Here are the Scripture readings for Sunday, May 17. The reading from Acts 10 is part of a larger story about Peter and Cornelius, a Roman centurion. While Peter was indeed a “Christian” in that he was a follower of Jesus, at this very early point in the life of the church there was no breach yet between followers of Jesus, who at this point were almost all Jews, and the Jewish community. As a Jew Peter would only associate with Gentiles (that is, everyone who was not of Jewish ethnicity) on a very limited basis. While some Gentiles, such as Cornelius, worshipped with Jews at the synagogue and practiced many parts of the Law of Moses, even they were reckoned as outsiders and were not welcomed fully into fellowship with the Jewish community.
But then one day God did something shocking. God poured out the Holy Spirit on Cornelius, and in a dream told Peter to see Cornelius so Peter could see what God had done. What was shocking about this was the Jewish belief that God’s promises associated with the victory of God over the nations (literally, over the Gentiles), of which the giving of the Holy Spirit was one, were believed to be for the Jews only. But with Cornelius it was becoming apparent that all peoples were able to share in God’s promises and in God’s kingdom.
To put it bluntly, none of us would be part of Christ’s body if it wasn’t for what God showed Peter by pouring out the Holy Spirit on Cornelius. This story isn’t as much about the conversion of Cornelius to Christianity as much as it’s about God converting Peter to embrace the vast scope of God’s mission.
This story helps us see that while God’s presence is embodied throughout the spectrum of ethnic groups, from Anglo Saxons to Zulus, God is not identified with any one of these groups. If this is true can we really speak of a “Christian West” versus an “Islamic East” when Christians still abide in lands throughout the Middle East and Central Asia? How does this challenge how we perceive ourselves in relation to the other nations?
What parts of God’s mission do we find shocking? How does the vastness of God’s mission challenge some of our core assumptions?
Thursday 5/14
Isaiah 49:5-6
Acts 10:1-34
Friday 5/15
Isaiah 42:5-9
Acts 10:34-43
Saturday 5/16
Deuteronomy 32:44-47
Mark 10:42-45
Read Psalm 98 each of these three days.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Rooted and Sent
The readings from John and from Acts for Sunday, May 10, may at first read seem to go against each other. The image of the vine and branches in John 15 is an image of stability, continuity and rootedness. The story in Acts 8 of the scattering of the Jerusalem church and of Philip moving here and there by the guidance of the Holy Spirit is a story of motion, change and of being sent. How do we both stay rooted and get up and go?
In the Isaiah passages below we see how central the image of the vineyard is in describing Israel’s relationship to God. For Israel the image of the vineyard is closely associated to having a specific place in the world, namely the Promised Land. But as Christians we do not share in this same promise of being given a special piece of land, of being a settled people. How do we relate to this image of vineyard?
A better way to imagine this image may be to think of what it means to be a fruitful people. In Genesis God’s first command to humanity is to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the earth, in others words to be fruitful and to get up and go. We are called to be a rooted people, but we are rooted in the person of Jesus and not to a special piece of land. Paul’s words about the fruit of the (Holy) Spirit help us what it understands to be fruitful and sent. Wherever we are we embody the Christ-like virtues and by doing so make God’s presence tangible.
Another way to think of the dynamic of being rooted and sent is to be “inwardly strong and outwardly focused,” which is the motto of the Presbyterian Global Fellowship, a group within the PC(USA) that seeks to help churches become sent communities and not static institutions. I encourage you to check out their blog postings and see what insights are valuable or perhaps provocative.
What kinds of roots do we have –both spiritual and to family, neighborhoods, work and other places? How can these roots not be barriers to being sent, but the very places we are called to go to and bear fruit?
Monday, 5/11
Isaiah 5:1-7
Galatians 5:16-26
Tuesday 5/12
Isaiah 32:9-20
James 3:17-18
Wednesday 5/13
Isaiah 65:17-25
John 14:18-31
Read Psalm 80 each of these three days.
In the Isaiah passages below we see how central the image of the vineyard is in describing Israel’s relationship to God. For Israel the image of the vineyard is closely associated to having a specific place in the world, namely the Promised Land. But as Christians we do not share in this same promise of being given a special piece of land, of being a settled people. How do we relate to this image of vineyard?
A better way to imagine this image may be to think of what it means to be a fruitful people. In Genesis God’s first command to humanity is to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the earth, in others words to be fruitful and to get up and go. We are called to be a rooted people, but we are rooted in the person of Jesus and not to a special piece of land. Paul’s words about the fruit of the (Holy) Spirit help us what it understands to be fruitful and sent. Wherever we are we embody the Christ-like virtues and by doing so make God’s presence tangible.
