ever feel like there are so many choices that the right choice is simply out of reach?  At the very least, the "absolute" right choice isn't "absolutely" clear.  For example, most of us have multiple career options.  It's not as though anyone measures us, sniffs authoritatively and assigns us a lifetime career from which we have no escape.  And what about our relationships?  Most of us are blessed with multiple communities...our work, our church, our neighborhood.  No one is really telling us who the right people are.  Perhaps this is most notable in our choice of life partner.  How do we know when we've found "the one."  There are so many options.  How do we choose?  And is there really a right "one," a single right answer, a right career, direction, path, fork in the road.  And really, what is our primary indicator of what is a "right" choice?  Doesn't it usually have something to do with how we benefit?

This week's texts take a very specific look at some of the choices we face - specifically our choices made for the benefit of others.  Whoa.  Now take a look at some of those examples above - what would it mean to choose our career for the benefit of the good (and some do).  What about choosing to live in a specific spot - say in a specific country or neighborhood because our gifts and abilities are desperately needed in that space.  What about choosing to live a specific way - with little garbage, lots of recycling, lots of locally grown foods, because we want to treat the earth well for a next generation?

Queen Esther's plight is pretty well known in popular literature. In order to save the Jews from slavery and servitude, she positions herself to marry the King and then further works her magic and favor with the King to reveal how Haman has plotted and positioned to guide the King's policies and destroy the Jews.  As a result of Esther's work, Haman is hanged (on the very gallows he was preparing for Mordecai) and Mordecai, Esther's uncle, sends word to the Jews far and near to establish a day or remembering - Purim.  Now Esther made some pretty tough choices.  She essentially wooed the King with her feminine wiles and it is hard to know whether this was initially for personal gain or for the benefit of her people.  Somewhere along the way, Mordecai convinced her that she could do a great thing with the favor she found in the king.  But what if she had chosen something else?  Was there another way?  And what could Mordecai have done differently? One of the the things he does is leads the newly liberated Jews on a rampage of pillage. 

The psalmist is raising praises for the Lord who has saved the Israelites from the enemy time and time again.  And we wonder what role the Israelites play in their own saving each time?  As we look at their history (and this psalm as one little window in the middle of it) we can see again and again how there were moments they made the choice to follow God and there were times they did not make the choice to follow God.  And how did they find themselves in each pickle? It seems like we are always making choices....even when we are not actively choosing.

James is challenging the community to ask for what they need and to give thanks for what they have and to aid one another with prayer.  This writer is encouraging his audience to make a choice toward God in every aspect of their lives.  And it could be true that his underlying premise here is "you will certainly not find God on your side if you to not reach out to God, but by reaching toward God with your whole life you increase your chances."  Of course, the writer of James is operating with a bit more confidence than that.  He is certainly a "If A = B, B = C, then certainly and without a doubt A = C".  It is an over simplification to say th writer of James is encouraging folks to view God as a cosmic vending machine....put in a prayer and you will get what you want.....but then again, maybe it is not an oversimplification.

Now in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is helping the disciples to understand how they can lead and relate.  He encourages them not to stand in the way of people who are trying to know Jesus and his teachings.  "Those who are not against us are for us."  Wow.  Jesus is reminding the disciples of an important choice...they can draw the circle large or make it very narrow.  But to make it narrow is not what Jesus is recommending.  Here is one of those great pieces of quoted text that is so often taken out of context - if your hand, foot or eye causes you to stumble, get rid of it! But in the context of this story, Jesus is specifically referencing actions in which the disciples choose to keep people out of ministry.  He's pointing out how actions can draw the circle smaller and keep people out.  He's warning them that they need to choose to be inclusive for the movement to work.

