Chain of Command (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

I recently saw a TV show where a traveling faith healer set up a large tent outside London. People came, night after night, to beg the healer to intervene for them with God. They all wanted just one thing: to be well. And the healer, invoking the name of God, appeared to heal all manner of frailties.

That's the kind of scenario we associate with faith healers: while in the physical presence of someone claiming to represent God, people appear to be healed of what ails them. There are witnesses, witnesses who can praise the healer and God for the miracle. It's as close to a standard as we come with this kind of thing.

So, with that standard in mind, imagine this scenario: an army captain is stationed is a foreign country where there is a history of insurgents trying to overthrow his government's presence there. The captain couldn't be more different than the locals; wealthy, well educated, a favored son of his country, and has a completely different religion. One day, he is informed that one of his staff has fallen ill; so ill, in fact, he is likely to die. The captain goes to local community leaders and asks them to reach out to an itinerant preacher and (supposed) miracle worker, who is traveling through that part of the country. The captain would like for the preacher to come and heal the ailing man.

Can you imagine an officer in our army doing such a thing? As the more advanced country, our healthcare is almost certainly better than any available in a "second world" foreign outpost. And, even stranger, would one of our army officers seek help from a local "miracle worker"? It sounds too bizarre to be believed.

And yet.

That's what's going on in the Luke passage in this week's Lectionary selections. Jesus enters Capernaum and is soon approached by the Jewish elders on behalf of a Roman Centurion! The local military leader of the repressive regime that has conquered their country! And if that's not strange enough, they want Jesus to come with them to the Centurion's house so he can heal the Centurion's servant! But, while this may sound very unusual to us, Jesus appears to just take it in stride. He agrees to go.

And, though quite a bit out of the ordinary, at least it meets the faith healing standard: Faith healer does the healing in the presence of witnesses.

It's what happens next that shocks even Jesus.

While on their way, a message comes from the Centurion to Jesus: “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not presume to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my [servant], ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭7:6-8‬ ‭NET‬‬, http://bible.com/107/luk.7.6-8.net)

Scripture says Jesus was amazed, that He marveled at the Centurion's faith in Jesus' authority. Everyone else, even Jesus, was expecting the standard. Instead, because of this Gentile's surprisingly expansive faith, Jesus honors his request. He does not go to the Centurion's house, and yet, the servant is healed anyway.

The authority of Jesus has not diminished by even the tiniest part since this happened.

What does your faith allow?

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 4 (9) (May 29, 2016)
First reading and Psalm
1 Kings 18:20-21, (22-29), 30-39
Psalm 96
Alternate First reading and Psalm
1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43
Psalm 96:1-9
Second reading
Galatians 1:1-12
Gospel
Luke 7:1-10
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Friday morning's coming! If you can join us for Lectionary Breakfast, we would be delighted. We still gather at 8:00 at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant for an hour not quite like any other. Food, faith, and a shocking amount of fun :-)

Enjoy the week!
Steve

Winter Is Coming (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

I am not a winter person.

It's not much of a confession to anyone who knows me.

Granted, when I moved to the Boston area late one fall, the novelty of so much winter was pretty mesmerizing. At first. All the play aspects were attractive in those early days. The smell of burning wood and the smoke curling out of chimney-tops, the sight and joyful sounds of neighborhood kids playing broom hockey on our town's frozen pond, the beauty of snow blanketing everything in pristine whiteness.

There was great novelty in walking through the snow to church on a Sunday morning, and living next to the Charles River provided endless fascination as the "little muddy" formed ice shapes along its banks.

Before long, though, the harsher realities overtook the positives. Cars that wouldn't start, constantly falling down on slick surfaces, impassable roads, power outages, being late to everything; never, ever getting warm enough. And, worst of all, at least for me, that overwhelming claustrophobic sensation that it would never end. Because, if you don't live far enough north, you don't know about new snowfall in April, nor that the spring snows fall on top of snow that has been on the ground since January. And you don't realize that the snow may still be on the ground come May.

In George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones novels, the Stark family motto is "Winter is Coming." It conveys a sense of inevitability, the idea that winter cannot be avoided and must be prepared for; something through which each person must pass, something to overcome.

Where is the hope in that?

It was just these winter experiences that made me pause when I came across the passage in the Book of Job where God demands from Job, “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,” (‭‭Job‬ ‭38:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬, http://bible.com/111/job.38.22.niv). The "storehouses of the snow" really caught my attention. Most scholars read that phrase as meaning a kind of place where God stores snow.

That's not how I read it. I see it as meaning snow is the storehouse. And I think I have a pretty good idea what is stored in the snow: hope.

