This Sunday we will have a delicious, mouth-watering, fresh baked-bread, aroma filled service!  Even in our carb-conscious culture, this is worth savoring!

There is a two sentence parable in the gospel Luke (and Matthew).  It’s one of the few parables that Jesus used in teaching that obviously didn’t need to be interpreted.  That’s the reason it’s only two sentences long!  It also is not often the focus of a sermon or a service.  But it is a powerhouse parable.

Here it is:

Jesus continued, “What does the realm of God resemble? What is it like?   It is like the yeast which a baker added to three measures of flour and kneaded until the whole ball of dough began to rise.”

Throughout Jesus ministry, people were always asking him “What is the realm of God is like?” Today we probably would ask Jesus the question, “How do we live a spiritual life?”  In other words, how do we make this life (our life) “holy” or “sacred?”

In the world in which Jesus lived, bread was the staple of every diet.  Everyone ate bread.  That’s partly because Jesus lived in a primarily agrarian culture (most people were farmers or shepherds) but also because they lived “close to the land.”  There were no stores and no consumer-economy.  People worked the land, which grew the grain, which was harvested as wheat, ground into flour, mixed, and baked into bread.  Shepherds often exchanged wool or meat for grain.   From our perspective today, this was a pretty “simple lifestyle.”

The key to baking bread is yeast.  In Jesus’ time it was called “leaven.”  Yeast or leaven is that which makes the bread rise.  In Jesus’ life time, bread baking was pretty much the work of women; and just like birth itself, this “feminine task” was in every way seen as connected to the cycle of life.  Bread was “the source of life.”  It was the staple of the human diet in Jesus’ world, much like rice is in many Asian cultures today.  Bread was eaten at every meal.  If you were lucky, you could have some stew with it or lentils or fish, but when none of those other things were available the people depended and lived on bread.  If you didn’t have bread, you died.   So bread became the symbol of life.  That’s why it plays such an important part in the sacrament of Communion!

Obviously today bread is not the staple of our diet.  Bread is often simply something which enhances our meal.  In our carb-conscious culture, many restaurants in LA don’t even serve bread with meals or if they do, the wait staff almost always asks if you want bread before bringing it to you.

We live in such a different world than our spiritual ancestors!  But if we lived in a much less affluent time, bread would be a staple in our diet.  So going back to the image of Bread as the staple, the source of life in the ancient world, we encounter this simple teaching of Jesus in which he offers an example of what the spiritual life is like: “It is like the yeast which a baker added to three measures of flour and kneaded until the whole ball of dough began to rise.”

Yeast?  The spiritual life is like YEAST?  You’re kidding, right?

This Sunday, our friend and sister-in-faith, Sharon Tool will be helping us figure out what this parable means.  Sharon is an extraordinary bread-baker!!!   She bakes fresh bread for every Communion service at her home church, United University Church on the USC campus and for their social time after worship.  For those who attended our annual combined Good Friday Service with United University Church, you got to “taste” Sharon’s bread at the Bread Breaking station of the cross.  It’s some of the most delicious bread in the world.  During our worship, Sharon will be making bread on the Communion Table as together we explore what this two sentence parable means for our faith.  And for Communion, Sharon will have a loaf of scrumptious fresh baked bread for us to share!

Obviously, it’s about the yeast, but it’s not the yeast itself.  It’s what the yeast “does!”  So as we prepare for this Sunday, let me ask you to think about this:  How do you bring Jesus to life?  How are you like “yeast?”  How have others brought Jesus to life for you?  How are they like “yeast?”

This Sunday – Come hungry and leave filled!

God Bless!

Dan

This Sunday’s Scripture:

Luke 13: 18, 20-21

Jesus offers an illustration of what the realm of God resembles.

Jesus continued, “What does the realm of God resemble? What is it like?

To what will I compare the realm of God?  It is like the yeast which a baker added to three measures of flour and kneaded until the whole ball of dough began to rise.”

Where is God when our lives are messed up?  Where is God when things are not going smoothly?  Where is God when our stomach is in knots or our lives are all tangled up in situations we never expected?

The Apostle Paul gives us a little insight into that in his letter to the Christian community, called the letter to the Ephesians.  He writes it, literally, from prison!  Can’t really get more knotted and tangled than that!

Blessings,  Dan

Check it out at the following link:

KOLE: “LIFE BE’S NO FAIR!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXE0fHiULVM

Poor little guy, we’ve all been there and as a parent I have had the same conversation countless times with my kids. It’s hard for a six year old to understand that mom is not being fair, but mom is doing the right thing. You cannot give a six year old and a ten year old the same responsibilities, freedom, and privileges. Let’s take the example of cutting meat with a butcher’s knife: It will help the ten year old to gain independence and self confidence, but the six year old? Well, most probably a visit to the Emergency Room! Yet, the six year old will rightly feel that s/he is being treated unfairly like a “baby.” That’s parenting for you! You cannot even deal with your children in the same manner, because they have different personalities, temperaments, strengths, talents, needs, and weaknesses. Instead of trying to treat my kids equally I try to treat them as individuals with their own specific needs. It may not be fair, but it is just.

