Today's Scripture Readings
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 (NRSV)
Psalm 15 (BCP., p.599).
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (NRSV)
Blog Reflection
Marcus Borg, Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon wrote an article in The Huffington Post entitled A Chronological New Testament. He makes the case for why Christians would understand the New Testament if we actually read it in it's chronological order as opposed to how it is currently laid out in the Bible. In the chronological New Testament, it does not begin with Matthew along with the other three Gospels, followed by Acts and ends with Revelation. If we were to put the books of the New Testament in their chronological order, as Borg suggests, they would look much more like this.
The reasons that Borg gives for reading and/or viewing the New Testament in this chronological order are very interesting to me. See them below.
It is interesting that this article appeared in The Huffington Post this past Friday, before this weekends readings. As one might guess, the number of comments beneath Borg's column are very numerous, with not too few of them by those who read and interpret the Bible literally being rather angry and threatening about the content of this article. What is really going on there is not too much unlike what Jesus was dealing with in today's Gospel reading. At what point does ritual become so important to us, that we forget what Christians are really suppose to be doing?
Episcopalians are all about rituals. Our Book of Common Prayer is full of rituals. Every service, order of worship has a ritual. They are beautiful and powerful. As Episcopalians, we often risk worshiping our Liturgy, instead of God. I too am affected by this sin. I like Liturgy to be neat, nice flowing and without having to adjust to something different than what I am used to. I have so been caught by the Holy Spirit many times about my attitudes towards individuals and things going on during a Liturgy. I have to learn to accept others with the same love and mercy with which God has accepts me.
Even those who claim to not love ritual style worship, are actually into daily rituals of their own. Aside from what we do in our churches, we all follow a daily routine of rituals. We wake up at the same time every morning. We take our shower at the same time every day. We read the newspaper or news blogs on the computer or our phones while we drink our morning coffee. We always brush our teeth after every meal. We have our favorite TV programs that we watch on particular nights. All of these are a ritual in one way or another. Where ever we have a routine, we are doing a ritual. Whether it is religious or not.
Sadly, even our attitudes about God, others and ourselves can become a set of rituals. Racism is an unspoken ritual that too many of us have been taught in many cases by the poor example of those who raised us. Sexism is a ritual that infects men with poor attitudes towards women in places of employment and much of society. Heterosexism is such a part of the history of Christianity and much of our society. This is why trying to pass marriage equality for LGBT people is so very difficult. Here in Minnesota, we are working to defeat a harmful amendment this November that would permanently deny the freedom of LGBT people to marry the person that we love, if it should pass. As the debate to pass or defeat the amendment heats up, the proponents are calling it the "marriage protection amendment" claiming that they are simply trying to prevent marriage from being redefined. Marriage seen as being defined as between one man and one women is a ritual. A ritual where heterosexism and homophobia are given their power by a majority making a decision concerning the civil and human rights of a minority. A ritual in our Church and society, which must be discontinued.
Sadly, religious exceptionalism, by which Christianity is the religion of supersessionism by which all others are to be conquered to be come Christian, is also a ritual that is neither based on the Gospel, nor was it the purpose of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We should instead learn to see Jesus as interconnected with all peoples and religions of the world. Including with those who chose to practice no religion at all.
Jesus is calling us today to go back to what the meaning of our faith really is. To love the Lord our God, with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves. To have some concern about those who are marginalized, oppressed and disenfranchised. To share our resources with and on behalf of the poor, the lonely, the dying and those immigrants that just want a new home to live in. To see in every person, God's image and likeness, with the opportunity to be counted as one of God's children and to be included and nourished at the Altar when we receive Holy Communion.
James reminds us to understand that every act of self giving comes from God and is designed to accomplish God's will. The physical and sexual act of love making between two people of the same-sex is just as much a gift of God, as it is between people of the opposite sex. The gift of being another gender than the one assigned to us at birth is a gift given by God, and one that is not to be shamed, nor is it to mean that we justify cruelty in our speech or actions. Making tasteless and gross jokes about people of different races, cultures, religions and those who are poor or sick, is an example of deceiving ourselves about being so religious.
