The opening piece is from “Union with Christ” – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Let’s give it a try.
The notion that Christians are partakers of the “divine nature” means that they are also partakers of the properties of God, that is, “filled with all the fullness of God.” God righteousness makes Christians righteous; God’s “life lives in them.” God’s love effects in them the capacity to love and so forth.
In many ways we can say that being a Christian is not to be a “couch potato” life. We are not people who have merely had something done to us…like a tattoo. We are a part of what has embraced us – the active, loving, and gracious God of Creation. I find this to be especially important to consider when we look at the reality of God’s love being within our “capacity to love.” Imagine what that capacity – lived out – would do in a broken world like ours.
Connection: In the middle of all our strife today, be a part of the power that unites, forgives, and brings life to the world.
Praise to you, O God, for sharing your nature with us as your beloved people and calling us to enter this day as partakers in your blessed Reign. We sometimes suffer from amnesia so we ask that you be for us, our memory when we try to be something other than your beloved people. Amen.
Friday, July 30, 2004
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Thursday, 29 July, 2004
The opening piece is from “Union with Christ” – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Let’s give it a try.
…we are to become participants of the divine nature and be exalted so high in nobility that we are not only to become loved by God through Christ, and have His favor and grace as the highest and most precious shrine, but also to have Him, the Lord Himself, dwelling in us in His fullness. Namely, His love is not to be limited only to the removal of His wrath from upon us, and to having the fatherly heart which is merciful to us, but we are also to enjoy this love, and gain great benefit and riches from it.
“We are also to enjoy this love (this love of God), and gain great benefit and riches from it.” There is much that our God does for us. And yet, often we are tempted to turn that into some kind of rigid lifestyle…do this, don’t do that…in which we seem to never enjoy the gift of life God gives to us. Now that I know this love of God is all for me…and you, how is my life transformed into something beyond the limits and controls I like to have on things? We are invited into the benefits and riches of being beloved of God. When we think of God inviting us to become participants of the divine nature, it would appear to me that we are invited into the marvelous graciousness that is the power to turn heads and surprise the world with joy.
Connection: Beloved of God, take a look at this day…yes it may seem like it will be long and hard or it may seem as though it will be so full that you would like to simply be in bed at the end of day, already….but, shake your head and listen to that voice in the background of you faith that says: Enjoy!!!
Lord, out of the depths you call us so that we will begin to expand our lives within the domain of your grace where we are invited to blossom and enjoy the riches of your Creation. Amen.
…we are to become participants of the divine nature and be exalted so high in nobility that we are not only to become loved by God through Christ, and have His favor and grace as the highest and most precious shrine, but also to have Him, the Lord Himself, dwelling in us in His fullness. Namely, His love is not to be limited only to the removal of His wrath from upon us, and to having the fatherly heart which is merciful to us, but we are also to enjoy this love, and gain great benefit and riches from it.
“We are also to enjoy this love (this love of God), and gain great benefit and riches from it.” There is much that our God does for us. And yet, often we are tempted to turn that into some kind of rigid lifestyle…do this, don’t do that…in which we seem to never enjoy the gift of life God gives to us. Now that I know this love of God is all for me…and you, how is my life transformed into something beyond the limits and controls I like to have on things? We are invited into the benefits and riches of being beloved of God. When we think of God inviting us to become participants of the divine nature, it would appear to me that we are invited into the marvelous graciousness that is the power to turn heads and surprise the world with joy.
Connection: Beloved of God, take a look at this day…yes it may seem like it will be long and hard or it may seem as though it will be so full that you would like to simply be in bed at the end of day, already….but, shake your head and listen to that voice in the background of you faith that says: Enjoy!!!
Lord, out of the depths you call us so that we will begin to expand our lives within the domain of your grace where we are invited to blossom and enjoy the riches of your Creation. Amen.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Wednesday, 28 July, 2004
The opening piece is from “Union with Christ” – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Let’s give it a try.
The idea that Christ is both God’s favor…and his gift…permeates Luther’s entire theology. “Favor” signifies God’s forgiveness and the removal of his wrath. And Christ is a “gift” in that the real self-giving of God comes through him to the human person… the notion of Christ as a “gift” means that the believing subject becomes a participant in the “divine nature.” (Luther) uses other expressions quite freely, too.
…a Christian is greater than the entire world. For in his heart he has this seemingly small gift; yet the smallness of the gift and treasure, which he holds in faith, is greater than heaven and earth, because Christ, who is this gift, is greater.
The notion of us being “greater than the entire world” is not a position of power – as power being ‘something over and against something else.’ Rather, it still refers to the notion of being a “gift.” By being people who participate in the gift…the divine nature, we are free to be a gift to the world…and oh, how the world can benefit from being gifted by each of us who benefit from the gift of Christ for our living. Imagine the life of Christ being opened up to the world through us. The world would come to think something new about what it is to be a “follower of Jesus.”
Connection: We are not “religious” people. We are gifted people who are invited to spread the gift around without regard to who will be presented with the gift. You are a gift to be share with the world today.
How wonder-filled are the ways in which you take hold of us and move us to live through your love, O God. As we respond to you gracious gift, transform our response into a gift of life for others. Amen.
The idea that Christ is both God’s favor…and his gift…permeates Luther’s entire theology. “Favor” signifies God’s forgiveness and the removal of his wrath. And Christ is a “gift” in that the real self-giving of God comes through him to the human person… the notion of Christ as a “gift” means that the believing subject becomes a participant in the “divine nature.” (Luther) uses other expressions quite freely, too.
…a Christian is greater than the entire world. For in his heart he has this seemingly small gift; yet the smallness of the gift and treasure, which he holds in faith, is greater than heaven and earth, because Christ, who is this gift, is greater.
The notion of us being “greater than the entire world” is not a position of power – as power being ‘something over and against something else.’ Rather, it still refers to the notion of being a “gift.” By being people who participate in the gift…the divine nature, we are free to be a gift to the world…and oh, how the world can benefit from being gifted by each of us who benefit from the gift of Christ for our living. Imagine the life of Christ being opened up to the world through us. The world would come to think something new about what it is to be a “follower of Jesus.”
Connection: We are not “religious” people. We are gifted people who are invited to spread the gift around without regard to who will be presented with the gift. You are a gift to be share with the world today.
How wonder-filled are the ways in which you take hold of us and move us to live through your love, O God. As we respond to you gracious gift, transform our response into a gift of life for others. Amen.
Tuesday, 27 July, 2004
The opening piece is from “Union with Christ” – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Let’s give it a try.
The core of Luther’s concept of participation finds expression in the notion of the “happy exchange,” according to which Christ takes upon himself the sinful person of the human being and bestows his own righteous person upon that humanity. What takes place here between Christ and the believer is a communication of attributes or properties: Christ the divine righteousness, truth, peace, joy, love, power, and life gives himself to the believer. At the same time, Christ “absorbs” the sin, death, and curse of the believer into himself. Because faith involves a real union with Christ and because Christ is the divine person, the believer does indeed participate in God. That is what Luther means when he speaks of Christ as a “gift.”
