Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Readings for June 3 2012

Grace and Peace from God and Jesus Christ through the presence of the Holy Spirit,

How’s that for a Trinitarian greeting. The Holy Trinity is not Biblical, per se, but grew out of an understanding that came because of believers’ experience of the presence of God in their lives. There is no Bible passage that lays out a doctrine of the Trinity; only a series of passages that point to it. Some of those passages are in this week’s lection on Trinity Sunday.

First, however, an announcement. Mike Turner, a local Browerville man who has had some success in Nashville and Southern California with his gospel singing and guitar picking will be with us once again this coming Sunday. You are invited to hear him at Peace United Church – South on Sunday, June 3, 2012, at 10:30 AM. A free will ministry donation will be taken to support Mike’s work.

Our readings this week are:

Isaiah 6:1-8 – The first person (the word “person” is far from accurate) of the Trinity is God. In Isaiah’s vision, he is taken to the throne room to meet God. (Again, “throne room” is not accurate for God does not live in a place. Just remember, this is a vision.) There are winged creatures that each have six wings, two of which cover their “feet” which many believe to be a euphemism for “genitals”. These creatures shouted/sung praises to God who is seated on the throne. Isaiah feels totally overwhelmed and unworthy but one of the creatures brings a burning coal, touches it to Isaiah’s lips to remove his sins. God needs a messenger and Isaiah volunteers. The rest of the chapter is God’s words against the people: because they won’t see make them blind and because they won’t listen make them deaf.

Psalm 29 – The psalmist calls on the heavenly creatures to give glory to God and then describes the power of God’s voice.

Romans 8:12-17 – The third “person” of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. In this short section of Romans Paul does not so much describe what the Spirit is as he describes the result of having God’s Spirit with us. The result of having the Spirit which God gave and Jesus sent is that we are God’s children. Yes, you and I are brothers and sisters and we have a brother in Jesus.

John 3:1-17 – The second “person” of the Trinity is Jesus. This passage is the first of three appearances of Nicodemus in the Gospel of John and it contains the most often quoted verse in the New Testament (if not the whole Bible): John 3:16. Throughout this passage it feels like Nick and Jesus are talking past each other. What does it mean to be born “anew” or “again” or “from above”? Nick thinks in physical terms which he knows to be impossible. Jesus is speaking in a new way of being in relationship to God. In an allusion to Numbers 21:9 Jesus says that his being “lifted up” will bring salvation to humanity. In a narrow sense this is a prediction of his crucifixion. In a larger sense it is about his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Now, as for verse 16, this has often been called the gospel in miniature. As a stand-alone verse, it is wonderful but I think it gets even better if it is read along with verses 17 and 18. God is not about judgment but salvation. We do the judging and we do it well. Those who follow God and Jesus are filled with God’s Spirit (love) and in turn love others as they are loved. This love is salvation and eternal life. Those who do not believe do not need to be judged by God for they have already judged themselves with the choice they made.

Have a wonderful week reading God’s Word and having the Word of Life fill you with love.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Readings for May 27, 2012

This coming Sunday is Pentecost! According to “Acts of the Apostles” the Holy Spirit overcame the disciples and wonderful things started happening through them. Pentecost was not, however, a “Christian” religious holiday. It was a Jewish holiday which celebrated the spring harvest 50 days after Passover. The Jewish holiday is known as Shavuot, or the festival of the weeks. Typically, the 10 Commandments are read at synagogue during Shavuot. This year it is celebrated on May 26 to May 28. You can find more information at Chabad.org.

Our readings for this week are:

Acts 2:1-21 – The disciples were all in one place in Jerusalem, but where? We presume that they met at the same place where they had their last meal with Jesus, the “Upper Room”. What did they hear? What did they see? And, most importantly, what did they begin to do? Jerusalem was filled with visitors for the celebration of Shavuot. Where had the visitors come from? Who became the preacher? What scripture lesson did he use. The sermon goes to verse 36 and the results of the sermon is recorded in verses 37-41. How many people became members of the new community?

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b – What has God done? Why do the creatures wait? What does the breath of God do? The Hebrew word for breath, “ruach”, is also translated as “wind” and “spirit”. How long will the psalmist praise God? The first half of verse 35 is left off because the lectionary only wants to emphasize the positive in this reading and 35a is too much of a downer.

Romans 8:22-27 – What is all of creation doing and why? What do we believers wait for according to Paul? What do we have when we are saved? Why does the Spirit come to us? What does the Spirit do for us?

John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15 – The Greek word used in this passage about the Spirit of God is “parakletos” or “Paraclete” and is variously translated as “Comforter”, “Helper”, “Advocate”, “Counselor”, “Companion” and in a few other ways. I prefer “Advocate” because God’s Spirit, along with all of the other things it does, defends us from the “Accuser” which is what the word “satan” or “hasatan” means. In verse 15:26, what does the Spirit do? In verse 16:8, what will the Spirit show the world? This passage, 16:8-11, is very interesting and you should spend some time reflecting on it. Why is the world wrong about sin? (The answer seems clear, but puzzling non-the-less. See John 9:41.) Why is the world wrong about righteousness? And why is the world wrong about judgment? Again, the answers seem puzzling. What else will the Spirit of Truth do when it comes to us?

