Discipleship in a 4D World Session 2: Disestablishment & the book of Daniel

 

Daniel 1:1-7—Temple and Palace captured

1-This is approximately 606BC. Jerusalem itself was eventually captured in 586BC. So these first captured people are examples/experiments/models for how to live under Babylonian rule.

2-Note both holy things and holy people are taken. If the way Judaism was lived at the time centered around Temple, Palace, People, two out of three of those are endangered and scooped up in the Exile.

Shinar-is another name for Babylon.

3-This brings things into a stark relief, that third thing, the palace, is also under threat, the royal court has been kidnapped!

4-Chaldeans-is another way to say Babylonians. It is worth noting what the Babylonians are doing, they are raising these Israelite royals in court as hostages.

7-Think for a second on the significance of receiving new names—they are being enculturated into Babylon. Even their names change in this new culture. Their names once all pointed to God with the endings -iah and -el… now they point toward Babylon

 

Daniel 1:8-17—Rejecting Defiling Foods

8-Daniel refuses to enculturate, at least when it comes to foodstuff. Most likely these foods have been offered to Idols as a routine part of making the meal. Additionally, some of the foods were likely not kosher.

17-And look, despite the young men’s choice not to fully assimilate into Babylonian culture, they excel. They excel in the Babylonian court without taking on the trappings of Babylon!

 

Daniel 1:18-21—The Best

21-It is worth noting these young men navigate being faithful through the governance of Babylon by four kings: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and finally its capture by Cyrus of Persia. I would go so far as to suggest they survived four beasts and were ready for a humane ruler.

 

Daniel 3:13-18—Refusing to Worship Idols

14-So, the Babylonians were okay with the young men not eating food sacrificed to idols, but not worshipping idols… that was a bridge too far. It is worth reflecting on the level of inculturation Daniel and his crew were willing to compromise—new names, but not a new diet, and definitely not a new god.

18-And when they say that they are unwilling to compromise over worship of other gods, they are not saying this as a half measure, they mean it in full. They would rather become martyrs than forsake the sole worship of God.

 

Daniel 7:15-18—Daniel asks the heavenly attendants to interpret his dream

17-Beastly Kingdoms—I read Daniel’s 4 kings as being intratextual (and to be clear there are multiple strands of interpretive traditions, both Jewish and Christian, ancient and modern, that don’t do this), that is Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and Cyrus of Persia, the four kings who all make appearances in the book of Daniel, are beastly kings. We can, of course, look at beasts of our own day and see parallels, but hunting for beasts in every closet, claiming every evil leader on this earth to be some prophesied potentate—instead of just a present variation on a theme, it tiring and does not further the Christian witness.

18-A Holy Kingdom—And while Daniel and his crew have had to contend with these beastly kings, they can trust that God is the ultimate ruler of all. They have no authority that is not from above.

 

What’s this have to do with Disestablishment?

-God’s people are not in charge of the cultural and political forces of Babylon. So too, when church and society disconnect, the church has to grapple with a loss of power and control. The church must contend with being exiled from the center of culture.

-Like Daniel and Co. the Church must learn how to navigate faithfully from the bottom. The Church must re-learn how to ask permission, explain every act, be a stranger seeking a place.

-The exiles had to decide where to compromise, where to find atypical paths, and where to hold fast, come what may. The church too must ask those sorts of questions. What is simply a name change? What is the equivalent of trading fancy food for vegetables and water as long as we can keep up? What are idols that we shall never bow down to?

-Finally, it is worth noting that the beastly Kingdoms aren’t forever, but God’s Kingdom is. So too, levels of disestablishment will vary, different regimes and cultural practices will come and go, but God will hold us fast.

 

My working definition of Disestablishment—Church and Society aren’t mutually reinforcing.

 

3 Stories about Disestablishment:

-Augustine:

St. Augustine famously dealt with the shock of disestablishment in his weighty work “City of God.” You see, after Constantine’s conversion and the rapid spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, it, at times, became hard for Christians to distinguish between their Roman-ness and their Christianity. Then, when Rome fell, they wondered if that meant heaven fell too. St. Augustine did the hard work of distinguishing between the Church of his time and the Society/culture/country in which he found himself.

The Church of England:

              When I was over in England, I ended up worshipping with the good people of the United Reformed Church, instead of the Church of England. When I worshipped with the Anglicans it felt… off. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but then an Irishman explained it to me. He said that in his experience the Church of England tends to step more firmly on the England part of their identity, than the Church part. People who have never set foot in a congregation, don’t read the bible, never received a sacrament, will gladly tell you they are a member of the Church of England—because they are English. The Church is so established in England that, to non-Englishmen, it can feel like a culture-club instead of a congregation.

Football:

              There is an apocryphal story that Maryland was such a Catholic State that the Archbishop of Baltimore used to dictate when kick-off happened for the Baltimore Colts. Then, when Baltimore got a new team, the Ravens, the Archbishop went to the NFL to let them know the kick-off time, and it didn’t go so well. You see, in the period between when the Colts played in Baltimore and the Ravens became their team, the relationships between Church and Culture had shifted, the Catholic Church no longer held the power of being the Establishment.

