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From All Saints, Year A, through Advent 4, Year B
The following conversations are included:
November 1, 2008 (All Saints Day, Year A), Turning Tears of Pain to Joy
November 2, 2008 (31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 26), Year A), Authentic Leaders, Discerning People
November 9, 2008 (
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 27), Year A),
Faithful, Unsettling Questions
November 16, 2008 (33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Proper 28, Year A), Doing Justice while Suffering Injustice
November 23, 2008 (Reign of Christ Sunday, Proper 29, Year A ), The Great Reign of God’s Justice
November 27, 2008 (Thanksgiving Day, Year A), Honest Gratitude
November 30, 2008 (1st Sunday in Advent, Year B),
Turbulent Hopes
December 7, 2008 (2nd Sunday in Advent, Year B), A Future Filled With Promise
December 14, 2008 (3rd Sunday in Advent, Year B), Releasing the Spirit
December 21, 2008 (4th Sunday in Advent, Year B), According To God’s Promise
Home
>>November 1, 2008 |
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All Saints Day, Year A |
November 1, 2008 |
Turning Tears of Pain to Joy
The Bible passages for All Saints Day force us to think
about what it means to suffer as members of Christ’s community. At the same time they
call us to envision the eschatological community of pure joy that will prevail!
This week's lectionary Bible passages:
Revelation 7:9-17, Psalm 34:1-10, 22, 1 John 3:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12
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Who's in the Conversation
A
conversation among the following scholars and pastors
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“Those
who seek to live faithful to God’s creation and calling must be prepared to
contend in a world that does not know us because it did not know God.”
Elcindor
Johnson |
“God has said God will
grant us what we ask for, provided we observe God’s law. In today’s world
as in ancient times, it can be difficult to be obedient.”
Sarah
Carpenter-Vascik |
“While there is intense
suffering in this world, we have to choose our battles carefully lest we needlessly
become martyred. Finding a balance between apathy and martyrdom is the
challenge.”
Deborah Appler |
What's Out in the Conversation
A
conversation about this week's lectionary Bible passages
The readings for today look at members of the
church, people from all nations who prepare and await the realm of God and who seek to
reassure us that the Lamb of God will be like a shepherd and will care for all who
believe. In reading portions of Revelation as today’s reading, one can easily
and perhaps advisedly forget that this book is replete with images of violence and
warfare. That can be particularly troublesome given the challenges we face
around the world today. And although these images ought to be wrestled with and
critiqued vigorously, this particular passage (Revelation 7:9-17)
offers us such a powerful eschatological vision (a vision of the end of time) that we
can be forgiven for relishing it with minimal attention given to elements of the
larger context of Revelation.
In the passage, we see a multitude from every
nation, tribe, people and language “standing before the throne and before the
Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands” (verse 9). They
are victorious but this conquest is paradoxical in that they are presumably the slain
from just a few verses before (Revelation 6:9-11). There they cried out for
justice and now they cry out in worship. Now tears of pain have turned to tears of
joy.
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The LGBT communities continue to cry out in
the pain of unjust persecution. How would you envision a world in which these tears
would turn into tears of joy? What would victory look like? |
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From time to time, liberation movements benefit from telling and re-telling their stories. On the other hand, both Deuteronomy 34:1-12 and 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 pose a danger for liberating practice. Both texts can nourish an inflated image of the hero, celebrating singular (male) leadership while neglecting the struggles of the larger community. Helpfully, 1 Thessalonians hints toward another way of recalling the past. Paul's image of a nurse nurturing children undermines vain heroic aspirations. Such nursing was often the task of slaves. It required caring for the infant, with no reasonable hope of personal gain or reward. Beverly Roberts Gaventa has noted the surprising fact that Paul describes his ministry in maternal (rather than paternal) terms when he refers to the process of nurturing congregations [see her Our Mother Saint Paul (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007)]. Just as he recalls his own ministry, Paul celebrates that faithful response among the Thessalonians themselves (1 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
Martyrdom is not a particularly cheery topic and is largely
foreign to Christians in the United States. Nevertheless, it is a very real
aspect of life for many of our brothers and sisters globally. The persecution
and exile of Iraqi Christians after the overthrowing of Saddam Hussein or the
devastation wrought on the people of southern Sudan are current examples.
Unfortunately, our world is still marred by the persecution and even execution of
minority populations whether they are united by religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual
orientation. But it is often in these communities that we find saints.
Many Christians have a very limited view of who is
considered a saint. Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that not everyone
who calls him Lord will enter the realm of heaven, but only those who do the will of
God. It is in persecuted communities that we often see God’s will
displayed most vividly. Among these people we find the poor in spirit, the
mourning, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure in
heart, and the peacemakers (Matthew 5:1-12). Jesus tells us
that God has not forgotten these persecuted ones. Theirs is the realm of
heaven.
The blessedness promised in the Beatitudes is not only eschatological.
“O taste and see that God is good; happy are those who take refuge in God”
(Psalm 34:8, The New Testament and Psalms: an Inclusive
Version). Those who are experiencing injustice cry out to God and our
readings for today remind us that God hears and is near to those who suffer.