But it is not only kids who feel slighted when they are not being treated fairly – we will experience it many times in our own faith journeys. Face it: God is not always fair. Anyone who claims that God is fair is making a statement that is not found in Scripture. When you read the Bible stories you’ll make a quick discovery that God doesn’t deal with all of us equitably.  But God always does what is right; therefore God often treats us differently, not because God is fair, but because God is just.

Unfair does not equal unjust. But sometimes we confuse these two concepts with one another as the workers did in the Parable of the Landowner in Matthew 20. In this parable the landowner hired different workers at different times throughout the day. At pay-time he shows unexpected kindness and pays the workers hired later in the day the same wages as those working since early that morning. Is this unfair? You bet it is! But is it unjust?

Let’s talk more about this on Sunday,

Kobie

Think differently

Act differently

Believe differently

What’s your view of God?

This Sunday we will take a closer look at the second topic in our new worship series called “A New Kind of Christianity:” What’s your view of God? In a recent Gallup poll survey researchers found that although 91.8% of people interviewed said they believe in God as a higher power or cosmic force, they had four distinct views of God’s personality and engagement in human affairs. These four views were dubbed by the researches as Authoritarian, Benevolent, Critical or Distant. The Authoritarian God is seen as angry at earthly sin and willing to inflict divine retribution. The Distant God is described as a faceless, cosmic force that launched the world but leaves it alone. Some saw God as a Benevolent God who sets absolute standards for humans, but is also forgiving, while others defined God as a Critical God – the classic bearded old man, judgmental but not intervening or punishing.

But these are not the only images of God. I read a reflection a while ago by Rabbi Brian, who writes a weekly spiritual reflection, called Out-Of-The-Box. Rabbi Brian shared that from his conversations with people over the years, he has gathered many more colorful attempts to encapsulate the limitless – different notions that different people have come up with as stabs at trying to define God. Here is a list of some of the interesting definitions he has heard over the years. See if you can identify one that relates to your image or understanding of who God is:

Highest ideals

God is “not the internalized voice of an authority whom we are eager to please and afraid of displeasing; it is the voice of our total personality expressing the demands of life and growth.”

Everynothing

There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is Serene. Empty. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternal. Present. It is the mother of the universe.

Television

I don’t understand the entirety of how my television turns the wires that come into it into pictures and sound. I can still enjoy it. I can feel the same about God.

God, driving the cart

God is the driver of the cart that I am sitting in the back of… I can clearly see where I’ve been, but not where I’m going. I wonder about how much faith I have in the driver.

Pet : me :: me : God

My dogs don’t understand why I have to take them to the veterinarian for shots that hurt. Perhaps God causes me “pain” for reasons that are beyond my understanding?

A friend

God is a friend I can reach out to and be with at any time I feel the need to reach out and share.

Not it

I don’t know much about God, I just know that I’m not it.

Ground-of-us

Twentieth century theologian Paul Tillich referred to God not as being out there, but as being “the ground of our being.”

Panentheism

It is the notion that everything is in God and that God is in everything. (This is not the same as pantheism – without the “en” – which maintains that “everything is God.”) Panentheism maintains that there is more to God than the material universe, that God is transcendent and non-personal, and that God is both the creator and the original source of universal morality.

Chairgod of the board

God sets the agenda, but doesn’t get involved in day-to-day operations.

How about you? What is your notion of God? What is your view of God? Who is God to you?

I know what you are going to ask: What does the Bible say? Well, that’s not so easy to answer. You see, there are many different images of God in Scripture – in fact in Scripture there is an ongoing conversation about the character of God. But more about that on Sunday,

For now, go think about it for a bit. Who is God to you? How would you describe God?

Kobie

To read more about Rabbi Brian, click on the following link:

http://www.rotb.org/_2_z_1_rabbibrian.html

For more info on the Gallup Poll, see following link:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2006-09-11-religion-survey_x.htm

This Sunday’s Scripture

John 14: 8-11

Philip said, “Rabbi, show us Abba God, then we will be content.” Jesus said to him, “You’ve been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don’t understand?” To see me is to see the Abba God. So how can you ask, ‘Show us your Abba God?’ Don’t you believe that I am in God and God is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. It is Abba God, living in me, who crafts each word into a divine act. Believe me that I am in God and God is in me, or else believe because of the works I do.”

