Hi all,
This is tomorrow's sermon, assuming we have no snow and can get to church. The weather forecast is a little touch and go, but I don't see any freezing temps so far.
Readings for the First Sunday in Lent may be found here, although I will use only the Gospel reading tomorrow: http://members.sundaysandseasons.com/planner_rcl_view.php?event_date_id=955.
Pr. J
3-1-2009, Lent 1B
Salem-Luther Memorial Parish - Parrottsville
Mark 1:9-15
Adagio for Christ
“And it happened in those days: he came, Jesus, from Nazareth of the Galileans, and baptized was he in the Jordan by John.”
The opening line from today’s Gospel reading taken word for word straight from the Greek text. That’s the way it would have sounded to you had you been alive 2000 years ago, living words for living disciples of Christ. It sounds different from the more familiar phrasing we’ve grown up hearing, but it says the same thing: “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.”
I personally like the reading straight from the Greek text better, because one can see in the simple wording of the text, in the very placement of the words in the sentence a much older, living, informal, come-as-you-are story underlying the more formal story about the baptism of Jesus.
Mark’s story goes on. “And at once, coming up from the water, he saw ripped asunder the heavens, and the spirit like a dove came down into him.”
Once again, straight from the Greek text, and it does sound a little different. Here the spirit of God does not just descend like a dove and alight on Jesus’ shoulder; rather it comes down from God and enters into Jesus.
I prefer this reading because the way we’re used to hearing it you kind of get the image of a pidgeon sitting on Jesus’ head while he’s standing there in the river dripping wet – kind of silly, don’t you think? What a sight that would have been! Here it’s clear that the spirit of God, a spirit like a dove, the spirit of peace so to speak, as well as a sign of salvation and deliverance – remember the story of Noah and the dove? - enters into Jesus, and this will shape his whole mission from this point onward.
What I especially like about this reading is the image of what happens to the heavens, a spiritual reality that you can not see with your eyes or touch with your hands as opposed to the literal sky and infinite space over our heads where we fly in our airplanes and where we send spaceships to the planets. Mark uses a dramatic Greek word to portray the heavens being absolutely and violently and permanently ripped asunder, as if it were a huge sheet and two huge hands somehow grabbed hold of it and ripped it in two and you can hear it going “schiiiiiiiiiidzk!”
This same image, in fact the same word Mark uses for this image comes back in the Gospel story much later at the crucifixion of Jesus (Mark 15:38), where we read that at the time of his death on a cross the curtain in the Temple, THE Curtain, the one separating the Holy of Holies from the Sanctuary in the Temple, the one that was supposed to hide the presence of God from the world, was violently ripped in two and torn its whole length from top to bottom. The significance of something like that is that there is no barrier between us and God. God’s presence can not be hidden from us, God will not allow it; Jesus will see to it that God is revealed to us.
Here, at the baptism of Jesus, the impenetrable heavens, the unbreachable spiritual walls between us and God, have been ripped apart, the spiritual barrier between us and God, a spiritual wall that I think has been put there more by us and our own prideful sin than by anything else, has been completely sundered and torn apart in such a way that it can never be restored so that nothing separates us from God, not even the heavens themselves.
And then, after the heavens are ripped apart and the spirit of God comes down into Jesus, we once again meet the mystery voice the Jews have called bat kol since before the time of Jesus. The Gospel of Mark continues in its own unique voice: “And a voice was born from the heavens, 'You are my son, the beloved, in you I am very pleased.’”
I think if they were to make yet another Jesus movie this would be the perfect place to begin Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings.” It could cut in a different places throughout the movie right up to the point where the curtain is torn in two in the Temple and we have come full circle back to the images of Jesus’ baptism.
Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” is a piece of music written for stringed instruments that can be played on the organ and was played on the organ throughout Lent at my intern church in Chicago back in 1990. It was a very somber change from the usual type of music that Paul Manz played during, before, and after worship. Paul was known to the ELCA at that time as the Dean of Lutheran church musicians, but to the people at St. Luke Paul was better known as Papa Smerf, and if you ever saw him you would know why - he looked like a smerf.
Old Papa Smerf had a habit of playing very energetic and rousing pieces as prelude and postlude music – Bach, Mozart, Handel, Vaughn Williams, Holst, Copeland, as well as show tunes and commercial tunes cleverly disguised as church music. Who says Lutherans don’t have a sense of humor?! But then in Lent he departed from his normal routine and began playing the “Adagio for Strings,” all 7½ minutes of it, not just once, not just twice, and not just as prelude and postlude music, but every time the church was open and he was playing the organ, which was quite often during Lent, before, during, and after worship. It seemed Papa Smerf was on a Samuel Barber binge.
Some people might get tired of that. But most people did not. For most of the people at the Church of St. Luke the music clearly defined the spiritual atmosphere of the season, Lent, and they thought that was very fitting. It’s music that just kind of grabs you and doesn’t exactly let you go, especially when it is played with as much depth and as much feeling as Old Papa Smerf could play it on the pipe organ -
and you just have to ride with it and experience it and feel it and it really takes you for an emotional ride that somehow leads you first through the depths of despair, an incredible well of pain and sadness which you suddenly realize is all your own and then takes you soaring high above all the world’s pain up to the heights of a heaven that is felt with the soul rather than seen with the eyes and which you suddenly realize is a gift of sheer undeserved compassion from God-
and in the process you have heard, as well as felt the kingdom of God come near to you, and you know in that moment at the height of the music that there are no barriers at all between you, just as you are, transparent before God with all your failings and imperfections, and an infinite cosmic God holding out overwhelming mercy and compassion for you for no other reason than that God can, and God does. It almost defies words. We needed Old Papa Smerf and his pipe organ.
