Jesus, Undomesticated

Binding, loosing, and withholding the blessings of God.

January 27, 2013 By 2 Comments

by Mike Stavlund

Gospel Reading: Luke 4:21-30

For Sunday, February 3, 2013: Year B—Epiphany 4

There has been some debate recently over the holiday that honors Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and whether such recognition of Dr. King tends to minimize and domesticate his powerful prophetic message. When our President lays his hand on Dr. King’s Bible to take the oath of office, are we in a way imagining that the wide-reaching social and ethical agenda of Dr. King has somehow been completed?

Are we using his (truncated) message to endorse widely-accepted government agendas? Instead, should our truth-tellers—ancient, modern, and in-between—be kept in a distinct category of “prophet”, such that we can always feel the heat and fury of their insights? Instead of venerating their relics, should we burn them so that their fiery message will remain pure? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Luke, New Testament, YearC Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Papa’s Got a Brand New Bible

How long can you dance?

November 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

by Unvirtuous Abbey

Gospel Reading:  John 18:33–37

For Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012—Christ the King Sunday

The King James Brown version of the Bible might say, “The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing.” And that’s what Jesus and Pilate are doing in John’s Gospel, the hardest working Gospel.

High-stakes Flaminco

The Gospel writer sets the stage apart from Matthew, Mark, and Luke with a group outside of the praetorium and Pilate shuffles back and forth trying to reconcile the antagonists. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, John, New Testament, YearB Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

God on Our Side?

August 15, 2011 By 1 Comment

What does it mean to have God on our side when we are defeated and suffering?

by Russell Rathbun

Psalm Reading: Psalm 124

For Sunday, August 21 , 2011: Year A—Ordinary 21

We are meaning makers, we human beings.

When we lie on our backs and look up at the clouds, or the acoustic tile ceiling of a damp motel room, and see a face or butterfly in the pattern, or when we are in a car accident or a friend’s MRI brings bad news we like to think— everything happens for a reason.

Beyond the Moment

Humans have an innate desire to find purpose and design beyond the moment, the facts, the what is.

This looks like faith to a lot of people and superstition or denial to others. I do not mean to belittle this inclination. I think it’s one of the most compelling tenants of our faith is that truth, love, meaning is not generated by us, but necessarily comes from outside of us, beyond us.

However, there is a lot of open space between that and everything happens for a reason.

Divine Explanation?

Psalm 124 lands somewhere in that space between theological utterance and folk saying.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Old Testament, Psalms, YearA Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Don’t Tell A Soul

August 15, 2011 By 7 Comments

Why does truth need to be hidden?

by Russell Rathbun

Gospel Reading:  Matthew 16:13-20

For Sunday, August 21 , 2011: Year A—Ordinary 21

This is some kind of powerful, charismatic, traveling Rabbi.

I mean, with the miraculous production of food from almost nothing, the controlling of the winds and the waves, the walking on water, any one would find him hard to resist. Too good to be true?

Con Artists

Because I have been alive for a while now, and because I like people and I like stories, I have run across quite a few con artists. I have been victim to some, but mostly not. After about three or five or seven or twelve experiences, I began to develop a sensitivity to the art. Or, at least, I can kind of recognize the moves they make.

Short and Long of It

There is the short con.  You are hailed by a stranger, gregarious or apologetic; they introduce themselves, touch you, either shake your hand or touch your shoulder, offer some sort of complement and then begin to tell you a story.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Matthew, New Testament, YearA Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Exiles in the Empire of Capital

April 25, 2011 By 1 Comment

Is there an oppression and a suffering so internalized that we do not even recognize it as suffering?

by Russell Rathbun

Epistle Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9

For Sunday, May 1 , 2011: Year A – Easter 2

Grace and peace to you all in exile in the Babylon of the United States, Western Europe, Australia, the Mall of America and those lost on line. My your blindness to your suffering at the hands of Global Capital and vacuous striving be revealed to you, so that you may see that you have been freed through the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, that utterly abundant life has been given to you. You are Holy because God is Holy.

Where Are We?

Or something like that. The author of 1 Peter is writing to a young Christian church struggling to live out the Empire of God in the midst of the Roman Empire. While many comparisons can be made between ancient Rome and the present dominate Capital empires, the position of the Christian church in these empires is much different. We are not on the bottom we are on the top.

