May We Come In?

(The study is a bit of a mess, but it really engendered a good discussion. People were interested in the wise men and all the extra layers we have put on top of the story of the first Epiphany.)

Epiphany is Greek for Revelation, and is usually taken to refer to the arrival of the wise men to worship Jesus. As a Church feast day, it is the celebration of Jesus coming to the gentiles as well as the Jews.

Long before Christ, Jewish prophecy held that the Messiah was not going to be for the Chosen people alone.  Read Psalm 68:28-35, a psalm of David.
1)    Suddenly David shifts in this psalm from describing what God will do to addressing ‘you’. Who is you? Why do you think so?


2)    Is there anything here to make this be the Lord is for those other nations instead of just dominating or conquering them?


3)    This psalm is probably partly responsible for people describing the Magi as three kings.  Do you think of the Magi as kings? Does it make a difference in understanding the story if they aren’t?


Psalm 72 is commonly included in Epiphany liturgies. Tradition holds that king and king’s son refer to the Messiah. Let’s read it now.
4)    The psalm clearly says by Solomon, but also by David.  What do you think might be the case?


5)    What characteristics do you see that we usually associate with Jesus?


6)    Are there any characteristics that are different from how we usually see Jesus?


7)    With this as one of the main messianic texts, what would you have been expecting in the Messiah?


A lot of messianic prophecy is found in Isaiah. Isaiah’s prophecy begins during the reign of King Uzziah, around 750 BC. Uzziah (along with Jehosophat) was one of the two most successful kings after Solomon. The first mention of other countries worshipping the Lord is in Isaiah 19. Read vv 18-25.
8)    What makes this sound like Egypt joining in instead of being ruled over? What else do you notice?



Isaiah 60 is another passage strongly associated with Epiphany liturgies. Let’s read the whole chapter.
9)    What connections do you see between this and Epiphany?



10)    What makes this sound like a prophecy about the messiah to you? What do we learn about the messiah from it?

Image: Jones_04 @ Flickr

The story of the magi only appears in the gospel of Matthew. There are only 6 other unique passages of Matthew, including three parables (vineyard workers, ten virgins and the sheep and goats) and the Roman guards reporting the empty tomb. Let’s read Matthew 2:1-18.
11)    One thing to notice is what’s not in this story. What has been added to it in the way we usually imagine it?


The word used for Jesus in v. 8 and 9 here is not used for an infant, but for a weaned child.
12)    If it was a significant time after the shepherds, what might that have meant to Mary? (Is it significant that Joseph is not mentioned here?)


The word used for the Magi is, well, magi. At that time, it seems like it was used in Greek to describe priests of Zorastrianism. That’s a Persian religion that worships a good god who is in opposition to an evil god; they were very involved in astrology. 
13)    Whether Zoroastrians or not, what does it mean for acolytes of another religion to come worship the Jewish messiah?


Balaam (of donkey fame) prophesies in Numbers 24:17

“I see someone who is not here now. I look at someone who is not nearby. A star will come from Jacob. A scepter will rise from Israel. He will crush the heads of the Moabites and destroy all the people of Sheth.” 

Early church fathers believed that was a reference to the Star of Bethlehem. Interestingly Balaam was a rarity – a gentile prophet.  Was the star mystical? It rises (v.2) – normal star behavior – but then points them to a specific location (v.9) – that’s unusual.
14)    Is there anything for us to learn from this stellar detail?


The three gifts are probably responsible for thinking of three magi.  Gold you know about. Frankincense is a tree resin that is used in perfumes, incense (including use in both the 1st and 2nd temples), and a medicine. Myrrh is the odd duck here – though it is also a tree resin, used in perfume, incense and medicine and quite valuable. (At times worth more than gold!) But it has strong connotation with embalming rituals. One reflection on this passage reminds us of the fourth gift: worship.
15)    What meaning do the gifts have for you? Can we use this as a model for what we can give to Jesus?


For me personally, some of these details take me away from what I love about the story of the Magi. God coming for those we wouldn’t expect, and surprising people coming to Christ.
16)    Who has surprised you in your faith walk?



Overtime: if we have more time, it would be worth looking at the “apostle to the gentiles.” Paul wrote powerfully about Jesus coming for the whole world.
17)    Read Ephesians 3:1-12. What do you notice? What connections can you make with the magi?