 

Challenges:

              There are many challenges that the Church faces when we are not in lock-step with the society we’re in. For example:

We’re not society’s Heroes—So, during the Cold War, America was fighting Godless Communism… so those who were not Godless, the Churches, were good Americans.
Then, during the War on Terror, America was fighting religious extremists… so people of faith became suspicious Americans.

Special Privileges—While some religious folks will object, it seems pretty plain to most people that the Church has special privileges in our society, from tax status to connection with community organizations to geographic locations. As those things are reconsidered, and at times taken away, it can hurt, it can even feel like persecution.

We’re weird—Things that are outside the mainstream experience tend to be looked at askance. As fewer people experience the church, those things that we do, including traditional milestone events in life, will seem stranger and stranger to the average person. What once was commonplace will begin to seem downright weird!

 

Possibility:

Fear not, I will never leave you with challenges alone; this new reality, disestablishment, also offers possibility!

Partnerships with fresh eyes: When many of the connections between church and neighbors are built on cultural assumptions, the church can go on autopilot. Our disestablishment offers an opportunity to reconsider how we connect with the world around us, the possibility to start again! Why do we have boy scouts in our building, but not book clubs? NA and AA meet in our buildings, but not the local soccer team most of the NA folk are a member of; what’s the difference between the sobriety shared on the pitch versus a coffee and cigarette-soaked meeting room?

Minister in the Margins: If the church is no longer in the business of playing by society’s rules, if making good little Americans who have a patina of religion to their name, is no longer our game, if we are freed from the shackles of respectability, where can we minister? Where are the places we’ve felt the tug of the Spirit before, but shrugged it off in the name of getting with the program? Where would we find Christ if we allowed ourselves to look?

Distinguishing between Church and Christ: Our disestablishment may be the perfect time to return to Augustine’s City of God. We can begin the generation long process of sifting out what practices, beliefs, symbols, and vocations are a product of our culture, and which are of Christ. Then, when we have a sense of that, we can look again at the world as it is, and apply the things of God to God’s world in need. We can best address the needs of our culture, when we have at least a bit of distance from it.

Discipleship in a 4D World session 1: 1st Samuel 3:1-21

Discipleship in a 4D World session 1: 1st Samuel 3:1-21

              The story of Samuel is a story of transitions, the story of a person born into one world and buried in one totally changed.

 

Backstory:

              Samuel’s mother Hannah was a barren woman, spurned by her household on account of that condition. She called out to God and bargained: I’ll give you my son if I can get pregnant. And she does get pregnant.

              Eli was the head Priest at the temple in Shiloh at the time, who took in little Samuel and cares for him as a son. Eli’s biological sons are awful priests; they are steal the offering and abuse women. Yet the working assumption is that they’ll take over the Temple and care for the Ark of the Covenant. Eli has been told by a wandering holy man that his sons will not succeed him.

 

3:1-7—A Sleepless Night

1-Visions and Words are rare—Throughout the book of Samuel there is an ongoing sense that there was a vibrant religious and political world in the past, but it had petered out and is on its last legs. Imagine, there next to the Ark itself, no words or signs from God!

2-A dim sighted priest—Eli’s vision acts as a metaphor for his turning a blind eye on his son’s evil deeds, and the dimness of his generation.

3-Low light, the Ark, where God resides—Again, the dazzling light of God, the heavy presence of God, has almost gone out, has almost entirely left the temple. Whatever God had done in the past with these people, seems almost over. The place where God is bodily present is burning itself out.

4-“Hinanni”—"Here I am,” is a frequent mortal response to God/heaven/angels throughout scripture.

6-Eli doesn’t get it yet—This is a classic rule of three situation (3 Bears, Billy Goats Gruff, etc) establishing a pattern, in order to break it. Samuel and Eli don’t know it is God yet, but it will dawn on them! We get to watch as the tension rises and the plot thickens!

7-Raised in temple, sleeps next to the ark… doesn’t yet know the LORD—Again, this is pointing out how bankrupt and broken the relationship between God and God’s people is in Eli’s generation. It also reminds me of a saying, by Scottish poet and Macdonald, “Nothing is so deadening to the divine as an habitual dealing with the outsides of holy things.”

 

3:8-14—Oh, it’s a Message from God!

8-The rule of threes—And here we are, third times the charm, it dawns on Eli that Samuel isn’t being a bratty boy, but God, instead, is up to something.

11-Ear tingling, new thing!—And that new thing will be overwhelming to hear! An escape from the present predicament, folk shall again know the LORD!

13-Both the sin and failing to stop the sin—Eli’s house had committed not only sins of commission but also sins of omission. Eli should have stopped his sons from sinning, but did not, and in failing to act, doomed his family.

14-The end of the house of Eli—There is no way out. This is an end. Those who cared for God’s dwelling place, shall no longer do so. That family shall fall.

 

3:15-21—The New Judge/Priest, Samuel

15-If you thought it was a sleepless night before!—What a message for poor Samuel. If he was having a tough time sleeping, with God whispering in his ear, how much more, the anxiety of anticipation.

16-“My son” what pathos!—If little Samuel wasn’t already feeling the weight of the message God gave to him, guilt for being the bearer of bad news, he’s feeling it now. Eli states plainly their relationship,” you are like a son to me!”

