6/14/2006

4th Sunday after Pentecost


Mark 5:21-43

My heart is beating so fast
Pounding at the walls of my chest
As my mouth goes dry
I still remember sitting there
Across the polished
--but professionally messy desk
of one involved
--in the human struggle
--for life
I knew before it was spoken
Somehow I knew
But with the last thread of hope
I wanted to hear
--what
the medical profession
in all of its high tech helplessness
had to say
and as the words came
I shuddered stoically
With reality
The reality of what I already knew
The room spun that day
In thoughts of what if
And why me
And I was angry
At everyone who walked with a smile
And the God who created them
I screamed
screamed and cried
For days
Until brokenness overcame me
I lay in restless sleep
Dreaming
Of what could have been
I screamed and begged at God
In Prayer
Hoping beyond hope
That the stories I had heard
--somewhere
were true
and as others had been cured so might I
but I knew
somehow I knew with same depth
as I knew
--before I was told of this invasion
into my body and soul
that his would not be for me
restlessly
--night after night I tossed
in almost sleep
dreams tearing at my every fear

one night
walking through a crowd of people
who excitedly stood there
backdrops
in my nightly excursion into hell
I saw Him
Looking very much like no in particular
But I as drawn onward
Feeling again
--a flutter of excitement
as I fought my way through that crowd
all focused on Him
falling as I was almost there
managing somehow
--only to touch
--a thread hanging there
--lifeless
as I drifted back
from dreamland
to sleep deep and restful
now undisturbed
by the reality of my illness
I awoke
To my Lord standing there
In Glory
And taking me by the hand
This Prince of Peace
Leading me
To a new world filled with Glory

Wait!

Sunday July 2nd, Lamentations 3: I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Waiting is hard, whether you are a child or an adult. We live in a society with fast food, express lines, and dial-up internet is almost unheard of. Everything is going faster and faster. In the midst of that, God’s word is to wait. Sometimes we find that it is in the waiting that we are blessed. Spend some quiet time and wait. Talk to God and wait. Love one another and wait. Time is simply a part of our existence, timelessness is where God exists. Wait, and know you are loved.

Give twice and call me in the morning

Monday July 3rd, 2nd Corinthians 8: 7 But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. Have you every met really stingy people? The ones that always want to make sure they leave with more than they brought. God had to teach that lesson in the desert. The Israelites could only gather enough manna for their use on that day, and that day only, with exception of being able to collect two days worth of manna on the sixth day. That way they could rest on the Sabbath. If they collected too much, it rotted, and it stunk. Hording causes rotting and stink, both in our tents and in our souls. The only cure is to learn the grace of giving. Not feeling well? Give twice and call me in the morning.

You think we would learn

Tuesday July 4th, 2nd Corinthians 8: 13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, 15 as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little." Remember the desert lesson, greed stinks. It is God’s will that there be some sense of equality among the people God. The people of God is all people. Tax cuts for the top, program cuts for the bottom, the ever widening gap between the have and the have nots, these are not new issues. It is the hotbed in which terrorism grows, and these issues have been justified as God’s will by every nation which has ever fallen from power. You think we would learn.

What's in Your System

Wednesday July 5th, Mark 5: 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." Faith, pure faith. This is one of two stories mixed together, both examples of faith. Jairus was one of the synagogue rules whose daughter was ill. The woman had been bleeding for many years and therefore would not have been allowed in the synagogue. Jesus’ response is healing for both. One would hope that in the process what was also healed was the system that would keep some who are in need from the healing power of God. What needs fixing in your system?

More than Miracles

Thursday July 6th, Mark 5: 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. Jesus was more than miracles, he was also mercy. Don’t say anything about the healing was the request. To tell would set the gossip lines of communication on fire. It would define Jesus’ ministry as a miracle worker only. For the sake of mercy, he was willing to put his ministry in jeopardy. Perhaps we too are called to put our plans in jeopardy for the sake of showing mercy.