Do we then - as ones who participate in God through Christ – look out at the world and others as God looks out at them? And if so, this is a blessed way to perceive others who we may have previously seen as “others” or “them” or “enemy.” It is not merely a reality about us…a reality that is gracious and a pure gift. This is a reality that includes those who are not “us.” We are given the gift to see others as God sees them for we participate in the grand and glorious reality that is call “in Christ.”
Connection: I know this can be touchy to even mention but what would the Lutheran Church (or others) look like if we took seriously the vision for life that comes from this notion of the “happy exchange.” We would be a gift to this day and all with whom we come in contact. Wow.
You are a gift to us, O God, and by your graciousness you transform our lives into gifts we are able to present to the world and thereby transforming the world by your grace. Inspire us to be a witness to vision of your blessed Reign. Amen.
The core of Luther’s concept of participation finds expression in the notion of the “happy exchange,” according to which Christ takes upon himself the sinful person of the human being and bestows his own righteous person upon that humanity. What takes place here between Christ and the believer is a communication of attributes or properties: Christ the divine righteousness, truth, peace, joy, love, power, and life gives himself to the believer. At the same time, Christ “absorbs” the sin, death, and curse of the believer into himself. Because faith involves a real union with Christ and because Christ is the divine person, the believer does indeed participate in God. That is what Luther means when he speaks of Christ as a “gift.”
Do we then - as ones who participate in God through Christ – look out at the world and others as God looks out at them? And if so, this is a blessed way to perceive others who we may have previously seen as “others” or “them” or “enemy.” It is not merely a reality about us…a reality that is gracious and a pure gift. This is a reality that includes those who are not “us.” We are given the gift to see others as God sees them for we participate in the grand and glorious reality that is call “in Christ.”
Connection: I know this can be touchy to even mention but what would the Lutheran Church (or others) look like if we took seriously the vision for life that comes from this notion of the “happy exchange.” We would be a gift to this day and all with whom we come in contact. Wow.
You are a gift to us, O God, and by your graciousness you transform our lives into gifts we are able to present to the world and thereby transforming the world by your grace. Inspire us to be a witness to vision of your blessed Reign. Amen.
Monday, July 26, 2004
Monday, 26 July, 2004
The opening piece is from “Union with Christ” – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Let’s give it a try.
According to the Reformer, justifying faith does not merely signify a reception of the forgiveness imputed to a human being for the sake of the merit of Christ… Being a real sharing (participation) in Christ, “faith” stands also for participation in the institution of “blessing, righteousness and life” that has taken place in Christ. Christ himself is life, righteousness, and blessing, because God is all of this “by nature and in substance.” Therefore, justifying faith means participation in God in Christ’s person.
Yesterday in the sermon I opened up the notion that we must always go back to Jesus. Look at his faithfulness to God’s will. Look at his day to day adventures in real life situations. When we do that, and when we call ourselves followers of Jesus who are justified by faith in him, we not only look on at Jesus, we are a part of that faithfulness. Being a part of that faithfulness, we also take part in the wonderful gracious reign of God. It is a full participation…a gift…and…a life.
Connection: Participate in the life Christ brings to us today. This need not be some heady adventure. It may be as simple as re-viewing what is at hand through a look back at God’s love in Christ, Jesus…and then…participating in the love…right now.
Lord, you invite us to be one with you. Sometime we may not be sure of how that takes place. By the power of your Holy Spirit, lead us and guide us through this day. Amen.
According to the Reformer, justifying faith does not merely signify a reception of the forgiveness imputed to a human being for the sake of the merit of Christ… Being a real sharing (participation) in Christ, “faith” stands also for participation in the institution of “blessing, righteousness and life” that has taken place in Christ. Christ himself is life, righteousness, and blessing, because God is all of this “by nature and in substance.” Therefore, justifying faith means participation in God in Christ’s person.
Yesterday in the sermon I opened up the notion that we must always go back to Jesus. Look at his faithfulness to God’s will. Look at his day to day adventures in real life situations. When we do that, and when we call ourselves followers of Jesus who are justified by faith in him, we not only look on at Jesus, we are a part of that faithfulness. Being a part of that faithfulness, we also take part in the wonderful gracious reign of God. It is a full participation…a gift…and…a life.
Connection: Participate in the life Christ brings to us today. This need not be some heady adventure. It may be as simple as re-viewing what is at hand through a look back at God’s love in Christ, Jesus…and then…participating in the love…right now.
Lord, you invite us to be one with you. Sometime we may not be sure of how that takes place. By the power of your Holy Spirit, lead us and guide us through this day. Amen.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Friday, 23 July, 2004
The opening piece is from “Union with Christ” – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Let’s give it a try.
Central in Luther’s theology is that in faith the human being really participates by faith in the person of Christ and in the divine life and the victory that is in it…Christ gives his person to the human being through the faith by which we grasp it. “Faith” involves participation in Christ, in whom there is no sin, death, or curse. Luther quotes John: “‘For this,’ as John says, ‘is our victory, faith.’” And, from Luther’s point of view, faith is a victory precisely because it unites the believer with the person of Christ, who is in himself the victory.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, we do not merely “trust” what Jesus has done, we enter into the life of the Christ. “Justifying faith means participation in God in Christ’s person.” What we need to remember is that Christ is for Luther someone who was both the greatest sinner and the greatest person. Someone who not only has been with us in the “real manner” of our sin, but one who has been the fullness of what human beings are to be. Through our baptism we stand with Jesus and begin to walk within the gracious reign in which Jesus walked. Faith sets us within that domain and we live there…not as people trying to “get there.” We live there, now, fully in Christ.
Connection: Yes, you are a follower of Jesus! Yes, you have been given a gift and you now become a participant in that gracious gift in, with, and under the life you enter this day.
When we are thinking less of ourselves remind us of the place we have been given in Christ. Remind us of where we begin and how we end and the forever reality of God’s love for us in Christ, Jesus. Amen.
Central in Luther’s theology is that in faith the human being really participates by faith in the person of Christ and in the divine life and the victory that is in it…Christ gives his person to the human being through the faith by which we grasp it. “Faith” involves participation in Christ, in whom there is no sin, death, or curse. Luther quotes John: “‘For this,’ as John says, ‘is our victory, faith.’” And, from Luther’s point of view, faith is a victory precisely because it unites the believer with the person of Christ, who is in himself the victory.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, we do not merely “trust” what Jesus has done, we enter into the life of the Christ. “Justifying faith means participation in God in Christ’s person.” What we need to remember is that Christ is for Luther someone who was both the greatest sinner and the greatest person. Someone who not only has been with us in the “real manner” of our sin, but one who has been the fullness of what human beings are to be. Through our baptism we stand with Jesus and begin to walk within the gracious reign in which Jesus walked. Faith sets us within that domain and we live there…not as people trying to “get there.” We live there, now, fully in Christ.
Connection: Yes, you are a follower of Jesus! Yes, you have been given a gift and you now become a participant in that gracious gift in, with, and under the life you enter this day.
When we are thinking less of ourselves remind us of the place we have been given in Christ. Remind us of where we begin and how we end and the forever reality of God’s love for us in Christ, Jesus. Amen.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Thursday, 22 July, 2004
The opening piece is from “Union with Christ” – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Let’s give it a try.