God of so many things...
Sometimes I am certain Free Choice is a bad idea.
Many days I would prefer to not have an option.
I would often trade in my humanness to be
    a God-loving, Law-abiding robot.
It is too hard to always Choose the Good.
It is too much to look at all the available options
    and find the Right One.
My only hope is that what Saint Merton said is true:
Hopefully my desire to make Good Choices
    counts for something.
Hopefully my intentions to follow You
    can balance my inability to always see The Right Way.
Hopefully my dream of servanthood
    will keep me moving toward You
    even when I don't know where I am
    or where You are.
Amen.

© matt & laura norvell 2009 www.settingourstones.org
we want to share this you and hope you'll share with the world; we simply ask that you let people know where you found these words. May Grace & Peace be with you.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 20), Year B

Proverbs 31.10-31
Psalm 1
James 3.13-4.3, 7-8a
Mark 9.30-37

We don't know about you, but in the circles we run in (both in and out of work) there are lots of conversations about how we should all be striving for some sort of Balance in our lives.  Usually (the best we can tell), people are talking about some sort of Balance between doing the things that take away your energy (physical, emotional, social, spiritual) and things that restore your energy.  Of course, often the people that are talking about how we should work toward Balance in our lives are also the people who are asking us to take on more tasks, or they are the people who are running so fast and so hard all the time there is no opportunity for them to think private thoughts....much less achieve Balance.

We bring up the question of Balance this week because there are so many references in scripture about what else we are supposed to Do for other people.  We have all heard the aphorism, "Don't just Do something, stand there!"  But even for the several places we are told we are loved by God simply for Being Us, there are 100 times more places we find messages to serve others.  The formula often looks like, "Because you have been loved, so you should love one another." 

We once heard in a stewardship plea this story:  "We were discussing in Sunday School this morning whether we are saved by Grace or by Works.  There were some folks that believed it is Grace and some believed it is Works.  I suggest you hedge your bets and give more money to the church."

Now this would be cool and easy if loving and serving others was always easy and did not drain our physical, emotional, social, and spiritual energy.  Let's be honest, even with people we like, it is not always restorative to love them.
In this week's readings we have a few examples.
 
Remember that Proverbs is a wisdom book that is chocked full of very "sensible" things.  It is the source of many commonly used pieces of practical wisdom.  In this selection, the author is describing the good and righteous wife - a practical woman, a loving woman, a charitable woman - a woman who seems to do it ALL really well.  We thought these high expectations were a modern sociological phenomena.  Evidentally NOT.  And we wonder, was there balance in this woman's life?  Was her joy in all she did enough?  Or did she need a good stiff martini and a Gucci or Coach handbag to make her feel better every now and again?
 
Now the Psalmist writes that those who are happy meditate upon the Law day and night without Sin.  Hmm.  Again, we find ourselves wondering if there is balance in that?  Perhaps - especially if Sin is anything that keeps you from being who God created you to be (in which case, for at least one of us, Sin would involve trying to build spreadsheets full of brilliant, logical equations...or Sin would involve trying to be Mary Poppins - practically perfect in every way).
 
James reminds us that the restless, generally misdirected longings of our heart lead us down a path of jealousy, covetousness, lust and therefore, sin.  He's calling for a certain centeredness in love of God out of which balance will flow.  There is such a resonance in this passage for today - for a society that has become so consumerist.  What does it mean to look at our longings critically, to discern what is true and good and righteous and to act accordingly?
 
Finally in Mark we read about the disciples bickering among themselves about who is the best and Jesus challenging them about their understanding of "first" and "last."  He tells them that we must be able to receive everyone, putting themselves last in order to receive Jesus.  Now what if we didn't worry about whether we had a big enough house and instead worried about whether the whole world was housed - warm and dry and safe?  Is there more breathing space in letting go of our own expectations and just "being" the hands and feet of Jesus to the whole world?
 
Maybe this passage in James is right.  Maybe we are just too corrupt and too much of this earth to constantly receive Love and Peace from attempting to love God and others with our lives.  We know this is true of us: "Where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind."  At least for us, it is tough to live in this world without envy and selfish ambition.  It is tough.
 