The road to healing

Friday July 7th, Mark 5: A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." This is the beginning of the second healing miracle. The first was a ruler of the synagogue; the second was an outcast of the synagogue. Both show faith, both are blessed with healing. There is a reason Mark intertwines these stories as one story. I believe the real healing that day took place in the community surrounding the synagogue. Who are the ones who are “unclean” and therefore not welcome in our communities of faith? Sometimes that definition comes from someone’s perception, sometimes it’s a personal excuse for not wanting to be involved, sometimes it is a definition the community of faith has, all are in need of healing. In the “unclean’s” inclusion, all are on the road to healing.

Inclusion includes healing

Saturday July 8th, Mark 5: 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' “32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." Sometimes it is just too much work to find out the real needs of those in our communities. It is easier to just blow it off and pretend everything is OK, and go on about our worship. This is a multiple healing story; The daughter was healed of her illness, the father was healed from having to uphold the exclusionary rules of the synagogue, the synagogue community was healed of practicing exclusion, the woman was healed from having to put up with quacks, the woman was healed of her illness, the community was healed from having her presence excluded from them, and the disciples were healed from their apathy of thinking it too much work to find out who touched the hem of Jesus garment. When inclusion happens, no matter what the reason for exclusion, healing happens.

6/13/2006

3rd Sunday after Pentecost


Mark 4:35-41

Peace be with you
Peace
Be still and know that
--I am
------God
in the midst of your troubled life
(and the waters calmed upon the sea)
when all around you
everything is falling
falling
(that once were raging)
into a fearful
uncertain
rage of destruction
(seeking to overcome)
(the smallness of the craft)
plunging your life
headlong
into the nothingness
of chaos
(tossed about)
(with no apparent notice of it’s presence)
ending the glow
now dim
that once illumined the souls of many
(or the life within)
who have since retreated
into the safe harbor of their own lives
fearing unnoticed
the trouble brewing within you
as you now sit alone
amid friends surviving
at a safe distance
(until)
--until
(the voice)
--the voice
(of God)
--from within
speaks the word of calm
the word of creator and creation
showing the way
to safety and hope
still far off
(calms the seas)
but in full view

Speculation

Sunday June 25th, Job 38: Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Luther speaks of the two kingdoms, the kingdom up there somewhere, hidden from our eyes and hearts, and the kingdom reveled, the one shown to us by the life and teachings of Jesus. Sometimes we like to spend our time speculating about the kingdom up there, all we end up with is a headache, and a bunch of wild speculation. Living in our life as we do in a three dimensional world, we have tried to speculate the things of God. Mathematicians have calculated the existence of up to a fourth, fifth, sixth, and even up to an eleventh dimension, but even armed with that knowledge, we still only live, breath, exist and think in a three dimensional world. It is kind of hard to speculate all the reasons of God with odds like that. For us, there is the kingdom revealed, what we know of God, all we need to know of God, we find in Jesus. Anything more is pure speculation.

Act out of the love of Christ

Monday June 26th, Job 38: "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'? I can understand the dynamics of natural disasters, water temperatures, gulf streams, air currents and temperatures and of course, plate tectonics, but I can never know fully why they exist. I do know that in times of disasters, I can help those in need. I can’t understand the fullness of God, but I can act out of the love of Christ.

This is the day

Tuesday June 27th, 2 Corinthians 6: 1 We work together with God, and we beg you to make good use of God's kindness to you. 2 In the Scriptures God says, "When the time came, I listened to you, and when you needed help, I came to save you." That time has come. This is the day for you to be saved. After speculating on the wonders of God, we can act on the love of God in Christ. God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, for God did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. Christ came to save not just you and I, but even those we don’t like, and those that don’t like us. The right and left wings, the gay and straight extremes, the black, white, yellow, red radicals, the upper 2% and the lower 98%, all to be saved by the love of Christ. There is no us and them in any way shape or form, there is only an us. The us is the children of God, brothers and sisters all. Now act like it!!