Luther does not separate the person of Christ from his work. Rather, Christ himself, both his person and his work, is the ground of Christian righteousness. Christ is, in this unity of person and work, really present in the faith of the Christian. The favor of God (i.e., the forgiveness of sins and the removal of God’s wrath) and the “gift” of God (gift, God himself, present in the fullness of his essence) are united in the person of Christ… Christ is both the favor and the gift. And this unity is…both inseparable and unconfused.
At first I was drawn into the way we describe Holy Communion. We say that Christ is “really present” in the meal…in the community…in our lives. With God’s forgiveness comes a reality in which God is present with us in Christ. The divine, you might say, is a part of our life together…not merely a concept to understand or accept. For Luther, the crucified and risen Christ is present and brings among us salvation – the promised life within the reign of God. It is a part of the Good News message…the reality - the real presence - is not to come at a later time…it is now and we are invited to partake in its life…a divine gift – a divine life.
Connection: Picture yourself as part of a grand mural called the Reign of God…and there you are…in all your today-ness as a part of the promise of life that you may not see completely just now. This kind of vision can really have an impact on how we move on into the rest of the day’s activities.
Lord of Life, your life is offered to us so that we would have another way of encountering this day. Remind us of the life of grace that is given to us and for the living of this day. Amen.
Luther does not separate the person of Christ from his work. Rather, Christ himself, both his person and his work, is the ground of Christian righteousness. Christ is, in this unity of person and work, really present in the faith of the Christian. The favor of God (i.e., the forgiveness of sins and the removal of God’s wrath) and the “gift” of God (gift, God himself, present in the fullness of his essence) are united in the person of Christ… Christ is both the favor and the gift. And this unity is…both inseparable and unconfused.
At first I was drawn into the way we describe Holy Communion. We say that Christ is “really present” in the meal…in the community…in our lives. With God’s forgiveness comes a reality in which God is present with us in Christ. The divine, you might say, is a part of our life together…not merely a concept to understand or accept. For Luther, the crucified and risen Christ is present and brings among us salvation – the promised life within the reign of God. It is a part of the Good News message…the reality - the real presence - is not to come at a later time…it is now and we are invited to partake in its life…a divine gift – a divine life.
Connection: Picture yourself as part of a grand mural called the Reign of God…and there you are…in all your today-ness as a part of the promise of life that you may not see completely just now. This kind of vision can really have an impact on how we move on into the rest of the day’s activities.
Lord of Life, your life is offered to us so that we would have another way of encountering this day. Remind us of the life of grace that is given to us and for the living of this day. Amen.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Wednesday, 21 July, 2004
The opening piece is from “Union with Christ – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Let’s give it a try.
Two classical formulations express approximately the fundamental meaning of the doctrine of theosis. Irenaeus says succinctly: “Because of his great love (Jesus Christ) was made into that which we are, so that he might bring about that we be what he is.” The other formulation comes from Athanasius: “He (Christ) became man so that we might become divine.”
If we were reading Walter Wink from our look at the “Human Being” (Son of Man) of a few weeks ago, I think Wink would draw us into a consideration of Jesus bringing us into a deeper union or understanding of who Jesus is as fully Human Being not something that appears “other.” And yet, here with these two early church leaders and with Wink there is this notion of each of us being more than we claim to be. This is not like “look what a failure you are.” Instead, it is to remind us of that which is yet to come. The story of our humanity and the precious gifts it brings to life are still there ready to be realized each day as we step within the remembrance of our baptism.
Connection: We are so blessed to be just who we are! Yes, some days we may not be able to say that…and today might be one of those days…but, just as I am, I am being lifted up in love by the one I call Lord. We are so blessed to be right here as we are for from here…right here…God is on our side and will continue to empower us to be God’s beloved…me as me…you as you. Wow.
Open this day again, O God, with your loving presence and take our hand for we are not always able to step forward and dance within the realm of your loving kindness. Bring us out into the fullness of our life that is given to us in Christ, Jesus. Amen.
Two classical formulations express approximately the fundamental meaning of the doctrine of theosis. Irenaeus says succinctly: “Because of his great love (Jesus Christ) was made into that which we are, so that he might bring about that we be what he is.” The other formulation comes from Athanasius: “He (Christ) became man so that we might become divine.”
If we were reading Walter Wink from our look at the “Human Being” (Son of Man) of a few weeks ago, I think Wink would draw us into a consideration of Jesus bringing us into a deeper union or understanding of who Jesus is as fully Human Being not something that appears “other.” And yet, here with these two early church leaders and with Wink there is this notion of each of us being more than we claim to be. This is not like “look what a failure you are.” Instead, it is to remind us of that which is yet to come. The story of our humanity and the precious gifts it brings to life are still there ready to be realized each day as we step within the remembrance of our baptism.
Connection: We are so blessed to be just who we are! Yes, some days we may not be able to say that…and today might be one of those days…but, just as I am, I am being lifted up in love by the one I call Lord. We are so blessed to be right here as we are for from here…right here…God is on our side and will continue to empower us to be God’s beloved…me as me…you as you. Wow.
Open this day again, O God, with your loving presence and take our hand for we are not always able to step forward and dance within the realm of your loving kindness. Bring us out into the fullness of our life that is given to us in Christ, Jesus. Amen.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Tuesday, 20 July, 2004
The opening piece is from “Union with Christ – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Though it may sound horribly dry, it may bring us some good devotional material. Let’s give it a try.
…the core of the often misunderstood patristic (early church fathers) doctrine of theosis (“participation in God”) can be briefly formulated as follows. Divine life has manifested itself in Christ. In the church, understood as the body of Christ, human beings participate in this life and thereby partake of “the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). This “nature,” or divine life, permeates the being of humans like leaven permeates bread, in order to restore it to its original condition as imago Dei (image of God).
The divine life “permeates the being of humans like leaven permeates bread.” What a gift and what a sign of the potential that is a part of our life together. We are always being invited into the way we were seen in the creation story of Genesis chapter one. We are made in the image of God. When we say the Christ is manifest among us…when we are the body of Christ in the world, we are placed within a holy realm. That is why we are often referred as saints of God. Yes, even though we participate in the brokenness and self-centeredness of what we call sin, we are simultaneously a part of the vision…the holy gift of life that comes to us as God resides among us each and every day.
Connection: This is no idle tale. God participates in our life together in the shape we know of as Christ, Jesus, who continues to call us into his life again and again. Today is always a time to take a step with him into the wonder-filled image of God.
By your invitation, O God you offer us the fullness of this day and encourage us to trust in you as we begin to step into the promises of new life you set before us. Nurture our growth and lead us into your ways. Amen.
…the core of the often misunderstood patristic (early church fathers) doctrine of theosis (“participation in God”) can be briefly formulated as follows. Divine life has manifested itself in Christ. In the church, understood as the body of Christ, human beings participate in this life and thereby partake of “the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). This “nature,” or divine life, permeates the being of humans like leaven permeates bread, in order to restore it to its original condition as imago Dei (image of God).