18-Eli is resigned to this fall

20-A trustworthy prophet—Samuel, not the offspring of Eli, acts rightly and faithfully. He does not abuse or steal, instead he does what is right.

 

A Few Details of Note:

Visions were rare, even the religious do not know God

As I said before, here is a drumbeat of debased religion in this book. Eli’s sons are untrustworthy abusers. Eli doesn’t understand Hannah’s prayers; he can’t tell the difference between prayers and drunk utterances. Little Samuel, literally in the temple, does not know God. And one way to talk about such a situation is that they live in a secular frame. Because they don’t pay attention to God, God isn’t a reality in their life. If you don’t have a habit of listening to God, God speaking to you will be a terrifying proposition.

“To see what’s in front of your nose is a constant struggle.”—George Orwell

              There is a repeated insistence that it is hard to see, it is dark, the senses grow dim, and that is all punctured by a promising new thing—ears tingling. In the midst of massive societal changes, it is very hard to see what the heck is going on and nearly impossible to guess what things will look like on the other side. Israel’s reality before and after Samuel are so different from each other. Before Samuel 12 tribes worshipped at local shrines, and were cared for by bands of prophets and, only, when necessary, charismatic judges who would temporarily unite the tribes. After Samuel there was one kingdom, everything centered in Jerusalem—Temple, Court prophets, and King.

              As the above Orwell quote suggests, seeing the present aright, let alone having insights into the future and what comes next, is a great challenge. A King Saul, let alone a Davidic Dynasty, Jerusalem of all places the center of it all, the dissolution of local shrines… all the fixed realities of the previous generation are in flux.

 

1^st Samuel 3 and the 4Ds

              Back in 2015, I was the Counselor of the Raritan Cluster, and that meant I saw a slightly wider church than just my congregation, and it became clear to me that we are in one of those generational transition moments, like Samuel. At one point, I gathered the folk from my cluster together, we read these verses from 1^st Samuel, and I asked the group what aspects of ministry were, like the life of Israel in Samuel’s days, making both their ears tingle?  How is God uniquely at work today? How do we see the world as it is, not as we would imagine it to be? What are the challenges of ministry for us now?

By the end of the conversation, we’d come up with 3 things in front of our nose that we were pretty sure we saw: A greater cleaving of Church and Society, all aspects of life becoming more decentralized, and the demographics of our neighborhoods changing swiftly. Quite recently I added a 4^th dynamic to that list from a decade ago, most of our habits are secular, not sacred—we’ve become disenchanted as a people.

So, for these five Bible Studies, we’ll be looking at the 4Ds, Disestablishment, Decentralization, Demographic Shift, and Disenchantment. We’ll look and hopefully see what’s in front of our noses, we’ll listen and hear what makes our ears tingle.

 

Broad overview:

Disestablishment: Church and Society aren’t mutually reinforcing.

The thinker I focus on most to think through this reality is Douglas John Hall and his book: The End of Christendom and the Future of Christianity.

The piece of scripture we’ll look at to consider this aspect of discipleship is the book of Daniel, where God’s people are in a culture that in no ways supports their faith. The big question is: How are we faithful when it is hard and we are out of synch with the surrounding society?

              If the Church is to survive and thrive in a Disestablished society, it must learn how to partner with people and organizations that have missions that are similar to ours, we will have to become creative in forming alliances and doing the work God has called us to with and among unexpected peoples.

 

Decentralization: The Distribution of functions and power.

              The book that most helped me think about this dynamic in our society was The Spider and the Starfish by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom.

              The piece of scripture we’ll be reading to think about God working among a decentralized people will be the book of Judges. This book of the Bible follows a tribal model of being God’s people.

              If the Church is to be faithful in a decentralized world, we ought to embrace the good parts of being small, namely being nimble. We need to be able to act and react in a way that fits a wide variety of contexts.

 

Demographic Shift: A significant change in a population’s structure over time.

              The two books that I’ve read that influence how I think about shifting demographics are and William Strauss, Neil Howe’s Generations as well as Kenneth Gronbach’s Upside.

              The piece of scripture we’ll be looking at to think about God at work in the midst of a diversity of people is the Pentecost, as found in Acts 2. This is the beginning of the Holy Spirit widening what it means to be Church again and again—the whole of the book of Acts can be summed up as: the disciples figure they’ve expanded the church as far as it can go, they decide to take a breather, and then the Holy Spirit does something new just beyond the limits of their imagination, so they go and catch up.

              The Church needs to navigate the many demographic shifts in our world—racial and ethnic, financial and generational—and do so in a way that is not lip service, but instead an embrace of authentic diversity.

 

Disenchantment: To lose the habit of paying attention to the Holy.

The book that has most influenced my thought on disenchantment is Chasing Magic Eels by Richard Beck.

The book of Esther is one of only two books in the Bible that never mention God. As such, it is an excellent scripture to read to consider how the people of God can be faithful while navigating the world with secular lenses.

I believe Disenchantment is the greatest challenge of the Church. In order for faith to survive, as something more than a social curiosity or something that is one step removed from our actual experiences, we need to find way to notice God at work in the world and embrace and renew habits of enchantment.