Please Sir, Make room for us

Wednesday June 28th, 2 Corinthians 6: 11 Friends in Corinth, we are telling the truth when we say that there is room in our hearts for you. 12 We are not holding back on our love for you, but you are holding back on your love for us. 13 I speak to you as I would speak to my own children. Please make room in your hearts for us. This is the cry of most of the world to Christian community. Out of the love of Christ, make room in your hearts for us. Failure to do so is failure to make room in your hearts for Christ, for that which you do onto the least of these my brothers and sisters, you do onto Christ.

Fear not

Thursday June 29th, Mark 4: 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" The opposite of faith is not non-faith, it is fear. When the angels came to usher in a new thing, they started their message with the words, “fear not.” Fear paralyzes our joy, stops our praise, and keeps us from seeing the kingdom. Fear not, Christ is with you.

Got Faith?

Friday June 30th, Mark 4: 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" The Jesus connection is to bring peace to the wind and the waves and the chaos around us begins to settle down. Our tendency is to selfishly want to drive the biggest car we can afford and hang the gas mileage and the pollution it causes, the warmer waters bring us all sorts of responses, from more and stronger hurricanes to coastal villages being washed into the sea. One way is connected to the God of creation; the other is linked to our creation of a god. Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?

Who is this?

Saturday July 1st, Mark 4: 41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" The presence of God is a bit hard to grasp. The bad news is that we are not in control, and with that there is sometimes fear. The good news is that we are not in control, and with that there is always God. Perhaps we would be better off if we let go and let God.

6/09/2006

2nd Sunday after Pentecost


Mark 4:26-34

Late into the night we talked
Veering uncomfortably
From disagreement
--to conflict
until by morning
blurry eyed and defeated
we both went
--about our work
each coiled against the onslaught
of what had been
purging ourselves
religiously
of any word
--or thought
that may have found entrance
into our well defined courtyard
of self indulgence
not knowing
--that one small see
not recognized
----or claimed
by either party
lay dormant
waiting for the rains of change
to bring to life
--the life
----that grew there
unnoticed
until
I awoke one day
To a garden of beauty
For which
I could claim no hand
And I wept
At the joy
That was mine

All new

Sunday June 18th, 2 Corinthians 5: We are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be, though we once judged Christ in that way. Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. It’s not just a new set of clothes, or a new haircut, but it is a newness that comes from within, a newness that permeates through the very essence of our being. It is easy to get caught up in the judging game, to see others as we want to see them. What a blessing it would be to see others as God sees them, filled with potential, rather than the way the world sees them, filled with everything they have ever done wrong. Perhaps being made new means getting a new set of eyes for ourselves.

New Growth

Monday June 19th, Ezekiel 17: 22 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. The vision is one of new growth from the hopelessness of devastation. Not only is there hope, there is also the vision that this hope will produce and bear fruit. When God is involved in something new, it is done up right. We too are called into new growth each and every day. Child of God, this day is yours, be fruitful.

Shelter in the shade

Tuesday June 20th, Ezekiel 17: Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. Part of the being fruitful thing is to open yourself up to those around you. Throughout the scriptures we have stories as in Luke 15 where there is rejoicing when the lost is found, or the good Samaritan story to describe who your neighbor is, or the kingdom of God is like stories which tell of every expanding, ever including images. We tend to want to make Christianity smaller and exclusive, open to only the righteous. Jesus had the same trouble with the church in his day. The human tendency is to become self-righteous and exclusive, like the Pharisees or Sadducees in Jesus’ day. Jesus responded by going to the cross for all.

Affirmative Action

Wednesday June 21st, June Ezekiel 17: 24 All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. Affirmative action has become a dirty phrase. It was Biblical before the power people went to court to try to overthrow it. Which side are you on?

