Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ~Romans 14:10 The church in ancient Rome finds itself amid cultural, economic, emotional, and religious revolution. Everything is changing. People are being accused and attacked. They are frightened and defensive. The future is uncertain. There is chaos without and within, and this underground movement in first century Rome committed to the Way of Jesus finds itself gathered with little in common. Jews and Gentiles together, they can’t even agree on what is right to eat or what day is right for worship. One’s act of honor is another’s offense. How do you forgive when you can’t even agree that an offense has occurred? And yet, for Paul, the practice of forgiveness is a taproot reaching to the deep reservoir of our common baptism—unyielding rootedness that holds the community in place as a storm of uncertainty rages around it. Consider it a currency we steward that enables relationships to flourish, flowing from the one thing we share in common: the presence of a God who is unimaginably loving and just, a God who makes a way when there is no way. Enter into worship. Sunday morning, 10:00am in-person or online. Readings: Exodus 14:19-31 † Psalm 114 † Romans 14:1-12 † Matthew 18:21-35 About the Art: Swanson, John August. Moses, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56554 [retrieved September 11, 2023]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.
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They shall take some of the blood [of the Passover lamb] and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ~Exodus 12:7 It may be easy for some of us to be dismissive of the sacrificial system of our religious ancestors. Here, after all, we seem to see the long shadow of a primitive and savage form of magic practiced to ward off an avenging God. Perhaps. But we may be wise to consider the savage log(s) in our own culture’s eye before we too quickly and casually turn up our own noses. What will future generations think of our consumptive ecological practices, our treatment of our most vulnerable, our constant warring, after all? The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus is also known in Arabic as “the people of the cave,” for the story is found both in the Christian and Islamic traditions. Fleeing persecution, they wait in darkness, sheltered by the rock, until it is safe to emerge. They will sleep 300 years and emerge when danger is gone. What if the indigenous cultures of our own continent had had that kind of safety? Or the migrants seeking a better life who are currently flooding into New York and other places, muddling our compassion with pangs of fear that there is not enough to go around. Consider the painted lintel not so much a magic shield, but a team banner, a political sign, a pride flag—a proclamation of allegiance, but one that is not easily swapped out, to something other than the menacing Pharaohs and their ways in our own day. “The mark of God’s claim upon Israel,” says Erica MacCreaigh in The Christian Century, “is enfleshed, the very stuff of life, not unlike circumcision. The blood proclaims the stakes, and its message to the world is unequivocal: We belong to God—body and spirit—and our allegiance is to God alone.” As Romans says it, “Owe no one anything, except to love one another” (13:8). This is, indeed, a currency of a very different kind than the transactions familiar to us in much of our life together here on earth. Enter into rest. Enter into hope. Enter into worship, Sunday, 10:00am, in-person or online. Readings: Exodus 12:1-14 † Psalm 149 † Romans 13:8-14 † Matthew 18:15-20 About the Art: Icon painting from the Cretan School of the Late Middle Ages (15th-17th centuries) developed under both Eastern and Western artistic traditions. Retrieved on September 5, 2023 from: http://www.mystudios.com/artgallery/C/Cretan-School/The-Seven-Sleepers-of-Ephesus.html.
Peace can only be built on truth. A peace that is just and sustainable requires we tell the truth of who all people are as beloved, the truth of what creation is as beloved. And then peace requires we act on this truth – not alone, but together with each other and with our communities. Honoring all life as beloved; balancing our competing desires; being honest and giving our self - our God-given gifts and vision - to a future where actual flourishing is possible is the life to which we are commanded as followers of Christ and it takes grace and practice…and more grace. The Christian way is grounded in truth telling. Our tradition exists to help us remember the grace we have and the patience it takes to go this way together. It nourishes us and holds us and sends us to enter peace making with each other and with our communities. God has placed a vision of peace, a desire for peace, a truth about what peace looks like not just in us, but in also in the communities of which we are a part. Learning and growing and helping each other discern how to act on the truth of who we all are - a creation that is beloved - takes all of us. If we impose our vision of peace on others without their participation, we dishonor the truths they know and the beloved creatures they are. Come to worship beloved and remember who you are. Come be nourished by God’s grace. Come take your place with God’s people over time so that we might have what we need to be able to turn to each other and to God’s world with the love, the grace, the patience, the openness to the stories of others that we need to build peace. Readings: Exodus 3:1-15 † Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26 † Romans 12:9-21 † Matthew 16:21-28 About the Art: Wesley, Frank, 1923-2002. Moses and the Burning Bush. from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59185 [retrieved August 29, 2023].