This week as Hurricane Alex approached the Texas coast and threatened yet more disaster and destruction from the oil gushing forth in the Gulf, a number of news stories reminded people that most Insurance policies exclude “Acts of God.”  Are earthquakes and hurricanes really acts of God?   Once again I thought to myself, “Is God Good?  Or Is God violent?”

This past week I went to Children’s Hospital to visit little Aaron, for whom we have been praying for many, many months.  Aaron is the cutest little blonde haired six year old boy imaginable.  From the time he was 14 months old until now he’s had surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation to fight cancerous tumors that grow in his brain.  While I talked with his grandmother, Aaron was having a great time playing with his Legos, just like any other 6 year old boy.  But oh, what this child has been through in his short life is unbelievable.  I don’t know how someone so young can endure so much!  When I think of Aaron and so many of the other kids who are at Children’s Hospital, I find myself asking, “Is God Good?  Or Is God violent?”

This Sunday we’re beginning our new summer series called:

A New Kind of Christianity:

Think differently

Act differently

Believe differently

Brian McLaren just published a new book called, “A Kew Kind of Christianity -Ten Questions that are Transforming the Faith.”  At the beginning of his book he writes:

The God question:  Is God violent? Nearly all religions seem hell-bent on inspiring people to kill each other…  So we ask:  Why does God seem so violent and genocidal in many Bible passages?  Does God sanction elitism, prejudice, violence, or even genocide?  Is God incurably violent and is faith capable of becoming a stronger force for peace and reconciliation than it has been for violence in the past?

~ Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, p.19-20.

The question of whether God is Good or Violent is not just about global issues, it’s about our personal beliefs and relationships with God as well.  Just ask Officer Ortiz’s family, or those who have lived through a natural disaster, or Aaron’s family or yourself.  Listen to Susan’s wrestling with this question from Recycle your Faith.

Is God Good?

If you believe, or want to believe (or even want to explore!) how God is Good, what do you need to do to:

Think differently

Act differently

Believe differently

???

Blessings!

Dan

Genesis 1

The story of Creation

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light!” and there was light.

And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”

And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.”  And it was so. God called the dry land “earth” and the waters, “seas.”

And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit.”

And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly about the earth.” And so God created them.

And God saw that it was good.

And God said “Let the earth bring forth living creatures.”

And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make humanity in our image, after our likeness.”  So God created humanity in God’s image.  And God blessed them.

And God saw everything that God had made, and behold it was VERY GOOD.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the hosts of them.  And on the seventh day God rested.  So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work which God had done in creation.

Luke 15: 11-31

The Parable of the lost son and Loving Father

Jesus told this parable:  A man had two sons.  The younger of them said to their father, “Give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.”  So the father divided up the property between them.  Some days later, the younger son gathered up his belongings and went off to a distant land.  Here he squandered all his money on loose living.

“After everything was spent, a great famine broke out in the land, and the son was in great need. So he went to a landowner, who sent him to a farm to take care of the pigs.  The son was so hungry that he could have eaten the husks that were fodder for the pigs, but no one made a move to give him anything.  Coming to his senses at last, he said, “How many hired hands at my father’s house have more than enough to eat, while here I am starving!  I’ll quit and go back home and say, I’ve sinned against God and against you; I no longer deserve to be called one of your children.  Treat me like one of your hired hands.”  With that, the young son set off for home.

While still a long way off, the father caught sight of the returning child and was deeply moved.  The father ran out to meet him, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  The son said to him, “I’ve sinned against God and against you; I no longer deserve to be called one of our children.”  But his father said to one of the workers, “Quick!  Bring out the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet.  Take the calf we’ve been fattening and butcher it.  Let’s eat and celebrate!  This son of mine was dead and has come back to life.  He was lost and now he’s found!  And the celebration began.

Meanwhile the elder son had been out in the field.  As he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.  He called one of the workers and asked what was happening.  The worker answered, “Your brother is home and the fatted calf has been killed because your father has him back safe and sound.”

The son got angry at this and refused to go into the party, but his father came out and pleaded with him.  The older son replied, “I never disobeyed even one of your orders, yet you never gave me so much as a kid goat to celebrate with my friends.  But then this son of yours comes home after going through your money with prostitutes, and you kill the fatted calf for him!”

“But my child!” the father said.  “You’re with me always, and everything I have is yours.  But we have to celebrate and rejoice!  This brother of yours was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and now he’s found.”

Just about every aspect of the “financial collapse” or global economic meltdown astounds me.  From mortgage companies that issued mortgages without any documentation to rating agencies and “too big to fail” financial institutions that not only packaged and sold these highly risky debt instruments to other banks and institutions, while at the same time betting and buying insurance policies on the failure of these same “products” one mantra keeps being said over and over:  “Well, technically what was done wasn’t illegal.”  My friend said to me, “the huge societal challenge we have in America today is that our entire society is based on the question “Is it legal?”  All our actions are based on “Is it legal?”  instead of “Is it right?”

