32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 28), Year B

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Psalm 127
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:38-44

So, the Scriptures are ancient texts written in another time and place with a context that is often really difficult for us to grasp in our present lives. And so we try to remember to ask ourselves early and often what these texts might be saying to us today. It's important to recognize when and where and why a text was written so that we are better able to identify our own response to it. And we still probably need to ask, even if we can point to context and say - wow things were different then - why we get bugged by certain things.

The texts this week sort of fit into the category of contexts to which we have difficulty relating.

The reading from Ruth gives us sort of a snapshot contextual snapshot of how two widows - a mother and her daughter-in-law - manage to survive the harsh realities of their society. It's hard to imagine the fate that Ruth and Naomi encountered when their spouses died. Naomi has left her roots behind in Bethlehem to follow her husband and sons. When they die, Ruth promises to stay with Naomi and leaves her own homeland to become a stranger in a strange land - to enter Israel with Naomi. In turn, Naomi helps Ruth to attract the attention and affection of wealthy landowner Boaz, effectively bonding Ruth to the Israelites. In the selection for this week, we are entering sort of an awkward point of the story by our societal standards. Naomi has basically instructed Ruth to go lay with Boaz on the threshing floor. Then we flash forward through the text to the point at which it is revealed that Ruth has conceived, she and Boaz have married and somehow Naomi ends up with the baby - a boy - to nurse. Ruth has provided Naomi with something none of her seven sons were able to provide - economic security in their society. Now, this is a tough story for us to wrap our 21st century norms around...and yet, it has stood the test of time, made it into the cannon and continues to be read. What does this story - named for Ruth but as much about Naomi - say to us today? For one, there are some interesting questions to be asked about immigrants. Ruth is an immigrant who completely adopts her new culture and invests herself in it for survival and out of loyalty to Naomi. Does Ruth give up anything in the process?

The psalmist is echoing some of the themes about the importance of family and of sons in particular that we find in Ruth. Also, the psalmist is naming the importance of keeping the Lord central to our comings and our goings. Now all of this talk about "sons" as opposed to daughters is very particular to the culture in which this psalm was written. Is it easy to substitute sons and daughters? Are there other things that could replace "sons" in this text for today?

In the selection from Hebrews, the writer is establishing Jesus' death on the cross as the atoning sacrifice that wipes away all of our sins. Now most of us cannot really grasp the importance of these passages referencing the High Priest entering the Holy Place or about Jesus entering the Sanctuary. Even the High-est Church Folks of us today do not have the social / religious / personal reverence for the Sacred Places that the Jews of that time had. It is so hard for us to grasp the comparisons that are being made in this passage. Also (we....Laura and Matt) do not and cannot understand the importance and depth of the references to sacrifice here and how they connect to the Jewish expectations of the day. Sacrifice was so much more real and meant so much more in that space. Also, the writer of Hebrews is attempting to do something quite important here. He is attempting to show a Jewish audience that the sacrifice of Jesus and by Jesus was an ultimate sacrifice for sins as opposed to the constant and consistent sacrifices for sins that were performed by the priests in the Temple. Context is so important.

In the passage from Mark, the context is quite different, but it is fairly easy for us to relate to it we believe. He was teaching the disciples about personal / social / financial responsibility using examples from what they saw around them. It appears they are standing outside of the synagogue and he goes after the scribes (the folks who were responsible for literally keeping the law alive through repeating and recording) as models for how one ought NOT behave. He was encouraging the disciples to not let power and authority and control go to their heads....to not let their job titles or the color of their robes determine how they should behave. This example was immediately juxaposed against a poor widow who gave as all she had to support the synagogue...she was held up as the example of giving all to God. Of course it is easy to draw our own contextual parallels to today. You can choose your favorite: corporate leaders, government leaders, religious leaders, etc.

Do you have the same cultural curiosity and respect for the scriptures as you might have for a new friend from another country?
How do you take the stories and messages you find in scripture and apply them to your personal journey here in 2009 America?
How does a cultural awareness impact how you behave and respond to the world around you?

God, help us see how you continue to speak.
It is so tempting for me to believe you Have Spoken...
....and that is it.
But I know you continue to speak.
It is easier to believe you Have Spoken...
....that makes it eaiser for me...
....I could just study the scriptures thoroughly....
....and I would Know.
But realistically, I know you continue to speak.
You spoke to the darkness and the light.
You spoke to Moses.
You spoke to Mary.
You spoke to Martin Luther.
You speak to Me.
You continue to speak.
Help me to listen.
Amen.

All Saints Day

Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21:1-6a
John 11:32-44

It would seem that this year for us is permeated by the end of life. Perhaps it is something that happens as we approach what we sincerely hope is "EARLY middle-age." Matt works day after day with families who are walking through the long journey that is the death of a child. And this year, Laura's dad received a terminal diagnosis after surviving a grim diagnosis 25 years ago. Around us our community and our friends and co-workers are experiencing the loss of loved ones. We spend a lot of time considering this space. Of course we do. Death has certainty.

One certainty of death is the physical body of a person that used to mysteriously work on its own no longer does. Whatever it was that started the heart to beat has stopped.