Live a life of planting

Thursday June 22nd, Mark 4: "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." Evangelism is often seen as winning souls for Christ. First and foremost it is scattering seeds. Seeds are scattered by others seeing more than hearing that God is important in your life. Where it goes from there is often not ever seen. Seeds are planted and years and miles from now, growth happens. So go live a life of planting, let others see the Gospel in everything you do and say.

Shade for all

Friday June 23rd, Mark 4: "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." Those small seeds, that small faith, once God gets a hold of it, watch out. The kingdom has a tendency to get out of hand, but then again that is what is suppose to happen. Let the kingdom grow in you. Daily nurture your faith. Daily plant new seeds. Daily pray, and spread your wings so that all can feel the love of Christ in you.

Glory

Saturday June 24th, Mark 4: 33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. Jesus spoke in parables or stories so people would hear. The kingdom is more caught than taught. It is not a bunch of facts or descriptions. As a matter of fact, it is beyond description, or a least beyond our comprehension. Jesus often taught in story so we could just catch a glimpse of what was there. A glimpse is beyond belief, and it is only a glimpse. Just think of how much more the kingdom could be, and you will still fall short. Glory..

1st Sunday after Pentecost


John 3:1-17

Perched high in our protection
We search
Looking for that one
Someone
Out there
Who will give us
Almost
What we are looking for
Who will drag us along
On coattails
Of almost making it
And we search the crowd
Busy on its way
For one
--lover
----friend
------teacher
who will give us that edge
that way
--impossible as it seems
of fulfilling the desires
within
sitting here
perched up high
and finding nothing
in a world busy preaching
or not seeing
the ones preached
when the scene changes
--(God)
and a newness
splits the air
sucked into our lungs
almost painfully
filled with life
--(so loved the world)
drawing us onward
into the crowd
--(that Christ was given)
of life and death
swirling together
--(that whoever)
in search
--(believes)
of the fullness
that must come
--(lives)
from above

Wonder, Honor and Holiness

Sunday June 11th, Psalm 29: All of you angels in heaven honor the glory and power of the LORD! Honor the wonderful name of the LORD, and worship the LORD most holy and glorious. The voice of the LORD echoes over the oceans. The glorious LORD God thunders above the roar of the raging sea, and his voice is mighty and marvelous. In the beginning, God created. God created all. We can get into debates over how that creation took place, or how long it took. We can have our debates over whether the stories in the Bible are about the creator or about the creation. Or we can look at all that surrounds us and consider, with wonder, honor, and holiness, the creator behind it all. Analyze or worship, is not our option. We can both analyze and worship.

Send me!

Monday June 12th, Isaiah 6: Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with the coal and said, "Look. This coal has touched your lips. Gone your guilt, your sins wiped out." And then I heard the voice of the Master: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" I spoke up, “I'll go. Send me!" Strange figures with six wings flying around, hot coals touching your lips, sometimes fantasy is the only way to describe that which is beyond description. Some may take offense at calling it fantasy and may want to call it real, actual, factual. For me that distracts from the wonder. If I can truly grasp and understand the mysteries of God, they are no longer mysteries. I prefer at times to awed. Make it your aim to be awed by God.

Not fear, but faith

Tuesday June 13th, Romans 8: 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. I have heard that the opposite of faith is not non-faith, or non-believing, but fear. Fear traps us, controls us and sends us down paths of ill design. Faith gives us hope, fills our life with possibility and lets us know we are loved. Some would like to combine the two these days, some would like to equate fear with faith. To have faith you must fear homosexuality, to have faith you must fear terrorism and terrorists, to have faith you must live right and follow all the rules and go to the right church. It’s all just 1984ish doublespeak. You are a child of God, loved by God, saved by God through Christ and called to live as a child of God. You are not perfect and never will be, but you are loved with a perfect love. It is like the difference between loving your child because they are your child and loving your child because they keep their room clean all the time, do all their chores around the house, always come home on time and always check in. We never do it all right all the time. I like God’s way, to love us because we are. That way there is no fear, only faith.

