Scripture
Playing with Matches – Br. James Koester
Br. James Koester
Preached at the Church of St. Augustine and St. Martin, Boston.
Sunday by Sunday by Sunday, wherever Christians gather for worship, Scripture is read. It’s not read for our entertainment, or our amusement, or even for our edification. Rather Scripture is read for our transformation. Something happens to us when Scripture is proclaimed in our midst. We don’t know how; we may not even be aware of it; we often can’t see it; but we are changed when Scripture is read. Scripture changes us.
We Brothers remind ourselves of this in our Rule of Life where we say, “Through the scriptures the living voice of God is continually active to convert, nourish, and transform us.”[1]
It is this dynamic relationship with Scripture, which has the power to convert, nourish, and transform us that is central to our life as Christians. And because of its power to do just that, transform us, interacting with Scripture is like playing with matches. Scripture is dangerous. It is dangerous because it rests not “with plausible words of [human] wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that [our] faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God,” as Paul reminds us today (1 Corinthians 2:4). Read More
Making a People Holy – Br. James Koester
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Br. James Koester
Both yesterday, and now today, we have heard short portions of the book Nehemiah. It’s not a part of scripture most of us are probably drawn to. In fact, we might even have a hard time finding it! Yet, even though it is, in a sense, hidden away, it bears some study, for like all scripture, while it was written within a certain context, it speaks to us who are in a very different context nearly three thousand years later.
Briefly, Nehemiah is the cup bearer to the Persian king, Artaxerxes, and finds himself in a place of deep “sadness of the heart” over the fate of “the place of his ancestors’ graves [which] lies waste, [with] its gates . . . destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 2:2b, 3). Nehemiah is granted permission to return to Jerusalem where he successfully supervised the rebuilding of the city, in spite of tremendous opposition from near neighbors.
With the walls and temple restored, the priests and Levites purified, “and all Isreal settled in their towns,” we come to today’s reading when, with “all the people gathered together [they] told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses. . . . [and] he read from it” (Nehemiah 7:73; 8:1, 3).
In many ways, this is a throw away line of little significance to us, unless of course you understand its significance. Read More
Blinded by our Assumptions – Br. David Vryhof
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Br. David Vryhof
Poor Job. In the midst of a prosperous life, he suddenly meets with a series of calamities. His fortune disappears, his sheep and camels are stolen, his children die in a tragic accident, and he finds himself banished to the edge of the city, diseased and covered with nasty sores.
But Job’s suffering goes beyond these tragic physical losses. He also suffers emotionally because he cannot understand WHY this has happened to him. Has God abandoned him? Is God punishing him?
Despite all his troubles, Job refuses to curse God. His response is remarkable: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away,” he says, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)
Three friends, learning of his misfortune, travel to see him and to offer comfort. And at first, they do just that. They cry out to God, they tear their clothes, they sprinkle ashes on their heads, and they sit in silence with him for seven days and seven nights. But then their patience runs out and they feel compelled to offer their opinions about WHY Job has suffered this string of tragedies. Read More
A Woman’s Place is.… – Br. David Vryhof
Br. David Vryhof
Luke opens the 8th chapter of his gospel with a summary of what Jesus has been doing thus far. He has been going “through cities and villages,” Luke tells us, “proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.” But the next sentence contains an unexpected twist: “The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities…. who provided for them out of their resources.” We are well aware of the 12 men who followed Jesus, but how many of us are aware of the women who also traveled with him? Given the culture in which Jesus lived, this was a highly unusual arrangement.
What do we know about these women? Read More
The Scripture of Your Life – Br. Curtis Almquist
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Br. Curtis Almquist
Mark 7:24-30
This is a very old story. For more than 2,000 years people have heard this same Gospel story endlessly. Nothing changed. The same story. Quite boring, irrelevant… except for one thing. The only thing new or different is what’s going on for us, the hearers of the story. We, the hearer, are in a new space, like never before.
In our Rule of Life we say, “These hearts of ours are not empty vessels but inner worlds alive with images, memories, experiences and desires.”[i] God’s revelation to us will be a kind of synergy between what is going on with a very old scriptural story, and what is going on today in our own heart and imagination[ii]. And that creates a whole new story.