And that is what Lent is about. I think maybe it finally hit me one Sunday, while I was assisting with communion at the Church of St. Luke way back in 1990 (but it took me years to figure out how to express it because it does almost defy words). I had witnessed the pain and hurt that went on behind the scenes, and knew the people’s pain, and watched all 500 of them coming down the long aisle of that modern cathedral church, some of them really crying as Old Papa Smerf played the Adagio for Strings and they let go of their sins and their pain and their despair before the altar and received the assurance of forgiveness in the bread and wine, the body of Christ given for them, blood of Christ shed for them. This is what Lent is like.
And that is what it should be like for us.
Lent, and the whole Christian life from beginning to end, should be like listening with our full attention to a piece of music like the Adagio for Strings, while the Holy Spirit leads us where it will, taking us from the dark depths of human despair, lifting us up and up and up, ever higher with Jesus as he rises from the waters of his own baptism and bringing us up to the very heights of heaven, rending open all the barriers between us and God so that nothing, nothing at all stands between us and God and there, at the height of the music, we see God revealed to us in the face of Jesus newly risen to meet us.
Thanks be to God.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sermon for Ash Wednesday Year B
Hi all,
Here is Deacon Leslie's Ash Wednesday sermon. The readings for Ash Wednesday may be found here: http://members.sundaysandseasons.com/planner_rcl_view.php?event_date_id=954.
Peace be with you,
Pr. J
In 2007 the third in the three part movie series, “Pirates of the Caribbean” was released.
In it we meet the character Davy Jones, and we meet temptation.
“Do you fear death? Do you fear the dark abyss?”
It was a dark and stormy night at sea. Not a dry inch was to be found on deck or sailor. The seas pitched, the ocean roared, chill salt water ran down men’s faces and cascaded from their chins. Below deck men’s bodies shook, not from cold, but dread fear. The storm was frightful to behold, true enough, but that was not what made these men quake. It was the terror which stood before them, holding their lives in his hands.
Davy Jones, approaching one of the ships survivors, asks:
“Do you fear death? Do you fear the dark abyss?”
The man questioned nods and whimpers, his eyes glued to the floor planks.
“All your deeds laid bare. All your sins punished?”
More nods are made.
“I can offer you an escape.”
Another prisoner, holding a crucifix in his shaking hands calls out,
“Don’t listen to him!”
Davy Jones approaches this new prisoner saying,
“Do you not fear death?”
“I’ll take my chances, sir!” he responds.
Davy Jones turns to his crew and commands, “to the depths!”
At which point the man of faith has his throat cut and his body thrown overboard.
Yet another of the five prisoners cries out, “Cruel blackguard!”
“Life is cruel,” Davy Jones responds. “Why should the afterlife be any different? I offer you a choice, join my crew and postpone the judgment. One hundred years before the mast. Will ye serve?”
“I will serve,” tumbles from the first man’s terrified lips.
“There!” Jones proclaims with a satisfied smirk. And another man is recruited to the Flying Dutchman by Davy Jones.
Davy Jones is a person of folklore and is the villain in the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” It seems he fell in love with a woman who caused him a great deal of pain; so much pain, in fact, in the words of the character Tia Dalma, “Him carve out him heart, lock it away in a chest and hide the chest from the world.” His own heart became his treasure, a heart he would give to no one, a heart that could no longer feel.
Be careful to what or to whom you give your heart. In a world constantly telling us to buy our happiness, to take everything we can, and give nothing back, the true treasure of life becomes obscured, our hearts become wooden. We are too easily seduced into thinking the filling of our desire to acquire is the answer to the pains of life. More food, more stuff, more money, more friends, more knowledge, more power. It is, of course, not so easy but our hearts are easily deceived. We then find that we are left with an emptiness, always with something missing. Life’s true treasure cannot be acquired or achieved or earned. It can only be gratefully accepted.
What is your treasure?
Where is your heart? Has it known terrible pain? Has it been bruised by the wrongs and injustices of this life? Has it been shared with others? Is it still? It is no easy thing to live this life without laying our hearts aside in a locked chest to keep them safe, to keep us safe. I might go so far as to say it is well nigh impossible. I have pulled mine out to face the storms of life for just so long before racing to lock it safely away again for a time. This is human reality. We cannot perfect our love. We will not submit our hearts to the constant onslaught of life’s pain. And so we are not able to keep our hearts constantly open to God’s love either. The heart of a mere mortal is not equal to the task. So God in his infinite mercy offers up his own for our treasure.
What of the heart of God?
Where is God’s heart? God’s heart is invested in each and every one of us- each bit of his creation. God has given us his heart that we might use it in love.
God has given us his son – that our failure to love might be forgiven.
We need not fear death, but we will. It is in the nature of being creature. As we watch and feel ourselves and our loved ones age and sicken, and die, we will know fear. But know that it is in the nature of the Creator to love, and to give and to forgive. We are held within the heart of God; there, in the end, nothing can harm us. Let us use this holy season then, and set aside sacred hours to rest in God’s grace, to serve in God’s love, to glory in the everlasting peace of God.
