How do we endure?

Chagall's White Crucifixion

In Chagall's White Crucifixion, Jesus is seen suffering on the Cross in the very midst of overwhelming suffering by all the people around him.

Jesus says to God, "father forgive them for they know not what they do." He then promises his two fellow unfortunates that, "today, they will be with him in paradise."

How do we endure the suffering of life until we reach the goal? How did Jesus' defense of those about him, when he said to forgive them, teach us how to endure our suffering until...?

Luke 23:33-43
23:33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

23:34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing.

23:35 And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!"

23:36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,

23:37 and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"

23:38 There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

23:39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"

23:40 But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

23:41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong."

23:42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

23:43 He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

What is the Purpose of our Living?

A Study in Modernist Space

Some would say that first discerning the purpose for which we live then determines the design and behavior of our living. This interpretation can be seen as truly “modernist” in its emphasis. An approach via a linear or minimalist path is constructed from problem (our purpose?) to its resolution, resulting in our design and behavior. This linear approach has often proved to be both powerful and elegant to us in the modern world.

Regarding behavior, the classical Greeks designed four philosophical constructs or “schools” of thought in which human behavior could be expressed. In tongue in cheek fashion, I have added (in parentheses) what I consider their present-day equivalents.

The Stoic – (Minister)

The Skeptic – (Scientist)

The Epicurean – (Playboy)

The Cynic – (Journalist)

While these schools of thought had existed for some time, they supposedly came to their most influence when the earliest attempts at building a perfect democracy had come to stalemate in Greece. Perhaps it was because democracy was never able to adequately fuse these four concepts. As a result, some in the society returned to the factional nature of these four ideologies or mindsets for the modeling of behavior. Sounds a bit close to home.

Near the end of the Fall of Rome, St. Augustine penned his influential De Civitate Dei, “The City of God.” Here again as with democracy in Greece, the political construct of the time, Rome, had crumbled. Attempting to bring fresh purpose or vision to a people possessed of cynical times, Augustine directed their eyes upward to a time to come in a future city. To some degree, the questions of purpose, design and behavior were directed more toward the future.But, some would say with little emphasis on the problems of the present.

Discussion:

What is the purpose of our living?

How is the purpose, the design and the behavior of our lives linked?

Is it a minimalist linear approach?

How do we avoid returning to factionalist behaviors?

What part as partners with God do we play in fulfilling these passages from  Isaiah?

Isaiah 65:17-25
65:17 For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.

65:18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.

65:19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.

65:20 No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.

65:21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

65:22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

65:23 They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD-- and their descendants as well.

65:24 Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.

65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent--its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD

Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line.

The Good Old Days...

On the way to church...in the good old days

What era do we usually refer to when we say church was at its peak in America?

Are the good days of our church or even our own religious experience stalled in the past? 

Have you ever heard it said, "Oh, if only things were like they were when," or can you joyfully anticipate the best is yet to come and work to make it so.

What about the past is valuable to the future? How do we adapt to make that future possible?
In today's lesson, the minor prophet Haggai tells the Jewish people that while their glory days seem to lay in the past, they are actually in the days to come.

Haggai 1:15b-2:9
1:15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month.

2:1 In the second year of King Darius, in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai, saying:

2:2 Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say,

2:3 Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing?

2:4 Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts,

2:5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear.

2:6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land;

2:7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts.

2:8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts.

2:9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.

Leveling the Scales

Leni Kae Libra with scales

Luke is the great leveler of the Gospel writers. While the Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew where we are called to a "higher level" of ethical behavior, Luke titles Jesus' major ethical expression the Sermon on the Plain. Luke approaches true ethics as "an equalizer." He wants to bring the scales into balance for all.


In the passages given from the Lectionary for today, we see Luke's example of how one is equalized and becomes an equalizer for others in his community.


Luke 19:1-10
19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it.

19:2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich.

19:3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.

19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.

19:5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today."

19:6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.

19:7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner."

19:8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."

19:9 Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.

19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."

Are there those in your world today for whom you can level the scales? 

What keeps us from doing this?  

Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line

Passing the baton.

How do our lives matter to the next generation?  How do we pass on the baton so the race continues?

Today's lesson, as chosen from 2 Timothy, reflects Paul's feelings at the end of his life. It is traditionally believed that Paul was possibly martyred in Rome. Whatever the case may be, he appears to have felt he had been faithful to his call.  

