Please keep the Kamphenkel and Lunceford families in your prayer with the passing of Irma (Bebolt Kamphenkel) Lunceford. The funeral has been set for this Friday, September 22, 2017, at 11:00 AM at Peace United Church. Visitation will be the same day beginning at 9:30 AM.
Our Worship/Sermon Series, The Season of Creation, will conclude this Sunday. The theme will be "Food". Benjamin Franklin (or Christopher Bullock or Edward Ward - see Quotes Uncovered) once wrote, ". . . in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." I would add food to that list. No one can do without nutrition and will not live long without it. We hunt, gather, cultivate, and raise animals for food. All are a gift of God.
This week’s lectionary texts have some interesting tales and lessons. I hope you will take some time to read them.
Exodus 16:2-15 – The Israelites are in the desert heading to Mt. Sinai. Specifically, they are in the "Wilderness of Sin" (verse 1). They are running out of food and complaining to Moses. Moses, in turn, complains to God. God then makes provision for the Israelites to eat quail and "what is it?" (manna). According to verse 31 it was like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. This but one of a recurring cycle of complaints against God and God’s provision for the people. Do we follow in the Israelites’ pattern of complaint? Do we complain even when we have been blessed? How has God provided for you? Have you given thanks?
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 – Three years ago, when I first posted this, I learned something new! Psalm 105:1-15 can also be found, nearly word for word, at 1 Chronicles 16:8-22. This Psalm recounts the history of ancient Israel from Abraham to the entering into the land of promise.
OR Jonah 3:10-4:11 – Jonah is a prophetic book with only one prophecy: “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”. Yet, the prophecy is not fulfilled. I have stated in the past that some people, not many, would categorize Jonah as a tale of fiction, a short story at that. Think about it. If this great little story were not in the Bible we might think of it as a fairy tale where doom is overcome with good. There is much exaggeration in Jonah also. The big fish (not whale). Living three days in the belly of that fish. Nineveh, as described in Jonah, is 10 times bigger, both in land area and population, than ancient Nineveh ever was. Every single person, from king to lowest slave, repents. All people and all animals sit in mourning with ashes covering them. So, what is the Biblical point of the story of Jonah? Some think that it was written during the time of Ezra-Nehemiah when there was a push to expel or kill all non-Jews in the land. In Jonah, God’s love and grace is available even to the hated and reviled Ninevites and the story becomes a counterbalance to parochialism and xenophobia. It has been a constant refrain from certain people in power these day to call for the exclusion of Muslims and Hispanics. Are we simply resorting to parochialism and xenophobia when we looked down on outsiders and people we don’t know or understand? Does not God love the Ninevites, Muslim, and Hispanic? When, like Jonah, have we pouted when God doesn’t do what we thought God should do?
Psalm 145:1-8 – A psalm praising God’s goodness. Read verse 8. Compare it to Jonah 4:2. Verse 9 should have been included: “The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” Verse 8 and 9 pretty much sums it up.
Philippians 1:21-30 – After being in Romans for the last 12 weeks we turn to Philippians. Paul opens the letter with a greeting and a prayer for the people of the church at Philippi. He then informs them of his current circumstances: prison. In this passage, Paul states that, though he would rather die to be with Christ, he knows that there is a reason for his continued life on earth: the people of Philippi. Paul then asks the Philippians to live their lives in a way that honors Jesus. How do we live our lives? Are we honoring God and Jesus? How is that reflected in our work, our play, and with our family and friends?
Matthew 20:1-16 – We skip over Chapter 19 which includes Jesus' teaching about divorce, his blessing some children, and his encounter with the rich young man (camel through the eye of a needle). Here is our story: You want some work to be done and you need a lot of workers to get it completed. At the beginning of the day, 6 AM, you hire a bunch at $10/hour. You hire more at 9 AM, then at 12 noon, again at 3 PM, and finally a few more at 5 PM. The work is finally completed at 6 PM. How much do you pay the workers? $120, $90, $60, $30, and $10, right? Not according to Jesus. Everyone gets $120. “So the last shall be first and the first shall be last.” Scratch your head and go figure! “God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” (OK, where did you read that?)
May God bless you and your work wherever you may go!
Exodus 16:2-15 – The Israelites are in the desert heading to Mt. Sinai. Specifically, they are in the "Wilderness of Sin" (verse 1). They are running out of food and complaining to Moses. Moses, in turn, complains to God. God then makes provision for the Israelites to eat quail and "what is it?" (manna). According to verse 31 it was like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. This but one of a recurring cycle of complaints against God and God’s provision for the people. Do we follow in the Israelites’ pattern of complaint? Do we complain even when we have been blessed? How has God provided for you? Have you given thanks?
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 – Three years ago, when I first posted this, I learned something new! Psalm 105:1-15 can also be found, nearly word for word, at 1 Chronicles 16:8-22. This Psalm recounts the history of ancient Israel from Abraham to the entering into the land of promise.
OR Jonah 3:10-4:11 – Jonah is a prophetic book with only one prophecy: “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”. Yet, the prophecy is not fulfilled. I have stated in the past that some people, not many, would categorize Jonah as a tale of fiction, a short story at that. Think about it. If this great little story were not in the Bible we might think of it as a fairy tale where doom is overcome with good. There is much exaggeration in Jonah also. The big fish (not whale). Living three days in the belly of that fish. Nineveh, as described in Jonah, is 10 times bigger, both in land area and population, than ancient Nineveh ever was. Every single person, from king to lowest slave, repents. All people and all animals sit in mourning with ashes covering them. So, what is the Biblical point of the story of Jonah? Some think that it was written during the time of Ezra-Nehemiah when there was a push to expel or kill all non-Jews in the land. In Jonah, God’s love and grace is available even to the hated and reviled Ninevites and the story becomes a counterbalance to parochialism and xenophobia. It has been a constant refrain from certain people in power these day to call for the exclusion of Muslims and Hispanics. Are we simply resorting to parochialism and xenophobia when we looked down on outsiders and people we don’t know or understand? Does not God love the Ninevites, Muslim, and Hispanic? When, like Jonah, have we pouted when God doesn’t do what we thought God should do?
Psalm 145:1-8 – A psalm praising God’s goodness. Read verse 8. Compare it to Jonah 4:2. Verse 9 should have been included: “The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” Verse 8 and 9 pretty much sums it up.
Philippians 1:21-30 – After being in Romans for the last 12 weeks we turn to Philippians. Paul opens the letter with a greeting and a prayer for the people of the church at Philippi. He then informs them of his current circumstances: prison. In this passage, Paul states that, though he would rather die to be with Christ, he knows that there is a reason for his continued life on earth: the people of Philippi. Paul then asks the Philippians to live their lives in a way that honors Jesus. How do we live our lives? Are we honoring God and Jesus? How is that reflected in our work, our play, and with our family and friends?
Matthew 20:1-16 – We skip over Chapter 19 which includes Jesus' teaching about divorce, his blessing some children, and his encounter with the rich young man (camel through the eye of a needle). Here is our story: You want some work to be done and you need a lot of workers to get it completed. At the beginning of the day, 6 AM, you hire a bunch at $10/hour. You hire more at 9 AM, then at 12 noon, again at 3 PM, and finally a few more at 5 PM. The work is finally completed at 6 PM. How much do you pay the workers? $120, $90, $60, $30, and $10, right? Not according to Jesus. Everyone gets $120. “So the last shall be first and the first shall be last.” Scratch your head and go figure! “God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” (OK, where did you read that?)
May God bless you and your work wherever you may go!
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Gary
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