Amen.
Here is Deacon Leslie's Ash Wednesday sermon. The readings for Ash Wednesday may be found here: http://members.sundaysandseasons.com/planner_rcl_view.php?event_date_id=954.
Peace be with you,
Pr. J
In 2007 the third in the three part movie series, “Pirates of the Caribbean” was released.
In it we meet the character Davy Jones, and we meet temptation.
“Do you fear death? Do you fear the dark abyss?”
It was a dark and stormy night at sea. Not a dry inch was to be found on deck or sailor. The seas pitched, the ocean roared, chill salt water ran down men’s faces and cascaded from their chins. Below deck men’s bodies shook, not from cold, but dread fear. The storm was frightful to behold, true enough, but that was not what made these men quake. It was the terror which stood before them, holding their lives in his hands.
Davy Jones, approaching one of the ships survivors, asks:
“Do you fear death? Do you fear the dark abyss?”
The man questioned nods and whimpers, his eyes glued to the floor planks.
“All your deeds laid bare. All your sins punished?”
More nods are made.
“I can offer you an escape.”
Another prisoner, holding a crucifix in his shaking hands calls out,
“Don’t listen to him!”
Davy Jones approaches this new prisoner saying,
“Do you not fear death?”
“I’ll take my chances, sir!” he responds.
Davy Jones turns to his crew and commands, “to the depths!”
At which point the man of faith has his throat cut and his body thrown overboard.
Yet another of the five prisoners cries out, “Cruel blackguard!”
“Life is cruel,” Davy Jones responds. “Why should the afterlife be any different? I offer you a choice, join my crew and postpone the judgment. One hundred years before the mast. Will ye serve?”
“I will serve,” tumbles from the first man’s terrified lips.
“There!” Jones proclaims with a satisfied smirk. And another man is recruited to the Flying Dutchman by Davy Jones.
Davy Jones is a person of folklore and is the villain in the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” It seems he fell in love with a woman who caused him a great deal of pain; so much pain, in fact, in the words of the character Tia Dalma, “Him carve out him heart, lock it away in a chest and hide the chest from the world.” His own heart became his treasure, a heart he would give to no one, a heart that could no longer feel.
Be careful to what or to whom you give your heart. In a world constantly telling us to buy our happiness, to take everything we can, and give nothing back, the true treasure of life becomes obscured, our hearts become wooden. We are too easily seduced into thinking the filling of our desire to acquire is the answer to the pains of life. More food, more stuff, more money, more friends, more knowledge, more power. It is, of course, not so easy but our hearts are easily deceived. We then find that we are left with an emptiness, always with something missing. Life’s true treasure cannot be acquired or achieved or earned. It can only be gratefully accepted.
What is your treasure?
Where is your heart? Has it known terrible pain? Has it been bruised by the wrongs and injustices of this life? Has it been shared with others? Is it still? It is no easy thing to live this life without laying our hearts aside in a locked chest to keep them safe, to keep us safe. I might go so far as to say it is well nigh impossible. I have pulled mine out to face the storms of life for just so long before racing to lock it safely away again for a time. This is human reality. We cannot perfect our love. We will not submit our hearts to the constant onslaught of life’s pain. And so we are not able to keep our hearts constantly open to God’s love either. The heart of a mere mortal is not equal to the task. So God in his infinite mercy offers up his own for our treasure.
What of the heart of God?
Where is God’s heart? God’s heart is invested in each and every one of us- each bit of his creation. God has given us his heart that we might use it in love.
God has given us his son – that our failure to love might be forgiven.
We need not fear death, but we will. It is in the nature of being creature. As we watch and feel ourselves and our loved ones age and sicken, and die, we will know fear. But know that it is in the nature of the Creator to love, and to give and to forgive. We are held within the heart of God; there, in the end, nothing can harm us. Let us use this holy season then, and set aside sacred hours to rest in God’s grace, to serve in God’s love, to glory in the everlasting peace of God.
Amen.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Book of Faith Initiative coming this spring!
Hi all,
Plan ahead for the spring now! This spring I will lead a seven-session course called "Opening the Book of Faith." This course is the first step for those using the "Book of Faith" program in local congregations.
"Opening the Book of Faith" is a invitation to experience the Bible as a book of faith. This course provides an introduction to the Bible and Lutheran perspectives that guide one's understanding of scripture. The user book explores four methods of Bible study, then applies each method to four scripture texts. Important communication tools, study principles, and discussion methods are unpacked for participants in a flexible, conversational format that encourages discussion, conversation, and sharing — setting a healthy foundation for a powerful Book of Faith experience.
We ask that participants contribute toward the cost of their user books. A $6.00 donation, or whatever you can afford, would go a long way toward covering the cost. Seven user books are on order now.
Please let the Church Office know asap if you plan to participate so we can order enough books - call 623-8086 or email salemchurch@wildblue.net.
A course kit is on order and will arrive in early March. We will announce a date for starting sessions once course materials arrive. Evening is the most likely time for sessions.
Plan ahead and join us for opening the book of faith!
Peace be with you,
Pr. J
Plan ahead for the spring now! This spring I will lead a seven-session course called "Opening the Book of Faith." This course is the first step for those using the "Book of Faith" program in local congregations.