And then what?

Then Faith, Hope, and Love.

We do not know for certain what happens to the individual...to the Spirit, the Soul when the body stops working.

We have Belief and Faith and Hope based on our experiences and our faith tradition and on the Beliefs and Faiths and Hopes of many who have lived before us.

This week we celebrate the feast of All Saints. Now for those of us who grew up in protestant churches, dialogues about saints were pretty rare. Those of us who grew up in Catholic churches might have found ourselves overwhelmed the the numbers of saints, their stories and their legacy. The feast of All Saints evolved as the Christian churches response to an early world view that as the nights lengthened and the cold strengthened, evil walked the earth seeking destruction and havoc. Halloween traditions are deeply rooted in this understanding. But Christian communities believed that they had power over evil, that Jesus' resurrection was a triumph over death, and that each person was called to live in peace and love with their neighbor to ward off evil. And so, All Saints Day evolved as a celebration of those Christian martyrs that had died defending the faith. Over time and through the reformation, there was growing recognition that a "saint" was not a perfect or special person - that each of us as God's creation has the capacity to be a saint. And today, All Saints Day can be a time to remember those whose physical bodies have stopped working, but whose time with others permanently marked the face of creation. (And some believe that the best way to live out all that is encompassed in All Saints Day requires recognizing and celebrating some root traditions of Halloween [scary costumes and jack-o-lanterns], followed in quick succession by the celebration of the saints. So...maybe all of that Halloween stuff has its place. OK, commentary over.)

So the readings for this week explore some really different views of what might happen when the heart beats its last.

The Wisdom of Solomon is actually a "deuterocanonical text" - a fancy word for an ancient writing that was accepted later than most of the rest by the councils that decided these things so many hundreds of years ago and as such is a bit of a rarity in the Lectionary cycle. It is part of a body of writing in the Hebrew scriptures that begins to articulate an emerging Jewish understandings of life and death and afterlife that would have shaped the culture into which Jesus was born and taught. The section prior to the selected passage describes some "wicked" folks who were plotting to see if a righteous person would really see the protection of God (interesting in light of the past few weeks spent reading Job). They were planning to hurt the righteous man. However the response of the writer here (2:21 - 24) says,
"Thus they (the wicked) reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hoped for the wages of holiness,
nor discerned the prize for blameless souls;
for God created us for incorruption,
and made us in the image of his own eternity,
but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his company experience it. "
This sets up a pretty clear understanding that death is the product of evil, and its experience is limited to those in the company of evil. But everybody knew that people's bodies stopped working, right? So the writer goes on to explain that righteous souls are in the hand of God, not to be tormented in death. Somehow they have been tested and punished in some way, but they continue on and at some point (in the time of their visitation) they will "shine forth." So those who are righteous and faithful will receive grace and mercy. It all sounds kind of familiar, eh?

The writer of the psalm seems to have a good grasp that death is a part of life and so he is working with how to best prepare for whatever is next. He asks, "who shall ascend to the hill of the LORD?" "Those who have clean hands and pure hearts" "They will receive blessing from the LORD". He does not talk much in this passage what "the blessing of the LORD" might be, but he does know it is something he wants to strive toward.

In John's Revelation we see a different hope / dream of how things work out after the last heart beat. As John recounts his vision, he describes a new heaven and a new earth that is unlike the present reality where death does not exist and Jerusalem is adorned and elevated. "First things" have passed away. In this, there is some hope that all of this mixed up crazy conflict driven-reality is just one creation. There is something that happens "next." If you spend time in a study bible examining this text, you will appreciate the multiple allusions the writer is making to core texts in the Jewish tradition. In particular, the writer is drawing heavily from Isaiah and the hope of a restored Israel. This is a text borne out of the deep teachings and traditions of the Jewish community and casting hope for an early Christian community that was caught in the chaos of Roman domination and the destruction of the roots of their ancient culture and beliefs.

In the Gospel of John we see the example of what so many hope for in the face of death, that it can be physically overcome and avoided today. And we witness the complication of human relationship as we face death. Jesus has chosen to delay his return to Lazarus, knowing that he is ill. When he arrives, he is told it is too late - Lazarus has already died. Mary chides him - if you had only done something sooner. We also see here that Jesus is really sad about the loss of his friend. Was he disappointed that he had not come sooner? Did he know what he would do once he arrived? If so, why the tears? Jesus has left an audience that rejected him pretty soundly. In the preceding verses, he has claimed that those who know him will never perish. And so, in some ways, as readers of the story, we kind of expect Jesus to do something dramatic for Lazarus. And he does. He calls Lazarus from the tomb, and Lazarus comes. Amazing. Breathtaking. Expected?

Our understanding of death is shaped by our experience and our Belief and Faith and Hope. And our understanding of death shapes how we here Jesus' command, "Lazarus, come out!"

What has been your experience of death? In what way has that experience shaped your Belief, Faith and Hope?

God,
Creator, Sustainer, Comforter,
keep us from grasping for immortality out of fear
and enable us to grasp instead for today
that we are unbound and let go
for your work in the world.
Amen.