A Hard Teaching

0)    What is the hardest teaching of Jesus for you? Does anything come to mind?


Previously in the Gospel of John: (5:1-15) Jesus heals on the Sabbath, getting himself and the former lame man in trouble with Jewish authorities. (5:16-47) Jesus continues to heal on the sabbath, continues to claim God as his father, and exacerbates conflict with the authorities when he criticizes them deeply and publicly. (6:1-15) Jesus feeds 5000+ with 2 loaves and 5 fishes. (6:16-21) Jesus walks on water to join the disciples in a boat.

1)    Can you imagine hearing through the grapevine that these things are going on? What would you think? Would you seek this person out?


Read John 6:22-27
2)    When do we seek Jesus for the food that spoils? What does that look like these days?


3)    Work is always a dangerous word because of baggage and connotations. How is Jesus using it here? What is work for eternal food?

Isaiah 55:1-4 “Listen! Whoever is thirsty, come to the water! Whoever has no money can come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk. You don’t have to pay; it’s free!  Why do you spend money on what cannot nourish you and your wages on what does not satisfy you? Listen carefully to me: Eat what is good, and enjoy the best foods. Open your ears, and come to me! Listen so that you may live! I will make an everlasting promise to you - the blessings I promised to David. I made him a witness to people, a leader and a commander for people.

4)    How does this connect to what Jesus is saying?


Read John 6:28-32
5)    “What does God want us to do?” Boy is that a good question the people asked Jesus! His response depends on translation.

NIV: ‘ 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” ’
GW: ‘29 Jesus replied to them, “God wants to do something for you so that you believe in the one whom he has sent.” ’

Seems like a significant difference.  How do you interpret was Jesus is saying?


6)    Are the people being naïve or actively trying to manipulate Jesus to get what they want? (Or both?) Are there any ways we try to manipulate God?


Read John 6:34-40
7)    Obviously Christians have been hungry and thirsty to the point of death, and Jesus was clear he was the bread. So what do you think he means with the never hungry nor thirsty?



8)    This sounds like predestination in the first half of v. 37. But it sounds like free will in the second half of v. 37.  What is Jesus saying?


9)    Not to get too deep in the end times stuff, but what does Jesus mean by “bring to life on the last day”?


Read John 6:41-51
Link: Isaiah 54:13 All your children will be taught by the Lord, and your children will have unlimited peace.
10)    Isn’t this a pretty reasonable criticism? Why might Jesus have reacted so strongly?


11)    What does Jesus having seen the Father have to do with eternal life here?


Bread! Bread is seriously important to the Jews. From it’s first mention in scripture on. (Gen 3:19 “By the sweat of your brow, you will produce bread to eat until you return to the ground, because you were taken from it. You are dust, and you will return to dust.”) The word bread can mean food in general, the very means of sustenance. To eat bread requires special hand washing and a special blessing. And by bringing up manna Jesus already has them thinking about Deuteronomy 8:3: “So he made you suffer from hunger and then fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had seen before. He did this to teach you that a person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that the Lord speaks.”

12)    How can we understand how much Jesus saying this would freak them out?


Read John 6:52-60
Now his blood, too! Another freak out. The main requirement of meat to be kosher is complete bloodlessness, because of this command:

Genesis 4:1, 3-4 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them… 3  “Everything that lives and moves will be your food. I gave you green plants as food; I now give you everything else. But you are not to eat meat with blood in it. (Blood is life.)”

And furthermore, the Greek language used here has switched from the usual word for eat to a word more like devour.

13)    What can we, as disciples, do when what Jesus is saying is hard to accept?


14)    How do you make sense of this hard teaching?


Read John 6:61-70.
15)    Verse 63 reminds me of C.S.Lewis’ line: you do not have a soul. You are a soul; you have a body.  What does it mean that life is spiritual? How do you keep your focus on that?


16)    What do you take away from this whole exchange? Why did Jesus give this message at this point in time? What does it say to us?

¡Viva La Revolución!

(Youth Study for the 3rd week of advent.)

From Wikipedia: Gaudete Sunday  is the third Sunday of Advent in the liturgical calendar...
The day takes its common name from the Latin word Gaudete ("Rejoice"), the first word of the introit of this day's Mass:

Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete. Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus: Dominus enim prope est. Nihil solliciti sitis: sed in omni oratione petitiones vestræ innotescant apud Deum. Benedixisti Domine terram tuam: avertisti captivitatem Jacob.