"Opening the Book of Faith" is a invitation to experience the Bible as a book of faith. This course provides an introduction to the Bible and Lutheran perspectives that guide one's understanding of scripture. The user book explores four methods of Bible study, then applies each method to four scripture texts. Important communication tools, study principles, and discussion methods are unpacked for participants in a flexible, conversational format that encourages discussion, conversation, and sharing — setting a healthy foundation for a powerful Book of Faith experience.
We ask that participants contribute toward the cost of their user books. A $6.00 donation, or whatever you can afford, would go a long way toward covering the cost. Seven user books are on order now.
Please let the Church Office know asap if you plan to participate so we can order enough books - call 623-8086 or email salemchurch@wildblue.net.
A course kit is on order and will arrive in early March. We will announce a date for starting sessions once course materials arrive. Evening is the most likely time for sessions.
Plan ahead and join us for opening the book of faith!
Peace be with you,
Pr. J
The state of the blog...
Hi all,
The LM blog remains a work in progress, which even "the most casual observer on the street" can tell. So hang in there and wait for things to develop. One thing I am having trouble with is getting links added to the blog. This may be because Blogspot treats this blog as a branch off the "main" blog I started for Salem where I have no problem adding links. Or it could be another problem. I'll keep working on it. BTW, I have the same problem where another blog is concerned, "What do Lutherans believe?" I can't post links there either. Here is a link for that blog: http://salemlutheranchurch-wdlb.blogspot.com/.
A long list of links can be found here: http://salemlutheranchurch-parrottsville.blogspot.com/.
Peace be with you,
Pr. J.
The LM blog remains a work in progress, which even "the most casual observer on the street" can tell. So hang in there and wait for things to develop. One thing I am having trouble with is getting links added to the blog. This may be because Blogspot treats this blog as a branch off the "main" blog I started for Salem where I have no problem adding links. Or it could be another problem. I'll keep working on it. BTW, I have the same problem where another blog is concerned, "What do Lutherans believe?" I can't post links there either. Here is a link for that blog: http://salemlutheranchurch-wdlb.blogspot.com/.
A long list of links can be found here: http://salemlutheranchurch-parrottsville.blogspot.com/.
Peace be with you,
Pr. J.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday, Year B
OK, here is the sermon for tomorrow, 22 February, my St.-Mary-of-the-bathtubs sermon. I knew that sermon illustration would grab you.
If you find the comments about the vision of the disciples interesting and want to read more, I recommend Bruce J. Malina, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, 2nd edition (Fortress Press, 2003) for starters. Malina talks about what he calls "Altered States of Consciousness," and this really goes a long way in explaining a lot of things in the Gospels and the Book of Acts. His commentary on Mark 9:2-9 is on pages 183-184 of that book, and his discussioon of altered states of consciousness is on pages 327-329.
Also, if you want to begin to learn more about traditional Jewish prayer and how this comes into play in the Gospel stories I recommend for starters Bruce Chilton's book, Rabbi Jesus (Doubleday, 2000). I sat in a number of Dr. Chilton's seminars at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson in New York while I was at the St. John's-St. Thomas Parish and they were absolutely fascinating, even though I may disagree with a few of his consclusions. Overall, his work is very worth reading. Best of all, Rabbi Jesus is written like a novel and is easily read and you can get it pretty cheap at Amazon.com.
Peace be with you,
Pr. J
2-22-2009, Transfiguration Year B
Salem - Luther Memorial Parish - Parrottsville, TN
Mark 9:2-9
Transfiguration
Reading today’s Gospel reading I was reminded of something that I saw many times back around Syracuse, New York. I don’t know if you see this kind of thing in this area, but it’s what I call St. Mary of the Bath Tubs. If you have not yet seen St. Mary of the Bath Tubs then you need to get out and take a long drive to New York and look at people’s yards. It won’t be long before you’ll see St. Mary of the Bath Tubs, or something similar, like St. Joseph of the Inner Tubes.
Now this is about people taking statues of saints, usually Mary and Joseph, sometimes St. Francis, or an angel with wings, or even Jesus himself, and erecting a little shrine in their yard or their garden. Back when I lived in North Syracuse it seemed there were a lot of people taking old bath tubs and setting them into the ground in such a way as to form a little shelter, painted white, or turquoise, surrounded with white stones and flowers and, of course, housing the saint’s statue. One day I saw Mary’s statue standing in what was obviously an old bath tub in someone’s front yard and I pointed it out to Leslie and said, “Look, its St. Mary of the Bath Tubs,” and the name stuck. That’s not to put down someone’s spirituality, it just means I make these unusual associations, or perhaps the person who thought of turning a bath tub into a shrine makes unusual associations.
Somehow the Gospel reading reminds me of that kind of thing. And at first glance it might appear that Peter wants to build little shrines to Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, but something more is happening.
In the Gospel story we find that Jesus has gone hiking with his disciples Peter, James, and John, but this is not just a casual hike. There is some reason to believe that the time frame for the Gospel reading is sometime in early to mid-October, eight days after the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It was a time of year for many people to go on a pilgrimage because after Yom Kippur another Jewish holy time began, the Festival of Sukkot, called the Feast of Booths. By tradition, those who kept this festival would not work for the first two days of the feast, but on the 3rd day, eight days after Yom Kippur, work would be allowed for those keeping the festival, & that meant pilgrims could travel. And many did. It appears that among the many who were traveling at that time were Jesus, Peter, James, & John.