Another way to think of the dynamic of being rooted and sent is to be “inwardly strong and outwardly focused,” which is the motto of the Presbyterian Global Fellowship, a group within the PC(USA) that seeks to help churches become sent communities and not static institutions. I encourage you to check out their blog postings and see what insights are valuable or perhaps provocative.
What kinds of roots do we have –both spiritual and to family, neighborhoods, work and other places? How can these roots not be barriers to being sent, but the very places we are called to go to and bear fruit?
Monday, 5/11
Isaiah 5:1-7
Galatians 5:16-26
Tuesday 5/12
Isaiah 32:9-20
James 3:17-18
Wednesday 5/13
Isaiah 65:17-25
John 14:18-31
Read Psalm 80 each of these three days.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Still Waters, Troubled Waters
As we begin to move to “Ordinary Time,” that long season (about six months) from Pentecost to Advent, I’d like to offer a word about the Sunday lectionary readings. During the seasons of Advent, Epiphany and Lent the Old Testament readings and the New Testament readings share common themes. They are intentionally paired like this so we are able to see how Jesus is rooted in and fulfills Israel’s Scriptures. But after Easter a change begins to take place in how the Sunday readings are ordered. There is no longer a connection between the Old Testament texts and the New Testament texts. The reason behind this shift is to remind us that the Old Testament is not important only because it helps us understand the New Testament. The Old Testament is the Word of God in its own right and can be read and preach on apart from the New.
The readings for Sunday, May 10 begin to move in these different directions. During Easter the Old Testament readings are replaced by readings from Acts, which tell the story of Christian community lived powerfully in the light of Christ’s resurrection. But there is no direct connection between the Gospel readings and the readings from Acts. In the reading from John’s Gospel Jesus declares that he is the vine and his disciples are the branches, who draw strength and life from him. The readings from Amos convey provocative images of Israel as the vine and God as the keeper of the vineyard. While God expresses his anger toward Israel for failing to treat the poor with dignity and respect, we also hear that God cannot forsake his people and that God’s compassion will overcome God’s anger. How do these discomforting passages from Amos help us see the more familiar and comfortable reading from John 15 in a new light?
The readings from Acts below provide background to the reading from Acts for Sunday. While Jesus commanded his disciples to set out from Jerusalem and go to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth with the Gospel message, the church remained in Jerusalem. But as persecution against Jesus’ followers broke out the church was forced to scatter, including a follower of Jesus named Philip. This persecution, perhaps a move by God, forced people like Philip to travel to Judea, Samaria and eventually the ends of the earth. God did not want to allow God’s people to become too comfortable in Jerusalem and so the pressure and stress of persecution became an impetus for Jesus’ followers to obey Jesus’ command. How can some of the pressure and stress we experience help us to fulfill God’s call to us? How does it change our understandings and expectations of God that God both leads us beside still waters and troubles the waters? What was Philip able to see and do because God upset the apple cart?
Thursday, 5/7
Amos 8:1-7
Acts 8:1-8
Friday 5/8
Amos 8:11-13
Acts 8:9-25
Saturday 5/9
Amos 9:7-15
Mark 4:30-32
Read Psalm 22:25-31 each of these three days.
The readings for Sunday, May 10 begin to move in these different directions. During Easter the Old Testament readings are replaced by readings from Acts, which tell the story of Christian community lived powerfully in the light of Christ’s resurrection. But there is no direct connection between the Gospel readings and the readings from Acts. In the reading from John’s Gospel Jesus declares that he is the vine and his disciples are the branches, who draw strength and life from him. The readings from Amos convey provocative images of Israel as the vine and God as the keeper of the vineyard. While God expresses his anger toward Israel for failing to treat the poor with dignity and respect, we also hear that God cannot forsake his people and that God’s compassion will overcome God’s anger. How do these discomforting passages from Amos help us see the more familiar and comfortable reading from John 15 in a new light?
The readings from Acts below provide background to the reading from Acts for Sunday. While Jesus commanded his disciples to set out from Jerusalem and go to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth with the Gospel message, the church remained in Jerusalem. But as persecution against Jesus’ followers broke out the church was forced to scatter, including a follower of Jesus named Philip. This persecution, perhaps a move by God, forced people like Philip to travel to Judea, Samaria and eventually the ends of the earth. God did not want to allow God’s people to become too comfortable in Jerusalem and so the pressure and stress of persecution became an impetus for Jesus’ followers to obey Jesus’ command. How can some of the pressure and stress we experience help us to fulfill God’s call to us? How does it change our understandings and expectations of God that God both leads us beside still waters and troubles the waters? What was Philip able to see and do because God upset the apple cart?