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Describe an instance where you observed saintly
behavior within the LGBT communities and their allies or in a community that was not
ostensibly Christian. How do you think God views these persons when they live in ways
congruent with God’s will? |
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We must be careful, however, not to glorify suffering or
treat it as a calling, per se. The suffering of the saints is not something to
be aspired to, but rather it is the likely result of a life lived faithfully as God
has created and called us to be. For our self-protection, we must choose when and
when not to bleed. One of the blessings afforded by ideals like the separation of
church and state is that we have been largely protected from the some of the worst
types of oppression. This governing philosophy and those like it open up a
greater possibility for the faithful to live honestly and openly without
persecution. The LGBT communities in the United States and other Western nations
enjoy a relative freedom that many of our brothers and sisters around the world can
hardly imagine. We ought to rejoice at such political advancements and work for
their non-violent promulgation around the world in order that the suffering spoken of
in Scripture might be minimized.
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In what ways do we glorify suffering instead
of working to minimize it? What is or isn’t the intrinsic value in
suffering? Is deliverance from suffering, whether realized or hoped for a
justification for suffering itself? |
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As we work to minimize suffering, we should also recognize
that the testimony we have from Scripture is that the faithful, while diverse and
numerous, are not a majority. If we seek to be faithful to God’s creation
and to God’s calling, we must be prepared to contend in a world that does not
know us because it did not know God.
1 John 3, written around 90-100 CE during a time when
there were deep problems in the church, provides a word of hope to those who suffer:
“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been
revealed. What we do know is this: when Jesus Christ is revealed, we will be
like Christ, for we will see Christ as Christ is” (verse 2,
The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Version).
Prayerfully Out in Scripture
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Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit
may so move every human heart,
that barriers which divide us may crumble,
suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease;
that our divisions being healed,
we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Adapted from “Prayer for Social Justice,” The Book of Common Prayer.
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Bible passages are selected based on the Revised Common Lectionary,
copyright © 1992 by Consultation on Common Text (CCT). All rights reserved. Used
by permission. |
Home >>November 2, 2008 |
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31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 26), Year A |
November 2, 2008 |
Authentic Leaders, Discerning People
Who speaks for God? How do we discern God’s authentic message when faced with — or tempted to — condemnation, greed, status and corrupted notions of power? This week’s passages grant us important clues for responding to such significant questions.
This week's lectionary Bible passages:
Micah 3:5-12 & Psalm 43 or Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 & Psalm 78:1-7 (not included in this conversation); 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Matthew 23:1-12
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Who's in the Conversation
A conversation among the following scholars and pastors
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“We are constantly reminded that in spite of injustice and deceit, God has been and continues to be our refuge, our help and our hope. As people on the margins, oppression is real. And the Good News is just as real, so is God’s love.”
Vernice Thorn |
“My heart is struck by these readings with new compassion for those who ‘abhor justice’ and are unaware of the burdens they place on others or themselves. I am challenged anew to remember that fear underlies all corruption, greed and condemnation of others.”
Jacki Belile |
“sign of authentic leadership is whether it seeks to dominate or to nurture.”
Greg Carey |
What's Out in the Conversation
A conversation about this week's lectionary Bible passages
In an age bombarded with messengers that claim to speak for God, how do we discern messages that are truly life-giving? With the ancient psalmist and the prophet in Micah 3:5-12, we cry out against the self-interest, greed and fear which corrupt leaders’ motives and rob social relationships of authentic justice.
Psalm 43 bears witness to the staying power of individuals and communities who cry out for deliverance from unjust condemnation. Praying for truth and light to guide her (lest she be deceived), the psalmist proclaims her place at the altar of God. She seeks refuge in God. She does so in the face of injustices which might tempt her to stay downcast while she struggles for deliverance. Such authentic staying power can only come from the experiences which connect us to our true worth in God’s eyes: worship, community and prayer. Far from being a retreat from action in the world, this psalm reminds us of the tragic costs when any are systematically displaced, diminished or neglected in God’s house and in God’s world.
Today’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities bear the unique burdens of widespread demonization – isolation and condemnation from those who claim to speak for God. In the third chapter of the book of Micah, the prophet cries out against those leaders who proclaim divine national blessing while robbing and displacing their citizens and neighbors. Their greed – for material gain, popularity, shallow sources of security – clouds their judgment and confuses the abundance gained at others’ expense with the true peace of God. Micah knows “the sun will go down on the (false) prophets” whose moral bearings are so confused (verse 6).
Those who think they lean on God have instead lost their way and selfishly accumulated false gain. Those who would build God’s Zion do so with “blood” and “wrong” (Micah 3:10). Are they tempted to an “ends justify the means” mentality about their institutions? The text provides clues for God’s alternatives: justice, equity and genuine service which are not perverted by self-interest. Filled with a different Spirit, with justice and courage, Micah dares to speak the truth about the consequences of such injustice and inequity: the impending loss of revelation from God and the ruin of their community.
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How is the Body of Christ blessed by the gifts of the LGBT communities when they live together in authenticity and radical reliance on God in the face of condemning messages? When and where might we, like Micah, demand authentically justice-oriented leadership in church and society? Are we modeling what we’re demanding? |
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Perhaps 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 reminds us to ask whether authentic leadership seeks to dominate or to nurture. Paul’s gender-specific “father” imagery (verse 11) about his church-planting role calls to mind our tradition’s entrenched notions of leadership as domination. Yet, he speaks of urging, encouraging and pleading with a church family that faces discouragement, self-doubt and fear.
Elsewhere in 1 Thessalonians, Paul compares himself to a nurse and to a dependent child (1 Thessalonians 2:7). We are reminded, too, that he is not alone in the labors of the Gospel – and neither are we. Paul reminds the Thessalonians of “our labor” and says “we give thanks” (verse 13). As Paul stakes out his authority to proceed with the letter’s encouragements and admonishments, he does so not by appeal to office, fear or divine entitlement, but to service, relationship and a devoted life. Perhaps this is why the Thessalonians accepted what they had heard as authentically “God’s” Word and not simply a form of “human” communication. (verse 13). Yet the community must continue to discern both the nature of their own suffering and their responses to God’s word.