And because the midwives feared God, [God] gave them families. ~Exodus 1:21 Pharaoh’s daughter said to [the child’s mother], “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” ~Exodus 2:9 It isn’t magic that impossible situations are transformed into new streams of possibility in God’s economy. It happens all the time. It is the way of God’s kindom. “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,” Romans reiterates. But when they are put in motion—whatever those gifts, those currencies are, they all work toward wholeness and abundance. Eric Law calls this the cycle of blessing: “In God’s creation, everything gets recycled, including that which we consider to be waste.” The Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah acted with nerve and cunning to disrupt Pharaoh's destructiveness and clear the path for deliverance. Peter rose to an occasion he did not see coming, naming with suddenly clear judgment who Jesus was and in return discovering his own true identity. What blessings, what currencies do you have in hand? Do you know what it takes for them to make for life? Enter into worship. Sunday, 10:00am, online or in-person. Readings: Exodus 1:8-2:10 † Psalm 124 † Romans 12:1-8 † Matthew 16:13-20 About the Art: Palmer, Samuel, 1805-1881. Magic Apple Tree, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58401 [retrieved August 18, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Magic_Apple_Tree.jpg. See commentary at https://thevcs.org/be-transformed/fruitfulness-and-transfiguration.
Nevertheless she persisted… There are at least two important models for faith that Matthew brings to us in this week’s story. There is, of course, Jesus who listens, learns, and changes. Our tradition may find these to be unfamiliar actions for Jesus. Even more so as we examine his initial response to the Canaanite woman which leaves much to be desired. And then there’s this woman. Persistent. Tenacious. Humble and strong. Full of faith! Her commitment to seek help for those who are powerless to do so themselves puts us on notice of what we are both called to do and capable of doing. She does not slink away. She refuses to be silenced until her daughter is healed. What has she and what has Jesus to teach us of faith in this time? Enter into worship. Readings: Genesis 45:1-15 † Psalm 133 † Romans 11:1-5, 29-32 † Matthew 15:21-28 About the Art: Watanabe, Sadao, 1913-1996. Woman of Canaan, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57538 [retrieved August 6, 2023]. Original source: https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/woman-canaan-26809.
“Logos” by Mary Oliver Why worry about the loaves and fishes? If you say the right words, the wine expands. If you say them with love and the felt ferocity of that love and the felt necessity of that love, the fish explode into many. Imagine him, speaking, and don’t worry about what is reality, or what is plain, or what is mysterious. If you were there, it was all those things. If you can imagine it, it is all those things. Eat, drink, be happy. Accept the miracle. Accept, too, each spoken word spoken with love.[i] Why worry? Well, we have many reasons we could cite. But the invitation here, echoed in these stories of faith, reminds us that others have been where we are and worse, and found a way. What might we discover as we look to their wisdom? What might we know as we lean into “each spoken word, spoken with love” and learn to speak with such truth ourselves? How might we be fed as we feed according to the example of Jesus? Enter into worship. Sunday, 10:00am in-person or online. Readings: Genesis 32:22-31 † Psalm 17:1-7, 15 † Romans 9:1-5 † Matthew 14:13-21 About the Art: Swanson, John August. Loaves and Fishes, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56553 [retrieved July 31, 2023]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/. [i] Oliver, Mary. Devotions (p. 179). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity; in our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity. In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. ~In the Bulb There is a Flower, Natalie Sleeth, 1986 Telling the difference between good and evil is sometimes no simple thing. Consider the characters that inhabit today’s readings. Laban outtricking the trickster Jacob in Genesis. In Matthew, a thief and a merchant. Fish both desired and rejected. Yeast in a batch that is properly without leaven. A weed masquerading as a plant that is intentionally sown in a field. Shady, subversive, corrupting, confounding stories all, yet Jesus offers them up, and, along with the disciples we are so confident: “Yes, we understand.” Do