How do we find and achieve and maintain Balance in our lives when there is (in general) so far for each of us to journey?
 
Abba,
I need your patient love right now -
because I have little patience myself.
I am buried in my own needs,
in my own aches and pains
in my own wounds and wars
to be fully present in your Kingdom
and to reach out to the weak
and the poor and the powerless.
Be patient with me
but help me move forward,
away from my own stuff -
away from my priorities.
And help me to focus
on You...
Help me to breathe again.
Amen.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 19), Year B

Proverbs 1.20-33
Psalm 19
James 3.1-12
Mark 8.27-38

Wisdom.....hmmm....is being Wise the same thing as being a person that makes good choices? 

If a person is Wise, does that mean s/he is a good rule follower?  Does it mean s/he is able to intuitively pay attention to life experience really well?  Is it a combination of both?

This week the different texts that make up our Lectionary reading all sort of dance around the ideas of listening to the advice of authority, following laws, fulfilling your true nature, and making tough choices to follow a Higher Calling.

Gratefully, we get another reading from the book of Proverbs this week.  And this passage really points to the part of the book that is interesting.  It is a personification of Wisdom that speaks out as woman.  Many scholars believe that this woman Wisdom is speaking out the words and guidance of Solomon.  But basically we see Her (Wisdom) standing at the gate of the city telling people if they don't follow her guidance, she will turn her back on them and allow them to be overtaken by disaster and calamity.  Hmmmm.... (Feeling like a lectionary geek?  Check out the alternate reading - Wisdom of Solomon 7:26 - 8:1 - another beautiful personification of lady Wisdom!)

Many of us know the last line of Psalm 19: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."  These are intimate words of a prayer spoken from a person who is devoted to following the law of the Lord, and they are a great way for us to humbly ground ourselves every morning and before every conversation we have in a day.  However, we would encourage you to look at the other 13 verses of this Psalm.  These words come from a person who is desperately committed to being in some sort of relationship with the Lord and is desperately attempting to appreciate and follow the Law of the Lord.  But the psalmist knows that even knowing and consciously following the law does not keep a person free of sin. How are we responsible for what we do not actively know?

The message that comes to us from the writer of James reminds us about how our mistakes (bad choices) are a part of who we are.  The reading begins with a warning that not too many can become teachers!  Ah...knowledge has limits.  And our tongues get us in trouble...as if we needed James to tell us that!

And in the gospel according to Mark we see Jesus and Peter in a bit of a conflict because of the choice (was Jesus making a choice?) Jesus was making and the choice Peter wanted Jesus to make.  Jesus ended up inviting the disciples and the crowds to choose against the easy option and follow him.  And the easy option is the one that is easy survival - easy living.  And so, at some level, what comes easiest and most instinctive is NOT the way Jesus hopes his followers will choose.

It seems to us that we are expected to be more than just instinctive creatures reacting from our knowledge base and our biological response.  We sense a higher call -- an expectation that we will seek a right way in relationship with God. 

How do you understand wisdom? Is it something different from knowledge? Is it gained by your own work, or is it a gift of grace?  Something else?
What do you do with the knowledge that you have? the Wisdom?

Spirit of Wisdom
Lift us out of our faith in ourselves, in what we know. 
And light on our heart
Granting us insight and understanding
So that we may exercise Your Wisdom
to light the world.
Amen.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 17), Year B

Song of Solomon 2:8-13
or Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 
Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9
or Psalm 15 
James 1:17-27 
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

