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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Wondering in the Wilderness

Dear Friends:  I am sending this note out this morning, as tomorrow is the CANA council meeting, for which I am a delegate.  This is the first time CANA (Convocation of Anglicans in North America, i.e. churches sponsored by the Archdiocese of Nigeria) has met as a part of the larger Anglican Church of North America, so it will be an exciting time!! 

 

This upcoming Sunday we will be reaching back into the Old Testament, to look at a particular episode in the life of God's people, namely, the time they were wondering in the Wilderness, and received the gift of manna and quail to eat.  Be sure to read Exodus 16:2-25 prior to Sunday.

 

The incident occurred only a couple of months after their Exodus from Egypt, and the "Back to Egypt" Committee was in full swing.  What is a "Back to Egypt" Committee?  In the life of the Church, it's any group of people who want to go back to the "good old days" sometime in the past, foregoing any new direction God might be calling us to go into in the future.  The Committee operates even if there is no "Good Old Days" to go back to!!

 

Well, the Back to Egypt Committee complained to Moses that He had led them out into this hot, dry, Wilderness so they might starve.   They said when they were slaves in Egypt they had their fill to eat (imagine that--slaves in an oppresive regime thinking they ate their fill!   Methinks memory had been blurred by the act of complaining!!).  So God heard their complaint, and sent them manna, a fine, flaky substance that lasted only one day.  The word manna means "What is it?".  Scholars have speculated endlessly about what manna was, but it is sufficient to know that God provided it as an act of grace.  And when the manna got old, God sent quail.  Not a bad feast for a bunch of desert wanderers!!

 

This passage is paired in the lectionary with the Gospel reading where Jesus proclaims that He is the Bread of Life.  The pairing is obvious.  God will supply our needs, whether it be of the body, or of the soul.  Our God is a faithful God, who will not let us down.

 

There are some other things we are going to discuss this Sunday, and I'll see you then so we might discuss them!!!


Thursday, July 23, 2009

Jesus Walks on Water

Dear friends:  This Sunday we will look at one of the most famous passages from Jesus' ministry -- Jesus walking on water.  The events of this passage have led to a lot of jokes (mostly poking fun at we clergy!), but the events described are no laughing matter.
 
A number of things pop out even for the casual reader.  Jesus makes the disciples get into the boat and go across the Lake, even though the weather was getting nasty.  That means He knew they were going to have trouble navigating the choppy water.  And even though the disciples had just seen Jesus feed the 5,000 with a mere five loaves and two fish, they still don't recognize Him, and are terrified by Him as He steps into the boat.  Mark tells us that the "hearts of the disciples were hardened," leading them to unbelief and not faith.
 
But perhaps the strangest thing of all about this passage is that, according to Mark, Jesus intended to walk past the frightened disciples, and their cries changed His mind.  Why would Jesus walk past His disciples when they were so obviously in need?
 
Well, I can't let the cat out of the bag just yet -- come Sunday to hear "the rest of the story."  But suffice it to say that this passage teaches us, in part, to expect God to sometimes be with us in surprising ways.  After all, who would've imagined Jesus would walk across the water to reach His followers!? 
 
Sometimes it seems to all of us that God is just going to walk on by us, even in the midst of our distress.  But then -- surprise, surprise! -- the Lord is right there, stilling the storms of life.  It was not the presence of God that is lacking in times of trouble.  It is only our own faith that sometimes takes a vacation in those difficult times of life.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Compassion and Mercy

Compassion and Mercy --do you know the difference? How did these play our in the life of Jesus? How do they play out in yours and mine? 

This week's Gospel tells us about anincredible miracle, so incredible, in fact, that it is the only miracle recorded in allfour GospelsBut the story tells us much more than the feeding of a bunch of hungry folks. Read Mark 6:30  through 44 and see if you can catch it. Even the "fishermen" with Jesus had a hard time catching it – but they all did, eventually. Will you? 

We again welcome Zita Collins as our guest speaker, who will shed some light on this and other topics. Come and hear what the Apostles – and we – can learn from this week's Scripture.



Thursday, July 9, 2009

Journey through Jesus' ministry with Mark

Dear friends: In this Sunday's lection, we are taking a look at the Gospel reading, Mark 6:7-13. And as we do so, we are taking a journey through Jesus' ministry with Mark as our tour guide.

Here we find Jesus sending out the disciples spread the Gospel message. He gives them the authority to proceed in His Name. They go in groups of two's, telling people to repent, informing them of the coming Kingdom of God, and demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom by doing healings and miracles. By the end of this brief passage, it is hard to tell who is more amazed and impressed, the people who hear and see the message, or the disciples themselves!

This passage is important because it has a lot to say about the church today. First of all, it is hard not to notice that those disciples were not ready for what they were about to do. They misunderstood Jesus, they bumbled and stumbled around Him, and they were astounded by what Jesus could do. He gave them special tutorials by teaching them the meaning of the parables He taught the crowds. But He didn't give them any special preparation for their missionary journeys: no snakebite kit, no strategic plan. Just His authority to get things done. And that was enough. It's kind of nice to know that we can participate in the evangelization of the world without having special seminary courses. All we need is the authority of the Master.

Notice also that God used them despite their sometimes lack of understanding. All they had to do was to obey His call to go out into mission. This they did well. And despite the fact that they were "clay pots", God was able to use them mightily. It's also nice to know that we don't have to be dynamic speakers, great leaders, or powerful planners in order to be useful to God. We just have to be us. God can use us as we are just fine!!

There is a powerful message in this passage for South Riding Church. And we're going to discuss it this Sunday. So, be there or be square!!!!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Paul's Vision

Our message this week concerns a very famous reference by Paul. In II Corinthians 12:2-10, Paul speaks of a vision or revelation God had given him, in which he is somehow transported into the "Third Heaven". Most of us probably assumed there was only one, but don't let the language here mislead you. In Paul's day, remember, there was no scientific knowledge of meteorology or astronomy. Existence was considered to be like a big bowl over our heads, because that is what it looks like when you go out, day or night, and look up. First Heaven is what we would call the atmosphere; Second Heaven is where the stars are, and Third Heaven is in the presence of God. Paul was somehow transported, whether bodily or in a vision, into the very presence of God!! What a trip!!

In this revelation, Paul heard things that he could not repeat, and hadn't for some 14 years, until pushed to do so by the Corinthian Church. They confronted him with Christian leaders who were tryingto put Paul down, and to belittle his message about Jesus. Any real spiritual leader, they thought, would have some wonderful knowledge given directly by God Himself.

And yes, Paul had had such an experience. But God didn't want him to boast about it. In fact, according to Paul, God had given the Great Apostle a "thorn in the flesh" to keep him from becoming too puffed up with his blessed experience. Who knows what this so-called thorn is? Some scholars have speculated a physical ailment; some a mental condition; some have even said it might be a group of enemies who kept following Paul around and bothering him, interfering with his ministry.

But that isn't important. What is important is that when Paul's strength was gone, and life was beyond his ability to fix it, then God was able to fill in the gap. Paul concludes by saying that God's strength is made perfect in his weakness.

Obviously, there is a huge lesson for us in this. Come to Church this Sunday, and we're going to talk about it.

Blessings,

Keith+