Like the verses that follow the 1 Thessalonians passage, the gospel in Matthew 23:1-12 has also been misused as support for anti-Semitism. When we look faithfully and closely at the social context of the passage, we acknowledge that Jesus’ critique of the religious leaders of his day is not a Christian critique of Jews. We see in this passage an enduring challenge to demand for all leaders to be authentic and accountable for their just or unjust actions.
We also remember that we are all leaders in some way. The call to authenticity here includes practicing what we preach, purifying our hearts’ motives for public ministry, and living in relationships of mutuality. When we do these things, we place ourselves in a humble place, remembering that Jesus said “You are all students” (verse 8). Such is the path that avoids imposing our own burdens and needs upon others for whom we are responsible. Such is the path to inhabiting Moses’ seat (whatever the leadership role to which we’ve been called) as if we are on the holy ground of the burning bush. There, we listen anew to the Liberator’s call to be agents of justice-making and need not be anything more or less than ourselves.
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In what situations are you called to be a leader? What difference does thinking of yourself as a “student” make when you discern or seek to state God’s will and way? How and when do you know to speak or act for God’s justice? |
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We live in a day when “All are Welcome” signs are posted outside so many churches. Too often, however, the signs are only marketing gimmicks when churches do not truly offer God’s hospitality. There is such a contrast between the open invitation and the congregation or denomination’s claims in its ordination position or its work for justice. Where is the authenticity in such self-promotion? We live in a day when leaders of both church and society may clamor for their own acceptance, status, material gain and popularity, and do or say whatever will gain them such security. Believers who do so cloud their discernment of God’s revelation and risk communal ruin. Authentic lives, staying power and justice go hand-in-hand.
Prayerfully Out in Scripture
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O God, so many voices would command our allegiance.
Self-help voices, nationalistic voices,
voices of domination and voices of resentment —
they all claim, "Thus says God."
Yet, you are the God of the prophets:
Amos and Isaiah, Elizabeth and Anna,
Nathan and Elijah, the daughters of Philip and the women of Corinth.
Grant us the grace to hear all those voices with responsive ears.
Grant us the wisdom to discern true voices from shallow ones,
from self-serving ones, from deceptive ones.
Grant us the grace and wisdom to heed the voices that point us
toward your way and your community.
In Christ's name — but for our sakes and the sake the world — we pray. Amen.
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Bible passages are selected based on the Revised Common Lectionary, copyright © 1992 by Consultation on Common Text (CCT). All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
Home >>November 9, 2008 |
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32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 27), Year A |
November 9, 2008 |
Faithful, Unsettling Questions
These texts raise unsettling questions. The passages affirm blessing for insiders – good news for those lucky enough to already be "inside." Keep awake, however, as Jesus says. Watch out for how these texts may lead us to use insider-power to name others as outsiders and keep them there!
This week's lectionary Bible passages:
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 & Psalm 78:1-7 or Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16 or Amos 5:18-24 & Psalm 70 (not included in this conversation); 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13
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Who's in the Conversation
A conversation among the following scholars and pastors
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“In the face of human suffering instigated in God’s name, we reject all notions of a God who asks for or uses fear in keeping covenant or inaugurating the new age.”
Jacki Belile |
“For Matthew, the sorting out of the wise from the foolish, the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the chaff, always comes as a surprise.”
Greg Carey |
“How do we put away the gods that give us the illusion of safety – those of tradition, privilege and power? How do we move, in spite of our limitations and uncertainty, to serving God with faithfulness?”
Vernice Thorn |
What's Out in the Conversation
A conversation about this week's lectionary Bible passages
Joshua 24 is a scary text! The passage makes us wonder: Why don’t we remember the faithfulness of God? (After all, God is always present.) Which God do we really serve? Do we really believe there is enough? Enough land. Enough faith. Enough room. Enough oil. Enough hope. If there is enough, why do we live in disbelief of God’s lavish providence? We have seen the costs of such disbelief and commitments made in fear. We have seen genocide, religious war, slavery-born economies and the scape-goating of others as the “abominations” of the world.
These are indeed scary and humbling texts. They invite us to reexamine the things “our ancestors have told us.” The book of Joshua is revisionist history, a retelling of the settlement of the land from the perspective of those who have already experienced its loss.
In Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25, Joshua presides over a rededication that equates God’s protection with their past military conquests. This historian sketches a backdrop against which tolerance, syncretism and religious-racial mixing will be held up to condemn the people as violations of covenant faithfulness. Today’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are painfully aware that the “faithfulness” admonished here relies on judgment, separation and even elimination of the others. Sadly, countless preachers and religious folk have chimed in with their own zealous glee to the tune of this jealous God.
“We will not hide them from our children,” the psalmist says of God’s glorious deeds in Psalm 78:1-7. The psalmist urges a hope-producing recital of God’s deeds we have heard and known. What counts, though, as evidence of God? What bears witness to God’s faithfulness when we find ourselves in displacement, exile or persecution? Clearly, our connection to the tradition – to the saints and heroes who came before us gathered at significant life-forming places as Shechem, Thessalonica, even Stonewall. Our faithfulness depends, in some way, upon passing on these faith stories of our deliverance to generations yet to come.