In the last weeks we have looked at that question from a couple different perspectives.  We’ve looked at it from the perspective of the Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch and societal and religious rules that separated “somebodies” from nobodies.”  From start to finish, the teachings of Jesus are absolutely clear.  Jesus teaches us to do what is morally right, not what is legally permissible.  No single teaching changed Christianity more than that.  In fact the Religious Leaders of Jesus’ time were always complaining that Jesus “broke the law!”  And Jesus would always respond with a teaching about how what he was doing was “morally and spiritually right.”

In the last months, we’ve seen and heard the issue of Immigration and Immigration Reform become highly politicized and polarized in our country.  This is not a new issue.  Our immigration policy has been a disastrous mess for decades.  In 1994 Californians passed a very strong anti-immigration initiative, Prop 187.  The initiative was called the “Save our State Initiative.”  The pre-election polls predicted that the initiative would be soundly defeated.  Everyone was awestruck after the election when it passed by a sizeable majority:  59% in favor, 41% opposed.  In the end, the courts found that most of Prop 187 was unconstitutional in spite of the fact that it passed with such a wide majority.  Fast forward 16 years and we now have the State of Arizona passing a very harsh anti-immigration bill and once again, it’s headed off to the courts.

So this Sunday, we’re going to look at what Jesus has to say about immigration as well as what our faith tradition has to say.  I have to confess, even I was astounded to discover that the Scriptures and sacred texts of almost every major faith tradition address this issue with such similarity!  Here’s a sampling of what Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu and Sikh sacred texts and traditions teach:

The Hebrew Scriptures tell us: “And if a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him or her wrong.  The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Holy One, your God.”   (Leviticus 19:33-34)

In the New Testament, Jesus calls us to welcome the immigrant, saying “for what you do to the least of these who are members of my family, you do unto me.” (Matthew 25:40)

The Qur’an requires us to “serve God, and be good to …neighbors who are familiar and near… the companion by your side and the traveler that you meet.”  (4: 36)

The Hindu scripture Taittiriya Upanishad reminds us, “The guest is a representative of God.” (1.11.2)

Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and last human Sikh Guru, guided us to “recognize the human race as one.”

And perhaps most familiar to all Christians is “the Rule of St. Benedict:”

“Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for he is going to say, ‘I came as a guest and you received me.’  And to all let due honor be shown…Let both Abbot and community wash the feet of all guests.  In the reception of the poor and the pilgrims the greatest care and solicitude should be shown, because it is especially in them that Christ is received.”          The Rule of St. Benedict

So this Sunday, we’re going to look at the spiritual and humanitarian side of the immigration debate.

Blessings!

Dan

Deuteronomy 10: 10-22

Moses reveals what God asks of the Community of Faith before leading them from the wilderness into the Promised Land.

(Moses said:)  Forty days and forty nights I stayed on the mountain, as I did the first time.  And God listened to me again and agreed not to destroy you.  God said to me, “Go – lead the people so that they may enter and take possession of the land that I promised to their ancestors, a land that I promised I would give to them.”

And what now, Israel, does God ask of you?

Only this:

that you stand in awe of God;

that you walk in all of God’s ways;

that you love and serve the Holy One, your God

with all your heart and soul,

and that you keep the commandments

and obey the statues of God-

statues which, for your good, I lay down today.

To God belongs heaven and the highest of heavens,

the earth and all that it contains-

yet the Almighty so loved your ancestors that you, their descendants, were chosen before all other peoples,

and so it still is today.

Sensitize your hearts, therefore,

and bend your will!

For the Holy One, your God is the God of gods,

the Sovereign of sovereigns,

the great God,

powerful and awe-inspiring,

who has no favorites

and cannot be bribed;

who brings justice to the orphan and the widowed,

and who befriends the foreigner among you with food and clothing.

In the same way, you too must befriend the foreigner,

for you were once foreigners yourselves in the land of Egypt.

It is our God, the God most High,

whom you must serve with awe;

whom you must cling to and by whom you must swear;

who is your praise;

who is your God;

who has done great things

which your eyes have seen with awe.

Your ancestors went down into Egypt seventy strong,

and God has made you as numerous as the stars of the heavens.

~ Luke 14:11

It used to be if you asked kids what they wanted to be, they invariably said doctors, teachers, or lawyers. But these days the typical answer is: “I want to be famous.” A Pew Research Centre poll in 2007 found that 81 percent of 18 to 25 year-olds surveyed said getting rich was their generation’s most important or second-most important life goal; 51 percent said the same about being famous. This in itself is not news; we all know that we are living in a celebrity-obsessed society.

But why do we want fame and fortune? It may seem like a “stupid” question. You may even roll your eyes at me: Duh, Kobie, why do you think?

