Today's Scripture Readings
Jeremiah 18:1-11 (NRSV)
Psalm 139 (BCP., p.749).
Philemon 1-21 (NRSV)
Luke 14:25-33 (NRSV)
Blog Reflection
There is an old hymn written by Adelaide A. Pollard that I think says quite beautifully what the Prophet Jeremiah is talking about.
Jeremiah is prophesying God's word to God's people. God is disappointed with the people that are God's inheritance. They have been turning away from the Lord, and forgetting their obligations to the One who delivered their ancestors, and gave them so much to be thankful for. Rather than sharing what they had with the poor and the oppressed around them, they became empathetic. They resisted the opportunity for repentance and conversion for that sake of God's Name. They resisted the opportunity to allow God to change them, so that they would live holy lives. God wants so many good things for God's people, but there is only so much God can do, if we do not give ourselves over so God can do God's will in our lives.
Are we willing to let God shape and mold us to serve God and others?
How much do we cling to those things that keep us from growing closer to God?
What might we do to allow God to mold and change us?
The Psalmist in Psalm 139 is praying that God knows so much about us, that there is very little God does not know about us. God alone knows what is in the depths of our hearts, and there is no where we can go where God is not found. We are all "fearfully and wonderfully made" and God knows it well. Regardless of what people may do with the many labels that are used to denigrate others, in God we are all wonderful and loved in every fiber of our being.
Reading today's Gospel too literally will get any reader into a lot of trouble. Jesus is not telling us to hate our family. He is not telling us that if we love our parents and family, we are not His disciples. William Barclay in The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus is helping us to understand that there is a difference between being a follower of Jesus and a Disciple. Anyone can follow the leader, but not everyone will understand and follow in the footsteps that were leading Jesus to the Cross. A Disciple will need to do more than just follow Jesus, but will have to be willing to pick up their own Cross. A follower will say that one is a Christian, may be attend worship services, pray the creeds, and go to Communion. A Disciple will do all of those things and more, not to just get them done, but because growing closer to God and discerning God's will for their lives is more important to them, than having a name that just gets them a good reputation.
In this Gospel the second piece is taking in to account what you have, so that you may determine how serious one is about the call to Discipleship. A great example of this is the formation process a person and a Religious and/or Christian Community go through to discern God's will. The purpose is to be sure that both sides take into account where they themselves are, and where God is leading them, so as to determine as best as possible, that God is leading both to a life long commitment to each other. The same can be said about two people preparing for marriage. The preparation for marriage is to be sure that all parties are prepared to be Disciples and not just followers as they enter into a relationship that is about love, commitment and responsibility. Whether the couple is lesbian, gay, straight, bisexual and/or transgender, the commitment to God and each other in marriage is the same. It is a life lived by giving of oneself for the benefit of the other.
The Church and society find ourselves in some major situations that are God's call on our lives to be Disciples and not just followers. As we take into account the terrible consequences of a military strike in Syria, we should be considering the equally terrible consequences to the civilian people there, who have already suffered terrible losses. If we do not think very carefully about the further damage to our own economy as we take money out of important public services like education, public safety, infrastructure, food stamps and health care to go to war more people here will suffer from poverty and joblessness. We do not need more war and military destruction. We need conversations, and political actions that make what the Syrian Government has done to it's own people, morally unacceptable, without more casualties to add to those that have already happened.
We need to decide if we are followers of Christ only, or actual Disciples when it comes to telling the world what the message of Christ is really about with regards to sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression. If we wish to be Disciples then we will do everything we can to speak up against bullying of students and children because they are LGBTQ. Because being a Disciple means upholding the dignity and integrity of all people, and no one is a scapegoat. Suicide because of bullying is a societal tragedy, and must not be acceptable for any reason.
As Disciples who carry our Cross, we will speak up in favor of immigration reform, call for an end to racism, sexism, and using the Christian Faith to bully people by creating and promoting conspiracy theories to create fear and intimidation.
As Disciples we are to promote peace, justice, inclusion and equality for all people. We are called to ask for the grace of God so that we can be do our part with the Holy Spirit to "renew the face of the earth" (Psalm 104:31).
Are we followers of Christ only, or are we Disciples?
Amen.
Prayers
Jeremiah 18:1-11 (NRSV)
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Come, go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
Then the word of the LORD came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.
Psalm 139 (BCP., p.749).
Philemon 1-21 (NRSV)
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.
