Jeremiah 31:7-14
For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, “Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel.” See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here. With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.” For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the Lord.
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Jeremiah wrote this during the Babylonian Exile, circa 587 BCE, a very low period in the history of the Hebrew people. The Northern Kingdom had fallen to the Assyrians about 130 years earlier in 722 BCE. The Assyrians, as was their policy, scattered the inhabitants far and wide. These are the so-called lost tribes of Israel. Starting in 598 BCE the Babylonians forced many of the elite Hebrews into exile in Babylon. Jeremiah was not among those in Babylon, he fled to Egypt. The people of Israel really were scattered throughout the Middle East. Jeremiah prophesizes of a day when the LORD will gather them back.
Who are the people in our church, city, world who are in political or economic exile who dream of a return to their Jerusalem? When and how have you experienced exile?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Luke 2:41-52 27 December 2009
Luke 2:41-52 27
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travellers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour.
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In this story Jesus is a particularly precocious twelve-year-old amazing all those in the temple with his understanding [of scripture.] Isn’t he also acting like twelve-year-olds we’ve all known; showing some independence and a bit of an attitude? Twelve-year-old children, and six-year olds as I learned again yesterday, think they can handle more independence than their caretakers are likely to consider appropriate.
I can see Mary many years later telling this story about her little Jesus with pride. Don’t we all have childhood stories about our siblings, our children, or ourselves? Could it be that these stories have been ever so slightly enhanced with each retelling? Could it be that your version of the story differs in some details from your brother or sister’s. When we tell these stories are we not wanting our audience to know something special about the nature of the subject that was apparent even as a child.
In telling this story what do you suppose Luke wanted us to know about the twelve-year-old Jesus. Why do Christians tell this story at Christmas? Is there a lesson here for UUs?
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travellers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this story Jesus is a particularly precocious twelve-year-old amazing all those in the temple with his understanding [of scripture.] Isn’t he also acting like twelve-year-olds we’ve all known; showing some independence and a bit of an attitude? Twelve-year-old children, and six-year olds as I learned again yesterday, think they can handle more independence than their caretakers are likely to consider appropriate.
I can see Mary many years later telling this story about her little Jesus with pride. Don’t we all have childhood stories about our siblings, our children, or ourselves? Could it be that these stories have been ever so slightly enhanced with each retelling? Could it be that your version of the story differs in some details from your brother or sister’s. When we tell these stories are we not wanting our audience to know something special about the nature of the subject that was apparent even as a child.
In telling this story what do you suppose Luke wanted us to know about the twelve-year-old Jesus. Why do Christians tell this story at Christmas? Is there a lesson here for UUs?
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Luke 1:39-56 20 Dec 2009
Luke 1:39-56
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
And Mary said,
In the Reading Between the Lines section of this week’s Bible Workbench Bill Dols asks: What is a story you tell about your family or yourself that you have polished and embellished over the years in order to revels something true about you even though it didn’t happen?
I suggest you keep Bill’s question in mind and you read and reread this week’s lectionary.
Perhaps Luke is telling us that the possibility of a new kind of justice coming into the world, a justice that is opposed to the retributive justice that their, and our, world know so well. In first century Palestine the political and economic systems were rigged so that the rich became richer and the poor poorer. Luke, I suggest was proposing the possibility the dawn of a new era where distributive justice prevailed.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
And Mary said,
And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their
thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
In the Reading Between the Lines section of this week’s Bible Workbench Bill Dols asks: What is a story you tell about your family or yourself that you have polished and embellished over the years in order to revels something true about you even though it didn’t happen?
I suggest you keep Bill’s question in mind and you read and reread this week’s lectionary.
Perhaps Luke is telling us that the possibility of a new kind of justice coming into the world, a justice that is opposed to the retributive justice that their, and our, world know so well. In first century Palestine the political and economic systems were rigged so that the rich became richer and the poor poorer. Luke, I suggest was proposing the possibility the dawn of a new era where distributive justice prevailed.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Luke 3:7-18 Dec 13 2009
As you many recall from last week, John the Baptist’s father, Zachariah, is a Temple priest. At the Temple one received atonement (at one ment) in return for an animal sacrifice. The sacrificial animals had to be unblemished so you most would most likely purchase the animal at the temple. Additionally, each adult male was required to make an annual half-shekel “donation” to the Temple, this is the so called Temple tax.
The Jewish authorities however only accepted Hebrew money for payment of the Temple tax. So, money changers were allowed to set up tables and where they exchanged not just local Roman money, but also foreign currency from distant travelers, for shekels. Along with them were peddlers who sold animals, birds and various items for sacrifice. This was a very lucrative business.
