Psalm 102:12-28

Prayer for healing

But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
your name endures to all generations.
You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to favor it;
the appointed time has come.
For your servants hold its stones dear,
and have pity on its dust.
The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
For the Lord will build up Zion;
he will appear in his glory.
He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
and will not despise their prayer.

Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:
that he looked down from his holy height,
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die;
so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion,
and his praise in Jerusalem,
when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

He has broken my strength in midcourse;
he has shortened my days.
"O my God," I say, "do not take me away
at the mid-point of my life,
you whose years endure
throughout all generations."

Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
The children of your servants shall live secure;
their offspring shall be established in your presence.

Comments: I looked this psalm up in the Jewish Study Bible and I like its translation better than the NRSV. This is the last half of a lament of someone who is waiting for the Temple to be restored after the Exile. What is important from this lament is that the psalmist is secure in the knowledge of the permanence of God. Ill, and perhaps fearing that his life will be cut short, the psalmist is petitioning God that his health may be restored. But at the center of his prayer is contentment and surrender to the will of God. His praise is consistent even if his prayer is not answered the way that he wants. It is God’s sustaining presence that is important.

Acts 14:1-7

Resistance to the message of the apostles

The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them. But the residents of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. And when an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, the apostles learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country; and there they continued proclaiming the good news.

Comments: Sound like what has happened in such places at the Dioceses of Ft. Worth, Pittsburgh and San Joachin in the Episcopal Church. I wish we would read our Bibles more and do less mud slinging. Thanks be to God, Ft. Worth is getting its act together and the Spirit is moving.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 06, 2009

Friday Five: My Favorite Things

Songbird has said:

In a week of wondering how various things in our family life will unfold, I found myself thinking of the way Maria comforted the Von Trapp children in one of my favorite movies. Frightened by a thunder storm, the children descend upon her, and she sings to them about her favorite things, taking their minds off the storm.

So, let's encourage ourselves. Share with us five of your favorite things. Use words or pictures, whatever expresses it best.
My favorite things:

1. I love fly-fishing although the past couple of years I have not been able to go. My knees have been bothersome and walking in streams with rocky bottoms gives me fits anymore. But I still love the study of the various bugs that trout will eat and the tying of flies so that they will be realistic. Even more I love people who fly-fish. They are usually calm on the water and downright nutz when they get off the stream.
2. I am presently with my mother in TX. Mom cannot hear well, cannot see and now she cannot speak but a few words. She knows me though and when she can hear me, she understands what I am telling her. Today I bought her a new chair for her assisted living room. Her smile made my day. She hangs on to my hand and holds it up to her face. This kind of physical closeness is not what I grew up with. But it is all she has of me now. Such small things….
3. I love the liturgy of my Episcopal Church. I celebrated according to the BCP on Sunday and was surprised at how much I miss it. This does not mean that I don’t love celebrating in my ELCA parish. I do. The life-giving liturgy of the signs and symbols of the Church—no matter what denomination communicates the love of Jesus and I love that. And I see some places where the Lutheran liturgy tells the story a bit better than the BCP. But the BCP is in my blood and I miss it.
4. I have been gone from my family for over 35 years. This being with my niece and her family and with my Mom for longer than my usual week a couple times of year has been quite special. There is a lot of bittersweetness to family relations. But I am getting to like being around them again. I would not say that TX is my favorite place. There are still many things that detract from the culture here than add to it. But this trip home has been better than any time I have been here over the past 30 years. Is it me? Is it them? Has FTW changed? I guess we both have.
5. My other most favorite thing? Texas BBQ!

Job 36:1-23

God's goodness is exalted

Elihu continued and said:
"Bear with me a little, and I will show you,
for I have yet something to say on God's behalf.
I will bring my knowledge from far away,
and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
For truly my words are not false;
one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

"Surely God is mighty and does not despise any;
he is mighty in strength of understanding.
He does not keep the wicked alive,
but gives the afflicted their right.
He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,
but with kings on the throne
he sets them forever, and they are exalted.
And if they are bound in fetters
and caught in the cords of affliction,
then he declares to them their work
and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.
He opens their ears to instruction,
and commands that they return from iniquity.
If they listen, and serve him,
they complete their days in prosperity,
and their years in pleasantness.
But if they do not listen, they shall perish by the sword,
and die without knowledge.

"The godless in heart cherish anger;
they do not cry for help when he binds them.
They die in their youth,
and their life ends in shame.
He delivers the afflicted by their affliction,
and opens their ear by adversity.
He also allured you out of distress
into a broad place where there was no constraint,
and what was set on your table was full of fatness.

"But you are obsessed with the case of the wicked;
judgment and justice seize you.
Beware that wrath does not entice you into scoffing,
and do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.
Will your cry avail to keep you from distress,
or will all the force of your strength?
Do not long for the night,
when peoples are cut off in their place.
Beware! Do not turn to iniquity;
because of that you have been tried by affliction.
See, God is exalted in his power;
who is a teacher like him?
Who has prescribed for him his way,
or who can say, 'You have done wrong'?

Comments: Reading Job is like dealing with what I call ‘popular religion’. Elihu, Job’s good friend is trying to warn Job from becoming angry because of all the things that have happened to him. But Elihu is not aware of the contest going on between God and Satan in this morality tale. He is telling Job that he needs to stay on God’s right side and accept what has happened to him. But Job IS angry. He does confront God and ask for justice. Justice is finally granted simply because Job is faithful. Job does not throw off his relationship with God.