Abba

Wednesday June 14th, Romans 8: And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. God the creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them has invited you to come and sit in his lap. We cry, “Abba Father”, we cry Papa, loving parent. God responds with open arms and open heart and open love. There is no greater sign of grace in all scripture than this simple Abba, Father. It is all the feelings and love of crawling up in the lap of a loved one and having them read you a book, rock you, and hold you until you fall gently and peacefully into a peaceful and loving sleep. Grace, Pure Grace.

Nick at night

Thursday June 15th, John: 1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." Nick at night, it’s more than just a TV show, it is a sign of the chaos the world lives in. Nicodemus, a member of the ruling council, teacher, man of God, drawn out in the dark of night, hiding from the others in the ruling council to seek something new. He was drawn by the miracles, what he found was salvation. He was drawn out of the chaos and into the light. We too are drawn out of our chaos and into the light of Christ, out of the darkness and into the light, out of fear and into the light of faith. We are all called to move with Nick from the night to the light where we find the love of Christ.

Blowing in the wind

Friday June 16th, John 3: 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." If you try to get a handle on the wind, you are doomed to failure. The same is true of the Spirit. The Spirit is not captured by speaking in tongues, lively worship, deep reading and meditation or anything else we do. We are not in charge of the Spirit. The Spirit moves where it will and when it will and always leads up back to God.

Not condemn, but save the world

Saturday June 17th, John 3: 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. I have seen this well known text used to say that everyone who does not believe in Jesus is condemned. It does not say that. It does say that Jesus came into the world to save the world, not condemn it. Hold onto that and what it means for how we as follows of Christ treat the world (global warming) and everyone in it.

6/05/2006

Homosexuality and Christian Faith

It saddens me that the President, in an attempt to shore up his ultra conservative base, has proposed a constitutional ban on homosexual marriage. This proposal has little or no possibility of passing and serves only as a hot button issue in an election year. It interjects divisiveness into American society with the only payoff being a small personal political gain. It offers nothing positive to the societal conversation in question. Below is an excerpt from a chapter of the book, “Homosexuality and Christian Faith” by Walter Wink. The full chapter with the full flow of Walter Wink”s thoughts can be found by clicking on the above heading. I would encourage anyone whose curiosity is raised by this following brief excerpt to read the full chapter found at the link. It is my prayer that this will add some positive aspects to the societal conversation.

Pastor Dan

The Bible quite clearly takes a negative view of homosexual activity. In those few instances where it is mentioned at all. But this conclusion does not solve the problem of how we are to interpret Scripture today. For there are other sexual attitudes, practices, and restrictions which are normative in Scripture but which we no longer accept as normative:

† Old Testament law strictly forbids sexual intercourse during the seven days of the menstrual period (Lev. 18:19; 15:18-24), and anyone who engaged in it was to be "extirpated," or "cut off from their people (kareth, Lev. 18:29, a term referring to execution by stoning, burning, strangling, or to flogging or expulsion; Lev. 15:24 omits this penalty). Today many people on occasion have intercourse during menstruation and think nothing of it. Are they sinners?

† Nudity, the characteristic of paradise, was regarded in Judaism as reprehensible (II Sam. 6:20; 10:4; Isa. 20:2-4; 47:3). When one of Noah's sons beheld his father naked, he was cursed (Gen 9:20-27). To a great extent, this taboo probably even inhibited the sexual intimacy of husbands and wives (this is still true of a surprising number of people reared in the Judeo-Christian tradition). We may not be prepared for nude beaches, but are we prepared to regard nudity in the locker room or at the old swimming hole or in the privacy of one's home as an accursed sin? The Bible does.


So if the Bible allowed polygamy and concubinage, why don't we?