They came to a mountain, identified by tradition today as Mt. Hermon in northern Israel. You have to picture this. This is a truly high mountain. The summit is usually snowcapped year-round. From high enough up the slope you can see the Mediterranean Sea. And – even in the time of Jesus, Peter, James, and John, - it was - you might say - special. Even then it was considered holy ground, a sacred place for Jew and Gentile alike. Gentiles built shrines and even temples to the gods of Greece and Rome on the slopes of this mountain; Jewish tradition said that servants of God came and went from heaven on this mountain; and everyone, Jew and Gentile alike claimed that strange things were to be seen on this mountain: the Pharisees taught that angels of God encountered people on and near the mountain, and the Gentiles claimed that, no, it was their gods instead that people saw: Apollo, Mercury, Minerva and others. Either way, if you journeyed up this mountain you expected something unusual; you expected to enter the presence of God.
Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the slopes of Mt. Hermon. Common sense alone says they all expected something. They had to. But what?
Treading the path up the slope they would pass the occasional shrine or memorial to a Greek or Roman deity; it must have looked a little like St. Mary of the Bath Tubs to them. They passed several large temples, all dedicated to gods foreign to them, gods of cold dead stone that they could not serve and honor. On up the slope they went, higher and higher, until they passed the tree line and there was nothing but scrub brush on the slopes. Perhaps they went even further up, the slope now almost barren, the ground rocky and rough, their breath now frozen in the air, the blue Mediterranean Sea now plainly visible in the west, the snow covered peak clear and very close. I have a hunch Jesus took them pretty far up the slope, perhaps close to the top, a barren and deserted place that only the most dauntless - or stubborn - pilgrims would seek out in their desire to get close to God.
There he stopped and said, “This is the place,” a place for them to spend some time in quiet solitude to pray, not as we pray in church today, but in the old way of the Jewish teachers, more like the meditation you might associate with a Buddhist monk rather than the petitions of a pastor leading prayers in the congregation. It was a very ancient, very traditional way for the Jewish teachers to wait for the presence of God to come to them. The same thing is done today in Christianity where the practice is called contemplative prayer. I’ve done that - its really neat, especially when you develop the discipline to do it on a regular basis. You ought to try it sometime; it’s different. That is what Jesus and his disciples were doing on the mountain. We can see them sitting around a camp fire at the end of a long day hiking up the mountain, sun going down on the Mediterranean horizon, frozen breath hanging in the air, and all is quiet. They are focused now, deep in the old traditional form of prayer, waiting for the presence of God. And you know what they say: you always get what you ask for.
This is when the unusual happened.
Sometime during their prayer session, while they were meditating, waiting for the presence of God, it was as if a window into God’s presence was opened up for them. The wording of this story in Matthew, Mark, and Luke together tells us they had a spiritual vision, not to be taken literally because it wasn’t a physical vision seen with physical eyes, but in the Gospel a spiritual reality is still something that is very real.In this vision the disciples saw Jesus in another way, with a new appearance, one that shouted out loud and clear that Jesus has a connection to God.
As the vision unfolded who else did they see but Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus; the two greatest authorities of the Hebrew tradition! Moses who by tradition represented all of the Law, and Elijah, who by tradition represented all of the prophets of the past. In this vision Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are talking about his mission and what he is going to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Now, following in the footsteps of many before him who built nearly two dozen temples on the side of the mountain, Peter decided that this vision was enough for him and perhaps he wanted to build some shrines of his own, what our reading calls dwellings. The Hebrew word was sukkot, and it was time for the festival of Sukkot. In this festival pilgrims would build small huts called sukkot in which to live for up to seven days, a way of remembering the wanderings of the Hebrew people in the wilderness. But here Peter seems to have something else in mind. He seems to want to enshrine Moses, Elijah, and even Jesus! Perhaps. Maybe, as some suggest, it was his way of trying to hold on to the presence of God as long as he could. Or maybe there something more going on, some connection to the festival at hand. (Leviticus 23:40-43) Anyway, this is where I am reminded of St. Mary of the Bath Tubs – I know, an unusual association, but whenever I see one of those Mary shrines in someone’s front yard it makes me think of this Gospel reading.
What if Peter had had a few bath tubs or inner tubes handy? He might have set up his three dwellings right then and there, three homemade shrines to Moses, Elijah, and Jesus – a testimony to the presence of God. But that was not to happen.
Peter and the other disciples are still in the midst of this vision which is still unfolding. As the vision continued as they heard a voice coming from the cloud, and this voice said to them that Jesus is God’s son, God’s chosen; “listen to him!” the voice commanded.
Then as suddenly as the vision began it was over with and they were back in what we would call the “real world.” There was no shining cloud, no Moses, no Elijah. Jesus looked as he always had, and so did the world around Peter, James, and John, but the world has been changed forever. God had acted. God had done a new thing. God was going to redeem this fallen world.
There was the Good News. God’s presence is made known in Jesus. Jesus has a mission to fulfill in Jerusalem. As the Gospel story plays out we will see Jesus fulfill his mission as he is crucified at Jerusalem and in that way he will accomplish the salvation of a fallen humanity.
