(Feb. 26) Sunday Snippet

Genesis 9:8-17

Interesting, this promise God makes…interesting because it’s not made explicitly, unequivocally, only to Noah and his sons, but is made, rather, to ALL living creatures, to ALL generations to come. 

And God said, in verse 12, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, and for all generations to come.”  It is a formal agreement between two parties - God and ALL of creation. 

Of course, as you know, we humans have been making covenants for a long time, you also know that these agreements/contracts/covenants usually come with strings attached, such as, “If you pay, I will protect” - “If you abide, I will comply” - “If you do this, I will agree to do that.”  But what is so AMAZING to me about God’s covenant with ALL life and all of creation is that God’s covenant does not appear to have any strings attached…

It is a covenant without any IF clauses, such as, “if you follow each and every rule” or “if you would only pray three times a day” or “if you would only sing every verse of every song” or “if you memorize the Apostle’s Creed.”  No, the covenant God makes with all creation is an unconditional covenant, a covenant of love in which God promises to remember us even if, and even when, we forget about God.

It’s not that God is simply willing to sit back and tolerate our shortcomings (that’s not what I’m saying)…what I am saying is that rather than flood the earth and do something God said he would never do again God sent to earth, a Savior.  Rather than kill, God sent Jesus Christ who was willing to die.  Rather than punish, God is willing to forgive.  Rather than destroy, God offers the chance to gain new life.  And that, my friends, is good news; the good news that to the sign of the rainbow God added - the sign of the Cross.

To the sign of the rainbow Jesus added the sign of the Cross - a sign of Victory - a covenant that through His death means that someday all tears will be wiped away, all pain will vanish, all sorrow will cease - the pouring out of tears we cry today will someday dry up and forever go away.  In the place of destructive flood waters, there will someday be only the calm of eternity - in the place of heavenly tears, there will someday be a heavenly rainbow, and in the place of our sin there now stands, for all the world to see, for all of eternity, the sign of a Cross…

On this, the first Sunday of Lent, let us begin our journey toward Easter with sincere self-examination, honest humility and heartfelt jubilation that to the sign of the RAINBOW - God added - the sign of the CROSS.

Ash Wed. Snippet

Matthew 4:1-11

The situation Jesus encounters in our reading, even in the best of circumstances, would be terrifying to say the least: a Middle Eastern wilderness, an environment where a person would have to battle both physically and emotionally just to survive.  It was the desert region of the lower Jordan Valley.  It was, if you will, the place where Jesus first encountered the dark side. 

In the wilderness, all music stops.  Alone in the wilderness solitude can become a strange friend.  The silence is broken, however, after 40 days and nights by the verbal combat of two worthy foes. This is not some words with friends game, it’s not a scriptural quiz show to reveal the weakest link, nor a contest to see who knows more Bible trivia - no, this is one of the most dramatic stories in the New Testament.  It is the confrontation between Jesus and the devil, between of the Son of God and the Opponent of God.

Bread? Of course hungry people must be fed. But bread comes from the hand of God and not from you, Satan.

Physical safety?  God takes no interest in self-centered audacity, ‘Do not test the Lord,’ Satan. 

Political power?  Universal justice will reign supreme in the new Kingdom.  But not at any price - ‘Away from me Satan.’ 

One of the points I think Matthew teaches here is that the real battle is to be waged and won - on the inside. That the real conflict, the real opposition, is not so much out there, as it is in here (in the heart, mind and soul).  With that thought, the temptation, then, is perhaps a desire to live on bread alone by thriving on a lack of concern; the temptation, perhaps, is to put the Lord to the test by rationalizing away all God has provided; the temptation, perhaps, is to divide rather than unite; to promote self rather than promote the glory of God; to worship more than one god, rather than serving God only.

Ash Wednesday - the day we begin our journey inward, and we begin it by together going toward the resurrection, toward new life.  Lent is when some of us will be prodded by God to discover our true identity, or lack thereof; to confront our temptations; to evaluate our spiritual condition.  Whatever it is for you and me, the good news is, it is ultimately a journey of God’s LOVE for US.

(Feb. 19) Sunday Snippet

Mark 2:1-12

The word is out, in spite of Jesus wanting everyone to keep things a secret, the crowds are coming, and they keep coming, gathering around him, demanding his attention, wanting to see him.  People are traveling from all over; sick people, unclean people, and just plain curious people.   The problem is not that there’s too much going on, but the crowds, the multitudes which have been such a positive sign of Jesus' popularity start to keep those who really need to see Jesus, at bay.

But some in this large crowd are just too creative, too determined, too cleaver to be frustrated by this seemingly inconvenient obstacle.  In today’s story four people carrying a paralyzed man do not give up when they realize they cannot get near Jesus; they do not declare their task impossible; they do not go home in despair.