So we have Jesus in the region of Tyre, a town on the Mediterranean coast of southern Lebanon. A woman comes up to him. She is from Syrophoenicia, the Roman province of Syria. She is a long way from her homeland. Is she without a country? We don’t know. She may be without hope. She is certainly a person vulnerable and desperate or she would never, never alone have approached a man, a Jewish man, especially as she is a Gentile woman and a foreigner. Read More
King of Kings – Br. Luke Ditewig
Br. Luke Ditewig
Remember Daniel in a lions’ den and in a furnace of fire? Before those awesome saves, Daniel did what no magician could do. King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in 597 B.C.E. and marched thousands of Jews 900 miles to Babylon to live in exile. He had some young men from Israelite nobility brought to serve in the palace including Daniel and three friends given new names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream. He demanded wise men tell him both what he dreamed and what the dream meant. They replied: “No human can do that.” Enraged, the king commanded all the wise men be killed.[i]
Daniel said he would do what the king asked. Daniel went to his three friends and with them prayed for God’s mercy. Daniel had a vision that night which revealed the mystery. Daniel prayed thanking God.[ii] Then Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar both the dream and its interpretation. We heard that read tonight. There’s a large statue with layers of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay. A stone cut not by human hands strikes the statue which completely breaks apart and is swept away. What this means is that Nebuchadnezzar all subsequent kingdoms will all fall away when God makes an eternal kingdom. Read More
Keep Awake – Br. Luke Ditewig
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Br. Luke Ditewig
Jesus taught with many parables, stories that catch attention. Ten young women waiting for a wedding party, waiting into the night. Five thought ahead and brought extra oil for their lamps. Five did not. When the groom, presumably escorting the bride, was late, they all fell asleep.[i] When the couple arrived, those who thought ahead used their extra oil. Those without had to go get more oil. Late, they were shut out of the party and told “I do not know you.” Pay attention. Don’t get left out. Don’t be forgotten. Keep awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
All ten of the young women, wise and foolish alike, fell asleep in the night. Half brought extra oil. It seems like the point is: Be prepared, for you don’t know the timing. Being thoughtful, wise, and planning ahead is being engaged, aware, and alert. Perhaps this is being awake: alert and engaged to God, self, and neighbor for a late parade to the party.
This story comes amid others with a similar theme. The previous story says be at work for the master returns at an unexpected time. [ii] Don’t beat fellow slaves and get drunk. The master will throw that one out. The next story says risk investing whatever amount the master entrusts to you.[iii] Don’t hide the talent you’ve received. The master will throw that one out. Keep awake. Be faithful at work. Be prepared for the best. Invest what you’re given. Be alert and active. Jesus is coming, and you don’t know when.
These stories grab our attention with hard words like the shut door. Some preachers use them to stoke fear. What will happen to you at the end of time? Will you be left behind? Shut out? Thrown out? Stock up on oil, whatever that is, to make sure you get inside, to save yourself.
Over and over through the arc of scripture God says: “Do not be afraid.” God goes to extraordinary lengths to seek and save the lost. Even when it seems too late, God still hears our cries and comes. This parable gives warning but not to fear. It urges to live for the party, not just to plan to attend later, but to live now alert and generous. God’s kingdom, the new way of living, is not a ticket to exit later, but a life of celebrating through sharing now.
In the last part of this chapter, we hear about Jesus coming in glory. [iv] “When I was hungry, you gave me food and when I was thirsty you gave me something to drink.” What? When? “When you did it to the least of these, you did it to me. And when you didn’t do it them, you didn’t do it to me.” How we live now matters. Be wildly generous like a late groom who parades the bride through every street.[v] Be faithful and give your work your best. Risk using all God has given you for good. Care for the poor, the sick, the hungry. Listen for God’s invitations.
How might you be asleep, distracted, absorbed, or afraid? Keep awake for Jesus is coming. You may not know what you need. Ask for help. Make attention your intention and your petition.
I suggest two prayers. First, we will later sing:
Redeemer, come! I open wide
My heart to Thee, here, Lord abide
Let me Thy inner presence feel
Thy grace and love in me reveal.[vi]
Second, pray the prayer we use in Holy Baptism for yourself:
Heavenly Father, thank you that by water the Holy Spirit you have bestowed on me your servant the forgiveness of sin, and have raised me to the new life of grace. Sustain me, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give me an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and gift of joy and wonder in all your works.[vii]
Do not be afraid. Live remembering your baptism and dressed for the wedding banquet. Feed. Clothe. Love. Pray. Pray with grateful trust to keep awake.
[i] Kenneth E. Bailey (2008) Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, p271.