 

Conclusion:

              So that’s what these remaining 4 bible studies will look like. We’ll start off in scripture, wrap our minds around one of the 4Ds, notice the challenges they bring to being followers of Jesus Christ, and then conclude with opportunities for renewal hiding in plain sight. In short, this Bible Study is a call for the Church to see the world as it is and change to meet those challenges. It is a call for us to become a Partnering, Nimble, Authentically Diverse, and Enchanted Church!

A Defense of Lutheran Social Ministries

                 Did you ever wonder why, in the movie Gran Torino, Walt Kowalski blames the Lutherans for settling the Hmong in Michigan? Isn’t it curious that one of the subplots of the book Silence of the Lambs is that Clarice Starling was raised in a Lutheran orphanage in Montana? Why would these works of fiction both single out Lutherans as do-gooders in American society? Because it was good writing, it, even in such small details, points to realities about America. In America when refugees need to be resettled, the Lutherans will be there; when orphans need to be cared for, the Lutherans will be there.

                You see, there are nearly 300 Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations scattered throughout the United States doing good. 1 out of every 50 Americas are helped by these organizations. Think of it, it is as if the entire state of Missouri or Indiana have been assisted by Lutherans.

One of the neat things about Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations is that they are one of the few places where the conservative LC-MS and the liberal ELCA still work together. We may disagree about: Bishops, women in ministry, gay marriage, ecumenical relationships, and a bunch of other things, but we sure as hell are going to help the least, last, and lost, even when it means working together.

                The previous congregation I served partnered with Lutheran Social Ministries New Jersey (LSM-NJ) to create affordable housing for seniors. At my current congregation we have a long history of collecting school supplies for poor children through LSM-NJ. I have friends who have adopted their children through Lutheran adoption agencies, I once knew a security guard who had been a “lost boy” in Somalia and was transformed into a productive tax paying American citizen, thanks to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (now Global Refugee).

                I bring all this up, because the good and faithful work of Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations are currently under attack.

                Now, I am not surprised that Musk, an heir to a South African emerald mine, and Flynn, a registered agent of Turkey and Russia who has an eight-figure bank account, don’t regularly rub shoulders with people who have had their lives made whole by Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations.

                I’m also not surprised that they are trying to make good on their promise of cutting two trillion dollars from the US budget through the process of creative destruction. They’re essentially borrowing a playbook from Richard Gere’s character at the start of Pretty Woman. The only difference is, instead of grabbing US businesses and throwing them against the wall until money falls out, they’re smashing US institutions to see if they’re piggy banks.

                What I am surprised about, is how lazy they are. It is obvious to anyone with eyes that some intern was reading through a spreadsheet, noticed a payment to Lutherans and didn’t understand it. Then someone pressed Ctrl+F and found that there were other payments to Lutheran Organizations. From there they went directly onto social media at 2am and picked a fight. They scare quoted these good and faithful organizations as “Lutheran” and “religious”, they falsely accused Lutherans of money laundering, and declared the payments the federal government makes to these organizations to be illegal.

                All they needed to do was google the organizations. Every one of them publicly publishes their budgets and tax information (they are all required to post their 990s). The payments are for grants the organizations have applied for and received, the payments are for services rendered, the payments are for contracts state and federal governments have entered into with these organizations.

                Or you know what, Musk is rather well off, I bet he has a plane; he could get out of his smelly DOGE office and go and see what these organizations do. He could go to New Orleans, step beyond the tourist areas, and talk to folk about Katrina—Lutheran Disaster Relief was the last organization out. Or go to communities along the Red River and ask them who had their back; he could go to Red Bank, NJ and they’ll tell him a thing or two—might even be less polite than the Midwesterners about it. Go to a food bank, after care or elder care—they know the score.

                Here is the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA’s response:

                And I would ask for a secondary response from all of my readers. Call your Representative and Senators. Tell them this libelous and knee jerk attack shows that Elon Musk does not have the wherewithal to be involved in DOGE, or any other aspect of the US government. Ask them to defend these vital organizations and stand with the 2% of their constituents who are most in need. Lutheran Social Ministry Organizations are part of the fabric of America, tearing them out at a whim will damage our country.

Sermon: Love Fulfills Everything

          “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

         This prophecy from Isaiah 61, is fulfilled in an ongoing way in our hearing…

         You’d think the hometown crew in Nazareth would be in awe… 
but instead, they are one part prideful and one part incredulous…
Look, that’s our guy… 
That’s Joseph’s kid!

         Ultimately, they find themselves where humans so often do
—we’re creatures that can not help, but be curved in upon ourselves
—our little chunk of the world, 
our little kingdom,
is of most and only import, 
in need of defense, 
even against the Son of God.

         How do we avoid the pitfall of Nazareth?

         Paul would suggest—Love.

         As I said last week
—We are the Lord’s limbs, and love is our ligaments.

         The Love of Christ is the animating force that fulfills all that God is doing in the world
—even in Nazareth, 
even at Spruce Run.

         That alone can hold us together, 
and ensure that the us being held together 
is all of us.

         Love.

 

Prayer

         There is a triad of virtues that St. Paul values
—Hope, Love, and Faith…

         When he writes to the Thessalonians, 
who are mourning their dead, 
who are rudderless and hopeless
—Paul writes about “Faith, Love, and Hope.”
Hope being the paramount, virtue for them.