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What are the significant people and places in our past that remind us of God’s liberation and justice? |
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Today’s texts, however, invite a distinctive question: In this passing on, will we hide the grotesque deeds that have been done in God’s name? Bear witness to them? Take responsibility for them? Perhaps it is a greater faithfulness – a watchful, repentant faithfulness – to choose against hiding our sins from our children?
Today, we are still called to be witnesses, against (eventually for) ourselves. LGBT communities are a journeying people, not perfect and yet daring to speak out for God’s radical welcome. We desire not only safety and peace, but genuine faithfulness and partnership in God’s everlasting covenant. We take our place with ancestors of old, daring to bring our whole stories – choosing to say “yes” to the liberating God who affirms and rescues. Yet we can’t stop there. As people of all races, religions, gender identities and abilities, we bear witness that the “sayings of old” have too often confused God’s protection with the victories of human violence. Exclusivism has over and over again proven to be a false god, a false security, born only of our age-old fears. We must be ever watchful and aware of this.
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What are the ways tradition and the past have been used to preserve inequality and injustice? |
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“Watch; keep awake!” The tale of the virgins who have oil, and those who don’t, keeps us guessing whether we are “in or out” in Matthew 25:1-13. Matthew’s gospel typically leaves the question of inclusion unsettled. The passage challenges everyone and here it even challenges the Jesus’ disciples! Later in this same chapter, in a similar way, we ponder whether we will be found as “sheep or goats?”
Matthew’s story nevertheless calls us to self-examination. We are called in this day to challenge the very idea of rigid categories of dualism, and to reveal the harm they have done to us. The transgender communities, in particular, have borne the cost of our addiction to dualistic and simplistic gender categories. We rightly resist Matthew’s discrimination between the insiders and the outsiders, but will we conserve the “oil” which will prepare us to choose otherwise?
How will we choose to prepare while we wait for complete understanding and justice?
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When, if ever, is division and separation a faithful response? What is God’s call today regarding “insiders” and “outsiders?” |
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1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is often misunderstood exactly along the insider/outsider lines of triumphalism and exclusivity we see in Joshua and Matthew. Yet Paul addresses believers who are afraid that they have missed out. Paul articulates a different kind of hope, born in God’s goodness proven in Jesus Christ. Rather than serving the triumphalists’ agenda, this pastoral word admonishes us to look to Jesus’ life for a pattern of resurrection lived – however partially – in the here and now.
As witnesses, we’re indeed called to be watchful and to be ready – to keep our oil burning. How else will we be prepared to recognize the face of God in those who look different and who live and love differently than we do? We need to be ready at a second’s notice to demonstrate justice and hospitality toward all of God’s people in the here and the now. Such humble, open readiness, such “oil” is sustained neither by arrogant certainty that we are “in,” nor by paralyzing fear that we are destined to be “out.” It is sustained by a mysterious hope that God’s goodness is proven, faithful and trustworthy. The criteria for recognizing this covenantal goodness can be found in the good news of a repentance unperverted by judgment and exclusion.
Prayerfully Out in Scripture
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Gracious and loving God,
We are witnesses to a long journey, to suffering and to faithlessness.
It is so hard to wait for changes in our lives and in the world.
It's difficult to wait for open doors, for equality, for peace.
During our time of waiting, help us to be watchful and faithful.
And when we grow weary, quiet our minds and hearts.
Assure us of your constant presence, O God, and cloak us in your
boundless love.
Grant us peace and courage to meet the challenges of this day. Amen.
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Bible passages are selected based on the Revised Common Lectionary, copyright © 1992 by Consultation on Common Text (CCT). All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
Home >>November 16, 2008 |
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33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 28), Year A |
November 16, 2008 |
Doing Justice while Suffering Injustice
These passages challenge us to be agents of God’s justice even while injustice seeks to enslave us.
This week's lectionary Bible passages:
Judges 4:1-7 & Psalm 123 or Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 & Psalm 90:1-8 (9-11), 12 (not included in this week’s conversation); 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25:14-30
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Who's in the Conversation
A conversation among the following scholars and pastors
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“The Bible passages for today remind us that peace, justice and equality are God’s intention for our lives. They also call us to engage in working toward that end. Real hope is fuel for positive action.”
Kathi Martin |
“While traditional readings of these passages encourage us to use what we have to build the realm of God even when we are short changed, reading from the underside helps us see the benefits in resisting these dynamics of oppression.”
Randall C. Bailey |
“Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are not called to submit to what normative heterosexual society defines for us, but are called to continue the struggle for justice – fearless in the face of homophobia in the church and broader society.”
Michael Carden |
What's Out in the Conversation
A conversation about this week's lectionary Bible passages
The Bible passages for this week have a “traditional reading” which follows the narrators. The story of Deborah, in Judges 4:1-7, is lifted up as the story of a woman leader in ancient Israel. Psalm 123 begins as an individual lament and ends as a communal lament with statements of assurance that God is a deliverer of those in trouble. This psalm also uses the female imagery for the divine human relation as like a “maid [looking to] the hand of her mistress” (verse 2b). The epistle reading encourages the people of Thessalonica to be vigilant for God’s salvation in Jesus and to encourage and support each other. Matthew 25:14-30 is known as the parable of the talents, where three slaves are given five, two and one talent respectively. The slaves with the five and two talents double them while the slave with the one talent buries it and gives it back to the master. Being called lazy, the slave with one talent is thrown out while the other two are rewarded with an invitation to a banquet. The overarching message of these four readings is to use what one has rather than being caught in fear. We are called to follow the will of God as a deliverer, even if one is not from the group valued by the society.