Thursday, 5/7
Amos 8:1-7
Acts 8:1-8
Friday 5/8
Amos 8:11-13
Acts 8:9-25
Saturday 5/9
Amos 9:7-15
Mark 4:30-32
Read Psalm 22:25-31 each of these three days.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Working Class Hero
The Scripture readings for Sunday, May 3 focus on the image of God as our shepherd. When we listen to stories from the Bible we find that shepherds were rather low on the ladder. After Moses fled Egypt because he committed murder, the job he was able to get as a fugitive was as a shepherd. When the prophet Samuel goes to visit Jesse for an important meeting with his family, Jesse leaves his youngest, and presumably least important, son to tend to the flocks. Just because shepherds played a needed role did not mean they were held in high esteem. Like many workers today they provided a necessary service but were considered best left both unseen and unheard.
So it is interesting that throughout Scripture God identifies with the work of shepherds, with those whose service was invaluable and invisible and who worked on the margins of society. Some of the most powerful shepherd/lamb imagery from the Bible is found in the book of Revelation, where Jesus is pictured as both lamb and shepherd.
How do we understand God as our shepherd? How does God’s work remain hidden from the view of polite society? How is God at work in the margins? At the center? How does the image of God/Jesus as shepherd inform our own ministry and mission?
Monday, 5/4
I Samuel 16:1-13
I Peter 5:1-5
Tuesday 5/5
I Chronicles 11:1-9
Revelation 7:13-17
Wednesday 5/6
Micah 7:8-20
Mark 14:26-31
Read Psalm 95 each of these three days.
So it is interesting that throughout Scripture God identifies with the work of shepherds, with those whose service was invaluable and invisible and who worked on the margins of society. Some of the most powerful shepherd/lamb imagery from the Bible is found in the book of Revelation, where Jesus is pictured as both lamb and shepherd.
How do we understand God as our shepherd? How does God’s work remain hidden from the view of polite society? How is God at work in the margins? At the center? How does the image of God/Jesus as shepherd inform our own ministry and mission?
Monday, 5/4
I Samuel 16:1-13
I Peter 5:1-5
Tuesday 5/5
I Chronicles 11:1-9
Revelation 7:13-17
Wednesday 5/6
Micah 7:8-20
Mark 14:26-31
Read Psalm 95 each of these three days.
Friday, May 1, 2009
No Other Name?
In different ways the Scripture readings for Sunday, May 3 focus on the uniqueness of God’s action in Jesus Christ. The reading from Acts concludes with the famous statement that “There is salvation in no one else (other than Jesus Christ), for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." In John Jesus is unique because he is not like the hired hands who run away at the hint of danger. Instead Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep and the only one who can command the attention of his flock, for his sheep know his unique voice.
How do we understand the uniqueness of Jesus today, especially in light of our knowledge of other world religions? Part of the challenge we face is that the authors of the New Testament didn’t have the same awareness of world religions that we do. When the New Testament was written, Christianity was something of a reform movement within Judaism. While the divide between the Church and the Synagogue was growing it was not complete. Islam would not come into existence for another five hundred years. Contact with religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which both pre-date Christianity, were either very limited within the Roman Empire or non-existent. Even the worship of the gods and goddesses of Greece and Rome were understood to be more about pledging allegiance to the Empire than about making any theological claims about God.
But we live in a very different world. The printing press and the internet can give us instant access to the beliefs and practices of all kinds of religious traditions, and we know more and more people who were raised in places where Hinduism or Islam, and not Christianity, was the dominant faith. We are no longer unaware of the fact that there are a number of other established, global religious traditions that do not understand God or Jesus in the same way we do.
How do we confess and practice our faith within the context of other world religions? Our Presbyterian/Reformed tradition may be especially helpful here. Unlike other strands in Christianity which emphasize the importance of the conscious, deliberate human decision to follow Jesus and seek forgiveness from God in Christ’s name, the Reformed tradition emphasizes the importance of God’s initiative in salvation. For people of a Reformed perspective it is not our confession of faith that saves us, but God’s gracious act in Jesus Christ. In the words of the Second Helvetic Confession, a foundational confession for our theology, “We are to have good hope for all. And although God knows who are his, and here and there mention is made of the small number of the elect, yet we must hope well for all, and not rashly judge any man to be a reprobate.” Salvation is determined not by the soundness of our theology, but by the justice and mercy of God.
