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A FInal January Tuesday

Posted on: 01/30/2012 15:38

Yes Yes I know it only Monday.  BUt tomorrow is Tuesday.  ANd still January.  And so I had another Tuesday Lectionary Leanings post for http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com THought I would share it here.

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GordW's picture

GordW

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On Eagle's Wings  Let us

Posted on: 01/30/2012 15:43

On Eagle's Wings

 Let us open our week with prayer:

 
From the very first tale told around family tables
to that last word written in the book of time,
you tell us the story
of your love and joy
. From the foundation
laid in Eden's valleys
to the ever-open gates
of the new Jerusalem,
you build a home for
every single one of your children.
How good it is to sing your glory,
Heart of Creation!
Into the abandoned areas of our lives,
you come -
shushing the little imps
who whisper in our ears
of our failings and foolishness.
When we seem unable
to listen to your hopes for us,
you sit down at the edge of our hearts,
once again retelling the story
of your love and grace.
How good it is to sing your name,
Healer of broken lives.
When our dreams dry up
and turn to dust,
you gather them up
and shape them into
a future which surprises us.
When we would pull shut
the curtains of our compassion,
you yank them open,
so we can see those
we are called to serve.
How good it is to sing your peace,
Spirit of patience.
How good it is to sing your praises,
God in Community, Holy in One,
even as we pray as Jesus has taught us, saying,
Our Father . . .

As I opened links to prepare for TLL this week I was moved to wonder if anyone out there is doing something for the PResentation of the Lord/Candlemas this week (either on Thursday or moving it to Sunday)??  If you are, the readings for that festival can be found here

 

However I am guessing that most Lectionary preachers will be working with the readings for Epiphany 5B.  Those readings can be found here.  And what does a quick glance show us this week?

 

  • Isaiah seems the perfect passage for those who need to be renewed and lifted up.  Which one of us wouldn't like to be recipients of the blessing in the final verse here?  Or then there is a joke about how hard it is to soar like eagles when one is surrounded by....maybe we best not go there.
  • Does anyone ever preach on the Psalm reading?  So often it is seen as a supporting reading only. But this one has such promise of support and protection.   There must be a sermon in there somewhere.
  • Corinthians.  Pauls claims he is free to be "all things to all people".  Modern writers tell us we shouldn't do that, we should be transparently ourselves.  And yet isn't a succesful politician or speaker one who can translate her/his message into language and imagery that reaches a particular audience?  Was Paul putting on a mask or translating a message?
  • And then there is Mark.  Following directly on from last week's reading we have more healings.  And then we return to being renewed.  Or at least an attempt at it.  Why do I understand the feeling of going to a quiet place for renewal only to have people come find and interrupt me?????
Abandoning or leading?
ANyone Doing this?

 

WHich way do you feel led this week?  Or are you off-lectionary and doing something else?  It is also Annual Meeting season, how does the Annual Meeting impact your worship planning for that Sunday?  All this and more in the comments!

 

And of course it is Super Bowl Sunday!

GordW's picture

GordW

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I am going with the

Posted on: 01/30/2012 15:47

I am going with the Corinthians reading.

http://ministerialmutterings.blogspot.com/2012/01/looking-forward-to-feb...

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seeler

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Gord - I love your weekly

Posted on: 01/31/2012 09:20

Gord - I love your weekly posts on the scriptures.   Keep up the good work.

 

I just checked out the lectionary readings:  four of my favourites.

 

I love the image of eagles wings.   One of my favourite hymns is "On Eagles Wings".   It's one that I would like at my funeral.  (Some day I've got to make up that list and give it to my next-of-kin).   

 

Throughout the Bible we see images of God's dream of a perfect world - from the garden of Eden to the 'New Heaven and New Earth' envisioned in Revelation.  (There's another favourite hymn - a great one for my funeral.)

 

I see this as a vision, and a dream, something to strive towards.   But like Job, we live in a world where there is suffering.   Sometimes it is the wicked that flourish like a green bay tree, and the good who are overwhelmed with burdens.  Sometimes there is famine, earthquake, war and pestilence, and sometimes cancer or another catistropic illness strikes.   The rain falls on the just and the unjust.   The whole book of job explores the question of why the good and just peeople suffer.   

 

I see many parallels between the readings from Paul and Mark.  I think that Paul is saying that he identified with the people.  He shares in their lives.  With the jews he is a jew, with the weak he is weak.  We know he had a 'thorn in the flesh'.  Perhaps he came to see it as a blessing to help him identify with the sick.     And Jesus - he obviously had compassion on the sick and offered his love and strength in making them whole, in healing.    They flocked to him.   In a land of oppression and want, he could have established himself as a faith healer - perhaps set up a little place for himself, accepted gifts and thank offerings.  But he didn't see that as his mission.  Despite the fact that they were lining up to see him, or crowding around, he went off by himself to pray and meditate, and then he moved on, a poor wandering prophet bringing good news to the people in the villages and the countryside.

 

Lots to think about here.

 

GordW's picture

GordW

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seeler wrote: I love the

Posted on: 01/31/2012 12:45

seeler wrote:

I love the image of eagles wings.   One of my favourite hymns is "On Eagles Wings".   It's one that I would like at my funeral.  (Some day I've got to make up that list and give it to my next-of-kin).   

 

YES if you have desires about end of life issues (care levels, how hard to work to sustain life, funeral arrangements etc) pleaase tell your family.  Not just one person but as many as seems relevant.  I share that advice with people all the time.  DOn't just tell a trusted friend/Dr./clergyperson. (who are often told as it is easier to have those discussions with them than with family)

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MC jae

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GordW wrote: Yes Yes I know

Posted on: 01/31/2012 17:48

GordW wrote:

Yes Yes I know it only Monday.  BUt tomorrow is Tuesday.  ANd still January.  And so I had another Tuesday Lectionary Leanings post for http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com THought I would share it here.

On days like this, my thoughts turn toward...

seeler's picture

seeler

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I've reread the  blog  "A man

Posted on: 01/31/2012 22:35

I've reread the  blog  "A man for all Seasons".   I think that the reason Paul was able to make that claim, and to relate to all people was his genuine concern for them.   He was a passionate person, and passionate in sharing the Good News with everyone he met.   To do so he had to get to know them, to find a common ground, something they could agree on, a jumping off point for his message.    If they were educated Jews he could be an educated Jew - yes, he had been a Pharisee, educated in the Temple in Jerusalem.    Were they outcasts - yes, he had been an outcast, he had been beaten and stoned.   Were they sick - yes, he knew what it was like to be sick.    He understood their needs.   He tried to address them.   

 

Did he also understand his weaknesses?   While he could draw a crowd, and speak with conviction and passion, establish communities of believers, lift up people (including women) to be leaders, and even convince a run-away slave to return to his master, he seems to have had trouble with those closest to him.   After a promising start he quarrelled with Peter, he had continual problems with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, and he quarrelled with Barnabas, and with John Mark.     He was a complicated man.  

 

 

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