The Nature of Our Faith

This difference has been explored a few times before in this blog, but really bears repeating: Our faith is full of contradictions—I mean that in a good way—full of dialectical truths. Like the one the texts for this Sunday hold out to us. Our faith is utterly dependent on the proclamation that God gets a body, and as God with a body is killed. And further, God with a body defeats death and rises from the dead. It is a profoundly physical foundation our faith has. Yet we have no body.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: 1 Peter, Featured, New Testament, YearA Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Renounce the Delusion

March 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Can we experience the Lenten journey if we think we already know where it ends?

by Russell Rathbun

Old Testament Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

For Sunday, April 3, 2011: Year A – Lent 4

The Lord really keeps Samuel busy. He is always sending Sam on this or that errand, a lot of the time with messages that are certain to be poorly received. After working with the Lord all that time Samuel might have got used to questionable journeys with unexpected outcomes. Still, when the Lord tells him it is time to head out to anoint a new king, Samuel is scared.

Cover Story for a Call

Go to Jesse the Bethlehemite and anoint a new king from among his sons? Samuel says, in exasperation. If Saul finds out he will kill me. But the Lord comes up with a cover story that satisfies Samuel, so he goes to Jesse’s. His sons present themselves one by one to Samuel, and in spite of Samuel being impressed; the Lord passes on all seven of them. Samuel asks, are you sure that’s everyone?

David, the kid, out with the sheep was not even called in, was not even considered by Jesse until asked. When David finally arrives, as surprised as the rest of his family that he was called out of the fields, the Lord tells Samuel, he’s the one.

Called Into the Unknown

The Lenten texts are full of people being called into unexpected and unknown situations. As many times as I have questioned what the lectionary-ers chose, I think they have gotten it right in this Year A cycle of readings.

Lent is a six-week journey that reflects our complete life’s journey. Lent is a journey that culminates on Black Friday with making the Stations of the Cross. It is a journey of preparation for baptism, of deepening in our faith, both of which are another way of saying Lent is a Journey that ends in death. We don’t know where we are going, were we will end up. As much as we plan or assume the future is unknowable.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: 1 Samuel, Old Testament, YearA Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Sacred Mountains

February 27, 2011 By 2 Comments

Do we revel in the commonality of all humanities hunger for interaction with God?

by Russell Rathbun

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 24

For Sunday, Mar. 6 , 2011: Year A – Transfiguration

 The top of the sacred mountain is covered in clouds, fire burns and around it are erected twelve stone monuments, one for each − each of the ancient Greek gods that is.

No, this is not a description of Sinai, this is Olympus, where Prometheus ventured to steal fire from Zeus and bring it down the mountain to the mortals, so they might have life.

Sacred, Not Rare

Sacred mountains, while sacred, are not rare. Since about 3000 B.C.E. the emperors of China have made a pilgrimage to Tai Shin, in Eastern China, Shandong Province, to be blessed and receive the wisdom to lead their people. Tai Shin is one of five Taoist sacred mountains, in China.

There are also four Buddhist sacred mountains there. Muhammad was transfigured on Mount Hira. Mount Vesuvius, the Himalayas, and the Black Hills in South Dakota, all are considered, in some way, the home of the gods (or god).

How is this different?

So Moses goes up a mountain that is covered in clouds, crested with fire, to meet God and receive from the deity the words by which his people might live.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Exodus, Featured, Old Testament, YearA Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Faith or Insanity?

August 2, 2010 By 12 Comments

What separates the great heroes of the faith from those who got it wrong?

by Nadia Bolz-Weber

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 15:1-6

For Sunday, August 8, 2010: Year C – Ordinary 19

It can be difficult to think of our beloved Bible characters in new ways. I mean, once they are emblazoned into our imaginations in their flannel-graph, or Bible coloring book or children’s sermon form, they become calcified. And not just in that “Oh…you mean Mary Magdalene wasn’t a prostitute” way. Abram, for example, is a hero of the faith. We all know this, but talk about emblazoned!

Hold that Pose

In the high school musical TV series Glee, Sue, the pernicious cheerleading coach, often repeats a demeaning question, changing it to suit circumstance: “You think holding that painful pose for 15 minutes is Hard? Try living with hepatitis. That’s hard!”

So you think asking “what if Abram wasn’t really faithful?” is hard? Others besides Abram have believed beyond reason. Other people have also held on to some sort of trust in a promise despite there being no indication whatsoever that its fulfillment is even within the realm of possibility. Other people have also had a faith in something despite the reality surrounding them, despite every indication otherwise. Some of these people become heroes of the faith and great prophets. But try asking “what if Abram’s faith is not any different than David Koresh’s faith?” That’s hard.

Crazy Like?

Abram looked with his elderly eyes to the multitude of stars in the sky and believed God’s promise of progeny. But some of these people who believe crazy stuff with all their hearts die castrated in Texas bunk beds wearing white Nikes while the Hale-Bopp comet streaks by a sky filled with countless stars.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Genesis, Old Testament, YearC Tagged With: , , , , ,

New from sparkhouse