While celebrating our rituals in our worship, we would do well to learn to exercise the three rituals of inclusion, justice and equality. We are a church vibrant, alive and well, when the doors and hearts of our churches are wide open to receive and make room for those who are different from ourselves. When Christians exit our churches to become missionaries for inclusion, justice and equality, the Gospel we read and hear at Mass, becomes the living Word of God who is Jesus the Christ. As we work to establish and defend marriage equality in the laws of our State and Country, and call upon Christianists who make use of events such as Hurricane Isaac to suggest that it happened because of homosexuals, to recant, apologize and stop, the Gospel we read and the rituals we celebrate, become visible signs of God's grace.
How are we being called to make inclusion, justice and equality part of our lives and work as Christians?
In what ways might God be speaking to our hearts about what we do with rituals, while leaving other things unattended?
Where and when might we become more open the Holy Spirit calling us to establish a Church and society where inclusion, justice and equality are as important to us as the rituals we celebrate at Mass?
As we ask these questions in our prayers, we will want to be ready for God to answer. When we ask God to basically help us to get ourselves out of our way, God is more than happy to oblige. Are we ready and willing to allow God to answer such a prayer in our lives?
Amen.
Prayers
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good
things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in
us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth
in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 17: Book of Common Prayer, p. 233).
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).
Gracious Father, we pray for they holy Catholic Church. Fill it
with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt,
purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is
amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in
want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake
of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen. (Prayer for the Church, Book of Common Prayer, p. 816).
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 (NRSV)
Moses said: So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you.
You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!" For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children.
Psalm 15 (BCP., p.599).
James 1:17-27
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (NRSV)
Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."
- 'This people honors me with their lips,
- but their hearts are far from me;
- in vain do they worship me,
- teaching human precepts as doctrines.'
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."
Blog Reflection
Marcus Borg, Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon wrote an article in The Huffington Post entitled A Chronological New Testament. He makes the case for why Christians would understand the New Testament if we actually read it in it's chronological order as opposed to how it is currently laid out in the Bible. In the chronological New Testament, it does not begin with Matthew along with the other three Gospels, followed by Acts and ends with Revelation. If we were to put the books of the New Testament in their chronological order, as Borg suggests, they would look much more like this.
1. Thessalonians. 2. Galatians. 3. 1 Corinthians. 4. Philemon. 5. Philippians. 6. 2 Corinthians. 7. Romans. 8. Mark. 9. James. 10. Colossians. 11. Matthew. 12. Hebrews. 13. John. 14. Ephesians. 15. Revelation. 16. Jude. 17. 1 John. 18. 2 John. 19. 3 John. 20. Luke. 21. Acts. 22. 2 Thessalonians. 23. 1 Peter. 24. 1 Timothy. 25. 2 Timothy. 26. Titus. 27. 2 Peter.
The reasons that Borg gives for reading and/or viewing the New Testament in this chronological order are very interesting to me. See them below.
- Beginning with seven of Paul's letters illustrates that there were vibrant Christian communities spread throughout the Roman Empire before there were written Gospels. His letters provide a "window" into the life of very early Christian communities.
- Placing the Gospels after Paul makes it clear that as written documents they are not the source of early Christianity but its product. The Gospel -- the good news -- of and about Jesus existed before the Gospels. They are the products of early Christian communities several decades after Jesus' historical life and tell us how those communities saw his significance in their historical context.
- Reading the Gospels in chronological order beginning with Mark demonstrates that early Christian understandings of Jesus and his significance developed. As Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source, they not only added to Mark but often modified Mark.
- Seeing John separated from the other Gospels and relatively late in the New Testament makes it clear how different his Gospel is. In consistently metaphorical and symbolic language, it is primarily "witness" or "testimony" to what Jesus had become in the life and thought of John's community.
- Realizing that many of the documents are from the late first and early second centuries allows us to glimpse developments in early Christianity in its third and fourth generations. In general, they reflect a trajectory that moves from the radicalism of Jesus and Paul to increasing accommodation with the cultural conventions of the time.
It is interesting that this article appeared in The Huffington Post this past Friday, before this weekends readings. As one might guess, the number of comments beneath Borg's column are very numerous, with not too few of them by those who read and interpret the Bible literally being rather angry and threatening about the content of this article. What is really going on there is not too much unlike what Jesus was dealing with in today's Gospel reading. At what point does ritual become so important to us, that we forget what Christians are really suppose to be doing?