May the Spirit of the Lord, the Comforter, Helper, Counselor, Companion and Advocate, guide you in your readings this week and in all that you do.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Readings for May 20, 2012

I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s day with either your children or your mother or both. This week we are honoring our graduates and we have 3 who are matriculating from Long Prairie Grey Eagle High School: Tyler Mollner (PUC), Lesley Roe (GEUMC), and Sara Roe (GEUMC). We wish them the best as they pursue further education, jobs and/or careers this summer, fall, and beyond.

There is one prayer request for this week. Josh Johnson, who is a nephew of Darryl Bruder (a member of GEUMC), is the married father of four and the co-owner of Riverside Meats between Pillsbury and Swanville. On Sunday afternoon his smokehouse exploded while he was near or in it. Josh suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his back, hands, arms, parts of his face and one ear. He is at one of the hospitals in Minneapolis (HCMC?). Becky, wife of Darryl, asks that we all pray for his healing.

This is our last week in the first letter of John, next to the last week in Acts, and we have two more readings in the Gospel of John following this Sunday.

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 – We jump back to the beginning of Acts. Jesus has been lifted up to heaven and the disciples are without direction. In our reading, the disciples choose some one to replace Judas (the verses that are skipped are about Judas’ gruesome death) to bring their ranks back to twelve. What were the qualifications for the new disciple? Who were nominated? What was their prayer? How did they choose? It was generally believed that God controlled the outcome of everything so rolling the dice to choose someone was an acceptable way. Would you roll the dice to choose someone for such an important position?

Psalm 1 – In short: the righteous who follow the law of the Lord shall prosper and the way of the wicked will perish. How are the righteous described; what are they like?

1 John 5:9-13 – I think the summary of the entire letter of 1 John occurs in verse 12: “The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have God’s Son does not have life.” Verse 13 is John’s reason for writing: so that we might have _______________ (fill in the blank). Doesn’t this remind you of that famous verse from the Gospel of John, “For God so loved . . .” If you want a true puzzler or head scratcher read verses 16 and 17. What do you think might be “the sin that results in death”? Or, is there a sin that God cannot or will not forgive? I don’t think anyone has come up with a satisfying explanation.

John 17:6-19 – John 17 is Jesus’ prayer to God just before he is arrested. The chapter is divided up into three readings over 3 years to be read in each lectionary year. Verses 1-5 in Year A; our verses in Year B; and 20-26 in Year C. They are also divided into the subject matter of Jesus’ prayer: about his glory in doing God’s will; for his disciples; and for future disciples. What is the relationship between Jesus and God? What has God given Jesus? What has Jesus given to the disciples? What has he done for them? In Chapter 18, verse 31, Pilate asks Jesus, “What is truth?” In Jesus’ prayer this week, what is the answer to that question? What is Jesus’ request to God about the disciples?

Have a great week loving God and serving your neighbors. According to 1 John, they are the one and the same.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Readings for May 13, 2012

Hello Everyone,

This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day. We all have mothers and most of us have a great relationship to our Moms or great memories of our Moms who have passed from this life into the next. There are some of us, however, who have either negative feelings or mixed feelings about their mother for lots of different reasons: abuse, addiction, absence, indifference, illness, depression, to name a few. Some among us want to be mothers but are not able, again for a variety of reasons. And if we were to be honest, there are probably a few women who are mothers but would rather not be. this Sunday, we honor Mothers but we also hold in our hearts and prayers all who have some sort of issue with motherhood. May God’s Spirit give them strength, courage, and hope.

We continue our readings in Acts, 1 John, and John this week.

Acts 10:44-48 – This short passage come at the end of a longish story. Peter is in Joppa where he raises Tabatha, a FEMALE disciple, from death (Acts 9:32-43). The story I would like you to read starts at 10:1 and is about a Roman Centurion, Cornelius, in Caesarea. I won’t go into the details of the story (angels, visions, blankets of unclean food, etc.) because I trust you will read it for yourselves. Our reading of five verses are about the work of the Spirit resulting from Peter’s preaching. What happens to Cornelius’ family when Peter arrives and preaches the Good News? What is Peter’s companion’s reaction? What then happens to the family? (An aside: Peter says something very interesting in 10:34-36. If God shows no partiality to any group of people, why do we?)

Psalm 98 – How and why should we praise the Lord? The answer to that question is found in this Psalm. There is a great snappy hymn in “The Faith We Sing” that is a rendition of this great Psalm titled “Sing a New Song to the Lord” by Timothy Dudley-Smith.

1 John 5:1-6 – The themes of 1 John are again repeated in our verses this week: God’s love, loving others, believing in Jesus, keeping God’s/Jesus’ commandment, and abiding/remaining/being in God. Love for neighbor is love for God and love for God is love for neighbor and God’s love for us is absolute. Two things seem new here: we who are born of God have defeated the world and that victory is our faith, our belief in Jesus Christ. Does it feel like you have defeated the world? I may have to wrestle with this a bit.

John 15:9-17 – Here is the information and questions I sent last week in my first email in which I used the wrong Gospel lesson.