The divine life “permeates the being of humans like leaven permeates bread.” What a gift and what a sign of the potential that is a part of our life together. We are always being invited into the way we were seen in the creation story of Genesis chapter one. We are made in the image of God. When we say the Christ is manifest among us…when we are the body of Christ in the world, we are placed within a holy realm. That is why we are often referred as saints of God. Yes, even though we participate in the brokenness and self-centeredness of what we call sin, we are simultaneously a part of the vision…the holy gift of life that comes to us as God resides among us each and every day.
Connection: This is no idle tale. God participates in our life together in the shape we know of as Christ, Jesus, who continues to call us into his life again and again. Today is always a time to take a step with him into the wonder-filled image of God.
By your invitation, O God you offer us the fullness of this day and encourage us to trust in you as we begin to step into the promises of new life you set before us. Nurture our growth and lead us into your ways. Amen.
Monday, 19 July, 2004
I started reading a new book: “Union with Christ – The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Though it may sound horribly dry, it may bring us some good devotional material. Let’s give it a try.
Finnish Luther research has come to the conclusion that Luther’s idea of the presence of Christ in faith can form a basis for treating the question of divinization. The Lutheran understanding of the indwelling of Christ implies a real participation in God and is analogous to the Orthodox doctrine of participation in God, or theosis. When seen in the light of the doctrine of theosis, the Lutheran tradition is born anew and becomes once again interesting.
As children of God baptized, forgiven and justified before God, we “participate” in a whole new way of being. This is not simply by what we do; it is because we say that Christ is with us, for us, in us. I often use expressions like being “pulled into” the body of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit because it is God who acts on our behalf to make us new. Claimed as God’s people and living within the newness of life that comes from being justified by God, we say that we are “in Christ.” In the above quote, that may be heard as “the indwelling of Christ” or the doctrine of participation in God (theosis). For me that has the sense of being people who walk and stand on holy ground within the very common and ordinary ground of our everyday life from this day until the day we are about to offer up our last breath.
Connection: Can we…by understanding ourselves as having God really participate in our lives…begin to see this day as though it is seasoned or spiced up? Yes, we are all that we are…and we are also part of a grand Reign into which God pulls us each day through our baptism. So, how does that make your day look?
When you come upon us in this day, O God, you begin again to shape us by the power of your Spirit. Help us to view our lives as blessed by your presence and shaped by your love for us. Amen.
Finnish Luther research has come to the conclusion that Luther’s idea of the presence of Christ in faith can form a basis for treating the question of divinization. The Lutheran understanding of the indwelling of Christ implies a real participation in God and is analogous to the Orthodox doctrine of participation in God, or theosis. When seen in the light of the doctrine of theosis, the Lutheran tradition is born anew and becomes once again interesting.
As children of God baptized, forgiven and justified before God, we “participate” in a whole new way of being. This is not simply by what we do; it is because we say that Christ is with us, for us, in us. I often use expressions like being “pulled into” the body of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit because it is God who acts on our behalf to make us new. Claimed as God’s people and living within the newness of life that comes from being justified by God, we say that we are “in Christ.” In the above quote, that may be heard as “the indwelling of Christ” or the doctrine of participation in God (theosis). For me that has the sense of being people who walk and stand on holy ground within the very common and ordinary ground of our everyday life from this day until the day we are about to offer up our last breath.
Connection: Can we…by understanding ourselves as having God really participate in our lives…begin to see this day as though it is seasoned or spiced up? Yes, we are all that we are…and we are also part of a grand Reign into which God pulls us each day through our baptism. So, how does that make your day look?
When you come upon us in this day, O God, you begin again to shape us by the power of your Spirit. Help us to view our lives as blessed by your presence and shaped by your love for us. Amen.
Friday, July 16, 2004
Friday, 16 July, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.” This is from the section on the Pre-Easter sayings of Jesus.
This will be the last piece dealing with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
…Jesus could speak of himself as the Human Being (Son of Man), but also of anyone else (the peasant plowman, for example, or Jesus’ grain-plucking disciples) who could respond out of the higher self, even if it violated current morality. Such sovereign freedom, placed in the hands of the underclass, inevitably strikes terror in the hearts of those entrusted with the tranquility of society. The dramatic location of the initiation of the death plot against Jesus, only a few verses after the story of the plucking of the grain in Mark (3:6), may or may not be chronologically exact, but it is logically appropriate.
The terror that could strike those “entrusted with the tranquility of society” when people begin to consider something more than the law as it is written and then act from what Wink says is a higher self, comes because the order as it is fears chaos. I think that is not a bad thing. Chaos has a tendency to bring with it great destruction…but…and this is a big but…the fear of chaos also prohibits the very creative aspects of humanity that take us beyond the letter of the law. Those steps in life that look after the welfare of others within the vision of what is called the “Human Being” must be taken if we are to realize the depths and wholeness of our humanity within the Reign of God. Just look at the civil rights movement in this country or the movement against apartheid in South Africa. The letter of the law could not be the rule anymore…someone and then others had to step out and eat from the vision beyond the law.
Connection: For the well being of another, do you let the law/rules be bent…or as some may say “loosed.” And if so, what is the outcome. Is it chaos…or is it something creative and whole.
Lord of the Sabbath, lead us within this day to rise up and follow our Lord, Jesus, into the realm of you blessed Reign. Amen.
This will be the last piece dealing with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
…Jesus could speak of himself as the Human Being (Son of Man), but also of anyone else (the peasant plowman, for example, or Jesus’ grain-plucking disciples) who could respond out of the higher self, even if it violated current morality. Such sovereign freedom, placed in the hands of the underclass, inevitably strikes terror in the hearts of those entrusted with the tranquility of society. The dramatic location of the initiation of the death plot against Jesus, only a few verses after the story of the plucking of the grain in Mark (3:6), may or may not be chronologically exact, but it is logically appropriate.
The terror that could strike those “entrusted with the tranquility of society” when people begin to consider something more than the law as it is written and then act from what Wink says is a higher self, comes because the order as it is fears chaos. I think that is not a bad thing. Chaos has a tendency to bring with it great destruction…but…and this is a big but…the fear of chaos also prohibits the very creative aspects of humanity that take us beyond the letter of the law. Those steps in life that look after the welfare of others within the vision of what is called the “Human Being” must be taken if we are to realize the depths and wholeness of our humanity within the Reign of God. Just look at the civil rights movement in this country or the movement against apartheid in South Africa. The letter of the law could not be the rule anymore…someone and then others had to step out and eat from the vision beyond the law.
Connection: For the well being of another, do you let the law/rules be bent…or as some may say “loosed.” And if so, what is the outcome. Is it chaos…or is it something creative and whole.
Lord of the Sabbath, lead us within this day to rise up and follow our Lord, Jesus, into the realm of you blessed Reign. Amen.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Thursday, 15 July, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.” This is from the section on the Pre-Easter sayings of Jesus.
Comments again deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
The Human Being (Son of Man) here exhibits a breathtaking authority, an authority fearlessly assumed by a common artisan and by his motley band of disciples. The scandal, says Jose Cardenas Pallares, is that Jesus places the whole of the law in the service of a few poor people, subordinating the law to the welfare of any human being who is hungry and in need. “For Jesus nothing, not even the most sacred law, may be allowed to obstruct the liberation of the human being.” After all, the law of Moses was originally intended for the benefit of an oppressed slave people.