(A Note about this Week's Lectionary Readings:  This  is one of those weeks when something sort of extraordinary happens in the lectionary - the primary reading from Hebrew scripture is from Song of Solomon...a "wisdom" book that only appears once in the three year cycle (it is the alternate text two or three other times).  Perhaps you are familiar with Song of Solomon because it has been read frequently at weddings...  It's an interesting book - a collection of love poems of sorts, written in images that could be very suggestive. It is a celebration, pure and simple, of physical forms and of the energy and attraction generated between physical forms.  The Rabbis treated it as an allegory about God's love (reverence) for Israel. It was a hotly contested inclusion in the Christian canon (the books that the church recognized as "holy" and "inspired" - books to be revered - that were voted on and affirmed finally and completely (after hundreds of years of use, debate, councils, etc.) by the Council of Trent in 1546 but it had been established as an important work in the Hebrew canon (which, by the way was not established in a way nearly so formal as the Christian canon.  The Hebrew canon was arrived at by use - that is, books that were used regularly in worship over tens and hundreds of years were eventually recognized as "canon" for the reason that they had been heavily used (and revered) in worship and daily life).)

We came home after last Sunday's worship service with a few questions (eg. did Clowns REALLY serve communion?), but the primary question was this: "What do we really revere?"

Do you have anything that you hold in deep reverence?

If the answer there is yes, can you explain why that is true?

What does it mean for you (not other people - YOU) to revere something?

Our suspicion is that can take different forms for different people, but it can also take many forms even for one person.  We might hold special our marriage relationship in a different way than we revere the holy space of the National Cathedral and that might be different than our reverence for free elections and a free market economy which might be different than how we revere peach cobbler.

There are many situations throughout history and today in our society where one person / group attempts to impose / mandate what others should hold as holy and how. People on both sides of the abortion debate, for example, revere something.  Many forms of religion dictate who should believe what and how. In families, parents sometimes strive to dictate what their children will believe, understand and think.

That should be okay, right?  How else do we pass on our beliefs?

This week's readings show us some different ways that folks expressed the things they revered and how they hoped others might accept those things.

We've looked at both the primary and alternate readings from Hebrew scripture this week because both illustrate behavior that reflects someone's reverence.  In the Song of Solomon, we watch lovers (God and Israel) address one another with terms of affection and endearment, one calling the other to follow in a season of goodness.  In Deuteronomy, Moses is addressing the Israelites, explaining that it is the faithful observance of the law he is teaching that will ensure their safe passage into the promised land.  But he's not just offering them a safeguard, but he's also suggesting that their obedience should be a grateful response for what has already been done in their lives.

The psalmist provides a couple of models here for reverence.  In Psalm 45, the psalmist is overflowing with praise that he/she addresses directly.  It's as if this person is overjoyed and knows that the way to exercise that joy is to honor the one who has created it. In Psalm 15, obedience seems to be the avenue.  Those who want to dwell in the tent of God will behave in just ways.

The letter of James was attributed early on to James, the brother of Jesus.  There is not proof of this, but this is a letter that seems rooted in allegiance to Torah.  The letter is largely advice to a community about how to behave.  And the particular reading for this week is a reminder that right behavior is a key to God's righteous treatment.  The advice is sort of in conflict with Paul's theory that people are justified by their faith alone.  James seems to advocate that good works help the process along - but not good works for the sake of gaining something.  Rather, he is talking about behaving out of recognition for God's goodness and thereby receiving further goodness.

This week's reading from Mark is a great story about the Pharisees observing the disciples and commenting on their failure to wash before eating.  Now...try sharing this with kids.  They get that, right?  But in the tradition of the Pharisees, there was a lot of ritual - ritual based on Torah - to the everyday things of life, including eating. Food and bodies had to be ritually pure.  And it was the observation of the Pharisees that these disciples of Jesus were not keeping the Law in this way.  Jesus comes right back at them by quoting Isaiah and names their behavior a keeping of human tradition rather than the Law of God.  Now, in all fairness to those Pharisees, we think that they were probably trying really hard to do the right thing -- they are trying to show reverence in their own way -- except that according to Jesus, their way might not be honoring God.  And he uses a very vivid image - it's not what is outside of us that makes us dirty, rather it is the things that we choose to do and the behaviors that we choose that are really filthy.  Hmmm.