What, instead, do they do?  They take the roof off the house where Jesus is, and they don’t just peel back a few shingles, they dig with hands and primitive tools through what must have been some combination of adobe, wood, thatch, and maybe even stone.

They didn't care about the obstacles.  They wanted to get to Jesus.  They had an idea, and they went for it.  “What have we got to lose?” (they must have said) “Let’s give it a try.” So, to the roof they went.  They made a way.  They persevered.

At some point you (we) will probably have to do the same.  Maybe it will mean thinking differently about something, risking something, doing things in a slightly different way.  Maybe, in our personal lives, we will need to rearrange our schedule.  Or go at things from a different direction.  Get our priorities in order.  Make the time.  Make a way.

Today’s story is a good example of what we (you, me, and the church) are being called by God to do – be so determined to dig a hole in the roof and turn our paralysis over to God to be healed that we will do whatever it takes – called to faithfully wait on one hand while we fervently work with the other – called to craft a vision, with God’s help, until it becomes a reality.

(Feb. 12) Sunday Snippet

Mark 1:40-45

In antiquity, having a sickness like leprosy carried with it a double whammy, not only was anything that you touched presumed to be physically contagious, but you were also seen as spiritually inferior, cursed, and therefore should at all cost be avoided .... And so it was, once upon a time, that those with leprosy, or any kind of skin problem as far as that goes, were expelled from the community to live outside the city in a camp with the rest of the people who had been banned from town.

A leper was walking death that lasted an average of nine years until its victim finally collapsed in a pile of decay.They were not allowed to live in town, they had to live outside the city in a camp with the rest of those who had been banned.  They had to live in a place where they were not allowed to touch, or hug even their loved ones. Anything they did touch could never again be used by anyone other than those who were expelled. They had to announce their presence to others by crying out in a loud voice “unclean, unclean” whenever they came near anyone who did not have the curse they supposedly had.  By the middle ages, lepers were required to wear bells around their necks to announce their proximity so others could avoid contact with them.

And so it was, once upon a time, that Jesus responds to the cry of a leper; one reason Jesus responds, one commentator suggests, is perhaps because Jesus could identify with this man’s condition.  For Jesus too would be an outcast from his own family and his own people.  He will, in effect, be declared ‘unclean’ and cast out of the city to be executed.  And when, at the end of his ministry, he is examined by the priests, he will be found to be not worthy of the community’s acceptance. Just as the lepers wore bandages for their skin treatment process that mimicked the dressing of a corpse, so Jesus will die, and be wrapped in a shroud. 

And so it was that in today’s gospel a man with leprosy comes up to Jesus begging on his knees, and with a loving word and a compassionate touch, Jesus reaches out -- and the leper is cured -- the unthinkable becomes the conceivable, Jesus touches a leper, and the gap between what is clean and unclean, is suddenly bridged; the concerns of God are instantly exalted -- God is more concerned with inner beauty than with outer attractiveness -- No one is too different, too spiritually removed to be outside the realm of the merciful, compassionate touch of Christ our Lord.  That is good news.

(Feb. 5) Sunday Snippet

Mark 1:33-38

“The whole town gathered at the door” scripture tells us.  Yet it is the crowds, interestingly enough, which seem to begin creating a problem for Jesus’ ministry. And so early one morning, while it was still dark, Jesus gets up and goes to an isolated place, a quiet place, and there he prays. Jesus needs time alone; time to meditate; think; refocus.

Then dawn breaks, a new day arrives, and everyone wants to know, “Where is Jesus?”  So his friends set out to find him, literally, they track him down to inform him that the masses are clinging to his every word, that everyone is searching for him. In response Jesus says to them, “Let’s move on; go to the nearby villages so I can preach there as well, for that is what I came to do.”

Isn’t that interesting?  Instead of buying into the enormous popularity that his words and deeds had won him, Jesus seems to be distinctly uninterested in the kind of success other people wanted for him.  He resisted peer pressure, you might say.  The goal of making a big name for himself wasn’t his kind of goal, and when he did get a big name, Jesus had no desire to cash in on it.

Who knows what Jesus went off early before dawn to think and pray about (scriptures do not say) but by setting an example of what it means to keep our priorities straight - by modeling the importance of taking time out of our busy lives to recapture our focus - by showing us the importance of stopping whatever it is that we’re doing that is perhaps hindering our call - I believe Jesus here is illustrating what it looks like to live a life of balance and wholeness in a fragmented world.

And so early one morning, well before dawn, Jesus gets up and goes to a private place, a quiet place to pray. He needs alone time, some time to refocus, to reflect on who he was; to find balance between his God given mission and his Incarnate humanity; to think about his purpose.  This is what all of us in life are being called to do - find balance - discover wholeness.

Simon and his companions went looking for Jesus, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"  May we find balance and discover the wholeness we’re looking for as well.