The many things we do everyday are not isolated to themselves. We are tied to the lives of others and the well-being of more than me and my own kind. Therefore, we are always invited to consider those who may have no voice or no place within our lives or the life of the systems in which we live. Liberation of humanity so that no one is weighed down by the oppressions of our world is vital to our daily movement and how we see the world around us. The Law is a wonderful base because it gives us a vision of the way a liberated world will exist when all people come to its light. I like to take a look at how Martin Luther works with the 10 Commandments. There is in his writings a positive, and proactive vision that take us all beyond “thou shall not” into that creative domain of “thou shall” where the world really does begin to take on a visionary shape.
Connection: In the middle of looking down at what we are doing today, it is always good to look up and consider how we are taking place in the liberation of others.
Lord of the Exodus, it is by your power to make things new that you invite us to walk beyond the lines we draw and the structures we like to build for ourselves. Surprise us again today with you gracious vision and life. Amen.
Comments again deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
The Human Being (Son of Man) here exhibits a breathtaking authority, an authority fearlessly assumed by a common artisan and by his motley band of disciples. The scandal, says Jose Cardenas Pallares, is that Jesus places the whole of the law in the service of a few poor people, subordinating the law to the welfare of any human being who is hungry and in need. “For Jesus nothing, not even the most sacred law, may be allowed to obstruct the liberation of the human being.” After all, the law of Moses was originally intended for the benefit of an oppressed slave people.
The many things we do everyday are not isolated to themselves. We are tied to the lives of others and the well-being of more than me and my own kind. Therefore, we are always invited to consider those who may have no voice or no place within our lives or the life of the systems in which we live. Liberation of humanity so that no one is weighed down by the oppressions of our world is vital to our daily movement and how we see the world around us. The Law is a wonderful base because it gives us a vision of the way a liberated world will exist when all people come to its light. I like to take a look at how Martin Luther works with the 10 Commandments. There is in his writings a positive, and proactive vision that take us all beyond “thou shall not” into that creative domain of “thou shall” where the world really does begin to take on a visionary shape.
Connection: In the middle of looking down at what we are doing today, it is always good to look up and consider how we are taking place in the liberation of others.
Lord of the Exodus, it is by your power to make things new that you invite us to walk beyond the lines we draw and the structures we like to build for ourselves. Surprise us again today with you gracious vision and life. Amen.
Wednesday, 14 July, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.” This is from the section on the Pre-Easter sayings of Jesus.
Comments again deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus does not call on his disciples to let conscience be their guide, because their consciences had long since taken on the conventional values of society. In most cases, conscience is nothing else than the cultural superego… The Human Being is not the offspring of the Domination System.
Jesus calls us into a vision of the wholeness of humanity. It is not biased. It is not (as a commentator said recently) like Fox News. Therefore we do not simply do what seems to be generally approved or approved by the majority. We are called to be people who walk within a possibility for life that does not discount the welfare of others. Instead, Jesus invites us to consider life that moves in concert with others – especially those not like us – those who may pull us from wanting everything our way and help us consider a much greater reason for all the many things we do each day.
Connection: Do not be afraid to question why the decision you make today feel comfortable to you. It may be that sometimes we make decisions that help to put us closer in line with the “way of the world” and all of its powers.
Lord, be our guide and lift us up to see the beauty of life you offer to the human community. Amen.
Comments again deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus does not call on his disciples to let conscience be their guide, because their consciences had long since taken on the conventional values of society. In most cases, conscience is nothing else than the cultural superego… The Human Being is not the offspring of the Domination System.
Jesus calls us into a vision of the wholeness of humanity. It is not biased. It is not (as a commentator said recently) like Fox News. Therefore we do not simply do what seems to be generally approved or approved by the majority. We are called to be people who walk within a possibility for life that does not discount the welfare of others. Instead, Jesus invites us to consider life that moves in concert with others – especially those not like us – those who may pull us from wanting everything our way and help us consider a much greater reason for all the many things we do each day.
Connection: Do not be afraid to question why the decision you make today feel comfortable to you. It may be that sometimes we make decisions that help to put us closer in line with the “way of the world” and all of its powers.
Lord, be our guide and lift us up to see the beauty of life you offer to the human community. Amen.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Tuesday, 13 July, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.” This is from the section on the Pre-Easter sayings of Jesus.
Comments again deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
The Sabbath was indeed made for everyone, but not everyone knows how to keep the Sabbath. The Human Being knows, because the Human Being in us can know what God wants. Laws structure freedom. If we are serving that which the law serves, then we have freedom of choice, even if it means breaking the law (or, as here, interpreting for oneself what constitutes violation of the law). But if we are not serving that which the law serves, then we are obligated to obey the law. Law deals with the unredeemed aspect of persons, and insofar as we are all unredeemed, to that degree we are and must remain under law. So this freedom is the opposite of lawlessness.
Orange barrels. I use this example quite a bit. If we know why orange barrels are put up on streets and highways and if we are able to honor the purpose of those barrels – to keep people safe and out of harm’s way and make sure that people are given adequate space to go about their work & play – then the barrels do not rule us. In fact, if there is an emergency or an immediate need that is not dealt with directly by the placement of the barrels, it may be appropriate to move outside the designated area of the barrels. But, when we understand and honor the intention of the barrels, we will break the “law of the barrels” in such a way that the intention of the “law” will be upheld. That is, I may by pass or move a barrel to do or allow for something that is vital to life now and does not cause a breakdown of the good intention of the system of barrels.
Connection: Know in your heart the call to love one another so that in the middle of all the legalisms of the day we can still maintain the vision that is primary to all of our actions.
As you grasp our hearts, O God, remind us of your gracious will and the many ways we are left to play within your Reign as we honor one another and your whole Creation. Amen.
Comments again deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
The Sabbath was indeed made for everyone, but not everyone knows how to keep the Sabbath. The Human Being knows, because the Human Being in us can know what God wants. Laws structure freedom. If we are serving that which the law serves, then we have freedom of choice, even if it means breaking the law (or, as here, interpreting for oneself what constitutes violation of the law). But if we are not serving that which the law serves, then we are obligated to obey the law. Law deals with the unredeemed aspect of persons, and insofar as we are all unredeemed, to that degree we are and must remain under law. So this freedom is the opposite of lawlessness.
Orange barrels. I use this example quite a bit. If we know why orange barrels are put up on streets and highways and if we are able to honor the purpose of those barrels – to keep people safe and out of harm’s way and make sure that people are given adequate space to go about their work & play – then the barrels do not rule us. In fact, if there is an emergency or an immediate need that is not dealt with directly by the placement of the barrels, it may be appropriate to move outside the designated area of the barrels. But, when we understand and honor the intention of the barrels, we will break the “law of the barrels” in such a way that the intention of the “law” will be upheld. That is, I may by pass or move a barrel to do or allow for something that is vital to life now and does not cause a breakdown of the good intention of the system of barrels.
Connection: Know in your heart the call to love one another so that in the middle of all the legalisms of the day we can still maintain the vision that is primary to all of our actions.
As you grasp our hearts, O God, remind us of your gracious will and the many ways we are left to play within your Reign as we honor one another and your whole Creation. Amen.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Monday, 12 July, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.” This is from the section on the Pre-Easter sayings of Jesus.