Episcopalians are all about rituals. Our Book of Common Prayer is full of rituals. Every service, order of worship has a ritual. They are beautiful and powerful. As Episcopalians, we often risk worshiping our Liturgy, instead of God. I too am affected by this sin. I like Liturgy to be neat, nice flowing and without having to adjust to something different than what I am used to. I have so been caught by the Holy Spirit many times about my attitudes towards individuals and things going on during a Liturgy. I have to learn to accept others with the same love and mercy with which God has accepts me.
Even those who claim to not love ritual style worship, are actually into daily rituals of their own. Aside from what we do in our churches, we all follow a daily routine of rituals. We wake up at the same time every morning. We take our shower at the same time every day. We read the newspaper or news blogs on the computer or our phones while we drink our morning coffee. We always brush our teeth after every meal. We have our favorite TV programs that we watch on particular nights. All of these are a ritual in one way or another. Where ever we have a routine, we are doing a ritual. Whether it is religious or not.
Sadly, even our attitudes about God, others and ourselves can become a set of rituals. Racism is an unspoken ritual that too many of us have been taught in many cases by the poor example of those who raised us. Sexism is a ritual that infects men with poor attitudes towards women in places of employment and much of society. Heterosexism is such a part of the history of Christianity and much of our society. This is why trying to pass marriage equality for LGBT people is so very difficult. Here in Minnesota, we are working to defeat a harmful amendment this November that would permanently deny the freedom of LGBT people to marry the person that we love, if it should pass. As the debate to pass or defeat the amendment heats up, the proponents are calling it the "marriage protection amendment" claiming that they are simply trying to prevent marriage from being redefined. Marriage seen as being defined as between one man and one women is a ritual. A ritual where heterosexism and homophobia are given their power by a majority making a decision concerning the civil and human rights of a minority. A ritual in our Church and society, which must be discontinued.
Sadly, religious exceptionalism, by which Christianity is the religion of supersessionism by which all others are to be conquered to be come Christian, is also a ritual that is neither based on the Gospel, nor was it the purpose of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We should instead learn to see Jesus as interconnected with all peoples and religions of the world. Including with those who chose to practice no religion at all.
Jesus is calling us today to go back to what the meaning of our faith really is. To love the Lord our God, with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves. To have some concern about those who are marginalized, oppressed and disenfranchised. To share our resources with and on behalf of the poor, the lonely, the dying and those immigrants that just want a new home to live in. To see in every person, God's image and likeness, with the opportunity to be counted as one of God's children and to be included and nourished at the Altar when we receive Holy Communion.
James reminds us to understand that every act of self giving comes from God and is designed to accomplish God's will. The physical and sexual act of love making between two people of the same-sex is just as much a gift of God, as it is between people of the opposite sex. The gift of being another gender than the one assigned to us at birth is a gift given by God, and one that is not to be shamed, nor is it to mean that we justify cruelty in our speech or actions. Making tasteless and gross jokes about people of different races, cultures, religions and those who are poor or sick, is an example of deceiving ourselves about being so religious.
While celebrating our rituals in our worship, we would do well to learn to exercise the three rituals of inclusion, justice and equality. We are a church vibrant, alive and well, when the doors and hearts of our churches are wide open to receive and make room for those who are different from ourselves. When Christians exit our churches to become missionaries for inclusion, justice and equality, the Gospel we read and hear at Mass, becomes the living Word of God who is Jesus the Christ. As we work to establish and defend marriage equality in the laws of our State and Country, and call upon Christianists who make use of events such as Hurricane Isaac to suggest that it happened because of homosexuals, to recant, apologize and stop, the Gospel we read and the rituals we celebrate, become visible signs of God's grace.
How are we being called to make inclusion, justice and equality part of our lives and work as Christians?
In what ways might God be speaking to our hearts about what we do with rituals, while leaving other things unattended?
Where and when might we become more open the Holy Spirit calling us to establish a Church and society where inclusion, justice and equality are as important to us as the rituals we celebrate at Mass?
As we ask these questions in our prayers, we will want to be ready for God to answer. When we ask God to basically help us to get ourselves out of our way, God is more than happy to oblige. Are we ready and willing to allow God to answer such a prayer in our lives?
Amen.
Prayers
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good
things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in
us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth
in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 17: Book of Common Prayer, p. 233).
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).
Gracious Father, we pray for they holy Catholic Church. Fill it
with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt,
purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is
amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in
want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake
of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen. (Prayer for the Church, Book of Common Prayer, p. 816).
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