Our readings this week, the Second Sunday after Epiphany, are all about being called (and not the ring-ring type of call, although, who is to say that God couldn’t do it that way). As you read the lessons, think about any feelings of being called in your life. Did you ignore God’s call or did you follow through?
1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20) – To get the background on this story, please read 1 Samuel 1 and 2. There is lots of intrigue in those two chapters. There is competition between the two wives of Elkanah, Hannah, who has no children, and Peninnah, who has several. And the two sons of the priest Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, are wicked and God will not let them follow in their father’s profession. A miracle happens and Hannah give birth to Samuel whom she dedicates to the Lord by giving him to Eli when he is weaned. Which brings us to this reading. What was not happening in Israel? What is the matter with Eli? What does Samuel hear and what does he do? What is Eli’s response? How many time did this happen? What was Eli’s final instruction and what happened to Samuel? What did Samuel become as he grew up?
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 – I am not sure why the Lectionary Committee left out verses 7-12 because they fit very well with the other verses. I can certainly understand why they left off verses 19-24 because the Psalmist asks the Lord to destroy the wicked. In verses 1-6, what does the Lord know and do? In verses 7-12, where can the Psalmist go to avoid the presence of God? In verses 13-18, what did and will God do for the Psalmist and what is his response?
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 – As I read through this passage I couldn’t quite figure out what it has to do with being called. I suppose that when we are called by God and we follow our entire being, heart, mind, soul, and body, should be dedicated to God. What is the primary concern of Paul in this paragraph? To whom does our body belong? What happens when we are united to the Lord? What should our bodies be for the Lord and why?
John 1:43-51 – We should really read verses 35-42 in conjunction with these verses and my questions will include them. In verses 35-42, where is the location of the action? What does John the Baptizer proclaim about Jesus? Two of John’s disciples follow Jesus, one named and one unnamed. Who is the named disciple? Who is his brother? What did the first brother say to the other? What did Jesus rename the second brother as? Look at the notes in your Bible. What does that new name mean? Who did Jesus encounter on the next day (verse 43)? Who did this person go to get and what was their relationship? What did Jesus say of this new brother? What was the conversation between Jesus and this new brother? What are the names of the four named disciples?
How has God called you? What did or what do you say in response, “Here am I” or “What good comes out of Nazareth?”
May you hear God’s call once again this week!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Readings for Sunday, January 8, 2012
Peace and Goodwill to all in the New Year,
First, I would like to remind everyone that our one and only Bible Study at each church is changing times. The study at Grey Eagle UMC is moving from Thursday nights to Wednesday afternoons at 1:00 PM. The study at Peace United Church is moving from Wednesday nights to Wednesday afternoons at 3:00 PM. The new times start tomorrow, January 4. For the first four weeks we will be studying “The Verbs of God: How God Moves on Our Behalf” with Margaret Feinberg giving the lessons on DVD. She writes, “The Verbs of God remind us that God is a God of movement and he’s in the business of redeeming, restoring, and renewing us. By looking at just how active God is in scripture, we’re reminded of how active he is in our lives each and every day. In the process, we find our hope in God and resolve to follow God strengthened.” This will be a good follow-up to our Covenant Renewal Service we had this past Sunday. I hope to see you there.
Friday is Epiphany (please refer to my newsletter article") and the lessons, without comment, are:
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
I sent those readings, one of four sets, in my email last week. This coming Sunday is celebrated as “The Baptism of the Lord” and the lessons are:
Genesis 1:1-5 – What was the earth like when God created it? What swept over the waters? I will answer that question because the one Hebrew word “rauch” can be translated three ways in English: Spirit, breath, or wind. It might be helpful to hold in tension all three understandings in our minds when we hear “the ‘rauch’ of God”. What are God’s first words? What happened as a result? And what did God think of this happening and what did God name it? What three things in these 5 verses would relate to our Gospel reading?