Why do I think? Well… I think we want fame, status, and fortune because we live in a world of somebodies and nobodies. Somebodies are valued, have power and enjoy relative security, while nobodies are deemed to have lesser value, often powerless, vulnerable to abuse and humiliation, and often find themselves to be invisible. And so we feel this intense need to try and prove ourselves to others or look outside ourselves for a sense accomplishment and personal worth. And so we yearn for fame and fortune so that we can blend in with the somebodies. This is of course nothing new – it’s how the world turns.

It’s how the world turned at a dinner Jesus attended. As Jesus sat back, he saw how everyone jostled for the best seat in the house – to be recognized as a somebody, to be valued. Pushing themselves forward in the effort to leave others behind. And so Jesus decides to tell a parable:

When someone invites you to a dinner (wedding) party, don’t go sit in the place of honor at the table. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the hosts. Then the hosts might come and call you out in front of everyone saying: ‘‘You’re sitting in the wrong spot. The place of honor belongs to this person.” Embarrassed, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.

What you should do is go and sit at the last place, way in the back. Then when you’re approached by the hosts, they may very well say, ‘My friend, come sit up closer.’ This will win you the esteem of the other quests. That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I’m saying is, If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”

These few sentences are not simply a piece of social advice of how to avoid social embarrassment at a party. Jesus was not a self-help guru dispensing good advice on how to get ahead in life: just act humbly. You see, the problem with a parable is that it is never what it seems to be on the surface. It’s not about accruing social acclaim and prestige, assimilating with the somebodies.

Rather, Jesus was in the business of identifying himself with the nobodies of this world. So he turns to the host and says:

The next time you throw a dinner party, don’t just invite your friends, family, colleagues, or wealthy neighbors. You know, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited; the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and the nobodies. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned at the resurrection of the just.

What is this all about, you may wonder by now?

We’ll discover it together on Sunday,

Kobie

Luke 14:1-14

One Sabbath, Jesus was invited for dinner at the house of one of the leading Experts on the Law. All eyes were on Jesus, watching his every move. Right in front of him there was a person with edema. So Jesus asked the religious scholars and experts in the Law present, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

But they kept silent. So Jesus laid his hands on the individual and healed the swelling, and sent the person away. Then he said to the guests, “Is one of you has a child – or even an animal – and it falls down a well, wouldn’t you rush to pull it out immediately, not thinking twice whether or not it was the Sabbath?” They were stumped. There was nothing they could say to that.

Noticing how each guest had tried to elbow into the place of honor around the table, Jesus went on to tell them a parable:

“When someone invites you to a dinner (wedding) party, don’t go sit in the place of honor at the table. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the hosts.  Then the hosts might come and call you out in front of everyone saying: ‘You’re sitting in the wrong spot. The place of honor belongs to this person.’ Embarrassed, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.

What you should do is go and sit at the last place, way in the back. Then when you’re approached by the hosts, they may very well say, ‘My friend, come sit up closer.’ This will win you the esteem of the other quests.  That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I’m saying is, If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”

Then Jesus turned to the host and said, “The next time you throw a dinner party, don’t just invite your friends, family, colleagues, or wealthy neighbors. You know, the kind of people who will return the favor.  Invite some people who never get invited; the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and the nobodies. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned at the resurrection of the just.”

That’s the way it is with this wonderful story of the Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch.  The problem is, for thousands of years, very few people have gone back to explain the portion that wasn’t understood.

As a friend of mine loves to say, “This is as gay as it gets!” Interestingly, many Biblical Scholars are coming to that same conclusion.

To understand this story, we need to begin with the question, “What does the word “eunuch” mean as it is used in the bible?  On one level, it is obvious.  A eunuch is a male who is either born without testicles or a penis or is “made a eunuch”, i.e. castrated – has his penis or testicles “cut off.”  In Israel’s early history, “eunuchs” were not allowed to be priests.  They were considered “defective.”  If they were born that way, or if they were “made that way” (castrated) they were still considered defective.  As time progressed the writers of Deuteronomy extended the exclusion beyond the priesthood to everyone:  “NO ONE whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of God.”  (Deuteronomy 23:1).

In the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch, the Eunuch is a very wealthy and powerful man.  He is a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. (aka “the Queen of Sheba).  He’s obviously not Jewish or Jewish-Christian!  Ethiopians were very dark skinned Africans.  (Ethiopia is just north of Kenya.)  But he was very interested in Jesus!   And so like a faithful worshipper, he had come to Jerusalem on a religious pilgrimage, and was riding home in “high style” in his carriage.  Most people walked even when on pilgrimage.  This guy has servants and his own carriage.  He is, as we might say in the gay community, “a rich queen!”