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Who are the leaders, the Deborah’s, in your community. How do you and others respond to them when they offer advice for addressing community concerns and call for justice? |
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One could look at these passages and affirm that God is a God of salvation and hope in times of trouble who commissions Deborah’s to rise up to save their nations. This could be seen as a message to LGBT and other oppressed people. Just as Deborah, a woman in a patriarchal society, was commissioned by God to save her people, so may we be called to leadership even when we are from a group often ostracized by the dominant society.
One could also affirm that just as the followers of the Way in Thessalonians 5:1-11 — who were oppressed and not of the ruling classes — should hold to the faith that God is with them, LGBT people hold on and stay “in the light”(verse 5). Similarly, LGBT and other oppressed groups — who are not given their fair share or who are short changed by the system, “given only one talent” — should not bury their gifts, but make the best of their situation and help build the realm of God.
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How have you felt in situations when you were asked to help build an organization or lead an effort which was not LGBT-friendly, but which could have some benefit to your community? What have you learned from that situation? |
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There is an ironic twist to many of these texts, especially as they are engaged by people living in situations of extreme oppression. First, one can note that in the book of Judges the men in leadership are all flawed. Interestingly the reading for today from Judges ends in verse 7, with Deborah delivering the message of God to Barak. The lectionary passage omits his response that he will only go to war if she accompanies him. Yet, by including this passage we witness a role reversal. As the story unfolds Deborah and Jael come across as “better men than the men in the narrative” — besting the men at their own jobs.
Similarly, in the parable the talents, you can see how the realm of God cannot function without the work of slaves and their raising the funds for it to succeed. One wonders whether LGBT and other oppressed people are welcomed into congregations which are dying to bring in the resources of LGBT people to enhance the church, even though they are still negatively labeled in homophobic sermons. Another way of looking at these texts, however, could be to see God as aiding us in building the realm of God and encouraging us not being stifled by fear.
One troubling aspect of Psalm 123 and Matthew’s parable is the depiction of God as a slave master who either oppresses the slaves or flourishes from their labor. Although we know that slavery was integral to the societies of ancient Israel and the early church, one has to wonder whether the adoption of this imagery is helpful today.
One possibility, however, for a liberation reading of the passage is raised by New Testament scholars who tell us that in the original context that the parables were used by Jesus as a critique of the established social order. This opens the possibility of seeing the slave with the one talent as the one who resists oppression in the system and refuses to cooperate with the “harsh task master.” In this way, being thrown out, he is the only one who is now free. By the same token, the absence of a “parable of the slave revolt” in the gospels suggests that a resistant reading of these images might be the best strategy for LGBT and other oppressed groups.
Prayerfully Out in Scripture
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God of justice,
Thank you for reaching through unjust leaders and systems
to remind us that justice is still a possibility in our lives.
Guide us as we follow your lead to build communities
of peace, equality and justice for all. Amen
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Bible passages are selected based on the Revised Common Lectionary, copyright © 1992 by Consultation on Common Text (CCT). All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
Home >>November 23, 2008 |
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Reign of Christ Sunday (Proper 29), Year A |
November 23, 2008 |
The Great Reign of God’s Justice
The reign of Christ challenges us to offer charity to those who suffer, but also more – to join God in the transformation of systems and societies.
This week's lectionary Bible passages:
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 & Psalm 100 or Psalm 95:1-7a (not discussed in this conversation); Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46
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Who's in the Conversation
A conversation among the following scholars and pastors
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“God sometimes transcends structures to raise up leaders within oppressive systems and empowers them to both enhance and transform society.”
Kathi Martin |
“The passages for today declare that the current order of the world is unjust, but the promise is that God's order is just. This promise is manifested through the justice we make in our lives and when unjust structures are overcome.”
Michael Carden |
“While we hold lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender leaders and other oppressed group leaders accountable for caring for our own communities, we must also not lose sight of broader societal structures of oppression which keep us at the bottom of the ladder. Such structures must change!”
Randall C. Bailey |
What's Out in the Conversation
A conversation about this week's lectionary Bible passages
This is the last Sunday in the church’s liturgical year. It ends with passages stressing the reign of Christ and its implications. Ezekiel 34 comes from the period of the Exile of God’s people Israel and is part of a long discourse on the reign of God. The passage begins in verse 15 with the announcement that God is going to become the shepherd of Israel who tends the sheep in ways that will prosper them. The first part of the speech, however, is an indictment of the Shepherds of Israel. They were charged with fleecing the sheep, as opposed to feeding them and tending them. Yet, the reading emphasizes the reign of God and how God will set things right — bringing the sheep into green pastures and feeding them. After the sheep are secure, God will appoint another administrator to ensure the well being of the sheep. This is a hopeful word to LGBT and other oppressed groups who have been hurt by religious leaders in the past. It is also hopeful that the reign of God will bring to them a time when the resources necessary for a good life will be provided.
Psalm 100, often used as a call to worship in many churches, seems to be an outline for a thanksgiving service in the Temple in Jerusalem. In that setting, not only is God presented as the guide and shield for the people, the metaphor of shepherd and sheep continues with worshippers affirming that they are the sheep. The call to make a joyful noise to God is continued in worship today by choirs and congregants.