This may be translated as "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. Lord, you have blessed your land; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob." (Philippians 4:4–6; Psalm 85:1).



(We talked about the command to praise. Introduced the idea that these readings are talking about a revolution. We've also been talking about reading dramatically, so that is clearly a good thing to practice on these.)

Isaiah 61 The Lord Will Anoint His Servant With His Spirit

The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me
because the Lord has anointed me
to deliver good news to humble people.
He has sent me
to heal those who are brokenhearted,
to announce that captives will be set free
and prisoners will be released.
2 He has sent me
to announce the year of the Lord’s good will
and the day of our God’s vengeance,
to comfort all those who grieve.
3 He has sent me
to provide for all those who grieve in Zion,
to give them crowns instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of tears of grief,
and clothes of praise instead of a spirit of weakness.

They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,
the Plantings of the Lord,
so that he might display his glory.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins.
They will restore the places destroyed long ago.
They will renew the ruined cities, the places destroyed generations ago.
5 Foreigners will come forward and become shepherds for your flocks,
and children of foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 You will be called the priests of the Lord.
You will be called the servants of our God.
You will consume the wealth of the nations.
You will boast in their splendor.
7 You will receive a double measure of wealth instead of your shame.
You will sing about your wealth instead of being disgraced.
That is why you will have a double measure of wealth in your land.
You will have everlasting joy.
8 I, the Lord, love justice.
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
I will faithfully reward my people’s work.
I will make an everlasting promise[a] to them.
9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations
and their descendants among the people.
Everyone who sees them will recognize
that they are the descendants whom the Lord has blessed.

10 I will find joy in the Lord.
I will delight in my God.
He has dressed me in the clothes of salvation.
He has wrapped me in the robe of righteousness
like a bridegroom with a priest’s turban,
like a bride with her jewels.
11 Like the ground that brings forth its crops
and like a garden that makes the seed in it grow,
so the Almighty Lord will make righteousness and praise
spring up in front of all nations.

Luke 1 Mary Praises God

46 Mary said, “My soul praises the Lord’s greatness!
47 My spirit finds its joy in God, my Savior,
48 because he has looked favorably on me, his humble servant. 

“From now on, all people will call me blessed
49 because the Almighty has done great things to me.

His name is holy.
50 For those who fear him,
his mercy lasts throughout every generation.
51“He displayed his mighty power.
He scattered the crowd.
52 He pulled strong rulers from their thrones.
He honored humble people.
53 He fed hungry people with good food.
He sent rich people away with nothing.

54 “He remembered to help his servant Israel forever.
55 This is the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his descendants.”

 (We used the table below to then sort out the two poems into descriptions of God, God's actions, and our actions. Students have been responding well to being more active, rather than just thinking about questions.)
 

(Once we had the table, we followed the command, Gaudete! We went around the circle twice, saying "I praise God for..." and then filling in the blank with an action or description. They had the idea of all of us shuting Gaudete after someone had a praise - and that worked great.)

(Before moving on to the game, a student was singing "Rejoice in the Lord always..." which we had tried in rounds before with NO success. She wanted to substitute Gaudete for rejoice! So we gave it a go with our best rounds result ever. Great end to the lesson.)

GAUDETE!

The In Betweeners

The In Betweeners… that’s us!
Advent is a great time for considering what it means to be waiting for Christ.

BCers:  Isaiah
Isaiah 40:1-11

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep. 

1) This is the beginning of the 2nd part of Isaiah, where Israel is in exile. How is this comforting to them?


2) Are we in need of comfort now? In what way are people still in exile? How might this comfort them today?

John the Baptizer: Read Mark 1:1-8

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
`Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." 

3) Crazy corner preachers are so rarely successful. But John was. Why do you think?