         But, when he writes to the Corinthians, 
where there are so many divisions that love seems dead, he writes of 
“Faith, Hope, and Love. 
Love becomes the culmination of his advice to this distraught congregation.

 

         Love.

         The Corinthians had, by my count, 11 problems, 
11 ways to break apart and form factions
—11 issues, 
but really, they only had one issue
—a lack of love.

         Those factions could be held together in an uneasy alliance

those gifts of the Spirit they prided themselves on, could be used in one way or another…

they could at least look vaguely like a church, going on the way they did…

but ultimately, the body of Christ, without Love, is a Cadaver.

 

         Christian Communication
—songs, sermons, telling sacred story to neighbors and friends
—without love, it’s all noise.

         Christian Discernment
—reading the moment right, plumbing the depths of mystery, even miracles
—is all so much nothing, without love.

         Christian Stewardship
—Generosity and self-giving, tithing or thanksgiving offerings
—is all fool’s gold, without love.

         Love gives meaning to all Christian Living…

         You’ve known people who are gifted, 
but who do not love, right? 

         You’ve also known people who are not gifted, 
but do love, right? 

         Which one is more clearly following Jesus Christ?

 

         Love.

         While any form of Christianity that lacks empathy, is just kidding itself, 
it must be said that 
Love is more than an emotion, 
more than a desire of the mind, 
or of the will.

         Love is more than an activity, 
more than a response, 
more than community or a calling.

         Love is all of those things, 
intertwined with the Divine
—modeled by Jesus.
Given to us by the Holy Spirit. 

 

         Loving actions are not done to one-up another 
or to shame someone.

         Loving actions are not done out of arrogance 
or to bring about discomfort.

         Loving actions are not all about you
—no, they are compellingly selfless.

         Loving actions aren’t motivated by rage or grudge
—no, loving actions are always magnanimous 
and always kind. 

         Love never rejoices in injury! 

         Love rejoices in the Truth, for love is eternal, 
it shall not buckle as if weighed down, 
nor be worn away by the ravages of time.

         Love is the subject of our hope and the object of our faith. 
The promises of love are true, for love is trustworthy.

 

         I want to be clear, in the world as it is
—it is hard to believe in love
—they’ll tell you it is a sucker’s game or a fool’s dance…
Hard to cling to it
—after all it feels like love’ll evaporate.
         That’s why you need to hear this—love lasts!

 

         Love lasts.

         Love will keep going long after every other gift has given up its ghost. 
All those things we thrust to the forefront of the faith
—will fall away in the end
—but love will not!

         Love has a maturity to it, 
that even well aged hate cannot overcome. 
It is a vintage that even the vinegar of violence can not embitter.

         If we could look at Heaven in its clear purity, 
we would look and see only love!

         If we sought the grammar of God, 
the words of the angels, 
it would be one word—Love.

         In the completeness of time…
when everything grows quiet and dim… 
when we have reached the end, 
finished the race
—love will still be there.

 

         How can we witness what God is up to in the world? 
Hear and be an ongoing part of 
Jesus’ inaugural address: 

         “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

         How do we avoid the pitfall of Nazareth?

Love 

         We are the Lord’s limbs, and love is our ligaments.
It is what holds us together, 
all of us.

         Love makes us one body, 
it is the very body of God in the world
—Jesus embodied love, and the Church, 
if it is indeed the Church, 
must as well!

         Love gives us the courage to look out beyond our safe ramparts, 
to untangle us from ourselves.

Love is important, 
Love is true, 
Love is eternal! 

Amen.

Discipleship in a 4D World: A 5 Session Bible Study

 Hi all, in the coming weeks I’ll be releasing a five-part Bible Study that I hope will crystalize all the 4D world stuff I’ve been writing about.

Where we’ll be going

              In these five sessions we’ll be looking at five piece of scripture that will function as lenses to see more clearly the challenges and opportunities of being a Christian living in the world as it is.

-In session one, I’ll give a broad overview of the 4 dynamics shaping our discipleship today, using the book of 1^st Samuel as our lens for thinking about ministry contexts radically changing.

-In session two, we’ll peer at the book of Daniel and that will help us notice the dynamic of disestablishment in our present time.

-In session three, we’ll follow the struggles of tribal Israel in the era of Judges, in order to see our decentralized world more clearly.

-In session four, we’ll consider the Pentecost and its ramifications in the book of Acts, as a way to capture how demographic shifts in our society shape our life as church.

-In the final session, we’ll read through the book of Esther, in order to understand how disenchantment is the factor that more completely changes what it means to be a disciple today. I’ll also conclude with a broad summary of the 4Ds and the five sections of scripture we’ve engaged with.

If you found this Bible Study Series helpful in your ministry or faith life, consider tipping me $1 to $5 through Buy Me A Coffee.

Sermon: We are the Lord’s limbs and love is our ligaments

          Last week we read

—and experienced in skit form
—John’s account of Jesus’ first act of public ministry. Today, and next week, we read of Jesus’ first public act according to Luke. 
Returning from temptation in the wilderness, 
filled with the Holy Spirit, 
Jesus reads these words from Isaiah 61:

         “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

         And he concludes: “In your hearing of these words this scripture has been fulfilled.”