Now, we’re told, he’s perched in his carriage, reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah.  And we’re also told that Philip, one of the Christian Apostles, has been led to this man by the Holy Spirit.  Philip comes up beside the carriage and hears the eunuch reading the prophet Isaiah. Undoubtedly Philip does a “double take.”  Clearly this guy is black and has a very high pitched voice, i.e., he is a eunuch!  Philip’s immediate thought must have been, “What in the heck is this guy doing reading OUR scriptures?”   So Philip asks, “Do you understand what you are reading?”  (The Ethiopian Eunuch, by the way, is un-named in this story, a practice which is usually reserved for women in the Bible – so that tells us a lot about how eunuchs were “valued.”)  The Ethiopian Eunuch responds to Philip, “No, I don’t understand” and invited Philip to get in the carriage with him.  So Philip climbs up in the carriage and explains the text (the words of Isaiah 56) and relates them to the Good News about Jesus.

Isaiah 56: 1-8 is a prophecy about the restoration of Israel.  At the time this prophecy was written, Israel was under the oppressive and brutal rule of the Assyrians.  Life was as miserable and oppressive as it could get and there appeared to be “no light at the end of the tunnel.”  All was horror and gloom.  So these last prophecies in the writings of Isaiah became illuminations of how life would be when Israel was set free and restored to be its own community in which they could live in peace and prosperity with their beloved God.  Isaiah 56 offers this word of hope.  (Not surprisingly, the precondition for salvation and “deliverance” is that justice must be done, and the two “groups” who are going to exemplify this new life with God are quite timely for us today:  Immigrants and Eunuchs.

The prophet Isaiah proclaims:  Thus says the Holy One, your God:

Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come and my deliverance be revealed.

Happy is the mortal (person) who does this, the one who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and refrains from doing any evil.

Do not let the foreigner joined to our God say, “God will surely separate me from God’s people;” and do not let the eunuch say, “I am just a dry tree.”

For thus says the Holy One, your God,

To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

And the foreigners who join themselves to God, to minster to God, who love the name of our God and who are God’s servants, all who keep the Sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my  house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

Thus says the Holy One, your God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.

Rev. Nancy Wilson, former pastor of MCC Los Angeles and now the head of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, wrote a book called “Our Tribe:  Queer Folks, God, Jesus and the Bible.”  In a chapter called “Outing the Bible: Our Gay and Lesbian Tribal Texts” she writes:

My argument (and others have made this argument before me) is that the prophecy in Isaiah 56 is about the hope for the future inclusion of those who were previously excluded from the worshipping community.  Those who were outcasts and cut off because of their Gentile status (race) or because of their sexuality will now be included.  Eunuchs and barren ones, I believe, are our gay, lesbian and bisexual antecedents.  I also believe it is amazingly simple to demonstrate this.  One very obvious point eluded me for a long time:  it is in the actual words and structure of this section of Isaiah 56.  In speaking about eunuchs, Isaiah says that God says “I will make you a monument better than sons and daughters.”  If eunuchs were only males, or castrated males, then why would the words for both sons and daughters be used here?  Eunuch is obviously a generic term for something!  (p. 124-125)

That something is a whole class of people, not just a few eunuchs.  It was everyone who was “cut off” from worship and communion with God.  That was tough to accept for first-generation Christians who had to be faithful, observant Jews to also be Christians.

Nancy continues to unfold the mystery of the story:

The eunuch had reason to believe that there was hope that those who had been cut off – who had not been eligible – would now be eligible.  When he asked Philip what was to prevent him from being baptized (he was ineligible before on two counts:  being Gentile and being a eunuch), Philip is silent and simply baptizes him.  And we don’t even know his name.  The nameless eunuch, the patron saint of Ethiopian Christians, a black gay man, becomes the first African Christian, and the most clear and complete fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 56, that God’s house would become a “house of prayer for all people.”  (p. 131)

Blessings to you during this weekend of Pride!

Dan

Isaiah 56: 1-8

The prophet foretells the Day when ALL people will be included in the community of God’s beloved.

Thus says the Holy One, your God:

Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come and my deliverance be revealed.

Happy is the mortal (person) who does this, the one who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and refrains from doing any evil.

Do not let the foreigner joined to our God say, “God will surely separate me from God’s people;” and do not let the eunuch say, “I am just a dry tree.”

For thus says the Holy One, your God,

To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

And the foreigners who join themselves to God, to minster to God, who love the name of our God and who are God’s servants, all who keep the Sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

Thus says the Holy One, your God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.

Acts 8: 26-39

The Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch

An angel of God spoke to Philip and said, “Be ready to set out at noon along the road that goes to Gaza, the desert road.” So Philip began his journey.

It happened that an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia, had come to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage and was returning home.  He was sitting in his carriage and reading the prophet Isaiah.

The Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and meet that carriage.”

