Bible Study

This Sunday, January 8, our reading will be taken from the story of the baptism of Jesus in the first chapter of Mark.  I will be out of town, but Bob will be leading the 9 a.m. Bible study in the Parlor.  I am counting on those present to ask Bob very challenging questions.

Here is the reading:

Mark 1:4-11(NRSV)

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. ⁸I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with^* the Holy Spirit.’

The Baptism of Jesus

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved;^* with you I am well pleased.’

Notes:

1. Each of the four Gospels contains a version of the baptism of Jesus, indicating that the story was an influential component of the earliest Christian tradition. The story sets up a puzzle that has fascinated Christian theologians for many centuries:  Why, for heaven’s sake, was it necessary for God’s own incarnation to be baptized, and by a human being, no less?  In our text, John the Baptist himself recognizes the absurdity of his presuming to baptize Jesus.  The question of why Jesus needed to be baptized is, of course, a manifestation of the basic Christological mystery that we have talked about recently in our Parlor study. This mystery is impossible to “solve” in any sense that is fully satisfying intellectually, but to the extent that we have embraced the Christian revelation, it does seem impossible to avoid the conclusion that God has come to us in a form which incorporates, simultaneously, that which is fully divine and that which is fully human.  Another way to try to express this thought is to suggest that the true consummation of God’s creation embodies a complete coming together of that which is divine and that which is created.
   
2. Perhaps, a coming together of that which is divine and that which is human requires simultaneous movement by both the Creator and the created.  The story of Jesus’s may symbolize this need for both human and divine movement. Indeed, John the Baptist’s home in the wilderness, his wild clothes, and his odd organic diet all present John as being of the earth, not of Heaven. John’s baptism of Jesus therefore represents in stark form a coming together of Heaven and earth. It is striking, in this connection, that the baptism of Jesus happens at the very beginning of Mark – no nativity story in this Gospel – and that the story of Jesus’s ministry begins immediately after Jesus is baptized.  It is almost as if John the Baptist has poured water on a nascent plant, which then immediately sprouts and flowers.  John the Baptist has added human agency to God’s Incarnation; the rest of what happens in the Gospel is a product of human and divine agency, operating together.
   
3. I’m writing this note from Memphis, where I am on a seminary retreat. We have been meeting daily with people who have been building and running an innovative health care network that operates mainly under the auspices of the Methodist Church in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi.  We’ve met with people of enormous spiritual insight who express their devotion to God through hands-on, utterly earthly work with some of the economically poorest, and pain-filled, people in the United States.  What I have been seeing here is a mixing of human and divine agency every bit as dramatic as that which is depicted in the first chapter of Mark.  Now, I realize I could witness similar wonders among devoted people in the Washington area — strictly speaking, I didn’t really need to come to Memphis to see this – but sometimes one sees things more clearly without the distraction of familiar surroundings.  I feel very lucky to be on this trip, and I’m hoping we can discuss some of the trip’s implications as we get together for study after I return.  In the meantime, please do prepare some hard questions for Bob, and I look forward to being back on the 15^th.
   

Mike

This Sunday, we will have our regular Bible study at 9 a.m. in the Parlor.  Our Lectionary readings, on which Rev. LaVerne Gill will be preaching, are taken from chapter 61 of Isaiah and chapter 1 of Luke:

Isaiah 64:1-4, 8-11

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence-
² as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!
³ When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
⁴ From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.

⁸ Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
⁹ Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity for ever.
Now consider, we are all your people.
¹⁰ Your holy cities have become a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
¹¹ Our holy and beautiful house,
where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins. Read the rest of this entry »

This Sunday is a communion Sunday. We therefore will be having our always-tempting fellowship breakfast beginning at 8:15 a.m., and wewill not be having Bible Study at 9:00 a.m. Gordon Forbes will be preaching at the service on two much-loved passages from Scripture, Isaiah40:1-11 and Mark 1:1-8:

Isaiah 40:1-11 (NRSV):

God’s People Are Comforted

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do notfear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep. Read the rest of this entry »

by Michael Durst

This Sunday is the first day in Advent, and we’ll be holding our regular Bible study at 9 a.m. in the Parlor.

We’ll be reading two Scripture passages during the Service, both of which relate fairly explicitly to the Advent theme.  Both the history of the Advent season, and the theological meanings of our two readings, are rather mysterious.  I look forward to trying to puzzle these topics out with those who are able to attend the Bible study, and also to addressing some of the questions raised by our readings in the sermon on Sunday.

Isaiah 64:1-9 (NRSV)

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
   so that the mountains would quake at your presence— 
² as when fire kindles brushwood
   and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
   so that the nations might tremble at your presence! Read the rest of this entry »

This Sunday, Bob and I will be at the regular Sunday morning Bible study, at 9 a.m. in the Parlor, before the service. Bob will be preaching at the service. The reading for this Sunday is the poetic language of Exodus 33:12-23.