Another Reformed emphasis that can guide us is our conviction that God’s Law continues to guide us. Part of this Law is the command not to bear false witness against our neighbors. Any religion has its wackos and extremists, and Christianity is no exception. We cannot assume that the loudest strand in a religion is representative for all strands. Fundamentalist Christians do not represent the whole of the Christian tradition anymore than militant Islamists represent the whole of Islam. Just as Christianity is a diverse religion, so are the other world religions. We cannot take the worst example of another faith and use that to tarnish the reputation of all followers of that faith, to bear false witness against our neighbors by bringing undue harm to their reputation.
In engaging in interfaith dialogue we may want to aim more for understanding than agreement. The goal might not be to change/convert minds, but to help others understand how our convictions about God shape our lives. If we understand interfaith conversation in this way our distinctive beliefs and practices are not liabilities in a diverse world, but salt that adds flavor. To take the presence of other world religions seriously does not mean we minimize or neglect our own.
The readings from Genesis, John and Psalm 23 and Mark speak of God as shepherd and us as God’s flock. How does this image of God as shepherd both enrich our faith and add flavor to interfaith conversations about who God is and how God relates to us?
Thursday, 4/30
Genesis 30:25-43
Acts 3:17-26
Friday 5/1
Genesis 46:28-47:6
Acts 4:1-4
Saturday 5/2
Genesis 48:8-19
Mark 6:30-34
Read Psalm 23 each of these three days.
How do we understand the uniqueness of Jesus today, especially in light of our knowledge of other world religions? Part of the challenge we face is that the authors of the New Testament didn’t have the same awareness of world religions that we do. When the New Testament was written, Christianity was something of a reform movement within Judaism. While the divide between the Church and the Synagogue was growing it was not complete. Islam would not come into existence for another five hundred years. Contact with religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which both pre-date Christianity, were either very limited within the Roman Empire or non-existent. Even the worship of the gods and goddesses of Greece and Rome were understood to be more about pledging allegiance to the Empire than about making any theological claims about God.
But we live in a very different world. The printing press and the internet can give us instant access to the beliefs and practices of all kinds of religious traditions, and we know more and more people who were raised in places where Hinduism or Islam, and not Christianity, was the dominant faith. We are no longer unaware of the fact that there are a number of other established, global religious traditions that do not understand God or Jesus in the same way we do.
How do we confess and practice our faith within the context of other world religions? Our Presbyterian/Reformed tradition may be especially helpful here. Unlike other strands in Christianity which emphasize the importance of the conscious, deliberate human decision to follow Jesus and seek forgiveness from God in Christ’s name, the Reformed tradition emphasizes the importance of God’s initiative in salvation. For people of a Reformed perspective it is not our confession of faith that saves us, but God’s gracious act in Jesus Christ. In the words of the Second Helvetic Confession, a foundational confession for our theology, “We are to have good hope for all. And although God knows who are his, and here and there mention is made of the small number of the elect, yet we must hope well for all, and not rashly judge any man to be a reprobate.” Salvation is determined not by the soundness of our theology, but by the justice and mercy of God.
Another Reformed emphasis that can guide us is our conviction that God’s Law continues to guide us. Part of this Law is the command not to bear false witness against our neighbors. Any religion has its wackos and extremists, and Christianity is no exception. We cannot assume that the loudest strand in a religion is representative for all strands. Fundamentalist Christians do not represent the whole of the Christian tradition anymore than militant Islamists represent the whole of Islam. Just as Christianity is a diverse religion, so are the other world religions. We cannot take the worst example of another faith and use that to tarnish the reputation of all followers of that faith, to bear false witness against our neighbors by bringing undue harm to their reputation.
In engaging in interfaith dialogue we may want to aim more for understanding than agreement. The goal might not be to change/convert minds, but to help others understand how our convictions about God shape our lives. If we understand interfaith conversation in this way our distinctive beliefs and practices are not liabilities in a diverse world, but salt that adds flavor. To take the presence of other world religions seriously does not mean we minimize or neglect our own.
The readings from Genesis, John and Psalm 23 and Mark speak of God as shepherd and us as God’s flock. How does this image of God as shepherd both enrich our faith and add flavor to interfaith conversations about who God is and how God relates to us?
Thursday, 4/30
Genesis 30:25-43
Acts 3:17-26
Friday 5/1
Genesis 46:28-47:6
Acts 4:1-4
Saturday 5/2
Genesis 48:8-19
Mark 6:30-34
Read Psalm 23 each of these three days.
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