… or more to the point, 
because Greek verbs are slippery things… 
Isaiah’s words are fulfilled 
and continue to be fulfilled.

         In our hearing
—this very day
—Isaiah’s prophetic words, completed in Christ, 
continue to be completed.

         Pastor, how is that possible? Here? Us?

         I think Paul points us in the right direction on this: 
We are the Lord’s limbs 
and love is our ligaments.

 

Prayer

We are the Lord’s limbs 
and love is our ligaments.

         We, the Church, are the Body of Christ. 
         We, individual Christians, are members of that body.

         S, R, P
—after this sermon, 
before we sing “We are all one in mission”, I’ll be inviting you up to officially welcome you as members of this congregation.

         Member is such a common word in the English, 
that we don’t hear it viscerally, 
when Paul writes about “the many members of Christ.” 

         Think of it though
—members, 
pieces, 
limbs. 

         Christian mystic Teresa of Avila famously wrote: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours.”

         Or think of Paul’s own experience. 
He was on his way to Damascus to kill and torture more members of the Early Church
—and in a vision Jesus said to him, “You’re not persecuting them, you’re persecuting me.”The Church is the Body of Christ.

         Congregations and churches get used in many different ways: 
as service and community centers, 
family reunion spots, 
a place to pass on values to children, 
or make friends…

         But ultimately, we are gathered together, 
because we are Washed into Christ through Baptism, 
together we commune with him Holy Communion.

 

We are the Lord’s limbs 
and love is our ligaments.

         I’m so glad I’ve never served a congregation like Corinth
—they were the most divisive and divided group of people you could imagine. 
There are at least 11 issues that they break into factions over, everything from: 
-where they meet, 
-to who gets the privilege of paying the preacher 
and (get this G) who gets to be the treasurer, they fight over that 
Issues such as: 
-the role of women in the church, 
-what spiritual gift was the best 
-and if you can marry a non-Christian.

         Such division
—and to this Paul uplifts a diversity of gifts! 
By and large, he does not urge conformity
—but instead the celebration of difference… 
The church ought to be strong enough to celebrate difference, because our unity is centered in Christ’s love.

         Celebrating one ministry doesn’t take away from another. 
Sunday School and VBS doesn’t diminish the Women of the ELCA or the Altar Guild. 

         The Finance Team and the 250^th Anniversary committee, 
or Worship & Music and Fellowship &Outreach… 
every inch of our annual report
—the account of our life together this last year
—ought to be seen as part of a larger whole
—empowered by the Love of Jesus Christ.

 

We are the Lord’s limbs 
and love is our ligaments.

         We need each other! 
Not just the congregation, 
but the whole body of Christ.

         This last week has been the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
—a week where we are in prayer that this global diverse body of Christ
—might see the gifts we each bring 
and recognize the ligaments that hold us together
—the ties that bind. 
Note more clearly how much we need each other.

 

         Paul makes a strange move in his 1^st letter to the Corinthians
—he points out that those parts of the body that are most often covered with clothing are the disrespected and weak parts—that covering he writes, 
is an act of honoring them…

         The weak and disrespected parts
—Isaiah might say the poor, blind, and oppressed
—ought to be honored as indispensable among us. 
—we ought to afford dignity and kindness to each other
—that should be obvious
—but especially to those to whom our larger society is unkind and disrespectful.

 

         We are one in Christ, and we matter to each other
—when one of us is hurting, we’re all hurting.

         Think on that metaphor of the Body
-toes are tiny, but if you stub one the whole body knows.

-When your nose runs, or your sinus gets an infection
—that isn’t just the problem of the nose or the problem of the sinus
—it is all our problem.

 

We are the Lord’s limbs 
and love is our ligaments.

         There are a wide variety of gifts among us
—song and service, 
stewardship and leadership, 
maintenance and mutual ministry.

         Many vocations among us,  just to name a few: Lab Tech, Trooper, Gardner, Pastor, Parent, Quilter, Citizen, Child, Spouse

         All guided and empowered by our Baptism into Christ
—our first sacramental connection to God’s love.

 

We are the Lord’s limbs 
and love is our ligaments.

         Behind all of it, 
one Spirit, one Body. 
Empowering it all
—rooted in love, or it is worthless.

         All that we do
—we in the biggest sense I can say, 
rooted in love. 
The love of Christ is the animating force that fulfills all that God is doing in the world.

We are the Lord’s limbs 
and love is our ligaments.

A+A

Saul and Ananias--A Skit

Scene 1:

Saul: (Sigh)

You see, I had everything figured out, before that fateful day, on my way to Damascus.

I believed that there was an answer to any question under the sun within my rigorous, zealous, version of the Jewish tradition—it was all found in the Law of God. This certainty was worth defending, even with torture, violence, and murder. 

You hear me, right? Certainty was worth violence.