Here is the reading:

Exodus 33:12-23 (NRSV):

12 Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, you have said to me, “Bring up this people”; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, “I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.” 13Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.’ 14He said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ 15And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. 16For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.’

17 The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.’ 18Moses said, ‘Show me your glory, I pray.’ 19And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, “The Lord”; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20But’, he said, ‘you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.’ 21And the Lord continued, ‘See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; 22and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; 23then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.’

Notes:

1. This beautiful and short passage is about limitations: humanity’s limitations, and even God’s limitations. Moses wants so achingly to know God fully. God wants so achingly to reveal Godself to Moses, fully. Yet Moses does not receive a full revelation of God, and God cannot give Moses a full measure of revelation.
2. From even before the moment of creation, God knew that in creating us, God would need to keep us somewhat uninformed about the divine nature and the divine purpose. For God to reveal Godself fully to us, at least while each of us is here on this earth, would be to short-circuit the process of creation. Once we had received full revelation, we would immediately find our way to God – to perfection – and mortal life would be unable to develop any further. In other words, mortal live would cease. And that is the last thing that God would want. So, revelation be only partial. It is our lot, as the created and mortal, to see God only “in a glass, darkly.” There is no other way that the world could possibly work.
3. The distance that God must keep from us is a source of true pain, not only to us but to God. The story of Jesus, which includes extreme suffering as well as the joy of resurrection, demonstrates to us that God’s inherent limitations hurt God, just as these limitations hurt us.
4. The good news is that God decided to create, despite the pain that God knew would be inherent in creation. As we’re reminded in John’s Gospel, the light overcomes the darkness; the joy of creation outweighs the pain that is attendant on creation. The distance that must separate us from God does not mean that God is not with us; that God’s love for us is not infinite. As God did for Moses in the cleft in the rock, God tries to come as close to us as God possibly can. Certainly, God comes close enough so that we can distinctly hear God’s voice, see God’s light, feel God’s warmth, and share in God’s true peace. And that is a reason for infinite thanks.

See you Sunday morning.

Mike

This Sunday, many will be at the retreat on the Bay, but many of us also will be at our regular Sunday service on the Circle. We will be having our regular Bible Study at 9 a.m. in the Parlor, and I look forward to seeing a number of fellow Westmorelanders there.

Our Scripture reading for this week — on which I’ll have the privilege of preaching – is the “golden calf” story of Exodus 32:1-14. This well-known story, of a people drawn by a persuasive leader to idol worship, evokes so very many different kinds of thoughts, at both the personal and political levels.

Here is the reading:

Exodus 32:1-14 (NRSV)

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 2Aaron said to them, ‘Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’ 3So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4He took the gold from them, formed it in a mould, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.’ 6They rose early the next day, and offered burnt-offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.

7 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; 8they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ‘ 9The Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. 10Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.’

11 But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, ‘O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, “It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth”? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, “I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.” ‘ 14And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

Notes: Read the rest of this entry »

At the service this Sunday, we will be reading Matthew7:7-11, which is among the most familiar and also challenging passages in Scripture. Bob Maddox and I will lead a discussion on this reading at 9a.m. in the Parlor. We hope you can join us for what we hope will be a stimulating sharing of thoughts on some central theological topics.

Here is the reading:

7 ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!’

Notes: Read the rest of this entry »

First, I should point out that owing to the preparations in the Parlor for the 125^th Anniversary celebration, there will not be a Bible study this Sunday at 9.  The regular study will resume on September 25^th.  During the service, though, we will be reading some passages from the Epistle to the Hebrews – Hebrews 11:1 and 12:1-9 – which include some of the most powerful and thought-provoking statements of faith of the entire Bible.  It’s well worth reflecting carefully on these passages in connection with their use this Sunday.

 Here are the passages: Read the rest of this entry »

This Sunday is a solemn one.  We remember the tragic events of ten years ago which took so many lives, and caused so much pain and hardship to many who survived.  During the service, we will be using two closely related passages from Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Bob Maddox and I will lead our regular Sunday morning Bible study, focusing on these two passages, at 9 a.m. in the Parlor.

Here are the two passages:

Romans 8:35-39 (NRSV):

³⁵Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’
³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 12:9-21 (NRSV)

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. ¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;^* do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God;^* for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ ²⁰No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Notes: Read the rest of this entry »

Luke 24:13-35

By Bob Maddox

Parlor Discussion, 9:00 AM

Luke 24:13-35: The Road To No Where; the Road to Every Where

The Walk to Emmaus

13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles* from Jerusalem, 14and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

17And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad.* 18Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ 19He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth,* who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.* Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’

25Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26Was it not necessary that the Messiah* should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ 27Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. 30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us* while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’

33That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ 35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

For me, this is one of the most beautiful and evocative passages in scripture. It wraps up the Easter Story in a subtle, gentle, and enduringly classical manner. Jon Crossan, the preeminent Jesus of history scholar says, “This never happened. This happens every day.” For my part, I can call this story the “Road to nowhere; the road to everywhere.” Read the rest of this entry »