Comments again deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Technically they were reaping, an activity prohibited on the Sabbath. But the disciples judged, with the freedom in which they had been established before God by Jesus, that the infraction was too trivial to count. But was it? Numbers 15:32-36 recounts an episode during the Exodus when a man who was gathering sticks on the Sabbath was stoned to death, showing how seriously Israelites regarded such infractions.
We can always find a good excuse to go against a law. We can always find a reason to bend a rule…just this once. We can always make room for an exception – especially if it is for me and my kind. And yet, does that mean that we are to do that…to find ways to set the law aside for our own personal benefit? Wink notes that “once need has been elevated above the law, law is subject to infinite qualification, until anarchy prevails.” So where is the line to be drawn? Fill a room full of people and that line will be drawn in a number of places. Then again, there may be some unifying logic among each position but…the people in the room will still come down differently when it comes to acting. We must continue to push ourselves beyond what is good for “me” to how “we” will be able to live together in a creative harmony under a common vision.
Connection: What is the good that we seek to have brought to life today among us? Where does our definition of good come from and can we live with that definition changing within a dialogue with others?
Lord God, lead us again this day as you have led your people in the past. Take us into your loving embrace and send us off within the blessed memory of your love for all your children. Amen
Comments again deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Technically they were reaping, an activity prohibited on the Sabbath. But the disciples judged, with the freedom in which they had been established before God by Jesus, that the infraction was too trivial to count. But was it? Numbers 15:32-36 recounts an episode during the Exodus when a man who was gathering sticks on the Sabbath was stoned to death, showing how seriously Israelites regarded such infractions.
We can always find a good excuse to go against a law. We can always find a reason to bend a rule…just this once. We can always make room for an exception – especially if it is for me and my kind. And yet, does that mean that we are to do that…to find ways to set the law aside for our own personal benefit? Wink notes that “once need has been elevated above the law, law is subject to infinite qualification, until anarchy prevails.” So where is the line to be drawn? Fill a room full of people and that line will be drawn in a number of places. Then again, there may be some unifying logic among each position but…the people in the room will still come down differently when it comes to acting. We must continue to push ourselves beyond what is good for “me” to how “we” will be able to live together in a creative harmony under a common vision.
Connection: What is the good that we seek to have brought to life today among us? Where does our definition of good come from and can we live with that definition changing within a dialogue with others?
Lord God, lead us again this day as you have led your people in the past. Take us into your loving embrace and send us off within the blessed memory of your love for all your children. Amen
Friday, July 9, 2004
Friday, 9 July, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.” This is from the section on the Pre-Easter sayings of Jesus.
Comments again deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus is not condemning the law here, or abrogating it, or declaring himself and his followers above the law and beyond good and evil. The passage assumes that keeping the Sabbath is normative. The question is not whether to keep the Sabbath, but when and how.
Keeping the Sabbath is a good thing. Wouldn’t it be good for all of us to take a day of rest and simply rest and not fit in all the things that are on our “to do lists?” But as it often the case with any good thing we have, we have this amazing way of turning it into something that no longer brings life and it can literally keep life from abounding around us. How one keeps the Sabbath…or how one keeps the law cannot be something set in stone…and yet, it cannot be something we simply push aside either. To follow the law is to consider the reason for the law, consider the impact on life within the context of day, and always consider how the law helps or hinders relationships. The non-violent resisters of the civil rights movement listened to the law, saw that it was not just for all, and therefore, people acted contrary to the law with the understanding that they would be punished. They would rather go against the letter of the law in order to bring to the law a more authentic interpretation and use of the law.
Connection: We need to know how to bend and bow and honor one another. Sometimes that is by demanding that we live according to some rules. At other times, it may mean that those rules must be seriously reconsidered and, at times, set aside, for the welfare of the life of the community in this day.
Lord of the Sabbath, you are our rest and our hope. It is because of your gracious gift of life that we are able to let go of the burdens of this day and find rest in you alone. Your peace is our peace and our source of comfort and renewal. Amen.
Comments again deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus is not condemning the law here, or abrogating it, or declaring himself and his followers above the law and beyond good and evil. The passage assumes that keeping the Sabbath is normative. The question is not whether to keep the Sabbath, but when and how.
Keeping the Sabbath is a good thing. Wouldn’t it be good for all of us to take a day of rest and simply rest and not fit in all the things that are on our “to do lists?” But as it often the case with any good thing we have, we have this amazing way of turning it into something that no longer brings life and it can literally keep life from abounding around us. How one keeps the Sabbath…or how one keeps the law cannot be something set in stone…and yet, it cannot be something we simply push aside either. To follow the law is to consider the reason for the law, consider the impact on life within the context of day, and always consider how the law helps or hinders relationships. The non-violent resisters of the civil rights movement listened to the law, saw that it was not just for all, and therefore, people acted contrary to the law with the understanding that they would be punished. They would rather go against the letter of the law in order to bring to the law a more authentic interpretation and use of the law.
Connection: We need to know how to bend and bow and honor one another. Sometimes that is by demanding that we live according to some rules. At other times, it may mean that those rules must be seriously reconsidered and, at times, set aside, for the welfare of the life of the community in this day.
Lord of the Sabbath, you are our rest and our hope. It is because of your gracious gift of life that we are able to let go of the burdens of this day and find rest in you alone. Your peace is our peace and our source of comfort and renewal. Amen.
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Thursday, 8 July, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.” This is from the section on the Pre-Easter sayings of Jesus.
Comments deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus might seem to be saying that humanity is the measure of all things. If so, it would take little to refute him. Humanity is alienated from the cosmos, a wolf at the throat of its neighbors, a rebel against God and the requirements of the ecosystem, and a threat to every living species. Humanity can least of all be the measure of all things! It is not humanity as such, but the Human Being that is the lord even of the Sabbath.
The fullness of our Humanity demands something more than the wishes we have and the needs we may claim. The Son of Man – or as Wink puts it: the Human Being – honors the Sabbath and honors the welfare of others and God’s creation. Therefore, it is when our own “special interests” are put aside do we begin to see what kind of action is appropriate for us. Yes, the Sabbath allows for and calls for and demand rest and peace and healing…but when we see from the eyes of the fullness of our Humanity, those laws become something in which we can stretch and move for the welfare of all. The law cannot create our wholeness; it becomes a gift given to us by God.
Connection: Don’t be afraid to think and act beyond the “letter of the law.” We are at our best a human beings when we are drawn into a dialogical community in which we begin to see more than what our own eyes have let us see and our own ears have let us hear. Today may carry a moment in which, for the welfare of others, we wrestle with what is…and possibly step into what could be.
Lord of the Sabbath, you bring us our rest and you call us into community. Remind us of the tension that exists as your will is made known among us and not simply something that is demanded of me alone. Amen.
Comments deal with the story about “plucking grain on the Sabbath” (Mark 2:23-28). Here it is to read:
One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them , “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus might seem to be saying that humanity is the measure of all things. If so, it would take little to refute him. Humanity is alienated from the cosmos, a wolf at the throat of its neighbors, a rebel against God and the requirements of the ecosystem, and a threat to every living species. Humanity can least of all be the measure of all things! It is not humanity as such, but the Human Being that is the lord even of the Sabbath.