For example, God help me, there were these disturbances, first Peter and John in the Temple, then later… Stephen… and his trial…

Disturbances by those so called “Followers of the Way” who believed Jesus—this crucified man—was the Messiah, the Blessed One of God. I knew that couldn’t be true, after all it is written in Deuteronomy 21:23: “All who die upon a tree are cursed.” (Deut. 21:23) So I was certain that Jesus couldn’t be God’s Blessed One, for he died accursed. I believed that the Way must be destroyed by all means necessary!

So, I went hunting heretics. After we bundled Stephen up and stoned him to death, they scattered, and I followed where I could, forcing them to renounce Jesus—imprisonment, torture, execution—whatever I needed to do, I did, for the sake of clarity and certainty.

Then I heard gossip—intel—suggesting some Followers of the Way had set up shop at a synagogues in Damascus. So I rushed there to drag them back to Jerusalem.

And, along the road, I was imagining the throne of God—a common mystical practice for some of the devout… and then it was there. Heaven! Heaven slashed down to earth—a frightening Holy light. On the throne though—the King, the one enthroned in heaven… asked me the strangest of questions.

Jesus: Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?

Saul: Who are you?

Jesus: I am Jesus, who you are persecuting. Get up, go into Damascus, and you’ll be told your fate.

Saul: So, here’s the thing you need to know… while all that was going on, that vision of heaven that took away my vision, my traveling companions… my brute squad… were petrified, for they heard the voice of Jesus too!

Then blinded by the vision of Jesus as the Heavenly Messiah seated on the heavenly throne, my goons turned into my nursemaids. For three days, I could neither eat nor drink.

 

Scene 2:

Ananias: I’d heard about him, Saul the Zealot. He had a reputation as a fierce man—an Asian Jew, he was far enough from Jerusalem to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder about it. He was hyper aware of gentile culture, a despiser of it… even as that culture was the water he swam in… he would not bend to any rule or make any compromise, even as he was fluent in Greek and Roman affluence.

I’d even heard rumors he was coming our way… I’d heard rumors, then I heard something so much more.

Jesus: Ananias!

Ananias: Henenni! You see, that’s what you say when confronted with a supernatural force… Henenni! Here I am. Here I am, Lord.

Jesus: Get up, go to Straight Street. Go to Jude’s house and ask for a man from Tarsus, his name is Saul…

Ananias: Oh no!

Jesus: You’ll see him praying. He has seen in a vision a man named Ananias…

Ananias: Oh no… that’s me.

Jesus: Yes… yes it is… Saul has seen you coming and laying hands on him and healing his blindness.

Ananias: Well… Lord. I’ve heard about Saul, of Tarsus… A lot of people talk about Saul of Tarsus…  they talk about how he is persecuting your Holy Ones, your Disciples, in Jerusalem… and how he’s coming here frothing mad, waving paperwork from the chief priests back in Jerusalem. He wants to tie us up and drag us back there to do to us what was done to poor Stephen. Anyone who calls on your name, Lord, is captured. If I say “Jesus is Lord” is done for.

Jesus: Ananias, just go… Saul is the one I’ve chosen to carry my name before foreigners and rulers—and to his own people as well. I am also going to show him how he must suffer for my names sake.

Ananias: With that I skedaddled, to Straight Street and found Jude’s house, ducked in, found that persecutor, and laid hands on him.

 

Scene 3:

Annanias: Brother Saul, Jesus—who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—the Lord, sent me to you, so that you can see again and receive the Holy Spirit.

Saul: And just like that these things, like scales, fell from my eyes. I could again see. The first sight, this man, clearly terrified of me. Yet he helped me up and baptized me! He gave me food, and my weakness left me.

Community, baptism, meal… and with that I was sent to tell people the good news: Jesus is Lord!

 

Scene 4:

Annanias: With that he was off and running. Preaching in Synagogues and in the street, to zealots and Pharisees, philosophers, sailors, and kings.

He even changed his name to make himself more relatable to Greek Speakers… did you know Saul means something like Prancer in Greek…

Paul’s ministry to non-Jews, to a Pagan world, honed the Gospel message.

The Blessed One’s resurrection is the beginning of a new world—all the divisions and rules of the past were captive to Sin and Death, even the blessed Law that gave Paul so much certainty—infected by death’s perilous power.

But now, all the powers that enslave us—every category that causes us to act against the Spirit of God—are overcome by Christ—truly it is a new day, a new age, a new world. All those slave contracts of the old world are replaced with adoption papers—Through Christ we are all God’s Children!

He set up these small communities across present day Turkey and Greece, who strove to live reconciled lives together in the Spirit, redeeming all the Powers of the old age in preparation for and as a foretaste of the complete unfolding of the New Age of Christ. It is here and it is coming soon!

Amen!

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Sermon:Baptism is not a Resolution, but a Revelation

         The owner of a beloved neighborhood bar announced he was getting out of the business, and he would sell the bar to the person who gave the best pitch.

         There was the guy who wanted to re-open the bar and call is Oktoberfest—complete with Oompa music and half price sauerkraut.

         Another pitch came from a woman who wanted to re-open as Lena’s, they would only serve Aquavit and Pickled Herring.

         Then finally, the winning pitch was to re-open the bar as Resolutions Gym… which would be a Gym for the first two weeks of each New Year, then become a bar for the rest of the year.

         New Year’s resolutions often only stick so long, right? Human willpower, and our overestimation of our own abilities and attentions… 
they are real hurdles.