This passage happens as Jesus is with his disciples for his final dinner. The Gospel of John describes Jesus washing his disciples feet, telling them of the betrayal, and then teaching them about what would happen. This teaching moment starts at 13:31 and goes to 16:33 and then concludes with Jesus’ prayer in 17:1-26. Chapter 14 gives us another “I AM” statement: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6). The beginning of chapter 15 gives us another: “I am the true vine and my Father is the vineyard keeper” (15:1). In our passage, Jesus talks about love and is very similar to the passage we have in 1 John [last week’s 1 John 4:7-21]. It is all about remaining in love and keeping Jesus’ commandment. By the way, there is only one commandment: 15:12. Because of this love the disciples are elevated to friends of Jesus. The old “Master-Servant” or “Teacher-Student” relationship is dissolved and they (and we) are now his friends. Does love define our relationship with our friends? Does love define our relationship with each other?

Have a great week serving the Lord by serving your neighbor.

Peace in Christ,
Pastor Gary

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Readings for May 6 2012, part 2

OOPS!!!!! What I posted earlier today (see below) was 75% correct. The Gospel reading of John 15:9-17 is wrong. The correct reading is John 15:1-8. The first part of what I wrote still holds true:

This passage happens as Jesus is with his disciples for his final dinner. The Gospel of John describes Jesus washing his disciples feet, telling them of the betrayal, and then teaching them about what would happen. This teaching moment starts at 13:31 and goes to 16:33 and then concludes with Jesus’ prayer in 17:1-26. Chapter 14 gives us another “I AM” statement: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6). The beginning of chapter 15 gives us another: “I am the true vine and my Father is the vineyard keeper” (15:1).

Our passage, John 15:1-8, is about the true vine, the vineyard keeper, and us, the branches. The only way the vine produces good fruit is if the vineyard keeper works to keep the vineyard free of weeds and vermin that destroy. The vines must be trimmed of its deadwood and the soil must be tended and fertilized. The only way the branches can bear good fruit is to remain connected to the vine from where the nutrients flow to the branches. We who are followers and friends of Jesus need to remain connected to the true vine, Jesus. What is the best way or ways to stay connected to the true vine? Who is glorified by the good fruit the branches produce?

Have a great week!

Readings for May 6 2012

Is it May already? Where did winter and spring go?

I really don’t have any announcements this week except to say that this Sunday is Communion in both churches and this is a great time to invite someone to join you at church.

We have four weeks left in “Acts of the Apostles”, three weeks in “1 John”, and five weeks left in “The Gospel of John”. In mid-June we will finally get back to the “Gospel of Mark”.

Acts 8:26-40 – This is a popular story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Who is Philip? Is he one of the disciples that Luke mentions in Luke 6:12-16 or the Philip who is chosen to serve the Greek widows whom Luke mentions in Acts 6:1-7. It is hard to say. Maybe they are one and the same person. Who sends Philip on the trip? Which road is he supposed to take? Who else is on the same road? What is his job and who does he work for? What is he doing when Philip comes upon him? What is his question to Philip? What does Philip teach him? What does the man ask Philip to do for him? After that act, what happens to Philip and what does the man do? To understand the significance of the passage the eunuch was reading, you should read Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

Psalm 22:25-31 – The first verse of this Psalm is what Jesus quotes in Mark 15:34, “My God, My God, why have you left me alone (forsaken me)? The first two-thirds of this Psalm is about the trials and tribulations that the psalmist is facing. Then starting at verse 22, the tone turns toward the saving grace of God. By quoting the first line of this psalm, Jesus was acknowledging his agony but also the sovereignty of God his Father. When we are suffering, do we also praise God for his saving grace?

1 John 4:7-21 – This passage is one of my favorites in the Bible. John writes about love and the presence of God in both positive and negative terms. For example: We love each other because we know God’s love. If we don’t love each other then we don’t know God’s love. Why? Because God is love. There, that is it. Game over. It is that simple. Three words describe the essential and only nature of God: God is Love. Because of that love, we know God is with us. (God abides with us. God remains with us.) If we love, God is in us. If we don’t love, then God isn’t with us. How do we know God’s love: God gave himself in the form of his Son into our systems of violence to die at our hands for our salvation.

John 15:9-17 – This passage happens as Jesus is with his disciples for his final dinner. The Gospel of John describes Jesus washing his disciples feet, telling them of the betrayal, and then teaching them about what would happen. This teaching moment starts at 13:31 and goes to 16:33 and then concludes with Jesus’ prayer in 17:1-26. Chapter 14 gives us another “I AM” statement: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (14:6). The beginning of chapter 15 gives us another: “I am the true vine and my Father is the vineyard keeper” (15:1). In our passage, Jesus talks about love and is very similar to the passage we have in 1 John. It is all about remaining in love and keeping Jesus’ commandment. By the way, there is only one commandment: 15:12. Because of this love the disciples are not elevated to friends of Jesus. The old “Master-Servant” or “Teacher-Student” relationship is dissolved and they (and we) are now his friends. Does love define our relationship with our friends? Does love define our relationship with each other?

Have a great week reading God’s words of life.