Hebrew Testament Text for Sunday 20 March 2022

                      

Exodus 3:1-15        Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”

But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I am has sent me to you.'” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever,

and this my title for all generations.”

Reflection       What is burning inside you today? The cries of the millions of Ukrainians being driven into exile if not killed? The fear of the Russian people oppressed by their Stalin-esque president? The prospect of a madman deploying weapons of mass destruction? Shall we pause and wonder how  God's fire might be speaking to us? Are we willing to listen to the cries of the people and let the course of our lives be changed?  Are we willing to step out of our comfortable ruts, planting our heads in our hearts and acting decisively to alleviate the misery of  God’s people today? 

It may surprise you that that most scholars agree, Moses, a prophet important in Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Ba’hai, is not an historical figure.    Which begs the question, “What is the purpose of this mythic tale?” Let me suggest this is a spiritual journey story, a story that can help us navigate the lonely, arid and volatile desert we find ourselves navigating today. 

The wind blows, the dust  moves, the smell of creosote tantalizes and out of the corner of his eye Moses notices something he cannot explain, a bush that is burning but not consumed.  How can this be? The desert represents Moses’ interior journey; seeking understanding in the inhospitable vastness  of  the desert.  Here we join Moses following the mystery of a burning bush from his head into his heart to discern if it is real or a mirage.

 “Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great (amazing (CJB), marvelous (JSB), remarkable (NAB)) sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’” Confronted by something that made no sense to him,  Moses stops what he is doing, turns aside and allows himself to stay with the unsettling experience, a non-consuming fire. This is the way our spiritual journeys progress. In the presence of mystery we turn our heads to our hearts, making ourselves available to discern God’s  (The Mystery's) real presence in our lives.

It seems God was waiting to discover how Moses would respond to the fire before proceeding; “When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see,  God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ Moses responds  ‘Here I am.’” God and Moses enter into conversation, and by implication, relationship. Moses’ willingness to engage the mysterious fire by turning his head to his heart opens the way for him to be in relationship with God.                                                  

God says,“Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground,”   then proceeds to identify God’s own self, “’I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’”  As Moses approaches, God establishes parameters for their relationship, providing Moses with a way to participate in the revelatory event.  Removing his sandals Moses embodies the holiness of this encounter.                                                                                                                            

What does the tale of Moses talking to a burning bush have to do with us? That depends entirely on how we choose to engage it. If we read this scripture briskly noting, ‘I’ve heard this story a million times,” we can walk right past the mystery, no effect. There is every reason to believe that Moses could have done just that.

Being a shepherd Moses had a job to do and could easily have justified sticking to his job and continuing on his way. No story. But, when Moses experiences the burning bush (in other words, feels the fire of wonder inside) he pauses to ponder the mystery. Paying attention to the incomprehensible mystery Moses is available to encounter, experience and answer God’s call . 

What is burning inside you today? The cries of the millions of Ukrainians being driven into exile if not killed? The fear of the Russian people oppressed by their Stalin-esque president? The prospect of a madman deploying weapons of mass destruction? Shall we pause and wonder how  God's fire might be speaking to us? Are we willing to listen to the cries of the people and let the course of your life be changed?  Are we willing to step out of your comfortable ruts, planting your head in our heart and acting decisively to alleviate the misery of  God’s people today? 

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Gospel text for Sunday 25 September 2016

Luke 16:19-31        Jesus said, "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' He said, `Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers-- that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Abraham replied, `They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, `No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Reflection      Three dead men. One wisdom tale. What is Jesus up to? Every hour of every day Lazarus dies a bit more as dogs lick his wounds until at last the unfathomable happens, “The poor man …. is carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.” Meanwhile the rich man lives in the lap of luxury; well fed and dressed in Tyrian purple, an expensive dye extracted from shellfish first produced by the Phoenician city of Tyre two thousand years before Jesus walked to Jerusalem. By all measures the man wearing purple is the image of success until he dies, is given a proper burial, and the  unfathomable happens; he finds himself irredeemably tormented, separated from Abraham by an impassable chasm.

Which leads us to the third dead man, Abraham, Father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, whose hospitality and generosity are immortalized in the tale of him lavishly entertaining three strangers, angels in disguise.(Gen 18.2-8) Like the rich man in Jesus’ parable, Abraham is a wealthy man. Unlike the rich man in purple whose actions are singularly self-serving, Abraham is generous and acts for the good of others. When the rich man wearing purple dies and sees Lazarus with Abraham, he does not pause to reflect on his actions, how day after day he ignored suffering Lazarus, he does not ask for forgiveness nor turn around to amend his ways. Instead, the self-important man still tries to wield power over Lazarus to get a sip of comfort. 

I believe it is the rich man’s attitude of entitlement ( not his wealth) that is the source of his torment. His singular concern with his security, safety, status, esteem, power and control makes it impossible for him to connect with the generosity and hospitality of God as embodied by Abraham. It is the rich man’s attitude, his frame of mind, that prevents him from being in right relationship with God or anyone else.

By contrast Abraham is the exemplar of what living in right relationship with God looks like. In fact, Christianity, Judaism and Islam stand together affirming Abraham as the earthly expression of God’s instruction that people who enjoy power, privilege and resource are to care for the powerless, the poor and the needy. This is what bridges the gap between the rich and the poor. This is what God’s economy looks like. 

Which begs the question, what are we doing to redistribute the power, privilege and resource we are freely given to provide for those with so much less? What are we doing to insure there is no chasm between God’s boundless generosity and ours? 

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Gospel text for Sunday 29 July 2012

John 6.1-20
Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."

 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

 Reflection

Two paragraphs, two miracles. Oh my. The Jesus we meet in this text is extraordinary. His very presence transforms reality in unimaginable ways. I believe that is the point of these miracle tales; to make it crystal clear that being in the presence of Jesus changes everything. Being in relationship with Jesus gives us access to dimensions of reality that are truly beyond reason – in other words - miraculous. For who can reasonably explain satisfying five thousand people’s hunger with a mere five loaves and two fishes? And even a four year old knows that people do not walk on water.  So what is going on here?

 I believe these miracle stories are examples of God working through created nature to reveal a dimension of non-ordinary experience that is aligned with God’s own true and unlimited nature.  And I believe that every human person has access to this non-ordinary experience of reality in relationship with God.  And yes, it is astonishing.

 The thing is when it comes to being in relationship with God we are talking about a kind of experience that surpasses human understanding. We are talking about a kind of experience that is not bound by the laws of general relativity and quantum mechanics, not constrained by the fundamental properties of matter and motion, not explained by the principles of reason and logic. We are talking about astonishing, radical, life changing, consciousness expanding experiences.

 Regardless of whether you read the miracle stories as literally true, as signs, as prophetic revelations or as allegories, the bottom line is this; reason is not sufficient to describe the experience of being in relationship with God.  That said, it is not surprising that the great religious traditions of Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism all use miracle stories to describe non-ordinary experiences aligned with DIvinity. All of these religious traditions use miracle stories to describe that which reason cannot grasp because at the root of all of these great traditions there is the experience of knowing that which cannot be known.

 ++ The image from the Hubbell Telescope is described:  “Colliding galaxies make love not war.”

Mark 4:26-34
Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come."
 
He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.