The night before Martin Luther King was assassinated, King delivered his I've been to the mountain top speech. 

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. 

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!   

And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!"

  

All religious expressions start out as a cult experience. Some religious expressions make it past their cult stage, most don't. A cult can be defined as a religious expression that finds its full beginning and ending in the time of one lifespan. Every generation has its cults. Think David Koresh and the Branch Davidians,  Jim Jones and Guyana as examples of this type of phenomena. It ended when the life of the leader ended. Their cult expressions died away within one generation.

How do we avoid being a cult and pass on the baton to the next generation?

In the passages from 2 Timothy 4:6-8 and 16-18, we see Pail speaking of the end of his life and how he places it in the context of the larger whole. 

From the passages how did Paul contribute to the next generation? How did Martin Luther King? But most importantly how do we contribute to the continued presence of God in the lives of those to come?

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

4:6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come.

4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

4:8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

4:16 At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them!

4:17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.

4:18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line 

The Dark Night of the Soul

The dark night of the Soul or Spiritual Crisis.

 From Wikipedia: The concept of "spiritual crisis" has mainly sprung from the work of transpersonal psychologists and psychiatrists whose view of the psyche stretches beyond that of Western psychology. Transpersonalists tend to focus less on psychpathology and more unidirectionally toward enlightenment and ideal mental health (Walsh & Vaughan, 1993). However, this emphasis on spirituality's potentials and health benefits has been criticized.

According to James (1902), a spiritual orientation focusing only on positive themes is incomplete, as it fails to address evil and suffering (Pargament et al., 2004). Scholarly attention to spiritual struggle is therefore timely as it can provide greater balance to the empirical literature and increase understanding of everyday spirituality. Another reason for the study of spiritual crisis is that growth often occurs through suffering (e.g., Tedeschi, Park, & Calhoun, 1998). As such, neglecting problems of suffering might result in neglecting vital sources of spiritual transformation and development (Paloutzian, 2005)


What does it mean to have striven with God and with Humans? And to have prevailed through a dark night?


Genesis 32:22-31
32:22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had.

32:24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

32:25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me."

32:27 So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."

32:28 Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed."

32:29 Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him.

32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved."

32:31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line

Should I Shemaiah? or Jeremiah?

 How do we respond to things that are beyond our control? 

Should we go forward, stop, go back? 

In our human experience, what feelings and emotions also come with these decisions?


In today's lesson we look at Israel's capture and captivity in Babylon. From the book of Jeremiah there are clearly two opposing prophetic messages being set in front of the Jewish people as to whether they should establish a meaningful life in Babylon or not. As in the multi-traffic light shown above is the message go or stop??

Jeremiah 29

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles in Babylon

 

1These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
²This was after King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.  
³The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It said:  
⁴Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  
⁵Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
⁶Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.
⁷But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
⁸For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,^{*  
9}for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.
10 For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfil to you my promise and bring you back to this place.  
¹¹For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.
¹²Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.  
¹³When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart,  
¹⁴I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
15 Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon’—
¹⁶thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your kinsfolk who did not go out with you into exile:  
¹⁷Thus says the Lord of hosts, I am going to let loose on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like rotten figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.  
¹⁸I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of cursing, and horror, and hissing, and a derision among all the nations where I have driven them,
¹⁹because they did not heed my words, says the Lord, when I persistently sent to you my servants the prophets, but they^* would not listen, says the Lord.
²⁰But now, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem  to Babylon, hear the word of the Lord: 
²¹Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: I am going to deliver them into the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall kill them before your eyes.  
²²And on account of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: ‘The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire’,  
²³because they have perpetrated outrage in Israel and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them; I am the one who knows and bears witness, says the Lord.

The Letter of Shemaiah

24 To Shemaiah of Nehelam you shall say:  
²⁵Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: In your own name you sent a letter to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying,
²⁶The Lord himself has made you priest instead of the priest Jehoiada, so that there may be officers in the house of the Lord to control any madman who plays the prophet, to put him in the stocks and the collar.
²⁷So now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who plays the prophet for you?  
²⁸For he has actually sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘It will be a long time; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat what they produce.’
29 The priest Zephaniah read this letter in the hearing of the prophet Jeremiah.  
³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:  
³¹Send to all the exiles, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and has led you to trust in a lie, ³²therefore thus says the Lord: I am going to punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants; he shall not have anyone living among this people to see^* the good that I am going to do to my people, says the Lord, for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.


Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line