Enter John the baptizer proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. No priest needed, no trip to Jerusalem, no moneychanger, no animal sacrifice, no Temple tax. And most of all no profit. All you had to do was repent and mend your ways.
I love John’s opening line, ‘You brood of vipers,’ taken right out of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. In Matthew, it is clear that the brood of vipers he had in mind were the religious authorities. He also had some hard words for King Herod, who had married his brother’s wife, which influenced Herod imprison him and later chop off his head. As some of you know, Luke and Matthew copied this story from Mark and put their own spin on it. Comparing the three accounts of John’s preaching to the crowds at the River Jordan is like comparing newscasts of the same event from three different networks.
The earliest account of John’s baptizing is Mark 1:4-8. It is the shortest and he does not have the “brood of vipers” line, nor does he single out any group of people for specific condemnation.
Matthew’s “brood of vipers” comment is directed directly at the religious authorities: “But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7)
Luke’s version is the longest and he directs his “brood of vipers” comment towards the crowd in general. Matthew and Luke, but not Mark, warn their audience that having Abraham as an ancestor, that is being Jewish, does not mean they are exempt from the requirement to bear good fruits.
For people like us, well-educated, religiously independent, 21th century UUs, whom are the voices calling from the wilderness for repentance? In what way might we be a “brood of vipers” for some reformers? From what are they asking that we repent? How do we bear good fruits? In what ways are we not bearing good fruits?
The Jewish authorities however only accepted Hebrew money for payment of the Temple tax. So, money changers were allowed to set up tables and where they exchanged not just local Roman money, but also foreign currency from distant travelers, for shekels. Along with them were peddlers who sold animals, birds and various items for sacrifice. This was a very lucrative business.
Enter John the baptizer proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. No priest needed, no trip to Jerusalem, no moneychanger, no animal sacrifice, no Temple tax. And most of all no profit. All you had to do was repent and mend your ways.
Luke 3:7-18
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’
And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
I love John’s opening line, ‘You brood of vipers,’ taken right out of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. In Matthew, it is clear that the brood of vipers he had in mind were the religious authorities. He also had some hard words for King Herod, who had married his brother’s wife, which influenced Herod imprison him and later chop off his head. As some of you know, Luke and Matthew copied this story from Mark and put their own spin on it. Comparing the three accounts of John’s preaching to the crowds at the River Jordan is like comparing newscasts of the same event from three different networks.
The earliest account of John’s baptizing is Mark 1:4-8. It is the shortest and he does not have the “brood of vipers” line, nor does he single out any group of people for specific condemnation.
Matthew’s “brood of vipers” comment is directed directly at the religious authorities: “But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7)
Luke’s version is the longest and he directs his “brood of vipers” comment towards the crowd in general. Matthew and Luke, but not Mark, warn their audience that having Abraham as an ancestor, that is being Jewish, does not mean they are exempt from the requirement to bear good fruits.
For people like us, well-educated, religiously independent, 21th century UUs, whom are the voices calling from the wilderness for repentance? In what way might we be a “brood of vipers” for some reformers? From what are they asking that we repent? How do we bear good fruits? In what ways are we not bearing good fruits?
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Luke 1:68-79 6 December 2009
Today’s lectionary is the Benedictus also known as the Song of Zechariah. It is the song of thanksgiving sung by Zechariah after the birth of his son John, who we know as John the Baptist.
I urge you to take a few minutes to read Luke 1:1-66 to get the context for the reading.
Luke 1:68-79
(67) Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty saviour for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’
(80) The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
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Zechariah is a temple priest and John’s mother, Elizabeth, is a relative of Mary the mother of Jesus. When John appears publicly, he is at the Jordan River preaching a baptism of repentance, Luke 3:7-20.
Zechariah’s hymn is full of hope for a peaceful future at a time during a very bleak time in the history of his people. In this era of financial uncertainty and national decline how do people like us look for a “mighty savior… to rescue us from the hands of our enemies?” How do we look for “the dawn from on high…to guide our feet into the way of peace?” Or do we?
I urge you to take a few minutes to read Luke 1:1-66 to get the context for the reading.
Luke 1:68-79
(67) Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty saviour for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’
(80) The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zechariah is a temple priest and John’s mother, Elizabeth, is a relative of Mary the mother of Jesus. When John appears publicly, he is at the Jordan River preaching a baptism of repentance, Luke 3:7-20.
Zechariah’s hymn is full of hope for a peaceful future at a time during a very bleak time in the history of his people. In this era of financial uncertainty and national decline how do people like us look for a “mighty savior… to rescue us from the hands of our enemies?” How do we look for “the dawn from on high…to guide our feet into the way of peace?” Or do we?
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