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How have you experienced the transition from a shepherd/leader who was hurtful to the sheep/people and then the coming of a shepherd who fed the sheep and brought you into safe space? |
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Ephesians 1:15-23 presents the image of Christ as Ruler and Sovereign, sitting on a throne and having all power and authority over governments, systems and the church. The assurance that God’s reign was inaugurated with the resurrection of Jesus gives hope to those who have been oppressed by civil and religious forces.
Matthew 25:31-46 seems to return to the Ezekiel message of negatively critiquing the religious leaders that did not recognize what Jesus was about and what Jesus desired of the leadership. The ones spoken to in the sheep and goats passage are the disciples. They are the ones who either served the people or who did not. The suggestion for a new reign that addresses the concerns of the people is set into place. The hope is that when everyone feeds the hungry, clothes the naked and visits the jailed, then the world and God’s realm will be brought together. Although the world’s order is unjust, God’s order is presented as supporting the needs of the people at the bottom of the ladder.
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In what ways do you experience the church as a place where the “least of these” are brought to the center especially in regard to LGBT people? Where do you see the hope described in these passages lived out today? |
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We believe it is important to look even closer at how hope is described in today’s texts. Both the passages from Ezekiel and Matthew are especially relevant today to works of charity and delivering social services. Although these actions are important, especially in helping people in crisis, such services do not directly address the root systemic causes of why people do not have food, drink, clothes jobs or get access to medical care. Charity alone does not challenge us to seek out the root systemic causes of problems afflicting so many people and addressing them. Perhaps this is why so many churches have food pantries, but do not lobby Congress or other governmental officials or insurance companies to effect legislation which will positively address the alleviation of oppression.
These passages may seem to address only internal problems of leadership. The Ezekiel passage, focusing on the Judean leaders (shepherds) does not also hold accountable their Babylonian captors. Similarly, in characteristic fashion the Matthew passage does not address the Roman occupiers, many of whose policies led to the impoverishment of the people and thus the need to be fed and clothed. Perhaps these problems demonstrate the ways in which LGBT and other oppressed people often expect more and are harsher on our own internal leaders than they are on the controllers of the system. In God’s realm, are we not called to do more than take care of our own? Are we not called to join God in the redemption of systems and societies that are so often the very sources of injustice?
The hope ultimately is that we will build systems which no longer crush and oppress people. May the church be in the leadership of eradicating these social conditions and helping to build societies where all can have access to the resources for life abundant and the recognition that all are precious children of God.
Prayerfully Out in Scripture
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God of justice,
Thank you for reaching through unjust leaders and systems
to remind us that justice is still a possibility in our lives.
Guide us as we follow your lead to build communities
of peace, equality and justice for all. Amen
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Bible passages are selected based on the Revised Common Lectionary, copyright © 1992 by Consultation on Common Text (CCT). All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
November 27, 2008 |
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Thanksgiving Day, Year A |
November 27, 2008 |
Honest Gratitude
We can be grateful for a God who blesses us only in order to bless all people.
This week's lectionary Bible passages:
Deuteronomy 8:7-18; Psalm 65; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Luke 17:11-19
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Who's in the Conversation
A conversation among the following scholars and pastors
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“Do we belong? Where do we belong? How can LGBT folks be assured that we belong when so many who call themselves Christians exclude and judge us?”
Helene Tallon Russell
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“What makes us get up in the morning if not, at least partly, gratitude? We can’t be forced to give thanks, but at some level we may find gratitude inescapable, no matter how life is going at the moment.”
Charles W. Allen
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“All of these texts remind me that life is lived in the midst of a complex web of relationships where the motivations of mind and heart are revealed in our actions.”
Holly Hearon |
What's Out in the Conversation
A conversation about this week's lectionary Bible passages
You guessed it — these lessons all focus on giving thanks. Thanksgiving Day is both a national holiday and a day of religious observance for most churches in the United States. It is a day when both civic and religious leaders exhort us to be thankful. Our own reactions may be decidedly mixed. If we’re not thankful already, how will any exhortations help? We may also feel a sense of dread at forced family gatherings. We may even be wondering if it is appropriate to celebrate the beginnings of European colonization. Can we be fully honest about all this and still be genuinely thankful? Or is gratitude one of our fundamental “drives,” something that seems to well up in us even when we have every reason to feel resentful? Can we be fully honest without giving thanks?
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How do you react to this holiday? Is it one of your favorites? Is it something you dread? Is it a mixture of both? Where do you find God on a day like this? |
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Luke 17:11-19 recounts a remarkable story of thanksgiving. Ten “unclean” people are made clean as they follow Jesus’ instructions, and one of them, still an outsider in other ways, remembers to give thanks. Holly Hearon feels obliged to interject: “OK, let’s be clear that this is not a text about healing homosexuals.” It is more about thanksgiving than healing.
Charles Allen and Helene Russell find more of a parallel between LGBT people and this other “good” Samaritan. Samaritans told the story of God’s covenant with God’s people in a way that did not match the story that nourished Jesus and his own people. In the eyes of many, this so-called “lifestyle choice” would have made the Samaritan “unclean” even after his leprosy was healed. And yet Jesus commends this man’s different way of being faithful as filled with the wholeness of God. Like the Samaritan, LGBT Christians also “return and give praise to God” (verse 15) in a faith community that argues over welcoming them. They find themselves commended by God for their own varieties of faithfulness.
The story, according to Holly Hearon, reminds us all that sometimes the best examples of faithfulness may be among those who are least like us, however we describe ourselves. It also reminds us, according to both Helene Russell and Holly Hearon, that God cares equally for those who are grateful and those who are not. Jesus marvels at the Samaritan’s gratitude without condemning the nine who did not return. All were healed. Helene Russell points out that Jesus is also affected by the Samaritan’s reaching out in relationship.
