February 4

Isaiah 6:1-8, Luke 5:1-11

The reading from Isaiah has become a standard one for ordinations and Confirmations, with the call to service and the response, "Here am I, send me." Most people know the relatively recent hymn, "Here I am, Lord," which takes its theme from this lesson as well as the story of Samuel's call. But the before and after of this call make Isaiah a very rich and deep story. Isaiah's call, like Samuel's, comes in the temple, a place thick with the cloud of witnesses of many worshippers for many generations. Isaiah sees a stunning image of the courts of heaven and hears the songs of angels. His response is not that of a tourist; when in the presence of what is so incredibly holy, he sees more clearly his own sin and that of his whole nation. "I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips." In the presence of God, Isaiah cannot speak or sing as the angels do, for he understands as if for the first time how fall he has fallen short of God's desires for him and for his nation.

But God has a surprise for Isaiah. Following Isaiah's confession, God sends a cleansing fire on his lips and pronounces his guilt and sin gone, burned away, blotted out. So that when God calls for a spokesperson, Isaiah now is able to speak with cleansed lips. And if you read on through the rest of this chapter, the words he is given are intended to elicit the same kind of confession and prepare for the same kind of cleansing in the whole nation of which he is a part. The prophet is convicted of his own sin, repents, is forgiven, and then is called to help a whole nation do the same thing.

A similar theme appears in the story in Luke, another call story. This time Jesus is preaching on the shores of the lake, and because the crowd is so big, he asks Simon (Peter) to take him out a bit on the water (the water conducts sound and he could speak to the crowd more easily while making room on the beach for more people). Because Simon has served him, Jesus then rewards him by suggesting how Simon might find fish. Now Simon is skeptical because Jesus is not a fisherman, and so doesn't understand that you don't fish at the height of the day. But he humors him, and then is confronted with an overwhelming abundance. Like Isaiah, when confronted with one who is so obviously holy and has blessed him so abundantly, Simon confesses that he is sinful and therefore unworthy to be with Jesus. Jesus tells him not to be afraid of his own shortcomings or of the wrath of God, but rather to follow Jesus and get a new purpose in life; "catching" people, that is helping others who are also separate from God to come into a new relationship. Like Isaiah, Simon and the others follow quickly, leaving everything behind.

A common theme in these two readings is the relationship of confession to call to service. As someone once wrote, God cannot fill what is already full, either of guilt or of selfishness that results in sin. Once emptied, both Isaiah and Simon were ready for a new commission, a new focus for their lives, and both leapt at the opportunity without delay.
Another theme is what our response is when we are fully aware of being in the presence of the holy. Whenever we hear stories of people who have this experience, they almost always report at first a sense of their unworthiness to be in that place. That experience takes us out of our comfort zones, the places where we can hide. In the blinding light of holiness, we see ourselves more clearly, which is why angels always say, "don't be afraid," as Jesus said to Simon. If we are not afraid, we can examine ourselves completely and let go of what we are afraid to expose to the light. Only in that letting go, as AA says, can we let God work in and through us.

january 28

Luke 4:21-30, I Corinthians 13:1-13

Powerful texts this week that may seem to be in opposition to each other upon first reading. The Luke is the continuation of last week. It seemed last week that the people all loved Jesus and were excited about this new prophet in their midst, the "hometown hero" as it were. But quickly Jesus disabuses them of that notion. He's not here to get their praises, but rather to face them with some uncomfortable truths. He reminds them of two stories from the books of Kings about the prophets Elijah and Elisha who healed people who were not Jews at the same time they were fighting with the kings of Israel. It has always disturbed me that Jesus was so irritating to his hometown folk here; why did he have to be so sharp with them? I have wondered if something happened in Nazareth that we do not know. It may, however, be in line with John the Baptist's admonition to the people that simply claiming Abrahamic descent is not enough to be right with God. Jesus can only work with people who are open to God working in them in a new way. Were the people of Nazareth too complacent? Were they too eager to share his glory and not eager enough to respond to his message? Were they too excited to be "insiders" and so he needed to make them understand that God often comes especially to those who are "outsiders?"