© matt & laura norvell 2009 www.settingourstones.org
we want to share this with you and hope you'll share with the world; we simply ask that you let people know where you found these words. May Grace & Peace be with you.

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 24), Year B

Job 42.1-6, 10-17
Psalm 34.1-8
Hebrews 7.23-28
Mark 10. 46-52


Communication.

Verbal. Non-verbal. Direct. Indirect.

In one way or another we get our messages across. And most of the time, we do not communicate in just one form and none of us communicate in a vacuum. For example, IF WE BEGAN TO TYPE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS YOU MIGHT ASSUME WE ARE 'yelling' THESE WORDS. But why? Well, because you have a historical experience that tells you ALL CAPITALS means excitement or louder voice or some such thing.

When you are talking with someone, you hear the actual words, you hear the way the words are being said, you hear the excitement or boredom or anger or interest in their voice, you often can see the accompanying facial expressions or other body postures that are involved.

Context is often important too. If standing in the shade of a tree on a pleasant fall afternoon your friend says, "please get me some water" you might assume they want a glass of water to drink. And if the same friend said the same thing while standing next to a burning car, you might assume something different.

And when you meet someone new, there is often a period (sometimes short and sometimes long) when you have to learn a bit about their habits or style of communication before you feel like you can really count on good, solid, healthy communication with that person.

This week's scriptures give us some good examples of different forms of communication to learn from.

In this final installment from the story of Job, Job gets to speak again. Remember that so far we heard of Job's great life, the discussion between God and the Tempter, how Job's life gets really difficult, how Job's wife and friends search to find fault with Job's life or with God (fault MUST lie somewhere, right?), Job's direct inquisition of God, God's fairly direct (yet indirect) response to Job, and then we get this last bit where Job realizes he had stepped out of his bounds and should not have questioned God the way he did. If this were a movie, we imagine Job would be holding his hat in his hands and looking at the ground as he said, "God, I am sorry. I forgot the cardinal rule--someone is in charge and it is not me." Job had yelled out to God not really expecting that he was directly communicating with God....at least he was not expecting a direct answer, and God communicated Directly back to Job, and Job realized that his approach to communicating with God did not show the appropriate respect it should have--and he repented. Hmmm....Job was able to find his humble place in the Creation and he realized that God wasn't beyond direct communication, and his life got better again....we wonder if that means anything.

The Psalmist is praising the Lord and along the way, making some statements about being in direct relationship. Beginning with praise continually in the speaker's mouth, inviting others to join the exaltation, seeking the Lord and being answered, this is a person who is engaged in some sort of regular dialogue - communication - with God. And this person is pretty sure that there is deliverance in that dialogue.

In Hebrews, our writer is probably drawing on what a Jewish community would understand about the priesthood and along the way making some metaphorical statements about Jesus priesthood. Of particular interest to us in our reading is this notion of the priestly role of intercessor. Now, there is a lot of mixed trinitarian opinion about how God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit interact with one another and with creation, but our writer is suggesting that Jesus is the ultimately priestly intercessor, and that his single sacrifice in dying on a cross is enough sacrifice for all of us for the rest of time - no need to sustain blood sacrifices while the priests are praying on behalf of the people. Now we've all learned about some risks of triangulated communication - but perhaps with Jesus as our intercessor, it really has more to do with how we relate to the trinity as we pray for things. Do we need one part of the trinity to be more "approachable" or easier to talk with?

Finally, in Mark's gospel, we see another healing act of Jesus. Entering Jericho, Jesus encounters a man at some distance yelling for Jesus to have mercy on him. The man is blind. Jesus sends his disciples over to get the man and Jesus asks him - what do you really want? And the man answers that he wants his sight restored. Jesus tells him that by his faith he has been healed. Now, perhaps it was not clear at a distance what the man might "want" in asking for mercy. But we also wonder - what is Jesus teaching about naming needs. How many times do you mutter something like God, help me instead of speaking very specifically - God, I need sleep. Help me to relax into a sleep that will restore my patience for the work that is ahead of me. Or Jesus, I am afraid that I cannot deliver on the promises I have made to other people. Help me find the strength to approach them with honesty and discuss what I can and cannot realistically do right now. Big difference, eh?

The very basis of our faith is a covenant between God and creation. Covenant is about relationship. It's not a simple promise, it is two parties turning time and time again toward one another. We suppose, deep down, that requires that we show up in relationship - that we communicate. That we listen actively, seek understanding, name our feelings, state our needs, test our understanding once again, and test consensus. It's what we're called to do and how we're called to be - communicators.

How do you communicate with God? with Jesus? with the Spirit?
How is your communication with others different from that? Should it be?
Is communication hard? Why? or Why not? When? With whom?

God
Here I am.
Today, I want to engage with you.
I want to share with you
my day and my joy and my fear
and my wonder and my anger
and my laughter and my tears.
I want to show up.
Hear me and open my ears
so that I hear and listen
to the cadence of your voice
in my life.
Amen.

© matt & laura norvell 2009 www.settingourstones.org
we want to share this with you and hope you'll share with the world; we simply ask that you let people know where you found these words. May Grace & Peace be with you.