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How do you envision the wholeness toward which all healing aims? Can you be whole if you suppress what makes you different from others? Can you be whole if you suppress what makes others different from you? Can you be whole without being grateful? Where does wholeness ultimately come from? |
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Deuteronomy 8:7-18 is, unfortunately, precisely the sort of passage that inspired Europeans to colonize the world: “Let us thank God for putting us in charge of this wonderful land!” Charles Allen wonders, “How would we hear this text if we invited Native Americans, Palestinians and Israelis to our Thanksgiving table? Is there a way for all of us to celebrate God’s generosity and providence when all of us can tell horror stories of violence done to us in the name of the sacred?” We must also be honest about the author of Deuteronomy’s terrifying agenda: Obey God, exterminate other faiths, and you will prosper; disobey, or practice indifference, and you will fail.
But does prosperity reflect God’s blessing and adversity God’s judgment? Recall Christians who blamed Hurricane Katrina in part on a LGBT festival in New Orleans over that Labor Day weekend. Other biblical writers denied this “prosperity gospel” in the name of the same God who prompted Deutoronomy’s author to write, and so must we. The God who led Israel in its journey from captivity into a new land of promise is the God who will not allow us to be satisfied with our own prosperity if it comes at others’ expense. This is the God whose generosity must not be forgotten. On that point, Charles Allen acknowledges, the Deuteronomist is right.
Holly Hearon also insists that there is no prosperity gospel in this passage and that, until everybody knows justice, “we have not yet arrived in the ‘land’.” She observes, furthermore, that those of us in the LGBT community who now have it easier than before can never afford to forget what life was like before Stonewall. Life is still like that for far too many of us. Helene Russell also rejects the prosperity-gospel reading of this text and insists that it is about Israel’s relationship to the God who is with us regardless — in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer.
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Where is God in your life when things go well? Where it God when they don’t go so well? What is the best way to thank God in a world where too many still lack the abundance that God has promised? |
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Paul instructs us, in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, that God never blesses us for ourselves alone. God gives to us so that we can give to others. That is how we best show gratitude! Psalm 65 seems to see nothing but goodness in God’s creation. God is bringing good out of all things. Even when we are overwhelmed we can still say, “O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come” (verse 2).
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How often do you share what you have received? Do you find joy in that? How often have you been on the receiving end yourself? Try to imagine a world where all are given what they most need? How can we bring that world closer? |
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Prayerfully Out in Scripture
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Cheerful giver of all good gifts,
lead us to that place you have promised,
where all receive what is most needful,
and none can help but give thanks;
awaken us to your life-giving presence
in all that we undergo. Amen. |
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Bible passages are selected based on the Revised Common Lectionary, copyright © 1992 by Consultation on Common Text (CCT). All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
Home >>November 30, 2008 |
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1st Sunday in Advent, Year B |
November 30, 2008 |
Turbulent Hopes
When promises and disappointments mingle, we long for decisive breakthroughs.
This week's lectionary Bible passages:
Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37
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Who's in the Conversation
A conversation among the following scholars and pastors
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“These texts are a reminder to me of the undercurrent of expectation and hope that gives shape to our lives.”
Holly Hearon |
“While we long for God’s healing presence for us, let us also be patient for God’s grace to be felt within all God’s people.”
Helene Tallon
Russell |
“These readings awaken us to current frustrations and dreams and invite us to trust in God’s own dreams for us.”
Charles W. Allen |
“As we read these lessons, we need to ponder the connection between turbulent hopes and the birth of a baby in a manger.”
Marti Steussy
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What's Out in the Conversation
A conversation about this week's lectionary Bible passages
Advent begins, says Marti Steussy, amidst turbulent hopes. Like Isaiah, we have all known big promises and big disappointments. The psalmist agrees. Jesus predicts more of the same – big promises, big disappointments. Paul starts his first letter to the church at Corinth with words of promise, but most of the rest of the letter is filled with words of disappointment. Those of us who live and love unconventionally know what it is like to have turbulent hopes. When we come out, we may be at once overjoyed and anxious as we accept that we are not what others expected us to be, not even what we ourselves once expected us to be. Now what? How are we going to get through the daily partial victories and defeats that come from living against the grain? And where is God in all of this?
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Think about when you came out to someone, or when someone came out to you. Were there pleasant surprises? Unpleasant ones? Did God seem close or absent? |
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Isaiah 64:1-9 oscillates between extreme images, says Marti: God as earthquake; God as loving parent or careful artisan; God simply absent; the isolation of no one calling your name; and the consideration that we are all God’s people. Helene Russell, Holly Hearon and Charles Allen are equally struck by Isaiah’s final admonition in verse 9: “Now consider, we are all your people.” For Charles and Holly, the emphasis falls on “all”; for Helene it falls on “your.” Charles hears an echo of Moses lecturing God in Exodus 32:11: “your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt.” It seems that both Isaiah and Moses have the nerve to remind God of a relationship God ought to know about already. How can we be called unclean if we are God’s handiwork?
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Think of times when promising events have been followed by setbacks. Same-sex marriages are recognized in some states, but denied by constitutional amendments in others. Can you identify with Isaiah’s longing (“O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,” v. 64:1)? |
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Marti and Holly both notice how the psalmist in Psalm 80 seems to assume, like the Deuteronomist, that misfortunes result directly from God’s anger. If that is how we feel, says Marti, then that is from where we need to pray. But we might also consider that God’s connection to what happens on earth is more complex. At a deeper level, the psalmist recognizes that things are not as they should be but refuses to stop hoping that God intends an ultimate good.