Psalm 29 – What is the primary subject of verses 3-9? Where is this thing and what is it able to do? What are the final two wishes of the psalmist?
Acts 19:1-7 – Who did Paul find in Ephesus when he got there? What did he ask these people? What hadn’t they received when they became believers? What did Paul do so that they would receive this? What did the people do following Paul’s action? How many were there?
Mark 2:4-11 – Where did John the Baptizer appear and what did he do? What did he look like? Who came to see him? What was his proclamation? Who showed up while John the Baptizer was active? What did John do for Jesus? What three things happened as Jesus was coming out of the water?
Some additional questions to ponder – Do you remember your baptism? If not, do you remember your confirmation? How was your life changed? Was it a sudden shift or did the changes come slowly over time? If you do not believe that you were ever baptized please contact me because I can help.
May the Spirit of God affirm God’s love to you through your encounter with God’s Word.
First, I would like to remind everyone that our one and only Bible Study at each church is changing times. The study at Grey Eagle UMC is moving from Thursday nights to Wednesday afternoons at 1:00 PM. The study at Peace United Church is moving from Wednesday nights to Wednesday afternoons at 3:00 PM. The new times start tomorrow, January 4. For the first four weeks we will be studying “The Verbs of God: How God Moves on Our Behalf” with Margaret Feinberg giving the lessons on DVD. She writes, “The Verbs of God remind us that God is a God of movement and he’s in the business of redeeming, restoring, and renewing us. By looking at just how active God is in scripture, we’re reminded of how active he is in our lives each and every day. In the process, we find our hope in God and resolve to follow God strengthened.” This will be a good follow-up to our Covenant Renewal Service we had this past Sunday. I hope to see you there.
Friday is Epiphany (please refer to my newsletter article") and the lessons, without comment, are:
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
I sent those readings, one of four sets, in my email last week. This coming Sunday is celebrated as “The Baptism of the Lord” and the lessons are:
Genesis 1:1-5 – What was the earth like when God created it? What swept over the waters? I will answer that question because the one Hebrew word “rauch” can be translated three ways in English: Spirit, breath, or wind. It might be helpful to hold in tension all three understandings in our minds when we hear “the ‘rauch’ of God”. What are God’s first words? What happened as a result? And what did God think of this happening and what did God name it? What three things in these 5 verses would relate to our Gospel reading?
Psalm 29 – What is the primary subject of verses 3-9? Where is this thing and what is it able to do? What are the final two wishes of the psalmist?
Acts 19:1-7 – Who did Paul find in Ephesus when he got there? What did he ask these people? What hadn’t they received when they became believers? What did Paul do so that they would receive this? What did the people do following Paul’s action? How many were there?
Mark 2:4-11 – Where did John the Baptizer appear and what did he do? What did he look like? Who came to see him? What was his proclamation? Who showed up while John the Baptizer was active? What did John do for Jesus? What three things happened as Jesus was coming out of the water?
Some additional questions to ponder – Do you remember your baptism? If not, do you remember your confirmation? How was your life changed? Was it a sudden shift or did the changes come slowly over time? If you do not believe that you were ever baptized please contact me because I can help.
May the Spirit of God affirm God’s love to you through your encounter with God’s Word.
Newsletter article for January 2012
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
And before you say that I am late on my “Merry Christmas” I must tell you that Christmas happens twice each year. Protestants and Catholics celebrate on December 25 and the Orthodox stream of Christianity celebrates Christmas on January 6, which is Epiphany. So, Merry Christmas one more time!
And that brings me to the subject of Epiphany. It is a Christian holy day (holiday) that actually predates Christmas. With a capital “E” the word refers to this holy day but with a small “e” it mean “the appearance or manifestation, usually of a deity” or “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.” (These are the 2nd and 3rd definitions given on www.dictionary.com.)