When Philip ran up, he heard the eunuch reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

“How can I,” the eunuch replied, “unless someone explains it to me?”  With that, he invited Philip to get in the carriage with him.  This was the passage of scripture being read:

“You are like a sheep being led to slaughter,

You are like a lamb that is mute in front of its shearers:

Like them, you never open your mouth.

You have been humiliated and have no one to defend you.

Who will ever talk about your descendants, since your life on earth has been cut short?”

The eunuch said to Philip, “tell me, if you will, about whom the prophet is talking – himself or someone else?”

So Philip proceeded to explain the Good News about Jesus to him.

Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is some water right there.  Is there anything to keep me from being baptized?”

He ordered the carriage to stop; then Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and Philip baptized him.  When they came out of the water, the Spirit of God snatched Philip away; the eunuch didn’t see him anymore, and went on his way rejoicing.

An example of this is the world view of Christianity from the first century in which it was assumed that the world was flat.  At that time in history, people believed there was the earth upon which humans lived, the sky, and above that, the heavens where God lived.  Our ancestors of the faith also believed that the earth was the center of the universe and the stars and the sun moved over the earth.  (The earth was not only considered flat, but rectangular, thus the old phrase, “from the four corners of the earth.”)  You may have read that just two weeks ago, Sat. May 22, 2010, after centuries of condemnation as a heretic, Copernicus, who argued that the earth was a sphere (round) and that the earth was in orbit spinning around the suns, was finally “cleared” of his heretical charges and given the honor of being buried in the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Frombork, northern Poland.  The web site “Signs of the Times” says:

Nicolaus Copernicus, the 16th-century astronomer whose findings were condemned by the Roman Catholic Church as heretical, was reburied by Polish priests as a hero on Saturday, May 22, 2010, nearly 500 years after he was laid to rest in an unmarked grave.

His burial in a tomb in the cathedral where he once served as a church canon and doctor indicates how far the church has come in making peace with the scientist whose revolutionary theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun helped usher in the modern scientific age.  For more info, click here .

Another example of this change in world view comes from my nephews.  My oldest nephew constantly questions me about the compatibility of current science and knowledge with the views put forth in the Bible, and his brother constantly bombards me with “the absurdities” about the nature of God as revealed in the Bible.  He knows and quotes just about every story in the Bible.  For example, he asks “Do you believe in a God who drowns all people but one family?” (the Noah story), “kills innocent people because they come from a different country or adhere to a different religion?” (any of the religious war stories where “Israel wins”),  or “causes people to suffer” (the story of Job)?  Tough questions, indeed!  Over time our view of the world does change and that change challenges religious beliefs!

The second perspective is based on a more historical observation:  Christianity is going through a huge change, as it has “historically” about every 500 years.  For example when the Roman Empire collapsed (around 500 CE) the Roman Church assumed dominant authority “filling the void” of the Roman Empire.  That lasted until “The Great Schism” which occurred (around 1000 CE) when the Christian Church split in two becoming what we know today as the “Orthodox Christian Church” [which some refer to as “the Eastern Orthodox Church”] which follows the Eastern rites, and the Roman Catholic Church which follows Western rites.  This split came out of a fight when the Church at one time had 3 Popes functioning out of two different cities (Rome and Constantinople).  Then of course the Protestant Reformation occurred (around 1500 CE) and here we are entering the 21^st Century with the Christian Church in a state of radical change.

Are we living through a major change in Christianity or the end of Christianity?  One of the exciting, yet difficult things about living through a time of major change is you don’t know how it ends up.  But one thing I am certain of, Christianity is in the midst of a huge change.  But from “day-one” Christianity has been about change.

During the next four weeks we’re going to look at four ways that Jesus Changed Christianity.   This Sunday we’re going to look at one of the most important, and I believe relevant aspects of Jesus’ impact on Christianity: What is the purpose of the Church, and of Jesus’ teachings?  One of the best contemporary answers to the question has been given to us by Brian McLaren of the emergent church movement.  He says,

The Church exists to save us from the great danger of wasting our lives, of becoming something less than we were intended to be.

And that is where we will begin this Sunday.  To help us get into the meaning of this, we’ll look at the story of a religious-ruler living in Jesus’ lifetime, a Pharisee, named Nicodemus.  Nicodemus knew there was something radically different about Jesus.  He knew from what he had seen Jesus do that Jesus was “a Rabbi, a teacher, come from God” and that “God was with Jesus in a very new and unique way.”  Afraid perhaps of what the other religious leaders might think or what Jesus might tell him about his life, Nicodemus quietly approaches Jesus in the dark of night and discovers something very new about the meaning of his life and living his life with God. What Nicodemus discovered is a message still relevant today:  “There is a great danger of wasting our lives, of becoming something less than we were intended to be.”  The Church today exists to save us from either or both of these.