The fullness of our Humanity demands something more than the wishes we have and the needs we may claim. The Son of Man – or as Wink puts it: the Human Being – honors the Sabbath and honors the welfare of others and God’s creation. Therefore, it is when our own “special interests” are put aside do we begin to see what kind of action is appropriate for us. Yes, the Sabbath allows for and calls for and demand rest and peace and healing…but when we see from the eyes of the fullness of our Humanity, those laws become something in which we can stretch and move for the welfare of all. The law cannot create our wholeness; it becomes a gift given to us by God.
Connection: Don’t be afraid to think and act beyond the “letter of the law.” We are at our best a human beings when we are drawn into a dialogical community in which we begin to see more than what our own eyes have let us see and our own ears have let us hear. Today may carry a moment in which, for the welfare of others, we wrestle with what is…and possibly step into what could be.
Lord of the Sabbath, you bring us our rest and you call us into community. Remind us of the tension that exists as your will is made known among us and not simply something that is demanded of me alone. Amen.
Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Wednesday, 7 July, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.” This is from the section on the Pre-Easter sayings of Jesus.
Jesus’ present is the human future. The “coming” of the Human Being in the future will be the culmination of the Human Being revealed by Jesus, exalted to sublimity by Jesus’ ascension into the realm of what physicist are calling nonlocal reality – or, if you prefer, the realm of the archetypes, or the imaginal plane, or what John’s Gospel simply calls “eternal life.”
What is Jesus’ present? If we think of what is to come, it is the future in its fullest form. If we are thinking of Jesus as present in the stories of scripture, it is the fullness of human expression and life when it comes into its completeness. It is always what is not yet among us and it is always that into which we are invited to dance. With the many ways we can speak of Jesus “coming” (or that of “the Human Being”), I still find eternal life to be quite powerful. That is especially the case if we see it as life now…and life that is to come…and life that has been. There is a life – a completeness within our humanity – that does not change with the winds of a new day or become lost within the stagnancy of tradition. The humanity we see in Jesus has not changed in time…nor will it. It still invites us into a life beyond what we claim to have and hold.
Connection: Think of the future…the way things will be when God’s gift of life to us is realized. Then, without being consumed by what might happen if we step into that future - step into that future. God is waiting and present for us.
By your power you draw us into the wonderful domain of your loving presence, O God. Be with us when we begin to imagine ourselves trusting in your gracious gift of life so that we will catch another glimpse of what you see in us and from there we begin to live anew. Amen.
Jesus’ present is the human future. The “coming” of the Human Being in the future will be the culmination of the Human Being revealed by Jesus, exalted to sublimity by Jesus’ ascension into the realm of what physicist are calling nonlocal reality – or, if you prefer, the realm of the archetypes, or the imaginal plane, or what John’s Gospel simply calls “eternal life.”
What is Jesus’ present? If we think of what is to come, it is the future in its fullest form. If we are thinking of Jesus as present in the stories of scripture, it is the fullness of human expression and life when it comes into its completeness. It is always what is not yet among us and it is always that into which we are invited to dance. With the many ways we can speak of Jesus “coming” (or that of “the Human Being”), I still find eternal life to be quite powerful. That is especially the case if we see it as life now…and life that is to come…and life that has been. There is a life – a completeness within our humanity – that does not change with the winds of a new day or become lost within the stagnancy of tradition. The humanity we see in Jesus has not changed in time…nor will it. It still invites us into a life beyond what we claim to have and hold.
Connection: Think of the future…the way things will be when God’s gift of life to us is realized. Then, without being consumed by what might happen if we step into that future - step into that future. God is waiting and present for us.
By your power you draw us into the wonderful domain of your loving presence, O God. Be with us when we begin to imagine ourselves trusting in your gracious gift of life so that we will catch another glimpse of what you see in us and from there we begin to live anew. Amen.
Tuesday, 6 July, 2004
We continue with another section of Walter Wink’s “The Human Being.”
Several writers have puzzled over the Bible’s lack of an anthropology. No anthropology can yet be written, however, because humanity is not yet human. The Bible displays, rather, the failure of anthropology: rebellion against our divine destiny. But Jesus did not carry his cross and suffer crucifixion so that we can escape. We are cornered by the supreme power of the incarnating Will. God wants to become human, even if God rends humanity asunder. We are threatened with universal genocide if we do not undergo an inner, spiritual death to that in us that causes our destructiveness.
Afraid…to be human…to be exactly what we are…to love ourselves without excuse…to honor the potential others have to be human – even as it might be different from the humanity I am actualizing, may be a place in which we feel comfortable but it is not the vision in which we as God’s beloved children are to be left. Fear has a way of making less of us. So often, in the church, we say things like: “Look to the cross, the death, the suffering of Jesus to see God’s love for us and to see the fullness of our humanity.” This is not a statement about something “out there.” It is a statement about - the way of our humanity…the way of our becoming…the way of living that reveals God’s presence in the flesh. It is also a way that pulls us out of the many pathways we want to make our own so that we will encounter something more of what we can and will be.
Connection: Our God expects us to be God’s beloved today…nothing more. But between now and the end of the day, it is easy to let fear and anxiety push us away from God’s expectations and replace them with our own. To often, our expectations fall far short of the vision of what it is to be truly human.
When we settle for something less than your love for us, O God, continue to push your way into our path so that we will take the risk to venture along the road you offer us within your blessed Reign. Amen.
Several writers have puzzled over the Bible’s lack of an anthropology. No anthropology can yet be written, however, because humanity is not yet human. The Bible displays, rather, the failure of anthropology: rebellion against our divine destiny. But Jesus did not carry his cross and suffer crucifixion so that we can escape. We are cornered by the supreme power of the incarnating Will. God wants to become human, even if God rends humanity asunder. We are threatened with universal genocide if we do not undergo an inner, spiritual death to that in us that causes our destructiveness.
Afraid…to be human…to be exactly what we are…to love ourselves without excuse…to honor the potential others have to be human – even as it might be different from the humanity I am actualizing, may be a place in which we feel comfortable but it is not the vision in which we as God’s beloved children are to be left. Fear has a way of making less of us. So often, in the church, we say things like: “Look to the cross, the death, the suffering of Jesus to see God’s love for us and to see the fullness of our humanity.” This is not a statement about something “out there.” It is a statement about - the way of our humanity…the way of our becoming…the way of living that reveals God’s presence in the flesh. It is also a way that pulls us out of the many pathways we want to make our own so that we will encounter something more of what we can and will be.
Connection: Our God expects us to be God’s beloved today…nothing more. But between now and the end of the day, it is easy to let fear and anxiety push us away from God’s expectations and replace them with our own. To often, our expectations fall far short of the vision of what it is to be truly human.
When we settle for something less than your love for us, O God, continue to push your way into our path so that we will take the risk to venture along the road you offer us within your blessed Reign. Amen.
Friday, July 2, 2004
Friday, 2 July, 2004
Text: Galatians 3:6-9
Just as Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," so, you see those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you." For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.