† Polygamy (many wives) and concubinage (a woman living with a man to whom she is not married) were regularly practiced in the Old Testament. Neither is ever condemned by the New Testament (with the questionable exceptions of I Timothy 3:2,12 and Titus 1:6). Jesus teaching about marital union in Mark 10:6-8 is no exception, since he quotes Gen. 2:24 as his authority (the man and the woman will become "one flesh"), and this text was never understood in Israel as excluding polygamy. A man could become "one flesh" with more than one woman, through the act of sexual intercourse. We know from Jewish sources that polygamy continued to be practiced within Judaism for centuries following the New Testament period. So if the Bible allowed polygamy and concubinage, why don't we?

† A form of polygamy was the levirate marriage. When a married man in Israel died childless, his widow was to have intercourse with each of his brothers in turn until she bore him a male heir. Jesus mentions this custom without criticism (Mark 12:18-27 par.) I am not aware of any Christians who still obey this unambiguous commandment of Scripture. Why is this law ignored, and the one against homosexual behavior preserved?

† The Old Testament nowhere explicitly prohibits sexual relations between unmarried consenting adults, as long as the woman's economic value (bride price) is not compromised, that is to say, as long as she is not a virgin. There are poems in the Song of Songs that eulogize a love affair between two unmarried persons, though commentators have often conspired to cover up the fact with heavy layers of allegorical interpretation. In various parts of the Christian world, quite different attitudes have prevailed about sexual intercourse before marriage. In some Christian communities, proof of fertility (that is, pregnancy) was required for marriage. This was especially the case in farming areas where the ability to produce children-workers could mean economic hardship. Today, many single adults, the widowed, and the divorced are reverting to "biblical" practice, while others believe that sexual intercourse belongs only within marriage. Which is right?

† The Bible virtually lacks terms for the sexual organs, being content with such euphemisms as "foot" or "thigh" for the genitals, and using other euphemisms to describe coitus, such as "he knew her." Today most of us regard such language as "puritanical" and contrary to a proper regard for the goodness of creation. In short, we don't follow Biblical practice.

† Semen and menstrual blood rendered all who touched them unclean (Levee. 15:16-24). Intercourse rendered one unclean until sundown; menstruation rendered the woman unclean for seven days. Today most people would regard semen and menstrual fluid as completely natural and only at times "messy," not "unclean."

† Social regulations regarding adultery, incest, rape and prostitution are, in the Old Testament, determined largely by considerations of the males' property rights over women. Prostitution was considered quite natural and necessary as a safeguard of the virginity of the unmarried and the property rights of husbands (Gen. 38:12-19; Josh. 2:1-7). A man was not guilty of sin for visiting a prostitute, though the prostitute herself was regarded as a sinner. Even Paul must appeal to reason in attacking prostitution (I Cor. 6:12-20); he cannot lump it in the category of adultery (vs. 9). Today we are moving, with great social turbulence and at a high but necessary cost toward a more equitable, non-patriarchal set of social arrangements in which women are no longer regarded as the chattel of men. We are also trying to move beyond the double standard. Love, fidelity and mutual respect replace property rights. We have, as yet, made very little progress in changing the double standard in regard to prostitution. As we leave behind patriarchal gender relations, what will we do with the patriarchalism in the Bible?

† Jews were supposed to practice endogamy -- that is, marriage within the 12 tribes of Israel. Until recently a similar rule prevailed in the American south, in laws against interracial marriage (miscegenation). We have witnessed, within the lifetime of many of us, the nonviolent struggle to nullify state laws against intermarriage and the gradual change in social attitudes towards interracial relationships. Sexual mores can alter quite radically even in a single lifetime.

† The law of Moses allowed for divorce (Deut. 24:1-4); Jesus categorically forbids it (Mark 10:1-12; Matt, 19:9 softens his severity). Yet many Christians, in clear violation of a command of Jesus, have been divorced. Why, then, do some of these very people consider themselves eligible for baptism, church membership, communion, and ordination, but not homosexuals? What makes the one so much greater a sin than the other, especially considering the fact that Jesus never even mentioned homosexuality but explicitly condemned divorce? Yet we ordain divorcees. Why not homosexuals?