Blessings,

Dan

This Sunday’s Scripture

John 3: 1-17

Nicodemus inquires of Jesus about the transformation of his life.

A certain Pharisee named Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, came to Jesus at night.  “Rabbi,” he said, “we know you’re a teacher come from God, for no one can perform the signs and wonders you do, unless by the power of God.”

Jesus gave Nicodemus this answer:

The truth of the matter is, unless one is born from above, one cannot see the kindom of God.”

Nicodemus said, “How can an adult be born a second time?  I can’t go back into my mother’s womb to be born again!”

Jesus replied:

“The Truth is, no one can enter God’s kindom without being born of water and the Spirit.  What is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is Spirit.  So don’t be surprised when I tell you that you must be born from above.  The wind blows where it will.  You hear the sound it makes, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

“How can this be possible?” asked Nicodemus.

Jesus replied, “You’re a teacher of Israel, and you still don’t understand these matters?

“The truth of the matter is, we’re talking about what we know;

we’re testifying about what we’ve seen –

yet you don’t accept our testimony.

If you don’t believe when I tell you about earthly things, how will you believe when I tell you about heavenly things?

No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down from heaven – the Chosen one.

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Chosen One must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in the Christ might have eternal life.

Yes, God so loved the world that God gave God’s Only Begotten Child, that whoever believes in the Christ may not die, but have eternal life.  For God sent Jesus into the world, not to condemn the world, but that through him the world might be saved.

What does it take to receive forgiveness?

In Matthew 18:22 Peter asks Jesus how many times we should forgive those who have sinned against us. Maybe seven times?  No, answers Jesus, more like seventy times seven.

Jesus calls on us not only to love others but also to forgive those who have hurt us. I understand that it’s possible for love to cover minor grievances, (I’ve been married for 21 years – a lot of love and forgiveness has been done) but what about a serious offense?  What if it is something that drives a wedge between two people, causing the relationship to break apart, trust to be destroyed?  Will forgiveness resolve the situation or heal the injury?  What if the offender does not want to admit his/her guilt?  What if the offender doesn’t think he/she has done anything wrong?  Sometimes people just feel bad for having been caught or only feel sorry when they are confronted with the hurt they have caused.  Tears can be misleading – feeling sorry for what we did is not in itself a sign of real repentance.  And it doesn’t help much to restore trust or mend a broken relationship.

There are times in life when something more is needed than just simply saying, “I’m sorry,” and the injured person saying, “I forgive you.” Truth be told, it takes hard work to regain trust and restore a broken relationship – it takes the hard work of the process called reconciliation. And reconciliation calls for genuine repentance and restitution.

It’s just not enough to say: “If I have done something to offend you…” or “If you want me to say I’m sorry, well then I’m sorry.” Genuine repentance happens when the offender accepts full responsibility for his/her actions: No defensiveness, no excuses, no trivializing, no indignation, no shallow confession, and no continuation of the offense. It asks for a change of heart and behavior.  It asks for a humbled heart, a burning desire to do what is right, to correct a wrong, and a deep longing for the broken relationship to be restored.

It’s also not good enough to say: “I’ll forgive you, so all is over and forgotten now.” Forgiveness is not about forgetting. Some painful memories you will always carry with you. But forgiveness does set you free; you will no longer be held captive by bitterness and anger.  Forgiveness is not supposed to excuse or make excuses for another’s behavior. True forgiveness allows the offender the opportunity to make amends for their actions; to make restitution for the injury caused.  Restitution is not about punishment or revenge – it’s an opportunity for the offender to show by their action that his/her repentance is genuine, their regret sincere. Forgiveness is not about tolerating someone offenses, it’s not about letting someone “get away with it.” To forgive doesn’t mean someone is not held accountable for their actions.

There are no short cuts in the process of reconciliation, no easy way to restore a broken relationship. No “I’m sorry because I got caught,” or “Please overlook my mistake because you’re so nice,” or “Let’s just pretend or act like it never happened.” Not only will this not restore a broken relationship in the long run, but the offense will be repeated again and again and you will be hurt again.

And that is what we discover when we read the verses that precede verse 22. In verses 15-21 Jesus makes it clear that repentance and reconciliation is part of the bigger picture of forgiveness:

If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell them—work it out between the two of you. If he or she listens, you’ve made a friend. If they won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he or she still won’t listen, tell the church. If they won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront them with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love.

Sunday, we will explore what this looks like in real life.

Blessings till then,

Kobie

This Sunday’s Scripture

Matthew 18: 15-22

(Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation)

“If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell them—work it out between the two of you. If he or she listens, you’ve made a friend. If they won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he or she still won’t listen, tell the church. If they won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront them with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love.

“Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Abba God in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”

At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, “Rabbi, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?”

Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.”

(Translation from The Message)