In the church we are about to change seasons and enter Lent. We are now going to spend a whole season walking with Jesus as he leaves that mountain and journeys to Jerusalem where his mission will be completed. The important thing for us is to remember that what Jesus did when he reached Jerusalem was done for all of us, for all people of all times and all places. It was an act of compassion for all the fallen, broken down, imperfect, rejected, sinful people of the world; in some way or another, it was for every single human being who has ever lived or ever will live. God’s grace and compassion span all time past and present without boundaries, radiating outward from the cross across all eternity and throughout all space because God is a God of all places and all times.
God’s grace and compassion are here today for one and all, you and me and everyone you can possibly think of and more. Let that compassion work for you today. Let your troubles, your failings, your anxieties, your imperfections, yours ills, your sins be taken up into the hands of Jesus, the son of God shining brightly on a mountain top. Let him take you by the hand to transfigure your life as he makes you into a new person with an eternal home in God’s new creation.
Peace be with you.
If you find the comments about the vision of the disciples interesting and want to read more, I recommend Bruce J. Malina, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, 2nd edition (Fortress Press, 2003) for starters. Malina talks about what he calls "Altered States of Consciousness," and this really goes a long way in explaining a lot of things in the Gospels and the Book of Acts. His commentary on Mark 9:2-9 is on pages 183-184 of that book, and his discussioon of altered states of consciousness is on pages 327-329.
Also, if you want to begin to learn more about traditional Jewish prayer and how this comes into play in the Gospel stories I recommend for starters Bruce Chilton's book, Rabbi Jesus (Doubleday, 2000). I sat in a number of Dr. Chilton's seminars at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson in New York while I was at the St. John's-St. Thomas Parish and they were absolutely fascinating, even though I may disagree with a few of his consclusions. Overall, his work is very worth reading. Best of all, Rabbi Jesus is written like a novel and is easily read and you can get it pretty cheap at Amazon.com.
Peace be with you,
Pr. J
2-22-2009, Transfiguration Year B
Salem - Luther Memorial Parish - Parrottsville, TN
Mark 9:2-9
Transfiguration
Reading today’s Gospel reading I was reminded of something that I saw many times back around Syracuse, New York. I don’t know if you see this kind of thing in this area, but it’s what I call St. Mary of the Bath Tubs. If you have not yet seen St. Mary of the Bath Tubs then you need to get out and take a long drive to New York and look at people’s yards. It won’t be long before you’ll see St. Mary of the Bath Tubs, or something similar, like St. Joseph of the Inner Tubes.
Now this is about people taking statues of saints, usually Mary and Joseph, sometimes St. Francis, or an angel with wings, or even Jesus himself, and erecting a little shrine in their yard or their garden. Back when I lived in North Syracuse it seemed there were a lot of people taking old bath tubs and setting them into the ground in such a way as to form a little shelter, painted white, or turquoise, surrounded with white stones and flowers and, of course, housing the saint’s statue. One day I saw Mary’s statue standing in what was obviously an old bath tub in someone’s front yard and I pointed it out to Leslie and said, “Look, its St. Mary of the Bath Tubs,” and the name stuck. That’s not to put down someone’s spirituality, it just means I make these unusual associations, or perhaps the person who thought of turning a bath tub into a shrine makes unusual associations.
Somehow the Gospel reading reminds me of that kind of thing. And at first glance it might appear that Peter wants to build little shrines to Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, but something more is happening.
In the Gospel story we find that Jesus has gone hiking with his disciples Peter, James, and John, but this is not just a casual hike. There is some reason to believe that the time frame for the Gospel reading is sometime in early to mid-October, eight days after the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It was a time of year for many people to go on a pilgrimage because after Yom Kippur another Jewish holy time began, the Festival of Sukkot, called the Feast of Booths. By tradition, those who kept this festival would not work for the first two days of the feast, but on the 3rd day, eight days after Yom Kippur, work would be allowed for those keeping the festival, & that meant pilgrims could travel. And many did. It appears that among the many who were traveling at that time were Jesus, Peter, James, & John.
They came to a mountain, identified by tradition today as Mt. Hermon in northern Israel. You have to picture this. This is a truly high mountain. The summit is usually snowcapped year-round. From high enough up the slope you can see the Mediterranean Sea. And – even in the time of Jesus, Peter, James, and John, - it was - you might say - special. Even then it was considered holy ground, a sacred place for Jew and Gentile alike. Gentiles built shrines and even temples to the gods of Greece and Rome on the slopes of this mountain; Jewish tradition said that servants of God came and went from heaven on this mountain; and everyone, Jew and Gentile alike claimed that strange things were to be seen on this mountain: the Pharisees taught that angels of God encountered people on and near the mountain, and the Gentiles claimed that, no, it was their gods instead that people saw: Apollo, Mercury, Minerva and others. Either way, if you journeyed up this mountain you expected something unusual; you expected to enter the presence of God.
Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the slopes of Mt. Hermon. Common sense alone says they all expected something. They had to. But what?
Treading the path up the slope they would pass the occasional shrine or memorial to a Greek or Roman deity; it must have looked a little like St. Mary of the Bath Tubs to them. They passed several large temples, all dedicated to gods foreign to them, gods of cold dead stone that they could not serve and honor. On up the slope they went, higher and higher, until they passed the tree line and there was nothing but scrub brush on the slopes. Perhaps they went even further up, the slope now almost barren, the ground rocky and rough, their breath now frozen in the air, the blue Mediterranean Sea now plainly visible in the west, the snow covered peak clear and very close. I have a hunch Jesus took them pretty far up the slope, perhaps close to the top, a barren and deserted place that only the most dauntless - or stubborn - pilgrims would seek out in their desire to get close to God.