† The Old Testament regarded celibacy as abnormal and I Timothy 4:1-3 calls compulsory celibacy a heresy. Yet the Catholic Church has made it mandatory for priests and nuns. Some Christian ethicists demand celibacy of homosexuals, whether they have a vocation for celibacy or not. But this legislates celibacy by category, not by divine calling. Others argue that since God made men and women for each other in order to be fruitful and multiply, homosexuals reject God's intent in creation. But this would mean that childless couples, single persons, priests and nuns would be in violation of God's intention in their creation. Those who argue thus must explain why the apostle Paul never married. Are they prepared to charge Jesus with violating the will of God by remaining single? Certainly heterosexual marriage is normal, else the race would die out. But it is not normative. God can bless the world through people who are married and through people who are single, and it is false to generalize from the marriage of most people to the marriage of everyone. In I Cor. 7:7, Paul goes so far as to call marriage a "charisma," or divine gift, to which not everyone is called. He preferred that people remain as he was - unmarried. In an age of overpopulation, perhaps a gay orientation is especially sound ecologically!

† In many other ways we have developed different norms from those explicitly laid down by the Bible: "If men get into a fight with one another and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, you shall cut off her hand" (Deut 25:11 f). We, on the contrary, might very well applaud her for trying to save her husband's life!

† The Old and New Testaments both regarded slavery as normal and nowhere categorically condemned it. Part of that heritage was the use of female slaves, concubines and captives as sexual toys, breeding machines, or involuntary wives by their male owners, which II Samuel 5:13, Judges 19-21, and Numbers 31:17-20 permitted -- and as many American slave owners did some 150 years ago, citing these and numerous other Scripture passages as their justification.

The Problem of Authority

These cases are relevant to our attitude toward the authority of Scripture. they are not cultic prohibitions from the Holiness Code that are clearly superseded in Christianity, such as rules about eating shellfish or wearing clothes made of two different materials. They are rules concerning sexual behavior, and they fall among the moral commandments of the Scripture. Clearly we regard certain rules, especially in the Old Testament, as no longer binding. Other things we regard as binding, including legislation in the Old Testament that is not mentioned at all in the New. What is our principle of selection here?

For example; virtually all modern readers would agree with the Bible in rejecting:
- incest
- rape
- adultery
- intercourse with animals

But we disagree with the Bible on most other sexual mores. The Bible condemned the following behaviors which we generally allow:
- intercourse during menstruation
- celibacy
- exogamy (marriage with non-Jews)
- naming sexual organs
- nudity (under certain conditions)
- masturbation (some Christians still condemn this)
- birth control (some Christians still forbid this)

And the bible regarded semen and menstrual blood as unclean, which most of us do not

Likewise, the bible permitted behaviors that we today condemn:
- prostitution
- polygamy
- levirate marriage
- sex with slaves
- concubinage
- treatment of women as property
- very early marriage (for the girl, age 11-13)

And while the Old Testament accepted divorce, Jesus forbade it. In short, of the sexual mores mentioned here, we only agree with the Bible on four of them, and disagree with it on sixteen!

Surely no one today would recommend reviving the levirate marriage. So why do we appeal to proof texts in Scripture in the case of homosexuality alone, when we feel perfectly free to disagree with Scripture regarding most other sexual practices? Obviously many of our choices in these matters are arbitrary. Mormon polygamy was outlawed in this country, despite the constitutional protection of freedom of religion, because it violated the sensibilities of the dominant Christian culture, even though no explicit biblical prohibition against polygamy exists.

If we insist on placing ourselves under the old law, as Paul reminds us, we are obligated to keep every commandment of the law (Gal. 5:3). But if Christ is the end of the law (Rom. 10:4), if we have been discharged from the law to serve, not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit (Rom. 7:6), then all of these Old Testament sexual mores come under the authority of the Spirit. We cannot then take even what Paul says as a new law. Christians reserve the right to pick and choose which laws they will observe, though they seldom admit to doing just that. And this is as true of evangelicals and fundamentalists as it is of liberals and mainliners.