Summer in New England, and the few weeks that bookend either side of it, is a lovely time. Very Robert Frost. So, when winter does finally end, everyone feels an uplift in spirit; joy fills every heart. A kind of collective amnesia overtakes, clouding the harsher memories of winter. But deep in the winter, people think of the spring to come, of the green grass, flowers, and the planting of gardens. They think of the warm days of summer and the coming, though still far off, harvest.

They have hope.

For they know that every inch of snow piled upon the ground throughout the winter is actually stored water, just waiting for spring to release it. Water that brings life to the land, the plants, the animals, and all of us humans who could not survive without it.

The Romans passage in this week's Lectionary selections talks about a "hope that does not disappoint." Such hope is more than just a wish; it's a confidence that good will come. The passage asserts that by enduring our sufferings, we will gain character, the kind of character that can hope, unreservedly, in the belief that our faith is not misplaced.

It is our storehouse of hope. And it will see us through the winter.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Trinity Sunday (May 22, 2016)
First reading and Psalm
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8
Second reading
Romans 5:1-5
Gospel
John 16:12-15
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We have a hope that does not disappoint. Join us Friday mornings for Lectionary Breakfast at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant. We meet at 8:00 for an hour that feeds us, both physically and spiritually, and from which we draw hope for the days ahead.

Enjoy the coming week!
Steve

Knights, Gunslingers, and Slaves (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

Did God have slaves? It seems impossible. The very idea is disturbing on several levels. And yet, this week's Lectionary selection from Acts talks about God's slaves. Peter explains to the crowd that they are not hearing gibberish from drunkards, but the word of God from his anointed servants, fulfilling a Biblical prophecy:

"In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy." (Joel 2:28-29a NRSV)

And there is the troubling phrase: "Even upon my slaves...." So troubling, in fact, that most modern versions render the word as "servants."

Well, which is it, servants or slaves?

Neither. We don't actually have a word in modern English that directly corresponds to the original language in that passage. The closest we can come is "Bondservant," a person who intentionally attaches themselves to a master (sort of an indentured servant). But even that isn't exactly right.

So, then, what is it like?

More like Batman and Don Quixote* and Stephen King's "Gunslinger" Roland Deschain ... Knights, that is. Though, of course, fictional Knights, they are versions of something that harks back to a time when actual knights swore an "Oath of Fealty" to their King. They went on quests, did as the King asked, and were easily identified as representatives of their King. They pledged to never do anything that reflected badly on the King, and to always do the right. In other words, knights committed themselves to serve their kings, faithfully.

Which brings us back to Israel.

At the time God gave the Law to the Israelites, there were many practices in the world that we would find repellant. As with many of these, God's requirements relative to slavery were intended to begin the process of shaping the fledgling nation in the right direction, to mitigate the worst aspects of the practice within Israel, not eliminate it from the world. "An eye for an eye" was a significant improvement over "a death for an eye."

As part of this, God gave special instructions about slaves who were also Jews. God required that Jews be released from slavery after six years, regardless of the reasons they became slaves. No Jew was enslaved to another Jew for life.

With one exception.

A Jew could elect to refuse release at the end of six years. To make this happen, he or she had to state before community leaders, "I will not go out free." At this, the master would pierce the slave's ear as a sign the person had elected to be permanently in the master's service. It was this kind of so-called "slave" being referenced by God in Joel's prophecy; men and women who had committed themselves to lifetime service to the Lord.

If you are one of these whose "oath of fealty" is to God, someone on whom the Spirit has been poured out, scripture says you "shall" prophesy. You, then, must not wait. You must not withhold God's word.

Peter and the eleven spoke as they were moved by the Spirit. What is stopping you?
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Day of Pentecost (May 15, 2016)
First reading
Acts 2:1-21 or Genesis 11:1-9
Psalm
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Second reading
Romans 8:14-17 or Acts 2:1-21
Gospel
John 14:8-17, (25-27)
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* Why not take a break and listen to a song that captures this state of commitment so perfectly? There are many versions of "The Impossible Dream" on YouTube. Here is a link to one of my favorites: Jim Nabors (as Gomer Pyle) sings it in his true voice. (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r5KeGccP9Jk&autoplay=1)

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This is the time of year we celebrate Pentecost, the launching of the church in Jerusalem. We would love it if you could join our group of believers at Lectionary Breakfast on Friday morning. We read the scripture and the Spirit instructs us. The hour starts at 8:00 and includes a meal, the Bible, and an enjoyable time together. We still meet at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant.

Enjoy the week!
Steve