         And there is a theological truth to that as well… 
we often get things twisted up and think of our Baptism as a resolution
—not unlike those made by the customers of Resolution Gym
—but Baptism is always a Revelation.

Baptism is not a Resolution, but a Revelation

Prayer

 

Baptism is not a Resolution, but a Revelation

         After spending 3 chapters linking John the Baptist to Jesus, Luke switches gears and disconnects them. 
It is only here in the 3^rd chapter that we can be pretty darn sure that the Gospel is about Jesus, not John… 
that John is not The One who the people ought to wait for, but Jesus is.

         Now, if the Gospel was a Resolution, instead of a Revelation
—John would have made a better Messiah…
If Baptism was a sort of New Year’s Resolution of the Soul
—John the Baptist would be our man.

         John’s Baptism, after all, is one of contrition
—water naming repentance and restitution, 
a sort of digging up of the soil of the soul, 
so that a seed might be planted. 
A holy emptying, 
a sacred preparation. 
“Right your wrongs!”
Reach the baseline of morality!
Repent, repair, restrain yourself… 
share and be fair.”

         Resolutions…

         But John affirms
—the one who is coming, 
is a farmer, 
is a seed scatterer, 
fire and Spirit winnowing and gathering
—He will make you fruitful!

         Jesus’ baptism is not a clearing up job, 
not only a righting of wrongs
—not a hasty last second decision before you kiss your special someone on New Years…
Not a Resolution.

 

         Remember that part of Fantasia
—the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, where Mikey Mouse makes the brooms clean for him… 
The Brooms do it themselves. 

         We sometimes think that’s what Baptism is like
—stalks of wheat or corn marching themselves to the granary…
Themselves being the operative word… 
but that’s John’s Baptism
—that’s a Resolution.

 

         Or… do you think Isaiah’s people made it a whole generation kidnapped in Babylon on their own—themselves?

         Or did the Earliest Church, who we read about in Acts, choose to make room for Samaritans, 
without the Holy Spirit’s intervention?

No—that would be resolving to be more inclusive, 
or resolving to white knuckle it through Babylon.

Resolving to be fruitful.

 

         Now, that image of wheat stalks marching themselves to fruitfulness, 
grains gathering themselves into the granary 
is ridiculous—Fantastical… 
but imagine if we had to make ourselves fruitful, 
if we had to redeem ourselves!

         When we do that… 
when we confuse the Baptism of John and our own baptism
—we end up like those out of control brooms… 
we resolve ourselves into insolvency… 
pouring water again and again until we’re dealing with a flood of our own making, instead of the saving waters of Baptism.

 

-I’m going to eat less and exercise more—Until February. 
-I’m going to lay off sweets—But what about the Holidays? 
-I’m going to read more books, get more sleep… until the cats keep me up or I want to watch a movie on Netflix… 
-That person who really annoys me… I’m going to will myself to like them… until they borrow my tools without asking.

         I’m going to save myself… God have mercy!

         I think of a man I met, 
whose Pastor told him that he wouldn’t need to go to Narcotics Anonymous any more, 
if he got Baptized
—because then he would always make right choices… 
that man relapsed and it destroyed his marriage, 
and his faith…

         Because our Baptism isn’t some sort of magical resolution making us perfect… 
it’s a Revelation!

 

         After all that hype by John the Baptist, 
Jesus’ baptism can seem almost too straightforward
—prayer and Spirit present, 
God the Father revealing who Jesus is
You are—my Beloved Son
—I am so pleased! —with you.

         Revealing who Jesus is
—as Luke will again if we were to continue to read 
—he gives Jesus’ genealogy, 
going all the way back, to God
—God’s Child.

         Dear ones, 
this is true of our Baptism as well.

The words of Isaiah to the people who God is freeing from exile, are true for us as well: 

You are precious, honored,
God loves you!

         Dear siblings
—trust Jesus
—God’s pleasing beloved son
—Jesus into whom we are Baptized. 
Be confident that you are joined to him, 
clothed with mercy and forgiveness, 
delivered, claimed, adopted, renewed and given life from the dead!

         That is what is revealed in Baptism.

         

         What of resolutions? You might ask.
What of change? 
What about that guy who believed that Baptism failed him?

         How does a Revelation of Jesus’ identity
—one we are graciously sewn into
—help him?
         Help people
to be more patient, kind, 
resistant to addiction, 
people desperate to be better? 

 

         Simply put, any theory of change and transformation, 
any new resolution, 
any movement from despair to hope,
has to go through love,
has to be grounded in kinship and acceptance.

 

         You can do the hard work of including Samaritans, 
because you’re already loved
and you get to witness and celebrate them being loved too!

         You can get through Babylon, 
because you know you are God’s people
—precious and loved.

 

         The desire to be a better person…
is not helped by being to-do-ed to death
         No, people change, 
because they have a stable loving place to begin their journey.

         The challenges of sobriety, 
are easier to navigate if you know you’re already accepted by God…

         The long slog of getting through some stuff, 
is sweeter and safer
when you can make the sign of your baptism… the sign of the cross
—you belong to God!

Baptism is not a Resolution, but a Revelation. Amen.