6/02/2006

Open the eyes and ears of my heart Lord

Sunday June 4th, Acts 2: They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. First, speaking in tongues was not for their own gratification, it was to spread the good news of salvation through Christ. The spirit moved the disciples out of the locked upper room where they were hiding and into the streets where they encountered the needs of the people. The spirit gave them the ability to minister to the needs of the people. So too, the spirit gives us the ability to minister to the needs of those around us, the hungry, the poor, those left out of the American dream as well as to those caught up in the relentless pursuit of the American dream to the point where they can’t see the needs of the poor. The spirit opens our eyes and hearts as well as our ears, and calls us to see one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, and truly love one another, in action, as we would love Christ.

Utterly amazed

Monday June 5th, Acts 2: Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? The Spirit leads us to Christ, Christ leads us to the world. It is not just to their own that they minister, it is to the children of God throughout the world. We too are sent to minister around the world. It is not just to our own, not just to those who think, act, talk, look, do or believe like us, but to all to whom the spirit sets before us. This is the message of Christ, this is the call of Christ, to go into all the world to preach and teach the good news. We are also called to go into all the world and “do” the good news, to bring hope, justice, and peace. We are called to do this, not because we will gain from it, but because the children of God will live in hope because of it.

All creation awaits

Tuesday June 6th, Romans 8: 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. We live in the mean time. Christ has given us a glimpse of the kingdom, where all are welcome, all are cared for and loved and all are the children of God, now we are sent by the spirit to bring about that reality in this world. It is not just the people of this world that long for the redemption of the world, it is creation itself. We are all created in a threefold relationship, a relationship with God the creator, a relationship with one another symbolized by the creation of community as Eve was created from Adam, and a relationship with the creation symbolized by the creation of humanity from the dust of the earth. In this mean time, before the final glory of the fully inclusive New Jerusalem with her twelve open gates and food, healing and glory open to all, we are called to bring about peace and justice for all of humanity and all of creation, on this side of the resurrection. We do this because the Spirit leads us back to our relationship with the God who created all and said it was good.

the words are unimportant

Wednesday June 7th, Romans 8: 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. One of the deepest, most honest prayers I witnessed was when a friend of mine lost his mother suddenly and let out this long, loud cuss word, with fists clinched and face turned heavenward. I do not promote swearing as a regular part of prayer, but sometimes, in the intensity of the moment, words just seem unimportant. God knows, God understands, God hears and God loves.

With us from the beginning

Thursday June 8th, John 15: 26"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. This is a message to the disciples, and through the spirit, to us. We have been with Christ, or rather, Christ has been with us from the beginning and we are sent to testify about the love of Christ. Don’t know what to say? Good!! All those practiced speeches end up sounding like, well, practiced speeches. Let the Spirit intercede, though it may not sound like it to you, most likely, the one you are with will hear pure Gospel.

Not alone

Friday June 9th, John 15: 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. It is graduation day for one of my children. Soon he will be going away. His plan is to go to a small town near Hanoi to teach English. I suspect that over the next couple of years, my wife and I will grow wiser and our lessons more meaningful in his life. So it is in the kingdom. As long as Jesus was with us, the disciples could call upon him for answers. Now the Spirit leads us to come up with contextual answers on our own, looking to Christ for guidance through the world. I wonder if the disciples and scripture writers wish they had listened more? I suspect, through the Spirit, what they heard was just right. I suspect it is the Spirit leading us through the process of wrestling with the issues that we hear the Gospel the best.

Ours, not others sin

Saturday June 10th, John 15: 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. One of the jobs of the Spirit is to convict us of our sin. It is not to convict us of “Others” sin. In convicting us of “our” sin, we find ourselves at the foot of the cross looking up at Christ. It is there we find salvation. The Spirit leads us to Christ.

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