We feel a little bit like we (matt and laura) don't really hold anything in reverence like Moses intended the Law to be kept.  And that has us wondering - are we missing out?  What do we need to stay true to what we feel called? 

Yhwh.
G_d.
Holy One whose name we dare not say out loud because we are not Holy ourselves...
Help us to take something seriously today.
Help us to believe You are worth honoring.
Help us to believe Others are precious and lovely and worth our reverence and respect.
Help us to believe we are your Special Creations that should be treated as such.
Help us to do more than believe these things.
Help us to live as if all of the things and people and special places in our lives were created to honor You.
Help us to take something seriously today...in your Holy Name.
*amen

© matt & laura norvell 2009 www.settingourstones.org
we want to share this you and hope you'll share with the world; we simply ask that you let people know where you found these words. May Grace & Peace be with you.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 16), Year B

1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11), 22-30, 41 - 43
Psalm 84
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69

In the area in which we live – the greater DC metro area – even in the throes of an economic downturn, the norm is Larger Than Life.  We have noticed recently the declining numbers of Hummers on the road (praise God), and sure, people seem to NOT be building new monstrous houses in our area.  But the tabloids are still smattered with the spectacular, unbelievably good or alternately unbelievably bad lives of celebrities.  And people are still eating super-sized fast food.  And at the beginning of the fall retail frenzy (you know the one – where back-to-school flows into Halloween chachky flows into Christmas flows into President’s day?) all indicators in the parking lot and the ads are that we are still interested in being “larger than life.”

But we’re not the only generation to be concerned for the larger things in life.  The bible is full of big stuff…big kings, big failures, big events.  It seems that all of humanity is fascinated with Large. Or Strong.  Or Powerful.  Or Wonderful.

And this week, we were reminded in our reading that sometimes our Larger Than Life worldview affects our expectation and understanding and acceptance of God. 

Starting in 1 Kings, we pick up again on the story of Solomon.  Last week, he asked for wisdom and is praised for his simple priorities, and this week he is overseeing the consecration of The Temple. No expense has been spared to construct a Splendid dwelling place for the Lord.  Then Solomon prays a big prayer asking the Lord to continue looking favorably on the people of Israel and to keep the line of David strong and royal (not a Big ask, right?).  And he asks that the whole world know and recognize the name of the Lord.  And there is much praise (there is no other god on heaven or earth like You…) and there is much hope and there is much expectation.  Larger Than Life.

The psalmist continues with a hymn of praise and adoration.  It is gushing about the Lord’s power and might…one day in your courts is greater than a thousand elsewhere and No good thing is withheld from the upright.

In the letter to the Ephesians, the writer paints of a picture of God’s power as armor that believers can don to shield them from attack and strengthen them for a battle.  Because believing in this God – living in this different way and following the teachings of Jesus – is really risky at the time of this writing.  And these people are truly having to arm themselves for martyrdom in the face of persecution.  In our Larger Than Life world, we don’t find ourselves threatened because of our beliefs very often…not in this Larger Than Life society America.

Finally, in the Gospel of John, the Larger Than Life expectations of some of the mass of disciples following Jesus and the Twelve get turned upside down.  For several weeks, we’ve been reading the teaching in this Gospel about the Bread of Life.  Jesus continues to talk about his own flesh and blood…and he’s pretty adamant that those who eat of him will gain something precious – eternal life!  (Larger Than Life?)  Then he goes on to say something very interesting – it is spirit that gives life.  Without spirit, the flesh is useless. And Jesus is offering words of spirit and life – not Superman muscle, but a message about living small, about being one with the least of these, about giving it all away to gain spirit and Life. 

God of creation…
We enter this world
Very small
Very meek
Very needy
Marvels of creation
Flesh and blood and need.
And we run the risk
Of spending our growth
On living larger
Thinking larger
Being larger
Having more
Achieving some dizzying height.
Help us see small
To become like children
To wonder
To be simple
To have little
And want less.
Amen