The following is probably too long a quote from Nadia Bolz-Weber's sermon on this. Please go read the whole thing.
“Repentance – which in Greek means something closer to “thinking differently afterwards” than it means change your cheating ways. Of course repentance CAN look like a prostitute becoming a librarian but repentance can also look like a whore saying ok I’m a sex worker and I have no idea how to get out but I can come here and receive bread and wine and maybe if only for a moment I can hold onto the love of God without being deemed worthy of it by anyone but God. Repentance is a con artist being a real person for the first time ever without knowing who that person is anymore but knowing he sees it in the eyes of those serving him communion naming him a Child of God. Repentance is realizing there is more life to be had in being proved wrong than in continuing to think you’re right. Repentance is the adult child of an fundamentalist saying I give up on waiting for my mom to love me for who I am so I’m gonna rely on God to help me love her for who she is because I know she’s not going to be around forever. Repentance is unexpected beauty after a failed suicide attempt. Repentance is a couple weeks ago when the clerk at the Adult bookstore on Colfax teared up and said “your church brought me thanksgiving lunch?” Repentance is what happened to me when at the age of 28 my first community college teacher told me I was smart and despite all my past experience of myself I believed her. See, repentance is what happens to us when the Good News, the truth of who we are and who God is, enters our lives and scatters the darkness of competing ideas.”

4) Nadia Bolz-Weber (The Sarcastic Lutheran) had that amazing take on repentance. What do you think? Can that fit with your image of repentance? What area of your life needs repentance?


Fellow In Betweener: Peter
2 Peter 3:8-15a

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.

5) How would you sum up Peter’s take on waiting? Is it still relevant for us today or was it more for those expecting Jesus any day?


6) What does “regard the patience of our Lord as salvation” mean?

The End of Waiting: Read Mark 13:24-37

 Jesus said to his disciples, "In those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see `the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake-- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake." 

7) For the Jews in exile, awaiting the messiah was clearly positive. It would mean the fulfillment of astounding promises. Is that what Jesus’ return is for us, or is it something different?


8) Keep awake. Be wise. Trim our wicks… how do we do that? How is living with a resurrected Savior than different from living with a resurrected Savior who’s coming back.



Bonus poetry: a friend was marveling over the wonder of the incarnation, and I stumbled on this bit of poetry that captured some of the wonder for me:

We who must die demand a miracle.
How could the Eternal do a temporal act,
The Infinite become a finite fact?
Nothing can save us that is possible:
We who must die demand a miracle. 

(short excerpt from For the Time Being – WH Auden. Link to a longer excerpt)

9) How can we prepare for Christmas like it is good news, surprising and noteworthy, instead of a story that we’ve heard a large number of times?


Double bonus: Auden's For the Time Being is a 50 page poem,  subtitled "a Christmas Oratorio."  The chorus is also amazing...

He is the Way.
Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness;
You will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures.

He is the Truth.
Seek Him in the Kingdom of Anxiety;
You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years.

He is the Life.
Love Him in the World of the Flesh;
And at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.

Recalls Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, doesn't it?

Worship

Next week's men's study is going to be about worship.  I was already thinking about it because of its prevalence in Moses' story.  "Let my people go," we're familiar with but leave it unfinished, "so we can go worship the Lord of Israel."  Then they worship, but, of course, don't limit themselves to the Lord.

The catalyst this week was Kurt Vonnegut, who is famous for being a humanist.  But he's not an agressive atheist like Hitchens or Dawkins; he just wants people to do good for the sake of doing good.  Which I see as pretty close to God's call.  In this speech at Albion College, "How to get a job like mine," he said the following about creativity:  go home tonight and write a 6 line poem.  Make it rhyme because you're not playing if there's no rules.  Make it as good as you can.  And then tear it up into tiny pieces.  Tell no one.  Distribute it among widely scattered trash receptacles.  Then you will have done a creative act.  No money!

That really struck a chord in me, because I was right with him until he said tear it up.  Then my sensibilities were offended... but the time, or I could share it with someone, tight? or can't I just twitter it first?  If I can't do that with a dumb poem (as I'm not much of a poet), how can I even think my worship isn't selfless.

So the questions I'm mulling are:

• What is worship?
• Why do we worship?
• How do we worship?

And the scriptures I'm starting with:
Jn 4:21-24 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.  Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Is 29:13  (Quoted by Jesus in Mt 15:7-9) The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Is 12:1-6
In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.  Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."  With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.  Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.  Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

If anyone reads this (crickets...), I'd love to hear what you think in the comments.  How do you worship?  Why do you worship?  Or what do you think it means to worship in spirit?

To close, how about one of our favorite family worship tunes, from Robin Mark: