Scripture: Ezekiel
34:11-16, 20-24 and Psalm
100 • Ezekiel
34:11-16, 20-24 and Psalm
95:1-7a • Ephesians
1:15-23 • Matthew
25:31-46
As
we end Lectionary Year A on Reign of Christ Sunday, we also finish up
Jesus' apocalyptic, or, as Paul Tillich and Rudolph Bultmann
characterize it, his eschatological vision and fulfillment in Matthew
25. For Bruce Epperly, Christ
turns us toward justice and relationship. God experiences the
world and responds to bring about structures of justice and
reconciliation. Enjoy reading the dynamics of the loving Creator God, in
relationship with his Creation in his "Adventurous Lectionary- - The Reign of Christ."
The Rev. Kate Matthews always brings so much to the discussion. In her Reflection on The Reign of Christ,Christ is With Us,
she considers, along with the authors she cites, judgment, freedom, and
the "sheep and goats" of Jesus' parable. As Barbara Brown Taylor
writes, "We are called to look at each other and see Christ."
Scripture: Judges
4:1-7 and Psalm
123 • Zephaniah
1:7, 12-18 and Psalm
90:1-8, (9-11), 12
1
Thessalonians 5:1-11 • Matthew
25:14-30
This
week we have scripture and lessons concerning time and how we should
meaningfully use that time. The Greek language has two words for time, Καιρός (kairos) and Χρόνος (chronos). In rhetoric, Καιρός means the passing
instant when an opening appears which must be driven through with force
if success is to be achieved. In Christian theology, Καιρός means "the appointed time in the purpose of God", the time when God acts. Καιρός is timeless, eternal, whereas Χρόνος is "chronological," and is pictured in Greek mythology by Cronos who represented
the destructive ravages of time which consumed all things, a concept
that was definitely illustrated when the Titan king devoured the
Olympian gods — the past consuming the future, the older generation
suppressing the next generation.
The
Psalmist says, "Teach us to count our days, that we may have a wise
heart." In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul tells us to be
alert, to have no concern about the seasons, but to prepare for the day
of the Lord's coming, building up and encouraging one another, and to
have faith, love and hope.
Jesus's
parable of the talents tells us that the King entrusts his servants
with talents, goes away for a long time, and returns to see what they
have done with their talents. Talents are not what we might think. What
does Jesus mean when he uses the words talents? Is God keeping score, or
time? See The Rev. Charles Hoffacker's "Trust, not Fear." The Rev. Canon Frank Logue also discusses talents, and taking risks. See his "Love is Risky Business."
What are we to do with our "talents"? See Steve Goodier's "All Used Up."
Scripture: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 and Psalm 78:1-7 • Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16 or Amos 5:18-24 and Wisdom of Solomon 6:17-20 or Psalm 70 • 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 • Matthew 25:1-13
In the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids, we are tempted to read it in such a way as to bolster ourselves and our thinking as being wise. What is it to be wise? It also is written in an eschatological sense - the meaning of existence and things to come, such as "the kingdom of heaven." What is the meaning and hope of things to come? Consider "Wisdom and Folly," by Debra Dean Murphy.
Ruminating on the declaration of Joshua, "... choose this day whom you will serve [other gods, idols] ... but as for me, and my household, we will serve the LORD," Professor Walter Bruggemann reviews Israel's history and choices, and Christ's feeding of the multitudes in "The Liturgy of Abundance, the Myth of Scarcity," and invites us to change our public life.
"Whether we are liberal or conservative Christians, we must confess that the central problem of our lives is that we are torn apart by the conflict between our attraction to the good news of God's abundance and the power of our belief in scarcity -- a belief that makes us greedy, mean and unneighborly...
Wouldn't it be wonderful if liberal and conservative church people, who love to quarrel with each other, came to a common realization that the real issue confronting us is whether the news of God's abundance can be trusted in the face of the story of scarcity? What we know in the secret recesses of our hearts is that the story of scarcity is a tale of death. And the people of God counter this tale by witnessing to the manna. There is a more excellent bread than crass materialism. It is the bread of life and you don't have to bake it. As we walk into the new millennium, we must decide where our trust is placed... It has nothing to do with being Republicans or Democrats, liberals or conservatives, socialists or capitalists. It is much more elemental: the creation is infused with the Creator's generosity, and we can find practices, procedures and institutions that allow that generosity to work. Like the rich young man in Mark 10, we all have many possessions. Sharing our abundance may, as Jesus says, be impossible for mortals, but nothing is impossible for God. None of us knows what risks God's spirit may empower us to take. Our faith, ministry and hope at the turn of the millennium are that the Creator will empower us to trust his generosity, so that bread may abound." - Walter Bruggemann.
Scripture: Joshua 3:7-17 and Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37 • Micah 3:5-12 and Psalm 43 • 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 • Matthew 23:1-12
As we read the regular appointed Scripture for this Sunday, we also celebrate All Saints. The articles for reading ask about what is godliness, holiness? What are the characteristics of the saints? Who have been saints in your life?
Michael Anthony Howard, in his "Saints in the hands of a humble heaven," contrasts the saintliness and holiness portrayed in Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the hands of an angry God" with a God who finds us worthy of salvation, and who comes to dwell among us - who chooses to be in the midst of us, in humility and love - not an "over-and-above holiness," but an "under-and-in-service holiness.
Bob Stuhlmann, helps ground our conceptions of "godliness" and saintliness" in his "Humility Against Despair," Stories from a Priestly Life, drawing on Thomas Merton's Seeds of Contemplation, and learning godliness and saintliness from the words of the Rt. Rev. Mark Evans given to him when his son, Christopher, was born with Downs Syndrome. See "A Place to Call Home."