Epiphany, the holy day, is the least celebrated of the holy days (Easter, Pentecost, Christmas, Ash Wednesday and Epiphany). Only when it falls on a Sunday is it taken seriously by some Protestant denominations. (I would venture to say that Catholics and especially Orthodox give it more respect.) The Protestant denominations that follow the church calendar, roughly Advent (4 weeks), Christmas (12 days), Epiphany (5 to 9 weeks), Lent (6 weeks), Easter (7 weeks), and Pentecost (all the rest of the year), usually skip the actual day of Epiphany and jump from the first or second Sunday after Christmas to the Baptism of Jesus Sunday, the first after Epiphany.
On Epiphany, the church celebrates the manifestation of God to humanity in his son, Jesus. In Luke 2, Jesus as a Jewish baby is presented to God and the Jewish faith at the Temple. In Matthew 2, the rest of the world, represented by the Magi from the east, recognizes the new king in their visit to Bethlehem. This story is the primary celebration of Epiphany for all three strains of Christianity. The Orthodox Churches also celebrates the birth of Jesus, his naming (Luke 2:21), his presentation at the temple (Luke 2:22-38), his childhood (Luke 2:41-52) and his Baptism in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22). It is at the Baptism that the Spirit of God comes upon Jesus and the voice of God declares him to be the beloved Son.
How has God been made manifest (defined as “readily perceived by the eye or the understanding; evident; obvious; apparent; plain”) in you and in our churches? When did you have that “sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning” of God’s love for you and his offer of salvation through Jesus Christ? When did you awake to the idea or feeling that life truly has meaning when it is lived in Christ? How have you made Christ manifest to others? What have our churches done that people can look at us and declare that Christ lives in us?
May Christ be manifest in all of us in 2012!
And before you say that I am late on my “Merry Christmas” I must tell you that Christmas happens twice each year. Protestants and Catholics celebrate on December 25 and the Orthodox stream of Christianity celebrates Christmas on January 6, which is Epiphany. So, Merry Christmas one more time!
And that brings me to the subject of Epiphany. It is a Christian holy day (holiday) that actually predates Christmas. With a capital “E” the word refers to this holy day but with a small “e” it mean “the appearance or manifestation, usually of a deity” or “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.” (These are the 2nd and 3rd definitions given on www.dictionary.com.)
Epiphany, the holy day, is the least celebrated of the holy days (Easter, Pentecost, Christmas, Ash Wednesday and Epiphany). Only when it falls on a Sunday is it taken seriously by some Protestant denominations. (I would venture to say that Catholics and especially Orthodox give it more respect.) The Protestant denominations that follow the church calendar, roughly Advent (4 weeks), Christmas (12 days), Epiphany (5 to 9 weeks), Lent (6 weeks), Easter (7 weeks), and Pentecost (all the rest of the year), usually skip the actual day of Epiphany and jump from the first or second Sunday after Christmas to the Baptism of Jesus Sunday, the first after Epiphany.
On Epiphany, the church celebrates the manifestation of God to humanity in his son, Jesus. In Luke 2, Jesus as a Jewish baby is presented to God and the Jewish faith at the Temple. In Matthew 2, the rest of the world, represented by the Magi from the east, recognizes the new king in their visit to Bethlehem. This story is the primary celebration of Epiphany for all three strains of Christianity. The Orthodox Churches also celebrates the birth of Jesus, his naming (Luke 2:21), his presentation at the temple (Luke 2:22-38), his childhood (Luke 2:41-52) and his Baptism in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22). It is at the Baptism that the Spirit of God comes upon Jesus and the voice of God declares him to be the beloved Son.
How has God been made manifest (defined as “readily perceived by the eye or the understanding; evident; obvious; apparent; plain”) in you and in our churches? When did you have that “sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning” of God’s love for you and his offer of salvation through Jesus Christ? When did you awake to the idea or feeling that life truly has meaning when it is lived in Christ? How have you made Christ manifest to others? What have our churches done that people can look at us and declare that Christ lives in us?
May Christ be manifest in all of us in 2012!
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