The whole point of this tale of Job is to try to explain ‘why bad things happen to good people.’ All too often we believe like Elihu that when bad things happen to us, it is the result of sin, or some misdeed. We somehow expect God to be manipulated by our good works. But that is not what happens in the relationship between God and human. Bad things happen! Period. Full Stop. They do not happen because we are good, or because we are sinful. Good things do not happen because we are righteous either. Good and bad happens to all human beings. It is our relationship with God that helps us live through both good and bad times. Often what happens is NOT just, as with this story of Job. It is, however, our relationship with God that makes good and evil make sense, allows us to choose the good, and live in a way that is not only pleasing to God but pleasing to ourselves.

Psalm 35:1-10

God is our salvation

Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!
Take hold of shield and buckler,
and rise up to help me!
Draw the spear and javelin
against my pursuers;
say to my soul,
"I am your salvation."

Let them be put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life.
Let them be turned back and confounded
who devise evil against me.
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them on.
Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

For without cause they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug a pit for my life.
Let ruin come on them unawares.
And let the net that they hid ensnare them;
let them fall in it--to their ruin.

Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord,
exulting in his deliverance.
All my bones shall say,
"O Lord, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
from those too strong for them,
the weak and needy from those who despoil them."


Comments: This psalm is just too convenient for me. It is just too easy to think that my adversaries will be taken care of by God. I got a nasty comment on stoneofwitness about by evaluation of the bishop in FTW. I could ask God to come down and wreck vengeance, but that is not where I want to be. In fact, I don’t really want their dishonor; I don’t want to draw my sword or javelin. I want to be able to articulate my vision for church just as anyone else. I need to deal with my desire for vengence. That is my sin. I know that I am forgiven and can stand in that forgiveness without a need to bring grief on those who are my enemies.

The God of the Universe neither comes down and wrecks vengeance upon my enemies, nor do I need to pray against others. For the message of the love of Jesus Christ to be heard, I must call upon myself to stand in the security of God’s love and articulate what I know to be truth. Only in that do the words of Psalm 35 have any meaning for today. But like the psalmist I can say, “O Lord, who is like you?” My strength is in God, not in the despoliation of the proud.

1 Corinthians 7:32-40 Marriage? Not really.

Paul on marriage

I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.

If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his fiancee, if his passions are strong, and so it has to be, let him marry as he wishes; it is no sin. Let them marry. But if someone stands firm in his resolve, being under no necessity but having his own desire under control, and has determined in his own mind to keep her as his fiancee, he will do well. So then, he who marries his fiancee does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better.

A wife is bound as long as her husband lives. But if the husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord. But in my judgment she is more blessed if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

Comments: First of all, despite the heading some editor has given this passage it is NOT about marriage, certainly not marriage as it is lived out in our society. It is about anxiety. Paul believed that the end time was coming soon, within his lifetime. He basically wanted the followers of the Way of Jesus to be content with what they were and what they had because he believed all was passing away. Marriage in Mediterranean society was based upon easing the male sex drive. Young men and women were seen as incapable of sexual discipline and were married soon after puberty to provide a proper outlet.

Paul’s advice for us today is still important, however. Because we have embraced a God who loves us and cares for us, the anxiety that permeates the get-ahead motivations of our present society should not direct our lives. I am not a pie-in-the-sky Christian. I believe that Christ has already come and that we are called to live out the security of Christ’s saving love in ours. This means that we neither have to worry about getting ahead, nor do we have to worry about the world coming to end. We can live in relationships that are based in love and not necessarily in sex. Over the past 100 years we in the Western culture have come to a new understanding of sex. However, we have not yet dealt with a new ethic of sexual behavior. The emerging Church is going to have to come to some important decisions about how humanity is to order our sexual feelings so that we can respect others.

Should we marry? Of course, if the relationship is one that is based in the love of God. Should we live alone? Of course, if that is how one can live out the love of God. Sexual promiscuity, inappropriate relations between adults and children and unequal power relationships do not proclaim God’s generosity and delight in the sexual relationship. Marriage is not about living out roles. It is the God-given ability to surrender to the partner at all levels of the relationship, while both surrender to God.

Presentation of Our Lord Luke 2:22-40

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."

And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed -- and a sword will pierce your own soul too."

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Comments: Today is the Feast of the Presentation. It is celebrated in most liturgical churches including the Episcopal and the ELCA. It is the story of the pilgrimage of the parents of Jesus to offer sacrifice in the Temple in Jerusalem. In Jewish custom this event is less of a presentation of Jesus in the Temple than a purification of Mary. This feast, Candlemas, is one of the oldest festivals of the Church known to have been celebrated during the 3rd century CE. It is celebrated in the Western churches on Feb. 2, forty days after Christmas and in Orthodox churches 40 days after Epiphany. In some churches the beeswax candles are blessed on this day. The Canticle Nunc Dimittus, the Now Lord You May Dismiss your Servant, is the portion of the service that is used in the ELCA as a response to the reception of Holy Communion. In the Episcopal Church, this canticle is used during Night Prayer and for Funerals.

Today I am touched by the efforts of Jesus’ family to fulfill the customs and the Mosaic Law. That there were those in the Temple who understood the gravity of this event shows the work of the Holy Spirit. Simeon understood the greatness to which the child was destined. He was to be a Light to the Gentiles—to the nations who were not Jewish. He could die in peace.

I too have seen the efforts of Christ converting the ‘nations’ here in Ft. Worth this week. There is hope for the Episcopal Church yet.