For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love-- and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother-- especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
Luke 14:25-33 (NRSV)
Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."
Blog Reflection
There is an old hymn written by Adelaide A. Pollard that I think says quite beautifully what the Prophet Jeremiah is talking about.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the potter; I am the clay.
Mold me and after Thy will.
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Jeremiah is prophesying God's word to God's people. God is disappointed with the people that are God's inheritance. They have been turning away from the Lord, and forgetting their obligations to the One who delivered their ancestors, and gave them so much to be thankful for. Rather than sharing what they had with the poor and the oppressed around them, they became empathetic. They resisted the opportunity for repentance and conversion for that sake of God's Name. They resisted the opportunity to allow God to change them, so that they would live holy lives. God wants so many good things for God's people, but there is only so much God can do, if we do not give ourselves over so God can do God's will in our lives.
Are we willing to let God shape and mold us to serve God and others?
How much do we cling to those things that keep us from growing closer to God?
What might we do to allow God to mold and change us?
The Psalmist in Psalm 139 is praying that God knows so much about us, that there is very little God does not know about us. God alone knows what is in the depths of our hearts, and there is no where we can go where God is not found. We are all "fearfully and wonderfully made" and God knows it well. Regardless of what people may do with the many labels that are used to denigrate others, in God we are all wonderful and loved in every fiber of our being.
Reading today's Gospel too literally will get any reader into a lot of trouble. Jesus is not telling us to hate our family. He is not telling us that if we love our parents and family, we are not His disciples. William Barclay in The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus is helping us to understand that there is a difference between being a follower of Jesus and a Disciple. Anyone can follow the leader, but not everyone will understand and follow in the footsteps that were leading Jesus to the Cross. A Disciple will need to do more than just follow Jesus, but will have to be willing to pick up their own Cross. A follower will say that one is a Christian, may be attend worship services, pray the creeds, and go to Communion. A Disciple will do all of those things and more, not to just get them done, but because growing closer to God and discerning God's will for their lives is more important to them, than having a name that just gets them a good reputation.
In this Gospel the second piece is taking in to account what you have, so that you may determine how serious one is about the call to Discipleship. A great example of this is the formation process a person and a Religious and/or Christian Community go through to discern God's will. The purpose is to be sure that both sides take into account where they themselves are, and where God is leading them, so as to determine as best as possible, that God is leading both to a life long commitment to each other. The same can be said about two people preparing for marriage. The preparation for marriage is to be sure that all parties are prepared to be Disciples and not just followers as they enter into a relationship that is about love, commitment and responsibility. Whether the couple is lesbian, gay, straight, bisexual and/or transgender, the commitment to God and each other in marriage is the same. It is a life lived by giving of oneself for the benefit of the other.
The Church and society find ourselves in some major situations that are God's call on our lives to be Disciples and not just followers. As we take into account the terrible consequences of a military strike in Syria, we should be considering the equally terrible consequences to the civilian people there, who have already suffered terrible losses. If we do not think very carefully about the further damage to our own economy as we take money out of important public services like education, public safety, infrastructure, food stamps and health care to go to war more people here will suffer from poverty and joblessness. We do not need more war and military destruction. We need conversations, and political actions that make what the Syrian Government has done to it's own people, morally unacceptable, without more casualties to add to those that have already happened.
We need to decide if we are followers of Christ only, or actual Disciples when it comes to telling the world what the message of Christ is really about with regards to sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression. If we wish to be Disciples then we will do everything we can to speak up against bullying of students and children because they are LGBTQ. Because being a Disciple means upholding the dignity and integrity of all people, and no one is a scapegoat. Suicide because of bullying is a societal tragedy, and must not be acceptable for any reason.
As Disciples who carry our Cross, we will speak up in favor of immigration reform, call for an end to racism, sexism, and using the Christian Faith to bully people by creating and promoting conspiracy theories to create fear and intimidation.
As Disciples we are to promote peace, justice, inclusion and equality for all people. We are called to ask for the grace of God so that we can be do our part with the Holy Spirit to "renew the face of the earth" (Psalm 104:31).
Are we followers of Christ only, or are we Disciples?
Amen.
Prayers
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as
you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength,
so you never forsake those who make their boast of your
mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen. (Proper 18, 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).
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn
but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the
strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that
all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of
Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and
glory, now and for ever. Amen. (Prayer for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, p.815).
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