Then when we read the Corinthians, we wonder about why maybe Jesus didn't exhibit more of the qualities of love listed in this passage. Why was he not more patient and kind with the folk of Nazareth? Was he indeed rude? Perhaps the sentence that connects most clearly here is that he rejoiced in the truth and wanted them to as well. This text seriously needs constant redemption from connection with weddings. It is not about romantic love. It is not about marriage. It is about the love of God which is to be the model for our love, not only our love of our family or significant others, but more especially our love for those for whom we don't have emotional feelings. This love is not about feelings at all, but about commitment, discipline, openness and the Holy Spirit. It is what Paul calls the "more excellent way," the gift we can all receive and use that provides the foundation for how we use the other gifts of the Spirit we receive from God. A couple of interesting text clarifications: the giving of the body is meant to signify sacrifice; if we go to jail or are killed for standing up for our faith, it is meaningless if it is done only to make ourselves important or to be perceived as a martyr. The other clarification is more fun. The piece about "seeing in a mirror dimly" is actually a translation of the word "riddle." Our understanding of God and God's love is now like trying to unravel a riddle, but eventually, all will become clear. That frees us from thinking we need to understand perfectly before we act in God's name; we will not understand perfectly in this life. We can love, though, in the image of God.

January 21

Luke 4:14-21, I Corinthians 12:12-31a

The Corinthians passage for this week is the continuation of a conversation Paul has been having with the church in Corinth about community and gifts. The Corinthian church became one of the largest and most active of all those founded by Paul and his co-workers. It also became a church full of conflict from the beginning. Much of the conflict was caused by an inability of those of differing economic and social standings to work together. In Chapter 11 Paul has castigated the more wealthy (and therefore powerful) members of the church for coming to worship (which included a meal) and not sharing food with the poorer members of the church. He tells them that to celebrate the Lord's Supper without discerning the body of Christ is to eat and drink judgement on oneself. Although some consider that to mean literally discerning the physical body of Christ in the bread, Paul's greater context has been an understanding of the church as a whole as the body of Christ.
That theme continues in chapter 12, where he begins the chapter discussing the great variety of the gifts of the Spirit and how all of them are to be used not for personal gain, but for the "common good." Everyone has gifts, he says, and the Spirit hands them out as God chooses.
Now he goes on to say that the body of Christ (the church) is just like the human body: having many parts which are necessary to each other. Baptism makes us that body, no matter what our national or ethnic or religious background was before, and no matter our economic or social status (Jew or Greek, Slave or Free, and elsewhere Paul adds Male or Female). Apparently in Corinth those who had the gift of speaking in tongues had been promoting themselves without having someone translate what they said, therefore depriving people of the prophecy while making themselves seem spiritually superior to other members. Paul reacts elsewhere with anger to this practice. Yes, he says here, some do speak in tongues, but that is only one of the several indispensable gifts the Spirit gives for the working of the Body of Christ.
He then catalogs our various body parts, including those we hide away, and reminds us they are indispensible to the whole and work together for us every moment of every day. At the end of the catalog, he tells us that NOW we are the body of Christ. Note that he doesn't say, "You should become the body of Christ," but "you ARE the body of Christ." It doesn't happen by our actions, but by our baptisms. Therefore our gifts are to be used as Christ used his gifts, for the building up of the body. Everyone's gifts are to be valued and used. Then Paul follows by saying that using the gifts is important, but that there is still "a more excellent way." Then we get the chapter on love. But that is for next week.

January 14

Texts for Baptism of Jesus Sunday (which actually was last week, but we used the Epiphany texts then) are Isaiah 43:1-7 and Luke 3:15-22

Three themes pull these two readings closely together: God's call, the Holy Spirit, and the community. Isaiah begins with the powerful claim that we need not fear because God calls us by name and we belong to God, the same affirmation we make each time we baptize. The name God calls Jesus in Luke's version of his baptism is "Beloved." One of the wonderful aspects of this Isaiah reading is verse 4 where we get the very rare formulation in the Bible of God saying to the people "I love you." We read about God's love in lots of places in the Bible, but this particular phrase occurs almost never. God calls us; we are loved by God. In Jesus' baptism, he is clearly called and then called Beloved.