There he stopped and said, “This is the place,” a place for them to spend some time in quiet solitude to pray, not as we pray in church today, but in the old way of the Jewish teachers, more like the meditation you might associate with a Buddhist monk rather than the petitions of a pastor leading prayers in the congregation. It was a very ancient, very traditional way for the Jewish teachers to wait for the presence of God to come to them. The same thing is done today in Christianity where the practice is called contemplative prayer. I’ve done that - its really neat, especially when you develop the discipline to do it on a regular basis. You ought to try it sometime; it’s different. That is what Jesus and his disciples were doing on the mountain. We can see them sitting around a camp fire at the end of a long day hiking up the mountain, sun going down on the Mediterranean horizon, frozen breath hanging in the air, and all is quiet. They are focused now, deep in the old traditional form of prayer, waiting for the presence of God. And you know what they say: you always get what you ask for.
This is when the unusual happened.
Sometime during their prayer session, while they were meditating, waiting for the presence of God, it was as if a window into God’s presence was opened up for them. The wording of this story in Matthew, Mark, and Luke together tells us they had a spiritual vision, not to be taken literally because it wasn’t a physical vision seen with physical eyes, but in the Gospel a spiritual reality is still something that is very real.In this vision the disciples saw Jesus in another way, with a new appearance, one that shouted out loud and clear that Jesus has a connection to God.
As the vision unfolded who else did they see but Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus; the two greatest authorities of the Hebrew tradition! Moses who by tradition represented all of the Law, and Elijah, who by tradition represented all of the prophets of the past. In this vision Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are talking about his mission and what he is going to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Now, following in the footsteps of many before him who built nearly two dozen temples on the side of the mountain, Peter decided that this vision was enough for him and perhaps he wanted to build some shrines of his own, what our reading calls dwellings. The Hebrew word was sukkot, and it was time for the festival of Sukkot. In this festival pilgrims would build small huts called sukkot in which to live for up to seven days, a way of remembering the wanderings of the Hebrew people in the wilderness. But here Peter seems to have something else in mind. He seems to want to enshrine Moses, Elijah, and even Jesus! Perhaps. Maybe, as some suggest, it was his way of trying to hold on to the presence of God as long as he could. Or maybe there something more going on, some connection to the festival at hand. (Leviticus 23:40-43) Anyway, this is where I am reminded of St. Mary of the Bath Tubs – I know, an unusual association, but whenever I see one of those Mary shrines in someone’s front yard it makes me think of this Gospel reading.
What if Peter had had a few bath tubs or inner tubes handy? He might have set up his three dwellings right then and there, three homemade shrines to Moses, Elijah, and Jesus – a testimony to the presence of God. But that was not to happen.
Peter and the other disciples are still in the midst of this vision which is still unfolding. As the vision continued as they heard a voice coming from the cloud, and this voice said to them that Jesus is God’s son, God’s chosen; “listen to him!” the voice commanded.
Then as suddenly as the vision began it was over with and they were back in what we would call the “real world.” There was no shining cloud, no Moses, no Elijah. Jesus looked as he always had, and so did the world around Peter, James, and John, but the world has been changed forever. God had acted. God had done a new thing. God was going to redeem this fallen world.
There was the Good News. God’s presence is made known in Jesus. Jesus has a mission to fulfill in Jerusalem. As the Gospel story plays out we will see Jesus fulfill his mission as he is crucified at Jerusalem and in that way he will accomplish the salvation of a fallen humanity.
In the church we are about to change seasons and enter Lent. We are now going to spend a whole season walking with Jesus as he leaves that mountain and journeys to Jerusalem where his mission will be completed. The important thing for us is to remember that what Jesus did when he reached Jerusalem was done for all of us, for all people of all times and all places. It was an act of compassion for all the fallen, broken down, imperfect, rejected, sinful people of the world; in some way or another, it was for every single human being who has ever lived or ever will live. God’s grace and compassion span all time past and present without boundaries, radiating outward from the cross across all eternity and throughout all space because God is a God of all places and all times.
God’s grace and compassion are here today for one and all, you and me and everyone you can possibly think of and more. Let that compassion work for you today. Let your troubles, your failings, your anxieties, your imperfections, yours ills, your sins be taken up into the hands of Jesus, the son of God shining brightly on a mountain top. Let him take you by the hand to transfigure your life as he makes you into a new person with an eternal home in God’s new creation.
Peace be with you.
ELCA Human Sexuality Issue
Hi all.
As you probably know by now, or will know soon, the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality has just this week released a proposed social statement and a document entitled "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies" with recommendations for implementing resolutions at the ELCA Church-wide Assembly.
From what I'm seeing so far at internet news sites the reaction to this from those who post comments on those news articles is not good. In fact, I'd say it is insulting. ELCA is trying to deal with a highly sensitive, and I would even say, emotionally explosive issue. And it is to some extent tangental to the issue of same gender marriage and rights that is being dealt with in the political arena. Up north I have seen tempers get very hot pretty fast on both sides of the issue, with all the accompanying dehumanization and vilification of one's opponent that one could want in any conflict coming from people on both sides of the problem. What ever happened to civility?
