Lent week 4

Psalm: Psalm 23
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Gospel: John 9:1-41
Epistle: Ephesians 5:8-14

I Hope this Lenten season continues to be a time of reflection for you and a time to draw closer to the Lord. I was thinking as I write this how at least in my evangelical church, we had an Ash Wednesday service and we will do a Good Friday service, but there has been no mention of Lent on the Sundays between the two. There is no recognition or any attempt to carry the themes of Ash Wednesday and Lent throughout the season. In my mind, this does a disservice to the season of Lent, and makes me wonder why we bother with an Ash Wednesday or Good Friday service to begin with. It's not like the church doesn't know how to celebrate a season! It may be securulaized in some churches, and it may not always be called Advent, but most churches celebrate the Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas as something special. So we can sustain a season beyond just one Sunday. That is enough of a rant for today, but after the forth Sunday in Lent in my church, I for one am wondering what the point of the Ash Wednesday service even was.

Turning towards our reading this week, I am struggling to find any connections between the four passages, especially as they relate to Lent. Three years ago when we read these passages I talked about the idea of anointing: David is anointed as king and Jesus is anointed as Messiah. Of course that idea still carries weight and the question of that week was what or how is God anointing, or calling, us to.

I want to reflect on the story of David as well this year. The narrative of God's people as told in the Old Testament is really a fascinating story. I know there was a movie made about Jesus called The Greatest Story Ever Told, but nothing can beat the plot twists, false starts, unexpected side stories, and quite honestly the sometimes bizarre things that happened in the Old Testament and the story of Israel (of which Jesus is the surprise culmination).

One such strange development is the calling of David. We have in our mind Kind David as the giant slayer, the musician, the perfect body as idealized by Michelangelo. He is immortalized, as the archetypal king from whence the Messiah would come to restore Israel to its former glory as under David. But our story today happens way before that, when David is just a poor shepherd boy that doesn't even get invited to the party. We are probably all familiar with the story. Saul, the first king of Israel, has been rejected by God for disobedience and the Lord sends Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to choose the next king. This in itself is noteworthy for the very fact that it is not noteworthy at all. Bethlehem is a not to important town at the time. Jesse isn't known for any reason before this and his ancestors weren't leaders or prophets in Israel. David's mother is never even mentioned in the whole Old Testament. So it is entirely unexpected that God would send Samuel to Jesse's house and then that he would pick the youngest of eight sons to be anointed as the new king of Israel. The events that follow this in the life of David are just as unexpected and provide much drama and fascination.

The "Story of God" at work in Israel --using human agents-- is remarkable. If anything we should be reminded that God can use anyone to accomplish his plans. Things may take a winding and unexpected route, but ultimately God's plan for his people and indeed all of creation will be brought about. God is just looking for obedient people. We don't have to be perfect or have it all together; we just have to be willing to say yes! Let us be willing to follow Christ wherever and however he calls us.

Grace and peace.

Lent Week 3

Psalm: Psalm 95
Old Testament: Exodus 17:1-7
Gospel: John 4:5-42
Epistle: Romans 5:1-11

This week I figured we better talk about The Gospel reading from John since it is one of the largest readings the Lectionary ever gives us for a Sunday. Today, the story is the classic account of the Samaritan women at the well. There are so many interesting elements to this story and it works on a few different levels, as do all biblical texts. We probably know the story, and hopefully you read the passages. But real briefly, Jesus goes through Samaria on the way to Galilee. John writes that Jesus "had to pass through Samaria," but this is actually not the case if he followed the normal Jewish route between Judea and Galilee. The Samaritan's didn't like the Jews and would refuse to provide overnight lodging for them when they traveled through their country. Thus, Jews would travel on the East side of the Jordan River in territory that was more friendly to them. So when John says that Jesus "had to" travel this route, it says more about Jesus' mission rather than about his travel itinerary. While, Jesus was in Samaria he meets a woman who has been married five times and is currently living with a different man. Jesus and her talk, much to her surprise, and Jesus tells her that he could offer her living water and she would never thirst again if she would only ask. She accepts Jesus' offer and believes that he is a prophet and even the Messiah, The one who is promised to come. She returns to her village and tells her community about Jesus. In doing so, she becomes what I think is the first evangelist in the Gospel of John. She tells her people about Jesus and in doing so many also come to believe in Jesus and he stays there for 2 days and the passage ends with them declaring that Jesus is "indeed the Savior of the world." 

This is the first level the story works on, that of the contemporaries of the event.  A couple of other things to point out from this story as well. First, notice there is no "messianic secret" in John. Jesus' identity is clear and anyone who has ears to hear and eyes to see, in faith, can figure it out. Jew, Greek, Samaritan, it doesn't matter to Jesus. John also presents a very different image of Jesus then the Synoptic Gospels on this issue. For example, compare this story to Matt. 10:5 where Jesus won't even go to Samaria.

Moving on to the second level this texts work is that of John's audience. The text is explicit in letting us know that the readers, or hearers, of the story are different then Jesus' Jewish and Samaritan contemporaries. John puts a parenthetical aside in verse 9 letting his probably Roman or Greek audience know that "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." For the hearers of John's Gospel then, I think the meaning of Jesus' actions and words lose some significance, which is why John tried to explain what was happening. Notice also, that when the disciples return to Jesus they "were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman," not that they were amazed that he had been speaking to a Samaritan, or even a Samaritan women. (vs. 27) But the message for John's readers was the same as for that of Jesus' contemporaries, Jesus was the Messiah for all people. The Samaritans were invited, worship of God wouldn't require a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and Jesus would provide his living water to all who would accept.

This is good news indeed. Especially for us Gentiles who get to be grafted into the people of God. Let us come to drink from the Living water Jesus offers, and let us invite others to the divine banquet.

Grace and peace.

Lent Week 2

The Psalm: Psalm 121
Old Testament: Genesis 12:1-4a
Gospel: John 3:1-17 or Matthew 17:1-9
Epistle: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Today is the second Sunday in Lent and thus we have just made it through the first full week of the Lenten fast. If you are like me, then you are feeling a little bit of the pain of giving something up. It's not like I am necessarily praying or reading the Bible every time I want to use my phone, but in feeling the impulse and then the denial, I am reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. In the little moments everyday, when I want to look at my phone and don't, I am also reminded of those all over the world who don't even have the basics of life, let alone a smart phone. I am reminded in the choice I make to fast, that some people don't have as many choices as I do. Our volunteer fast in the West, from sweets or meat let's say, can become a way for us to find solidarity and compassion for those all over the world who don't have the opportunities we do. The Lenten fast can mean many things of course, but this is just one of the ways I was reflecting on it over the course of this week.

Lent Week 1

Psalm: Psalm 32
Old Testament: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11
Epistle: Romans 5:12-19 

On Wednesday this week we observed Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Hopefully you were able to attend an Ash Wednesday service at a a church around you. You can see my post about Lent and Ash Wednesday HERE. Lent is an important in time in the life of church to reflect on our own personal sins and need for forgiveness, and also a time to reflect as a corporate body the sins we participated in or benefited from. These corporate sins span across time and space, but as we reflect on them, we are reminded the ways in the present we are still caught up in things that do harm to others. Lent is also a time not just to reflect on our sin and finitude ("from dust we have come, and to dust we return.") but also a time of fasting and repentance. All of these things are very biblical concepts, but they are also things we like to avoid. The season of Lent however forces us to this place. It forces us to confront things we would rather avoid and ultimately it leads us to the cross and the place where we can find forgiveness.