A second theme is that of the presence of the Holy Spirit. The word is not used specifically in the Isaiah, but water and fire run throughout the Bible as symbols of the Holy Spirit. In Luke, the Spirit is seen in a body, that of a dove, resting on Jesus' body. The last time we saw the Spirit in Luke, Gabriel told Mary the spirit of God would come upon her and she would conceive a child. This generative Spirit now becomes visible to others at Jesus' baptism, and then immediately sends him into the wilderness for a time of testing (we'll get the continuation of this story on the first Sunday in Lent). Of all the ways we have of experiencing and understanding God, the Spirit is often the most perplexing, mysterious and varied in form, and therefore worth spending time considering and meditating upon.

The third theme reminds us of the importance of Community. In Isaiah, God did not just call individuals out of exile, but a whole nation, and the coming together of the sons and daughters is critical to discerning the presence of God in that activity. The people survived exile by holding to each other in community and they will rebuild their nation the same way. In Luke, Jesus comes together with other people to be baptized. This is not a private event, but part of a crowd, Jesus becoming one with the people in this act. God's proclamation was not just for Jesus' benefit, or for John's, but a voice heard by others, a dove seen by others, a public action. Many have asked why Jesus needed to be baptized, since he had not sinned and need not repent. One answer to that is that he did so to be in solidarity with those seeking to renew their relationship with God, and also to show John's authority as a reformer of Judaism. Jesus standing with John and those who followed him immediately made him controversial in the larger community (Luke makes sure we get that point by inserting his historical note about what later happened to John).

Epiphany, January 7

Instead of the usual lectionary readings, I will be using the readings for Epiphany this week (epiphany is actually Saturday, but it seems a shame to lose the magi!). So we have Isaiah 60:1-6 and Matthew 2:1-12.
The Isaiah is a beautiful poem imagining the return of exiles to Jerusalem in fulfillment of God's promises to the people. It seems doubly appropriate this time of year to read the contrast between light and darkness in this passage, both in its real and metaphorical senses. Pay attention to the international sense of this reading, which is undoubtedly why it is paired with the Magi reading from Matthew. In this case it promises a people who are returning to a decimated land that not only will their prosperity be restored, but the character of their nation will be such that people of other nations (mostly Arab tribes) will willingly (there is not a sense of capture or booty here) bring wealth and praise of God. If you read on to verse 7, you will see a radical thought for Judaism of the time that all the offerings of foriegners will be welcome on the very altar of God. The other wonderful thing about this passage is the absolutely palpable sense of joy.

We know the Matthew passage, or think we do, so well that we often miss the nuances in it, and there are several. First, notice that there is no exact number mentioned for the magi; we have assumed three because three gifts are mentioned (pay attention to my sermon Sunday for another option). We have also over the years made them "Kings," though nowhere in this passage are they referred to that way. They are magi, the Greek word for astrologers or sages, those who were highly educated and respected, which is actually rather different from kings!They are assumed to be from Persia, somewhere in the modern-day Iran direction. And Matthew very clearly does not have them showing up at the stable, but at a house, and the time frame would indicate not immediately after Jesus' birth, but before Mary and Joseph would have returned to Nazareth. We later read that Herod assumed the star appeared when Jesus was born and so had all children under two years old killed, thus possibly indicating the magi told him the star had actually been around for two years!
Several themes appear in this passage. First, note that now Jesus' birth has moved from a local event to a cosmic and international and political one. Not just angels to one set of shepherds, but a natural phenomenon which brings non-Jews to find what prompted it and then sets off a political crisis which will result in the massacre of children. From the very beginning, the good news of great joy has enemies who prefer the status quo. This will be a theme of Jesus' life and the lives of his followers for the next 2000 years.
Note also that Matthew is eager to establish that even the stars proclaim that Jesus is the ruler of Israel. The magi are not looking for a spiritual leader, but "the king of the Jews." How ironic that another Gentile, Pilate, would have that very title put up over Jesus on the cross. This understanding of Jesus' place and the conflation of "messiah" with political ruler will also continue to haunt.
Finally, to expand on the theme above, the visit of the magi and their gifts begin the work of expanding the ministry of Jesus beyond his homeland, for he comes for all nations and peoples.