I am not going to address that issue tonight. (If you want to know what I'm up to that prevents me from speaking on the issue right now I'm in my church office playing mp3's - Frank Sinatra, The Carpenters, Abba, Vangelis, my daughter calls it all "old dead people music" - finishing my sermon, and trying to get things posted on this blog.)
I have downloaded both statements issued by the Task Force. They are in pdf format and they are available at this link if anyone wants to read them first hand: http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements-in-Process/JTF-Human-Sexuality.aspx. The proposed social statement, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust", is over 1200 lines long, and the "Report and Recommendations on Ministry Policies" is over 800 lines long, and I haven't had time to read them through and analyze them. I will do that, but remember - I am a slow reader. (Its called dyslexia and ordination does not make it go away.)
So - BE PATIENT.
Meanwhile, all I will say is that I am maintaining my position of strict NEUTRALITY on the issue. I have kept this position for years, since I was in my last parish in New York. Do not forget that I am called to be a pastor to people on both sides of the issue.
I am willing to hear from the people of the parish about the issue if they have any thoughts on the matter. I know some do.
I may consider creating another blog for those members of the parish who wish to post their thoughts.
Meanwhile, hang in there while the church attempts to discern where the Holy Spirit is leading us.
Peace be with you,
Pr. J
As you probably know by now, or will know soon, the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality has just this week released a proposed social statement and a document entitled "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies" with recommendations for implementing resolutions at the ELCA Church-wide Assembly.
From what I'm seeing so far at internet news sites the reaction to this from those who post comments on those news articles is not good. In fact, I'd say it is insulting. ELCA is trying to deal with a highly sensitive, and I would even say, emotionally explosive issue. And it is to some extent tangental to the issue of same gender marriage and rights that is being dealt with in the political arena. Up north I have seen tempers get very hot pretty fast on both sides of the issue, with all the accompanying dehumanization and vilification of one's opponent that one could want in any conflict coming from people on both sides of the problem. What ever happened to civility?
I am not going to address that issue tonight. (If you want to know what I'm up to that prevents me from speaking on the issue right now I'm in my church office playing mp3's - Frank Sinatra, The Carpenters, Abba, Vangelis, my daughter calls it all "old dead people music" - finishing my sermon, and trying to get things posted on this blog.)
I have downloaded both statements issued by the Task Force. They are in pdf format and they are available at this link if anyone wants to read them first hand: http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements-in-Process/JTF-Human-Sexuality.aspx. The proposed social statement, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust", is over 1200 lines long, and the "Report and Recommendations on Ministry Policies" is over 800 lines long, and I haven't had time to read them through and analyze them. I will do that, but remember - I am a slow reader. (Its called dyslexia and ordination does not make it go away.)
So - BE PATIENT.
Meanwhile, all I will say is that I am maintaining my position of strict NEUTRALITY on the issue. I have kept this position for years, since I was in my last parish in New York. Do not forget that I am called to be a pastor to people on both sides of the issue.
I am willing to hear from the people of the parish about the issue if they have any thoughts on the matter. I know some do.
I may consider creating another blog for those members of the parish who wish to post their thoughts.
Meanwhile, hang in there while the church attempts to discern where the Holy Spirit is leading us.
Peace be with you,
Pr. J
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Welcome!
Welcome to our Luther Memorial blog. This is brand new and very much a work in progress, so be patient as I get it set up and organized. I will post calendar items and news items for Luther Memorial, as well as sermons and other items over the coming weeks and months. Also links to various church related web sites. This blog is going to be primarily for new and prospective church members, but current and long time church members could also benefit from it. So hang in there as I get things posted and get the format the way I want it. I have to do all this in the middle of being a full time pastor and also managing the blogs for Salem Lutheran Church.
May we all go in peace and serve the Lord,
Pr. J
May we all go in peace and serve the Lord,
Pr. J
Our Lenten Schedule
Our Lenten schedule at the Salem-Luther Memorial Parish is as follows:
February 24, Shrove Tuesday:
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper at Salem Lutheran, 6-8 pm.
February 25, Ash Wednesday:
Service of Holy Communion and the Imposition of Ashes, 6:30 pm at Luther Memorial.
March 4, 11, 16, 25, April 1:
Lenten soup and sandwich supper at Salem Lutheran, 6:00 pm; Mid-week Lenten Service of Holy Communion at Salem Lutheran, 6:30 pm.
The mid-week lenten services will be like those we had during Advent: informal and brief, featuring a brief meditation instead of a sermon. Unlike the Advent services we will meet upstairs in the sanctuary at Salem for our mid-week lenten services.
All are invited! Come and join us as we begin our Lenten journey!
Pr. J.
February 24, Shrove Tuesday:
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper at Salem Lutheran, 6-8 pm.
February 25, Ash Wednesday:
Service of Holy Communion and the Imposition of Ashes, 6:30 pm at Luther Memorial.
March 4, 11, 16, 25, April 1:
Lenten soup and sandwich supper at Salem Lutheran, 6:00 pm; Mid-week Lenten Service of Holy Communion at Salem Lutheran, 6:30 pm.
The mid-week lenten services will be like those we had during Advent: informal and brief, featuring a brief meditation instead of a sermon. Unlike the Advent services we will meet upstairs in the sanctuary at Salem for our mid-week lenten services.
All are invited! Come and join us as we begin our Lenten journey!
Pr. J.
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