Trustworthy Prophet - Glorify God in Your Body - Without Deceit/Guile

As I have engaged in my lectio divina on the lectionary readings for this coming Sunday (January 14, 2018), I have been particularly challenged by one phrase in each selection.

1 Samuel 3:20 says that the boy Samuel grew up to be known as a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. I certainly do not have either the gifts or the calling to a prophetic office as Samuel had. And now that I am not pastor of a congregation, my ministry role is taking a different shape than it had had for 40+ years. Yet, as I came to oratio, I prayed not only that my reputation from those years would be that I had been a trustworthy pastor, but that in my new roles that are still becoming clear to me, God would consider and empower me to grow as a trustworthy servant.

1 Corinthians 6:20 says to glorify God in your (my) body. I remember well using that in teaching teens about Christian use of their sexuality (is directly in the context of the passage). Even at this stage of my life, I can’t say I’m fully satisfied with how well my sexuality glorifies God, but I am seeing that maintaining health and strength to serve in new roles as they emerge, and especially to enable my wife Candy’s life to be as joyful as possible on her Alzheimer’s journey, is essential to glorifying God in my body. So my oratio is not that I will be lauded but that God will be glorified in my daily, physical living.

In John 1:47, Jesus called Nathanael “an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” While “deceit” is certainly a proper translation, I still like the KJV use of “guile.” To me it implies a broader understanding of nothing crooked or misleading, a depth of integrity. I have often described my wife Candy as being like Nathanael, a woman in whom there is no guile. She assumes the best about people, even in the midst of their foibles. She takes things at face value and speaks without any twisting of words. Friends and family find this amusing at times and she misses the humor of jokes that depend on double entendre. This week, this passage has been prompting my oratio to ask God to stand guard over my mouth (Psalm 141) and heart (Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45), so that I have such integrated integrity that no guile or deceit will dwell in or proceed from me.

I know I am only half way through the week and will be meditating on these passages for a few more days. I think they are connected, integrated into what it means to trust and follow Jesus. I am expecting the Holy Spirit to use them in these days to continue to shape me to be more and more congruent with Jesus. Much as Abba Poeman wrote in the 4^th century. “The nature of water is soft, that of stone is hard; but if a bottle is hung above the stone, allowing the water to fall drop by drop, it wears away the stone. So it is with the word of God; it is soft and our heart is hard, but the [one] who hears the word of God often, opens [the] heart to the fear of God.” The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, tr. Benedicta Ward, SLG, Kalamazoo, MI, Cistercian Publications, 1975, pp. 192-193

I am not much fond of labels

I am not much fond of labels whether they be political (conservative-liberal), theological (evangelical-progressive), liturgical (traditional-contemporary), or social (values-rights, rugged individualism-common good). I think even labels to identify positions on issues are not helpful (pro-life-pro-choice, religious freedom-individual freedom, pro-Second Amendment-Sensible Gun Control). Understandably, movements also adopt slogans as shorthand to rally around (Black Lives Matter-Blue Lives Matter). Instead of promoting understanding, these divide and polarize. On the one hand, they obscure nuanced thinking, and on the other hand, they associate people with drastically different views together under one label, all too often as a way of discrediting something without understanding or addressing it. As convenient as labels are as shorthand for making particular points, they truncate true dialog and thought.

I am not comfortable identifying with any of these labels. I am happy to have real conversation with people who disagree with me on just about anything. I believe we can all learn from each other but don’t have to convince each other. But I don’t want to be labeled so as to be tossed in a bin of those who are like me or not like me.

As I pastor I have served congregations who struggled mightily with theological, ethical, liturgical, and social differences of opinion. I can’t claim to have been particularly successful at this, but I have aspired to encourage people to try to learn from each other rather than convince each other, to love each other rather than shun each other, as they find deeper unity in following Jesus than in their disagreements. I know all too well the argument, “As I read the Bible, I must take this position and cannot accept a different position as legitimate.” I have found it exceedingly challenging to help those who take that approach to listen to why those who disagree with them are as confident they are following the Bible or Jesus as they are. I have felt the pressure from partisans of these social movements to publically take sides and use my pastoral influence (if not authority) to promote one side or the other in these conflicts. I have repeatedly said thing like, “I don’t want to be known for what I say about (sex, guns, politics, etc.) but for pointing people to Jesus and inviting them to trust and follow him. It’s not that I don’t think our opinions about these issues don’t matter in how we follow Jesus, but when we keep Christ at the center (thank you Dietrich Bonhoeffer) we begin to get some perspective on our propensity to build our allegiances to temporary human thought instead of the eternal reign of God.  

Twelfth Day of Christmas Reflection January 5

Angels are ubiquitous in Christmas imagery. The artistic representations are often feminine, though where gender is ascribed to angels in the Bible it is male, but the teaching material specifies they are without gender in the sense we think of it. Angels do appear in both Matthew and Luke’s nativity accounts. As we have been doing all through these twelve days, I suggest paying attention to just what the text says and try to avoid cliché and stereotype imagery. To start you on your exploration, I will observe that the angels in Matthew appear in dreams, and those in Luke seem to appear in person. Joseph gets a visit in Matthew and Mary in Luke. But they are not the only ones. You’ll have to go back into Luke 1 to get all of the angels there.

So on this final day of the Twelve Days of Christmas, read both Matthew and Luke to see only and exactly what they both say about the angels and their roles in the story of Jesus’ birth. As you reflect on that, consider all you have encountered since Christmas began on December 25. How has your appreciation of the Christmas story been enriched? How has God encountered you? How have you been changed?