Placing Abraham in the position of being the ancestor of "faith" is key for Paul. It gives all who trust in God revealed in Jesus the connection to the very center of the promise of the Old Testament community. It is at the center of the ministry and mission to the Gentiles. "All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you." And here is Paul dealing with this movement out to those outside of the Jewish circle that was the first community of Jesus' followers. WE become justified before God just as Abraham was - by trusting God's promise. Nothing we do seals the "deal" for it is not a deal...it is a word of grace and promise that grab hold of us - all of us. Of course we can insist that something must be done to either initiate God's action toward us or we would need to do something to make it work...and yet, it is only our trust in what God promises (the reality God creates & the life in which God invites us to live) that is needed. Remember, though our lack of trust doesn't end the promise - it is always there as an invitation to life - new life. We may wander off into lives filled with the notion that we are in "good standing before God" based on what we must do, but God never buys into our way of trying to set up the world. Not be works...by faith alone. It is as though God expects us to receive this gift and so God keeps offering to us - forever and always.
Connection: This forever promise is meant to be the shaper of our day. It is the word of truth about our place before God that has the power to give us new life - now...no waiting. In a world when we often are continuously lost in the adventure to make ourselves worthy, there is the announcement that God has "found us" "justified us" and there is no need to keep searching for anything more. Life.
God of Promise and the Creator of what was and what will be, let your Holy Spirit give us vision and the simple gift of trusting you alone in this day we now enter. Amen
Just as Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," so, you see those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you." For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.
Placing Abraham in the position of being the ancestor of "faith" is key for Paul. It gives all who trust in God revealed in Jesus the connection to the very center of the promise of the Old Testament community. It is at the center of the ministry and mission to the Gentiles. "All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you." And here is Paul dealing with this movement out to those outside of the Jewish circle that was the first community of Jesus' followers. WE become justified before God just as Abraham was - by trusting God's promise. Nothing we do seals the "deal" for it is not a deal...it is a word of grace and promise that grab hold of us - all of us. Of course we can insist that something must be done to either initiate God's action toward us or we would need to do something to make it work...and yet, it is only our trust in what God promises (the reality God creates & the life in which God invites us to live) that is needed. Remember, though our lack of trust doesn't end the promise - it is always there as an invitation to life - new life. We may wander off into lives filled with the notion that we are in "good standing before God" based on what we must do, but God never buys into our way of trying to set up the world. Not be works...by faith alone. It is as though God expects us to receive this gift and so God keeps offering to us - forever and always.
Connection: This forever promise is meant to be the shaper of our day. It is the word of truth about our place before God that has the power to give us new life - now...no waiting. In a world when we often are continuously lost in the adventure to make ourselves worthy, there is the announcement that God has "found us" "justified us" and there is no need to keep searching for anything more. Life.
God of Promise and the Creator of what was and what will be, let your Holy Spirit give us vision and the simple gift of trusting you alone in this day we now enter. Amen
Thursday, July 1, 2004
Thursday, 1 July, 2005
Text: Galatians 3:1-5
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publically exhibited as crucified! The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so much for nothing? - if it really was for nothing. Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
How is it that we can pull ourselves or let ourselves be pulled away from the Good News that is the grace of God -made flesh in Jesus and made present for us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul is really quite befuddled here. Not that he is confused about the faith, but rather than anyone would knowingly desert the gospel and run to something else. In the order for Evening Prayer in the Lutheran Book of Worship, after we have had the lessons for the evening read, the response goes: In many and various ways God spoke to God's people of old by the prophets. But now in these last days God has spoken to us by God's son. In the case of today's text, it sounds as though the people have been influenced "in many and various ways"...but it is not an influence for life that comes from the grace of God! To trust in God's word of love for us, it means taking our hands off of that love and letting it be God's love and not the limited, conditional, experience of life that is easy to grasp but never lets us walk within the Reign of God's love. Whether it is fear, or in that, a need to be able to judge what is "in" and what is "out" so that we can have some concrete insurance of where we stand (according to our own standards), too many people choose to be "bewitched" and therefore will let go of the Gracious word of God's love. Paul plays an important hand in these few verses: The Spirit. One person notes that the Spirit is for Paul: the powerful presence of the resurrected Christ in the Christians -- the power of the new age in the present -- the demonstration of the reality of God's work in Jesus. When we are pulled and pushed into trusting something like what we can accomplish or rules we can follow or things that must happen in our lives for us to be God's beloved, remember that this power of the Holy Spirit waits for us. On a stronger note, I think this Spirit, relentlessly brings moments of sheer grace and love within to our lives to remind us of the unconditional and never failing way God welcomes us home. Don't let yourselves listen to anything but that word...for they are not leading you home unless it is a free ticket with Jesus' signature on the back - for all.
Connection: What does this Spirit have to do with your life today? With you abides the power presence of the new age that is Jesus putting into life the reality of God's work for us. Wow. That is something to take to heart even if you are simply picking something up at the grocery today. What freedom to love and live.
God of every age, you never change. You persist and you will not let any other word be the word of life for us even when we leave you to pursue the shiny facade of other word claiming to bring life. Be our daily bread...be our home for all time...be our place of joy and celebration in this day. Amen
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publically exhibited as crucified! The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so much for nothing? - if it really was for nothing. Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
How is it that we can pull ourselves or let ourselves be pulled away from the Good News that is the grace of God -made flesh in Jesus and made present for us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul is really quite befuddled here. Not that he is confused about the faith, but rather than anyone would knowingly desert the gospel and run to something else. In the order for Evening Prayer in the Lutheran Book of Worship, after we have had the lessons for the evening read, the response goes: In many and various ways God spoke to God's people of old by the prophets. But now in these last days God has spoken to us by God's son. In the case of today's text, it sounds as though the people have been influenced "in many and various ways"...but it is not an influence for life that comes from the grace of God! To trust in God's word of love for us, it means taking our hands off of that love and letting it be God's love and not the limited, conditional, experience of life that is easy to grasp but never lets us walk within the Reign of God's love. Whether it is fear, or in that, a need to be able to judge what is "in" and what is "out" so that we can have some concrete insurance of where we stand (according to our own standards), too many people choose to be "bewitched" and therefore will let go of the Gracious word of God's love. Paul plays an important hand in these few verses: The Spirit. One person notes that the Spirit is for Paul: the powerful presence of the resurrected Christ in the Christians -- the power of the new age in the present -- the demonstration of the reality of God's work in Jesus. When we are pulled and pushed into trusting something like what we can accomplish or rules we can follow or things that must happen in our lives for us to be God's beloved, remember that this power of the Holy Spirit waits for us. On a stronger note, I think this Spirit, relentlessly brings moments of sheer grace and love within to our lives to remind us of the unconditional and never failing way God welcomes us home. Don't let yourselves listen to anything but that word...for they are not leading you home unless it is a free ticket with Jesus' signature on the back - for all.
Connection: What does this Spirit have to do with your life today? With you abides the power presence of the new age that is Jesus putting into life the reality of God's work for us. Wow. That is something to take to heart even if you are simply picking something up at the grocery today. What freedom to love and live.
God of every age, you never change. You persist and you will not let any other word be the word of life for us even when we leave you to pursue the shiny facade of other word claiming to bring life. Be our daily bread...be our home for all time...be our place of joy and celebration in this day. Amen
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