we? Here is a counter-cultural good word. Wisdom is more fleeting than we might think, although it is there in abundance for the harvest. Like baptism, it takes a lifetime to achieve, and ears to hear. Perhaps that is why it is so valuable! Finding our way amidst masquerading either/or realities is harder than we might think. Remembering that we belong together when we are so torn apart is no small feat. Poking around the edges of Jacob and Rachel and Leah’s stories we discover just how difficult and important this is. And perhaps around our own stories as well. The poking, the prodding, the searching, the sorting. These just may lead to that pearl of great price. The Spirit helps us in our weakness. There’s food for thought! Open yourself up to the Love from which nothing can separate us. Listen for that Spirit of truth. Be transformed. Enter into worship. Sunday 10:00am in person or online. Readings: Genesis 29:15-28 † Psalm 105:1-11, 45b † Romans 8:26-39 † Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 About the Art: Koenig, Peter. Treasure in the Field, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58507 [retrieved July 17, 2023]. Original source: Peter Winfried (Canisius) Koenig, https://www.pwkoenig.co.uk/.
And the LORD stood beside [Jacob] and said, … “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ~Genesis 28:13, 15 These ancient stories! How they hold us with tales of lives twisting, turning, unfolding, growing. Herein lie stories of calling, of promise, of purpose, of blessing. It turns out they are not simply tales. They speak to our own lives and to the twists and turns, the unfolding and growing, and most astonishing of all, to the deep roots that nourish us—even us!—in nurturing love. For these stories are our stories. This story is Jill Jones’ story. Come and witness as Seattle Presbytery ordains Jill to the ministry of Word and Sacrament. Enter into worship. July 19, 2023, 7:00PM at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Renton, WA. Readings: Genesis 28:10-19a † Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 † or Isaiah 44:6-8 † Psalm 86:11-17 † Romans 8:12-25 † Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 About the Art: Tree in Our Neighborhood. Photo and text by Loren Wiebe. From personal correspondence with Jill Jones. Used by permission. “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path,… Other seeds fell on rocky ground, … Other seeds fell among thorns, … Other seeds fell on good soil …. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!”... ~Matthew 13:3-9 (excerpts) This familiar parable of the sower and the seeds falls right in the heart of the summer growing season. Knee-high corn and its lessons of well-being and maturation are tilled together with the story of Jacob the heel grabber and his hungry brother Esau. The long season of Ordinary Time provides us with ample opportunities to reap wisdom and understanding from these ancient stories and parables that speak to humanity through time. Let anyone with ears listen! Enter into worship. Readings: Genesis 25:19-34 † Psalm 119:105-112 † Romans 8:1-11 † Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 About the Art: Sower went out to sow, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55021 [retrieved July 10, 2023]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/feargal/5765705109/.
"We gather around the well of Beer-lahai-roi, the place where God sees us." Remember the well where Hagar and Ishmael were delivered in the desert? This well is now the meeting place of Rebekah and the servant of Abraham who was given the task of finding a wife for Isaac. A well for life and for the future, for both Ishmael and for Isaac. Isaac loved Rebekah, and was given comfort from her after his mother's death. How about Abraham? All the story tells us is that Isaac has inherited Abraham's wealth. In response to our reading, we hear some of the most beautiful scriptures in the bible. "Arise, my love, my dear one, and come away." This setting declares the relationship between the two lovers as one of equals. Many believe this is the image that was meant to happen at the beginning: no snake, no apple, just two people enjoying their full humanity, that was created "good." In Matthew, Jesus offers comfort to all of us, who are weary and carrying heavy burdens. Some rest right now sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Come, let us gather for worship. READINGS: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 Song of Songs 2:8-13 Romans 7:15-25a Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
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