Charles notes that Paul’s first words are amazingly complimentary in 1 Corinthians 1:3-9. Who would ever guess that Paul was about to launch a lengthy critique? He seems confident that the Corinthian church will turn out well, even though they are a long way from that goal right now. Holly notes that the very strengths Paul mentions here — enriched speech, knowledge, and other spiritual gifts — are the liabilities that Paul goes on to criticize when they inhibit genuine community. Those of us who live and love unconventionally are often stereotyped as being especially gifted and creative. This can be a strength if we and those who label us turn our differences into connections, but we and they can also use our differences to create barriers.
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Have you ever seen yourself as gifted in ways that those around you may not understand? Have others seen you that way? When has this forged deeper connections, and when has it thwarted connections?
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Mark 13:24-37 returns us to Isaiah’s theme of longing for God to tear open the heavens and come down. Jesus’ words seem to imply that turbulence will increase until God suddenly intervenes and settles everything. Both Jesus and his audience seem to assume that God’s decisive intervention cannot be far off — less than a generation away (verse 30). But no such intervention ever happens and we are left witha disclaimer, “no one knows” (verse 32). But if no one really knows what’s about to happen, why are we encouraged to read God’s intervention as “the signs of the times”? Charles observes that we have a double-edged message: “We’re told to keep alert because something momentous is about to happen, and because we do not really know what it will be.” Marti notes, “Jesus has to take his own advice here. He does not know exactly what will happen. But he trusts that it will be something momentous.” Holly points out, “Deep down, our longing for some decisive intervention is more complicated than it looks. We dream of having all our problems solved so that we can face them now without giving up.”
Following the recent elections and voting in the U.S., those who preach these texts on this particular first Sunday in Advent may well be wondering just what got decided at that election. Will we know better how to face the drastic changes in our economy? Will our newly-elected politicians be able to enact any of the programs promised? What are we to do about the defeat of efforts for marriage equality to flourish? We still face big promises and big disappointments.
Following the recent elections and voting in the U.S., those who preach these texts on this particular first Sunday in Advent may well be wondering just what got decided at that election. Will we know better how to face the drastic changes in our economy? Will our newly-elected politicians be able to enact any of the programs promised? What are we to do about the defeat of efforts for marriage equality to flourish? We still face big promises and big disappointments.
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How do you read the signs of the times? Do you see things getting better for those whom the church has excluded? Do you see more conflict emerging? What sustains your hope? |
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Prayerfully Out in Scripture
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We all long, O God, for greater clarity.
We need our hopes strengthened.
When you do not rend the heavens and come down to vindicate us,
open our eyes to your all-sustaining intimacy with us.
When unfolding events delight and disappoint us,
teach us to embrace them as tokens of your own dream
for a time when cares give space for celebration. Amen.
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Bible passages are selected based on the Revised Common Lectionary, copyright © 1992 by Consultation on Common Text (CCT). All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
Home >>December 7, 2008 |
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2nd Sunday in Advent, Year B |
December 7, 2008 |
A Future Filled With Promise
Sometimes an impending future gives us the power and will to embrace the present.
This week's lectionary Bible passages:
Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; 2 Peter 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8
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Who's in the Conversation
A conversation among the following scholars and pastors
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“There are times when the morning news sounds outrageously good. Those times are real. Hold on to them.”
Marti Steussy |
“It is so easy to focus on the ‘comfort’ in ‘comfort my people’ that we can forget why comfort is needed.”
Holly Hearon |
“God encourages our continued work for justice and peace – an expression of who we are called to become, as well as to effect positive changes in the world.”
Helene
Tallon Russell |
“Sometimes the future seems filled with promise – thank God!”
Charles W. Allen |
What's Out in the Conversation
A conversation about this week's lectionary Bible passages
The readings for this second week in Advent are more eager about the future than perplexed with the present, in contrast to last week’s readings. Isaiah and John the Baptist both call people to prepare God’s way. In different ways Psalm 85 and 2 Peter both proclaim that peace is at hand, though still to arrive.
Marti Steussy points out that Isaiah 40:1-11 reflects an earlier time than last week’s reading. Here something new and unprecedented and immeasurably good is about to happen – the long awaited return from exile. Isaiah imagines the equivalent of a superhighway, says Charles Allen, stretching from Babylon to Jerusalem. In the face of this new happening, all things seem possible. Marti recalls the day the Berlin Wall came down – she was at a conference, rooming with a woman from Germany. Those moments are real, and we need to hang onto them, even though there will be lots of gritty slogging to be done once the good news is announced. Those of us who have come out, according to Holly Hearon, experience a return from exile when we reclaim our history, our identities, our stories – all the things that have been scattered or repressed.
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Have you lived in exile? Have you returned from exile? Or are you still waiting? What needs to happen next for you? |
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Who would not like Psalm 85? It speaks for itself, says Marti. Helene Russell, Holly and Charles think verse 10 is utterly fabulous: “Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.” Holly likes the image of kissing: it assumes a kind of intimacy, a willingness to be a little vulnerable and a commitment of heart along with mind. Of course in today’s world steadfast love and faithfulness have yet to meet, Charles observes, and righteousness and peace are not even holding hands, much less kissing. There is still need for matchmaking, Helene quips; maybe these virtues should subscribe to Chemistry.com.
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