Eleventh Day of Christmas Reflection January 4

The accounts of Jesus’ birth in both Matthew and Luke glow with mysterious light and wonder. But the Slaughter of the Innocents in Matthew 2:13-23 is one of the darkest passages in the New Testament, rivaling Jesus’ crucifixion. We often want to avoid it, which means it has not accumulated as much extraneous material as the other parts of the Christmas story. It is observed on December 28 in the Western Church, and December 29 in the Eastern Church as the Feast of Holy Innocents who are considered in some sense to be the first Christian martyrs.

I have no way of softening the terror of this event. But I do believe its contrast with the rest of the nativity narrative can help us appreciate the hope Jesus brings even as he was born in humble obscurity. So I suggest, reading all of both Matthew and Luke’s accounts of Jesus’ birth to marvel at this amazement.

Tenth Day of Christmas Reflection January 3

I have already observed that what Matthew recorded about the visit of the Magi belongs to the liturgical season of Epiphany, which comes after the Twelve Days of Christmas. While there certainly is a chronological rationale for that, liturgical sequences are independent of the Gospel texts, and my purpose for these twelve days is to strip back the accretions that have gotten attached to the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth and marvel at exactly and only with what Matthew and Luke have written. So I think considering Matthew 2:1-18 these days is completely appropriate, and I encourage you to continue to read Luke as the focus shifts over to Matthew.

We’ve already gotten past most of the traditions that have gotten associated with the story of the Magi beyond Matthew’s text: star, number, names, ethnicity, camels. One of the problems with mushing the Luke and Matthew accounts together is that it can make them seem contradictory. However, the chronology is obvious. Though we don’t know how long, clearly they arrived after Jesus’ presentation in the Temple. Though Matthew says nothing about Mary and Joseph coming to Bethlehem from Nazareth, Matthew is clear they were staying in a house in Bethlehem for a while and went to Nazareth upon returning from Egypt. So as you read Luke and Matthew today, focus on the visit of the Magi in Matthew 2:1-12. Don’t get distracted by the Slaughter of the Innocents so you can soak in the wonder of these visitors from afar who came to see the child Jesus.

Ninth Day of Christmas Reflection January 2

In good Jewish fashion, Luke 2:21 reports that the child Jesus was named and circumcised when he was eight days old. Presuming a December 25 birthday, the western liturgical calendar celebrates this on January 1. Luke 2:22-40 goes on to describe how Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple at 40 days old. Again, based on a December 25 birthday, this is observed as Candlemas on February 2 which marks the end of the Epiphany season. That, of course, is beyond the Twelve Days of Christmas, but I am including it in these reflections so we take some time with Luke’s entire account of the birth of Jesus. I hope you will read all of the Luke and Matthew accounts today, but focus on Luke.

If you go back in Mosaic Law, forty days after giving birth to a first born son, a woman was to be brought to the Temple for a purification ceremony. In our time we may quibble over why women needed to be purified after giving birth, but after that marital intimacy could resume, which is not too different than the six-week recommendation that is common in our time. Luke does say that Mary and Joseph did everything the Law required (verse 39), but puts the emphasis on Anna and Simeon’s responses to seeing the infant Jesus and their prophetic words to Mary and Joseph.

While we know the story, it is not as familiar as what comes ahead of it. So I suggest that you read Luke 2:1-40 at a sitting, paying special attention to verses 21-40. Without getting into historic, cultural, ceremonial dimensions of the story, pay attention to what each one says and Luke’s report of Mary and Joseph’s reactions. How does your response enrich your experience of celebrating the birth of Jesus?

The next two days will focus on what Matthew reports happened after Jesus was born. I encourage you to read it today and begin thinking about the different ways Matthew and Luke report what came next after the birth of Jesus.

Eighth Day of Christmas Reflection January 1

Just a word about Eastern Orthodox icons. They are not pictures of events to look at. They are windows to look through to see deeper spiritual realities. There is a lot going on in this Nativity Icon. Look at it carefully before going on line to find a guide for interpreting it. While icons do vary, you will find most nativity icons will include the same or similar elements handled in somewhat different ways.

If you have been reading Matthew 1:18-25 (2:1-18) and Luke 2:1-20 (21-40) you are well aware that they are reporting the same event, the birth of Jesus, in dramatically different ways. Liturgical conventions with different seasons for Christmas (December 25-January 5) and Epiphany (starting January 6) keep these two accounts separate so they each stand on their own with their special emphases. Commercial interests and popular culture seem to conspire to mash both of these into the Advent season so that by the time Christmas comes we are tired of it and glad it is over, when it should be just to begin. Many congregations, especially those without deep liturgical roots, also tend to mush Matthew and Luke together so that shepherds and Wise Men arrive at the manger simultaneously for a children’s pageant or for the singing of Silent Night in the closing candlelight on Christmas Eve.

I have no illusions of bringing about a radical change or debunking long cherished memories. I would say that in my years of pastoral ministry, I did attempt to be gentle about encouraging making a distinction between the Matthew and Luke accounts without recklessly upsetting the congregational apple cart. I do hope that if you have been reading both Matthew and Luke these past days you have already begun to recognize and appreciate the emphasis of each.

The Gospels agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph of Nazareth while Mary was still a virgin. (I know some scholars do all sorts of exegetical gymnastics about that, but I am wanting us to look at the wonderful simplicity of these two narratives.) Scholars also probe in detailed conjecture and speculation about why Matthew and Luke are so different: literary purpose, intended audience, author’s background, access to original participants to interview, differing oral traditions in different parts of the Church. I am not interested in embroiling you in these scholarly pursuits, which can also distract from our appreciation of what Matthew and Luke have given us.

So as you read today, attending only and exactly what is written, what differences do you observe between Matthew and Luke? As you allow each to speak to you on its own, what do you receive from each that is unique?