[ii] Matthew 24:45-51
[iii] Matthew 25:14-30
[iv] Matthew 25:31-46
[v] Bailey, p272.
[vi] Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates” by Georg Wessel (1590-1635); tr. Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)
[vii] The Book of Common Prayer, p308. Thanks to the Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde for the suggestion to pray it personally.
Jesus’ Parables of Life – Br. Curtis Almquist
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Br. Curtis Almquist
We read, “Jesus put before them another parable…” Yet another parable… I can imagine some people in Jesus’ crowds holding their heads and saying under their breath, “Oh dear, another parable…” We know from the Gospel record that Jesus’ reception was mixed: some people followed him, some turned away, some turned him in. I wonder if some of Jesus’ mixed reception was because of his steady stream of parables. Parables are not straight talk. Parables take a lot of work because they must be interpreted by the hearer. In the Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, almost all of Jesus’ teaching is in the form of parables – more than 40 parables – and Jesus’ listeners, then and now, have to ask themselves about each of these parables, “What is this about? What is Jesus’ point?”[i]
The English word “parable” comes from a Greek word which literally means “that which is tossed alongside,” which implies that a parable is a comparison, or an analogy, or an illustration that comes from creation or from occurrences in everyday life. Jesus teaches endlessly by telling parables inspired by very familiar things: a lighted lamp; a sower and soil; wheat and tares; mustard seeds and grains of wheat; fig trees and new wine; sparrows and eagles and mother hens; sheep and shepherds; a wicked judge and a poor widow; an old cloth and a festive garment; a lost coin and a buried treasure; a wedding feast and an impending funeral… On and on they go. Parables were Jesus’ way. Jesus’ parables literally cover a lot of ground. The point of a parable, or, I’ll say, the pinch of a parable, is that what the parable means is not obvious. A parable is rather elusive. It must be personally recognized, and interpreted, and appropriated by the hearers. We are the hearers, and we have to do the work.[ii] Read More
Fish for People – Br. Luke Ditewig
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Br. Luke Ditewig
After years fishing with our father Zebedee, I was shocked and amazed to be following a rabbi. My brother and I know how to be on boats, to weave nets, and listen to the sea. Instead, we went from village to village witnessing Jesus teach and heal, living in community, and helping with crowd control. We were up close traveling, eating, and talking with Jesus. We witnessed miracles. Scripture came alive. We changed by being with Jesus, and we saw each other change in our group. We received the good news and lived it. What a joy to see Jesus spread it.
Then Jesus sent us out to do the same. Like many invitations, I didn’t understand and pushed back first. Who was I to preach, heal, and cast out demons? Who were we as fishermen and ordinary folk to do the same stuff as Jesus?
But we did. We went out speaking in households and in the markets, to individuals and crowds. We found we indeed were given a voice and authority. We prayed for the sick, and they were healed. We prayed for the possessed, and demons left.
Jesus invites beyond our expectations, and Jesus enables. Jesus both gives power and teaches humility. We were sent out with little, indeed less than our usual. We found receptive people who hosted us in their homes and provided for us. We couldn’t serve on our own terms, in control with our own provisions. We had to rely on others. As Jesus had said, some places rejected us, and so we left.
Being chosen to follow Jesus is a shocking and amazing journey. What’s your experience? How has following Jesus surprised and changed you?
What is Jesus inviting? It’s ok if you don’t understand it now. Jesus will enable and reveal.
Jesus sent and empowered me to fish for people. [i]
[i] Matthew 4:19
Insight – Br. Luke Ditewig
Br. Luke Ditewig
The tax collector, a well-known sinner who knows his own need, stands far off asking for mercy. The Pharisee, a religious leader, forgets his own need, stands tall, boasts of his good deeds and takes pride in being better than others like the tax collector. What hypocrisy.[i] The leader’s behavior doesn’t match our belief that we all are lost and need God.
The Pharisee and those who trust in themselves for whom Jesus tells this parable are probably unaware that they are so off track and don’t intend to be here. Eugene Peterson wrote: “Hypocrisy is slow-growing. In its early stages it is difficult to detect. And that is why no one is conscious of becoming a hypocrite. … Distraction from intended good ends up as hypocrisy.”[ii]
Distraction. Distractions can be good, bad, or just busy. Distractions untethered can take us far afield such that we forget where we are and where we meant to be. We can end up trusting in ourselves rather than trusting God. We get overly self-confident and have contempt for others. It’s not intentional. Distracted, we can get so lost we think we are ok and in no need of help. Read More